Verance Corporation

Other

Aris Technologies, Inc.

Verance Corproation

Joseph M Winograd

Rade Petrovic

Jian Zhao

Babak B Tehranchi

Kanaan Jemili

Dean Anthony Angelico

Douglas Wong

Eric Metois

Patrick George Downes

Peter Russell Johnson

William Carl Houle

Dean-Anthony Angelico

Michael George Kiefer

Julia Ann Kenyon

Method, devices, systems and computer program products are described that improve speed and accuracy of watermark detection from multimedia content, and allow faster and better content recognition. One technique for improving detection of boundaries of an embedded multimedia content segment includes detecting a synchronization header and a full watermark from the multimedia content, constructing a predicted watermark segment that is positioned at a predicted distance from the synchronization header, and comparing the group of candidate watermark symbols obtained from the multimedia content to the first predicted watermark segment to obtain a match. The disclosed techniques enable extraction of watermarks from short content segments, and can utilize a shortened payload design to establish media time during content usage.

Watermark based content recognition improvements

A watermark-based dynamic ad insertion (DAI) technique for presenting different users of content different advertisements based on the user's profile for content viewed on broadcast channels or in multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) channels. A number of solutions issues with watermark-based DAI are presented. Interoperability is addressed by providing a multiplexing technique so that the DAI watermarks do not interfere with other watermarks, such as ATSC 3.0 watermarks. Reliability is addressed by providing a matched filtering technique. Security is addressed by providing a mutual authentication technique.

Watermark-based dynamic ad insertion

Content screening operations, which can include watermark extraction and the application of content usage enforcement actions, may be organized such that some or all of the operations can be conducted by different devices that are connected via connectors such as HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), analog composite video, DVI (Digital Visual Interface), SDI (Serial Digital Interface), DisplayPort, or networked via Ethernet or wireless. Authentication and encryption methods are disclosed that can be used to establish the trust and secure communication between devices that conduct collaborative content screening. Delegation architecture may be based on ascertained screening capabilities of the sink device wherein the source device verifies that the sink device is capable and trusted to perform partial or whole screening operations delegated by the source. Alternatively, delegation architecture may be based on ascertained screening capabilities of the source device wherein the sink device verifies that the source device is capable and trusted to provide correct content credential and content use policy ('content credential') that is needed for the sink device to determine whether content screening should be performed, and if yes, what content screening operations should be performed.

Device authentication in collaborative content screening

The disclosed technology relates to methods, devices, systems and computer program products that facilitate access to metadata associated with a content. In one example, a method is described that includes receiving a multimedia content at a receiver device, extracting a watermark message from a first segment of the multimedia content, using at least a portion of the first watermark message to obtain additional information regarding the first segment of the multimedia content that includes the first watermark message, and associating and storing one or more values of the first watermark message and the additional information. The method further includes repeating the above operations to extract additional watermark messages from additional segments of the content and to form a table or array of items that can be accessed by specifying the one or more values of the first watermark message or one or more values of the additional watermark messages.

System and method for signaling security and database population

The disclosed embodiments relate to media devices implementing new television standards, such as ATSC 3.0, which includes audio/video essence and metadata/signaling. The disclosed embodiments include techniques for creating a signaling file that contains metadata and signaling data about the broadcast service being presented. The signaling file may include URLs that can be used to access signaling information for supplementary signaling and content. The signaling also contains a mapping between a first timing system and a second timing system. The first timing system may comprise the watermark timeline represented in interval s and the second timing system may comprise a DASH presentation time.

Watermark-based metadata acquisition and processing

Methods, devices, systems and computer program products facilitate accessing metadata associated with a primary audio visual content. Upon reception of a primary content, one or more watermark messages are extracted from the primary content obtain a server code and an interval code. A query to a metadata server is initiated based on the information obtained from the extracted watermark messages. In response to the query, service recovery information is received that includes information identifying one or more timed events, where each timed event identifies an operation to be performed at a corresponding instance in time as the primary content is being presented by the receiver device. One or more operations identified the timed events are initiated at the corresponding instance(s) in time.

Service signaling recovery for multimedia content using embedded watermarks

Methods, devices and computer program products are described that improve acquisition of metadata that is associates with a multimedia content, such an audio or video content. In one exemplary method, the multimedia content is received at a first device that is equipped with a watermark detector and watermark extraction operations are conducted to detect a plurality of watermark messages. Each watermark message includes a server code and an interval code. In this method, a server Internet Protocol (IP) address is obtained that corresponds to a server that stores at least a portion of the metadata associated with the multimedia content. The IP address corresponds to at least one of the server codes detected from the plurality of watermark messages. According to the above method, the metadata is requested from the server having the server IP address, and a response including the metadata associated with the multimedia content is received.

Metadata acquisition using embedded watermarks

Methods and devices are provided to facilitate acquisition of information associated with a multimedia content through embedded watermarks. One such method includes obtaining a server code for embedding into a content. The server code identifies a particular domain name registered to a registrant entity and provides a mapping to an Internet address of a metadata server. Upon receiving an indication that a trigger event is associated with a particular segment of the content, a first watermark payload is formed and embedded in the content. The watermark payload includes the server code, an interval code and a first trigger value. The interval code identifies the particular content segment and the first trigger value indicates that additional information associated with the particular segment is. Detection of the first trigger value from a subsequently distributed content enables a query to the metadata server for acquisition of metadata.

Interactive content acquisition using embedded codes

The disclosed embodiments relate to methods, devices and computer program products that enable watermark-based metadata recovery for content with multiple alternative components. The content can, for example, be included in broadcast television services which include multiple alternative audio and video components, only a subset of which may be presented by a given receiver at a given time. The disclosed techniques, among other features, enable broadcasters to deliver different services to different customers by using different watermarks into the feeds they provide to multichannel video program distributors (MVPDs). For instance, coincident audio and video components are embedded with different watermark payloads.

Watermark-based data recovery for content with multiple alternative components

Methods, devices and computer program products allow embedding and detection of watermarks into and from a multimedia content. One watermark embedding method includes selecting a content segment that lacks inherent features for embedding of watermarks without producing perceptible artifacts, and obtaining a first dither pattern corresponding to a first watermark symbol of a watermark symbol alphabet, where each symbol is associated with a particular dither pattern. Further, each particular dither pattern, upon combination with the multimedia content segment that lacks inherent features, produces a composite content segment without perceptible artifacts. By combining the first dither pattern with the multimedia content segment that lacks inherent features, a first composite content segment with the first embedded watermark symbol is produced. The detection of watermarks messages can be carried out quickly by examining a small portions of the multimedia because even the featureless content segments include embedded watermarks.

Content management based on dither-like watermark embedding

Methods, devices and computer program products allow improved synchronization among multiple contents. One disclosed method includes receiving a first and a second content and performing watermark extraction to recover a first timecode as part of a watermark embedded into a segment of that content. The first timecode conforms to a first type of timing system. Next, a timing system associated with the second content is determined, and a mapping is obtained that allows timecode conversion between the first and the second timing systems. Using the mapping to synchronize the presentation of the second content with that of the first content. Thus synchronization of multiple contents is properly maintained even when processing operations such as format conversion and transcoding cause metadata streams that carry timing information to be removed.

Content synchronization using watermark timecodes

The disclosed embodiments relate to automatic content recognition and recovery of metadata associated with multimedia content. Embodiments include the use of audio watermarks, video watermarks or both to recover metadata. Embodiments also describe improved video watermark embedding techniques including quantization-based video watermarking in the spatial domain and quantization-based video watermarking in frequency domain, as well as improved video watermark detection techniques based on multiple video frames. Embodiments also include improvements to payload structure and improvements to payload recovery.

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

Joseph M Winograd