Abstract:
Advertisers specify the size of an ad in pixels or in physical units such as inches or millimeters. The physical square area of an ad specified in pixels will change as the physical size of the television screen or computer display screen varies. The number of pixels of an ad specified in inches or millimeters will also change as the physical size of the television screen or computer display screen varies. The present invention manages the issue of keeping the physical area size of an image constant across television display screens regardless of the physical size of the screen.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Very little prior art exists related specifically to television advertising. Application 20050015800—Holcomb, —Jan. 20, 2005 Method and system for managing television advertising, involves pricing based on what are referred to as cells which include a channel, a day, and a service zone. Cells with varying parameters have different relevant values. Holcomb describes ads being priced based on the channel, day of the week, and the geographical area in which the ad will be shown. 
         [0002]    Internet analogs to pricing of ads based on area are generally selling constant pixel sized ad windows. Two examples of this type of pricing are found at: 
         [0003]    http://www.milliondollarhomepagesites.com/ad_cost.htm and http://simplythebest.net/pixels/explained.html 
         [0004]    Milliondollarhomepagesites.com sell rectangular areas of 100 by 30 pixels. Each block contains a hot link to the advertiser&#39;s home page. Advertisers can buy one or a multiple of blocks for varying amounts of time for varying amounts of money. The block generally contains a logo with the hot link under the logo. 
         [0005]    Simpleythebest.net displays a matrix of  100  small blocks horizontal and vertical. Each block can contain a hot link. When the cursor hovers over the block, a larger “ad” pops onto the screen. If the small hot link block is clicked, the home web page for the referenced site is displayed. Simpleythebest.net prices ads based on the number of days a hot link is valid. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    While the prior art has examples of selling a constant size block based on pixels, the inventors recognize that this prior art can not guarantee that the blocks are not going to change in physical size depending on the physical dimension of the screen. In fact, the inventors found that simpleythebest.net becomes almost unusable on very small laptops with sub 10 inch screens. 
         [0007]    The disclosure herein addresses this issue by describing technology that automatically scales static images and video images based on metadata attributes specifying that the image is to be scaled to a constant physical size regardless of the physical size of the target screen; and/or metadata attributes specifying that the image should be scaled to occupy a specified percentage of the area of the target screen. 
         [0008]    Ads can be priced based on a guaranteed display screen physical area that will be the same across any size display screen. 
         [0009]    Embodiments provide for creation of tiered pricing for display of ads on digital television screens. The current methodology of displaying a constant size image based on pixels or scan lines can be overcome. This methodology results in the size of the physical image varying when viewed at a constant distance based on the physical size of the screen. For example, if there are 2 televisions sitting 10 feet from the viewer and one screen is 26 inches and the other is 52 inches, the same image on both screens will appear to be 2 different physical sizes. If the image is a constant 300 pixels high and 500 pixels wide, the image will appear to be 5.9 inches wide and 3.5 inches high on the 26 inch screen and 11.8 inches wide and 7 inches high on the 52 inch screen. As a function of area, the image on the 26 inch screen will occupy 20.65 square inches and the image on the 52 inch screen will occupy 82.6 square inches or 4 times the area of the smaller screen. As a percentage of screen area both images occupy just over 7% of the total area of each screen. 
         [0010]    The inventors recognize that an advertiser has an incentive to pay more for an ad, wither a display ad or a video ad in a window, if the ad appears to be larger to the viewer. However, it is typically impossible for the creator of an image to know the size of the screen on which the image will be displayed. 
         [0011]    It is an object of the invention to alleviate the responsibility of creating different size images for different size screens by moving the intelligence for computing the physical image size from the creator of the image to a processing engine contained in the television platform. Modern digital televisions contain many computing engines such as microprocessors that are software driven and have the ability to scale images up or down. 
         [0012]    It is a further object of the invention to allow for the inclusion of metadata containing a plurality of data specifying a number of parameters such as percentage of screen size for the image, which screens may or may not show the image, color changes to the foreground and background, font sizes for text, and any other of a plurality of parameters. 
         [0013]    It is still another object of the invention to provide the same functionality to other applications such as video mail or video conferencing. 
         [0014]    It is a further object to provide the same functionality to user or viewer created images such as still images displayed for applications such as television based picture frames and video content such as on-line video sites such as YouTube or Crackle. 
         [0015]    It is still another object of the invention to provide a viewer with the ability to specify the physical size of window areas on the display used for basic television applications such as Picture-In-Picture. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]    Embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation. The following figures and the descriptions both brief and the detailed descriptions of the invention refer to similar elements and in which: 
           [0017]      FIG. 1  is a matrix showing the size of 16:9 ratio screen dimensions for various size screens. 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is a matrix showing the physical area of a 100×100 pixel area on various size screens. 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a matrix showing the physical area of a 200×200 pixel area on various size screens. 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is a matrix showing the physical area of a 300×500 pixel area on various size screens. 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  shows the layout including diagonal angle and length and dimensions of a 16:9 ration screen with a size of 16 inches by 9 inches. 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  shows the layout dimensions of a 26 inch screen and the amount of physical screen area occupied by a 300×500 pixel block. 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  shows the layout dimensions of a 52 inch screen and the amount of physical screen area occupied by a 300×500 pixel block. 
           [0024]      FIG. 8  shows  4  data items, a static image file format with embedded metadata, a video image file format with embedded metadata and a static image or video data file format with an associated metadata file. 
           [0025]      FIG. 9  shows a flow diagram where an image file containing image data and metadata is processed and sent to the display. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0026]      FIGS. 1 through 4  show a series of matrices showing information for different display screens.  FIG. 1  includes chart  10  which shows the dimensions for display screens, where the ratio between the width of the screen and the height of the screen is 16:9. This is the ratio used for high definition television screens. Display screen size for such screens is measured on the diagonal of the screen, that is from a bottom corner to the opposite top corner. 
         [0027]      FIG. 1  shows the physical dimensions for screens ranging from 26 inches to 52 inches. Note that doubling the diagonal length of the screen increases the square area of the screen by 4. High definition televisions present a video frame or picture as a series of pixels across horizontal lines. In high definition televisions, there are 1,920 pixels across each horizontal line and 1,080 horizontal lines in the vertical plane. The width of each pixel in the horizontal plane is computed by dividing the width of the screen by the number of pixels: 
         [0000]      Pixel Width=Screen Width/Number Of Pixels 
         [0028]    Thus for a 26 inch screen: 
         [0000]      0.011823=22.7/1920 
         [0000]    and the height is computed by: 
         [0000]      Pixel Height=Screen Height/Number Of Pixels 
         [0000]    Thus for a 26 inch screen: 
         [0000]      0.011806=12.75/1080 
         [0029]      FIG. 2  shows a table  20  which shows the area for a window displayed on various size 16:9 ratio television screens where the size of the window is held constant at 100 by 100 pixels. Note that for a 26 inch display screen, the area of such a 100 by 100 pixel windows is 1.4 sq inches. The area of the display screen itself is 289.43 square inches. The percentage of the area of the window compared to the display screen as a whole is 0.48%. Note that as the display screen size is increased from 26 inches to 52 inches the size of the 100 by 100 pixel window increases from 1.4 square inches to 5.57 square inches but the percentage of area of the window remains constant at 0.48%. 
         [0030]    If a viewer were to have 7 television display screens positioned at a constant distance and each display screen was displaying the same 100 by 100 pixel window, the window appearing on the 52 inch display screen would better attract the eye than would the window displayed on the 26 inch display screen. To the viewer, any information displayed inside the physically-larger window will be easier to resolve. 
         [0031]      FIGS. 3 and 4  show tables  30  and  40  with the physical sizes of windows of 200 by 200 pixels and 300 by 500 pixels for screen sizes of 26 inches to 52 inches. As the size of the window is increased, the net effect of size becomes magnified to the viewer as will be shown in the following figures and descriptions. 
         [0032]      FIG. 5  shows a visual representation  50  of the layout for a 16:9 ratio television screen whose diagonal distance is 18.36 inches and whose width and height are 9 inches by 16 inches. 
         [0033]      FIGS. 6 and 7  show the relative visual differences between a 26 inch display screen and a 52 in display screen. Each of the display screens have the same 300 by 500 pixel window inlaid on top of the screen. 
         [0034]      FIG. 8  illustrates a plurality of typical files  80  as exploited by an embodiment. Static Image File  81  consists of Static Image Data  82  and Static Image Metadata  83 . Static Image File  81  is of any of a plurality of static image file types such as jpeg, bmp, gif, tiff, png or animated image. Static Image Metadata  83  contains data that provides a plurality of display attributes. These attributes may include, for example, scaling information, positioning information, alpha blending information, display times, start and end of display transitions, and/or any other information important to the display and image manipulation. Scaling information may be an absolute size in pixels or inches or percentage of display screen area. Video Data File  84  consists of Video Data  85  and Metadata  86 . The association between Video Data  85  and Metadata  86  is the same as that shown for Static Image File  81 . Static Image or Video Data File  87  is associated with Metadata File  88 . In this embodiment Metadata File  88  contains the metadata that provides a plurality of display attributes for Static Image or Video Data File  87 . These attributes may include, for example, scaling information, positioning information, alpha blending information, display times, start and end of display transitions, and/or any other information important to the display and image manipulation. Scaling information may be an absolute size in pixels or inches or percentage of display screen area. 
         [0035]    An absolute size attribute controls the image to appear as the same physical size regardless of the screen size. This controls the image to have the same physical size on a 26 inch display screen as it would be on a 52 inch screen. In this embodiment, an image that is 300 by 500 pixels on a 52 inch display screen will occupy an area that is 599 by 998 pixels wide on a 26 inch display screen. 
         [0036]    Video Data File  84  is formed of Video Data  85  and Video Data Metadata  86 . Video Data File  85  is any of a plurality of video data formats such as MPEG-2, Flash Video, or any other video file format. Video Data Metadata  86  contains data that provides a plurality of display attributes. These attributes may include scaling information, positioning information, alpha blending information, display times, start and end of display transitions, and/or any other information important to the display and image manipulation. Scaling information may be an absolute size in pixels or inches or percentage of display screen area. An absolute size attribute allows the video image to appear as the same physical size regardless of the screen size. This allows for the case where a video image playback window would be the same physical size on a 26 inch display screen as it would be on a 52 inch screen. In another embodiment, metadata is separately contained in a file as illustrated by Static Image or Video Data File  87  and associated Metadata File  88 . This embodiment is intended to show that the metadata for a given image or video file may come from a plurality of sources such as a separate file, from a database of metadata accessible over a network. 
         [0037]      FIG. 9  shows a flow  90  of the embodiment as processed on a modern day digital television. For the purposes of clarity, the functional blocks shown in  FIG. 9  may not each be a discrete device in an actual digital television. Evolving technology in the television field generally results in greater levels of integration than shown in  FIG. 9 . In an actual television, all or most of the functional blocks shown may be contained in a single chip or in two or more chips. For example, Decoder  95  may be either a block of software code executing on Processing Engine  92  or may be a block of software code executing on a microprocessor embedded inside a physical integrated circuit chip labeled as Decoder  95  or may be implemented completely in gates contained in an integrated circuit chip labeled as Decoder  95 . 
         [0038]    In  FIG. 9 , Scaler  94  and Decoder  95  may be implemented as gates contained in individual integrated circuit chips or as gates contained in a common integrated circuit chip or as blocks of software code executing on a microprocessor chip which may be the same microprocessor labeled as Processing Engine  92  or may be another microprocessor. In  FIG. 9 , this embodiment shows Image File  91  entering Processing Engine  92 . Processing Engine  92  is a microprocessor that is controlled by Software Program  93 . In one embodiment, Software Program  93  will cause Processor Engine  92  to direct Decoder  95  to scale the image(s) contained in Image File  91  to the constraints specified by metadata contained in Image File  91  after decoding the image(s). In this embodiment, Software Program  93  will direct Decoder  95  to pass the decoded and scaled image(s) to Video Processor  96 . Video Processor  96  performs processing on the image such as alpha blending, isolation of the image to a particular size, and performs any other processing as specified by metadata contained in Image File  91  and as directed by Processing Engine  92 . After processing, Video Processor  96  passes the video image to Display Electronics  97  which converts the output of Video Processor  96  to be displayed on Display Screen  98 . 
         [0039]    In another embodiment, Software Program  93  directs Processing Engine  92  to pass the images contained in Image File  91  to Decoder  95  for decoding then to Scaler  94  which scales the image(s) contained in Image File  91  to the constraints specified by metadata contained in Image File  91 . Scaler  94  then sends the images which it has scaled to Video Processor  96 . Video Processor  96  performs processing on the image such as alpha blending, isolation of the image to a particular size, and performs any other processing as specified by metadata contained in Image File  91  and as directed by Processing Engine  92 . After processing, Video Processor  96  passes the video image to Display Electronics  97  which converts the output of Video Processor  96  to be displayed on Display Screen  98 . 
         [0040]    In an embodiment, Processing Engine  92  may be formed entirely of hardware logic that reacts to data patterns without the direction of software instructions. In this embodiment, scaling of images is controlled by the hardware. 
         [0041]    It is an object of the invention to permit the scaling of static and video images based on a metadata attribute such that a single image can be the same physical size in inches when displayed on different size display screens. This allows for the creation of a tiered pricing structure for static image and video ads when displayed on different size screens. 
         [0042]    This thus allowing a single image of any given size to appear identical to the viewer regardless of the size of the display screen. 
         [0043]    Although only a few embodiments have been disclosed in detail above, other embodiments are possible and the inventors intend these to be encompassed within this specification. The specification describes specific examples to accomplish a more general goal that may be accomplished in another way. This disclosure is intended to be exemplary, and the claims are intended to cover any modification or alternative which might be predictable to a person having ordinary skill in the art. For example, other comparing structures can be used. 
         [0044]    Also, the inventors intend that only those claims which use the words “means for” are intended to be interpreted under 35 USC 112, sixth paragraph. Moreover, no limitations from the specification are intended to be read into any claims, unless those limitations are expressly included in the claims. The computers described herein may be any kind of computer, either general purpose, or some specific purpose computer such as a workstation. The computer may be a Pentium class computer, running Windows XP or Linux, or may be a Macintosh computer. The computer may also be a handheld computer, such as a PDA, cellphone, or laptop. 
         [0045]    The programs may be written in C, or Java, Brew or any other programming language. The programs may be resident on a storage medium, e.g., magnetic or optical, e.g. the computer hard drive, a removable disk or media such as a memory stick or SD media, or other removable medium. The programs may also be run over a network, for example, with a server or other machine sending signals to the local machine, which allows the local machine to carry out the operations described herein.