New pending patent applications are published by the USPTO on Thursdays. Today's Spotlight Applications concern aspects of digital fingerprinting and digital watermarking. Assigned to Gracenote, the first application discloses techniques for media channel identification and action with multi-match detection and disambiguation based on matching with differential reference-fingerprint feature. Assigned to Verance, the second application discloses techniques for service signaling recovery for multimedia content using embedded watermarks.
20170251250, "Media channel identification and action with multi-match detection and disambiguation based on matching with differential reference-fingerprint feature," assigned to Gracenote.
Abstract
A computing system compares various reference fingerprints each representing a reference media stream broadcast on a different respective known channel, and the computing system determines that a plurality of the reference fingerprints match each other, thus defining a multi-match group of the matching reference fingerprints. In response, the computing system identifies a fingerprint feature that could define a distinction between the reference fingerprints, and the computing system resolves the multi-match based on the identified feature, thereby determining the channel carrying the media stream being rendered by the media presentation device. And the server then takes channel-specific action based on the determined channel.
20170251282, "Service signaling recovery for multimedia content using embedded watermarks," assigned to Verance.
Abstract
Methods, devices, systems and computer program products facilitate accessing metadata associated with a primary audio visual content. Upon reception of a primary content, one or more watermark messages are extracted from the primary content obtain a server code and an interval code. A query to a metadata server is initiated based on the information obtained from the extracted watermark messages. In response to the query, service recovery information is received that includes information identifying one or more timed events, where each timed event identifies an operation to be performed at a corresponding instance in time as the primary content is being presented by the receiver device. One or more operations identified the timed events are initiated at the corresponding instance(s) in time.
