Patent ID: 9628836
Date: 2017-04-18
CPC Classifications: G06F,H04N

Claim:
1. An automated method of removing erroneously logged commercials from a listing of commercials that are detected in a video data stream using automatic content recognition, wherein the commercials are played in commercial blocks, each commercial block including a sequence of individual commercials played in successive time windows, the method comprising: (a) performing, using a search engine in communication with a library of commercials, automatic content recognition (ACR) on the video data stream and detecting the identity of each of the commercials played in a commercial block during a commercial break, wherein the ACR evaluates a succession of samples of each of the commercials against a database of files for commercials in the library of commercials, and wherein the ACR further tracks the number of times that the same identified commercial having the same start and end time is recognized; (b) temporarily logging, in a first memory, the identity and start and end time of each detected commercial in a log of played commercials and the number of times that the same identified commercial having the same start and end time is recognized; (c) clustering together, using a computer, any detected commercials that have (i) overlapping start and end times, and (ii) related content, each cluster representing one of the successive time windows of the commercial block; (d) forming, using the computer, a plurality of potential commercial blocks using one commercial from each cluster by making permutations of commercial blocks from the detected commercials, wherein one detected commercial is selected from each cluster for each permutation; (e) ranking, using the computer, the potential commercial blocks based on best fit criteria, the best fit criteria of commercials within the potential commercial blocks including (i) minimal or no overlapping of successive commercials, (ii) a minimum time gap between successive commercials, and (iii) the number of times that the same commercial having the same start and end time is recognized; and (f) permanently logging, in a second memory, only the commercials in the highest ranking potential commercial block, along with their start and end times in the log of played commercials, and deleting the remaining commercials from the log of played commercials in the first memory, wherein the remaining logged commercials are presumed to be either (i) erroneously identified commercials, or (ii) properly identified commercials with erroneous start and end times.