CA1211204A

CA1211204A - Method and apparatus for the automatic identification and verification of television broadcast programs

Info

Publication number: CA1211204A
Application number: CA000449732A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Burton L. Greenberg
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: TNC US Holdings Inc
Priority date: 1983-03-21
Filing date: 1984-03-16
Publication date: 1986-09-09
Also published as: US4547804A

Abstract

Abstract An improved method and apparatus for identifying and verifying the proper airing of television broadcast programs is disclosed wherein from the television broad-cast, it can be assured that the programs were televised and received properly and aired at the scheduled time.
The invention disclosed utilizes prerecorded or live video programs in which imprinted on a preselected scanning line is a digital encoded identifying number. These video programs with digital encoding are then distributed to network and/or local broadcast stations to be televised with this identification. A plurality of selected aired television channels are then automatically simultaneously monitored at a typical reception site whereby the encoded broadcast is appraised as to the quality of its audio and video, identified and timed, and which information is then stored for a later comparison to that which was actually intended to be aired.

Description

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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Field of Invention _ This invention relates generally to an improved method and apparatus for automatically identifying and verifying television broadcast programs. More particularly, this invention relates to an improved method and apparatus whereby the television programs are encoded with a digital identification code and then broadcasted on a number of channels. These channels are automatically simultaneously monitored at a typical reception site whereby the encoded programs are checked for audio and visual quality, identiEied and timed, and this information is then stored in a computer for later access and comparison with a main computer.
Television broadcast programs are comprised essentially of first run or syndicated feature programs and commercials, wherein said broadcast programs are either performed live or pre-recorded for airing at certain times for specific stations. Commercials often consist of about a 30 second program which is inserted at various times during the viewing 2Q day by the station according to contracts made with the commercial owner or advertising agency. This is referred ~Q
as buying television time spots. Pursuant to a contract, the television station arranges to insert the commercial program in certain times arranged as part of that contract.
From time to time, the television station then bills the buyer of the time spot for having aired the commercial. The practice over many years has been that a statement is made by the television station under oath to the effect that the commercials were aired at the times bought and that said 3Q airing was within the terms contracted. Upon receipt of the sworn statement and the bill, those documents are compared manually, and if they match correctly the commercial time

- 2 ~, spot is paid for. ~owever, not all commercials are aired properly and/or at the proper time. This occurs for many different reasons at each of the stations. It has become a practice to audit these airings by visual observation. Such auditing is very time consuming, labor intensive and tedious since it is necessary to monitor all of the channels in any particular area on a round the clock basis. Therefore, only samplings are done for auditing purposes. Specifically; such sample auditing is by contract, and conducted by employees who record what they saw on the television and return such records to their employer for colla~ion and reporting. As can well be imagined, because of the labor intensive nature of the sample auditing it is very expensive and not always reliable.
A further characteristic of the current practice is that because auditing is done directly by people, and not automated, there is a significant time delay in reporting and collating the auditsu This delay impedes the advertiser from taking timely action to have any problems as to their commercial corrected. Thus the advertiser is unable to forestall continuous improper airing and wast~ful television commercial time n In addition, this delay in reporting and collating further delays the forwarding of the sworn statements on which payment of the advertising time relies. Therefore, there is a significant time lag for which payment is not made and this results in a loss of the use of the money during that delay time period.
While the foregoing has specifically discussed the 3Q particulars of identification and verification regarding commercials, similar problems exist for syndicated programing.
This, there is a long felt need for a quick, total 2~
verification of television broadcast programs, which would serve to upgrade the per~ormance of the t~ansmitting stations and confirm the program airing schedules.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Attempts at automatic program airing verification are known in the art. Methods have been developed for automatic identification systems of programs, including identification coding and pattern recognition, but these methods have substantial limitations and have not been entirely satisfactory particularly or verifying commercials.
Program identification coding methods have been divided into two general areas, audio and video encoding. Audio encoding (e.g. U.S. Patent No. 3,845,3~1, Crosby) has proven to be unsatisfactory for television broadcasting. In the final report oE the ~d Hoc Committee On rrelevision Broadcast Ancillary Signals Of The Joint Committee On Intersocîety Coordination (published May, 19783y the Journal Of The Society Of Motion Picture and Television Engineers found the aforementioned audio program identification to be extremely unreliable and caused significant degradation of program signal quality.
Video encoding has also proved to be less than satisfactory for television broadcastingO In U.S. Patent No. 4,025,851 to Haselwood et al for network clearance monitoring, a 48 character digital code is placed onto the vertical blanking interval of line 20. While the use of line 20 reduced the degradation o~ the program signal quality, the encoding system used therein is overly complex and inadequate. This system utilizes a change line format for the handling of the data, whlch requires complex data processing, encoding, storage and verification. In addition, the system only monitors the broadcast of a single network and is unable to scan more than one channel.

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- Moreover, only a method and system for the identification of the program is disclosed with there being no teaching as to the integration and recording of information as to the program's audio and visual quality.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
___ ._____ Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved method and apparatus for automatic television broadcast program identification and verification.
Ano~her object is to provide a novel and improved method and apparatus for automatic ~elevision broadcast program identification and verification that minimizes the amount of data processing required, A further object is to provide a novel and improved method and apparatus for automatic television broadcast program identification and verification that can monitor more than one channel at a time~
This application provides a process for identifying and verifying the proper airing of television broadcast programs wherein there is an identifying code placed on each Erame of each of the programs which code is not readily visible to a person viewing the same. The process provides for the receipt of the programs from transmitting stations for a number of selected channels and searching the frames of these aired programs to verify the presence of the identi~ying code, and if detected the code is recorded for each frame read. The time of reading the first and last frame of the program is also recorded~ and both the code and time information is directed to a memvry. In addition to 3Q the above, the presence of proper audio and video is also determined. If the audio and video are proper, that information is also directed to a memory so that 1 ~2~
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¦ there is stored in that memory proof that the encoded program 21 was aired with proper audio and video, at a certain time, and

3 for a certain length of time. This information is identified

4 a6 "verified airings" or verified signals. As a further part of the proces~ there is placed into another memory, a program 6 airing schedule, which contains the aired time of day, the 7 channels, and length of time of the program intended to be 8 aired and the buyer of such network time. This information is 9 ¦ identified as "bought airings" or reference signals.

10 ¦ Thereafter, the "verified airings" are compared with the 11 ¦ "bought airings" so as to produce an analysis of that which was 12 ¦ bought to that which was actually properly aired.
13 ¦ BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
14 ¦ These and other objects and features of the invention will 15 ¦ become apparent with reference to the following specification 16 ¦ and to the drawings wherein:
17 ¦ FIGURE 1 is a block diagram of a video recording 1~ ¦ arrangement utilized in practicing the inventicn;
19 ¦ FIGURE 2 is a block diagram of an arrangement for generating and combining an identification signal with a video 21 signal; ~ - - -- -22 FIGURE 3 is a diagram illustrating a plurality of sending23 stations for transmitting~composite signals-in a market area to 24 a receiving station;
FIGURE 4 is a diagram, partly in block form~ of a 26 receiving station in accordance with the invention; and, 27 FIGURE 5 is a diagram in block form of an arrangement for 28 comparing a verification and reference slgnal.

R0ferring now to FIG. 1, a video camera 10 is shown for 31 generating a v ~ eo signal having an informational content. The 32 informational content comprises progrnm matt~r such as a fd featurer commercial or other form of information which is to be transmitted by a television station in a market area to a receiving station in the area. The camera 10 includes means for generating a composite signal having a video information component and scanniny control components. The latter include horizontal and vertical synchronizing signal com-ponents and hori20ntal and vertical beam blanking componentsO
The latter components, as is well-known, blank the electron beam in a cathode-ray tube at the receiving statlon during the retrace interval of the scanning electron beam. In accordance with the NTSC signal, the composite signal is transmitted at a rate of 30 frames per second. Each frame comprises two interlaced fields and the field rate is 6n fields per second. At the completion of each field, the beam is blanked by a vertical blanking signal and the beam retraces to restart a subsequent field. The composite video signal is coupled from the video camera 10 to a video recorder 12. The video information conten~ of the program can thus be recorded on magnetic tape by the recorder 12, if so desired.
The video program if recorded, is copied at a dubbing studio. A number of copies of the program are made depending on the determined distribution requirements for the particular program. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the recorded program comprises a master tape which is loaded on a standard video tape playback apparatus 14, commercially available from the Ampex, Sony or RCA. The video signal which is read from the tape by this machine is coupled via an encoder and a character generator 16 to a video tape recorder 18. The encoder and character generator 16 strips out the video portion of line 20 of fields 1 and 2 and inserts a many bit signal identification component on line 200 The composite signal thus applied to the video recording apparatus 16 includes an identification component which identifies the video information. This identification code is also supplied to the storage means 20 of a computer means 22. The computer means 22 also stores addi-tional information referenced by the identification code. 5uch information includes, for example~
the name of the client on whose behalf the program is prepared, the name of the purchasers of the bought airings, or the service or product being advertised, etc. Use of this reference signal thus stored is described hereinafter.
Copies of the programs thus recorded are supplied to various television stations around the country for trans-mission in particular selected market areas. It will be appreciated that different programs having differen-t video information identification codes are supplied to -television stations in a same market area and at various times are transmitted over different communication channels to receiving stations in the market area.
While the above method of encoding has been described using prerecorded television broadcast programs, it is also possible to encode the signal for live broadcasts. In such an arrangement the signal from the television camera 10 would be supplied directly to the identification signal generator 16 or encoding, and would then be transmitted directly without taping. Furthermore~ the identification code would still be placed in the storage memory 20 and computer 22 for later access and verification.
FIG. 3, illustrates three television sending stations 24, 26 and 28 which service a market area. Composite signals modulate RF carrier signals and are broadcast by the stations 24, 26 and 28. A monitoring receiving station 30 i5 provided in the market area and receive the different signals from the stations 24, 26 and 28. A cable T~V. station 32 also receives the signals from stations 24, 26 and 28 by broadcast :.

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or by satellite communication. The signals received by cable station 32 are amplified and transmitted over a cable transmission line 34 to the monitor station 30 as well as to other receiv ng ~tations in the market area. For purposes of this specification and the appended claims, the term "transmit" refers both to broadcasting and to transmission of composite signals over transmission lines such as the cable 34.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, a broadcast signal which is induced in the antenna 31 or is received via the cable 34 at the monitor receiver station 30, is coupled by a preampli-Eier 50 to a switchable ~F tuner 70. The switchable tuner 70 is comprised of a video channel switch 52 and sequentlal storage means 54. The video channel switch 52, as shown in FIG. 4, switches sequentially among six different T.V. communication channels. The channels illustrated are those for the metropolitan New York City, New York area. Depending on the market being serviced, the switchable tuner 52 may incude more or fewer channels as required. A suitable channel switch is available commercially from Channelmatic Inc., of Alpine, California. The channel switch 52 is switched sequentially among these channels at a rate for providing that each channel is scanned for a predetermined interval during a predetermined period o time. For example, each channel can be scanned for 1/10 second during each successive second. At a frame rate of 30 frames per second, 3 frames of the video information received on each channel are examined each second. The composite signal from these frames is then stored in a sequential storage means 54 within the switchable RF tuner 70. The sequential storage means 54 stores the composite signal from a switched channel Eor the period equivalent to the switching period. In the example given, three frames would be temporarily stored.

_ g _ The composite signal thus stored and the associated audio signals are coupled to a video/audio quality detector 56 for sensing the level of the DC omponent of the signals and for generating an outpu~ signal indicative of video and audio qualityO A presence detector of this type is commercially available from Channelmatic Inc., of Alpine, California. The composite signal is subsequently applied to an identification component detector 58 which detects the identification comp~nent on line 20 and supplies the digital code thus detected to a verification signal generator 60, An output signal from detector 56 indicating video and audio quality is also supplied to generator 60.
Input signals to the verif ication signal generator 60 thus comprise the digital identification code, the signal indicative of audio and video quality and a signal from a time signal generator 61 which indicates the date, the time of day, and the leng~h of time for which the identificakion code was decoded~ Such time signal generation is well known in the art, and one such time code generator is commercially available from Datum Inc. F Of Anaheim, CaliEornia.
In addition, the channel switch 52 generates and provides an electrical indication of the particular channel on which the detected identification code was received~ The verification signal produced by generator 60 thus includes the identification code, the channel identification, the time information and an indication as to the video and audio quality of the received signal. The verification signal is applied to the storage means of a local cornputer means 62.
The computer 62 stores this information until such time as 3Q it is queried by the central computer 22.
The assembly of this verified airing information is accomplished within the predetermined scanning interval which in this example is 1/10 secondc In a different embodirnent, . . ~.

this predetermined interval could be 1/30 second or less, depending on the accuracy of verification that is desired.
When the assembly of this information is complete, the video channel switch 52 then automatically switches to the next selected channel, restarting the identification process.
The process is subsequently repeated for all those selected channels wherefore it returns to first monitored channel to start the identification process over for the next consecutive second.
FIG. 5 illustrates communication between the central computer 22 and the computer 62. Each of these computers is coupled via modems 64 and 66 to a telephone transmission line 68. At a predetermined time, either on a daily, bi-daily or other ~ime basis, the central computer 22 will generate an inquiry signal which causes the computer 62 to transmit the verification signals which it has stored over a period of time from the station 30 to the central computer 22. The central computer 22 compares the verification signals with the stored reference signals thus verifying the transmission and quality of the transmitted signals. Refexence signals stored in the central computer 22 for which no verifying signal is present, are indicated to have been not trans-mitted, and appropriate follow-up action can then be taken.
While a single market area was illustrated with respect to the transmitting and receiving stations of FIG~ 3, the central computer 22 can sequentially query receiving stations in a number of different market areas, and thus provides a means for centrally correlating information with respect to the transmission of signals throughout the country.
The method and apparatus thus described are advantageous in that comprehensive auditing of transmitted video informa-tion is automatically accomplished. The automatic auditing is l :
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1 ¦ accomplished economically and rapidly thus enabling prompt 2 ¦ follow-up with indications of faulty transmission that are 3 ¦ received. The prompt follow-up enhances the billing and 4 ¦ payment for aired time.
51 While there has been described a particular embodiment of ~¦ the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art 71 that variations may be made there~o without departing from the spirit of t e invention and the scope o the appended claims.

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Claims

1. A method for automatically identifying and verifying the proper airing of a television program which has an identification code recorded on a selected line of each frame of the program and which is transmitted as a composite signal from one or more sending stations over a plurality of channels for reception in a receiving area, comprising the steps of:
a) storing reference signals in a first memory means, each of said reference signals containing information referenced to said identification code specifying a bought airing of the program identified thereby;
b) receiving each of the composite signals of said channels;
c) automatically scanning said channels to detect the presence of said identification code;
d) separating the detected identification code from each of said received composite signals;
e) generating an electrical time signal;
f) generating a channel identifying signal;
g) forming a separate verification signal for each separated identification code, said verification signal including information specifying said separated identification code and the time and channel of receiving said program;
h) storing each said verification signal in a second memory means to identify a verified airing of said program;

and i) comparing verified airings information from said second memory means with bought airings information from said first memory means.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said identification code comprises a digital signal.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said digital signal is encoded on a line that is not normally visible to the television viewer.

4. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of sensing an electrical characteristic of each of said received composite signals which includes an identification code to determine the quality of the video portion thereof and storing an electrical signal in said second memory means indicating the video quality of each said received composite signal.

5. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of sensing an electrical characteristic of each of said received composite signals which includes an identification code to determine the quality of the audio portion thereof and storing an electrical signal in said second memory means indicating the audio quality of each said received composite signal.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said time signal indicates the date and time of day at which said identification code was received.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of automatically scanning the channels includes periodically sequentially scanning each channel for a predetermined interval of time which interval includes a plurality of fields.

8. In a system for verifying the transmission of a program from one or more sending stations over a plurality of communication channels for reception within a reception area, said program including a composite electrical signal having a video information component and a scanning control component, said video component including a periodically recurring identification component encoded to identify the informational content of said video component, apparatus for verifying the transmission of the program by the sending stations, comprising:
a) means for storing reference signals, each including information referenced to said identification component specifying a bought airing of said program;
b) signal receiving means for receiving the composite signals of said plurality of channels;
c) means for scanning said received composite signals for detecting reception of composite signals including said identification component;

d) means for separating the identification component from the detected composite signal;
e) means for generating an electrical time signal;
f) means for generating a channel identifying signal;
g) means for forming separate verification signals for each reception of said program by combining said separated identification component, said time signal and said channel identifying signal;
h) means for storing each said verification signal;
i) means for comparing verification information from said verification signal storing means to said reference signals; and j) means for providing an indication upon correspondence between said verification information and said reference signals for verifying the transmission of said program by said sending stations.

9. A method for automatically identifying and verifying the proper airing of television programs each having a unique identification code on a selected line of each frame thereof which are transmitted as composite signals from one or more sending stations over a plurality of channels for reception in a receiving area comprising the steps of:
a) receiving the composite signal transmitted on each of said channels;
b) scanning automatically over said channels to detect the presence of one of said identification codes;
c) separating the detected identification code from received composite signal of each of said programs;
d) forming a separate verification signal for each separated identification code, said verification signals identifying the time and channel of reception of the composite signals of each of said programs; and e) comparing said verification signals with prerecorded reference signals identifying bought airings of said programs to verify said airings.

10. A method for automatically identifying and verifying the proper airing of television programs having a video and audio information portion and a individual identification code recorded on a selected line of each frame of the video portion thereof, said identification code being unique for each program, which programs are transmitted from a plurality of sending stations as composite signals for reception in a receiving area, comprising the steps of:
a) storing reference signals in a first memory means, said reference signals containing individual bought airings information for each of said programs referenced to the corresponding identification code;
b) receiving the composite signals transmitted on each of said channels;
c) detecting automatically the presence of the identification codes in programs received on each of said channels;
d) separating the detected identification codes from the composite signals of each of said programs;
e) sensing the whether a proper audio portion is present in said programs;
f) generating electrical time signals and channel identifying signals;
g) forming separate verification signals for each detected identification code indicating the airing of the corresponding program on one of said channels, each of said verification signals including said identification codes and the time, channel and audio quality of said corresponding program;
h) storing said verification signals in a second memory means; and i) comparing said verification signals from said second memory means with said reference signals from said first memory means.