Methods, apparatus and programs for generating and utilizing content signatures

1. A method comprising:

obtaining a content item;

transforming the content item to obtain transform domain coefficients;

applying Viterbi decoding to a set of the transform domain coefficients; and

using a result of the Viterbi decoding as a content signature representing features or characteristics of the content item itself.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the act of transforming utilizes a wavelet transformation.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of the transform domain coefficients corresponds to low frequency coefficients.

4. A method of claim 1 , wherein the content signature comprises a reduced-bit representation of the content item.

5. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, the instructions comprising:

instructions to obtain a content item;

instructions to transform the content item to obtain transform domain coefficients;

instructions to apply Viterbi decoding to a set of the transform domain coefficients; and

instructions to use a result of the Viterbi decoding as a content signature representing features or characteristics of the content item itself.

6. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 5 , wherein the act of transforming utilizes a wavelet transformations.

7. A method comprising:

performing a decomposition on a media signal to provide a plurality of components representing the media signal;

identifying a subset of the plurality of components; and

applying Viterbi decoding to the subset to generate a content signature or fingerprint representative of the media signal itself.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the media signal comprises audio or video.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the decomposition comprises a wavelet decomposition.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the subset comprises coefficients of a lowest frequency sub-band of the media signal.

11. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions stored thereon the instructions comprising:

instructions to perform a decomposition on a media signal to provide a plurality of components representing the media signal;

instructions to identify a subset of the plurality of components; and

instructions to apply Viterbi decoding to the subset to generate a content signature or fingerprint representative of the media signal itself.

12. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the decomposition comprises a wavelet decomposition.

13. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the subset comprises coefficients of a lowest frequency sub-band of the media signal.

14. An apparatus comprising a processor programmed to perform the act of applying Viterbi decoding of claim 1 .

15. An apparatus comprising a processor programmed to perform the act of applying Viterbi decoding of claim 2 .

16. An apparatus comprising a processor programmed to perform the act of applying Viterbi decoding of claim 3 .

17. An apparatus comprising a processor programmed to perform the act of applying Viterbi decoding of claim 7 .

18. An apparatus comprising a processor programmed to perform the act of applying Viterbi decoding of claim 9 .

19. An apparatus comprising a processor programmed to perform the act of applying Viterbi decoding of claim 10 .

20. An apparatus comprising:

a memory configured to buffer data representing a content item; and

a processor configured to:

transform the data to obtain transform domain coefficients;

apply Viterbi decoding to a set of the transform domain coefficients; and

use a result of the Viterbi decoding as a content signature representing features or characteristics of the content item itself.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the transforming utilizes a wavelet transformation.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the set of the transform domain coefficients corresponds to low frequency coefficients.

23. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the content signature comprises a reduced-bit representation of the content item.

24. An apparatus comprising:

a memory configured to buffer data representing a media signal; and

a processor configured to:

perform a decomposition on the data to provide a plurality of components representing the media signal;

identify a subset of the plurality of components; and

apply Viterbi decoding to the subset to generate a content signature or fingerprint representative of the media signal itself.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the media signal comprises audio or video.

26. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the decomposition comprises a wavelet decomposition.

27. The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the subset comprises coefficients of a lowest frequency sub-band of the media signal.

28. An apparatus comprising:

means for buffering data representing a content item;

means for transforming the data to obtain transform domain coefficients;

means for applying Viterbi decoding to a set of the transform domain coefficients; and

means for using a result of the Viterbi decoding as a content signature representing characteristics or features the content item itself.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 , wherein the means for transforming utilizes a wavelet transformation.

30. The apparatus of claim 29 , wherein the set of the transform domain coefficients corresponds to low frequency coefficients.

31. The apparatus of claim 28 , wherein the content signature comprises a reduced-bit representation of the content item.

32. An apparatus comprising:

means for buffering data representing a media signal;

means for performing a decomposition on the data to provide a plurality of components representing the media signal;

means for identifying a subset of the plurality of components; and

means for applying Viterbi decoding to the subset to generate a content signature or fingerprint representative of the media signal itself.

33. The apparatus of claim 32 , wherein the media signal comprises audio or video.

34. The apparatus of claim 32 , wherein the decomposition comprises a wavelet decomposition.

35. The apparatus of claim 32 , wherein the subset comprises coefficients of a lowest frequency sub-band of the media signal.

36. The apparatus of claim 32 , wherein the content signature is utilized to track the media signal.