Streaming Meter Backchannel Traffic Filtering
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing media monitoring systems face challenges in excluding network communication traffic from monitoring records, particularly when backchannel communications use the same WiFi network as the monitoring radio, leading to unwanted data collection and increased processing burdens for audience measurement entities.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a streaming meter that uses a first communication radio for monitoring and a second communication radio for backchannel communications, with the latter filtering out records based on the MAC address to prevent backchannel data from being monitored and included in records sent to the central facility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single communication radio is used for both monitoring and backchannel communications, then device complexity is reduced, but backchannel communications are incorrectly monitored and included in records
Solution Approach 1:
The communication radio is segmented into two distinct functional units: a first communication radio dedicated to monitoring media communications and a second communication radio dedicated to backchannel communications. This segmentation prevents the monitoring radio from capturing backchannel traffic, thereby resolving the measurement accuracy issue while maintaining manageable device complexity through functional separation.
2Reliability
If backchannel communications are monitored along with media traffic, then complete network visibility is achieved, but bandwidth and computing requirements at the central facility increase
Solution Approach 1:
Backchannel communication records are extracted and excluded from the monitoring records before being sent to the central facility. The streaming meter identifies and removes records associated with the second communication radio's MAC address, ensuring that only relevant media usage data is transmitted. This extraction approach maintains network monitoring completeness for media traffic while significantly reducing the bandwidth and computing requirements at the central facility by eliminating unnecessary backchannel communication data.
3Loss of information
If all network traffic is recorded without filtering, then data completeness is maintained, but processing efficiency and accuracy of media usage tracking deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The streaming meter performs preliminary filtering of backchannel communication records at the source before transmitting data to the central facility. By proactively excluding records with MAC addresses matching the second communication radio, the system maintains completeness of media traffic data while improving processing efficiency through pre-filtering, avoiding the need for complex post-processing at the central facility.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus to exclude network communication traffic from media monitoring records are disclosed herein. An example apparatus includes a first communication radio to collect records of network traffic on a communication network and a second communication radio to transmit the records identifying a portion of the network traffic to an audience measurement entity. The example apparatus further includes a MAC address determiner to determine the MAC address of the second communication radio and a record filter to remove the network communication associated with the MAC address from the records.