Methods and apparatus to distinguish a signal originating from a local device from a broadcast signal

1. A method of distinguishing an audio-video signal originating from a local device from a broadcast signal, the method comprising:

classifying a video component of the audio-video signal by at least one of analyzing a histogram of pixel data, analyzing a quality factor, or attempting to detect embedded data in the video component;

classifying an audio component of the audio-video signal by at least one of attempting to detect embedded audio data or analyzing waveform energy associated with the audio component; and

determining a source of the audio-video signal based on at least one of the video classification or the audio classification, wherein determining the source of the audio-video component comprises combining values associated with the video classification with values associated with the audio classification.

2. A method of distinguishing an audio-video signal originating from a local device from a broadcast signal, the method comprising:

classifying a video component of the audio-video signal by at least one of analyzing a histogram of pixel data, analyzing a quality factor, or attempting to detect embedded data in the video component;

classifying an audio component of the audio-video signal by at least one of attempting to detect embedded audio data or analyzing waveform energy associated with the audio component; and

determining a source of the audio-video signal based on at least one of the video classification or the audio classification, wherein determining the source of the audio-video signal comprises:

applying weighting values to the video classification and the audio classification;

combining the weighted video classification and the weighted audio classification to create a combined result; and

comparing the combined result to a predetermined threshold.

3. An apparatus for distinguishing an audio-video signal originating from a local device from a broadcast signal, the apparatus comprising:

at least two of:

(a) an active video analyzer to classify a video component of the audio-video signal by at least one of analyzing a histogram of pixel data or analyzing a quality factor;

(b) a vertical blanking interval analyzer to classify the video component of the audio-video signal by attempting to detect embedded video data;

(c) a text extractor to at least one of detect text characters in the video component of the audio-video signal or extract text characters in the video component of the audio-video signal; and

(d) an audio analyzer to classify an audio component of the audio-video signal by at least one of detecting embedded audio data or analyzing an audio waveform's energy; and

a decision module to determine a source of the audio-video signal based on outputs of the at least two of the active video analyzer, the vertical blanking interval analyzer, the text extractor, and the audio analyzer, wherein the vertical blanking interval analyzer is configured to detect at least one of closed captioning data, interactive television triggers, or metering data.

4. An apparatus for distinguishing an audio-video signal originating from a local device from a broadcast signal, the apparatus comprising:

at least two of:

(a) an active video analyzer to classify a video component of the audio-video signal by at least one of analyzing a histogram of pixel data or analyzing a quality factor;

(b) a vertical blanking interval analyzer to classify the video component of the audio-video signal by attempting to detect embedded video data;

(c) a text extractor to at least one of detect text characters in the video component of the audio-video signal or extract text characters in the video component of the audio-video signal; and

(d) an audio analyzer to classify an audio component of the audio-video signal by at least one of detecting embedded audio data or analyzing an audio waveform's energy; and

a decision module to determine a source of the audio-video signal based on outputs of the at least two of the active video analyzer, the vertical blanking interval analyzer, the text extractor, and the audio analyzer, wherein the text extractor is configured to compare extracted text characters to known text characters.

5. An apparatus for distinguishing an audio-video signal originating from a local device from a broadcast signal, the apparatus comprising:

at least two of:

(a) an active video analyzer to classify a video component of the audio-video signal by at least one of analyzing a histogram of pixel data or analyzing a quality factor;

(b) a vertical blanking interval analyzer to classify the video component of the audio-video signal by attempting to detect embedded video data;

(c) a text extractor to at least one of detect text characters in the video component of the audio-video signal or extract text characters in the video component of the audio-video signal; and

(d) an audio analyzer to classify an audio component of the audio-video signal by at least one of detecting embedded audio data or analyzing an audio waveform's energy; and

a decision module to determine a source of the audio-video signal based on outputs of the at least two of the active video analyzer, the vertical blanking interval analyzer, the text extractor, and the audio analyzer, wherein the decision module is configured to:

assign a weighting value to each received output;

combine the weighted output values to form a combined value; and

compare the combined value to a predetermined threshold to determine the source of the signal.