Server-Side Ad Marker Insertion for Accurate Playback Tracking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for reporting advertisement playback percentage in smart appliances are inefficient, requiring significant modifications to either the appliances or reporting networks, and struggle to accurately track ad views across different formats and resolutions without altering existing equipment.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that uses a server to insert markers into the transport signal stream based on advertisement length and frame rate, allowing for accurate reporting of playable and played advertisement percentages, utilizing ID3 tags or XML metadata, which enables tracking without modifying existing smart appliances or networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If current systems are used to report advertisement playback percentage, then reporting can be performed with existing equipment, but accuracy and efficiency are insufficient and require significant modifications to appliances or networks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary component (advertisement tracking module or metadata inserter) that inserts unique identifiers and markers into the advertisement content stream itself. This intermediary approach allows accurate tracking without modifying the smart appliance or network infrastructure, as the tracking information is embedded within the content being delivered.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of the advertisement content with embedded metadata (unique identifiers, markers) that travels alongside the original content. This copying mechanism enables tracking by comparing the embedded identifiers against expected values, achieving accurate measurement without altering the original content or requiring changes to existing equipment.
2Ease of operation
If existing smart appliances are used without modification, then ease of operation is maintained, but the ability to accurately track ad views across different formats and resolutions is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal tracking mechanism using format-agnostic metadata (XML or ID3 tags) that can be embedded in advertisement content regardless of the delivery format or resolution. The unique identifiers and markers work across different bit rates, resolutions, and device types, enabling a single system to track ad views universally without requiring device-specific modifications.
3Measurement precision
If markers are inserted into transport signal stream based on advertisement length and frame rate, then accurate reporting of playable and played percentages is achieved, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by inserting all necessary markers and metadata into the advertisement content stream before delivery to smart appliances. The server calculates advertisement length, determines appropriate marker positions based on frame rate, and embeds unique identifiers in advance. This preliminary processing eliminates the need for complex real-time analysis at the appliance level, shifting complexity to a centralized server that can handle processing more efficiently.
4Measurement precision
If infrastructure is altered to improve tracking accuracy, then measurement precision improves, but cost and implementation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an intermediary approach by embedding tracking information within the existing content delivery infrastructure rather than building new hardware or network components. The metadata and markers are inserted into the advertisement stream using existing encoding and delivery mechanisms, avoiding costly infrastructure modifications while achieving accurate tracking.
Data Source
AI summary
A server receives metadata associated with an advertisement in a transport signal stream from an encoder, the metadata identifying a specified frame of the transport signal stream corresponding to a point in time of the advertisement. The server instructs an encoder, by a server, to insert a marker into the specified frame of the transport signal stream, the marker identifying the point in time of the advertisement. The server receives data from a smart appliance. The server detects the marker in the data. The server identifies the marker as the specified frame of the transport signal stream played by the smart appliance. The server maps the marker to the identified point in time of the advertisement.