Media-Delivery Device Tracking Through Presentation-Stream Correlation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing media-monitoring systems fail to identify the media-delivery device responsible for delivering content to media-presentation devices, which is crucial for enhancing ratings statistics and targeted advertising.
Innovation Solution
A computing system correlates media presentation with media streaming activities at a panelist site, using common timestamps and other correlation data to determine the media-delivery device responsible for the presentation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a meter monitors media presentation by detecting content features or acoustic output, then media exposure can be identified, but the media-delivery device responsible for delivering the content cannot be identified
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a communication monitor as an intermediary component that captures communication data (such as IP addresses, device identifiers, or other metadata) from the network traffic between the media-delivery device and the media-presentation device. This intermediary captures delivery device information without interfering with the media flow, thereby resolving the contradiction by enabling both media exposure detection and delivery device identification through separate but coordinated monitoring mechanisms.
2Loss of information
If the system monitors both media presentation and media streaming to identify the delivery device, then device identification is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple monitoring functions into unified components: the communication monitor simultaneously captures delivery device identifiers and timestamps while the media monitor detects presentation content. The back-end system consolidates data from both monitors and performs correlation processing. This multi-functional integration reduces overall system complexity compared to having separate dedicated systems for each monitoring task.
Solution Approach 2:
The back-end system acts as a mediator that receives data from both the media monitor and communication monitor, correlates the information using timestamps and device identifiers, and produces the final identification results. This intermediary processing layer simplifies the architecture by centralizing the complex correlation logic rather than requiring direct integration between monitoring components.
3Measurement precision
If correlation data and timestamps are used to match media presentation with streaming, then accurate device identification is achieved, but data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The communication monitor captures and stores delivery device identifiers and timestamps in advance, creating a ready-to-use data structure before media presentation occurs. This preliminary data capture eliminates the need for complex real-time analysis during media playback, as the back-end system only needs to perform straightforward timestamp matching and identifier correlation, significantly reducing processing power requirements while maintaining high identification accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for attributing media-exposure to a particular media-delivery device, such as a media player, at a panelist site. An example system includes a first meter configured to detect media presentation by a media-presentation device at the panelist site, and a second meter configured to detect media transmission at the panelist site to the media-delivery device at the panelist site. Further, the example system includes program instructions stored in non-transitory data storage and executable by at least one processor to carry out operations including (i) correlating the detected media presentation at the panelist site with the detected media transmission at the panelist site to the media-delivery device at the panelist site and (ii) based on the correlating, associating the panelist media-exposure with the media-delivery device, such as by generating record indicating the association. This association may then be used as a basis to enhance audience ratings.