IP Library Granted Patent US 11,907,287
Granted Patent B2
US 11,907,287 · App. 17/883,394 · Granted Feb 20, 2024

Source classification using HDMI audio metadata

Inventor: Robert E. Taylor (Newbury, VT)
Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
G06F16/683G06F3/165G06F18/24G10L19/167G10L25/30G10L25/57G11B20/00H03M7/30H03M7/42G11B2020/00014G11B2020/00028
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,907,287
App. No.
17/883,394
Granted
Feb 20, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed for source classification using HDMI audio metadata. An example apparatus includes a metadata extractor to extract values of audio encoding parameters from HDMI metadata obtained from a monitored HDMI port of a media device, the HDMI metadata corresponding to media being output from the monitored HDMI port; map the extracted values of the audio encoding parameters to a first unique encoding class (UEC) in a set of defined UECs, different ones of the set of defined UECs corresponding to different combinations of possible values of the audio encoding parameters capable of being included in the HDMI metadata; and identify a media source corresponding to the media output from the HDMI port based on one or more possible media sources mapped to the first UEC.

Claims (38)

1. An apparatus to perform source classification, the apparatus comprising:

at least one memory;

instructions; and

processor circuitry to execute the instructions to:

extract values of audio encoding parameters from high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) metadata obtained from a monitored HDMI port of a media device, the HDMI metadata corresponding to media being output from the monitored HDMI port;

map the extracted values of the audio encoding parameters to a first unique encoding class (UEC) in a set of defined UECs, different ones of the set of defined UECs corresponding to different combinations of possible values of the audio encoding parameters capable of being included in the HDMI metadata; and

identify a media source corresponding to the media that is output from the monitored HDMI port based on one or more possible media sources mapped to the first UEC.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the HDMI metadata is extracted prior to being decoded.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the HDMI metadata is included in an audio stream output from the monitored HDMI port of the media device.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the audio stream includes transport parameters and licensed encoded audio data.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the extracted values correspond to the transport parameters.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor circuitry is to determine a disambiguation confidence associated with the map of the extracted values of the audio encoding parameters to the first UEC.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the processor circuitry is to determine the disambiguation confidence based on a number of values in the first UEC that match a number of values in a defined UEC.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the processor circuitry is to identify the media source is mapped to the first UEC.

9. An apparatus to perform source classification, the apparatus comprising:

a media interceptor to intercept high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) data from a media stream output from a monitored HDMI port of a media device; and

a metadata extractor to:

parse the HDMI data to determine that first media encoding parameters contained in the HDMI data correspond to a first unique encoding class (UEC) of a set of defined UECs, different ones of the set of defined UECs corresponding to different possible combinations of media encoding parameters capable of being included in the HDMI data; and

identify a media source corresponding to the media stream output based on one or more possible media sources corresponding to the first UEC.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , further including a metadata converter to convert the HDMI data into a converted metadata format for transmission to a central facility.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 , further including a demultiplexer to demultiplex and provide the HDMI data to the metadata extractor.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the metadata extractor is to determine a disambiguation confidence based on values of the first media encoding parameters associated with the first UEC.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the metadata extractor is to determine the disambiguation confidence based on a number of values in the first UEC that match a number of values in a defined UEC.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the media stream is an audio stream, the media stream includes transport parameters and licensed encoded audio data, and the values of the first media encoding parameters correspond to the transport parameters.

15. An apparatus to perform source classification, the apparatus comprising:

at least one memory;

instructions in the apparatus; and

processor circuitry to execute the instructions to:

intercept high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) data of a media stream output from a monitored HDMI port of a media device;

identify HDMI metadata;

parse the HDMI metadata;

determine that first media encoding parameters contained in the HDMI metadata correspond to a first unique encoding class (UEC) of a set of defined UECs, different ones of the set of defined UECs corresponding to different possible combinations of media encoding parameters capable of being included in the HDMI metadata; and

identify a media source corresponding to media that is output based on one or more possible media sources corresponding to the first UEC.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processor circuitry is to convert the HDMI metadata into a converted metadata format for transmission to a central facility.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processor circuitry is to demultiplex the HDMI metadata.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the processor circuitry is to determine a disambiguation confidence based on values of the first media encoding parameters associated with the first UEC.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the processor circuitry is to determine the disambiguation confidence based on a number of values in the first UEC that match a number of values in a defined UEC.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the media stream is an audio stream, the audio stream includes transport parameters and licensed encoded audio data, and the values of the first media encoding parameters correspond to the transport parameters.

Assignments (4)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 8, 2023
From: GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; GRACENOTE, INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
To: ARES CAPITAL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 063574/0632 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Apr 28, 2023
From: GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; GRACENOTE, INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
To: CITIBANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 063561/0381 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 12, 2023
From: TAYLOR, ROBERT E.
To: THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
Reel/Frame 063311/0267 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jan 31, 2023
From: GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; GRACENOTE, INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.
Reel/Frame 063560/0547 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation 16863639 · Apr 30, 2020
Provisional Application 62861194 · Jun 13, 2019
Related Publication 20230065182A1 · Mar 2, 2023