EP0161512B1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Program identification system
Assignee: TNC US Holdings Inc
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Filing: 1985-04-16
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Granted: 1989-07-19
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Expires: 2005-04-16
Abstract
Abstract A system for identifying signals such as signals representative of television programs received from various sources detects the occurrence of predetermined events such as scene changes in the video signal and extracts a signature from the signal. The signatures and the times of occurrence of the signature are stored and subsequently compared with reference signatures to identify the signal. The signature may be compared in pairs to increase resolution, and the time interval between events or signatures may also be used to identify the signal, either by themselves or in conjunction with the signatures.
Inventors
- 👤 David A. Kiewit
- 👤 Daozheng Lu
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 20:32
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06V; G06V20/00; G06V20/40; G11; G11B; G11B27/00; G11B27/10; G11B27/19; G11B27/28; H; H04; H04H; H04H60/00; H04H60/35; H04H60/37; H04H60/56; H04H60/59; G11B2220/00; G11B2220/90
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
125 words
A system for recording information relating to television subscribers' viewing habits by identifying viewed programme material selected from a plurality of available viewing modes, each mode being associated with the status of the television receiver and its associated video recorder, in which system viewed programmes are identified by extracting predetermined characteristics from the viewed programme material and recording for analysis the said predetermined characteristics, characterized by means (26) for detecting a first predetermined event (Event 1) relating to the selected viewing mode, means (26) for detecting a second predetermined event (Event 2) in the viewed programme material, and means (28) for extracting at least one predetermined characteristic of the viewed programme material after the occurrence of a predetermined number of said first and second events.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
125 words
A system for recording information relating to television subscribers' viewing habits by identifying viewed programme material selected from a plurality of available viewing modes, each mode being associated with the status of the television receiver and its associated video recorder, in which system viewed programmes are identified by extracting predetermined characteristics from the viewed programme material and recording for analysis the said predetermined characteristics, characterized by means (26) for detecting a first predetermined event (Event 1) relating to the selected viewing mode, means (26) for detecting a second predetermined event (Event 2) in the viewed programme material, and means (28) for extracting at least one predetermined characteristic of the viewed programme material after the occurrence of a predetermined number of said first and second events.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
39 words
The system recited in claim 1 wherein said program material is that of a television video signal and said second event detecting means (26) includes means for detecting a scene change from one video scene to another video scene.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system recited in claim 2 wherein said television signal is received by a television signal receiver (12), and wherein said first event detecting means (26) includes means for detecting the turn-on of the television signal receiver.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
43 words
The system recited in claim 2 wherein said television signal is received by a television signal receiver (12), and wherein said first event detecting means (26) includes means for detecting a change in the channel to which the television signal receiver is tuned.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
38 words
The system recited in claim 1 wherein said program material is that of a television video signal and said first event detecting means (26) includes means for detecting a change from a video scene to a black scene.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
35 words
The system recited in claim 1 wherein said first event detecting means (26) includes means for detecting the elapse of a predetermined length of time after the occurrence of the previous first event (Event 1
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system recited in claim 6 wherein said first event detecting means (26) includes means for setting the predetermined length of time to approximately 5 to 10 minutes.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
64 words
The system recited in claim 1 wherein said extracting means (28) includes means for extracting said predetermined characteristic upon the third occurrence of the second event (Event 2) following the occurrence of the first event (Event 1), and wherein the predetermined characteristic is the time interval between the second event and the immediately preceding second event that was not followed by a first event.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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