Trick Play Advertising Insertion During Media Playback

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Solution Overview

Problem

Television content providers and advertisers face challenges in displaying commercials due to viewer usage of technologies like Video on Demand (VOD) and digital video recorder (DVR), which allow skipping of commercials, resulting in lost advertising opportunities and resource-intensive re-encoding efforts that negatively impact viewer experience.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a system that provides trick play advertising by determining an available time period during interactive actions like fast forwarding, allowing for the insertion of advertisements during these times, using a client device and remote server to manage and deliver targeted ads based on user behavior and preferences.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If viewers use trick plays (fast forward, rewind, pause) to skip commercials, then viewers can enjoy programs without viewing commercials, but advertisers lose opportunities to show commercials to users

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveviewer convenienceVSAvoidadvertising opportunity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system prepares trick play advertisement content in advance and stores it ready for insertion. When a viewer initiates a trick play, the pre-prepared advertisement is immediately inserted without requiring real-time processing or re-encoding, thus capturing the advertising opportunity while respecting the viewer's trick play action

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces trick play advertisement content as an intermediary element between the original content and the viewer. Instead of directly showing the original commercial or blocking the trick play, the system inserts a specially designed trick play advertisement that serves as a mediator, maintaining viewer control while preserving advertising value

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of information

If re-encoding commercials into VOD content and/or recorded DVR content to forcibly display commercials, then advertisers can reach viewers, but lots of resources are consumed and viewer experience is negatively affected

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveadvertising opportunityVSAvoidresource consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts the commercial content from the original VOD or DVR content and replaces it with a trick play advertisement placeholder. This extracted approach avoids the need to re-encode the entire original content, significantly reducing processing resources while ensuring advertising content is delivered

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameter of advertisement delivery from 'forced insertion during original content' to 'insertion during trick play events'. By changing when and how advertisements are delivered to coincide with trick play actions, the system eliminates the need for resource-intensive re-encoding while maintaining advertising effectiveness

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Loss of information

If re-encoding commercials into VOD content and/or recorded DVR content to forcibly display commercials, then advertisers can reach viewers, but viewer experience is negatively affected

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveadvertising opportunityVSAvoidviewer experience degradation

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of forcing commercials into content against viewer意愿, the system inverts the approach by inserting advertisements only when viewers voluntarily initiate trick plays. This inversion transforms the advertising delivery from a intrusive force to a responsive action that aligns with viewer intent, eliminating experience degradation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The system converts the harmful effect of trick plays (skipping commercials) into a beneficial opportunity for advertising. By detecting trick play actions and inserting advertisements during these events, the system transforms what was previously a loss of advertising opportunity into a new advertising channel that enhances rather than degrades viewer experience

Inventive Principle:

Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

Data Source

PatentUS9491397B2Trick play advertising

Publication Date: 2016.11.08 VERIZON NEW JERSEY INC

AI summary

A device receives trick play signals during a playing of content. The device determines a trick play being request based on the trick play signals. The device further estimates a length of an available time period based on the trick play and information regarding at least one other trick play. The at least one other trick play occurred prior to the trick play. The device also retrieves an advertisement for the available time period based on a length of the available time period. The advertisement is one of a plurality of advertisements of different lengths. The device displays the advertisement, on a display, during the available time period.