U.S. patent application number 11/555494 was filed with the patent office on 2007-10-18 for customer premises equipment based advertisement insertion mechanism for internet protocol based networks.
This patent application is currently assigned to ALCATEL. Invention is credited to TIM BARRETT, GINO DION, SEAN GORDON HIGGINS, ALISTAIR PARKER.
Application Number | 20070240602 11/555494 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38603618 |
Filed Date | 2007-10-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070240602 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
DION; GINO ; et al. |
October 18, 2007 |
CUSTOMER PREMISES EQUIPMENT BASED ADVERTISEMENT INSERTION MECHANISM
FOR INTERNET PROTOCOL BASED NETWORKS
Abstract
A system, method, and computer readable medium for a customer
premises equipment based advertisement insertion mechanism for
Internet Protocol based networks, comprises, storing advertisements
in a customer premises equipment, detecting an advertisement
insertion signal in a data stream, and multiplexing the stored
advertisements into the data stream upon the detecting of the
advertisement insertion signal.
Inventors: |
DION; GINO; (EMBRUN, CA)
; HIGGINS; SEAN GORDON; (SAINT JOHN, CA) ; PARKER;
ALISTAIR; (EDMONTON, CA) ; BARRETT; TIM;
(KANATA, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ALCATEL LUCENT;INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & STANDARDS
3400 W. PLANO PARKWAY, MS LEGL2
PLANO
TX
75075
US
|
Assignee: |
ALCATEL
Paris
FR
|
Family ID: |
38603618 |
Appl. No.: |
11/555494 |
Filed: |
November 1, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60744698 |
Apr 12, 2006 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
104/89 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/6543 20130101;
H04L 65/604 20130101; H04N 21/4755 20130101; H04N 21/4532 20130101;
H04N 21/44016 20130101; H04N 21/812 20130101; H04L 67/306 20130101;
H04N 21/44213 20130101; H04N 21/23424 20130101; H04N 21/6582
20130101; G06Q 30/02 20130101; H04N 21/643 20130101; H04L 65/607
20130101; H04N 21/4331 20130101; H04N 21/4335 20130101; H04L
65/1059 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
104/89 |
International
Class: |
B61B 3/00 20060101
B61B003/00 |
Claims
1. A method for a customer premises equipment based advertisement
insertion mechanism for Internet protocol based networks,
comprising: storing advertisements in a customer premises
equipment; detecting an advertisement insertion signal in a data
stream; and multiplexing the stored advertisements into the data
stream upon the detecting of the advertisement insertion
signal.
2. The method of claim 1 comprising: recording a user viewing
habit.
3. The method of claim 2 comprising: profiling the user based upon
the recorded user viewing habit.
4. The method of claim 3 comprising: storing the user profile.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein uploading the advertisement to the
customer premises equipment based upon the user profile.
6. The method of claim 3 comprising: requesting the advertisement
based upon the user profile.
7. The method of claim 1 comprising: determining the advertisement
viewership.
8. The method of claim 1 comprising: detecting a channel change
during the advertisement multiplexing.
9. The method of claim 1 comprising: scheduling the advertisement
multiplexing based upon data stream.
10. The method of claim 1 comprising: scheduling the advertisement
multiplexing based upon a time of viewing.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein: the advertisement insertion
signal is based upon SCTE 35 protocols.
12. A computer readable medium comprising instructions for:
recording a user viewing habit in a customer premises equipment;
profiling the user based upon the recorded user viewing habit;
matching the user profile to an advertisement; and uploading the
advertisement to the customer premises equipment based upon the
user profile.
13. The computer readable medium of claim 12 comprising: storing
the user profile.
14. The computer readable medium of claim 12 comprising: sending a
set of user preferences from the set top box to a broadband
network.
15. The computer readable medium of claim 12 comprising: requesting
the advertisement based upon the user profile.
16. The computer readable medium of claim 12 comprising: scheduling
the advertisement uploads.
17. A system of customer premises equipment based advertisement
insertion mechanism for Internet protocol based networks,
comprising: a memory that receives an advertisement; and a
processor communicably coupled to the memory, wherein the
processor: records a user viewing habit in a customer premises
equipment; profiles the user based upon the recorded user viewing
habit; uploads a superset of advertisements to a plurality of
customer premises equipment; detects an advertisement insertion
signal in a data stream; and multiplexes the uploaded advertisement
into the data stream upon detection of the advertisement insertion
signal based upon the user profile.
18. The system of claim 17 wherein the upload of the superset of
advertisements occurs at a pre-determined time.
19. The system of claim 17 wherein the processor deletes the
superset of advertisements occurs at a pre-determined time.
20. The system of claim 17 wherein the processor decrypts the data
stream.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present patent application is related to and claims the
benefit and priority of provisional patent application No.
60/744,698, filed on Apr. 12, 2006, entitled CUSTOMER PREMISES
EQUIPMENT (CPE) BASED AD-INSERTION MECHANISM FOR IP DELIVERY BASED
NETWORKS, the entire contents of which are incorporated by
reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is generally related to Internet
Protocol Television (IPTV) advertisement distribution and, more
specifically to Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) based
advertisement insertion mechanism for Internet Protocol based
networks.
[0003] Traditional advertisement insertion based solutions rely on
a communication device that is part of the MPEG broadcast delivery
network. Directed advertisement injection at the network level is
not practical for IP based video delivery systems.
[0004] Currently, various IPTV based system advertisement solutions
include the use of specialized servers, which dramatically
complicate the video delivery solution. The result being that the
service flow is not longer linear, and has no single point where an
advertisement insertion device can be utilized. The use of
traditional advertisement insertion devices in this environment is
complex and inflexible.
[0005] Therefore, what is needed is a method, computer readable
medium and system for directed advertisement insertion mechanism
for Internet Protocol delivery based networks utilizing local
storage for specific user profile targeting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention provides a mechanism by which an
advertisement, commonly referred to as an ad or commercial, can be
injected into an Internet Protocol (IP) based broadcast video
delivery system. By using the Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) or
Set Top Box (STB), the advertisements can be uploaded and stored in
advance, and multiplexed by the CPE/STB at play time. This provides
a scalable method by which the advertisements can be tailored to
the profile of the viewer. Currently there are no known
advertisement insertion mechanisms, over an IP-based network, that
rely on the CPE/STB to perform this function in real-time, (that is
not only before or after a broadcast, but while a broadcast is
playing), using standard Ad-splicing signaling mechanisms.
[0007] In the present invention there is no need for specialized
advertisement insertion devices/servers/equipment, no need to
modify the IP network and network flows to accommodate
advertisement insertion and no need to perform any type of Digital
Rights Management (DRM) decryption, or server based manipulation of
the video stream. The present invention provides the ability to
provide much more specifically targeted advertisement insertions
based on user profiles, demographics, time of day, etc.
[0008] In the present invention the CPE/STB will have local storage
such as a hard drive or other non-volatile memory, it will trigger
using the traditional SCTE 35 or equivalent signaling in order to
perform the insertion and the STB will multiplex the locally stored
advertisement to the existing video stream. SCTE 35 is a digital
program insertion cueing message, which supports splicing of Moving
Pictures Expert Group (MPEG-2) streams for digital program
insertion such as advertisement insertion.
[0009] The present invention decrypts the MPEG video stream (video
channel), and waits for an SCTE 35 signal, which is an
international standard for advertisement insertion mechanisms for
broadcast MPEG video delivery. Upon such signal, it then
manipulates the original MPEG video stream, by injecting the
advertisement in place of the default advertisement. The present
invention uploads (pushes) the relevant advertisement, in advance,
directly to the end-user CPE/STB. Relying on the CPE to perform the
manipulation of the MPEG stream, to perform the insertion,
multiplexing, of the advertisement.
[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for CPE
based advertisement insertion mechanism for internet protocol based
networks, comprises, storing advertisements in a CPE, detecting an
advertisement insertion signal in a data stream, and multiplexing
the stored advertisement into the data stream upon detection of the
advertising insertion signal. The method may also comprise
recording a user viewing habit, profiling the user based upon the
recorded user viewing habit, storing the user profile and uploading
the advertisement to the CPE based upon the user profile. The
method may additionally comprise requesting the advertisement based
upon the user profile, determining the advertisement viewership and
detecting a channel change during the advertisement multiplexing.
The method may comprise scheduling the advertisement multiplexing
based upon data stream and scheduling the advertisement
multiplexing based upon a time of viewing where the advertisement
insertion signal is based upon SCTE 35 protocols.
[0011] In a further embodiment of the present invention, a computer
readable medium comprises instructions for, recording a user
viewing habit in a CPE, profiling the user based upon the recorded
user viewing habit, matching the user profile to an advertisement,
and uploading the advertisement to the CPE based upon the user
profile. The computer readable medium may comprise storing the user
profile, sending a set of user preferences from the set top box to
a broadband network, requesting the advertisement based upon the
user profile and scheduling the advertisement uploads.
[0012] In a further embodiment of the present invention, a superset
of advertisements is broadcast to a profiled CPE device. The
viewing habits of the household may determine which superset of
advertisements the household receives, and determine which
advertisements are spliced into the broadcast. When advertisement
collections are broadcast, they may be broadcast at a low rate
referred to as a trickle so as not to interfere with existing
services. Additionally, due to the short duration of advertisements
and large storage capacity in CPE devices, storage of a large
number of advertisements is possible. In this embodiment, the
advertisements stored on the devices would be periodically updated,
deleted and refreshed.
[0013] In yet a further embodiment, a system of CPE based
advertisement insertion mechanism for internet protocol based
networks comprises, a memory that receives a superset of
advertisements, and a processor communicably coupled to the memory,
wherein the processor, records a user viewing habit in a CPE,
profiles the user based upon the recorded user viewing habit,
uploads the superset of advertisements to a plurality of CPE's,
detects an advertisement insertion signal in a data stream, and
multiplexes the uploaded advertisement into the data stream upon
detection of the advertising insertion signal based upon the user
profile. The system processor may upload the superset of
advertisements at a pre-determined time, delete the superset of
advertisements at a pre-determined time and decrypt the data
stream.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates a first system of CPE based advertisement
insertion mechanism that includes an embodiment of the present
invention as a portion thereof;
[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates a first method flow diagram listing the
method steps of the method of operation of an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates a second method flow diagram listing the
method steps of the method of operation of an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates a first software flow diagram of mass
call defense in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 5 illustrates a second software flow diagram of mass
call defense in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0019] FIG. 6 illustrates a second system of CPE based
advertisement insertion mechanism for internet protocol based
networks in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0020] FIG. 7 illustrates a third system of CPE based advertisement
insertion mechanism for internet protocol based networks in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] Referring now to FIG. 1, a first system of CPE based
advertisement insertion mechanism for internet protocol based
networks 110 is depicted and comprises a number of blocks or
modules that are software, hardware, or firmware, and/or the
combination of software, hardware, and/or firmware. The general
flow is the client tunes to video 112, video is forwarded in either
a multicast or unicast state 114, video is sent to TV 116, the
viewing habits of the viewer are recorded 118 and profiled. The
receiver then requests advertisements bases on the profile 120. The
distributor matches the client profile with advertisements 122, the
distributor schedules the advertisements 124 and the sender loads
the advertisements 126, followed by the sender sending the ads 128.
The receiver receives the ads 130 and stores the ads locally 132.
The broadcaster signals the start of a commercial 134, the video is
played with default ads if none are stored locally 136, otherwise
ads are multiplexed into the data stream the video is forwarded 138
with the local ad inserted, the video is switched 140 to the local
ad so that the play is transparent and the ad ends when the
broadcaster signals 142 the end of the ad.
[0022] Referring now to FIG. 2, a first method of CPE based
advertisement insertion mechanism for internet protocol based
networks 210 is depicted and comprises a number of blocks or
modules that are software, hardware, or firmware, and/or the
combination of software, hardware, and/or firmware. A method for
CPE based advertisement insertion mechanism for IP based networks,
comprises, storing 212 advertisements in a CPE, detecting 214 an
advertisement insertion signal in a data stream, and multiplexing
216 the stored advertisement into the data stream upon detection of
the advertising insertion signal. The transfer of information
between the modules occurs via at least one of: a wireless
protocol, a wired protocol and a combination of the wireless
protocol and the wired protocol.
[0023] Referring now to FIG. 3, a second method of CPE based
advertisement insertion mechanism for internet protocol based
networks 310 is depicted and comprises a number of blocks or
modules that are software, hardware, or firmware, and/or the
combination of software, hardware, and/or firmware. A method for
CPE based advertisement insertion mechanism for Internet protocol
based networks, comprises, storing 312 advertisements in a CPE,
detecting 314 an advertisement insertion signal in a data stream,
and multiplexing 316 the stored advertisement into the data stream
upon detection of the advertising insertion signal. The method may
also comprise recording 318 a user viewing habit, profiling 320 the
user based upon the recorded user viewing habit, storing 322 the
user profile and uploading 324 the advertisement to the CPE based
upon the user profile. The method may additionally comprise
requesting 326 the advertisement based upon the user profile,
determining 328 the advertisement viewership and detecting 330 a
channel change during the advertisement multiplexing. The method
may comprise scheduling 332 the advertisement multiplexing based
upon data stream and scheduling 334 the advertisement multiplexing
based upon a time of viewing where the advertisement insertion
signal is based upon SCTE 35 protocols. The transfer of information
between the modules occurs via at least one of: a wireless
protocol, a wired protocol and a combination of the wireless
protocol and the wired protocol.
[0024] Referring now to FIG. 4, a first software flow block 410 of
CPE based advertisement insertion mechanism for Internet protocol
based networks is depicted. A computer readable medium comprises
instructions for, recording 412 a user viewing habit in a CPE,
profiling 414 the user based upon the recorded user viewing habit,
matching 416 the user profile to an advertisement, and uploading
418 the advertisement to the CPE based upon the user profile. This
method is preferably embodied in a computer readable medium or
software but may also be embodied in firmware and is utilized via
hardware. The transfer of information between the repository and
the monitor occurs via at least one of a wireless protocol, a wired
protocol and the combination of the wireless protocol and the wired
protocol. The steps performed in this figure are performed by
software, hardware, firmware, and/or the combination of software,
hardware, and/or firmware.
[0025] Referring now to FIG. 5, a second software flow block 510 of
CPE based advertisement insertion mechanism for Internet protocol
based networks is depicted. A computer readable medium comprises
instructions for, recording 512 a user viewing habit in a CPE,
profiling 514 the user based upon the recorded user viewing habit,
matching 516 the user profile to an advertisement, and uploading
518 the advertisement to the CPE based upon the user profile. The
computer readable medium may comprise storing 520 the user profile,
sending 522 a set of user preferences from the set top box to a
broadband network, requesting 524 the advertisement based upon the
user profile and scheduling 526 the advertisement uploads. This
method is preferably embodied in a computer readable medium or
software but may also be embodied in firmware and is utilized via
hardware. The transfer of information between the repository and
the monitor occurs via at least one of a wireless protocol, a wired
protocol and the combination of the wireless protocol and the wired
protocol. The steps performed in this figure are performed by
software, hardware, firmware, and/or the combination of software,
hardware, and/or firmware.
[0026] Referring now to FIG. 6, a first system 610 of CPE based
advertisement insertion mechanism for Internet protocol based
networks is depicted. A system of CPE based advertisement insertion
mechanism for Internet protocol based networks, comprises, a memory
612 that receives 614 a superset of advertisements, and a processor
616 communicably coupled 618 to the memory. The processor, records
620 a user viewing habit in a CPE, profiles 622 the user based upon
the recorded user viewing habit, uploads 624 the superset of
advertisements to a plurality of CPE's, detects 626 an
advertisement insertion signal in a data stream, and multiplexes
628 the uploaded advertisement into the data stream upon detection
of the advertising insertion signal based upon the user profile.
The superset of advertisements is broadcast to a profiled CPE
device. The viewing habits of the household may determine which
superset of advertisements the household receives, and determine
which advertisements are spliced into the broadcast. When
advertisement collections are broadcast, they may be broadcast at a
low rate referred to as a trickle so as not to interfere with
existing services. Additionally, due to the short duration of
advertisements and large storage capacity in CPE devices, storage
of a large number of advertisements is possible. In this
embodiment, the advertisements stored on the devices would be
periodically updated, deleted and refreshed. The transfer of
information between the processor and the memory occurs via at
least one of a wireless protocol, a wired protocol and a
combination of a wireless protocol and a wired protocol. The steps
performed in this figure are performed by software, hardware,
firmware, and/or the combination of software, hardware, and/or
firmware.
[0027] Referring now to FIG. 7, a second system 710 of CPE based
advertisement insertion mechanism for internet protocol based
networks is depicted. A system of CPE based advertisement insertion
mechanism for Internet protocol based networks, comprises, a memory
712 that receives 714 a superset of advertisements, and a processor
716 communicably coupled 718 to the memory. The processor, records
720 a user viewing habit in a CPE, profiles 722 the user based upon
the recorded user viewing habit, uploads 724 the superset of
advertisements to a plurality of CPE's, detects 726 an
advertisement insertion signal in a data stream, and multiplexes
728 the uploaded advertisement into the data stream upon detection
of the advertising insertion signal based upon the user profile.
The system processor may upload 730 the superset of advertisements
occurs at a pre-determined time, delete 732 the superset of
advertisements at a predetermined time and decrypt 734 the data
stream. The superset of advertisements is broadcast to a profiled
CPE device. The viewing habits of the household may determine which
superset of advertisements the household receives, and determine
which advertisements are spliced into the broadcast. When
advertisement collections are broadcast, they may be broadcast at a
low rate referred to as a trickle so as not to interfere with
existing services. Additionally, due to the short duration of
advertisements and large storage capacity in CPE devices, storage
of a large number of advertisements is possible. In this
embodiment, the advertisements stored on the devices would be
periodically updated, deleted and refreshed. The transfer of
information between the processor and the memory occurs via at
least one of a wireless protocol, a wired protocol and a
combination of a wireless protocol and a wired protocol. The steps
performed in this figure are performed by software, hardware,
firmware, and/or the combination of software, hardware, and/or
firmware.
[0028] Although an exemplary embodiment of the system of the
present invention has been illustrated in the accompanied drawings
and described in the foregoing detailed description, it will be
understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments
disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements,
modifications, and substitutions without departing from the spirit
of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims.
For example, the capabilities of the invention can be performed
fully and/or partially by one or more of the processors or
memories. Also, these capabilities may be performed in the current
manner or in a distributed manner and on, or via, any device able
to provide and/or receive information. Further, although depicted
in a particular manner, various modules or blocks may be
repositioned without departing from the scope of the current
invention. Still further, although depicted in a particular manner,
a greater or lesser number of modules and connections can be
utilized with the present invention in order to accomplish the
present invention, to provide additional known features to the
present invention, and/or to make the present invention more
efficient. Also, the information sent between various modules can
be sent between the modules via at least one of a data network, the
Internet, an Internet Protocol network, a wireless source, and a
wired source and via plurality of protocols.
* * * * *