Collaborative Clickstream Capture for Television Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing television clickstream capture technologies, particularly set top boxes, are inadequate for advanced television networks where switching between programming streams occurs within the network, limiting their ability to recognize and capture user commands effectively.
Innovation Solution
A collaborative clickstream capture system where user commands are transferred from a viewer's premises to a remotely located component within the television network, allowing for both local and remote capture and storage of user commands, enabling comprehensive tracking of viewing behaviors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If set top boxes capture clickstreams locally, then viewing behavior tracking is enabled, but the ability to recognize user commands executed within the network is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments clickstream capture into two functional parts: local capture at the set top box for commands executed there, and remote capture at the network switch for commands executed within the network. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in capturing commands relevant to its function, resolving the contradiction between local capture accuracy and network-based recognition capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The network switch acts as an intermediary between the set top box and the final clickstream data. It receives commands from the set top box, executes network-based switching, and simultaneously captures the commands for later transmission back to the set top box. This intermediary role enables the system to capture both local and network-based commands without requiring the set top box to have direct network execution capability.
2Measurement precision
If all user commands are captured and stored locally, then comprehensive tracking is achieved, but system complexity and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the network-based command capture function from the set top box and places it at the network switch. This extraction reduces the complexity of the set top box by removing the need to handle both execution and capture functions, while the distributed architecture at the network level provides comprehensive tracking without concentrating all processing at a single complex device.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the capture function with the execution function at different locations: the set top box executes local commands and captures them, while the network switch executes network-based commands and captures them. This merging of capture with execution at each node simplifies the overall system architecture compared to having a centralized complex capture system, while still achieving comprehensive tracking.
3Ease of operation
If set top boxes execute all user commands, then local control is maintained, but network-based stream switching cannot be recognized
Solution Approach 1:
The network switch serves as an intermediary that receives commands from the set top box, executes network-based stream switching, and captures the commands for later transmission back to the set top box. This intermediary mechanism allows the set top box to maintain local control execution while the network switch handles network-based switching and provides the necessary command context information.
Solution Approach 2:
The network switch transmits captured command information back to the set top box, creating a feedback loop. This feedback mechanism allows the set top box to receive information about network-based commands executed by the switch, enabling it to maintain accurate tracking of viewing behavior while preserving local control functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems provide clickstream captures at both local and remote components by receiving user commands generated by the viewer locally where at least some of those commands are then sent to the remote component concurrently relative to when they are generated by the viewer. Commands may be captured and stored locally while the commands that are sent to the remote component are captured and then stored remotely from the premises of the viewer. Additionally, the user commands may be executed locally such as at a viewer appliance and/or remotely such as at a video control system of a television network. Information related to these user commands continues to be stored locally and/or remotely from the premises of the viewer after the user commands have been executed. Thus, the information related to these user commands can be processed as necessary and used for various purposes.