PROGRAM VERIFICATION AND DECISION SYSTEM

Number: 20180063558
Published: 2018-03-01
Filed: 2016-08-30
Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Inventors: STEFANIDIS; Efthimis et al.
CPC: H04N21/232; H04N21/23418; G06F16/7867; H04N1/3232; H04N1/32331; H04N19/467; H04N21/23892; H04N21/26208; H04N21/26258; H04N21/278; H04N21/44008; H04N21/812; H04N21/8358; H04N21/84
Verdict: Set aside broadcast program verification/decision plumbing
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

Abstract

Embodiments herein describe a content distribution system that verifies a media presentation (or portions thereof) using a broadcast schedule. In one embodiment, the content verification system evaluates the media presentation to identify a unique identification data for the presentation such as a fingerprint or watermark. Using the broadcast schedule, the content verification system can identify what content the media presentation should (or is expected) to contain. The content verification system can retrieve a previously stored unique identifier from a database corresponding to the content identified using the broadcast schedule. If the stored unique identifier matches the unique identifier derived by the content verification system, the system verifies the content in the media presentation is correct. The verified media presentation can then be transmitted to a content distribution network—e.g., a broadcast network or video-on-demand provider.

Background

BACKGROUNDField of the Invention

The embodiments herein are generally directed to verifying a media presentation using a broadcast schedule.Description of the Related Art

Broadcast schedules (which can also be referred to as playlists) list the sequence of shows for a broadcast or cable channel. These schedules are typically based on a section of the day and contain program, commercial, promotional, and graphical content. For example, the schedules may match specific content to timestamps indicating when the content should be broadcasted.

Some content distributors (e.g., TV stations) use verification applications to determine if there are errors in their transmissions. For example, the verification applications may determine if the transmission has test signals (e.g., color bars) or a long periods of black indicating no content is being transmitted. However, a human operator or an automation process may insert the wrong content into a media presentation (or switch the ordering of the content) such that the media presentation does not match the broadcast schedule. Current verification techniques cannot detect these errors but rather are limited to identifying situations where no content is being transmitted.SUMMARY

One embodiment described herein is a method for verifying a media presentation. The method includes identifying first identification data by evaluating received media presentation data and identifying content expected in the media presentatio

Claims

1. A method for verifying a media presentation, the method comprising: identifying first identification data by evaluating received media presentation data; identifying content expected in the media presentation according a schedule, wherein the schedule indicates a presentation order of the content for the media presentation; receiving second identification data, wherein the second identification data is based on data in the expected content, and wherein the second identification data was generated before identifying the first identification data; comparing the first identification data to the second identification data in order to verify whether the media presentation data corresponds to the expected content in the media presentation; and upon verifying the media presentation, transmitting the media presentation to a content distributor to be made available to a plurality of viewers. 8. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising: computer-readable program code for verifying a media presentation, wherein, when executed by a computing processor, the computer-readable program code performs an operation comprising: identifying first identification data by evaluating received media presentation data; identifying content expected in the media presentation according to a schedule, wherein the schedule indicates a presentation order of the content for the media presentation; receiving second identification data, wherein the second identification data is based on data in the content, and wherein the second identification data was generated before identifying the first identification data; comparing the first identification data to the second identification data in order to verify whether the media presentation data corresponds to the expected content in the media presentation; and upon verifying the media presentation, transmitting the media presentation to a content distributor to be made available to a plurality of viewers. 15. A system, comprising: one or more computing processors; and a memory comprising a program that when executed by the one or more computer processor performs an operation for verifying a media presentation, the operation comprising: identifying first identification data by evaluating media presentation data; identifying content expected in the media presentation according a schedule, wherein the schedule indicates a presentation order of the expected content for the media presentation; receiving second identification data, wherein the second identification data is based on data in the expected content, and wherein the second identification data was generated before identifying the first identification data; comparing the first identification data to the second identification data in order to verify whether the media presentation data corresponds to the expected content in the media presentation; and upon verifying the media presentation, transmitting the media presentation to a content distributor to be made available to a plurality of viewers.