EP3918785A1 - Appareil de réception de signal vidéo, appareil de transmission et procédés - Google Patents

Appareil de réception de signal vidéo, appareil de transmission et procédés

Info

Publication number
EP3918785A1
EP3918785A1 EP20702891.1A EP20702891A EP3918785A1 EP 3918785 A1 EP3918785 A1 EP 3918785A1 EP 20702891 A EP20702891 A EP 20702891A EP 3918785 A1 EP3918785 A1 EP 3918785A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
video signal
indicator
retrieval
indicators
dummy
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
EP20702891.1A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Nigel Stuart Moore
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Sony Group Corp
Sony Europe BV
Original Assignee
Sony Group Corp
Sony Europe BV
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Sony Group Corp, Sony Europe BV filed Critical Sony Group Corp
Publication of EP3918785A1 publication Critical patent/EP3918785A1/fr
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
    • H04N7/167—Systems rendering the television signal unintelligible and subsequently intelligible
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
    • H04N21/83—Generation or processing of protective or descriptive data associated with content; Content structuring
    • H04N21/835—Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates
    • H04N21/8352—Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates involving content or source identification data, e.g. Unique Material Identifier [UMID]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/435—Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
    • H04N21/4353—Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream involving decryption of additional data
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
    • H04N21/81—Monomedia components thereof
    • H04N21/812—Monomedia components thereof involving advertisement data
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
    • H04N21/83—Generation or processing of protective or descriptive data associated with content; Content structuring
    • H04N21/84—Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
    • H04N21/83—Generation or processing of protective or descriptive data associated with content; Content structuring
    • H04N21/845—Structuring of content, e.g. decomposing content into time segments
    • H04N21/8455—Structuring of content, e.g. decomposing content into time segments involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to a video signal receiving apparatus, transmitting apparatus and methods.
  • advertisements also known as“adverts” or“ads”
  • advertisement breaks or“ad breaks”.
  • Ad breaks have been around for many years. Traditionally, when the television program is provided by means of a broadcasted radio video signal, advertisements played during an ad break are also broadcasted by means of a radio video signal. In more recent times, however, with the development of higher bandwidth domestic internet connections and internet enabled set top boxes (STBs) and televisions (TVs), it has been possible for advertisements to be provided over the internet.
  • STBs set top boxes
  • TVs televisions
  • the video output provided by the STB or TV is switched from a broadcast video output to a network video output.
  • the video output is then switched back to the broadcast video output.
  • this enables the advertisements shown during the ad break to be more easily tailored to the user of the STB or TV concerned. This is because information about the user (e.g. the type of TV shows they like, internet account information used by the user with the STB or TV or the like) can be gathered and transmitted over the network to an advertisement provider.
  • An appropriate advertisement likely to be of relatively greater or of most interest to the user can then be selected and transmitted to the STB or TV for display during the next ad break.
  • This is much more difficult to do with traditional broadcasted advertisements which, by their very nature, are broadcast to a large number of STB or TVs and thus cannot be easily tailored to individual users.
  • the TV program itself may be provided over the internet rather than being broadcast. In this case, a switch from broadcast video output to network video output is not required. However, there is still a need to switch between different network video outputs to allow the
  • Figure 1 schematically shows a video signal transmitting apparatus and a video signal receiving apparatus according to an embodiment
  • Figure 2 schematically shows a recording timeline of a TV program
  • Figures 3A to 3C schematically show a variation in the temporal positions of an advert retrieval indicator and an advert initiation indicator relative to those of respective dummy indicators for different ad breaks;
  • Figures 4A to 4C schematically show a first variation of the technique exemplified in Figures 3A to 3C.
  • Figures 5A and 5B schematically show first methods carried out by the video signal receiving apparatus and video signal transmitting apparatus;
  • Figures 6A to 6C schematically show a second variation of the technique exemplified in Figures 3A to 3C;
  • Figures 7 A to 7C schematically show a variation of the technique exemplified in Figures 4A to 4C;
  • FIGS 8A and 8B schematically show second methods carried out by the video signal receiving apparatus and video signal transmitting apparatus.
  • Figure 1 shows a video signal transmitting apparatus 100 and a video signal receiving apparatus 105 according to an embodiment.
  • the video signal transmitting apparatus 100 comprises a radio frequency (RF) transmitter 101 for broadcasting a video signal using radio waves, a processor 102 for processing electronic instructions, memory 103 for storing the electronic instructions to be processed and input and output data associated with the electronic instructions and a storage medium 104 (e.g. in the form of a hard disk drive, solid state drive or the like) for long term storage of electronic information (e.g. software for controlling the operation of the video signal transmitting apparatus 105).
  • RF transmitter 101 , processor 102, memory 103 and storage medium 104 are implemented using appropriate circuitry, for example.
  • the processor 102 controls the operation of each of the RF transmitter 101 , memory 103 and storage medium 104.
  • the video signal receiving apparatus 105 comprises a radio frequency (RF) receiver 106 for receiving the video signal broadcast using radio waves, a processor 107 for processing electronic instructions, memory 108 for storing the electronic instructions to be processed and input and output data associated with the electronic instructions, a storage medium 109 (e.g. in the form of a hard disk drive, solid state drive or the like) for long term storage of electronic information (e.g. software for controlling the operation of the video signal receiving apparatus 105), a network interface 110 for sending and receiving electronic information over a network 112 (e.g. the internet) and an output 111 for outputting a video signal to a display device 114 (e.g.
  • RF radio frequency
  • a television for display of a video represented by that output video signal and/or to a video recording medium 115 (e.g. in the form of a hard disk drive, solid state drive or the like) for recording of the output video signal for later display on the display device 114.
  • the video signal receiving apparatus 105, display device 114 and video recording medium 115 may be comprised within a single device or may be comprised within a plurality of separate devices.
  • the video signal receiving apparatus 105 and display device 114 may be comprised within a first device (e.g. a smart TV) and the video recording medium 115 may be comprised within a second, separate, device (e.g. a Universal Serial Bus (USB) storage drive connectable to the smart TV). Recording to video recording medium 115 and potentially also the
  • the configuration of 115 may be controlled by the first device.
  • the display device 114 may be comprised within a first device (e.g. a TV) and the video signal receiving apparatus 105 and video recording medium 115 may be comprised within a second, separate, device (e.g. a personal video recorder (PVR) connectable to the TV).
  • a first device e.g. a TV
  • the video signal receiving apparatus 105 and video recording medium 115 may be comprised within a second, separate, device (e.g. a personal video recorder (PVR) connectable to the TV).
  • PVR personal video recorder
  • Each of the RF receiver 106, processor 107, memory 108, storage medium 109, network interface 110 and output 111 are implemented using appropriate circuitry, for example.
  • the processor 102 controls the operation of each of the RF receiver 106, memory 108, storage medium 109, network interface 110 and output 111.
  • a server 113 is connected to the network 112 and a video signal representative of a video advertisement to be displayed on the display device 114 during an ad break is transmitted from the server 113 to the video signal receiving apparatus 105 over the network 112 in the form of packets of electronic information (e.g. in accordance with an appropriate Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) standard).
  • MPEG Moving Picture Experts Group
  • the video signal of the advertisement is transmitted to the video signal receiving apparatus 105 in response to an electronic request transmitted by the video signal receiving apparatus 105 to the server 113 (the request is thus used to initiate retrieval of the video signal of the advertisement).
  • the transmitted advertisement is chosen from a plurality of advertisements using information known about the user of the video signal receiving apparatus 105 and stored in the server 113. This allows an advertisement appropriate to the user to be transmitted. In this sense, the advertisement is therefore personalised.
  • the user information could include information about the user’s location, shopping habits, preferred TV programs or TV
  • the user is allocated a user ID which uniquely identifies the user and which is stored in the storage medium 109.
  • the request comprises the user ID.
  • the server 113 looks up the user ID in a database which relates the user IDs of a plurality of users with respective information about those users.
  • a suitable advertisement is then selected based on the information of the user of the video signal receiving apparatus 105 identified by the user ID in the request (techniques for selecting a suitable advertisement based on user information are known in the art and are therefore not discussed in detail here).
  • a video signal representative of the selected advertisement is then transmitted or communicated to the video signal receiving apparatus 105 over the network 112.
  • this is achieved by the server 113 transmitting an extensible Markup Language (XML) document comprising a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) at which the selected advertisement is located or group of selected advertisements is located.
  • XML extensible Markup Language
  • URL Uniform Resource Locator
  • URI Uniform Resource Identifier
  • Advertisements provided over the network 112 may be personalised or non-personalised in the present technique. For non-personalised advertisements, there is no need for the initial request to contain a user ID.
  • a video signal representative of content to be displayed on the display device 114 and/or stored on the video recording medium 115 and during which the ad break occurs is transmitted from the video signal transmitting apparatus 100 to the video signal receiving apparatus 105 using radio waves (e.g. in accordance with an appropriate Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) or Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standard).
  • the content is selected by the selection of a particular TV channel on which the desired video content is to be shown, for example.
  • the video signal representative of the content to be displayed and/or stored and during which the ad break occurs may be transmitted from the video signal transmitting apparatus 100 to the video signal receiving apparatus 105 over the network 112 in the form of packets of electronic information (e.g. in accordance with an appropriate Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) standard).
  • MPEG Moving Picture Experts Group
  • the content is selected using an online video on-demand service, for example.
  • the disclosure is also applicable to internet-delivered broadcasts in which the same content is delivered substantially at the same time to multiple users or devices, for example by multicasting from an edge server or servers.
  • the RF transmitter 101 of the video signal transmitting apparatus 100 is replaced with a network interface (not shown) for sending and receiving electronic information over the network 112 under the control of the processor 102.
  • the content which includes the ad break is assumed to be a TV program 200 which is broadcast by the video signal transmitting apparatus 100 using radio waves and which is recorded on the video recording medium 115 for later display on the display device 114.
  • the described technical principles would also be applied if the content is delivered over the network 112 (instead of being broadcast using radio waves), is displayed on the display device 114 (instead of or in addition to being recorded on the video recording medium 115) and/or is a different type of content (e.g. a film or a recorded live event instead of a TV program).
  • the present technique may be applied to avoid skipping of ad breaks in live content which is continuously transmitted (i.e.
  • a video signal broadcast using radio waves will be referred to as a broadcast video signal and a video signal transmitting over the network 112 will be referred to as a network video signal.
  • FIG. 2 shows a recording timeline of the TV program 200.
  • the TV program 200 is recorded in two parts 200A and 200B. The parts are separated by an ad break 201 comprising a number of consecutive video adverts 201 A, 201 B and 201 C.
  • the broadcast video signal representing the first part 200A of the TV program 200 comprises an advert retrieval indicator 202A and an advert initiation indicator 202B.
  • the advert retrieval indicator 202A is a message instructing the video signal receiving apparatus 105 to retrieve a network video signal representative of each of the adverts 201 A, 201 B and 201 C from the server 113.
  • the advert initiation indicator 202B is a message instructing the video signal receiving apparatus 105 to temporarily stop recording the broadcast video signal and to instead record the retrieved network video signals representative of the adverts 201 A, 201 B and 201 C. After recording of the final retrieved advert (advert 201 C, in this case) is complete, the video signal receiving apparatus 105 resumes recording of the broadcast video signal in order to record the second part 200B of the TV program.
  • the broadcast video signal does not contain any portion of the TV program 200. Rather, the broadcast video signal comprises one or more conventional video adverts during this time (so that viewers who do not have equipment which can retrieve adverts over the network 112 are presented with these conventional video adverts).
  • the ad break 201 is of a predetermined time duration and the playback duration of each advert (whether retrieved from the server 113 or whether included as a conventional advert in the broadcast video signal) is chosen such that the total advert playback duration matches this predetermined time duration. This helps ensure that no portion of the TV program 200 is missed during the switch between the broadcast video signal and the network video signal.
  • the advert retrieval indicator 202A occurs at a first predetermined time interval prior to the occurrence of the advert initiation indicator 202B and the advert initiation indicator 202B occurs at a second predetermined time interval prior to the start of the ad break 201.
  • the first predetermined time interval is determined to be sufficiently long such that the video adverts 201 A, 201 B and 201C retrieved from the server 1 13 are sufficiently buffered (e.g. in the memory 108) prior to the start of the ad break 201 to enable uninterrupted recording (for example, mitigating the possibility of buffer underflow) of the video adverts 201 A, 201 B and 201 C during the ad break.
  • the first predetermined time interval is also determined to be sufficiently short so as to reduce the likelihood that a user switches to the broadcast video signal comprising the TV program 200 (e.g. by changing channel) during the first predetermined time interval (in this situation, it is determined that the adverts 201 A, 201 B and 201 C may not be retrieved in time for sufficient buffering to ensure their non-interrupted recording and therefore the conventional broadcast adverts will be recorded instead of the network provided adverts, the conventional broadcast adverts being likely to be of less relevance to the user).
  • the first predetermined time interval may be between 5 and 10 seconds (for example) or, in some circumstances (e.g.
  • the first predetermined time interval may correspond to the duration of advert 201A or a portion of advert 201 A, for example (so that the longer the duration of advert 201A, the longer the first predetermined time interval in order to allow sufficient buffering time).
  • the second predetermined time interval is determined to be sufficiently long as to enable the video signal receiving apparatus 105 (in particular, the processor 107) to carry out the processing necessary to implement the switch between recording the broadcast video signal and recording the network video signal.
  • the second predetermined time interval is also determined to be sufficiently short as to minimise any unnecessary delay between the occurrence of the advert initiation indicator 202B and the start of the ad break 201.
  • the second predetermined time interval may be between 100 milliseconds (ms) and 2 seconds, for example.
  • Ad skipping involves temporarily suspending recording of the output video signal during the ad break 201 or marking start and end of the ad break 201 in the recorded output video signal so that, when the recorded video signal is played back, the TV program 200 is viewed without the ad break 201. It is possible when, for example, at least one of the indicators 202A and 202B is detectable by the unauthorised operation and the corresponding first and/or second predetermined time intervals and ad break duration is known.
  • an unauthorised operation is able to detect the indicator 202A and it is known that the first predetermined time interval is 10 seconds, the second predetermined time interval is 1 second and that the ad break 201 lasts 3 minutes
  • the unauthorised operation knows that, upon detecting the indicator 202A, recording should be stopped (or an indicator indicating a start of a playback skipping operation should be added to the recorded video signal) in 11 seconds time and recording should be restarted (or an indicator indicating an end of the playback skipping operation should be added to the recorded video signal) in a further 3 minutes time. This is undesirable for the makers of the TV program 200 and the advertisers.
  • Such an unauthorised operation may be implemented by unauthorised ad skipping software stored in the storage medium 109 by the user and executed by the processor 107, for example.
  • the storage medium 109 may securely store a secret key for decrypting the indicators 202A and 202B which is only accessible by software implemented by the video signal receiving device 105 for performing the switching operation between the broadcast video signal and network video signal. An unauthorised operation cannot access the secret key and therefore cannot decrypt the indicators 202A and 202B in order to read them.
  • an unauthorised operation is able to recognise the indicators 202A and 202B by, for example, detecting non-encrypted message headers of the indicators 202A and 202B or simply detecting the presence of an encrypted message and reasoning or deducing that it must be one of the indicators 202A and 202B.
  • the indicator 202A is an encrypted message
  • that the first predetermined time interval is 10 seconds
  • that the second predetermined time interval is 1 second
  • the ad break lasts 3 minutes
  • Ad skipping may therefore be carried out even though the encrypted indicator 202A cannot actually be read by the unauthorised ad skipping operation.
  • the indicator 202A is positioned in the broadcast video signal amongst one or more dummy advert retrieval indicators and the temporal position of the indicator 202A relative to those of the one or more dummy advert retrieval indicators is varied between different ad breaks 201.
  • the indicator 202A is distinguishable amongst the one or more dummy indicators only by an intended receiver of the broadcast video signal.
  • each of the indicator 202A and one or more dummy indicators may be encrypted and may be decryptable using a secret key securely stored in the storage medium 109 and accessible only by software implemented by the video signal receiving device 105 for performing the switching operation between the broadcast video signal and network video signal.
  • the decrypted indicator 202A comprises data which distinguishes the indicator 202A from the one or more dummy indicators, thereby allowing the processor 107 to recognise the indicator 202A amongst the one or more dummy indicators.
  • each of the indicator 202A and one or more dummy indicators may be encrypted, but only the indicator 202A may be decryptable using the secret key securely stored in the storage medium 109 and accessible only by software implemented by the video signal receiving device 105 for performing the switching operation between the broadcast video signal and network video signal.
  • the one or more dummy indicators are encrypted using a different key not known to the video signal receiving apparatus 105 (or any other apparatus other than the video signal transmitting apparatus 100).
  • the processor 107 is thus able to recognise the indicator 202A amongst the one or more dummy indicators because it is the only one of the indicator 202A and one or more dummy indicators which can be successfully decrypted using the secret key stored in the storage medium 109.
  • Successful decryption may be ascertained by the processor 107 finding, for example, a predetermined message or verifiable digital signature in the decrypted indicator 202A, or by the decrypted indicator 202A being the only one of the indicator 202A and one or more dummy indicators for which decryption is attempted which contains a coherent message understandable to the processor 107.
  • each of the one or more dummy indicators comprise different respective information so that the encrypted versions of the one or more dummy indicators all appear different (that is, each of the one or more dummy indicators 300 are distinguishable from each other). This prevents the indicator 202A from being recognised amongst the dummy indicators because it is the only one of the encrypted indicator 202A and dummy indicators which appears to be different from the others.
  • the indicator 202B is positioned in the broadcast video signal amongst one or more dummy advert initiation indicators and the temporal position of the indicator 202B relative to those of the one or more dummy advert initiation indicators is varied between different ad breaks 201.
  • the indicator 202B is distinguishable amongst the one or more dummy indicators only by an intended receiver of the broadcast video signal.
  • each of the indicator 202B and one or more dummy indicators may be encrypted and may be decryptable using a secret key securely stored in the storage medium 109 and accessible only by software implemented by the video signal receiving device 105 for performing the switching operation between the broadcast video signal and network video signal.
  • the decrypted indicator 202B comprises data which distinguishes the indicator 202B from the one or more dummy indicators, thereby allowing the processor 107 to recognise the indicator 202B amongst the one or more dummy indicators.
  • each of the indicator 202B and one or more dummy indicators may be encrypted, but only the indicator 202B may be decryptable using the secret key securely stored in the storage medium 109 and accessible only by software implemented by the video signal receiving device 105 for performing the switching operation between the broadcast video signal and network video signal .
  • the one or more dummy indicators are encrypted using a different key not known to the video signal receiving apparatus 105 (or any other apparatus other than the video signal transmitting apparatus 100).
  • the processor 107 is thus able to recognise the indicator 202B amongst the one or more dummy indicators because it is the only one of the indicator 202B and one or more dummy indicators which can be successfully decrypted using the secret key stored in the storage medium 109.
  • Successful decryption may be ascertained by the processor 107 finding, for example, a predetermined message or verifiable digital signature in the decrypted indicator 202B, or by the decrypted indicator 202B being the only one of the indicator 202B and one or more dummy indicators for which decryption is attempted which contains a coherent message understandable to the processor 107.
  • each of the one or more dummy indicators comprise different respective information so that the encrypted versions of the one or more dummy indicators all appear different (that is, each of the one or more dummy indicators 301 are distinguishable from each other). This prevents the indicator 202B from being recognised amongst the dummy indicators because it is the only one of the encrypted indicator 202B and dummy indicators which appears to be different from the others.
  • the secret key and/or encryption / decryption method used to encrypt and decrypt the indicator 202A and/or one or more dummy advert retrieval indicators may be the same or different to the secret key and/or encryption / decryption method used to encrypt and decrypt the indicator 202B and/or one or more dummy advert initiation indicators.
  • each respective one of the indicator 202A and one or more dummy advert retrieval indicators is identical (e.g. comprises the same header and body comprising a string of alphanumeric characters output by an encryption algorithm) for each ad break. It is only the relative temporal positions of the indicator 202A and one or more dummy advert retrieval indicators which change for different ad breaks.
  • each respective one of the indicator 202B and one or more dummy advert initiation indicators is identical (e.g. comprises the same header and body comprising a string of alphanumeric characters output by an encryption algorithm) for each ad break. It is only the relative temporal positions of the indicator 202B and one or more dummy advert retrieval indicators which change for different ad breaks.
  • an entity which is not able to distinguish the indicator 202A or 202B from amongst its respective one or more dummy indicators simply sees the same set of different indicators occurring before each ad break (any of which could be the genuine indicator 202A or 202B) in an unpredictable order. This makes it very difficult to determine which indicator is the genuine indicator 202A or 202B, thereby making it difficult to successfully implement an ad skipping operation.
  • Figures 3A to 3C demonstrate the variation in the temporal positions of the indicators 202A and 202B relative to those of their respective dummy indicators for different ad breaks 201.
  • the indicator 202A is variably positioned amongst 3 dummy advert retrieval indicators 300 so that there is a group of 4 indicators (one being the indicator 202A and the others being dummy indicators) temporally positioned one after the other.
  • the indicator 202B is variable positioned amongst 3 dummy advert initiation indicators 301 so that there is a group of 4 indicators (one being the indicator 202B and the others being dummy indicators) temporally positioned one after the other. It will be appreciated, however, that different numbers of dummy advert retrieval and/or dummy advert initiation indicators may be used and that there may be the same or a different number of dummy advert retrieval indicators and dummy advert initiation indicators.
  • Figure 3A shows the temporal positions of the indicators 202A and 202B for a first ad break.
  • Each of the indicators 202A and 202B is positioned as the 2 nd indicator in its respective group of indicators (with the dummy indicators in each group being positioned at the 1 st , 3 rd and 4 th positions).
  • Figure 3B shows the temporal positions of the indicators 202A and 202B for a second ad break (e.g. occurring at a later time than the first ad break). This time, each of the indicators 202A and 202B is positioned as the 1 st indicator in its respective group of indicators (with the dummy indicators of each group being repositioned at the 2 nd , 3 rd and 4 th positions).
  • FIG. 3C shows the temporal positions of the indicators 202A and 202B for a third ad break (e.g. occurring at a later time than the first ad break). This time, each of the indicators 202A and 202B is positioned as the 4 th indicator in its respective group of indicators (with the dummy indicators of each group being repositioned at the 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd positions).
  • the ad break 201 is defined to be between the first part 200A and second part 200B of the TV program 200 for each of Figures 3A to 3C. In reality, however, it will be appreciated that the first ad break will occur between first and second parts of the TV program, the second ad break will occur between second and third parts of the TV program and the third ad break will occur between third and fourth parts of the TV program. Also, for ease of explanation, the ad break 201 is shown to start at the same time for each of the Figures 3A to
  • the ad break 201 may start at a different time for each of Figures 3A to 3C. For example, if the ad break 201 is initiated after a predetermined time interval following occurrence of the advert initiation indicator 202B (e.g. 1 second), then the ad break 201 will start at a different time depending on the position of the advert indication indicator 202B in its group of indicators (e.g. 1 second after the 2 nd indicator in the group of indicators comprising the indicator 202B in Figure 3A, 1 second after the 2 nd indicator in the group of indicators comprising the indicator 202B in Figure 3B and 1 second after the 4 th indicator in the group of indicators comprising the indicator 202B in Figure 3C).
  • a predetermined time interval following occurrence of the advert initiation indicator 202B e.g. 1 second
  • the ad break 201 will start at a different time depending on the position of the advert indication indicator 202B in its group of indicators (e.g. 1 second after the 2 nd indicator in the group
  • the indicator 202A is not distinguishable from the dummy indicators 300.
  • the indicator 202B is not distinguishable from the dummy indicators 301.
  • An ad skipper therefore cannot reliably determine when advert retrieval is instructed (since the advert retrieval indicator 202A could be any of the indicators 202A and 300) or when advert initiation is instructed (since the advert initiation indicator 202B could be any of the indicators 202B and 301). In turn, the ad skipper therefore cannot reliably determine when the ad break starts.
  • the ad skip may simply take a guess of which of the indicators 202A and 300 is the true advert retrieval indicator 202A and/or which of the indicators 202B and 301 is the true advert initiation indicator 202B.
  • Ad skipping therefore carries a risk of skipping part of the TV program 200 itself, thereby discouraging the use of ad skipping.
  • the temporal separation of adjacent indicators in each group may be constant or may be different.
  • the temporal separation value or range of values is chosen to be large enough to discourage the use of ad skipping (the greater the separation of adjacent indicators in a group, the more of the TV program 200 is skipped following an incorrect guess of the indicator 202A or indicator 202B) but small enough to enable sufficient granularity in the potential location of the indicators 202A and 202B (the smaller the separation of adjacent indicators in a group, the lower the total time duration of the group and thus the greater the number of potential insertion points of the group in the broadcast video signal).
  • the present technique therefore provides a technical solution for discouraging ad skipping in systems in which adverts are retrieved and initiated using advert retrieval indicators 202A and advert initiation indicators 202B.
  • the advert retrieval can be started in advance (in response to the advert retrieval indicator 202A) and the advert playback can then be started without delay at a suitable time (e.g. during a break in play of a sporting event) by inserting the advert initiation indicator 202B in the broadcast video signal at that time.
  • separate retrieval indicators 202A and initiation indicators 202B thus provides the technical effect of improved flexibility and reduced delay when switching between different output video signals (in this example, when switching between an output video signal representative of a TV program 200 and an output video signal representative of one or more adverts 201 A, 201 B and 201C ).
  • the use of separate retrieval indicators 202A and initiation indicators 202B also results in a higher number of indicators being present (compared to if a single indicator is used to indicate both retrieval and initiation), thereby providing more events to analyse and learn from in order to perform unauthorised operations (such as ad skipping).
  • the present technique alleviates this problem through the use of the dummy indicators 300 and 301 , which make it difficult for the timing of the indicators 202A and 202B to be determined by an unauthorised operation and which thus make it difficult for such unauthorised operations to be carried out successfully.
  • Figures 4A to 4C show a variation of the present technique as exemplified in Figures 3A to 3C.
  • the indicators 202A and 202B are positioned at the same position in their respective groups (that is, in Figure 3A, both indicators 202A and 202B are at the 2 nd indicator position in their respective groups, in Figure 3B, both indicators 202A and 202B are at the 1 st indicator position in their respective groups and, in Figure 3C, both indicators 202A and 202B are at the 4 th indicator position in their respective groups).
  • the temporal separation of the indicators 202A and 202B is therefore constant (e.g. 10 seconds).
  • the indicators 202A and 202B may be positioned at different positions in their respective groups so that the temporal separation of the indicators 202A and 202B is variable between different ad breaks. This provides more flexibility in the position of each of the indicators 202A and 202B, thereby increasing the difficulty in predicting which indicators amongst the dummy indicators 300 and 301 are the indicators 202A and 202B.
  • Figure 4A shows the temporal positions of the indicators
  • the indicator 202A and 202B for a first ad break.
  • the indicator 202A is positioned as the 2 nd indicator in its group of indicators whereas the indicator 202B is positioned as the 4 th indicator in its group of indicators.
  • Figure 3B shows the temporal positions of the indicators 202A and 202B for a second ad break (e.g. occurring at a later time than the first ad break).
  • the indicator 202A is positioned as the 1 st indicator in its group of indicators whereas the indicator 202B is positioned as the 2 nd indicator in its group of indicators.
  • Figure 3C shows the temporal positions of the indicators 202A and 202B for a third ad break (e.g. occurring at a later time than the first ad break).
  • the indicator 202A is positioned as the 4 th indicator in its group of indicators whereas the indicator 202B is positioned as the 1 st indicator in its group of indicators.
  • the ad break 201 is defined to be between the first part 200A and second part 200B of the TV program 200 for each of Figures 3A to 3C. In reality, however, it will be appreciated that the first ad break will occur between first and second parts of the TV program, the second ad break will occur between second and third parts of the TV program and the third ad break will occur between third and fourth parts of the TV program. All other features of Figures 4A to 4C are the same as those of Figures 3A to 3C.
  • the position of the indicators 202A and 202B in their respective groups is determined in such a way as to be difficult to predict by an unauthorised operation attempting to implement ad skipping or similar.
  • information indicative of a predetermined pattern known only to the video signal transmitting apparatus 100 e.g. stored in the storage medium 104 is used to determine the position of the indicator 202A and/or the indicator 202B in their respective groups for different ad breaks 201.
  • a single pattern is used to determine the position of both indicators 202A and 202B in their respective groups.
  • two different patterns are used, respectively, to determine the position of the indicator 202A in its group and the position of the indicator 202B in its group.
  • Each number in the list then indicates the position of the indicator 202A and/or the indicator 202B for different respective ad breaks 201.
  • a first list [2, 1 , 4] corresponding to the indicator 202A results in the indicator 202A being positioned in the 2 nd indicator position in Figure 4A, the 1 st indicator position in Figure 4B and the 4 th indicator position in Figure 4C.
  • a second list [4, 2, 1] corresponding to the indicator 202B results in the indicator 202B being positioned in the 4 th indicator position in Figure 4A, the 2 nd indicator position in Figure 4B and the 1 st indicator position in Figure 4C.
  • Each list may be repeated once the final number in the list has been used.
  • each predetermined pattern is generated non-randomly (e.g. by selection of a set of numbers using a predetermined, non-random system known only to the operator of the video signal transmitting apparatus 100 which are then included in a number list).
  • This helps prevent random noise filtering or the like from being used to determine which of the indicators in each group are the genuine indicators 202A and 202B.
  • Such random noise filtering could potentially be used to identify the genuine indicators 202A and 202B if, for example, the position of the genuine indicators 202A and 202B in their respective groups is random but the position of the dummy indicators relative to each other in each group remains constant.
  • the number of common characteristics of successive groups of indicators may be reduced in order to make determination of the genuine indicator 202A or 202B by statistical analysis or the like more difficult (thereby making successful ad skipping more difficult). Two examples though which this is achieved are given below.
  • the number of dummy indicators in each group may vary for different ad breaks.
  • the number of dummy indicators in each group would not always be three, but would vary from ad break to ad break.
  • the variation may be based on another repeating predetermined pattern in the form of a numbered list (e.g. a numbered list [2, 6, 3] would result in two dummy indicators in the group for a first ad break, six dummy indicators in the group for a second ad break and three dummy indicators in the group for a third ad break).
  • a numbered list e.g. a numbered list [2, 6, 3] would result in two dummy indicators in the group for a first ad break, six dummy indicators in the group for a second ad break and three dummy indicators in the group for a third ad break.
  • predetermined pattern indicating the location of the genuine indicators 202A and 202B in their respective groups from ad break to ad break will take into account the number of dummy indicators in those groups for the ad break concerned (thereby avoiding the indication of a position of the genuine indicator 202A or 202B at a position which does not exist).
  • the numbered list indicating the position of the genuine indicator 202A or 202B [Y ⁇ Y 2 , Y 3 ] must satisfy £ X + 1 , Y 2 £ X 2 + 1 and Y 3 £ 3 + 1 (“+1” is necessary because the total number of indicators in each group is the number of dummy indicators X ⁇ X 2 or X 3 plus the genuine indicator 202A or 202B).
  • the varying number of dummy indicators may be the same for the group comprising the indicator 202A and the group comprising the indicator 202B for each ad break or may be different (in which case, each group will have a different respective predetermined pattern indicating the number of dummy indicators of that group and a different respective pattern indicating the position of the genuine indicator 202A or 202B of that group). It will also be appreciated that the number of dummy indicators may be varied for only one of the group comprising the indicator 202A and the group comprising the indicator 202B.
  • one or more of the dummy indicators in a group is duplicated within the group (so that there are two or more identical instances of that dummy indicator in the group) and the group also comprises one or more duplicates of the genuine indicator 202A or 202B (i.e. so that there are two or more identical instances of that genuine indicator in the group).
  • the processor 107 performs the switching operating in response to detection of the first instance of the genuine indicator 202A or 202B in the group concerned and ignores any subsequent duplicate instances of the genuine indicator 202A or 202B in that group.
  • a group may contain a plurality of genuine indicators 202A or 202B, each of which cause the processor 107 to perform the switching operation (when detected as the first genuine indicator in the group) but which contain different information and so appear different.
  • genuine indicators 202A or 202B each of which, once decrypted with the secret key, indicate to the processor that they are genuine (e.g. a first retrieval indicator is decrypted to provide a message“A” and a second retrieval indicator is decrypted to provide a message“B”, but the processor 107 knows that both“A” and“B” indicate a genuine retrieval indicator 202A).
  • Figure 5A shows a process carried out by the video signal receiving apparatus 105, according to an embodiment.
  • the process starts at step 501.
  • a first video signal (e.g. representative of the TV program 200) is received (e.g. by the RF receiver 106).
  • the processor 107 identifies, in the first video signal, a second video signal retrieval indicator (e.g. advert retrieval indicator 202A).
  • the second video signal retrieval indicator is variably positioned relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators (e.g. dummy advert retrieval indicators 300) in the first video signal and is identifiable using a characteristic (e.g. a predetermined characteristic) of the second video signal retrieval indicator which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators.
  • the characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator is known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator.
  • the characteristic is, for example, data included in the second video signal retrieval indicator which is decryptable only by an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator (e.g. using a secret key stored in the storage medium 109) or, for example, the fact that the second video signal retrieval indicator is decryptable by that intended receiver in the first place (e.g. using a secret key stored in the storage medium 109).
  • a second video signal (e.g. adverts 201 A, 201 B and 201C) is retrieved in response to identifying the second video signal retrieval indicator.
  • the processor 107 identifies, in the first video signal, a second video signal initiation indicator (e.g. advert initiation indicator 202B).
  • the second video signal initiation indicator is variably positioned relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators (e.g. dummy advert initiation indicators 301) in the first video signal and is identifiable using a characteristic (e.g. a predetermined characteristic) of the second video signal initiation indicator which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators.
  • the characteristic of the second video signal initiation indicator is known to an intended receiver of the second video signal initiation indicator.
  • the characteristic is, for example, data included in the second video signal initiation indicator which is decryptable only by an intended receiver of the second video signal initiation indicator (e.g. using a secret key stored in the storage medium 109) or, for example, the fact that the second video signal initiation indicator is decryptable by that intended receiver in the first place (e.g. using a secret key stored in the storage medium 109).
  • the output 111 outputs the second video signal (e.g. to the display device 114 or video recording medium 115) in response to identifying the second video signal initiation indicator.
  • a computer program (e.g. in the form of a software application (app) such as a TV or STB app) may be transmitted to the video signal receiving apparatus 105 in order to control the video signal receiving apparatus to carry out at least steps 503, 504, 505 and 506 of the method of Figure 5A.
  • a computer program may be transmitted by the server 113, for example.
  • FIG. 5B shows a process carried out by the video signal transmitting apparatus 100, according to an embodiment. The process starts at step 508.
  • the first video signal (e.g. representative of the TV program 200) is transmitted (e.g. by the RF transmitter 1010).
  • the first video signal comprises the second video signal retrieval indicator (e.g. advert retrieval indicator 202A) which is variably positionable relative to the positions of the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators (e.g. dummy advert retrieval indicators 300) by the processor 102.
  • the first video signal also comprises, at a later time, the second video signal initiation indicator (e.g. advert initiation indicator 202B) which is variably positionable relative to the positions of the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators (e.g. dummy advert initiation indicators 301) by the processor 102.
  • Figures 6A to 6C show a variation of the present technique as exemplified in Figures 3A to 3C.
  • Figures 6A to 6C is the same as that of Figures 3A to 3C with the addition that, in response to detection of the advert retrieval indicator 202A, there is a variable delay between the time at which the advert retrieval indicator 202A occurs in the broadcast video signal and the time at which retrieval of the adverts 201 A, 201 B and 201 C is started. This further helps to prevent identification of the genuine indicator 202A by determining when a retrieval operation is initiated and associating that retrieval operation with the genuine indicator 202A.
  • unauthorised software installed on the video signal receiving device 105 could monitor when a data download rate of the network interface 110 suddenly increases and associate this with the retrieval of the video signal representative of adverts 201 A, 201 B and 201 C over the network 112.
  • the time of the sudden download rate increase could then be compared to the times of each of the indicator 202A and dummy indicators 300 in the broadcast video signal and used to determine which of the indicators is the genuine indicator 202A.
  • the indicator with the time most closely preceding the time of the sudden download rate increase could be determined as the genuine indicator 202A. Because the retrieval of the adverts 201 A, 201 B and 201 C requires the download of a video signal representative of the adverts over the network 112 and video signals typically comprise a large amount of data, it is difficult to avoid this sudden increase in the download rate.
  • variable delay is determined by the processor 107 upon detection of the indicator 202A and may be generated using any suitable technique which results in the variable delay being unpredictable for different ad breaks.
  • the processor 107 may use a random number generator to generate the delay for each ad break (e.g.
  • the predetermined parameter may be as a seed value to circuitry or software code to generate a valid delay.
  • variable delay should be selected such that it has a maximum value which still allows a sufficient portion of the video content of the adverts to be buffered prior to the initiation of the ad break (e.g. the maximum delay could be 30%, 40%, 50% or 60% of the time between the occurrence of the indicator 202A and the start of the ad break, depending on the available bandwidth for downloading the advert video content) and a minimum value which is greater than the separation of adjacent indicators in the group (if the delay is less than this and the genuine indicator 202A is the first indicator in the group, then it is possible to associate the ad retrieval with the genuine indicator 202A).
  • the variable delay is selected (e.g.
  • the maximum value of the variable delay associated with the indicator 202A is set such that retrieval of the video content (the video content, in this example, being the video content of the adverts) is started prior to occurrence of the corresponding initiation indicator 202B.
  • the number of determinable variable delay values should also be chosen to be sufficiently large so as to achieve sufficient unpredictability (e.g. 6 or more determinable delay values).
  • the advert retrieval delay at the first ad break is di ⁇ seconds. It is therefore not until di ⁇ seconds after the occurrence of the indicator 202A that advert retrieval is initiated and that a sudden increase in download rate can be measured.
  • the advert retrieval delay at the second ad break is d 2 seconds. It is therefore not until d 2 seconds after the occurrence of the indicator 202A that advert retrieval is initiated and that a sudden increase in download rate can be measured.
  • the advert retrieval delay at the third ad break is d 3 seconds. It is therefore not until d 3 seconds after the occurrence of the indicator 202A that advert retrieval is initiated and that a sudden increase in download rate can be measured.
  • the random advert retrieval delays d ⁇ d 2 and d 3 are unpredictable and remain unknown to any entity attempting to identify the genuine indicator 202A for the purpose of ad skipping. Such an entity can therefore no longer associate a particular indicator with the start of the advert retrieval process. All that such an entity will know about will be the occurrence of the group of indicator 202A and dummy indicators 300 (which cannot be distinguished from each other by the entity) followed by the start of the advert retrieval process at some time later.
  • Figures 7 A to 7C are the same as that of Figures 4A to 4C with the addition that, in response to detection of the advert retrieval indicator 202A, there is a variable delay between the time at which the advert retrieval indicator 202A occurs in the broadcast video signal and the time at which retrieval of the adverts 201 A, 201 B and 201C is started.
  • the advert retrieval delays d ⁇ d 2 and d 3 are implemented in the first, second and third ad breaks of Figures 7A, 7B and 7C, respectively, and that the same effect of obfuscating the position of the genuine advert retrieval indicator 202A is realised.
  • variable delay could also be implemented in a system in which only a single indicator is used to indicate both the retrieval and playback of an advert.
  • a single indicator could be appropriate in certain circumstances.
  • the use of a single indicator may be appropriate when reduced flexibility regarding when to initiate the ad break is acceptable.
  • the adverts are retrieved and, after a certain predetermined time interval (e.g. measured from the occurrence of the indicator), the ad break is initiated.
  • An advert retrieval delay like that described may therefore be introduced, as long as the maximum possible delay still allows a sufficient portion of the video content of the advert to be buffered prior to the initiation of the ad break.
  • Figure 8A shows a process carried out by the video signal receiving apparatus 105, according to an embodiment.
  • a first video signal (e.g. representative of the TV program 200) is received (e.g. by the RF receiver 106).
  • the processor 107 identifies, in the first video signal, a second video signal retrieval indicator (e.g. advert retrieval indicator 202A).
  • the second video signal retrieval indicator is variably positioned relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators (e.g. dummy advert retrieval indicators 300) in the first video signal and is identifiable using a characteristic (e.g. a predetermined characteristic) of the second video signal retrieval indicator which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators.
  • the characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator is known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator.
  • the characteristic is, for example, data included in the second video signal retrieval indicator which is decryptable only by an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator (e.g. using a secret key stored in the storage medium 109) or, for example, the fact that the second video signal retrieval indicator is decryptable by that intended receiver in the first place (e.g. using a secret key stored in the storage medium 109).
  • a second video signal (e.g. adverts 201 A, 201 B and 201C) is retrieved in response to identifying the second video signal retrieval indicator.
  • the second video signal is retrieved after a variable amount of time, thereby providing a variable delay between identification of the second video signal retrieval indicator and initiation of the second video signal retrieval process.
  • a computer program (e.g. in the form of a software application (app) such as a TV or STB app) may be transmitted to the video signal receiving apparatus 105 in order to control the video signal receiving apparatus to carry out at least steps 803 and 804 of the method of Figure 8A.
  • a computer program may be transmitted by the server 113, for example.
  • Figure 8B shows a process carried out by the video signal transmitting apparatus 100, according to an embodiment.
  • the process starts at step 806.
  • the first video signal (e.g. representative of the TV program 200) is transmitted (e.g. by the RF transmitter 1010).
  • the first video signal comprises the second video signal retrieval indicator (e.g. advert retrieval indicator 202A) which is variably positionable relative to the positions of the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators (e.g. dummy advert retrieval indicators 300) by the processor 102.
  • the process then ends at step 808.
  • a video signal receiving apparatus comprising processor circuitry and input circuitry, the processor circuitry being configured to:
  • a second video signal retrieval indicator variably positioned relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators in the first video signal using a characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators, the characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator being known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator;
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to clause 1 or 2, wherein the first video signal is a broadcasted radio signal.
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to any preceding clause, wherein the second video signal is retrieved over a computer network.
  • the second video signal retrieval indicator is encrypted and is decryptable using a first decryption key known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator.
  • none of the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators are decryptable using the first decryption key and the processor circuitry is configured to identify the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators by attempting to decrypt each of the second video signal retrieval indicator and one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators using the first decryption key.
  • the decrypted second video signal retrieval indicator comprises data which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators.
  • each of the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators are distinguishable from each other.
  • a video signal receiving apparatus wherein the first video signal corresponds to content and the second video signal corresponds to an
  • a video signal receiving apparatus further comprising output circuitry, wherein the processor circuitry is configured to:
  • a second video signal initiation indicator variably positioned relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators in the first video signal using a characteristic of the second video signal initiation indicator which distinguishes the second video signal initiation indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators, the characteristic of the second video signal initiation indicator being known to an intended receiver of the second video signal initiation indicator;
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to clause 10, wherein the processor circuitry is configured:
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to clause 11 , wherein the first and second video signals are output for storage as a file in a storage medium.
  • a temporal separation between the second video signal retrieval indicator and the second video signal initiation indicator is variable.
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to any one of clauses 10 to 13, wherein: the second video signal initiation indicator is encrypted and is decryptable using a second decryption key known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator.
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to clause 14, wherein:
  • none of the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators are decryptable using the second decryption key and the processor circuitry is configured to identify the second video signal initiation indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators by attempting to decrypt each of the second video signal initiation indicator and one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators using the second decryption key.
  • the decrypted second video signal initiation indicator comprises data which distinguishes the second video signal initiation indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators.
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to any one of clauses 10 to 16, wherein each of the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators are distinguishable from each other.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus comprising transmitter circuitry configured to transmit a first video signal, the first video signal comprising:
  • a second video signal retrieval indicator variably positionable relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators in the first video signal, the second video signal retrieval indicator being distinguishable from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators using a characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator so that the intended receiver is able to retrieve a second video signal in response to identifying the second video signal retrieval indicator after a variable amount of time.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to clause 18, wherein the variable amount of time is randomly determined.
  • the first video signal is a broadcasted radio signal.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to any one of clauses 18 to 20, wherein the second video signal is retrieved by the intended receiver over a computer network.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to any one of clauses 18 to 21 , wherein: the second video signal retrieval indicator is encrypted and is decryptable using a first decryption key known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator.
  • none of the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators are decryptable using the first decryption key and the second video signal retrieval indicator is identifiable from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators by the intended receiver attempting to decrypt each of the second video signal retrieval indicator and one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators using the first decryption key.
  • the decrypted second video signal retrieval indicator comprises data which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to any one of clauses 18 to 24, wherein each of the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators are distinguishable from each other.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to any one of clauses 18 to 25, wherein the first video signal corresponds to content and the second video signal corresponds to an advertisement.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to any one of clauses 18 to 26, wherein the first video signal comprises:
  • a second video signal initiation indicator variably positionable relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators in the first video signal, the second video signal initiation indicator being distinguishable from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators using a characteristic of the second video signal initiation indicator known to an intended receiver of the second video signal initiation indicator so that the intended receiver is able to output the second video signal in response to identifying the second video signal initiation indicator.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to clause 27, wherein a temporal separation between the second video signal retrieval indicator and the second video signal initiation indicator is variable.
  • the second video signal initiation indicator is encrypted and is decryptable using a second decryption key known to an intended receiver of the second video signal initiation indicator.
  • none of the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators are decryptable using the second decryption key and the second video signal initiation indicator is identifiable from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators by the intended receiver attempting to decrypt each of the second video signal initiation indicator and one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators using the second decryption key.
  • the decrypted second video signal initiation indicator comprises data which distinguishes the second video signal initiation indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators.
  • a video signal receiving method comprising:
  • a video signal transmitting method comprising transmitting a first video signal, the first video signal comprising:
  • a second video signal retrieval indicator variably positionable relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators in the first video signal, the second video signal retrieval indicator being distinguishable from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators using a characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator so that the intended receiver is able to retrieve a second video signal in response to identifying the second video signal retrieval indicator after a variable amount of time.
  • a server apparatus configured to transmit, to a video signal receiving apparatus, a program for controlling the video signal receiving apparatus to:
  • a second video signal retrieval indicator variably positioned relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators in the first video signal using a characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators
  • a video signal receiving apparatus comprising processor circuitry, input circuitry and output circuitry, the processor circuitry being configured to:
  • a second video signal retrieval indicator variably positioned relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators in the first video signal using a characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators, the characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator being known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator;
  • a second video signal initiation indicator variably positioned relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators in the first video signal using a characteristic of the second video signal initiation indicator which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators, the characteristic of the second video signal initiation indicator being known to an intended receiver of the second video signal initiation indicator;
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to clause 39, wherein the first and second video signals are output for storage as a file in a storage medium.
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to any one of clauses 38 to 40, wherein a temporal separation between the second video signal retrieval indicator and the second video signal initiation indicator is variable.
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to any one of clauses 38 to 41 , wherein the first video signal is a broadcasted radio signal.
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to any one of clauses 38 to 42, wherein the second video signal is retrieved over a computer network.
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to any one of clauses 38 to 43, wherein: the second video signal retrieval indicator is encrypted and is decryptable using a first decryption key known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator; and/or
  • the second video signal initiation indicator is encrypted and is decryptable using a second decryption key known to an intended receiver of the second video signal initiation indicator.
  • none of the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators are decryptable using the first decryption key and the processor circuitry is configured to identify the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators by attempting to decrypt each of the second video signal retrieval indicator and one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators using the first decryption key; and/or
  • none of the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators are decryptable using the second decryption key and the processor circuitry is configured to identify the second video signal initiation indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators by attempting to decrypt each of the second video signal initiation indicator and one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators using the second decryption key.
  • the decrypted second video signal retrieval indicator comprises data which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators;
  • the decrypted second video signal initiation indicator comprises data which distinguishes the second video signal initiation indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators.
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to any one of clauses 38 to 46, wherein each of the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators are distinguishable from each other and each of the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators are distinguishable from each other.
  • a video signal receiving apparatus according to any one of clauses 38 to 47, wherein the first video signal corresponds to content and the second video signal corresponds to an advertisement.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus comprising transmitter circuitry configured to transmit a first video signal, the first video signal comprising:
  • a second video signal retrieval indicator variably positionable relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators in the first video signal, the second video signal retrieval indicator being distinguishable from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators using a characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator so that the intended receiver is able to retrieve a second video signal in response to identifying the second video signal retrieval indicator;
  • a second video signal initiation indicator variably positionable relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators in the first video signal, the second video signal initiation indicator being distinguishable from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators using a characteristic of the second video signal initiation indicator known to an intended receiver of the second video signal initiation indicator so that the intended receiver is able to output the second video signal in response to identifying the second video signal initiation indicator.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to clause 49, wherein a temporal separation between the second video signal retrieval indicator and the second video signal initiation indicator is variable.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to clause 49 or 50, wherein the first video signal is a broadcasted radio signal.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to any one of clauses 49 to 51 , wherein the second video signal is retrieved by the intended receiver over a computer network.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to any one of clauses 49 to 52, wherein: the second video signal retrieval indicator is encrypted and is decryptable using a first decryption key known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator; and/or
  • the second video signal initiation indicator is encrypted and is decryptable using a second decryption key known to an intended receiver of the second video signal initiation indicator.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to clause 53, wherein: none of the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators are decryptable using the first decryption key and the second video signal retrieval indicator is identifiable from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators by the intended receiver attempting to decrypt each of the second video signal retrieval indicator and one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators using the first decryption key; and/or
  • none of the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators are decryptable using the second decryption key and the second video signal initiation indicator is identifiable from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators by the intended receiver attempting to decrypt each of the second video signal initiation indicator and one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators using the second decryption key.
  • the decrypted second video signal retrieval indicator comprises data which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators;
  • the decrypted second video signal initiation indicator comprises data which distinguishes the second video signal initiation indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to any one of clauses 49 to 55, wherein each of the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators are distinguishable from each other and each of the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators are distinguishable from each other.
  • a video signal transmitting apparatus according to any one of clauses 49 to 56, wherein the first video signal corresponds to content and the second video signal corresponds to an advertisement.
  • a video signal receiving method comprising:
  • a second video signal retrieval indicator variably positioned relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators in the first video signal using a characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators, the characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator being known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator; retrieving a second video signal in response to identifying the second video signal retrieval indicator;
  • a video signal transmitting method comprising transmitting a first video signal, the first video signal comprising:
  • a second video signal retrieval indicator variably positionable relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators in the first video signal, the second video signal retrieval indicator being distinguishable from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators using a characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator so that the intended receiver is able to retrieve a second video signal in response to identifying the second video signal retrieval indicator;
  • a second video signal initiation indicator variably positionable relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators in the first video signal, the second video signal initiation indicator being distinguishable from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators using a characteristic of the second video signal initiation indicator known to an intended receiver of the second video signal initiation indicator so that the intended receiver is able to output the second video signal in response to identifying the second video signal initiation indicator.
  • a server apparatus configured to transmit, to a video signal receiving apparatus, a program for controlling the video signal receiving apparatus to:
  • a second video signal retrieval indicator variably positioned relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators in the first video signal using a characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal retrieval indicators
  • characteristic of the second video signal retrieval indicator being known to an intended receiver of the second video signal retrieval indicator
  • a second video signal initiation indicator variably positioned relative to the positions of one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators in the first video signal using a characteristic of the second video signal initiation indicator which distinguishes the second video signal retrieval indicator from the one or more dummy second video signal initiation indicators, the characteristic of the second video signal initiation indicator being known to an intended receiver of the second video signal initiation indicator;
  • a non- transitory machine-readable medium carrying such software such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, semiconductor memory or the like, is also considered to represent an
  • Described embodiments may be implemented in any suitable form including hardware, software, firmware or any combination of these. Described embodiments may optionally be implemented at least partly as computer software running on one or more data processors and/or digital signal processors.
  • the elements and components of any embodiment may be physically, functionally and logically implemented in any suitable way. Indeed the functionality may be implemented in a single unit, in a plurality of units or as part of other functional units. As such, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in a single unit or may be physically and functionally distributed between different units, circuitry and/or processors.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Marketing (AREA)
  • Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Two-Way Televisions, Distribution Of Moving Picture Or The Like (AREA)

Abstract

Appareil de réception de signal vidéo comprenant un circuit de processeur et un circuit d'entrée, le circuit de processeur étant configuré pour commander les circuits d'entrée pour recevoir un premier signal vidéo ; et l'identification, dans le premier signal vidéo, d'un second indicateur de récupération de signal vidéo positionné de façon variable par rapport aux positions d'un ou de plusieurs seconds indicateurs de récupération de signal vidéo factices dans le premier signal vidéo à l'aide d'une caractéristique du second indicateur de récupération de signal vidéo qui distingue le second indicateur de récupération de signal vidéo du ou des seconds indicateurs de récupération de signal vidéo factices, la caractéristique du second indicateur de récupération de signal vidéo étant connue d'un récepteur prévu du second indicateur de récupération de signal vidéo ; et la récupération d'un second signal vidéo en réponse à l'identification du second indicateur de récupération de signal vidéo après une durée variable.
EP20702891.1A 2019-01-28 2020-01-24 Appareil de réception de signal vidéo, appareil de transmission et procédés Pending EP3918785A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB1901134.5A GB2580706A (en) 2019-01-28 2019-01-28 Video signal receiving apparatus, transmitting apparatus and methods
PCT/GB2020/050166 WO2020157470A1 (fr) 2019-01-28 2020-01-24 Appareil de réception de signal vidéo, appareil de transmission et procédés

Publications (1)

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EP3918785A1 true EP3918785A1 (fr) 2021-12-08

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EP (1) EP3918785A1 (fr)
GB (1) GB2580706A (fr)
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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP4806204B2 (ja) * 2005-03-30 2011-11-02 株式会社日立国際電気 暗号化データ通信システム
JP5666619B2 (ja) * 2009-12-16 2015-02-12 トムソン ライセンシングＴｈｏｍｓｏｎ Ｌｉｃｅｎｓｉｎｇ 広告キューメッセージをプロテクトするためのシステム及び方法
US10511887B2 (en) * 2010-08-30 2019-12-17 Saturn Licensing Llc Reception apparatus, reception method, transmission apparatus, transmission method, program, and broadcasting system

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GB2580706A (en) 2020-07-29
WO2020157470A1 (fr) 2020-08-06
GB201901134D0 (en) 2019-03-20

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