Methods and apparatus to measure exposure to streaming media
Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture to measure exposure to streaming media are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a video retriever to retrieve an image displayed by a media device presenting the streaming media, the media device separate from the video retriever. A metadata extractor is to extract a video watermark from the retrieved image. A metadata converter is to, in response to the extraction of the video watermark, convert the video watermark into text formatted metadata. A transmitter is to transmit the text formatted metadata to a central facility.
1. An apparatus to measure exposure to streaming media, the apparatus comprising:
a video retriever to retrieve an image displayed by a media device presenting the streaming media, the media device separate from the video retriever;
a metadata extractor to extract a video watermark from a chroma key of the retrieved image;
a metadata converter to, in response to the extraction of the video watermark, convert the video watermark into text formatted metadata; and
a transmitter to transmit the text formatted metadata to a central facility.
2. The apparatus as described in claim 1 , wherein:
the media device is a television; and
the video retriever is a camera having a line of sight of a display of the media device.
3. The apparatus as described in claim 1 , further including an event listener to trigger the metadata extractor to extract the video watermark from the retrieved image.
4. The apparatus as described in claim 3 , wherein the event is triggered by a timer reaching a threshold time limit.
5. The apparatus as described in claim 1 , further including an image sensor, and wherein the video retriever retrieves the image of the presented media by capturing an image from the image sensor.
6. A tangible computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least:
retrieve, via an image sensor separate from a media device, an image of a video presented by the media device;
extract a video watermark from a chroma key of the retrieved image;
in response to the extraction of the video watermark, convert the video watermark into text formatted metadata; and
transmit the text formatted metadata to a central facility.
7. The tangible computer-readable storage medium as described in claim 6 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to capture the image by retrieving a screenshot of a display of the media device.
8. The tangible computer-readable storage medium as described in claim 6 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to transmit at least one of a user identifier or a device identifier to the central facility in association with the text formatted metadata.
9. The tangible computer-readable storage medium as described in claim 8 , wherein the user identifier is a demographic indicator.
10. The tangible computer-readable storage medium as described in claim 6 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to transmit to the central facility, in association with the text formatted metadata, a timestamp representing a time at which the image was retrieved.
11. A method to measure exposure to streaming media presented by a media device, the method comprising:
retrieving, with a video retriever separate from the media device, an image presented by the media device;
extracting, by executing an instruction with a processor, a video watermark from a chroma key of the retrieved image;
converting, by executing an instruction with the processor and in response to the extraction of the video watermark, the video watermark into text formatted metadata; and
transmitting the text formatted metadata to a central facility.
12. The method as described in claim 11 , wherein the retrieving of the image includes retrieving a screenshot of the display of the media device.
13. The method as described in claim 11 , further including transmitting at least one of a user identifier or a device identifier to the central facility in association with the text formatted metadata.
14. The method as described in claim 11 , wherein the media device is separate from the processor.
15. The method as described in claim 11 , further including transmitting to the central facility and in association with the text formatted metadata, a timestamp representing a time at which the image was retrieved.
16. The method as described in claim 11 , further including detecting whether an event has occurred, and wherein the extracting of the video watermark and the converting of the video watermark are performed in response to detection of the event.
17. The method as described in claim 16 , wherein the event is triggered by inspecting the retrieved image to determine whether the video watermark is present.
18. The method as described in claim 16 , wherein the event is triggered by a timer reaching a threshold time limit.