Apparatus, storage medium and method for performing source classification using HDMI audio metadata

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus, storage medium, and method for performing source classification using HDMI audio metadata. An example apparatus includes a metadata extractor for: extracting a value of an audio encoding parameter from HDMI metadata, the HDMI metadata being obtained from a monitored HDMI port of a media device, the HDMI metadata corresponding to media output from the monitored HDMI port; mapping the extracted value of the audio encoding parameter to a first unique encoding class (UEC) in a set of defined UECs, different UECs in the set of defined UECs corresponding to different combinations of possible values ​​of the audio encoding parameter that can be included in the HDMI metadata; and identifying a media source corresponding to the media output from the HDMI port based on one or more possible media sources mapped to the first UEC.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This patent is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 16 / 863,639 filed on April 30, 2020, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 861,194 filed on June 13, 2019. The entire contents of each of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 16 / 863,639 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 861,194 are incorporated herein by reference. Priority is claimed to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 16 / 863,639 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 861,194. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to media source classification, and more particularly, to source classification using High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) audio metadata. Background Art

[0004] HDMI is a transmission interface that is a common audiovisual standard for transmitting high-definition video, audio, and related media signals. In some examples, HDMI defines an interface for transmitting compressed or uncompressed video and audio data between digital audio / video (A / V) sources such as set-top boxes, digital versatile disk (DVD) players, satellite receivers, etc. and A / V receivers / controllers or display devices such as televisions, projectors, etc. Summary of the invention

[0005] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a device for performing source classification using high-definition multimedia interface HDMI audio metadata is proposed, the device comprising: a metadata extractor, the metadata extractor being used to: extract the value of an audio encoding parameter from HDMI metadata, the HDMI metadata being obtained from a monitored HDMI port of a media device, the HDMI metadata corresponding to media output from the monitored HDMI port, wherein the HDMI metadata is included in an audio stream output from the monitored HDMI port of the media device; map the extracted value of the audio encoding parameter to a first UEC in a set of defined unique encoding classes UEC, different UECs in the set of defined UECs corresponding to different combinations of possible values ​​of the audio encoding parameter that can be included in the HDMI metadata; and identify a media source corresponding to the media output from the HDMI port based on one or more possible media sources mapped to the first UEC.

[0006] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for performing source classification using high-definition multimedia interface HDMI audio metadata is disclosed, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to at least: extract a value of an audio encoding parameter from HDMI metadata, the HDMI metadata being obtained from a monitored HDMI port of a media device, the HDMI metadata corresponding to media output from the monitored HDMI port, wherein the HDMI metadata is included in an audio stream output from the monitored HDMI port of the media device; map the extracted value of the audio encoding parameter to a first UEC in a set of defined unique encoding classes UECs, different UECs in the set of defined UECs corresponding to different combinations of possible values ​​of the audio encoding parameter that can be included in the HDMI metadata; and identify a media source corresponding to the media output from the HDMI port based on one or more possible media sources mapped to the first UEC.

[0007] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method for performing source classification using high-definition multimedia interface HDMI audio metadata is disclosed, the method comprising: extracting a value of an audio encoding parameter from the HDMI metadata, the HDMI metadata being obtained from a monitored HDMI port of a media device, the HDMI metadata corresponding to media output from the monitored HDMI port, wherein the HDMI metadata is included in an audio stream output from the monitored HDMI port of the media device; mapping the extracted value of the audio encoding parameter to a first UEC in a set of defined unique encoding classes UEC, different UECs in the set of defined UECs corresponding to different combinations of possible values ​​of the audio encoding parameter that can be included in the HDMI metadata; and identifying a media source corresponding to the media output from the HDMI port based on one or more possible media sources mapped to the first UEC. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an example system including an example media monitor constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure for performing source classification using HDMI audio data.

[0009] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A block diagram of an example implementation of an example media monitor of FIG.

[0010] Figure 3 is a table including parameters of HDMI audio metadata that may be used to perform source classification according to the teachings of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 4 is a flowchart representing machine readable instructions that may be executed to implement Figure 1 and / or Figure 2 A media monitor for performing source classification using HDMI audio metadata.

[0012] Figure 5 is a block diagram of an example processor platform that is structured to perform according to the teachings of the present disclosure. Figure 4 Instructions for implementing a media monitor for performing source classification using HDMI audio metadata.

[0013] The drawings are not drawn to scale. Generally, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts.

[0014] Descriptors "first," "second," "third," etc., are used herein when identifying multiple elements or components that can be referenced individually. Unless otherwise specified or understood based on the context of their use, such descriptors are not intended to impart any meaning of priority, physical order, or arrangement in a list or chronological order, but are merely used as labels for individually referencing multiple elements or components to facilitate understanding of the disclosed examples. In some examples, the descriptor "first" may be used to refer to an element of a specific embodiment, while the same element may be referred to in the claims by different descriptors such as "second" or "third." In this case, it should be understood that such descriptors are only used to facilitate reference to multiple elements or components. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Example technical solutions for performing source classification using HDMI audio metadata are disclosed. Such example technical solutions may include one or more of methods, devices, systems, articles (e.g., physical storage media), etc. for performing source classification using HDMI audio metadata according to the teachings of the present disclosure.

[0016] IP / QAM hybrid set-top box decodes the content of DOCSIS / MoCA streaming client from universal QAM coded cable channel and embedded Internet connection.(As used herein, IP refers to Internet Protocol, QAM refers to quadrature amplitude modulation, DOCSIS refers to cable data service interface specification, and MoCA refers to Multimedia over Coaxial Cable Alliance.) Different from monitoring the network traffic of the device connected to the Ethernet of wireless local area network (LAN) (e.g. WiFi) or the Internet, due to the complexity of DOCSIS / MoCA specification and the lack of cheap commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment for performing such monitoring, monitoring the network traffic of IP / QAM hybrid set-top box to identify the content source is difficult in nature.Therefore, it is necessary to identify the content source of the current tuning or streaming associated with the media presentation performed by IP / QAM hybrid set-top box or other such consumer premises equipment in addition to the technology of network traffic monitoring.And such technology may be limited to the available output on the consumer premises equipment. Furthermore, the analog audio paths of such devices may be subject to significant variability and / or degradation, which may adversely affect any attempts to analyze the analog audio to identify the source.

[0017] The example technical scheme disclosed herein identifies the media source that provides media to consumer electronic devices from HDMI audio encoding metadata. The audio of typical cable channels and streaming media assets (e.g., videos, programs, dramas, movies, etc.) is encoded in a manner that uses parameters that are unique to a particular source (e.g., cable channels, streaming services, etc.) in some cases. When these parameters are unique, they can be used to specify a unique encoding class (UEC) that can identify the source of a media asset (e.g., video, program, drama, movie, etc.). Because the audio encoding parameters are encoded on the source, the HDMI metadata includes a digital copy of the audio encoding parameters. The metadata can be directly extracted from the HDMI bus without degradation, and is mapped to the source. HDMI is also typically an available output (and sometimes the only output) on an IP / QAM hybrid set-top box, and is not subject to the variability and degradation inherent in other types of analog audio analysis (e.g., based on microphone pickup and / or analog line connection).

[0018] The example technical solutions disclosed herein can be implemented on professional-grade HDMI analysis hardware and / or consumer-grade hardware. For example, the technical solutions disclosed herein can be implemented by adapting an HDMI audio extraction device used by an audience measurement system (such as a system adopted by Nielsen Company (US), LLC). For example, the software executed on such a device can be modified to provide metadata adopted by the disclosed example solution to assign audio to a UEC, and thereby identify the audio source based on the source mapped to the UEC.

[0019] The disclosed example solution for performing source classification using HDMI audio metadata is described in further implementation details as follows. Digital audio coding embeds a rich set of metadata into the audio stream, including parameters such as bit rate, dialogue volume offset (dialog volume shift), center channel mixing, bitstream identifiers, etc. These parameters are used by decoders in consumer electronic devices (e.g., televisions) to reproduce audio. The disclosed example technical solution utilizes a combination of these embedded parameters to create many (e.g., dozens or some other number) unique coding classes (UECs) that can be used to identify categories of both digital streaming assets and universal cable channels (e.g., sources). Some UECs are shared by many sources and are therefore useless for eliminating ambiguity between each other. However, other UECs provide commercially valuable distinctions between sources. The parameters that make up the UECs are found in publicly accessible portions of the HDMI audio stream. These parameters can be accessed using hardware found in commercially available, off-the-shelf audio extractors. The universal availability of HDMI for digital media transmission makes it a particularly useful channel for accessing these parameters.

[0020] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an example system 100 constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure for performing source classification using HDMI audio data. Figure 1 The example system 100 monitors media provided by an example media source 110 for presentation on an example media device 150 via an example network 145 . Figure 1 Examples include an example service provider 120, an example media monitor 165, and an example central facility 175 of an audience measurement entity. Figure 1 The illustrated example of discloses an example implementation of the service provider 120 as an Internet service provider, but other example implementations of the service provider 120 may additionally or alternatively be used. For example, the service provider 120 may be a cable service provider.

[0021] Figure 1The media sources 110 of the illustrated example correspond to any one or more media sources capable of providing media for presentation via the media device 150. The media provided by the media sources 110 may provide any type of media, such as audio, video, multimedia, etc. Additionally, the media may correspond to live media, streaming media, broadcast media, stored media, on-demand content, etc. In some examples, the media source 110 may be a local source (e.g., a DVD player, a game console, etc.) from which the media is not necessarily received but plays the media locally.

[0022] Figure 1 The service provider 120 of the illustrated example provides media services to the media device 150 via, for example, an IP / QAM hybrid set-top box provided by the media source 110. In the illustrated example, the service provider 120 modifies the media provided by the media source 110 before sending the media to the media device 150. In the illustrated example, the service provider 120 includes an example media identifier 125, an example transcoder 130, an example metadata embedder 135, and an example media sender 140.

[0023] Figure 1 The media identifier 125 of the illustrated example is implemented by logic circuits such as a processor that executes instructions, but it may additionally or alternatively be implemented by an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD) and / or a field programmable logic device (FPLD), analog circuits and / or other circuit systems. Figure 1 The media identifier 125 extracts metering data (e.g., signatures, watermarks, etc.) from the media obtained from the media source 110. For example, the media identifier 125 may implement functionality provided by a software development kit (SDK) to extract one or more audio watermarks, one or more video (e.g., image) watermarks, etc. embedded in the audio and / or video of the media obtained from the media source 110. (For example, the media may include pulse code modulation (PCM) audio data or other types of audio data, uncompressed video / image data, etc.).

[0024] Figure 1An example media identifier 125 determines (e.g., derives, decodes, converts, etc.) metering data (e.g., such as media identification information, source identification information, etc.) included in the media or identified with a watermark embedded in, associated with, and / or sent with the media, and converts the metering data and / or the watermark itself into a text and / or binary format and / or other data type (e.g., text, binary, etc.) for insertion into the streaming media as metadata. For example, the code / watermark itself can be extracted and inserted as metadata in a text or binary format such as in an ID3 tag. Thus, the metadata and / or media identification metadata included in the ID3 tag can be a text or binary representation of the code, watermark, and / or metadata or data identified by the code and / or watermark, etc.

[0025] Figure 1 The example code converter 130 of the illustrated example is implemented by a logic circuit such as a processor that executes instructions, but can be implemented additionally or alternatively by any other logic circuit, ASIC, DSP, FPGA and / or other analog and / or digital circuit system. In some examples, the code converter 130 and the media identifier 125 are implemented by the same physical processor. In the illustrated example, the code converter 130 uses any appropriate technology to transcode and / or otherwise process the received media into a form suitable for viewing (e.g., a streaming format, a set-top box format). For example, the code converter 130 of the illustrated example transcodes the media according to MPEG2 audio / video compression for use via the HLS protocol. In some examples, the code converter 130 transcodes the media associated with the universal cable channel to comply with AC-3 audio encoding.

[0026] Figure 1 The metadata embedder 135 of the illustrated example is implemented by logic circuitry such as a processor executing instructions, but may additionally and / or alternatively be implemented by any other logic circuitry, ASIC, DSP, FPGA, and / or other analog and / or digital circuitry. In some examples, some or all of the transcoder 130, media identifier 125, and metadata embedder 135 are implemented by the same physical processor.

[0027] In the example shown, metadata embedder 135 embeds metadata determined by media identifier 125 into a specific format to be included in or otherwise associated with the media. In some examples, the metadata is embedded in a closed captioning transport stream of the media. In some examples, metadata embedder 135 embeds the metadata as one or more data fields of the streaming media based on a specific encoding format (e.g., AC-3).

[0028] In the example shown, the metadata embedder 135 embeds metadata to define a UEC that contains distinguishing values ​​for UEC source classification as disclosed herein. For example, the metadata embedder 135 embeds one or more of the following parameters in a combined manner to define different UECs that can classify sources: IEC61937 data type, bit rate, dialogue normalized average level, bitstream identifier, and center mix level. Although the preceding parameters in this example are AC-3 parameters, in other examples, the metadata embedder 135 can embed metadata parameters for other types of encoding. In the example shown, the metadata embedder 135 embeds metadata in a manner such that each source belongs to one UEC. For example, a generic cable channel may have a UEC including the following parameter values: IEC61937 Data Type = AC-3 (which indicates a data type corresponding to AC-3 encoding); Bit Rate = 384 (e.g., indicating that the bit rate is kilobits per second); Dialogue Normalized Average Level = -24, Bitstream Identifier = 8, and Center Mix Level = -3, which may be represented as a UEC value of AC-3 / 384 / -24 / 8 / -3. In some examples, a streaming media asset such as a movie or series episode from a particular streaming media source may have a UEC including the following parameter values: IEC61937 Data Type = AC-3, Bit Rate = 640, Dialogue Normalized Average Level = -31, Bitstream Identifier = 4, and Center Mix Level = -3, which may be represented as a UEC value of AC-3 / 640 / -31 / 4 / -3. In some examples, metadata embedder 135 embeds metadata in a manner such that more than one source may belong to a given UEC. In some examples, there may be more than one universal (eg, standard cable) cable channel with a UEC of AC-3 / 384 / -24 / 8 / -3, or there may be more than one movie with a UEC of AC-3 / 640 / -31 / 4 / -3.

[0029] In some examples, metadata embedder 135 inserts metadata corresponding to the above-described metering data to identify specific events within the media, such as when an advertisement is displayed via product placement, when a dedicated advertisement is displayed, when a specific event occurs within the media (e.g., when a contestant on a television game show answers a question, when a television movie returns from a commercial, etc.), etc. Additionally or alternatively, metadata embedder 135 may embed the metadata into a separate metadata document, such as by encoding the metadata into an M3U8 or other data file to be associated with the media (e.g., included in the media, appended to the media, sent before the media, etc.).

[0030] Figure 1The media transmitter 140 of the illustrated example is implemented by logic circuits such as a processor that executes instructions, but may additionally or alternatively be implemented by any other circuit, ASIC, DSP, FPGA, and / or other analog and / or digital circuitry. In some examples, some or all of the transcoder 130, media identifier 125, metadata embedder 135, and media transmitter 140 are implemented by the same physical processor.

[0031] The media sender 140 employs any suitable technique to select and / or stream the media to a requesting device, such as the media device 150. For example, the media sender 140 of the illustrated example selects media that has been identified by the media identifier 125, transcoded by the transcoder 130, and subjected to metadata embedding by the metadata embedder 135. The media sender 140 then sends the media to the media device 150 via the network 145 using any protocol, such as IP / QAM, DOCSIS / MoCA, Media Player Version 4 (MP4), Adobe Flash (FLV), Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) Version 2 (MPEG2, MPEG Version 4 (MPEG4)), etc.

[0032] In some examples, the media identifier 125, the transcoder 130, and / or the metadata embedder 130 prepare the media for transmission in advance of a request from the media device 150. In such examples, the already prepared media is stored in a data storage of the service provider 120 (e.g., such as in flash memory, magnetic media, optical media, etc.). In such examples, upon receiving a request from the media device 150, the media transmitter 140 prepares a transport stream to stream or otherwise send the prepared media to the media device 150. In some examples, the media identifier 125, the transcoder 130, and / or the metadata embedder 130 prepare the media for transmission in response to a request received from the media device 150.

[0033] The network 145 of the illustrated example is the Internet. Additionally or alternatively, any other network(s) that communicatively links the service provider 120 and the media devices may be used, such as IP / QAM, DOCSIS / MoCA, a private network, a local area network (LAN), a virtual private network (VPN), etc. The network 145 may include any number of public and / or private networks using any type(s) of networking protocol(s).

[0034] Figure 1The media device 150 of the illustrated example is a device capable of presenting media provided by the media transmitter 140 via the network 145. The media device 150 may be, for example, a television, a set-top box (such as an IP / QAM hybrid set-top box), a DVD player, an Apple Roku TM Media player, Boxee TM Media players, Sony PlayStation TM , Etc. In the example shown, the media device 150 outputs media via an example HDMI interface 155 (e.g., an HDMI cable). However, any other number, type, and / or format of interfaces may be used in addition or alternatively. In some examples, multiple HDMI interfaces and / or cables may be used. For example, an audio / video receiver may include multiple HDMI outputs. Although a single media device 150 is shown, any number and / or type of media devices may be used. In the example shown, the media device 150 outputs metadata. In some examples, metadata is received as part of the media (e.g., embedded in an MPEG2 transport stream). However, in some examples, metadata is received separately from the media. When metadata is received separately from the media, the media device 150 multiplexes the metadata into the media (e.g., multiplexes into the transport stream) before sending the media to the display 160. Figure 1 The display 160 of the illustrated example is a display device capable of displaying media received from the media device 150. In the illustrated example, the display 160 is a television. However, any other number and / or type of displays may additionally or alternatively be used, such as a 3D television, a high-definition television, a computer monitor, etc.

[0035] In the example shown, media monitor 165 intercepts HDMI data sent from media device 150 to display 160 via HDMI cable 155. Figure 2 Example implementations of media monitor 165 are described in further detail. Figure 1 The example media monitor 165 includes an example media interceptor 170. The media interceptor 170 of the illustrated example functions as an HDMI connector that allows the media monitor 165 to intercept HDMI data. In the illustrated example, the media interceptor 170 implements a first (e.g., pass-through) path such that the HDMI data passes through the media interceptor 170 to the display 160 as if the media interceptor 170 were not present. However, the media interceptor 170 also implements a second path that also provides HDMI data (e.g., copied HDMI data) to the media monitor 165. Figure 1In the illustrated example of , the media interceptor 170 is separate from the media monitor 165. In some examples, the media interceptor 170 sends the HDMI data to the Figure 1 The example media monitor 165 may be used to monitor the HDMI data. However, the media interceptor 170 may send the data to the media monitor 165 in any other manner (e.g., wirelessly). The example media monitor 165 examines the HDMI data to identify metadata. The metadata is sent from the example media monitor 165 to the central facility 175 for analysis.

[0036] In the illustrated example, the media interceptor 170 is separate from the media monitor 165. The media interceptor 170 is electrically located between the media device 150 and the display 160. That is, a cable (e.g., an HDMI cable) that traditionally extends from the media device 150 to the display 160 is instead routed from the media device 150 to the media interceptor 170. Then, a second cable is routed from the media interceptor 170 to the display 160. In other words, the media interceptor 170 is to intercept the media stream between the media device and the display. In some examples, the media interceptor 170 may be referred to as being "in-line" with the electrical connection (e.g., HDMI cable) between the media device 150 and the display 160. In addition, when the media interceptor 170 is implemented as being separate from the media monitor 165, the media interceptor 170 splits the information sent by the media device 150 and sends the information to both the display 160 and the media monitor 165. In the illustrated example, the media interceptor 170 sends data to the media monitor 165 via the HDMI cable. However, any other type and / or format of data interface may additionally or alternatively be used.

[0037] In the illustrated example, the media monitor 165 is implemented separately from the display 160. However, in some examples, the media monitor 165 can be implemented as a part and / or component of the display 160 and / or the media device 150. For example, the display 160 and / or the media device 150 can be sold with the media monitor 165 included and / or as an available accessory. In some examples, the media monitor 165 is located inside the housing of the display. When the media monitor 165 is located inside the housing of the display, the HDMI port mentioned herein can be replaced with an internal data line (e.g., a bus) to receive and / or intercept HDMI data.

[0038] The central facility 175 of the illustrated example is a facility of an audience measurement entity (e.g., The Nielsen Company (US), LLC) and includes an interface for receiving reported metering information (e.g., metadata) from the media monitor 165 via the network 145. In the illustrated example, the central facility 175 is provided with software (e.g., a background process) to extract metering information and / or metadata from the media monitor 165. For example, the central facility may use any appropriate technology to obtain metering information and / or metadata, such as HTTP Secure Protocol (HTTPS), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), HTTP and / or HTTPS GET requests, HTTP and / or HTTPS POST requests, etc. In the illustrated example, the central facility 175 stores and analyzes the extracted metering information and / or metadata received from a plurality of different media devices. For example, the central facility 175 may classify and / or group metering information and / or metadata by media source 110 (e.g., by grouping all metering data associated with a particular media source 110). In some examples, the central facility may classify and / or group metering information based on a particular classification of the UEC. Additionally or alternatively, any other processing of the metering information and / or metadata may be performed. In some examples, the central facility 175 adds a timestamp to the metadata after receiving the metadata. Performing timestamping (e.g., recording the time at which an event occurred) enables accurate identification and / or association of the media presented and / or the time at which the media was presented to a user of the presentation device.

[0039] In the illustrated example, the example central facility 175 includes one or more media monitoring applications 180 to process source classification information and / or information output by the media monitor 165 to perform one or more operations based on the information. For example, the media monitoring application 180 may include a media credit application to credit media exposure and / or classify sources based on reference media assets represented by media identification information output by the media monitor 165. For example, the monitoring application 180 may utilize the source classification information to merge profiles in a database to reduce the burden on the memory. Additionally or alternatively, the media monitoring application 180 may include one or more dynamic advertising insertion applications to utilize the information output by the media monitor 165 to select companion media, target advertisements, etc. to provide to the media device 150 for presentation. Additionally or alternatively, the media monitoring application 180 may include one or more auxiliary media selection insertion applications to utilize information output by the media monitor 165 to select auxiliary media to provide to an auxiliary media device (e.g., such as a smart phone and / or computer associated with one or more panelists) for presentation in association with the monitored media presented by the media device 150.

[0040] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 165 is a block diagram of an example implementation of a media monitor 165. Figure 2 The illustrated example media monitor 165 includes an example media interceptor 170, an example multiplexer 220, an example metadata extractor 230, an example metadata converter 240, and an example transmitter 250. Figure 2 In the illustrated example of FIG. 1 , the media interceptor 170 is shown as being partially internal to the media monitor 165 and partially external to the media monitor 165. This internal / external description is intended to indicate that the media interceptor 170 can be implemented external to the media monitor 165 (e.g., Figure 1 ), but the media interceptor 170 may additionally or alternatively be implemented internal to the media monitor 165. In some examples, one or more of the example demultiplexer 220, the example metadata extractor 230, and the example metadata converter 240 may be implemented at the central facility 175 instead of at the media monitor 165.

[0041] Figure 3 The example media interceptor 170 of the illustrated example includes one or more HDMI ports. The example media interceptor 170 intercepts media sent from the media device 150 to the display 160 via HDMI. In the illustrated example, the media interceptor 170 includes a first example port 205 (e.g., an input port) to receive media sent from the media device 150. The example media interceptor 170 includes a second example port 210 (e.g., an output port) to send media received via the first port to the display 160. Figure 2 In the illustrated example of , the media interceptor 170 is depicted as being both internal and external to the media monitor 165. As described above, several different configurations of the media interceptor 170 may be used. For example, the media interceptor 170 may be external to the media monitor and send data to the media monitor 165. That is, the media interceptor 170 may be considered an in-line interceptor. In some examples, multiple media interceptors 170 may be used, for example, to monitor multiple media devices. In some other examples, the media interceptor 170 may be implemented as an internal component of the media monitor 165. The media interceptor 170 intercepts the HDMI data and forwards it to the example multiplexer 220.

[0042] Figure 2The example multiplexer 220 of the illustrated example is implemented by a logic circuit such as a processor that executes instructions, but it can be additionally or alternatively implemented by any other logic circuit, ASIC, DSP, FPGA and / or other analog and / or digital circuit system. In the illustrated example, the example multiplexer 220 multiplexes an MPEG transport stream from the HDMI data. However, the multiplexer 220 can multiplex any other format from the HDMI data. In addition, the multiplexer 220 extracts metadata from the transport stream. The metadata is sent to the metadata extractor 230.

[0043] Figure 2 The metadata extractor 230 of the illustrated example is implemented by a logic circuit such as a processor that executes instructions, but it may additionally or alternatively be implemented by any other logic circuit, ASIC, DSP, FPGA, and / or other analog and / or digital circuit system. In some examples, the multiplexer 220 and the metadata extractor 230 are implemented by the same physical processor. In the illustrated example, the metadata extractor 230 receives metadata from the multiplexer 220. The metadata extractor 230 parses the metadata to identify the (one or more) UECs contained therein.

[0044] In the example shown, metadata extractor 230 identifies parameters specified in the metadata that match parameters set by metadata embedder 135 of service provider 120. For example, metadata extractor 230 identifies parameters specified in the metadata that match parameters set in an AC-3 encoder in a broadcast studio. In some examples, metadata extractor 230 identifies parameters that were set by metadata embedder 135 when the media was encoded to match parameters emitted by the media in the home.

[0045] In the example shown, the metadata extractor 230 extracts metadata representing distinguishing values ​​used in UEC source classification. For example, the metadata extractor 230 extracts parameters from the metadata that are used to define different UECs that can classify sources, such as IEC61937 data types, bit rates, dialogue normalized average levels, bitstream identifiers, center mix levels, etc., as described above. In addition, although the previous parameters in this example are AC-3 parameters, parameters for other types of encoding may be used in other example solutions. Again, although the previous parameters in this example are AC-3 parameters, in other examples, the metadata extractor 230 may extract metadata parameters for other types of encoding.

[0046] In some examples, the metadata extractor 230 extracts metadata from a burst preamble of an IEC 61937 data type (e.g., an audio stream). In some examples, the IEC 61937 data type includes transmission parameters (e.g., burst preamble) and license coded audio data (e.g., coded preamble). In some examples, the license coded audio data requires additional processing and / or additional processing equipment to analyze. In contrast, the transmission parameters do not require any additional processing and / or processing equipment. In this way, the metadata extractor 230 that extracts metadata from the transmission parameters of the IEC 61937 data type improves the operation of the computing system because it eliminates additional processing and does not require any additional processing equipment.

[0047] In the example shown, the metadata extractor 230 extracts metadata to classify a source (e.g., a media source, a service provider, etc.) based on the UEC. For example, a generic cable channel may have a UEC including the following parameter values: IEC61937 Data Type = AC-3; Bit Rate = 384; Dialogue Normalized Average Level = -24, Bitstream Identifier = 8, and Center Mix Level = -3, which corresponds to a UEC value of AC-3 / 384 / -24 / 8 / -3. In some examples, a streaming media asset such as a movie or series episode from a particular streaming media source may have a UEC including the following parameter values: IEC61937 Data Type = AC-3, Bit Rate = 640, Dialogue Normalized Average Level = -31, Bitstream Identifier = 4, and Center Mix Level = -3, which corresponds to a UEC value of AC-3 / 640 / -31 / 4 / -3. In some examples, more than one source may belong to a given UEC. In some examples, there may be more than one common cable channel with a UEC value of AC-3 / 384 / -24 / 8 / -3, or there may be more than one movie with a UEC value of AC-3 / 640 / -31 / 4 / -3.

[0048] In the example shown, the defined UECs provide commercially valuable discriminators for identifying different media sources. For example, a UEC may be defined as a UEC that no universal cable channel shares with any streaming media asset. In such an example, the UEC alone may be used to distinguish between streaming sources and universal cable channels to determine source classification. Thus, the metadata extractor 230 extracts parameters from the metadata to classify the source based on the UEC. In the example shown, the metadata extractor 230 extracts the parameters from the metadata and generates a table containing the parameters. For example, the metadata extractor 230 may extract the metadata and generate a mapping of encoding parameters to UEC classes. The metadata extractor 230 may store and maintain the mapping in one or more data structures (such as a table with the same encoding parameters as the UEC class). Figure 3 In the table data structure corresponding to the table 300 shown in FIG. Figure 3 In the example shown in , table 300 includes parameters for defining HDMI audio encoding metadata of UEC, including: EN: IEC61937 data type (audio encoding data type), EN: audio bit rate (audio encoding bit rate), EN: dialogue normalization (dialogue level), Dolby BSID (bitstream identifier), Dolby CMixLev (center mix level), Dolby LFEon (low frequency energy on), acmod / AMODE (audio compression mode). However, any other type of audio metadata may be used to define UEC.

[0049] In the example table 300 shown, column 302 lists different UECs that can be defined based on the values ​​of the different parameters listed in columns 5 to 11, which the metadata extractor 230 obtains from the HDMI audio encoding metadata embedded by the metadata embedder 135 of the service provider 120. The metadata extractor 230 of the example shown determines the disambiguation confidence of the UEC. As used herein, disambiguation confidence refers to the ability of a defined UEC to uniquely identify a corresponding media source. In some examples, the metadata extractor 230 determines the disambiguation confidence based on determining multiple values ​​in a first UEC (e.g., a UEC extracted from metadata) that match multiple values ​​and / or parameters in a defined UEC. Thus, if the metadata extractor 230 determines that all parameters in a first UEC (e.g., a query UEC) match all parameters of a UEC from a known media source, the metadata extractor 230 determines that the disambiguation confidence is 100%. Likewise, metadata extractor 230 will reduce the disambiguation confidence based on the number of parameters in the query UEC that differ from the parameters in the UEC with the known media source. For example, column 304 of table 300 represents the disambiguation confidence (i.e., ability) of the defined UEC to uniquely identify the corresponding media source listed in column 306 of table 300. In the example shown, a disambiguation confidence of 100% indicates that the corresponding UEC can uniquely identify the corresponding media source, while a disambiguation confidence of 50% means that the corresponding UEC can narrow the source identification to one of 2 possible sources, and a disambiguation confidence of 33% means that the corresponding UEC can narrow the source identification to one of 3 possible sources.

[0050] exist Figure 2In the illustrated example of , metadata extractor 230 calculates a disambiguation confidence indicating the likelihood that the UEC corresponds to a particular source. For example, metadata extractor 230 may classify a UEC comprising: IEC61937 data type = AC-3; bit rate = 384; dialogue normalized average level = -24, bitstream identifier = 8, and center mix level = -3 (abbreviated as AC-3 / 384 / -24 / 8 / -3) as corresponding to a particular service provider. Thus, when the metadata extractor 230 extracts metadata and identifies the media as having a UEC including the following: IEC61937 data type=AC-3; bit rate=384; dialogue normalized average level=-24, bitstream identifier=8, and center mix level=-3 (abbreviated as AC-3 / 384 / -24 / 8 / -3), the metadata extractor 230 of the illustrated example determines that the metadata (e.g., the media corresponding to the metadata) has a disambiguation confidence of 100% and corresponds to a particular service provider associated with the UEC (e.g., from Figure 3 The metadata extractor 230 of the illustrated example populates a UEC mapping data structure (e.g., such as a table corresponding to table 300) with the disambiguation confidence for each source and forwards the populated table to the metadata converter 240.

[0051] Figure 2 The example metadata converter 240 is implemented by a logic circuit such as a processor that executes instructions, but it can be additionally or alternatively implemented by any other logic circuit, ASIC, DSP, FPGA and / or other analog and / or digital circuit system. In some examples, some or all of the multiplexer 220, the metadata extractor 230 and the metadata converter 240 are implemented by the same physical processor. In the example shown, the metadata converter 240 converts the information and / or metadata extracted by the metadata extractor 230 into a converted metadata format for transmission to the central facility 175. For example, the metadata converter 240 can encrypt, decrypt, compress, modify, etc. the information, metadata and / or portions of the metadata to, for example, reduce the amount of data to be sent to the central facility 175. In the example shown, the metadata converter 240 adds a timestamp to the information and / or metadata before converting the metadata. Performing timestamps (e.g., recording the time when an event occurred) enables accurate identification and / or association of media presented to (one or more) users of the presentation device at corresponding (one or more) times.

[0052] Figure 3The transmitter 250 of the illustrated example is implemented by a logic circuit such as a processor that executes instructions, but it may additionally or alternatively be implemented by any other logic circuit, ASIC, DSP, FPGA and / or other analog and / or digital circuit system. In some examples, some or all of the multiplexer 220, metadata extractor 230, metadata converter 240 and transmitter 250 are implemented by the same physical processor. In the illustrated example, the transmitter 250 sends the converted information and / or metadata to the central facility 175 via, for example, the Internet. Although the converted information and / or metadata are sent substantially in real time in the illustrated example, in some examples, the converted information and / or metadata are stored, cached and / or buffered before sending the converted information and / or metadata to the central facility 175. Additionally or alternatively, the transmitter 250 may send an identifier of the media monitor 165 and / or the media device 150 to enable the central facility 175 to associate the metadata with a panelist, a group of panelists, a demographic, etc. In some examples, a separate audience meter is used to identify people in the local audience of the monitored device. In the example shown, the central facility 175 is associated with an audience measurement company and is not involved in the delivery of media to the media device. In some examples, the central facility 175 applies a timestamp after receiving the converted information and / or metadata.

[0053] Despite Figure 2 The implementation is shown in Figure 1 The example method of the media monitor 165, however Figure 2 One or more of the elements, processes and / or devices shown in the drawings may be combined, divided, rearranged, omitted, eliminated and / or implemented in any other manner. In addition, Figure 2The example media interceptor 170, the example demultiplexer 220, the example metadata extractor 230, the example metadata converter 240, the example transmitter 250, and / or more generally the example media monitor 165 may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, and / or any combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware. Thus, for example, any of the example media interceptor 170, the example demultiplexer 220, the example metadata extractor 230, the example metadata converter 240, the example transmitter 250, and / or more generally the example media monitor 165 may be implemented by one or more analog or digital circuits, logic circuits, programmable processors, programmable controllers, graphics processing units (GPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), and / or field programmable logic devices (FPLDs). When reading any apparatus or system claims of this patent covering pure software and / or firmware implementations, at least one of the example media interceptor 170, the example demultiplexer 220, the example metadata extractor 230, the example metadata converter 240, the example transmitter 250, and / or more generally the example media monitor 165 is thereby expressly defined as comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage device or storage disk, such as a memory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc., comprising software and / or firmware. In addition, Figure 1 An example media monitor 165 may include Figure 2 Other than those shown or as Figure 2 Those shown may replace one or more elements, processes and / or devices, and / or may include more than one of any or all of the elements, processes and devices shown. As used herein, the phrase "communication" includes variations thereof, covers direct communication and / or indirect communication through one or more intermediate components, and does not require direct physical (e.g., wired) communication and / or continuous communication, but also includes selective communication at periodic intervals, scheduled intervals, non-periodic intervals and / or one-time events.

[0054] Figure 4 shows a representation for implementing Figure 2 165 of the media monitor 165, a flowchart of example hardware logic, machine readable instructions, a hardware-implemented state machine, and / or any combination thereof. The machine readable instructions may be for use by a computer processor (e.g., in conjunction with Figure 5The processor 512 shown in the example processor platform 500 discussed above may be one or more executable programs or portions of executable programs executed by the processor 512. The programs may be implemented in software stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disk, hard drive, DVD, Blu-ray disk, or memory associated with the processor 512), but the entire program and / or portions thereof may alternatively be executed by a device other than the processor 512 and / or implemented in firmware or dedicated hardware. In addition, although reference is made to Figure 4 The flowchart shown describes an example program, but many other methods of implementing the example media monitor 165 may be used instead. For example, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and / or some of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined. Additionally or alternatively, any or all of the blocks may be implemented by one or more hardware circuits (e.g., discrete and / or integrated analog and / or digital circuit systems, FPGAs, ASICs, comparators, operational amplifiers (op-amps), logic circuits, etc.) whose structures are designed to perform corresponding operations without executing software or firmware.

[0055] The machine-readable instructions described herein may be stored in one or more of a compressed format, an encrypted format, a segmented format, a compiled format, an executable format, an encapsulated format, etc. The machine-readable instructions as described herein may be stored as data (e.g., portions of instructions, codes, representations of codes, etc.) that may be used to create, manufacture, and / or generate machine-executable instructions. For example, the machine-readable instructions may be segmented and stored on one or more storage devices and / or computing devices (e.g., servers). The machine-readable instructions may require one or more of installation, modification, adaptation, update, combination, supplementation, configuration, decryption, decompression, unpacking, allocation, reassignment, compilation, etc., so that they may be directly read, interpreted, and / or executed by a computing device and / or other machine. For example, the machine-readable instructions may be stored in a plurality of parts that are each compressed, encrypted, and stored on a separate computing device, wherein the parts, when decrypted, decompressed, and combined, form a set of executable instructions that implement a program such as described herein.

[0056] In another example, the machine-readable instructions may be stored in a state in which they are readable by a computer, but require the addition of a library (e.g., a dynamic link library (DLL)), a software development kit (SDK), an application programming interface (API), etc., in order to execute the instructions on a particular computing device or other device. In another example, the machine-readable instructions and / or corresponding programs may need to be configured (e.g., stored settings, data inputs, recorded network addresses, etc.) before they can be executed in whole or in part. Therefore, the disclosed machine-readable instructions and / or corresponding programs are intended to cover such machine-readable instructions and / or programs regardless of the specific format or state of the machine-readable instructions and / or programs when stored or otherwise in a static or transmitted state.

[0057] The machine-readable instructions described herein may be represented by any past, present, or future instruction language, scripting language, programming language, etc. For example, the machine-readable instructions may be represented using any of the following languages: C, C++, Java, C#, Perl, Python, JavaScript, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Structured Query Language (SQL), Swift, etc.

[0058] As mentioned above, Figure 3 The example processes of may be implemented using executable instructions (e.g., computer and / or machine readable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and / or machine readable medium, such as a hard drive, flash memory, read-only memory, compact disk, digital versatile disk, cache, random access memory, and / or any other storage device or storage disk that stores information for any duration (e.g., for an extended period of time, permanently, temporarily, temporarily buffered, and / or cached information). As used herein, the term non-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to include any type of computer readable storage device and / or storage disk, and to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media.

[0059] "Comprising" and "including" (and all forms and tenses thereof) are used herein as open-ended terms. Thus, whenever a claim employs any form of "comprising" or "including" (e.g., comprises, includes, comprising, including, having, etc.) as a preamble or within any kind of claim recitation, it should be understood that additional elements, terms, etc. may be present without falling outside the scope of the corresponding claim or recitation. As used herein, when the phrase "at least" is used as a transitional term, such as in the preamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the terms "comprising" and "including" are open-ended. When the term "and / or" is used, for example, in a form such as A, B, and / or C, it refers to any combination or subset of A, B, and C, such as (1) A alone, (2) B alone, (3) C alone, (4) A and B, (5) A and C, (6) B and C, and (7) A and B and C. As used in the context of describing structures, components, items, objects, and / or things, the phrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementations that include any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B. Similarly, as used in the context of describing structures, components, items, objects, and / or things, the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to implementations that include any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B. As used in the context of describing the performance or execution of processes, instructions, actions, activities, and / or steps, the phrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementations that include any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B. Similarly, as used in the context of describing the performance or execution of a process, instruction, action, activity, and / or step, the phrase "at least one of A or B" is intended to refer to an implementation that includes any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B.

[0060] As used herein, singular references (e.g., "a," "an," "first," "second," etc.) do not exclude the plural. As used herein, the term "a" or "an" entity refers to one or more of the entity. The terms "a" (or "an"), "one or more," and "at least one" are used interchangeably herein. In addition, although listed separately, multiple devices, elements, or method actions may be implemented by, for example, a single unit or processor. In addition, although individual features may be included in different examples or claims, these features may be combined, and inclusion in different examples or claims does not mean that the combination of features is not feasible and / or disadvantageous.

[0061] Figure 4 It means that it can be executed to achieve Figure 1 and / or Figure 2 A flow chart of example machine readable instructions 400 of an example media monitor 165. Figure 4 In the illustrated example of , execution of the example machine readable instructions 400 begins when the metadata extractor 230 defines a set of unique encoding classes (UECs) corresponding to different possible combinations of values ​​of audio encoding parameters that can be included in the HDMI metadata (block 405). As described above, the UECs can be mapped to different possible media sources that provide media associated with the audio encoding parameters. For example, the metadata extractor 230 can classify a UEC that includes the following items: IEC61937 data type = AC-3; bit rate = 384; dialogue normalized average level = -24, bitstream identifier = 8, and center mix level = -3 (abbreviated as AC-3 / 384 / -24 / 8 / -3), as corresponding to a particular media source.

[0062] The metadata extractor 230 extracts the value of the audio encoding parameter included in the HDMI metadata obtained from the monitored HDMI port (block 410 ). For example, the metadata extractor 230 extracts the value of the audio encoding parameter included in the HDMI metadata obtained from the media interceptor 170 .

[0063] The metadata extractor 230 maps the extracted values ​​of the audio coding parameters to a specific UEC (block 415). For example, the metadata extractor 230 may map the extracted values ​​of the audio coding parameters to a UEC including the following items: IEC61937 data type = AC-3; bit rate = 384; dialogue normalized average level = -24, bitstream identifier = 8, and center mix level = -3 (abbreviated as AC-3 / 384 / -24 / 8 / -3), as corresponding to a specific media source. Thus, when the metadata extractor 230 extracts metadata and identifies the extracted value as having a UEC including the following items: IEC61937 data type = AC-3; bit rate = 384; dialogue normalized average level = -24, bitstream identifier = 8, and center mix level = -3 (abbreviated as AC-3 / 384 / -24 / 8 / -3), the metadata extractor 230 of the illustrated example determines that the metadata (e.g., the media corresponding to the metadata) has 100% disambiguation confidence and corresponds to a specific media source.

[0064] The metadata extractor 230 identifies a media source corresponding to the media output from the HDMI port based on the possible media source(s) mapped to the particular UEC (block 420). For example, the metadata extractor 230 may classify a UEC including the following: IEC61937 data type = AC-3, as corresponding to media source XYZ. Thus, when the metadata extractor 230 extracts metadata and identifies the extracted value as having a UEC including the following: IEC61937 data type = AC-3, the metadata extractor 230 of the illustrated example determines that the metadata corresponds to media source XYZ. Once all metadata has been classified, the process 400 ends.

[0065] Figure 5 is a structure designed to perform Figure 4 Instructions to achieve Figure 1 and / or Figure 2 The processor platform 500 can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, a workstation, a self-learning machine (e.g., a neural network), a mobile device (e.g., a cellular phone, a smart phone, an iPad, etc.). TM , a tablet computer such as a iPod, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVD player, a CD player, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, a game console, a personal video recorder, a set-top box, headphones or other wearable device, or any other type of computing device.

[0066] The processor platform 500 of the illustrated example includes a processor 512. The processor 512 of the illustrated example is hardware. For example, the processor 512 can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors, GPUs, DSPs, or controllers from any desired series or manufacturer. The hardware processor can be a semiconductor-based (e.g., silicon-based) device. In this example, the processor 512 implements the example media interceptor 170, the example multiplexer 220, the example metadata extractor 230, the example metadata converter 240, the example transmitter 250, and / or more generally the example media monitor 165.

[0067] The processor 512 of the illustrated example includes a local memory 513 (e.g., a cache). The processor 512 of the illustrated example communicates with a main memory including a volatile memory 514 and a non-volatile memory 516 via a bus 518. The volatile memory 514 may be comprised of a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory The non-volatile memory 516 may be implemented by flash memory and / or any other desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 514, 516 is controlled by a memory controller.

[0068] The processor platform 500 of the illustrated example also includes an interface circuit 520. The interface circuit 520 may be implemented by any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB), interface, near field communication (NFC) interface, and / or PCI Express interface.

[0069] In the example shown, one or more input devices 522 are connected to the interface circuit 520. The input devices 522 allow a user to enter data and / or commands into the processor 412. The input devices may be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, a microphone, a camera (still or video), a keyboard, buttons, a mouse, a touch screen, a track pad, a track ball, isopoint, and / or a voice recognition system.

[0070] One or more output devices 524 are also connected to the interface circuit 520 of the illustrated example. The output device 524 can be implemented, for example, by a display device (e.g., a light emitting diode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube display (CRT), an in-place switching (IPS) display, a touch screen, etc.), a tactile output device, a printer, and / or a speaker. Therefore, the interface circuit 520 of the illustrated example typically includes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip, and / or a graphics driver processor.

[0071] The interface circuitry 520 of the illustrated example also includes communication devices, such as transmitters, receivers, transceivers, modems, resident gateways, wireless access points, and / or network interfaces, to facilitate the exchange of data with external machines (e.g., any kind of computing device) via a network 526. Communications may be via, for example, an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, a telephone line connection, a coaxial cable system, a satellite system, a field line wireless system, a cellular telephone system, etc.

[0072] The processor platform 500 of the illustrated example also includes one or more mass storage devices 528 for storing software and / or data. Examples of such mass storage devices 528 include floppy disk drives, hard disk drives, optical disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, redundant array of independent disks (RAID) systems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives.

[0073] Figure 4 The machine-executable instructions 532 may be stored in the mass storage device 528, in the volatile memory 514, in the non-volatile memory 516, and / or on a removable, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium such as a CD or DVD.

[0074] From the foregoing it will be appreciated that example methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture have been disclosed for classifying media sources using HDMI audio metadata. The disclosed methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture improve the efficiency of using a computing device by extracting HDMI audio metadata without the need to encode / decode the audio metadata. Furthermore, the examples disclosed herein extract HDMI audio metadata based on specific parameters (e.g., IEC61937 burst preamble), thereby eliminating the need for subsequent processing of the HDMI audio metadata. Thus, the disclosed methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture are directed to one or more improvements in the functionality of a computer.

[0075] Although certain example methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture are disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the claims of this patent.

[0076] The following claims are incorporated into this Detailed Description by reference, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An apparatus for performing source classification using High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) audio metadata, the apparatus comprising: A metadata extractor, the metadata extractor being used to: extracting values ​​of a plurality of audio encoding parameters from HDMI metadata obtained from a monitored HDMI port of a media device, the HDMI metadata corresponding to media output from the monitored HDMI port, wherein the HDMI metadata is included in an audio stream output from the monitored HDMI port of the media device; Mapping the extracted values ​​of the plurality of audio coding parameters to a first UEC in a set of defined unique encoding classes UECs, different UECs in the set of defined UECs corresponding to different combinations of possible values ​​of the plurality of audio coding parameters that can be included in the HDMI metadata; and identifying a media source corresponding to the media output from the HDMI port based on one or more possible media sources mapped to the first UEC, The metadata extractor is configured to determine a disambiguation confidence associated with the first UEC when mapping the extracted values ​​of the plurality of audio coding parameters to the first UEC.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The HDMI metadata is extracted before being decoded.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The audio stream includes transmission parameters and license encoded audio data.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein: The extracted value corresponds to the transmission parameter.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The metadata extractor is used to determine multiple values ​​in the first UEC that match multiple values ​​in the defined UEC when determining the disambiguation confidence.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein: The metadata extractor is configured to, when identifying the media source, identify the media source as being mapped to the first UEC.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for performing source classification using High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) audio metadata, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to at least: extracting values ​​of a plurality of audio encoding parameters from HDMI metadata obtained from a monitored HDMI port of a media device, the HDMI metadata corresponding to media output from the monitored HDMI port, wherein The HDMI metadata is included in an audio stream output from the monitored HDMI port of the media device; mapping the extracted values ​​of the plurality of audio coding parameters to first UECs of a set of defined unique encoding classes UECs, different UECs of the set of defined UECs corresponding to different combinations of possible values ​​of the plurality of audio coding parameters that can be included in the HDMI metadata; as well as identifying a media source corresponding to the media output from the HDMI port based on one or more possible media sources mapped to the first UEC, Wherein, the instructions, when executed, cause the one or more processors to determine a disambiguation confidence associated with the first UEC when mapping the extracted values ​​of the plurality of audio coding parameters to the first UEC.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein: The audio stream includes transmission parameters and license encoded audio data.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein: The extracted value corresponds to the transmission parameter.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein: The instructions, when executed, cause the one or more processors to determine a plurality of values ​​in the first UEC that match a plurality of values ​​in a defined UEC when determining the disambiguation confidence.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein: The instructions, when executed, cause the one or more processors to identify the media source as being mapped to the first UEC when identifying the media source.

12. A method for performing source classification using High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) audio metadata, the method comprising: extracting values ​​of a plurality of audio encoding parameters from HDMI metadata obtained from a monitored HDMI port of a media device, the HDMI metadata corresponding to media output from the monitored HDMI port, wherein the HDMI metadata is included in an audio stream output from the monitored HDMI port of the media device; Mapping the extracted values ​​of the plurality of audio coding parameters to a first UEC in a set of defined unique encoding classes UECs, different UECs in the set of defined UECs corresponding to different combinations of possible values ​​of the plurality of audio coding parameters that can be included in the HDMI metadata; and identifying a media source corresponding to the media output from the HDMI port based on one or more possible media sources mapped to the first UEC, Wherein mapping the extracted values ​​of the plurality of audio coding parameters to the first UEC comprises determining a disambiguation confidence associated with the first UEC.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The audio stream includes transmission parameters and license encoded audio data.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The extracted value corresponds to the transmission parameter.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein: Determining the disambiguation confidence includes determining a plurality of values ​​in the first UEC that match a plurality of values ​​in a defined UEC.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein: Identifying the media source includes identifying the media source as being mapped to the first UEC.

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