Method and system for placing inserts into a broadcast television signal

• US 8,938,751 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2007
• Issued: 01/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jacobs, Mitch C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Goodarzi, Nasser
• Assistant Examiner(s): HONG, MICHAEL HYUN
• Application Number:
  US11/852,915
• Publication Number:
  US 20090070807A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,689 Days
• Field of Search: 725/32, 725/36
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/103 Transmitter-side switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/74 of satellite networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/06 Arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• 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 21/6112 involving terrestrial transmission, e.g. DVB-T
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

A system and method includes a content repository storing insert material therein and a scheduling system assigning an insert material identification to the insert material and generating an insertion schedule having an insertion time corresponding to the insert material identification. The system also includes an automation server in communication with the scheduling system. The automation server receives the insertion schedule, retrieves the insertion material from the content repository, stores the content therein in response to the insertion time, receives a content signal with a trigger and inserts the insert material into the content signal in response to the trigger and the trigger time to form a modified content signal.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

prior to storing insert material, receiving insert material from a provider external to a broadcast system;

storing insert material in a content repository of the broadcast system;

assigning an insert material identification to the insert material;

generating an insertion schedule having an insertion time corresponding to the insert material identification;

communicating the insertion schedule to an automation server of the broadcast system;

retrieving the insert material from the content repository using the automation server based on the insertion schedule prior to the insertion time and storing the insert material in the automation server prior to the insertion time;

communicating a content signal with a trigger;

inserting the insert material from the automation server into the content signal in response to the trigger and the insertion time to form a modified content signal; and

thereafter, broadcasting the modified content signal to a plurality of user devices from the broadcast system.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein receiving insert material comprises receiving insert material at the broadcast system by tape, video disk, satellite transmission, over-the-air transmission or direct feed.

3. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the insert material comprises a commercial or promotional material.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the insertion time corresponds to a trigger time window.

5. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the trigger comprises an SCTE 104 trigger, digital program insertion trigger or a general purpose interface.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the trigger is in a vertical ancillary data portion of the content signal.

7. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the insert material comprises MPEG material content.

8. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein prior to communicating the content signal, receiving the content signal and decoding the content signal.

9. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein decoding the content signal comprises decoding the content signal into an SDI signal.

10. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein communicating the content signal comprises communicating the content signal from the content repository.

11. A method as recited in claim 9 wherein the SDI signal comprises an HD SDI signal.

12. A method as recited in claim 9 further comprising demultiplexing the SDI signal prior to inserting the insert material to form a demultiplexed signal and thereafter converting the demultiplexed signal into a second SDI signal.

13. A method as recited in claim 9 wherein after inserting, encoding the SDI signal into an MPEG signal.

14. A system comprising:

a content repository of a broadcast system storing insert material received from a provider external to the broadcast system;

a scheduling system of the broadcast system assigning an insert material identification to the insert material and generating an insertion schedule having an insertion time corresponding to the insert material identification;

an automation server of the broadcast system in communication with the scheduling system and receiving the insertion schedule, retrieving the insert material from the content repository based on the insertion schedule prior to the insertion time, storing the insert material therein prior to the insertion time, receiving a content signal with a trigger and inserting the insert material from the automation server into the content signal in response to the trigger and the insertion time to form a modified content signal; and

a signal processing system of the broadcasting system broadcasting the modified content signal to a plurality of user devices.

15. A system as recited in claim 14 wherein the insert material comprises a commercial or promotional material.

16. A system as recited in claim 14 wherein the insertion time corresponds to a trigger time window.

17. A system as recited in claim 14 wherein the trigger comprises an SCTE 104 trigger, digital program insertion trigger or a general purpose interface.

18. A system as recited in claim 14 wherein the trigger is in a vertical ancillary data portion of the content signal.

19. A system as recited in claim 14 wherein the insert material comprises MPEG material content.

20. A system as recited in claim 14 further comprising a decoder decoding the content signal into a decode signal.

21. A system as recited in claim 14 wherein the automation server receives the content signal from the content repository.

22. A system as recited in claim 20 wherein the decoded signal comprises an SDI signal.

23. A system as recited in claim 22 further comprising a demultiplexer demultiplexing the SDI signal prior to inserting the insert material to form a demultiplexed signal.

24. A system as recited in claim 23 further comprising an encoder encoding the demultiplexed signal into an MPEG signal.