AU2020226993B2 - Methods and apparatus to identify media - Google Patents

Abstract

METHODS AND APPARATUS TO IDENTIFY MEDIA ABSTRACT A method of monitoring media presented at a plurality of media presentation devices is described. The method comprises: providing a media monitor from an audience measurement entity to a manufacturer of a media presentation device for inclusion of the media monitor in the media presentation device at time of manufacture; and receiving, via a first processor at the audience measurement entity, activation information from the media presentation device after the media presentation device has been purchased, the activation information indicating that a consumer has activated the media monitor associated with the media presentation device. The method also comprises receiving, via a second processor of the audience measurement entity, monitoring information identifying media presented by the media presentation device. 11660899_1

Description

METHODS AND APPARATUS TO IDENTIFY MEDIA RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a divisional application of Australian Patent Application No. 2018282417, filed 20 December 2018, which is a divisional application of Australian Patent Application No. 2016216648 filed 18 August 2016, in turn a divisional application of Australian Patent Application No. 2014250673, filed on 16 October 2014, which is in turn a divisional application of Australian Patent Application No. 2013203683, filed on 11 April 2013, which claims priority from US Patent Application No. 13/671341, filed on 7 November 2012. Australian Patent Application Nos. 2013203683, 2014250673, 2016216648 and 2018282417 and US Patent Application No. 13/671341 are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0001a] This disclosure relates generally to media, and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus to identify media.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Media producers, media providers, advertisers, product manufactures represented in advertisements, and many other entities utilize information about the presentation of media. Such information is often collected through the use of panels comprised of persons (e.g., panelists) who have agreed to have their exposure to media monitored. For example, audio of media may be transmitted with identifying information (e.g., embedded watermarks or codes) that identifies the media. Panelists may be supplied with meters (e.g., portable meters carried and/or worn by the panelists) that collect the audio and extract the identifying information. The information may be transmitted to a collection facility where the results from multiple panelists are combined to generate reports comprising information about media presentation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system constructed in accordance with the techniques of this disclosure for identifying media.

[0004] FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate example lookup tables.

25853729_1

[0005] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the example identification

generator of FIG. 1.

[0006] FIG. 5 is a table illustrating a sequence of example watermarks

inserted in media.

[0007] FIG. 6 is a flowchart representative of example machine

readable instructions that may be executed to implement the example

identification generator of FIG. 1.

[0008] FIG. 7 illustrates example packaging for the media presentation

device of FIG. 1.

[0009] FIG. 8 is a flowchart representative of example machine

readable instructions for enabling monitoring functionality on the media

presentation device of FIG. 1.

[0010] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example processing system that

may execute the example machine readable instructions of FIGS. 6 and/or 8 to

implement the example identification generator of FIGS. 1 and/or 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] Embedding identification information in media (e.g., content,

advertisements, audio, video, movies, commercials, television programs, radio

programs, video games, etc.) is often performed at or on behalf of a media

provider. Such embedding relies on cooperation with media providers.

Obtaining such cooperation may be complicated due to the large number of

media providers across different media platforms (e.g., terrestrial television,

cable television, satellite television, Internet television, Sony PlayStation® video games, Nintendo@ video games, Microsoft video games, movie producers, video on demand, CD's, DVD's, etc.). Furthermore, media providers may be unwilling or unable to cooperate.

[0012] Methods and apparatus described herein embed identification

information in media utilizing a media presentation device that renders the

media for presentation (e.g., a media presentation device at a panelist home).

In some examples, such methods and apparatus rely on little or no cooperation

from media providers. The use of computational resources of the media

providers is, thus, reduced. Furthermore, by embedding identification at the

media presentation device, further information about the audience/the device

and/or applications executing on the device can be included in the embedded

identification information.

[0013] In some disclosed examples, a media presentation device

determines identification information for an application executing on the

media presentation device. For example, the application may be an

application controlling media presentation (e.g., an operation system

component presenting a video game, a cloud video distribution application

(e.g., Netflix@, Hulu@, MLBtv®, etc.), a digital versatile disk (DVD)

decoding application, a Flash program, etc.). The media presentation device

determines an identifier for the application by consulting a lookup table. The

media presentation device inserts the identifier as a watermark in the media so

that the media is presented with the embedded watermark identifier. In some

examples, the media presentation device additionally or alternatively

determines identification information for media presented by the application

(e.g., a manufacturer identification number embedded in a video game DVD,

an identifier of a video distributed by a cloud video distribution application,

metadata associated with media, an originating internet protocol address of

streaming media, etc.). The media presentation device determines an

identifier for the media by consulting a lookup table (e.g., a second lookup

table) or algorithm to produce an appropriate watermark identifier. The media

presentation device inserts the identifier for the media as a watermark in the

media. In some examples, a first level watermark (e.g., corresponding to the

application identifier) and a second level watermark (e.g., corresponding to the

media identifier) are inserted in the media in an interleaved manner. Where

two levels of watermarks are used, the first level can be used to identify the

media content, and the second level can identify the media presentation device

or application. In some examples, after the watermarked media output by the

media presentation device, the watermarks are detected by a meter and are

sent to a data collection facility for analysis and/or reporting.

[0014] In examples disclosed herein, any type of watermarking (e.g.,

video watermarking, audio watermark, etc.) or any other technique for

embedding identifying information in media may be utilized. For example,

watermarks may be embedded as Nielsen Watermarks codes (a.k.a. Nielsen

codes) of The Nielsen Company (US), LLC, as Arbitron audio encoding

watermarks, etc. Example methods, systems, and apparatus to encode and/or

decode audio watermarks are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Serial No.

12/551,220, entitled "Methods and Apparatus to Perform Audio Watermarking

and Watermark Detection and Extraction," filed August 31, 2009, U.S. Patent

Application Serial No. 12/464,811, entitled "Methods and Apparatus to

Perform Audio Watermarking and Watermark Detection and Extraction," filed

May 12, 2009, U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 12/249,619, entitled

"Methods and Apparatus to Perform Audio Watermarking Detection and

Extraction," filed October 10, 2008, all of which are hereby incorporated by

reference in their entireties.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system 100

constructed in accordance with the techniques of this disclosure for identifying

media. The example system 100 includes a media presentation device 102, a

meter 108, and a monitoring facility 110. In the illustrated example, media

may be delivered to the media presentation device 102 via one or more media

providers 106. Such media may be provided via a network 104, via a

terrestrial broadcast system, via a satellite broadcast system, via an Internet

broadcast system, etc. Media may also be provided to the media presentation

device 102 on removable media 122 that is described in further detail herein.

[0016] The media presentation device 102 of the illustrated example

receives and/or outputs media for presentation. For example, the media

presentation device 102 may be a set-top box, an integrated receiver decoder, a

video game console, a disk media player (e.g., a DVD player, Blu-ray player,

a compact disk (CD) player), a television, a computing device, etc. The media

presentation device 102 may present the media via an integrated output device

(e.g., where the media presentation device 102 is a television) or via a second

device (e.g., via external speakers and/or video display). Thus, the media

presentation device 102 may output the media via its own functionality and/or to another device that presents the media (e.g., a television, speakers, etc.).

The example media presentation device 102 of FIG. 1 includes a media

application 120, removable media 122, a media rendering engine 124, an

identification generator 126, a watermark generator 127, and a lookup table

128.

[0017] The media application 120 interfaces with and causes

presentation of media by the media rendering engine 124. The media

application may be integrated with an operating system of the media

presentation device 102 (e.g., an application to present video games on gaming

disks inserted in a Sony PlayStation) or may be an application apart from the

operating system (e.g., an application associated with an entity different from

the manufacturer of the media presentation device 102 such as a Netflix

application executing on a Sony PlayStation). The media may be stored on a

removable tangible storage medium 122 (e.g., a DVD, a CD, a Blu-ray, a flash

memory), retrieved from the media provider 106 via the network 104,

obtained from a broadcast or unicast system, stored on a local tangible storage

medium of the media presentation device 102 (e.g., a hard disk drive), or

stored on any other tangible storage medium.

[0018] The media application 120 directs the media to the media

rendering engine 124 for rendering and presentation. The media application

120 of the illustrated example also includes an interface 121 (e.g., an

application programming interface (API)) that enables the identification

generator 126 to obtain information about media handled by the media

application 120. The identification generator 126 and access to the identification information are described in further detail below. In some examples, while the operating system of the media presentation device 102 is aware of the identity of the media application 120 the media presentation device 102 may not be apprised of the identity of media presented by the media application 120. In such examples, the media application 120 may allow the identification generator 126 to access identifying information for the media (e.g., using the API 121 or any other interface to the media application

120).

[0019] The media rendering engine 124 of the illustrated example

receives media via the media application 120 and renders the media for

presentation. For example, the media rendering engine 124 may include an

audio subsystem to render audio for presentation, a video subsystem to render

video for presentation, etc. For example, if the example media presentation

device 102 is implemented as a video gaming system, the media rendering

engine 124 may render the media as it is dynamically generated by the media

application 120 in order to display the gaming environment. For example, if

the example media presentation device 102 is presenting a movie on a DVD,

the media rendering engine 124 decodes and renders the movie for

presentation on a display.

[0020] The media rendering engine 124 of the illustrated example also

includes an interface (e.g., an API) that allows the identification generator 126

to access the media to be rendered. For example, the identification generator

126 of the illustrated example cooperates with the watermarking generator 127

by sending the media watermark generator 127 for watermarking prior to output of the media by the media presentation device 102. For example, the watermark generator 127 may access the media and embed watermarks in real-time as the media is rendered. Such real-time encoding may be advantageous in, for example, video gaming media presentation devices 102 where the media (e.g., the audio of the media) is dynamic and based on the play of the game.

[0021] The example identification generator 126 of the illustrated

example determines application identification information for the media

application 120 via an operating system of the media presentation device 102.

Alternatively, the identification generator 126 may determine the application

identification information for the media application 120 from any other source

(e.g., by querying the API 121 of the media application 120). The application

identification information for the media application 120 may be a name of the

media application 120, an identification number of the media application 120,

a globally unique identifier (GUID) of the media application 120, a

manufacturer identifiers, an identifier embedded in the application, or any

other unique or semi-unique identifier for the media.

[0022] The example identification generator 126 also determines

media identification information for media to be presented by and/or currently

presented by the media application 120 by querying the API 121 of the media

application 120. The media identification information may be any information

useful for identifying the media such as a name of the media, an identification

number for the media (e.g., an identification number embedded in the media,

an identification number embedded on a storage disk on which the media is stored, etc.), an identifier embedded in the media, a manufacturer identifier, or any other unique or semi-unique identifier for the media.

[0023] The identification generator 126 of the illustrated example

accesses the lookup table 128 using the application identification information

for the media application 120 and/or the media identification information for

the media to determine application and/or media identification information to

be embedded in the media. In particular, the example identification generator

126 determines application identification information to be embedded in a first

watermark identifying the media application 120 and media identification

information to be embedded in a second watermark identifying the media.

The identification generator 126 passes application and/or media identifying

information to the watermark generator 127. The watermark generator 127

generates the watermark(s) and inserts the watermark in media received from

the media rendering engine 124. For example, the watermark generator 127

may generate watermark(s) as audio having tones at emphasized frequencies

that are integrated with the audio of the media from the media rendering

engine 124. The audio watermarking tones may be generated using

psychoacoustic masking to reduce the perceptibility of the watermark(s) by

humans exposed to the audio.

[0024] The watermark generator 127 of the illustrated example embeds

identifying information in media received from the media rendering engine

124. The watermark generator 127 may generate the watermarks using any

technique for embedding identifying information in media (e.g., generating

watermarks to be mixed into audio of the media, generating image watermarks to be overlaid on the video of the media, etc.). The watermark generator 127 receives the media from the media rendering engine 124 and inserts the watermark in the media. For example, the watermark generator 127 may generate the watermark information in real-time or almost real-time to insert the watermarks into the media without causing human-noticeable delay in the media rendering.

[0025] In the illustrated example, the watermark generator 127

interleaves a first watermark identifying the media application 120 with a

second watermark identifying the media. For example, FIG. 5 is a table 500

illustrating a sample sequence of watermarks inserted into media by the

watermark generator 127. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the example watermarks

are inserted every two seconds and alternate between a Program Content (PC)

watermark identifying media (e.g., Example Game 1 according to the lookup

table 200 of FIG. 2) and a Final Distributor (FD) watermark identifying an

executing media application (e.g., an example Game Platform operating

software for presenting a video game according to the lookup table 300 of

FIG. 3). In some examples, the FD watermarks are inserted in a 1:1

relationship with the PC watermarks. Alternatively, the watermarks may be

inserted in different proportions (e.g., the media watermark may be presented

more frequently when the application watermark changes less frequently).

[0026] Example implementations of the identification generator 126

and the watermark generator 127 are described in further detail in conjunction

with FIG. 4.

[0027] The lookup table 128 of the illustrated examples associate

application and/or media identification information with example

watermark(s). The lookup table 128 of the illustrated example includes two

tables as illustrated in FIGS. 2-3. The lookup table 200 of FIG. 2 associates

media identifying information (e.g., manufacturer identifiers for video games

in the illustrated example) and information to be inserted in the media via a

watermark. In the illustrated example, the information to be inserted in the

media via watermark(s) is Source Identifier and Time In Content fields that

are often included in other types of watermarks (e.g., these fields are typically

included in watermarks inserted by media providers at the instruction of media

monitoring entities). For example, by utilizing watermarking fields that are

commonly used (e.g., commonly used by media providers, such as a television

media providers, to watermark media, the watermarks can be extracted by a

metering device typically used for extracting such commonly used watermarks

(e.g., a meter that is utilized to monitor media from television media

providers). Accordingly, meters may not need to be modified to extract and

communicate the watermarks described herein. The lookup table 300 of FIG.

3 associates application identifying information (e.g., information for

applications of a video gaming platform) with a Watermark Type, Source

Identifier, and Time In Content information to be inserted in media via

watermark(s). While example fields of data to be included in a watermark are

described any number and/or types of fields may be inserted in the media (e.g.,

inserted in the media as a watermark). The lookup table 128 may alternatively

include any number of tables or may be implemented by a single table. The lookup table 128 may be implemented by any type of datastore for associating information including a table, a database, etc.

[0028] Returning to the system 100 of FIG. 1, the network 104 of the

illustrated example communicatively couples the media presentation device

102 with the network 104, the media provider 106, and the monitoring facility

110. The example network 104 also communicatively couples the meter 108

to the monitoring facility 110. For example, the network 104 may be the

Internet. Alternatively, the network 104 may be implemented by any number

of networks such as local area networks, wide area networks, wireless

networks, wired networks, etc.

[0029] The example media provider 106 of FIG. 1 provides media

(e.g., on demand video media) to the media application 120 for presentation

by the media presentation device 102. For example, the media provider 106

may provide cloud access to a library of movies (e.g., Netflix, Hulu,

Amazon@ videos, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, the media provider 106

may provide any other type(s) of media and may provide media in any other

manner.

[0030] The meter 108 of the illustrated example detects the

presentation of media by the media presentation 102 (e.g., media presented by

components of the media presentation device 102 and/or media presented via

another media presentation device such as a television) and extracts the

watermark(s) embedded in the media. For example, the meter 108 may be a

portable metering device carried by a member of a panel or a stationary meter

located to meter a specific presentation device or set of presentation devices.

The meter 108 may include a microphone that captures sound near the

portable metering device. When such a meter 108 is near the media output by

the media presentation device 102 the microphone captures the audio output

by the media presentation device 102. The meter 108 of the illustrated

example decodes the watermark(s) embedded in the audio. In alternative

examples, the audio is sent to the monitoring facility 110 for watermark

extraction. The example meter 108 of FIG. 1 temporarily stores the

watermark(s) and/or media identifying information and/or application

identifying information determined from watermark(s). The collected

watermark(s) and/or identifying information are periodically and/or

aperiodically exported to the monitoring facility 110. While a single meter

108 is illustrated in FIG. 1, any number of meters may be included in the

system 100 (e.g., one meter per panelist, one meter per panel household, etc.).

The meter 108 may be any type of meter such as one of the meters described

in the applications incorporated in this patent by the foregoing incorporations

by reference.

[0031] The monitoring facility 110 of the illustrated example receives

information collected by the meter 108, stores the information, analyzes the

information in conjunction with other data collected by other meters similar to

the meter 108 of FIG. 1 but controlled to monitor other media presentation

devices and/or panelist and/or generates reports. The example monitoring

facility 110 of FIG. 1 periodically and/or aperiodically sends updated

identifying information to the identification generator 126 for updating the

lookup table 128. For example, periodically, aperiodically, automatically, manually, or at any other time, the monitoring facility 110 may send identifying information for new media (e.g., a new video game that is released) to the identification generator 126 via the network 104.

Accordingly, the lookup table 128 can be updated to include the latest

identifying information. Alternatively, the monitoring facility 110 may not

update the lookup table 128 or may provide updates to the lookup table 128 in

any other manner.

[0032] According to the illustrated example, the identification

generator 126, the watermark generator 127, and the lookup table 128 are

provided by an operator of the monitoring facility 110 to a manufacturer of the

media presentation device 102 for inclusion in the media presentation device

102 at the time of manufacture. For example, the identification generator 126

may be provided as a software development kit (SDK) for integration in the

media presentation device 102. In such examples, the identification generator

126, the watermark generator 127, and/or the lookup table 128 may exist

dormant in the media presentation device unless and until a purchaser of the

product agrees to become a panelist. A purchaser may agree to become a

panelist in any way (e.g., by calling the monitoring company, entering data

including the internet protocol address of the purchased device, accessing a

menu in the purchased device, etc.). In such examples, the purchaser is

provided an opportunity to become a panelist. For instance, a consumer

electronic device such as a television or electronic gaming system may be sold

as "ratings ready" (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 8) and, optionally, a rebate on the

purchase may be provided in exchange for the purchaser agreeing to be anonymously monitored by the embedded monitoring software. In some examples, activating the monitoring functionality includes providing demographic data to the monitoring entity and/or receiving approval of an agreement (e.g., by selecting an "I Agree" user input) when activating the monitoring functionality. Alternatively, the identification generator 120 and the lookup table 128 may be included in the media presentation device 102 in any other manner (e.g., implemented and integrated by the manufacturer of the media presentation device 102, installed on the media presentation device 102 by a user of the media presentation device 102, installed on the media presentation device 102 by an agent of an operator of the monitoring facility

110, pushed to the media presentation device 102 by the monitoring facility

110, and so forth.

[0033] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the

example identification generator 126 of FIG. 1. The example identification

generator 126 of FIG. 4 includes a lookup table updater 402, a lookup table

interface 404, a device interface 406, an application interface 408, and a data

compiler 410.

[0034] The lookup table updater 402 receives updated identifying

information for the lookup table 128 of FIG. 1 via, for example, the network,

and updates the lookup table 128 via the lookup table interface 404. The

lookup table updater 402 may add to, delete, and/or update information in the

lookup table 128. According to the illustrated example, the updated media

and/or application identifying information is received from the monitoring

facility 110 via the network 104. Alternatively, updated identifying information may be received from any other source such as a removable storage associated with the media presentation device 102, data input by an operator of the media presentation device 102, etc.

[0035] The lookup table interface 404 is an interface to the lookup

table 128 for the lookup table updater 402 and the data compiler 410. For

example, the lookup table interface 404 may be a database engine that

facilitates queries and/or other access to the lookup table 128. Alternatively,

the lookup table interface 404 may be any other type of interface and/or may

be integrated in one or both of the lookup table updater 402 and/or the data

compiler 410.

[0036] The device interface 406 of the illustrated example interfaces

with an operating system of the media presentation device 102 to obtain

information about applications executing on (or about to execute on) the

media presentation device 102. For example, the device interface 406 may

obtain application identifying information for the media application 120 of

FIG. 1 by querying the operating system of the media presentation device 102

for information about a currently executing application providing media. The

device interface 406 may additionally or alternatively obtain application

identifying information from a process listing, an API, a task list, processor

instructions, etc. The device interface 406 provides the information about the

applications to the data compiler 410.

[0037] The application interface 406 of the illustrated example

interfaces to an application executing on the media presentation device 102

(e.g., the media application 120) to obtain information about media presented by (or about to be presented by) the application. For example, the application interface 406 may obtain identifying information for the media by querying the API 121 of the media application 120. In some examples, while the operating system of the media presentation device 102 is aware of the application executing on the media presentation device 102 (e.g., a Netflix application), the operating system may not be aware of the media presented by the application (e.g., a movie selected by an operator of the media presentation device 102). Accordingly, the application interface 406 can determine identifying information for the media even when the identifying information is not known to the operating system of the media presentation device 102. The application interface 406 provides the information about the media to the data compiler 410.

[0038] The data compiler 410 receives application identifying

information f from the device interface 406 and receives media identifying

information from the application interface 408. The data compiler 410 queries

the lookup table 128 via the lookup table interface 404 to obtain watermark

information for the identifying information, and passes the watermark

information to the watermark generator 127 of FIG. 1 for insertion into the

media.

[0039] While an example manner of implementing the example system

100 has been illustrated in FIG. 1 and an example manner of implementing the

example identification generator 126 and/or the watermark generator 127 of

FIG. 1 has been illustrated in FIG. 4, one or more of the elements, processes

and/or devices illustrated in FIGS. 1 and/or 4 may be combined, divided, re arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way. Further, the example media presentation device 102, the example media provider 106, the example meter 108, the example monitoring facility 110, the example media application 120, the example media rendering engine 124, the identification generator 126, and the watermark generator 127 of FIG. 1 and the example lookup table updater 402, the example lookup table interface 404, the example device interface 406, the example application interface 408, and the example data compiler 410 of FIG. 4and more generally the example system 100 of FIG. 1 may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware and/or any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware. Thus, the example media presentation device 102, the example media provider 106, the example meter 108, the example monitoring facility 110, the example media application 120, the example media rendering engine 124, the identification generator 126, and the watermark generator 127 of FIG. 1 and the example lookup table updater 402, the example lookup table interface 404, the example device interface 406, the example application interface 408, and the example data compiler 410 of FIG. 4 and more generally the example system 100 of

FIG. 1 could be implemented by one or more circuit(s), programmable

processor(s), application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)),

programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logic

device(s) (FPLD(s)), etc. When any of the apparatus or system claims of this

patent are read to cover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at

least one of the example media presentation device 102, the example media

provider 106, the example meter 108, the example monitoring facility 110, the example media application 120, the example media rendering engine 124, the identification generator 126, and the watermark generator 127 of FIG. 1 and the example lookup table updater 402, the example lookup table interface 404, the example device interface 406, the example application interface 408, and the example data compiler 410 of FIG. 4 and more generally the example system 100 of FIG. 1 are hereby expressly defined to include a tangible computer readable storage medium such as a memory or storage disk (e.g.,

DVD, CD, Blu-ray, etc.) storing the software and/or firmware. Further still,

the example media presentation device 102, the example media provider 106,

the example meter 108, the example monitoring facility 110, the example

media application 120, the example media rendering engine 124, the

identification generator 126, and the watermark generator 127 of FIG. 1 and

the example lookup table updater 402, the example lookup table interface 404,

the example device interface 406, the example application interface 408, and

the example data compiler 410 of FIG. 4 and more generally the example

system 100 of FIG. 1 may include one or more elements, processes and/or

devices in addition to, or instead of, those illustrated in FIG. 1 and/or 4, and/or

may include more than one of any or all of the illustrated elements, processes

and devices.

[0040] Flowcharts representative of example machine readable

instructions for implementing the identification generator 126 and/or the

watermark generator 127 are shown in FIGS. 6 and/or 8. In the illustrated

examples, the machine readable instructions comprise program(s) for

execution by a processor such as the processor 912 shown in the example processing platform 900 discussed below in connection with FIG. 9. The program(s) may be embodied in software stored on a tangible computer readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associated with the processor 912, but the entire program(s) and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executed by a device other than the processor 912 and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware. Further, although the example programs are described with reference to the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 6 and/or 8, many other methods of implementing, identification generator 126 and/or the watermark generator 127 may alternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined.

[0041] As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 6 and/or

8 may be implemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer readable

instructions) stored on a tangible computer readable storage medium such as a

hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a compact disk

(CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a cache, a random-access memory

(RAM) and/or any other storage device or storage disk in which information is

stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, brief

instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the

information). As used herein, the term tangible computer readable storage

medium is expressly defined to include any type of computer readable storage

device and/or storage disc, and to exclude propagating signals. Additionally

or alternatively, the example processes of FIGS. 6 and/or 8 may be implemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer readable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, a random-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the term non-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to include any type of computer readable device and/or storage disk, and to exclude propagating signals. As used herein, when the phrase "at least" is used as the transition term in a preamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term

"comprising" is open ended. Thus, a claim using "at least" as the transition

term in its preamble may include elements in addition to those expressly

recited in the claim.

[0042] The instructions of FIG. 6 begin when the device interface 406

detects presentation of media by the media presentation device 102 (block

602). For example, the device interface 406 may detect that the media

application 120 has been initialized, that a command to present media has

been issued, that a notification has been received from an operation system of

the media presentation device 102 (e.g., due to a built-in event notification of

the operation system), that a notification has been received from the

application 120, etc. At block 604, the device interface 406 detects

application identifying information for the media application 120 (block 604).

The data compiler 410 next determines watermark identifier(s) for the application by querying the lookup table 128 via the lookup table interface 404 and using the detected application identifying information (block 606). The watermark generator 127 then generates a watermark based on the determined identifier(s) (block 608). The watermark may be static for the duration of the presentation of the media and, thus, the detection of identifying information may be performed once for the duration of the presentation of the media.

Alternatively, the watermark may be dynamically generated throughout the

presentation of the media and, thus, the detection of identifying information

may be performed throughout the presentation of the media.

[0043] The watermark generator 127 acquires the audio of the media

from the media rendering engine 124, processes the audio to inject the

watermark into the audio, and returns the audio to the media rendering engine

124 (block 610). Alternatively, the watermark generator 127 may obtain and

inject the watermark into video, may obtain and inject the watermark into

audio and video of the media, or use any other process for watermarking

media. The watermark generator 127 may be configured to always receive the

audio and/or video from the media rendering engine 124. Alternatively, the

watermark generator 127 may periodically receive the audio and/or video,

may aperiodically receive the audio and/or video, may receive the audio

and/or video upon a request from the watermark generator 127 to the media

rendering engine 124, etc. The watermark generator 127 may generate a

watermark including identifying information for the application in the fields of

the watermark typically dedicated to the identification of media. For example,

a Source Identifier field of a watermark is typically filled with information identifying a media provider, channel, broadcaster, etc. that provided media and a Time In Content field is typically filled with information indicating a position (e.g., time) from the beginning of the media. The example watermark generator 127 generates the watermark for the application as a Final

Distributor watermark.

[0044] Next, the application interface 408 retrieves identifying

information for the media from the media application 120 (block 612). The

watermark generator 127 next determines an identifier(s) for the media by

querying the lookup table 128 via the lookup table interface 404 and using the

detected identifying information for the media (block 614). The data compiler

410 next determines watermark identifier(s) for the application by querying

the lookup table 128 via the lookup table interface 404 and using the detected

application identifying information (block 606). The watermark generator 127

then generates a watermark based on the determined identifier(s) (block 616).

The watermark generator 127 acquires the audio of the media from the media

rendering engine 124 (e.g., in real-time), processes the audio to inject the

watermark into the audio, and returns the audio to the media rendering engine

124 (block 618). Alternatively, the watermark generator 127 may obtain and

inject the watermark into video, may obtain and inject the watermark into

audio and video of the media, or use any other process for watermarking

media. For example, the watermark generator 127 may generate a watermark

including identifying information for the application in the fields of the

watermark typically dedicated to the identification of media (e.g., the Source

Identifier field and the Time In Content field). The example watermark generator 127 generates the watermark for the media as a Program Content watermark.

[0045] The example instructions of FIG. 6 are complete after block

618. Alternatively, the identification generator 126 may continue to insert the

generated watermarks alternating or interleaving the watermarks in the media

output by the media rendering engine 122 of the media presentation device. In

some examples, the identification generator 126 may include additional

information in the watermark(s). For example, the watermark(s) may include

an indication of the amount of time that the media is presented, information

identifying portions of the media (e.g., a level of a video game, a timecode of

a video, etc.), and so forth.

[0046] While the foregoing describes generating and inserting an

application watermark and then generating and inserting a media watermark

other implementations are possible. For example, an application watermark

may be utilized without a media watermark or a media watermark may be

utilized without an application watermark. Alternatively, separate processes

may be utilized for application watermarking and media watermarking. In

such instances, the separate processes may run in parallel, in series, and/or

each process may execute without regard to the other process. In some

implementations, the watermark generator 127 may check for previously

inserted watermarks before inserting a watermark in media. For example, the

watermark generator 127 may determine that a media watermark has already

been inserted when inserting an application watermark. When a previously

inserted watermark has been detected, the watermark generator 127 may utilize any known technique for inserting an additional watermark (e.g., inserting the watermark at a different time, inserting the watermark using a different encoding technique, inserting the watermark at a different frequency, setting a flag indicating the presence of multiple watermarks, etc.).

[0047] While the foregoing describes determining watermarking

information using a lookup table that associates information associated with

media and applications (e.g., manufacturer identifiers) with the watermark

information, other approaches for determining watermark information to be

inserted into media may be utilized. For example, the media identifying

information and/or the application identifying information may be inserted

into the watermark (e.g., in a Time in Content field and/or in a Source

Identifier field). In some instances, the size(s) of the media identifying

information and/or the application identifying information may exceed the

capacity of the watermark payload (or may be undesirably large such that the

watermarks will exceed a desired length). In such instances, the identifying

information may be compacted to a size that is less than the capacity of the

watermark payload and/or a size that is a less than a desired threshold. For

example, if a DVD identifier on a disk is 'xyzl23abc456' includes a portion

that uniquely identifies the media (e.g., 'abc456') and a portion that identifies

information not unique to the media (e.g., a genre, a production studio, a

rating, etc.), the identification generator 126 may compact the identifier to the

unique portion (e.g., 'abc456') removing the non-unique portion. Thus, the

shorter, unique portion of the identifier can be inserted in a watermark

payload.

[0048] FIG. 7 illustrates example packaging 702 for the media

presentation device 102 of FIG. 1. According to the illustrated example, the

media presentation device 102 is an electronic gaming system. The example

packaging 702 includes a label 704 indicating that the media presentation

device 102 is 'ratings ready.' For example, the indication of 'ratings ready'

indicates to a purchaser that the media presentation device 102 has been

implemented to monitor usage and send monitoring information as described

in conjunction with FIG. 1. For example, the manufacturer of the media

presentation device may have received an SDK from a monitoring entity and

may have implemented the SDK in the media presentation device to perform

the monitoring and sending monitoring information to the monitoring entity.

The media presentation device 102 may be configured to perform monitoring

as soon as the media presentation device 102 is powered on. Alternatively, the

media presentation device 102 may request user input (e.g., accepting an

agreement, enabling a setting, installing functionality (e.g., downloading

monitoring functionality from the intemet and installing the functionality, etc.)

before enabling monitoring. Alternatively, a manufacturer of a media

presentation device 102 may not include monitoring functionality in the media

presentation device 102 at the time of purchase. In such instances, the

monitoring functionality may be made available by the manufacturer, by a

monitoring entity, by a third party, etc. for retrieval/download and installation

on the media presentation device 102.

[0049] FIG. 8 is a flowchart representative of example machine

readable instructions for enabling monitoring functionality on the media presentation device 102 (e.g., to implement functionality of the identification generator 126). The instructions of FIG. 8 may be utilized when the media presentation device 102 is not enabled for monitoring by default (e.g., upon purchase of the media presentation device 102). The example instructions of

FIG. 8 begin when the media presentation device 102 is powered on.

Alternatively, the instructions may begin when a user of the media

presentation device accesses a menu to enable monitoring.

[0050] The media presentation device 102 displays an agreement that

explains the monitoring process, requests consent for monitoring usage of the

media presentation device 102, provides options for agreeing (e.g., an 'I

Agree' button) or disagreeing ('I Disagree') (block 802). The media

presentation device 102 then waits for a user to indicate a selection (block

804). When the user indicates that they disagree (e.g., do not want to enable

monitoring), the instructions of FIG. 8 terminate. When the user indicates that

they agree (e.g., that they want to be monitored), the media presentation

device 102 obtains demographic information from the user (block 804). For

example, the media presentation device 102 may display a form requesting

demographic information (e.g., number of people in the household, ages,

occupations, etc.). The media presentation device 102 transmits the

demographic information to the monitoring entity (block 808). Transmitting

the demographic information may indicate to the monitoring entity that

monitoring at the media presentation device 102 is authorized. The

monitoring entity may authorize a rebate for the consumer transmitting the

demographic information and/or for registering for monitoring. The monitoring entity may transmit an identifier (e.g., a panelist identifier) to the media presentation device 102 for uniquely identifying monitoring information sent from the media presentation device 102 to the monitoring entity. The media presentation device 102 then enables monitoring of media presented by the media presentation device 102 (block 810). The instructions of FIG. 8 are then terminated.

[0051] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example processor platform

900 capable of executing the instructions of FIGS. 6 and 8 to implement the

apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 4. The processor platform 900 can be, for example,

a server, a personal computer, a mobile phone (e.g., a cell phone), a personal

digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVD player, a CD player, a

digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, a personal video

recorder, a set top box, or any other type of computing device.

[0052] The processor platform 900 of the instant example includes a

processor 912. For example, the processor 912 can be implemented by one or

more microprocessors or controllers from any desired family or manufacturer.

[0053] The processor 912 includes a local memory 913 (e.g., a cache)

and is in communication with a main memory including a volatile memory

916 and a non-volatile memory 914 via a bus 918. The volatile memory 916

may be implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory

(SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic

Random Access Memory (RDRAM) and/or any other type of random access

memory device. The non-volatile memory 914 may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 914, 916 is controlled by a memory controller.

[0054] The processor platform 900 also includes an interface circuit

920. The interface circuit 920 may be implemented by any type of interface

standard, such as an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a

PCI express interface.

[0055] One or more input devices 922 are connected to the interface

circuit 920. The input device(s) 922 permit a user to enter data and commands

into the processor 912. The input device(s) can be implemented by, for

example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball, isopoint

and/or a voice recognition system.

[0056] One or more output devices 924 are also connected to the

interface circuit 920. The output devices 924 can be implemented, for

example, by display devices (e.g., a liquid crystal display, a cathode ray tube

display (CRT), a printer and/or speakers). The interface circuit 920, thus,

typically includes a graphics driver card.

[0057] The interface circuit 920 also includes a communication device

such as a modem or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data with

external computers via a network 926 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital

subscriber line (DSL), a telephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone

system, etc.).

[0058] The processor platform 900 also includes one or more mass

storage devices 928 for storing software and data. Examples of such mass

storage devices 928 include floppy disk drives, hard drive disks, compact disk drives and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives. The mass storage device 928 may implement the example lookup table 128 of FIG. 1 and/or any other storage element.

[0059] The coded instructions 932 of FIGS. 6 and 8 may be stored in

the mass storage device 928, in the volatile memory 914, in the non-volatile

memory 916, and/or on a removable storage medium such as a CD or DVD.

[0060] Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of

manufacture have been described herein, the scope of coverage of this patent

is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods,

apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the

claims of this patent.

Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS: 1. A computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause a processor of a media presentation device to at least: present, via a display, a graphical enable button that, when selected, is to enable monitoring functionality implemented by the media presentation device, the monitoring functionality to monitor media presented by the media presentation device, the monitoring functionality to be disabled by default, the monitoring functionality installed in the media presentation device at a time of manufacture of the media presentation device; detect a first user input corresponding to selection of the graphical enable button; and in response to detection of the first user input: enable the monitoring functionality implemented by the media presentation device, the monitoring functionality including a watermark generator and a lookup table; transmit, via a network interface, demographic information to a remote monitoring entity; receive, from the remote monitoring entity, updated identification information for updating the lookup table; determine application identification information for a media presentation application executing on a media device; determine a first watermark corresponding to the application identification information from the lookup table; request media identification information for a media presentation from the media presentation application, the media identification information associated with media to be presented by the media presentation device; determine a second watermark corresponding to the media identification information from the lookup table; and insert (1) the first watermark based on the application identification information and (2) the second watermark based on the media identification information into the media presentation of the media presentation device, the first watermark and the second watermark determined based on the lookup table.

   2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to present the graphical enable button in response to the media presentation device being powered on.

   3. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to: present, via the display, a graphical disable button that, when selected, is to disable the monitoring functionality implemented by the media presentation device; detect a second user input corresponding to selection of the graphical disable button; and disable the monitoring functionality implemented by the media presentation device in response to detection of the second user input.

   4. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to present the graphical enable button in response to access of a menu to be presented by the media presentation device.

   5. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the information includes demographic information, and the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to present a form via the display in response to the detection of the first user input, the form to request the demographic information.

   6. The computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the information includes monitoring information generated by the monitoring functionality, and the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to access an identifier received, via the network interface, from the remote monitoring entity, the identifier to identify the monitoring information to the remote monitoring entity.

   7. A media presentation device comprising: a network interface; memory including machine readable instructions; and processor circuitry to execute the machine readable instructions to at least: present, via a display, a graphical enable button that, when selected, is to enable monitoring functionality implemented by the media presentation device, the monitoring functionality to monitor media presented by the media presentation device, the monitoring functionality to be disabled by default; detect a first user input corresponding to selection of the graphical enable button; in response to detection of the first user input: enable the monitoring functionality implemented by the media presentation device, the monitoring functionality including a watermark generator and a lookup table; transmit, via the network interface, information to a remote monitoring entity; receive, from the remote monitoring entity, updated identification information for updating the lookup table; determine application identification information for a media presentation application executing on a media device; determine a first watermark corresponding to application identification information from the lookup table; request media identification information for a media presentation from the media presentation application, the media identification information associated with media to be presented by the media presentation device; determine a second watermark corresponding to the media identification information from the lookup table; and insert (1) the first watermark based on the application identification information and (2) the second watermark based on the media identification information into the media presentation of the media presentation device, the first watermark and the second watermark determined based on the lookup table.

   8. The media presentation device of claim 7, wherein the processor circuitry is to present the graphical enable button in response to the media presentation device being powered on.

   9. The media presentation device of claim 7, wherein the processor circuitry is to present the graphical enable button in response to access of a menu to be presented by the media presentation device.

   10. The media presentation device of claim 7, wherein the information includes demographic information, and the processor circuitry is further to present a form via the display in response to the detection of the first user input, the form to request the demographic information.

   11. The media presentation device of claim 10, wherein the information includes monitoring information generated by the monitoring functionality, and the processor circuitry is further to access an identifier received, via the network interface, from the remote monitoring entity, the identifier to identify the monitoring information to the remote monitoring entity.

   12. A method comprising: presenting, by executing an instruction with a processor, a graphical enable button via a display of a media presentation device, the graphical enable button, when selected, to enable monitoring functionality implemented by the media presentation device, the monitoring functionality to monitor media presented by the media presentation device, the monitoring functionality to be disabled by default, the monitoring functionality installed in the media presentation device at a time of manufacture of the media presentation device; detecting, by executing an instruction with the processor, a first user input corresponding to selection of the graphical enable button; and in response to detection of the first user input: enabling, by executing an instruction with the processor, the monitoring functionality implemented by the media presentation device the monitoring functionality including a watermark generator and a lookup table; transmitting, via a network interface, information to a remote monitoring entity; receiving, from the remote monitoring entity, updated identification information for updating the lookup table; determining application identification information for a media presentation application executing on a media device; determining a first watermark corresponding to the application identification information from the lookup table; requesting media identification information for a media presentation from the media presentation application, the media identification information associated with media to be presented by the media presentation device; determining a second watermark corresponding to the media identification information from the lookup table; and inserting (1) the first watermark based on the application identification information and (2) the second watermark based on the media identification information into the media presentation of the media presentation device, the first watermark and the second watermark determined based on the lookup table.

   13. The method of claim 12, wherein the presenting of the graphical enable button is performed in response to the media presentation device being powered on.

   14. The method of claim 12, further including: presenting, via the display, a graphical disable button that, when selected, is to disable the monitoring functionality implemented by the media presentation device; detecting a second user input corresponding to selection of the graphical disable button; and disabling the monitoring functionality implemented by the media presentation device in response to detection of the second user input.

   15. The method of claim 12, wherein the presenting of the graphical enable button is performed in response to access of a menu to be presented by the media presentation device.

   16. The method of claim 12, wherein the information includes demographic information, and further including presenting a form via the display in response to the detection of the first user input, the form to request the demographic information.

   17. The method of claim 16, wherein the information includes monitoring information generated by the monitoring functionality, and further including accessing an identifier received, via the network interface, from the remote monitoring entity, the identifier to identify the monitoring information to the remote monitoring entity.

   The Nielsen Company (US), LLC

   Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON&FERGUSON

   Title: “METHODS AND APPARATUS TO IDENTIFY MEDIA” First Named Inventor: Gavin McMillan Attorney Docket No. 20004/80267US01 31 Aug 2020

   1/7 100

   MONITORING FACILITY MEDIA 2020226993

   110 PROVIDER 106

   METER NETWORK 108 104

   102

   IDENTIFICATION API MEDIA GENERATOR 121 APPLICATION 126 120

   R.MEDIA 122

   LUT 128 MEDIA WATERMARK RENDERING GENERATOR 127 ENGINE 124

   FIG. 1

   Title: “METHODS AND APPARATUS TO IDENTIFY MEDIA” First Named Inventor: Gavin McMillan Attorney Docket No. 20004/80267US01 31 Aug 2020

   2/7 200

   Title Internal ID Source Identifier Time In Content Example Game 1 124353 5000 1000 Example Game 2 124356 5000 1001 Example Game 3 534432 5000 1002 Example Game 4 612322 5000 1003 2020226993

   FIG. 2

   300

   Application Watermark Type Source Identifer Time In Content Game Platform (GP) Final Distributor 6100 1 GP: Application 1 Final Distributor 6100 2 GP: Application 2 Final Distributor 6100 3 GP: Application 3 Final Distributor 6100 4

   FIG. 3

   500

   Watermark Type Source Identifier Time Content Clock Time PC 5000 1000 2:12:00 FD 6100 1 2:12:02 PC 5000 1000 2:12:04 FD 6100 1 2:12:06 PC 5000 1000 2:12:08 FD 6100 1 2:12:10

   FIG. 5

   Title: “METHODS AND APPARATUS TO IDENTIFY MEDIA” First Named Inventor: Gavin McMillan Attorney Docket No. 20004/80267US01 31 Aug 2020

   3/7 126 2020226993

   DEVICE LUT UPDATER INTERFACE 402 406

   TO WATERMARK GENERATOR LUT INTERFACE DATA COMPILER 404 410

   APPLICATION INTERFACE 408

   FIG. 4

   Title: “METHODS AND APPARATUS TO IDENTIFY MEDIA” First Named Inventor: Gavin McMillan Attorney Docket No. 20004/80267US01 31 Aug 2020

   4/7

   BEGIN

   602

   Detect presentation of media 2020226993

   604 612

   Detect application Retrieve media identifying information from application

   606 614 Determine identification for application from LUT Determine identification for application from LUT

   608 616 Generate watermark Generate watermark

   610 618 Insert watermark in media Insert watermark in media

   END

   FIG. 6

   Title: “METHODS AND APPARATUS TO IDENTIFY MEDIA” First Named Inventor: Gavin McMillan Attorney Docket No. 20004/80267US01 31 Aug 2020

   5/7 702

   nd a Br ing 704 - Y m 2020226993

   Ga sem Ratings Ready!

   Sy

   Y

   FIG. 7

   Title: “METHODS AND APPARATUS TO IDENTIFY MEDIA” First Named Inventor: Gavin McMillan Attorney Docket No. 20004/80267US01 31 Aug 2020

   6/7

   BEGIN

   802 Display agreement 2020226993

   804 Agreed? NO YES

   806 Obtain demographic information

   808 Transmit demographic information to monitoring entity

   810 Enable monitoring

   END

   FIG. 8

   Title: “METHODS AND APPARATUS TO IDENTIFY MEDIA” First Named Inventor: Gavin McMillan Attorney Docket No. 20004/80267US01 31 Aug 2020

   7/7

   900

   928 932 914 MASS RANDOM 2020226993

   STORAGE CODED ACCESS MEMORY INSTRUCTIONS 922 932 INPUT DEVICE(S) 916 READ ONLY 920 926 MEMORY INTERFACE NETWORK 932 918 912 924 OUTPUT PROCESSOR DEVICE(S) LOCAL MEMORY 913 932

   FIG. 9