Method and apparatus for alternate content scheduling on mobile devices

• US 8,522,269 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2007
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GoldSpot Media, Inc. (Japan) (Dentsu Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: GoldSpot Media, Inc. (Japan) (Dentsu Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dharmaji, Srinivasa
• Primary Examiner(s): CORBO, NICHOLAS T
• Application Number:
  US11/842,635
• Publication Number:
  US 20080052741A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,198 Days
• Field of Search: 725 32- 36, 455/404.1, 455/414.1
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/02 manually operated with input through keyboard and computation using a built-in program, e.g. pocket calculators
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/106 Receiver-side switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5032 Generating service level reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/00 Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD] real-time bi-directional transmission of motion video data H04N7/14 ; broadcast or conference over packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26241 involving the time of distribution, e.g. the best time of the day for inserting an advertisement or airing a children program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26258 for generating a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlist, or scheduling item distribution according to such list retrieval of multimedia data based on playlists G06F16/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6181 : involving transmission via a mobile phone network arrangements for providing broadcast or conference services to substation in data switching networks in combination with wireless systems H04L12/189; wireless uplink channel access H04W74/004
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 : for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 : Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 : with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Alternate digital content is inserted into mobile devices with a method and apparatus that comprises an alternate content scheduler, an alternate content reporter, and a micro-splicer. The alternate content scheduler further comprises a mobile network interface for interaction with a mobile data and broadcast network, a micro-splicer interface for interfacing with a micro-splicer, a rulebook that is shared with the network which provides the rules for alternate content scheduling, a preference provisioning module comprising an alternate content scheduler library for storing user or network preferences, a scheduler for providing tight synchronization between original program content and alternate content, and a metric recording interface to an alternate content reporter. The micro-splicer works in tandem with the alternate content scheduler to render synchronized display of alternate multimedia content on the mobile device.

Claims

1. An apparatus for inserting alternate content into a content stream displayed on a mobile handheld device (HHD) comprising:

a display;

a targeting content library buffer on the mobile HHD for storing targeting information on the mobile HHD, the targeting information including customer preferences, characteristics, and network provisioning preferences;

wherein at least one customer preference, characteristic, or network provisioning preference is stored as a value of a first attribute;

a digital multimedia content buffer on the mobile HHD for storing a plurality of targeted digital multimedia alternate content;

wherein each alternate content of the plurality of targeted digital multimedia alternate content is associated with a plurality of attributes;

wherein the first attribute is included in the plurality of attributes and a second attribute of the plurality of attributes specifies;

a particular channel or group of channels on which to display said each alternate content;

or

a time synchronization option specifying that either absolute or relative timing should be used to synchronize said each alternate content with the content stream;

a scheduler configured to evaluate a set of rules for selecting a particular alternate content of the plurality of digital multimedia alternate content for display on the mobile HHD at a particular time;

wherein the set of rules are evaluated based at least on values of the first attribute and the second attribute of the particular alternate content;

wherein the set of rules is configured to prevent viewer fatigue by limiting a number of times that an alternate content is displayed in a specific time period;

wherein the scheduler monitors on which channel the content stream of the current program is being viewed, and selects the particular alternate content based at least on the channel and the current program;

a rulebook comprising the set of rules received over the network;

a micro-splicer, working in tandem with the scheduler, configured for switching from rendering the current program content stream to rendering the particular alternate content, and when rendering the particular alternate content completes, switching back to rendering the current program stream; and

a mobile network interface for interfacing with the mobile HHD;

wherein the apparatus embedded within the mobile HHD, enables display of the digital multimedia alternate content on the display of the mobile HHD at an appropriate time.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a mobile network comprising any of:

a mobile data network;

a IP network

a wifi network.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said rules for targeted digital multimedia content comprise:

local rules and global rules.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said rulebook comprises a shared rulebook.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a preference provisioning module coupled to the targeting content library buffer for handling preferences that comprises any of:

user of said mobile HHD preferences; and

network provisioning preferences;

pre-stored on the mobile HHD.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said network provisioning preferences comprise any of:

local network preferences; and

global network preferences.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a reporter for recording metrics regarding the stored targeted digital multimedia content.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said stored targeted digital multimedia content comprise any of:

local digital multimedia content; and

global digital multimedia content.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said scheduler comprises means for performing a rotation among the available stored targeted digital multimedia content on the mobile HHD.

10. A method for inserting targeted digital multimedia content to be displayed on a mobile handheld device (HHD), comprising the steps of:

pre-storing on the mobile HHD targeting information including customer preferences, characteristics and network provisioning preferences;

wherein at least one customer preference, characteristic, or network provisioning preference is stored as a value of a first attribute;

selectively receiving the targeted digital multimedia content pushed from a mobile network to a plurality of mobile HHDs using any available delivery mechanism;

storing a plurality of the selectively received targeted digital multimedia content on the mobile HHD;

wherein each alternate content of the plurality of targeted digital multimedia content is associated with a plurality of attributes;

wherein the first attribute is included in the plurality of attributes associated with said each alternate content and a second attribute of the plurality of attributes specifies;

a particular channel or group of channels on which to display said each alternate content;

or

a time synchronization option specifying that either absolute or relative timing should be used to synchronize said each alternate content with the content stream;

evaluating a set of rules for selecting a particular alternate content of the plurality of targeted digital multimedia content for display on the mobile HHD at a particular time;

wherein the set of rules are evaluated based at least on values of the first attribute and the second attribute of the particular alternate content;

wherein the set of rules is configured to prevent viewer fatigue by limiting a number of times that an alternate content is displayed in a specific time period;

monitoring on which channel the content stream of the current program is being viewed, and selecting the particular alternate content based at least on the channel and the current program;

switching from rendering and displaying the current program content stream to rendering and displaying the particular alternate content at the particular time, and when rendering and displaying the particular alternate content completes, switching back to rendering and displaying the current program stream.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said step of pushing the digital multimedia content to be stored on the mobile HHD is performed based upon preferences pre-stored on the mobile HHD.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said preferences comprise any of:

preferences of the user of the mobile HHD; and

network preferences.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of:

providing said user preferences with a user interface.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein said any available delivery mechanism comprises any of:

HTTP;

WAP; and

SMS.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein said step of selectively receiving comprises the step of:

selectively receiving by said mobile HHD based on said pre-stored mobile HHD targeting information of customer preferences, characteristics and network provisioning preferences on said mobile HHD.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein said step of selectively receiving comprises the step of:

receiving from an IP or mobile data network.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein said preferences comprise any of:

preferences of the user of the mobile HHD; and

network preferences.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of:

providing said mobile HHD with a user interface for the preferences of the user.

19. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of:

rotating among the pre-stored targeted digital multimedia content.