公开(公告)号：US12058407B2

公开(公告)日：2024-08-06

申请号：US18148908

申请日：2022-12-30

Applicant: SLING TV L.L.C.

Inventor： Robert Drew Major

IPC: H04N7/10 ,  H04N21/24 ,  H04N21/41 ,  H04N21/422 ,  H04N21/439 ,  H04N21/442 ,  H04N21/462 ,  H04N21/4722 ,  H04N21/478 ,  H04N21/81

CPC classification number: H04N21/4394 ,  H04N21/2407 ,  H04N21/41265 ,  H04N21/42209 ,  H04N21/42224 ,  H04N21/44222 ,  H04N21/4622 ,  H04N21/4722 ,  H04N21/47815 ,  H04N21/812 ,  H04N21/8173

Abstract: Viewing of advertisements in broadcast television programming is electronically monitored using network communications to determine viewership of programming that is promoted in the ads. This correlation is enabled through a distributed information system that permits digital identification of ads in programming, as well as distributed tracking of ad and program viewership. Through automated gathering of viewership information and distributed data processing, advertising effectiveness can be very accurately tracked.

公开(公告)号：US11974024B2

公开(公告)日：2024-04-30

申请号：US17447138

申请日：2021-09-08

Applicant: Sling TV L.L.C.

Inventor： Robert Drew Major

IPC: H04N21/81 ,  H04N21/258 ,  H04N21/4147 ,  H04N21/44 ,  H04N21/488 ,  H04N21/845

CPC classification number: H04N21/812 ,  H04N21/25883 ,  H04N21/4147 ,  H04N21/44008 ,  H04N21/4882 ,  H04N21/8456

Abstract: Systems, devices and processes are provided to facilitate video streaming. The various embodiments facilitate the detection of program promotions in a video stream, where program promotions include commercial content that advertises future programs. In general, the embodiments facilitate the detection of program promotions in a video stream through the use of automated process monitors the video stream and determines that a content block is a program promotion when that content block meets a defined set of criteria. This set of criteria can include criteria such as time adjacency, timespan, audio, video and textual factors, and when the content was previously first detected. In such embodiments the ability to detect program promotions using the set of criteria facilitates the replacement of these program promotions with other, potentially more valuable, content.

公开(公告)号：US20230409635A1

公开(公告)日：2023-12-21

申请号：US17827211

申请日：2022-05-27

Applicant: Sling TV L.L.C.

Inventor： Eric Dyoniziak ,  Robert Drew Major

IPC: G06F16/783 ,  H04N21/235 ,  H04N21/266 ,  H04N21/81

CPC classification number: G06F16/7847 ,  H04N21/812 ,  H04N21/26603 ,  H04N21/235

Abstract: The present invention recognizes media content using signatures generated by network devices with limited processing power. A signature comprises a first set of frequency-amplitude pairs associated with a first piece of content. The signature is compared with stored signatures corresponding to known content. Each of the stored signatures comprises a stored set of frequency-amplitude pairs. The first piece of content is identified as being or including known content in response to the first signature matching a stored signature.

公开(公告)号：US20250063218A1

公开(公告)日：2025-02-20

申请号：US18935307

申请日：2024-11-01

Applicant: Sling TV L.L.C.

Inventor： Robert Drew Major

IPC: H04N21/262 ,  G06Q30/0272 ,  H04H60/37 ,  H04N21/234

Abstract: Systems, devices, and automated processes are described to automatically replace digital advertisements, for example swapping wasted ad slots in a media program. Systems and automated processes may provide identifiers describing advertisements to a playback device, receive an identifier from the playback device indicating an encountered advertisement, determine saturation of the playback device based on the received identifier, replace the identified advertisement. Replacing the identified advertisement may include identifying an advertiser corresponding to the identified advertisement, identifying a different advertiser and a replacement advertisement corresponding to the different advertiser, and transmitting an identifier for the replacement advertisement to the playback device.

公开(公告)号：US12170798B2

公开(公告)日：2024-12-17

申请号：US18416435

申请日：2024-01-18

Applicant: Sling TV L.L.C.

Inventor： Robert Drew Major ,  Leo Davis ,  Howard Davis

IPC: H04N21/239 ,  H04N21/231 ,  H04N21/274

Abstract: A remote storage digital video recorder (RSDVR) retains multiple copies of media programs so long as the copies are expected to be useful to at least one user. Rather than assigning copies to specific users at the time the program is recorded, copies can be assigned as the users request access to the particular media programs. Copies of unassigned programs can be deleted according to a schedule to reduce disk storage and processing demands on the system. A pool of program copies that are not initially assigned to particular users can be maintained until the user makes a specific request to view the program. This “late assignment” of program copies can substantially reduce the amount of data stored by the RSDVR system without substantially impacting the viewer experience.

公开(公告)号：US11979624B1

公开(公告)日：2024-05-07

申请号：US18062499

申请日：2022-12-06

Applicant: SLING TV L.L.C.

Inventor： Robert Drew Major

IPC: H04N21/262 ,  H04N21/234 ,  H04N21/81 ,  H04N21/845

CPC classification number: H04N21/262 ,  H04N21/23424 ,  H04N21/812 ,  H04N21/8455

Abstract: Content is received from a content origin and includes a first I frame occurring in the content at an actual start time of an ad segment. The content includes an ad marker comprising an indicated start time of an available segment, and the actual start time is within a predetermined period of the indicated start time. The ad marker is updated to set the indicated start time equal to the actual start time. The predetermined period may be within 0.5 seconds of the indicated start time. A second I frame may be detected in the content, and a signature may be generated for content at the time of the first I frame. The first I frame corresponds to the actual start time in response to the first I frame occurring before the second I frame and in response to the signature matching a signature of a known ad.

公开(公告)号：US20230388562A1

公开(公告)日：2023-11-30

申请号：US17827237

申请日：2022-05-27

Applicant: Sling TV L.L.C.

Inventor： Eric Dyoniziak ,  Robert Drew Major

IPC: H04N21/233 ,  H04N21/81

CPC classification number: H04N21/233 ,  H04N21/812

Abstract: The present invention recognizes media content using signatures generated by network devices with limited processing power. An audio signal is prepared for application of a discrete Fourier transform (DFT). Outputs from the DFT include real components and imaginary components that are used to calculate output magnitudes associated with frequency bins. The frequency-amplitude pairs include the output magnitudes and the associated frequency bins. A signature of the audio signal is generated by selecting a predetermined number of frequency-amplitude pairs having dominant output magnitudes. The network devices that generate the signatures may transmit the signatures to a server for analysis. The server may trigger actions in response to detecting known content based on the received signatures matching known signatures.