KR20000076573A - System and method for providing proof of reception of media transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a convenient and efficient mechanism for authenticating that a particular media has been received by a destination from a source. This receipt authentication comprises the steps of: 1) directly embedding at least one media identifier into the media at the media source; 2) at the destination, combining the at least one media identifier and the destination identifier to produce at least one combined identifier; And 3) transmitting the combined identifier to one or more collection points for processing. Because an identifier is not associated with a channel or source and with that particular media whose receipt needs to be authenticated, the mechanism of the present invention compares to an active trace of user behavior, so that it generates little extraneous data. do. This mechanism is fine grained, with details required to monitor viewer behavior (including, for example, monitoring the viewer's channel changes during an advertisement), and in the early, middle, and late stages of media delivery. It can be attached at any one time or all time. This mechanism supports the tracking of media segments from its source to multiple distributors, depending on who is attached to the media identifier, so that multiple assessments are possible, for example by source, distributor, media, and so forth. It is also possible to easily associate the combined identifier with the reception time. Widely applicable to all kinds of media, this mechanism can be extended in combination with other technologies to prevent unauthorized tampering, and to authorize viewing.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING RECEIVED ACCESS OF MEDIA TRANSFER {SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING PROOF OF RECEPTION OF MEDIA TRANSMISSION}

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of media distribution systems, and more particularly, to systems and methods for authenticating whether a particular media (audio, video, image, text, etc.) has been received by a system to be distributed.

In various cases for media distribution, it is even more desirable to have a mechanism for authenticating that someone has received and viewed a particular media. In television and internet services, the advertiser wants to know how many people or which groups of people demographically have some shared characteristics watched the advertisement. In addition, advertisers want to make sure that the advertising station has sent their advertisement. In the field of education, a person who is required to view compulsory educational materials may need to certify to the third party whether the trainee has reviewed the educational materials. In a multi-media format, the content owner may want to charge a fee to verify that someone has watched the material, and may want to verify who fulfilled the order to verify fulfillment of the order.

In television, both measurement methods are important because both the method of accounting the number of program viewers and the method of accounting the number of viewers of an advertisement are used to determine the value of an advertisement sponsoring the program. Current methods for obtaining viewership statistics, which are performed by extrapolating viewership statistics to all viewers by installing special devices in selected homes to record viewers of the selected family, are complex, expensive and somewhat inaccurate. As the number of media distribution channels increases, to maintain accuracy, the number of samples required must be increased. Also, it is difficult to monitor behaviors such as viewers changing channels when an ad comes out. One method proposed to remedy this problem is to record all of the viewer's actions (eg, turning on the television receiver, changing channels, etc.) and then analyzing these actions to obtain an accurate history of the viewer's behavior. will be. However, this method involves a large amount of data and is somewhat complicated and tedious.

The preferred method is a centralized method of producing only the desired data of fine grain.

Distance learning using digital media in a distributed computing environment is becoming increasingly important in the field of continuing education and professional certification. In addition, in other networked computer applications, such as corporate communications, it has become important to determine who has been granted access to which digital media, including authorized and unauthorized viewers. In addition, the exact number of viewers visiting a given site (eg, on the Internet) is often very valuable information.

As a result, as the distribution of digital information products further spread through the network infrastructure, the seller provides viewer information, such as information indicating that an order has been fulfilled, in order to obtain demographic data and to establish a fee. It is important to gather information to detect and identify everyone who has received a.

Currently, there is no direct solution to the problem of media distribution tracking within the domain of distributed computing. The indirect solution is to build complex authentication and deny algorithms into various applications. However, this method is a complex solution with limited authentication value due to its high complexity and indirection.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a universal mechanism for authenticating the receipt of a media transmission.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a media distribution tracking system capable of monitoring receiver behavior in addition to basic reception of transmissions.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an automatic means for tracking intermediary involvement when distributing media content to the final destination.

1 illustrates a relationship between a media program, a media segment and a media unit.

2 illustrates a media display facility for inserting a media identifier into a media unit.

3 illustrates components of a video distribution system.

4 illustrates an identifier processing facility in a destination apparatus.

※ Explanation of code for main part of drawing

5: media program

Media Segments: 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E

15A, 15B, 15C, ... 15N: Media Unit

20A, 20B, 20C: Media Identifier

120: meta information

125: display equipment

210J, 210K, 210L: Source

230A, 230B: Distributor

240A, 240B: final destination

260: Collection Points

310: identifier processing equipment

320: destination identifier

330: combined identifier

The above and other objects are realized by the present invention, which provides a convenient and efficient mechanism for authenticating whether a particular media has been received by a destination from a source.

This receipt authentication is

1) at the media source, directly embedding at least one media identifier into the media;

2) at the destination, combining the at least one media identifier and the destination identifier to produce at least one combined identifier; And

3) sending step 3 to the one or more collection points for processing the combined identifier. Because the identifier is not associated with the channel or source and with respect to that particular media whose receipt needs to be authenticated, the mechanism of the present invention, in comparison with the active trace of the user's behavior, produces almost irrelevant data. It will not be created. This mechanism is fine grained and has the details required to monitor the viewer's behavior (including, for example, watching the viewer change channels during the advertisement), early, middle and later stages of media delivery. It can be attached at any one or all of the times. This mechanism supports the tracking of media segments from its source to the multidistributor, depending on who is attached to the media identifier, so that multiple evaluations are possible, for example by source, distributor, media, and so forth. It is also possible to easily associate the combined identifier with the reception time. Widely applicable to all kinds of media, this mechanism can be extended in combination with other technologies to prevent unauthorized tampering, and only authorize viewing to authorized parties.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described the present invention.

The mechanism of the present invention is to provide tracking of transmitted content in any media that may be attached to include a media identifier to be transmitted with the media content. In order for the destination site to be able to attach a segment containing the destination identifier to generate a combined identifier that is returned to the collection point, the media identifier segment of the media transmission must include additional bandwidth. Suitable media for practicing the present invention may be used to insert media identifiers, regardless of whether they are distributed by infrared (IR) means, cable or other terrestrial television programming distribution, radio transmission, Internet posting, satellite transmission, or the like. Analog video, digital video, analog audio, digital audio, and the like, with available vertical erasing periods. Although the present invention clearly aims at being not limited only to the television embodiment, for clarity, only the television embodiment will be described in detail below.

The television environment has many kinds of media sources, including movie studios for entertainment, news studios for news shows, advertising agencies for advertising, and freelance producers for feature films. These sources deliver media through channels to distributors, such as television networks, that deliver media directly to consumers or to other distributors, such as cable television headends, that deliver media to consumers.

Under the present invention, a solution for tracking the receipt of a transmission is that the source and each distributor can insert a new element (one or more media identifiers) in the media. At the final destination for watching media, the destination device will combine the media identifier with its own media identifier. The destination device then sends the combined media and destination identifier (hereinafter referred to as " combined identifier ") to the collection point for processing for generating a receipt authentication report over the back channel. Each intermediate entity is added to the media identifier to provide tracking of the "value added" of each entity, each entity being an intermediate combined identifier sent to one or more collection points. Will generate Depending on the content of the media transfer, it is desirable to insert multiple media identifiers at various locations within the media transfer, as described in more detail below.

First, the process of displaying the media by the media identifier will be described in detail. Next, the overall operation of the present invention will be described, and finally, examples of using the present invention by several applications will be described. For the following description, the following terms are used.

Media: information to be transmitted, such as information including video, audio, images, text or animation; This can be in the form of analog or digital.

Media segment: A logical, self-contained part of media, such as a scene from a movie, advertisement, etc.

Media unit: A unit of media to be transferred. This unit is the unit to be indicated and its reception should be tracked.

Media Identifier: A digital identifier for a media segment or subset of media segments. The media identifier is always associated with one media unit. This media identifier may be unique between the media unit or shared between media units / segments that form a class (eg, all advertisements originating from a particular consumer goods company).

Media display equipment: Equipment for attaching media identifiers to media units

Marked media unit: unit of media indicated by the media identifier

Marked Media Segment: A media segment that contains one or more marked media units.

Source: Media Start Point

Destination: Device for the display of media

Destination identifier: unique identifier for the destination

Viewers: the person watching the destination device

Channel: Transmission Media for Media

Back channel: channel through which the destination sends a collection of identifiers to the collection point (s)

Distributor Point: The place where media content is received from a source and sent to a destination or other distributor. At the distributor, media from several channels / sources can be combined.

Combined identifier: a set of identifiers including a destination identifier and one or more media identifiers

Collection point A system in which a destination device can temporarily access and transmit a group of identifiers for further processing.

According to FIG. 1, the logical unit of media is referred to as media segment 10A to 10E. Examples of media segments are video clips of a movie, advertisement, or news event. The sequence of media segments forms the media program 5. For transmission and processing purposes, the media segments are divided into media units 15A-15N. The media unit becomes very small. In the case of video, a media unit is a single video frame or a small set of video frames, such as a group of pictures (GOP) within a Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) encoded video.

1 shows a relationship between a media unit, a media segment and a media program.

The media unit (eg, 15C) may be absent or may be represented by one or more media identifiers 20A-20C. The media identifier can be inserted into the media unit in many formats, along with a particular format according to a particular media representation. Digital media tend to have well-defined stream syntax with extended options that make digital media particularly well suited to this method. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the media is digital video, and the video is encoded using the MPEG standard. This MPEG standard allows the addition of data to video and audio streams in a way that does not interfere with the transmission and display of media. Regardless of whether the media is in digital or analog format, the media identifier can be inserted into the stream according to the assigned syntax, easily recognized, read and / or removed by the destination device. There is an assigned statement. It is also possible to fully embed an identifier in a manner that does not interfere with the operation of its destination devices not suitable for identifying and removing the media identifier from the media.

Hereinafter, a media unit (particularly 15C in FIG. 1) having at least one combined media identifier 20A-20C is referred to as a "marked media unit". Similarly, a media segment (10B of FIG. 1) that includes one or more indicated media units is referred to as a “marked media segment”. If the indicated media segment is handled by multiple parties, each party can add a media identifier to one or more media units, thereby examining the media identifier to determine the total path of the media segment from the source to the destination device. Will be. For example, the original creator of the content (eg, a movie studio), the first distributor (eg, a television network), and the final distributor (eg, a cable television operator) all have different destination identifiers. You can add media identifiers to any media unit or all media units before the media is delivered to the final destination (for example, the viewer's location), where you add and generate combined identifiers and distribute them to one or more collection points. have. As described above, to suit tracking purposes, the combined identifier is to be generated by each intermediate entity.

2 shows a media presentation facility 125 for inserting a media identifier 20 into one media unit of media units 15X-15Z.

Unmarked media segments enter this media display facility. Meta information 120 describes which media unit should be indicated by inserting a media identifier. This meta information may be changed by, for example, an advertising scheduling system (not shown) that adjusts when and where advertisements can be inserted into the stream for display. The media display 125 reads the meta information while the media display 125 processes the stream of the media unit. Whenever a media display device encounters a media unit (e.g., 15Y in FIG. 2) to be displayed in accordance with the meta information, this media display device 125 obtains a media identifier 20 representing the unit. Done. The media display facility will obtain the media identifier from the media id generator 110, meta information 120, any other source or any combination of the above; The media identifier may be modified according to the meta information. Next, the media display device adds the media identifier 20Y to the media content 25 of the media unit 15Y, and inserts the newly displayed media unit 15Y 'back into the media segment, and this media segment is displayed. It becomes a media segment. When specified by the meta information 120, the media display facility may add one or more media identifiers to the media unit.

The media identifier may be in a static state where a particular media segment obtains their identifier and maintains the media identifier for their total lifetime. In such an embodiment, the display facility may mark the media segment "permanently" and store the marked media segment for later transmission. Alternatively, the media identifier may be inserted dynamically, for example, when transmitting each particular broadcast, or when sending the media to a particular distributor or destination. This would allow tracking of the copy or specific use of a particular media. Static and dynamic media identifiers need not be distinguished except where distinguished by their use.

The media identifiers used are unique to a particular media segment or they are unique for a particular transmission of the media segment. On the other hand, when reporting only the rough reception statistics applied to a class of media rather than individual media segments, the media identifier is unique to the entire media class. For example, the media identifier will identify all transmissions or all content emanating from a particular source.

If desired, the media identifier includes name (s) indicating the address of one or more collection points or address (s) of collection point (s), and will transmit the combined identifier to that collection point. In this way, the reception information can be transmitted to one or more collection points, thereby supporting one or more applications.

3, the use of the displayed media will be described in detail.

Media producers such as TV studios or news studios are the sources of media (210J-210L). These producers insert the media identifier into the media and then send the media to the distributors (eg, 230A and 230B) via the channel. A distributor (e.g., 230A), such as a TV network, is a set-top box that viewers use to combine media from other sources into a media program and receive future distributors 230B or digital television over a channel. This media program is sent to the final destination 240A or 240B. When each distributor sends a program, they may insert additional identifiers in the segment.

In the case of a cable distribution system, the cable headend becomes the distributor 230B, which receives the program via a channel (not shown) from the TV network, which is also the distributor 230A. This cable headend serves as the second distributor. This second distributor can add additional advertisements to the program, inserting his own identifier, to authorize the calculation and transmission of his share of viewers. The cable distributor then transmits the program to destinations 240A and / or 240B through its channel, i.e., the cable distribution system. Each intermediate entity, for example the distributions of FIG. 3, is an identifier processing facility that generates a combined identifier by reading a media identifier (FIG. 2) that inserts a media identifier and a media identifier and adding a destination identifier. It is also possible to combine both functions in a single installation that includes both (FIG. 4) or has all the relevant functions.

Destinations (240A and 240B in FIG. 3) are TV set-top boxes (STBs) needed to receive and decode digital TV transmissions. These STBs are improved to include an identifier processing facility (310 in FIG. 4) for processing media identifiers. STBs are additionally provided with a "back channel" that provides the combined identifier to the collection point so that they do not have to wait until their main receive channel is empty. In addition, each destination device has a destination identifier 320. 4 shows an exemplary identifier processing facility in a destination apparatus. When the destination apparatus 240A receives the indicated media unit 15Y ', the identifier processing facility 310 automatically reads and / or removes the media identifier 20Y from the displayed media unit. However, depending on whether this final display device can ignore irrelevant information, it may not be absolutely necessary to remove the media identifier from the bit stream. Once the media identifier is read and / or removed, the identifier processing facility automatically combines the destination identifier 320 and the media identifier to form the combined identifier 330. If a particular indicated media segment has one or more media identifiers, one copy of the one or more media identifiers and the destination identifier 320 may form one or a plurality of combined identifiers 330. This combined identifier 330 includes at least one destination identifier 320 and one or more media identifiers. Combining one destination identifier and several media identifiers at the destination when all are heading to the same collection point will result in more efficient transmission and processing of the combined identifier. When ready to send the combined identifier 330, the destination 240, if desired, will send the combined identifier to the collection point 260 over the back channel described above. This back channel is a telephone connection connecting the set-top box and the collection point, or this back channel is a return channel that is a component of the cable television infrastructure. Periodically (eg, every 20 minutes) or each based on a threshold amount of information collected (eg, when the system adds 10 MB of combined identifier data for a given collection point), or each It will report to the collection point individually for the received transmission of.

In many cases, the destination identifier will be unique to that destination. For example, in an application that pays a fee per number of viewing programs, the destination identifier must be unique to a particular home or a particular set-top box. However, if privacy concerns are important or the purpose is to only obtain demographic data, the destination identifier may be unique to any group defined by the entity assigning the destination identifier to the set-top box.

The collection point is a place for evaluating the combined identifier according to various criteria, and the reception authentication report is generated at the collection point. Below, examples of some applications for evaluating combined identifiers are described. The collection point may be operated by the source 210 or by one of the distributors 230, or the collection point may be an independent agency, such as a television ratings company. The collection point 260 need not be on the path of the channel that transmits the media from the source 210 to the destination 240. This collection point collects the combined identifier 330 and processes and stores the combined identifier, or gathers the combined identifiers together to generate information about the demographic population.

Some specific embodiments are described in detail below.

Pay-per-view: All materials in a pay-per-view format are encoded to contain a unique media identifier. The set-top box collects the media identifier, combines the destination identifier with the media identifier, and sends the combined identifier to the collection point to generate a billing record. This easily permits impulse purchases. The act of watching a fee does not require administrative actions such as a telephone call. In order to authorize the viewer to voluntarily charge, the behavior of displaying a message on the screen when the set-top box encounters the first media identifier and requiring the viewer to acknowledge the approval of the fee by pressing a key on the remote control. Confirmation actions specific to set-top boxes, such as actions, can be generated. For example, if only one person can approve the fee for the entertainment, the viewer may be asked to enter a password identifying the viewer rather than just a set-top box. Even if it is necessary to identify a particular viewer, the present invention can be combined with prior art such as a smart card that reliably identifies a particular viewer.

Receive Authentication for Advertising: For this embodiment, preferably, the initial and late of each advertisement will include a media identifier. In each wireless television market or in each cable television area provided by the head-end, one or more set-top boxes collect media identifiers, generate combined identifiers, and send the combined identifiers to collection points. Is installed. This collection point compares the media identifier from the identifier combined with the list of advertisements and sends a message to the advertiser to confirm that the advertisement has been aired. In this case, the destination identifier indicates the specific broadcast domain in which the advertisement is transmitted.

Collection of Viewership Statistics: In recent years, the collection of viewership statistics collected somewhat by human work can be automated using the present invention. Media identifiers will be included periodically in all material transmitted. The set-top box immediately returns the combined identifier over the back channel, or stores the combined identifier and periodically transmits the combined identifier. By analyzing this combined identifier, it is possible to determine what was watched on each television. This information can be added to statistics about the viewer population or used separately by the viewer. In any case, it becomes possible to combine information about who watched what and other information about the viewer, thereby creating a more desirable target advertising. The advertising agency providing the advertisement may add a multiple media identifier, for example, one media identifier at the beginning of the advertisement, one media identifier in the middle of the advertisement, and one media identifier at the end of the advertisement to the particular advertisement. . Analyzing which of these identifiers are included in the returned "combined identifier", the agency determines how many people changed channels during the advertisement, and the combination received from each of the initial, middle, and later stages of the advertisement. By comparing the number of identifiers assigned, it is possible to determine whether they have changed channels in the first half or the second half of the advertisement.

Tell-me-more buttons: In this embodiment, if the viewer wants to know more about the advertised product or something else in the TV show, the viewer has one key on the remote control. Just press. The combined identifier identifies both the viewer and the material. By opening a window on the television screen via printed material, e-mail, or the like, the collection point automatically sends additional information to the user.

Many other applications may be based on information about when and what media material specific users watched. If the user wishes to store the received information for later viewing and / or repeated use, the mechanism of the invention provides for maintaining the media identifier with the media content rather than being removed from the same immediately after being received. By creating a newly combined identifier each time the stored media is accessed, it provides long term tracking of usage for statistical purposes and billing purposes. All of the above examples use video, but the method applies to graphic data as well as audio data.

To record the time at which the material was received, the destination device may attach a time stamp to the identifier family. Alternatively, if a combined identifier is sent immediately after being received at the collection point, the collection point may record the time at which the collection point received the material.

To prevent tampering with the media identifier, the media identifiers may be encrypted at insertion time. The encryption key must be sent to the collection point for successful decryption and processing. In this way, it is possible to ensure that the distributor or destination does not tamper with the media identifier. If it is important to prevent tampering with the destination identifier, the destination identifier may be stored in the STB in encrypted form. This prohibits the destination that impersonates another destination body. This also ensures that only the authorized parties are given receipt authentication information.

The present invention can be used not only for media data but also for any kind of data to indicate its authentication. For example, it may be used in the context of information distribution or software distribution indicating what kind of information a particular party has received. This received data is not limited to being used inside the STB. While transmitting and using data to other devices such as a PC, this STB can function as a gateway and provide receipt authentication.

The media identifier may include the network address of the collection point. According to this method, different collection points can function as different applications. For example, a movie studio may want to receive an acknowledgment whenever his movie is showing. At the same time, the rating agency may want to receive viewership statistics for a particular transmission. By embedding the network address of each collection point in the appropriate media identifier, other collection points can function as these other applications.

Other embodiments of the invention may also be practiced in the domain of computer infrastructure. As more and more video is produced in digital form, it is increasingly distributed from computer servers as source on computer networks to computer clients. Examples of applications in this domain include computer-based education and training, computer-based information distribution and advertising. Examples of applications in the computer domain include the following: an insurance company that provides discounts on medical malpractice insurance to doctors who can prove that doctors have watched some continuing education materials;

Web advertisers wishing to collect independent viewership statistics;

A store that wants to prove that customers have viewed the product information to prevent liability suits; And

Software distributors who want to prove that a particular user has received a piece of software by automatically sending media identifiers to collection points as part of the software installation process.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be applied using a client / server system in a computer environment. The server computer functions as a source, the computer network functions as a channel, and the client functions as a destination device. All of the above technical extensions can be made operable in a computer environment. Modifications of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

The present invention relates to a convenient and efficient mechanism for authenticating that a particular media has been received by a destination from a source, the receipt authentication comprising: 1) at a media source, directly embedding at least one media identifier into the media; 2) at the destination, combining the at least one media identifier and the destination identifier to produce at least one combined identifier; And 3) transmitting the combined identifier to one or more collection points for processing. Because an identifier is not associated with a channel or source and with that particular media whose receipt needs to be authenticated, the mechanism of the present invention compares to an active trace of user behavior, so that it generates little extraneous data. do. This mechanism is fine grained, with details required to monitor viewer behavior (including, for example, monitoring the viewer's channel changes during an advertisement), and in the early, middle, and late stages of media delivery. It can be attached at any one time or all time. This mechanism supports the tracking of media segments from its source to multiple distributors, depending on who is attached to the media identifier, so that multiple assessments are possible, for example by source, distributor, media, and so forth. It is also possible to easily associate the combined identifier with the reception time. Widely applicable to all kinds of media, this mechanism can be extended in combination with other technologies to prevent unauthorized tampering, and to authorize viewing. As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the mechanism for authenticating that a specific media has been received by a destination from a source is convenient and efficient.

Claims (20)

A method for providing receipt authentication of a media transmission at one of a plurality of destinations, the method comprising: Providing at least one media identifier for the transmission; Transmitting the transmission with the at least one media identifier to at least one of the plurality of destinations; And Automatically generating at least one receiving identifier at the at least one destination for distribution to at least one collection point. The method of claim 1, Each of the plurality of destinations has a unique destination identifier, Automatically generating at least one destination identifier comprises combining the at least one media identifier and the destination identifier. The method of claim 1, Transmitting the at least one receiving identifier to the at least one collection point. The method of claim 2, Wherein said auto-generation is preceded by removing said at least one media identifier from said transmission. The method of claim 1, At least one of the destinations includes an intermediate location for transmitting the transmission to another one of the at least one destinations, The method further comprises inserting at least one added media identifier to the transmission. The method of claim 1, The providing step includes the step of including one or more other media identifiers in the transmission. The method of claim 1, The providing step includes including at least one identifier at one or more locations in the transmission. A method for providing automatic tracking of media transmissions to at least one of a plurality of destinations, the method comprising: Providing at least one media identifier for transmission; Transmitting the transmission with the at least one media identifier; Receiving the transmission with the at least one media identifier at at least one of the plurality of locations; And Automatically generating at least one receiving identifier based on the at least one media identifier at at least one of the plurality of locations. The method of claim 8, Each of the plurality of locations has a unique location identifier, Automatically generating at least one receiving identifier comprises combining the at least one media identifier with the location identifier. The method of claim 8, Each of the plurality of locations has a unique location identifier, Automatically generating at least one received identifier comprising the unique location identifier as a continuous media identifier. The method of claim 8, Transmitting the at least one receiving identifier to at least one collection point. The method of claim 9, Wherein said auto-generation is preceded by removing said at least one media identifier from said transmission. The method of claim 8, The providing step includes the step of including one or more other media identifiers in the transmission. The method of claim 8, The providing step includes the step of including at least one identifier at one or more locations in the transmission. In a system that provides tracking of transmissions, A plurality of media presentation components for generating the indicated transmissions by providing at least one media identifier for each of the transmissions; And And immediately after receiving one of the indicated transmissions based on the at least one media identifier, each system comprising a plurality of identifier processing components adapted to automatically generate at least one receiving identifier. The method of claim 15, A first component of the plurality of media presentation components is located at the source of the transmission. The method of claim 16, At least one continuous media presentation component is located at a site between the source of the transmission and the destination for the transmission. The method of claim 17, The site further comprises one component of the plurality of identifier processing components. The method of claim 15, And at least one collection point for the at least one receiving identifier. The method of claim 19, The component of the identifier processing components is associated with at least one communication component to provide the at least one receiving identifier to the at least one collection point.