WO2000035131A1 - Metering viewing of video displayed in windows - Google Patents

Metering viewing of video displayed in windows Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2000035131A1
WO2000035131A1 PCT/US1999/016321 US9916321W WO0035131A1 WO 2000035131 A1 WO2000035131 A1 WO 2000035131A1 US 9916321 W US9916321 W US 9916321W WO 0035131 A1 WO0035131 A1 WO 0035131A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
window
viewing
viewing window
crediting
program code
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US1999/016321
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
William A. Feininger
Daozheng Lu
Original Assignee
Nielsen Media Research, Inc.
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 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. filed Critical Nielsen Media Research, Inc.
Priority to EP99935703A priority Critical patent/EP1147631A1/en
Priority to CA002351340A priority patent/CA2351340A1/en
Priority to JP2000587480A priority patent/JP2002532952A/en
Priority to AU51128/99A priority patent/AU5112899A/en
Publication of WO2000035131A1 publication Critical patent/WO2000035131A1/en
Priority to HK02103094.7A priority patent/HK1043673A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04HBROADCAST COMMUNICATION
    • H04H60/00Arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linking to broadcast information or broadcast space-time; Broadcast-related systems
    • H04H60/29Arrangements for monitoring broadcast services or broadcast-related services
    • H04H60/31Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43Processing 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
    • H04N21/442Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. detecting the failure of a recording device, monitoring the downstream bandwidth, the number of times a movie has been viewed, the storage space available from the internal hard disk
    • H04N21/44204Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/60Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client 
    • H04N21/65Transmission of management data between client and server
    • H04N21/658Transmission by the client directed to the server
    • H04N21/6582Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the metering
  • receiver such as an enhanced television, a television
  • a set top box provided with a set top box, a computer, and/or the like.
  • Video and/or audio played by conventional means are Video and/or audio played by conventional means.
  • reference signatures or reference signature sets
  • the receivers employ tuners
  • Such additional functions may include, for example, the
  • Such additional functions may also include the
  • the data stream can include a data stream in addition to a video stream and/or an audio stream.
  • the data stream can include
  • story line information other audio/video streams, and/or
  • the data stream the video stream, and the
  • audio stream can be transmitted terrestrially, or by
  • a page is
  • server sends that one requested page and/or stream to the
  • a receiver such as a computer, an enhanced
  • radio station or an Internet server, and demultiplexes
  • a multi-stream signal is its video and/or audio streams.
  • Each stream is passed to a corresponding
  • the audio stream For example, the audio stream
  • the video stream is passed to a speaker, the video stream is passed to a
  • processing equipment can include a data demultiplexer for
  • tickers tickers, and the like, that is further processed by
  • the method comprises the following steps:
  • window on a screen of a viewing device comprises the
  • the viewing device has a COM interface, determining
  • a software meter is arranged to meter
  • the software meter comprises first and second
  • the first program code is executable in
  • a metering system meters viewing of video displayed in a window on a screen of a viewing device
  • the software comprises a software meter and a creditor.
  • the software comprises a software meter and a creditor.
  • meter is arranged to determine identifying data related
  • the creditor is
  • Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary distribution
  • Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a
  • Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram depicting
  • Figures 4 and 5 are flow charts of a program
  • Figure 6 is a flow chart of a program that can
  • Figure 7 is a flow chart of a program that can
  • FIGS 8 and 9 are flow charts of a program
  • a distribution system 10 is shown in Figure 1
  • the distribution system 10 includes a plurality of
  • panelist sites 12 statistically selected, such as by a
  • central facility 14 in order to participate in a viewing
  • selected panelist sites 12 may be collectively referred to
  • instances may be referred to as a data collection site.
  • This viewing includes, but is not
  • buttons, etc. are buttons, etc.
  • broadcast applications buttons, etc.
  • hyperlinks are buttons, etc.
  • media data may alternatively be referred to as media data, it
  • data collected at each of the panelist sites 12 may be transmitted to the central facility 14 where the data can be transmitted.
  • Video, audio, and data may be provided to the user
  • panelists 12 may reach the video, audio, and data through
  • broadcasters 26, and the Internet Service Provider 28 may be any suitable broadcasters 26, and the Internet Service Provider 28.
  • network 30 which, for example, may
  • a representative panelist site 100 is shown in
  • the panelist site 100 may include televisions 102 and 104 which may be televisions enhanced with
  • the panelist site 100 also may include a
  • the panelist site 100 may include computers
  • site unit is provided for each metered receiver, and all
  • the site units meter their corresponding receivers
  • the home unit passes the metered data to the home unit .
  • the site units and then forwards that assembled and stored data to the central facility 14.
  • the central facility 14 For example, the
  • home unit may be arranged with dial out capability to
  • a site unit 116 is provided for
  • a site unit 118 is provided for the television 102.
  • a site unit 120 is provided for the set
  • a site unit 122 is provided for the computer
  • a modem 126 is provided for the
  • a home unit 130 which in turn is
  • the modem 126 is directly
  • site units 116, 118, 120, 122, and 124 may each implement
  • the computer 114 does not require a site unit
  • computers 110 and 112 may each implement the measurement
  • the home unit 130 may also be
  • 116, 118, 120, 122, and 124 may be retained even though the televisions 102 and 104, the set top box 108, and the
  • computers 110 and 112 each implement the measurement
  • USB universal serial bus
  • bus and a serial port may be used with the present
  • 150 includes a software meter 200 that periodically
  • a television tuner application 202 (such as
  • Operation of the software meter 200 may be initiated in response to a timer tick as shown, upon
  • a television tuner application 202 for
  • the software meter 200 also varies
  • tuner application 202 or from operating system messages.
  • This other information can include size, occlusion, and
  • the software meter 200 can receive
  • the channel and other information are passed to
  • a crediting rules block 206 which applies a set of
  • the transmit block 208 may be arranged to
  • the transmit block 208 receives
  • the user ID block 210 may
  • the user ID block 210 may be arranged to prompt a viewer to
  • portion 200A at a block 301 determines whether the
  • television tuner application 202 has a COM interface.
  • Each COM object is comprised of COM objects.
  • Each COM object is comprised of COM objects.
  • This interface provides current tuned channel information of a corresponding television
  • the first portion 200A may be arranged to return
  • 200A at a block 302 may also be arranged to obtain other
  • 200A may be arranged at the block 302 to construct an SQL
  • the first portion 200A is likewise arranged at
  • portion 200A at a block 304 determines whether an
  • the first portion 200A at a block 308 determines whether
  • the television tuner application 202 has a known
  • API application programming interface
  • the first portion 200A may be
  • the first portion 200A at a block 310 may be arranged to monitor system messages
  • each child window handle The first portion 200A at a
  • block 320 determines whether one of the window handles
  • This second portion 200B may be
  • program flow returns to the block 301 after an
  • Ancillary identification codes are
  • identification code is extracted at a block 406 and is
  • identification code is formatted and sent to the
  • the crediting rules block 206 is shown in
  • FIG. 1 The size of a viewing window containing a television program is obtained at a block 500.
  • block 206 at a block 502 relates to minimization of the
  • rule relates to size of the viewing window containing a
  • window occlusion is applied. In order to apply this
  • the amount of window occlusion i.e., the
  • a block 510 implements the
  • occlusion computed at the block 508 is greater that the
  • the size of the display screen is obtained at a block
  • a block 516 implements the
  • this viewing window meets a minimum window size
  • window occlusion computed at the block 508 is not
  • the channel is not set to NO_CHANNEL and,
  • the transmit block 208 is shown in Figure 7.
  • transmit block 208 determines what method of data
  • This server is listening.
  • the data is then encrypted and
  • serial port the serial port is opened at a block 606 and
  • USB port is opened at a block 610 and the appropriate
  • the parallel port is
  • the 1394 port is opened at a block 618
  • block 208 can also send data to the home unit 130 by way
  • Winsock has a component referred to as Winsock which
  • the home unit 130 which forwards data to the central
  • the data may be sent out over a modem
  • serial port a USB port, a parallel port, a 1394 port, or
  • the data transmitted by the transmit block 208 is the data transmitted by the transmit block 208.
  • household items may comprise any of the following: household
  • stamps and, specific viewed data such as an URL, a
  • program ID a source ID, a station name, a program name, program ID codes, signatures taken from the viewed
  • the server at the central facility 14 performs
  • This received data is validated/authenticated, decrypted,
  • the serial data comes in through a modem at a block 708
  • This data is loaded by
  • the request may come in over the
  • the customer is validated at a block 720 by
  • This inquiry is formatted at a
  • This information is properly formatted into a
  • the report may be
  • meter 200 may respond to a timer tick in order to
  • the software meter 200 may be arranged to monitor operating system messages in order to detect
  • the metering may be
  • the transmit block 208 may be likewise arranged.
  • the present invention may be arranged to meter each such
  • crediting rules block 206 may be arranged to credit

Abstract

A metering system useful in metering viewing of video displayed in a window on a screen of a viewing device includes a software meter and a creditor. The software meter determines identifying data related to the video displayed in the window, and the creditor applies a set of crediting rules in determining whether to credit the identifying data. The software meter determines whether the viewing device has a COM interface, an API interface, or has to be interrogated in another way, and determines channel data from a channel related object of the COM interface, from application related data associated with a video application through the API interface, or from other interrogation. The software meter also determines an ancillary identification code relating to the displayed video.

Description

METERING VIEWING OF VIDEO DISPLAYED IN WINDOWS
Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the metering
of video, enhanced video containing data elements, and/or
broadcast applications displayed in viewing windows of a
receiver such as an enhanced television, a television
provided with a set top box, a computer, and/or the like.
Background of the Invention
Video and/or audio played by conventional
televisions and/or radios has been metered for many
years . One known approach to such metering is to add an
ancillary identification code to television and/or radio
programs, and to detect and decode an ancillary
identification code when the encoded program is viewed or
heard in a statistically selected monitoring site. An
example of a system which implements this type of
metering may be found in the following patents: U.S.
Patent No. 5,481,294 to Thomas et al . , who describe,
inter alia, ancillary identification codes added to the
vertical blanking interval of an NTSC television broadcast; U.S. Patent No. 5,629,739 to Dougherty, who
is particularly concerned with the addition of an
ancillary identification code to a low energy portion of
the audio spectrum of an NTSC signal; and, U.S. Patent
No. 5,404,377 to Moses, who teaches an audio encoding
arrangement using signal masking in order to decrease the
perceptibility of the ancillary identification code.
Another approach to metering video and/or audio
played by conventional televisions and/or radios is to
extract a characteristic signature (or a characteristic
signature set) from the program selected for viewing
and/or listening, and to compare the characteristic
signature (or characteristic signature set) with
reference signatures (or reference signature sets)
collected from known broadcasting sources. This approach
is taught by Lert and Lu in U.S. Patent No. 4,677,466.
Yet another approach to metering video and/or
audio played by conventional televisions and/or radios is
to compare the program (or some component or artifact
thereof) during playing with all the programs available
to a sampled household at the time of playing. A review
of apparatus and methods useful for this measurement approach is found in the teachings of Thomas et al . in
U.S. Patent No. 5,629,739 and of Lu et al . in U.S. Patent
No. 5,594,934.
In addition, Wheeler, et al . , in U.S.
Application Serial No. 08/786,270, filed on January, 22,
1997, teach a video signal source detection arrangement
which determines the source of a video and/or audio
signal being displayed by a television receiver. This
detection arrangement implements a variety of tuning
measurement approaches. For example, it can be used to
read an ancillary identification code transmitted with
television programming, to obtain characteristic
signatures from television programming, or to perform
real time correlation by matching a signal with a
contemporary reference signal obtained by a television
tuner controlled by measurement equipment.
Also, Chan, in U.S. Application Serial No.
08/654,309, filed on May 28, 1996, teaches a sensor
arrangement for non-intrusively obtaining a
representation of video and synchronization signals from
a television receiver. The above patents are directed primarily to the
metering of conventional receivers where program signals
(e.g., television and/or radio signals) are transmitted
to receivers over the air, by way of cables, or through
satellite distribution. The receivers employ tuners
which tune to selected channels from among the various
channels offered to the receivers. In the future,
however, program signals will be received by receivers
which are capable of performing functions in addition to
tuning and displaying television and/or radio programs.
Such additional functions may include, for example, the
reception of IP or HTML, electronic programming guides,
electronic commerce, integrated telephony, and/or the
like. Such additional functions may also include the
offering of Internet access, integrated gaming consoles,
and/or the like. Receivers offering these additional
functions might be computers, receivers enhanced with
internal hardware and/or software, receivers provided
with set top boxes which support the additional
functions, or the like.
Therefore, broadcasts in the future will likely
include a data stream in addition to a video stream and/or an audio stream. The data stream can include
closed captioning, program/source ancillary
identification codes, electronic programming guides,
stock/news/sports tickers, ad banners, chat sessions,
story line information, other audio/video streams, and/or
other data. The data stream, the video stream, and the
audio stream can be transmitted terrestrially, or by
cable, or by satellite, or by phone lines.
The sources of broadcasts containing data
streams in addition to video streams and/or audio streams
could be television stations, radio stations, and
Internet servers. For a television or radio broadcast,
data can be transmitted by a television or radio station
at a known frequency, or as packets within the signal, to
which a tuner can tune.
For an Internet broadcast, however, there are
at least two possible models. In one model, a page is
requested by way of a URL, and the addressed Internet
server sends that one requested page and/or stream to the
requester. In the other model, an Internet server
broadcasts its data by way of multicast IP. A user would
connect, or tune, to a multicast IP address in order to receive the broadcast. Many radio stations currently
broadcast their programming worldwide on the Internet
using a multicast IP address.
A receiver, such as a computer, an enhanced
television, an enhanced radio, or a set top box, receives
one multi-stream signal from a television station, a
radio station, or an Internet server, and demultiplexes
the received multi-stream signal into its data stream and
its video and/or audio streams. A multi-stream signal
from an Internet server can be broken down into separate
streams because each object on a page has a tag which can
be used to identify the nature of the object. However,
it should be noted that, in the context of the Internet,
video, audio, and data should be streamed rather than
transmitted according to the usual Internet model of
store and play. Store and play for broadcast is not
possible unless the data is being stored (or recorded)
for later playing.
Each stream is passed to a corresponding
subsystem of the receiver. For example, the audio stream
is passed to a speaker, the video stream is passed to a
display screen, and the data stream is passed to appropriate data processing equipment. This data
processing equipment can include a data demultiplexer for
demultiplexing the data stream into a programming guide,
an ancillary identification code, closed captioning, live
tickers, and the like, that is further processed by
appropriate other components of the data processing
equipment .
A meter for metering television and/or radio
programs in the context of computers, set top boxes,
enhanced televisions, and enhanced audio equipment will
be needed in the future .
Summary of the Invention
According to one aspect of the present
invention, a method of the present invention credits
viewing with respect to a viewing window being displayed
on a screen. The method comprises the following steps:
a) applying a predetermined crediting rule to the viewing
window; and, b) crediting viewing with respect to the
viewing window only if the viewing window meets the
predetermined crediting rule. According to another aspect of the present
invention, a method of metering video displayed in a
window on a screen of a viewing device comprises the
following steps: a) determining whether the viewing
device has a COM interface or an API interface; b) if
the viewing device has a COM interface, determining
channel data from a channel related object of the COM
interface; and, c) if the viewing device has an API
interface, calling the API interface so as to determine
channel data associated with a video application.
According to still another aspect of the
present invention, a software meter is arranged to meter
video displayed in a window on a screen of a viewing
device, and the software meter is executed by a
processor. The software meter comprises first and second
program code. The first program code is executable in
order to determine tuning data from a video application
related to the displayed video. The second program code
is executable in order to determine an ancillary
identification code relating to displayed video.
According to yet another aspect of the present
invention, a metering system meters viewing of video displayed in a window on a screen of a viewing device and
comprises a software meter and a creditor. The software
meter is arranged to determine identifying data related
to the video displayed in the window. The creditor is
arranged to apply a crediting rule in determining whether
to credit the identifying data.
Brief Description of the Drawing
These and other features and advantages of the
present invention will become more apparent from a
detailed consideration of the invention when taken in
conjunction with the drawings in which:
Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary distribution
system in which programs and data are distributed to
panelist sites which are metered in accordance with the
present invention;
Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a
representative set of receiving equipment that may be
used at the panelist sites of Figure 1 ;
Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram depicting
a measurement system that can be used to collect viewing
and other data in connection with the present invention; Figures 4 and 5 are flow charts of a program
that can be executed by the software meter of Figure 3 in
accordance with the present invention;
Figure 6 is a flow chart of a program that can
be executed by the crediting rules block of Figure 3 in
accordance with the present invention;
Figure 7 is a flow chart of a program that can
be executed by the transmit data block of Figure 3 in
accordance with the present invention; and,
Figures 8 and 9 are flow charts of a program
that can be executed by the central facility of Figure 1
in accordance with the present invention.
Detailed Description of the Invention
A distribution system 10 is shown in Figure 1
as an exemplary environment for the present invention.
The distribution system 10 includes a plurality of
panelist sites 12 statistically selected, such as by a
central facility 14, in order to participate in a viewing
or listening survey. Accordingly, these statistically
selected panelist sites 12 may be collectively referred
to as a panel. Personnel at the central facility 14, or elsewhere, may implement random digit dialing, for
example, in order to find the panelist sites 12 for
participation in the viewing or listening survey as
members of the panel. The central facility 14, in some
instances, may be referred to as a data collection site.
As described below, the panelist sites 12
include viewing or listening equipment which may be
metered in order to determine which programs are being
viewed or heard. In all cases, viewing is considered to
be viewing of all elements that appear on the screen or
played by the speaker. This viewing includes, but is not
limited to, the traditional audio/video signal, still
images (bitmaps, jpegs, gif's, animated gif's, etc.),
text, additional audio/video streams, rotation
advertising banners, data entry controls (edit boxes,
buttons, etc.), broadcast applications, and hyperlinks
associated with any of these elements. In order to
simplify the discussion below, viewing data and listening
data may alternatively be referred to as media data, it
being understood that the present invention may be used
to meter video viewing and/or audio listening. Media
data collected at each of the panelist sites 12 may be transmitted to the central facility 14 where the data can
be assembled into reports for dissemination to interested
parties, as is discussed more fully below.
Video, audio, and data may be provided to the
panelists by Web sites 16, by a cable source 18, from
broadcasters over the air through antennas 20, by a video
server 22, by an audio server 24, by broadcasters 26, or
the like. As shown in Figure 1, one or more of the
panelists 12 may reach the video, audio, and data through
an Internet Service Provider 28. The panelist sites 12,
the central facility 14, the Web sites 16, the cable
source 18, the video server 22, the audio server 24, the
broadcasters 26, and the Internet Service Provider 28 may
be interconnected by a network 30 which, for example, may
be a public telephone system, an internal network, a
cable system, a combination of a public telephone system,
an internal network, a cable system, or the like.
A representative panelist site 100 is shown in
Figure 2 and can include any combination of the equipment
shown therein depending upon the number and kind of
receivers owned by the panel members thereat. For
example, the panelist site 100 may include televisions 102 and 104 which may be televisions enhanced with
hardware and/or software permitting them to process a
data stream in addition to a video stream and an audio
stream. The panelist site 100 also may include a
television 106 equipped with a set top box 108 that
permits the television 106 to be used with a data stream
in addition to a video stream and an audio stream. In
addition, the panelist site 100 may include computers
110, 112, and 114.
In current metering equipment installed by the
assignee of the present invention and used to meter
conventional receivers, site units and a home unit are
typically provided in a dwelling occupied by a panel
member. The number of site units that is provided in a
dwelling depends on the number of meterable receivers
used by the occupants of that dwelling. Accordingly, a
site unit is provided for each metered receiver, and all
of the site units in the dwelling are coupled to the home
unit. The site units meter their corresponding receivers
and pass the metered data to the home unit . The home
unit assembles and stores the metered data from each of
the site units and then forwards that assembled and stored data to the central facility 14. For example, the
home unit may be arranged with dial out capability to
dial out to the central facility at a predetermined time
or interval during the day. Alternatively, the home unit
may respond to polling messages from the central facility
in order to provide the metered data accumulated from the
site units to the central facility in response to the
polling messages.
Accordingly, a site unit 116 is provided for
the television 102, a site unit 118 is provided for the
television 104, a site unit 120 is provided for the set
top box 108, a site unit 122 is provided for the computer
110, and a site unit 124 is provided for the computer
112. Additionally, a modem 126 is provided for the
computer 114. The site units 116, 118, 120, 122, and 124
are suitably coupled to a home unit 130 which in turn is
coupled to the network 30. The modem 126 is directly
coupled to the network 30. With this arrangement, the
home unit 130, in addition to assembling, storing, and
forwarding metered data to the central facility 14, also
passes the video, audio, and data streams from the
network 30 through the site units 116, 118, 120, 122, and 124 to the televisions 102 and 104, to the set top box
108, and to the computers 110 and 112.
In accordance with the present invention, the
site units 116, 118, 120, 122, and 124 may each implement
a measurement system 150 described below in order to
meter tuning and other activities with respect to their
corresponding receiving equipment. Also, because the
computer 114 is capable of implementing the measurement
system 150, the computer 114 does not require a site unit
and may communicate directly with the central facility 14
through the network 30. Indeed, depending upon the
capabilities of the televisions 102 and 104, the set top
box 108, and the computers 110 and 112, the site units
116, 118, 120, 122, and 124 may be eliminated and the
televisions 102 and 104, the set top box 108, and the
computers 110 and 112 may each implement the measurement
system 150. In this case, the home unit 130 may also be
eliminated. However, it should be noted that, if the
home unit 130 is eliminated, the number of units
interacting directly with the central facility 14
increases dramatically. Alternatively, the site units
116, 118, 120, 122, and 124 may be retained even though the televisions 102 and 104, the set top box 108, and the
computers 110 and 112 each implement the measurement
system 150. In this case, the site units 116, 118, 120,
122, and 124 may simply perform the function of
collecting metered data for forwarding to the home unit
130 or to the central facility 14 directly.
As shown in Figure 2, it is assumed that the
computer 110 has a universal serial bus (USB) to which
the site unit 122 is connected, and that the computer 112
has a serial port to which the site unit 124 is
connected. However, it should be noted that connection
types other than, or in addition to, a universal serial
bus and a serial port may be used with the present
invention.
As shown in Figure 3, the measurement system
150 includes a software meter 200 that periodically
interrogates a television tuner application 202 (such as
WebTV for the Windows viewer application of Windows 98™)
in order to determine channel and other information with
respect to a program, or other data content being
displayed on a display screen within a viewing window or
windows. Operation of the software meter 200 may be initiated in response to a timer tick as shown, upon
suitable notification supplied to the software meter 202,
or the like. A television tuner application 202, for
example, runs under a Windows-based operating system on
each of the televisions 102 and 104, the set top box 108,
and the computers 110, 112, and 114. The software meter
200 receives channel information from the television
tuner application 202. The software meter 200 also
receives other information either from the television
tuner application 202 or from operating system messages.
This other information can include size, occlusion, and
position information for all video and data objects
relative to the viewing window. Alternatively, or
additionally, the software meter 200 can receive
ancillary identification codes from a device driver 204
in those instances where an ancillary identification code
is transmitted along with programs and data to the
panelist sites 12.
The channel and other information are passed to
a crediting rules block 206 which applies a set of
crediting rules to the channel and other information in
order to determine whether the channel and other information should be credited. A transmit block 208
forwards the credited channel and other information
directly to the central facility 14 over the network 30.
Alternatively, the transmit block 208 may be arranged to
forward the credited channel and other information to the
home unit 130 for later transmission to the central
facility 14.
In addition, the transmit block 208 receives
user ID information from a user ID block 210. A
conventional Nielsen Media Research (NMR) PeopleMeter can
be used for the user ID block 210 and can be attached to
a corresponding site unit or computer. The user logs in
by pressing a personal identifying button or pad on the
NMR PeopleMeter. Alternatively, the software meter 200
itself could be arranged to prompt the user to enter the
user's identification when the user is using a computer
or a television enhanced with a manual input capability.
In this connection, when the user ID block 210 detects
inactivity (such as no keyboard activity or mouse click)
for a specified period of time, the user ID block 210 may
be arranged to prompt the user in order to determine if
the user is still using the receiver. Similarly, the user ID block 210 may be arranged to prompt a viewer to
enter the viewers identification upon channel changes.
Other alternatives for the user ID block 210, such as a
passive identification device, or a voice or image
recognition device, are possible.
A flow chart representing a program that may be
executed by the software meter 200 is shown in Figures 4
and 5. As shown in Figure 4, a first portion 200A of the
software meter 200 is executed in order to derive
particular data relating to channel, size of the viewing
window, position of the viewing window, occlusion of the
viewing window, and the like for forwarding to the
crediting rules block 206.
Accordingly, in response to a timer tick 300, a
channel change event, and/or similar action, the first
portion 200A at a block 301 determines whether the
television tuner application 202 has a COM interface.
For example, the Windows 98™ Web TV for Windows viewer
application is comprised of COM objects. Each COM object
has a public interface which may be queried for state
information. One of these interfaces is
"GetCurrentChannel . " This interface provides current tuned channel information of a corresponding television
receiver. Accordingly, the software meter 200 at a block
302 periodically invokes the appropriate COM object in
order to determine if the corresponding tuner has changed
channels. If the channel has changed, the new channel is
noted at the block 302 and processing continues.
(Although not shown in Figure 4, if the channel has not
changed, the first portion 200A may be arranged to return
to the block 301 after an appropriate wait period.)
If the channel has changed, the first portion
200A at a block 302 may also be arranged to obtain other
appropriate information. For example, the first portion
200A may be arranged at the block 302 to construct an SQL
query in order to request program and channel names for
the new channel from an accompanying Microsoft Access
database. The first portion 200A is likewise arranged at
the block 302 to construct other queries in order to
obtain other information such as size of the viewing
window, position of the viewing window, occlusion of the
viewing window, and the like. Thereafter, the first
portion 200A at a block 304 determines whether an
electronic programming guide is available with respect to the receiver being metered. If an electronic programming
guide is available, the station and/or program names are
retrieved from the electronic programming guide at a
block 306 based upon the detected channel.
If the television tuner application 202 does
not have a COM interface as determined at the block 301,
the first portion 200A at a block 308 determines whether
the television tuner application 202 has a known
application programming interface (API), which is a
callable function. If the television tuner application
202 has a known API, calling it directly will return the
current channel. Also, the first portion 200A may be
arranged at the block 302 to request the other
information discussed above, and the functions of the
blocks 304 and 306 are invoked.
Some applications, such as Intel's Intercast
application, have neither a COM interface nor a known
API. Therefore, another process must be invoked. For
example, Microsoft supplies the ToolHelp library which
allows an application to look at processes, windows,
threads, and memory buffers that are running or allocated
at any given time. Accordingly, the first portion 200A at a block 310 may be arranged to monitor system messages
sent from the operating system in order to look for
particular processes, modules, threads, tasks, windows,
or components. In this manner, channel information,
position of the viewing window, size of the viewing
window, occlusion of the viewing window, and the like,
may be determined.
Thus, the software meter 200 at the block 310
locates the windows which are being displayed on the
corresponding display screen. Then, a callback function
is provided at a block 312 to the Windows operating
system in order to receive each of the main window
handles of all of the processes currently running. Thus,
the callback function provided at the block 312 obtains
the text of each window handle, by calling the window
control "GetWindowText . " The first portion 200A of the
software meter 200 at a block 314 looks for a television
application from among the window handles obtained at the
block 312. If there is no window handle indicating a
television application, it is assumed that no television
program is currently being tuned and program flow, therefore, returns to the block 301 after an appropriate
wait period.
However, if the target television application
is found at the block 314, the first portion 200A at a
block 316 then locates the child windows associated with
the television application found at the block 314. The
child windows are subjected to essentially the same
processing. Thus, the first portion 200A at a block 318
provides a callback function in order to investigate the
handles of each of the child windows of the specified
process. Accordingly, the window control callback
function provided at the block 318 obtains the text of
each child window handle. The first portion 200A at a
block 320 determines whether one of the window handles
indicates that the corresponding window contains channel
information. If one of the child windows contains
channel information, that channel information is read at
a block 322. The processing at the blocks 312-322 can
also be used to obtain other information such as position
of the viewing window, size of the viewing window,
occlusion of the viewing window, and the like. The channel information read at the block 322
is provided to the block 304. Accordingly, if an
electronic programming guide is available, the channel
information read at the block 322 is used to look up
program and station names from the electronic programming
guide .
If no electronic programming guide is available
as determined at the block 304, or if an electronic
programming guide is available and program and station
information can be derived therefrom, the channel,
program, station, and/or other information are formatted
at a block 324 and the formatted information is provided
to the crediting rules block 206.
A second portion 200B of the software meter 200
is shown in Figure 5. This second portion 200B may be
entered from the block 324. If this second portion 200B
is entered from the block 324, and if a television tuner
card device driver is not provided with the receiver
associated with the software meter 200 as determined at a
block 400, program flow returns to the block 301 after an
appropriate wait period. However, assuming that a
television tuner card device driver is provided with the receiver associated with the software meter 200, each
frame of video data is accepted by the driver. The VBI
(vertical blanking interval) of each frame is digitized
at the block 400, and the digitized VBI is sent to a WDM
stream driver 402. The second portion 200B at a block
404 investigates the VBI stream in order to determine
whether the VBI stream contains an ancillary
identification code. Ancillary identification codes are
frequently provided by broadcasters in the vertical
blanking intervals of programs. If no ancillary
identification code is found, the second portion 200B
returns to the block 301 after an appropriate wait
period. On the other hand, if an ancillary
identification code is found, then the ancillary
identification code is extracted at a block 406 and is
decoded at a block 408. Thereafter, the ancillary
identification code is formatted and sent to the
crediting rules block 206 along with the channel,
program, station, and/or other information formatted at
the block 324.
The crediting rules block 206 is shown in
Figure 6. The size of a viewing window containing a television program is obtained at a block 500. A first
rule (or criteria) that is applied by the crediting rules
block 206 at a block 502 relates to minimization of the
viewing window containing a television program.
According to this rule, if this viewing window has been
minimized, then viewing is not credited and, instead, the
channel is set to NO_CHANNEL at a block 504. On the
other hand, if the viewing window has not been minimized,
a second rule is applied at a block 506. This second
rule relates to size of the viewing window containing a
television program. According to this rule, if the size
of the viewing window fails to meet a minimum window size
requirement as determined at the block 506, the channel
is set to NO_CHANNEL at the block 504.
If the size of this viewing window meets the
minimum window size requirement, a third rule relating to
window occlusion is applied. In order to apply this
third rule, the amount of window occlusion (i.e., the
amount by which another window overlaps and occludes a
viewing window containing a television program) is
computed at a block 508. A block 510 implements the
third rule by comparing the amount of window occlusion computed at the block 508 to a predetermined maximum
amount of window occlusion. If the amount of window
occlusion computed at the block 508 is greater that the
predetermined maximum amount of window occlusion, the
channel is set to NO_CHANNEL at the block 504.
However, if the amount of window occlusion
computed at the block 508 is not greater that the
predetermined maximum amount of window occlusion, a
fourth rule relating to the percent of the display screen
filled by a viewing window containing a television
program is applied. In order to apply this fourth rule,
the size of the display screen is obtained at a block
512, and a percent of this display screen size occupied
by the viewing window containing the television program
is computed at a block 514. A block 516 implements the
fourth rule by comparing the percent computed at the
block 514 to a predetermined minimum percent. If the
percent of the display screen occupied by the viewing
window containing a television program is not greater
than the predetermined minimum percent, the channel is
set to NO_CHANNEL at the block 504. On the other hand,
if the window containing a television program has not been minimized as determined by the block 502, if the
size of this viewing window meets a minimum window size
requirement as determined at the block 506, if the amount
of window occlusion computed at the block 508 is not
greater than the predetermined maximum amount of window
occlusion as determined at the block 510, and if the
percent of the display screen occupied by the viewing
window containing the television program is greater than
the predetermined minimum percent as determined at the
block 516, the channel is not set to NO_CHANNEL and,
instead, the channel (and other information) associated
with the program displayed in the program viewing window
is reported at a block 518 to the transmit block 208.
The transmit block 208 is shown in Figure 7.
The path over which the channel and other information is
reported to the central facility 14 depends upon the type
of port which is available. Accordingly, the type of
transport device is determined at a block 600. Thus, the
transmit block 208 determines what method of data
transmission to use. If the transport is by way of
TCP/IP as determined at a block 602, the transmit block
208 obtains from memory the IP address of the server at the central facility 14 as well as the socket on which
this server is listening. The data is then encrypted and
transmitted to the server at the central facility 14 at a
block 604. Accordingly, this method collects and
transmits data in "near" real time.
If the transport is to the home unit 130 over a
serial port, the serial port is opened at a block 606 and
the appropriate data is written to the serial port at a
block 608 for supply to the home unit 130. If the
transport is to the home unit 130 over a USB port, the
USB port is opened at a block 610 and the appropriate
data is written to the USB port at a block 612 for supply
to the home unit 130. If the transport is to the home
unit 130 over a parallel port, the parallel port is
opened at a block 614 and the appropriate data is written
to the parallel port at a block 616 for supply to the
home unit 130. If the transport is to the home unit 130
over a 1394 port, the 1394 port is opened at a block 618
and the appropriate data is written to the 1394 port at a
block 620 for supply to the home unit 130. The transmit
block 208 can also send data to the home unit 130 by way
of power lines or an RF modem. Perhaps the most efficient way currently to
transmit data to the collection facility 14 is by way of
the Internet . Personal computers running any version of
Windows™ have a component referred to as Winsock which
can send and receive data over the Internet. If the user
is on-line, the data collected by the software meter 200
can be sent in real time. For devices that are not
permanently connected, a store and forward method buffers
the data and sends it when a connection is made, or to
the home unit 130 which forwards data to the central
facility 14 at a later time. In the case of a set top
box that does not have a back channel, or a computer that
does not have a modem, the data may be sent out over a
serial port, a USB port, a parallel port, a 1394 port, or
the like, using the DSS command set and/or NUB protocol
to a corresponding site unit or directly to the home
unit .
The data transmitted by the transmit block 208
may comprise any of the following: household
identifiers; device identifiers; viewer IDs; date/time
stamps; and, specific viewed data such as an URL, a
program ID, a source ID, a station name, a program name, program ID codes, signatures taken from the viewed
program, game information, PC/STB configuration
information, advertisement banners, viewing area
information, and the like.
The server at the central facility 14 performs
at least a data collection function and a data
dissemination function as shown in Figures 8 and 9,
respectively. As shown in Figure 8, the data collection
function receives data at a TCP/IP listener block 700 in
the case of data transmitted by way of the Internet.
This received data is validated/authenticated, decrypted,
and formatted at a block 702. The data is then loaded by
a data loader 704 into a database 706. For serial data,
the serial data comes in through a modem at a block 708
and is formatted at a block 710. This data is loaded by
the database loader 704 into the database 706.
When a customer requests a report from the
central facility 14, the request may come in over the
Internet as an HTTP request made by typing a URL into a
browser. When the request is received by the central
facility 14, the customer is validated at a block 720 by
checking the customers log-on ID and password. If the log-on ID and password provided by the customer do not
agree, the customer does not receive the requested
report. On the other hand, if the customer has entered a
proper combination of a log-on ID and a password so that
the customer is provided access to the database 706, a
short form is presented to the customer at a block 724 in
order to gather the information necessary to the inquiry
posed by the customer. This inquiry is formatted at a
block 726 and is used at a block 728 to query the
database 706 and to extract the requested information
therefrom. This information is properly formatted into a
report at a block 730 and the report is returned to the
customer at a block 732. For example, the report may be
returned as HTML formatted data .
Certain modifications of the present invention
have been discussed above. Other modifications will
occur to those practicing in the art of the present
invention. For example, as described above, the software
meter 200 may respond to a timer tick in order to
interrogate the television tuner application 202.
Instead, the software meter 200 may be arranged to monitor operating system messages in order to detect
channel and other relevant information.
Also, the metering described above is performed
by the software meter 200. Instead, the metering may be
performed by hardware or by a combination of hardware and
software. Similarly, the crediting described above is
performed by software implemented by the crediting rules
block 206. Instead, the crediting may be performed by
hardware or by a combination of hardware and software.
The transmit block 208 may be likewise arranged.
Additionally, if a receiver is provided with
plural tuners, programs in plural windows may be
displayed for viewing and/or listening. In this case,
the present invention may be arranged to meter each such
viewing window.
Moreover, as described above, certain crediting
rules are applied by the crediting rules block 206. In
addition, if there are two or more viewing windows, the
crediting rules block 206 may be arranged to credit
viewing only with respect to the viewing window
associated with the audio supplied to the speakers of the receiver, with the size of the viewing window, with the
position/z order of he viewing window, or the like.
Furthermore, the software represented by the
flow charts disclosed herein and described above may be
written in Java so that the software is essentially
hardware independent .
Accordingly, the description of the present
invention is to be construed as illustrative only and is
for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the
best mode of carrying out the invention. The details may
be varied substantially without departing from the spirit
of the invention, and the exclusive use of all
modifications which are within the scope of the appended
claims is reserved.

Claims

WE CLAIM :
1. A method of crediting viewing with respect
to a viewing window being displayed on a screen, wherein
the viewing window has a size, wherein the screen has a
size, and wherein the method comprises the following
steps :
a) applying a predetermined crediting rule to
the viewing window; and,
b) crediting viewing with respect to the
viewing window only if the viewing window meets the
predetermined crediting rule .
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
minimization, and wherein step b) comprises the step of
crediting viewing with respect to the viewing window only
if the viewing window is not minimized.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
minimum window size, and wherein step b) comprises the step of crediting viewing with respect to the viewing
window only if the size of the viewing window is greater
than the minimum window size .
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
an amount of occlusion of the viewing window, and wherein
step b) comprises the step of crediting viewing with
respect to the viewing window only if the amount of
occlusion of the viewing window is less than a maximum
occlusion.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
a percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing
window, and wherein step b) comprises the step of
crediting viewing with respect to the viewing window only
if the percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing
window is greater than a minimum percentage.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the viewing
window is a first viewing window, wherein a second viewing window is displayed on the screen, wherein audio
is being played with respect to one of the first and
second viewing windows, and wherein step b) comprises the
step of crediting viewing only with respect to the one of
the first and second viewing windows associated with the
audio.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the viewing
window is a first viewing window, wherein a second
viewing window is displayed on the screen, wherein one of
the first and second viewing windows is larger, and
wherein step b) comprises the step of crediting viewing
only with respect to the larger of the first and second
viewing windows .
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the viewing
window is a first viewing window, wherein a second
viewing window is displayed on the screen, wherein one of
the first and second viewing windows is a top-most
viewing window, and wherein step b) comprises the step of
crediting viewing only with respect to the top-most
viewing window.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
minimization and minimum window size, and wherein step b)
comprises the step of crediting viewing with respect to
the viewing window only if the viewing window is not
minimized and the size of the viewing window is greater
than the minimum window size.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
minimization and amount of occlusion of the viewing
window, and wherein step b) comprises the step of
crediting viewing with respect to the viewing window only
if the viewing window is not minimized and the amount of
occlusion of the viewing window is less than a maximum
occlusion.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
minimization and a percentage of the screen occupied by
the viewing window, and wherein step b) comprises the step of crediting viewing with respect to the viewing
window only if the viewing window is not minimized and
the percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing
window is greater than a minimum percentage.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
minimum window size and an amount of occlusion of the
viewing window, and wherein step b) comprises the step of
crediting viewing with respect to the viewing window only
if the size of the viewing window is greater than the
minimum window size and the amount of occlusion of the
viewing window is less than a maximum occlusion.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
minimum window size and a percentage of the screen
occupied by the viewing window, and wherein step b)
comprises the step of crediting viewing with respect to
the viewing window only if the size of the viewing window
is greater than the minimum window size and the percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing window
is greater than a minimum percentage .
14. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
an amount of occlusion of the viewing window and a
percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing window,
and wherein step b) comprises the step of crediting
viewing with respect to the viewing window only if the
amount of occlusion of the viewing window is less than a
maximum occlusion and the percentage of the screen
occupied by the viewing window is greater than a minimum
percentage .
15. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
minimization, minimum window size, and an amount of
occlusion of the viewing window, and wherein step b)
comprises the step of crediting viewing with respect to
the viewing window only if the viewing window is not
minimized and the size of the viewing window is greater than the minimum window size and the amount of occlusion
of the viewing window is less than a maximum occlusion.
16. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
minimization, minimum window size, and a percentage of
the screen occupied by the viewing window, and wherein
step b) comprises the step of crediting viewing with
respect to the viewing window only if the viewing window
is not minimized and the size of the viewing window is
greater than the minimum window size and the percentage
of the screen occupied by the viewing window is greater
than a minimum percentage .
17. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
minimum window size, an amount of occlusion of the
viewing window, and a percentage of the screen occupied
by the viewing window, and wherein step b) comprises the
step of crediting viewing with respect to the viewing
window only if the size of the viewing window is greater
than the minimum window size and the amount of occlusion of the viewing window is less than a maximum occlusion
and the percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing
window is greater than a minimum percentage.
18. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
minimization, an amount of occlusion of the viewing
window, and a percentage of the screen occupied by the
viewing window, and wherein step b) comprises the step of
crediting viewing with respect to the viewing window only
if the viewing window is not minimized and the amount of
occlusion of the viewing window is less than a maximum
occlusion and the percentage of the screen occupied by
the viewing window is greater than a minimum percentage.
19. The method of claim 1 wherein the
predetermined crediting rule applied in step a) comprises
minimization, minimum window size, an amount of occlusion
of the viewing window, and a percentage of the screen
occupied by the viewing window, and wherein step b)
comprises the step of crediting viewing with respect to
the viewing window only if the viewing window is not minimized and the size of the viewing window is greater
than the minimum window size and the amount of occlusion
of the viewing window is less than a maximum occlusion
and the percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing
window is greater than a minimum percentage .
20. The method of claim 1 wherein steps a) and
b) are implemented by software written in Java.
21. A method of metering video displayed in a
window on a screen of a viewing device comprising the
following steps:
a) determining whether the viewing device has a
COM interface or an API interface;
b) if the viewing device has a COM interface,
determining channel data from a channel related object of
the COM interface; and,
c) if the viewing device has an API interface,
calling the API interface so as to determine channel data
associated with a video application.
22. The method of claim 21 comprising the
further following step:
d) determining a program and/or station from an
electronic programming guide based upon the channel data
determined in step b) or c) .
23. The method of claim 21 comprising the
further following step:
d) if the viewing device has neither a COM
interface nor an API interface, determining channel data
from window controls within a viewing application.
24. The method of claim 23 comprising the
further following step:
e) determining a program and/or station from an
electronic programming guide based upon the channel data
determined in step b) or c) .
25. The method of claim 23 comprising the
further following steps:
e) finding main windows; f) finding a video application main window from
the main windows found in step e) ;
g) finding child windows of the video
application main window found in step f) ;
h) finding a channel related child window from
the child windows found in step g) ; and,
i) determining channel data from the channel
related child window found in step h) .
26. The method of claim 25 wherein step f)
comprises the following step:
using a callback function to find the video
application main window from the main windows.
27. The method of claim 25 wherein step h)
comprises the following step:
using a callback function to find the channel
related child window.
28. The method of claim 25 comprising the
further following step: determining a program and/or station from an
electronic programming guide based upon the channel data
determined in step i) .
29. The method of claim 21 wherein the viewing
device is a computer.
30. The method of claim 21 wherein the viewing
device is a television.
31. The method of claim 21 wherein the viewing
device is a combination of a television and a set top
box.
32. The method of claim 21 wherein steps a),
b) , and c) are implemented by software written in Java.
33. A software meter arranged to meter video
displayed in a window on a screen of a viewing device,
the software meter being executed by a processor, the
software meter comprising: a) first program code executable to determine
tuning data from a video application related to the
displayed video; and,
b) second program code executable to determine
an ancillary identification code relating to displayed
video.
34. The software meter of claim 33 wherein the
second program code determines the ancillary
identification code from a device driver.
35. The software meter of claim 42 wherein the
device driver is a device driver for a video tuning card.
36. The software meter of claim 33 further
comprising third program code arranged to determine a
program and/or station from an electronic programming
guide based upon the tuning data .
37. The software meter of claim 33 wherein the
first program code is arranged to (i) determine whether
the viewing device has a COM interface or an API interface, (ii) determine channel data from a channel
related object of a COM interface if the viewing device
has the COM interface, and (iii) determine channel data
from application related data associated with a video
application if the viewing device has an API interface.
38. The software meter of claim 37 wherein the
first program code is arranged to determine channel data
from window text if the viewing device has neither a COM
interface nor an API interface.
39. The software meter of claim 38 further
comprising third program code arranged to determine a
program and/or station from an electronic programming
guide based upon the tuning data.
40. The software meter of claim 38 wherein the
first program code is arranged to (i) find main windows,
(ii) find a video application main window from the main
windows, (iii) find child windows of the video
application main window, (iv) find a channel related child window from the child windows, and (v) determine
channel data from the channel related child window.
41. The software meter of claim 40 wherein the
first program code is arranged to use a callback function
in order to find the video application main window from
the main windows .
42. The software meter of claim 40 wherein the
first program code is arranged to use a callback function
to find the channel related child window.
43. The software meter of claim 40 further
comprising third program code arranged to determine a
program and/or station from an electronic programming
guide based upon the tuning data.
44. The software meter of claim 33 wherein the
software meter is written in Java.
45. A metering system for metering viewing of
video displayed in a window on a screen of a viewing
device comprising:
a software meter arranged to determine
identifying data related to the video displayed in the
window; and,
a creditor arranged to apply a crediting rule
in determining whether to credit the identifying data.
46. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises minimization, and wherein
the creditor comprises program code to credit the
identifying data only if the viewing window is not
minimized.
47. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises minimum window size, and
wherein the creditor comprises program code to credit the
identifying data only if the size of the viewing window
is greater than the minimum window size.
48. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises an amount of occlusion of
the viewing window, and wherein the creditor comprises
program code to credit the identifying data only if the
amount of occlusion of the viewing window is less than a
maximum occlusion.
49. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises a percentage of the screen
occupied by the viewing window, and wherein the creditor
comprises program code to credit the identifying data
only if the percentage of the screen occupied by the
viewing window is greater than a minimum percentage.
50. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the viewing window is a first viewing window, wherein a
second viewing window is displayed on the screen, wherein
audio is being played with respect to one of the first
and second viewing windows, and wherein the creditor
comprises program code to credit the identifying data
only with respect to the one of the first and second
viewing windows associated with the audio.
51. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the viewing window is a first viewing window, wherein a
second viewing window is displayed on the screen, wherein
one of the first and second viewing windows is a larger
viewing window, and wherein the creditor comprises
program code to credit the identifying data only with
respect to the larger viewing window.
52. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the viewing window is a first viewing window, wherein a
second viewing window is displayed on the screen, wherein
one of the first and second viewing windows is a top-most
viewing window, and wherein the creditor comprises
program code to credit the identifying data only with
respect to the top-most viewing window.
53. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises minimization and minimum
window size, and wherein the creditor comprises program
code to credit the identifying data only if the viewing window is not minimized and the size of the viewing
window is greater than the minimum window size.
54. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises minimization and an amount
of occlusion of the viewing window, and wherein the
creditor comprises program code to credit the identifying
data only if the viewing window is not minimized and the
amount of occlusion of the viewing window is less than a
maximum occlusion.
55. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises minimization and a
percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing window,
and wherein the creditor comprises program code to credit
the identifying data only if the viewing window is not
minimized and the percentage of the screen occupied by
the viewing window is greater than a minimum percentage.
56. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises minimum window size and an
amount of occlusion of the viewing window, and wherein the creditor comprises program code to credit the
identifying data only if the size of the viewing window
is greater than the minimum window size and the amount of
occlusion of the viewing window is less than a maximum
occlusion.
57. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises minimum window size and a
percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing window,
and wherein the creditor comprises program code to credit
the identifying data only if the size of the viewing
window is greater than the minimum window size and the
percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing window
is greater than a minimum percentage.
58. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises an amount of occlusion of
the viewing window and a percentage of the screen
occupied by the viewing window, and wherein the creditor
comprises program code to credit the identifying data
only if the amount of occlusion of the viewing window is
less than a maximum occlusion and the percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing window is greater than a
minimum percentage .
59. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises minimization, minimum
window size, and an amount of occlusion of the viewing
window, and wherein the creditor comprises program code
to credit the identifying data only if the viewing window
is not minimized and the size of the viewing window is
greater than the minimum window size and the amount of
occlusion of the viewing window is less than a maximum
occlusion.
60. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises minimization, minimum
window size, and a percentage of the screen occupied by
the viewing window, and wherein the creditor comprises
program code to credit the identifying data only if the
viewing window is not minimized and the size of the
viewing window is greater than the minimum window size
and the percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing
window is greater than a minimum percentage .
61. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises minimum window size, an
amount of occlusion of the viewing window, and a
percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing window,
and wherein the creditor comprises program code to credit
the identifying data only if the size of the viewing
window is greater than the minimum window size and the
amount of occlusion of the viewing window is less than a
maximum occlusion and the percentage of the screen
occupied by the viewing window is greater than a minimum
percentage.
62. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the predetermined crediting rule applied in step a)
comprises minimization, an amount of occlusion of the
viewing window, and a percentage of the screen occupied
by the viewing window, and wherein step b) comprises the
step of crediting viewing with respect to the viewing
window only if the viewing window is not minimized and
the amount of occlusion of the viewing window is less
than a maximum occlusion and the percentage of the screen occupied by the viewing window is greater than a minimum
percentage .
63. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the crediting rules comprises minimization, minimum
window size, an amount of occlusion of the viewing
window, and a percentage of the screen occupied by the
viewing window, and wherein the creditor comprises
program code to credit the identifying data only if the
viewing window is not minimized and the size of the
viewing window is greater than the minimum window size
and the amount of occlusion of the viewing window is less
than a maximum occlusion and the percentage of the screen
occupied by the viewing window is greater than a minimum
percentage.
64. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the software meter has first program code to determine
whether the viewing device has a COM interface or an API
interface and second program code to determine channel
data from a channel related object of the COM interface or from application related data associated with a video
application through the API interface.
65. The metering system of claim 64 wherein
the software meter has third program code to determine a
program and/or station from an electronic programming
guide based upon the channel data.
66. The metering system of claim 64 wherein
the software meter has third program code to determine
channel data from window text if the viewing device has
neither a COM interface nor an API interface.
67. The metering system of claim 66 wherein
the software meter has fourth program code to determine a
program and/or station from an electronic programming
guide based upon the channel data.
68. The metering system of claim 66 wherein
the software meter has fourth program code to find main
windows, wherein the software meter has fifth program
code to find a video application main window from the main windows, wherein the software meter has sixth
program code to find child windows of the video
application main window, wherein the software meter has
seventh program code to find a channel related child
window from the child windows, and wherein the software
meter has eighth program code to determine channel data
from the channel related child window.
69. The metering system of claim 68 wherein
the fourth program code uses a callback function to find
the video application main window from the main windows.
70. The metering system of claim 68 wherein
the sixth program code uses a callback function to find
the channel related child window.
71. The metering system of claim 68 wherein
the software meter has ninth program code to determine a
program and/or station from an electronic programming
guide based upon the channel data.
72. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the software meter comprises :
a) first program code executable to determine
tuning data from a video application related to the
displayed video; and,
b) second program code executable to determine
an ancillary identification code relating to displayed
video .
73. The metering system of claim 72 wherein
the second program code determines the ancillary
identification code from a device driver.
74. The metering system of claim 73 wherein
the device driver is a device driver for a video tuning
card.
75. The metering system of claim 72 comprising
third program code arranged to determine a program and/or
station from an electronic programming guide based upon
the tuning data.
76. The metering system of claim 72 wherein
the first program code is arranged to (i) determine
whether the viewing device has a COM interface or an API
interface, (ii) determine channel data from a channel
related object of a COM interface if the viewing device
has the COM interface, and (iii) determine channel data
from application related data associated with a video
application if the viewing device has an API interface.
77. The metering system of claim 76 wherein
the first program code is arranged to determine channel
data from window text if the viewing device has neither a
COM interface nor an API interface.
78. The metering system of claim 77 comprising
third program code arranged to determine a program and/or
station from an electronic programming guide based upon
the tuning data.
79. The metering system of claim 77 wherein
the first program code is arranged to (i) find main
windows, (ii) find a video application main window from the main windows, (iii) find child windows of the video
application main window, (iv) find a channel related
child window from the child windows, and (v) determine
channel data from the channel related child window.
80. The metering system of claim 79 wherein
the first program code is arranged to use a callback
function in order to find the video application main
window from the main windows .
81. The metering system of claim 79 wherein
the first program code is arranged to use a callback
function to find the channel related child window.
82. The metering system of claim 79 comprising
third program code arranged to determine a program and/or
station from an electronic programming guide based upon
the tuning data.
83. The metering system of claim 45 wherein
the software meter is written in Java.
PCT/US1999/016321 1998-12-08 1999-07-19 Metering viewing of video displayed in windows WO2000035131A1 (en)

Priority Applications (5)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP99935703A EP1147631A1 (en) 1998-12-08 1999-07-19 Metering viewing of video displayed in windows
CA002351340A CA2351340A1 (en) 1998-12-08 1999-07-19 Metering viewing of video displayed in windows
JP2000587480A JP2002532952A (en) 1998-12-08 1999-07-19 Measuring video viewing in a window
AU51128/99A AU5112899A (en) 1998-12-08 1999-07-19 Metering viewing of video displayed in windows
HK02103094.7A HK1043673A1 (en) 1998-12-08 2002-04-24 Metering viewing of video displayed in windows

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US20722498A 1998-12-08 1998-12-08
US09/207,224 1998-12-08

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2000035131A1 true WO2000035131A1 (en) 2000-06-15

Family

ID=22769683

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US1999/016321 WO2000035131A1 (en) 1998-12-08 1999-07-19 Metering viewing of video displayed in windows

Country Status (8)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1147631A1 (en)
JP (1) JP2002532952A (en)
CN (1) CN1329783A (en)
AR (1) AR026847A1 (en)
AU (1) AU5112899A (en)
CA (1) CA2351340A1 (en)
HK (1) HK1043673A1 (en)
WO (1) WO2000035131A1 (en)

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WO2002049370A1 (en) * 2000-12-11 2002-06-20 Boxer Tv Access Ab Electronic device receiving television signal and communicating with service provider
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JP2002532952A (en) 2002-10-02
CN1329783A (en) 2002-01-02
CA2351340A1 (en) 2000-06-15
EP1147631A1 (en) 2001-10-24
HK1043673A1 (en) 2002-09-20
AU5112899A (en) 2000-06-26
AR026847A1 (en) 2003-03-05

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