Methods and apparatus for optimizing station reference fingerprint loading using reference watermarks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10868620-B2
Application number	US-201816232509-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 26, 2018
Priority date	Dec 26, 2018
Publication date	Dec 15, 2020
Grant date	Dec 15, 2020

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed selectively generating and storing hashed reference signatures. An example method disclosed herein determining whether watermark coverage of a first media segment satisfies a dropout constraint, the first media segment corresponding to a first monitoring time interval of a media source feed and, when the watermark coverage of the first media segment does not satisfy the dropout constraint hashing first media signatures associated with the first media segment to generate corresponding first hashed signatures and generating first reference data for the first media segment, the first reference data including the first hashed signatures and the first media signatures. The example method further includes, when the watermark coverage of the first media segment satisfies the dropout constraint, generating second reference data for the first media segment, the second reference data including the first media signatures.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a segment analyzer to determine whether watermark coverage of a first media segment satisfies a dropout constraint, the first media segment corresponding to a first monitoring time interval of a media source feed;
a signature hasher to hash first media signatures associated with the first media segment to generate corresponding first hashed signatures, the signature hasher to hash the first media signatures to generate the first hashed signatures when the watermark coverage of the first media segment does not satisfy the dropout constraint but not when the watermark coverage of the first media segment does satisfy the dropout constraint; and
a reference storer to:
generate first reference data for the first media segment when the watermark coverage of the first media segment does not satisfy the dropout constraint, the first reference data including the first hashed signatures and the first media signatures; and
generate second reference data for the first media segment when the watermark coverage of the first media segment does satisfy the dropout constraint, the second reference data including the first media signatures but not including the first hashed signatures.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the segment analyzer is further to determine whether the watermark coverage of a second media segment satisfies the dropout constraint; and
when the watermark coverage of the second media segment does not satisfy the dropout constraint:
the signature hasher is further to hash second media signatures associated with the second media segment to generate corresponding second hashed signatures; and
the reference storer is further to generate third reference data for the second media segment, the third reference data including the second hashed signatures and the second media signatures; and

when the watermark coverage of the second media segment satisfies the dropout constraint, the reference storer is further to generate fourth reference data for the second media segment, the fourth reference data including the second media signatures.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the reference storer is further to provide at least one of the first reference data, the second reference data, the third reference data or the fourth reference data to a media monitor that is to credit viewership of the media source feed.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the reference storer is to store at least one of the first reference data, the second reference data, the third reference data or the fourth reference data on a cloud service.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , further including a watermark receiver to receive a watermark reference associated with the first media segment, the watermark reference based on a watermark encoded in the first media segment.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the watermark reference is generated by a reference generator, the reference generator to monitor the media source feed.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the dropout constraint corresponds to an amount of watermark coverage associated with the first media segment that allows identification of the first media segment using the watermark reference.

8. A method, comprising:
determining whether watermark coverage of a first media segment satisfies a dropout constraint, the first media segment corresponding to a first monitoring time interval of a media source feed;
hashing first media signatures associated with the first media segment to generate corresponding first hashed signatures when the watermark coverage of the first media segment does not satisfy the dropout constraint but not when the watermark coverage of the first media segment does satisfy the dropout constraint;
when the watermark coverage of the first media segment does not satisfy the dropout constraint,
generating first reference data for the first media segment, the first reference data including the first hashed signatures and the first media signatures; and
when the watermark coverage of the first media segment satisfies the dropout constraint, generating second reference data for the first media segment, the second reference data including the first media signatures but not including the first hashed signatures.

9. The method of claim 8 , further including:
determining whether the watermark coverage of a second media segment satisfies the dropout constraint; and
when the watermark coverage of the second media segment does not satisfy the dropout constraint:
hashing second media signatures associated with the second media segment to generate corresponding second hashed signatures; and
generating third reference data for the second media segment, the third reference data including the second hashed signatures and the second media signatures; and

when the watermark coverage of the second media segment satisfies the dropout constraint, generating fourth reference data for the second media segment, the fourth reference data including the second media signatures.

10. The method of claim 9 , further including providing at least one of the first reference data, the second reference data, the third reference data or the fourth reference data to a media monitor that is to credit viewership of the media source feed.

11. The method of claim 9 , further including storing at least one of the first reference data, the second reference data, the third reference data or the fourth reference data on a cloud service.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the determining of whether the watermark coverage of the first media segment includes determining if a watermark reference associated with the first media segment has been received, the watermark reference based on a watermark encoded in the first media segment.

13. The method of claim 12 , further including obtaining the watermark reference from a reference generator, the reference generator to monitor the media source feed.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the dropout constraint corresponds to an amount of watermark coverage associated with the first media segment that allows identification of the first media segment using the watermark reference.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least:
determine whether watermark coverage of a first media segment satisfies a dropout constraint, the first media segment corresponding to a first monitoring time interval of a media source feed;
hash first media signatures associated with the first media segment to generate corresponding first hashed signatures when the watermark coverage of the first media segment does not satisfy the dropout constraint but not when the watermark coverage of the first media segment does satisfy the dropout constraint;
when the watermark coverage of the first media segment does not satisfy the dropout constraint,
generate first reference data for the first media segment, the first reference data including the first hashed signatures and the first media signatures; and
when the watermark coverage of the first media segment satisfies the dropout constraint, generate second reference data for the first media segment, the second reference data including the first media signatures but not including the first hashed signatures.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions cause the machine further to:
determine whether the watermark coverage of a second media segment satisfies the dropout constraint; and
when the watermark coverage of the second media

Assignees

• Nielsen Co Us Llc

Inventors

• Petro James
• Nelson Dan
• Cross Deborah
• Ranganathan Raghuram

Classifications

• H04N21/4394 Primary

  involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams (arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58) · CPC title

• H04H60/31

  Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services · CPC title

• H04H2201/90

  characterised by the use of signatures · CPC title

• H04N21/44008

  involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream (arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59) · CPC title

• H04H2201/50

  characterised by the use of watermarks · CPC title