Compressed Audio Video Data Insertion Apparatus

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing digital broadcast systems face challenges in efficiently inserting and maintaining digital data, such as audience measurement data, within compressed audio/video streams due to the need for multiple devices and the risk of data corruption during compression, which complicates accurate content identification and leads to unreliable audience measurement.

Innovation Solution

A system that inserts audience measurement data directly into the compressed domain of digital broadcast streams, using a data inserter that operates on compressed bit streams, ensuring data integrity and reducing the complexity of broadcast stations by eliminating the need for multiple insertion devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If digital data is inserted into uncompressed audio/video signals before compression, then data insertion is straightforward, but multiple insertion devices are required and data may be corrupted during compression

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata insertion processVSAvoidnumber of insertion devices

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of inserting data into uncompressed signals before compression (conventional approach), the patent inverts the process by inserting data into compressed bitstreams after compression. This eliminates the need for multiple insertion devices and prevents data corruption during compression, as the data is inserted in the same domain (compressed) where it will be processed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary process of decompressing the bitstream to a intermediate format, inserting data, and then recompressing. This intermediary step allows data insertion while maintaining compatibility with existing compression standards and ensuring data integrity through controlled compression/decompression cycles.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

If digital data is inserted into uncompressed program signals, then data can be inserted easily, but compression operations corrupt or eliminate the inserted data

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata insertion operationVSAvoiddata integrity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent inverts the conventional approach by working in the compressed domain rather than the uncompressed domain. Data is inserted into the compressed bitstream after compression, ensuring that the data survives the compression process intact, while still allowing easy insertion operations through standardized bitstream manipulation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the domain parameter from uncompressed to compressed, allowing data to be inserted in a state where it is protected from compression corruption. The system manipulates parameters such as bitstream positioning and compression format selection to ensure data integrity while maintaining ease of insertion.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Adaptability or versatility

If existing watermarking techniques decompress and recompress data streams, then watermark data can be inserted, but quality degradation occurs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewatermark insertion capabilityVSAvoidcontent quality

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the unnecessary decompression step from the conventional watermarking process. By taking out the decompression/recompression cycle and performing watermark insertion directly on compressed bitstreams, the system maintains content quality while preserving watermark insertion capability through direct bitstream manipulation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent maintains continuous compression throughout the processing chain, avoiding interruption by decompression cycles. This continuity preserves content quality by eliminating the quality loss associated with decompression/recompression, while still enabling watermark insertion through controlled modifications to the compressed bitstream.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Data Source

PatentUS7853124B2Data insertion apparatus and methods for use with compressed audio/video data

Publication Date: 2010.12.14 THE NIELSEN CO (US) LLC

AI summary

Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture for performing data insertion in compressed audio/video data streams are disclosed. A disclosed method receives a digital data stream containing a plurality of compressed media streams associated with a plurality of different media programs and generates information to be inserted in at least one of the compressed media streams. The disclosed method identifies frames of compressed data associated with the at least one of the compressed media streams and inserts the information in at least some of the identified frames of compressed data without performing a decompression operation on the compressed data and by changing locations or values of data bits within the at least some of the identified frames.