Abstract:
A system for using metadata from a video signal to associate advertisements therewith, comprising (i) a segmentation system to divide the video signal into video clips, (ii) a digitizing system for digitizing the video clips, (iii) a feature extraction system for extracting audio and video features from each video clip, associating each audio feature with respective video clips, associating each video feature with respective video clips, and saving the audio and video features into an associated metadata file, (iv) a web interface to the feature extraction system for receiving the video clips, and (v) a database, wherein video signals and associated metadata files are stored and indexed, wherein the associated metadata file is provided when a video player requests the corresponding video signal, enabling selection of a relevant advertisement for presentment in conjunction with respective video clips based on the associated audio and video features of the respective video clip.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/970,593, entitled “Systems and Methods for Using Video Metadata to Associate Advertisements Therewith,” filed Sep. 7, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to targeted advertisements and, more particularly, to methods and systems for delivering targeted advertisements in association with a video program based on metadata associated with the video program. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    An advertisement promotes the goods, services, organizations, ideas, etc. of an organization or company via a media. Traditional advertisements were made on printed materials and were available on pamphlets, flyers, billboards, posters, newspapers, and magazines. As electronic technology developed, commercials were incorporated into multimedia content, such as radio, television, and movies and were typically presented as an interruption of the primary content—occurring either before the primary content or at intervals during the primary content. Today, advertisements are placed within television programs and movies through product placements and are available on the Internet and on electronically stored content (e.g., DVDs), such as in commercials, trailers, and in promotions on DVDs. 
         [0004]    Traditional advertisements have typically targeted general audiences. Such advertisements can be tailored somewhat to the audience likely to be watching a movie, television program or show or event, or radio station or program based on the general content of the program or show and based on the likely demographic of the audience who would be expected to watch such program or show. The Internet provides advertisers with a more specific targeted audience and, hence, higher potential return on their advertisement expenses. For example, because each computer contains potentially trackable and usable information about user(s) of that computer (e.g., through the use of cookies, location information, language settings, and prior web sites accessed), Internet websites are able to use such information to generate banner or pop-up advertisements that are based on some information available about potential users of each computer. In yet another example, Internet search engine sites are able to “sell” the terms or keywords used by an Internet searcher to present targeted advertisements that have been associated with specific keywords or search terms. Such advertisements are presented in pop-up windows, banner advertisement windows, or as “sponsored” links to websites that have requested and paid for prominent placements on the search results screen for specific keywords or search terms. An Internet user that searches “keywords” is more likely than a member of the general public to be a potential customer of a good or services associated with such keywords. 
         [0005]    With the continuing advance of technology, bandwidth, and availability of broadband access, online video viewing is becoming increasingly popular and promises to become even more prevalent with the continuing expansion and use of IPTV and video on demand. Unlike static or substantially-static content (text, photographs) that is typically available on a webpage, that gets updated only periodically (more frequently for a news webpage and much less frequently for a standard company webpage), and that sustains a particular viewer for only a brief amount of time, commercial videos over the Internet provide an opportunity to capture a viewing audience for a substantially longer amount of time. However, audiences that are used to watching movies and television on DVDs or off of a DVR are unwilling to view conventional advertisements that interrupt the flow of the video stream. 
         [0006]    For these and many other reasons, there is a need for a technology platform that is able to provide and display advertisements that are targeted to the specific audience and that are tied to specific programming being viewed. There is a need for methods and systems that enable such advertisements to be viewed selectively and simultaneously with the primary content in such a way that does not interfere with the primary content. There are yet further needs for methods and systems that provide real-time advertisements for the viewer regardless of whether the viewer is accessing the content from off of the Internet or from a DVD or similar electronic media storage if the display device has access to the Internet. 
         [0007]    Therefore, it is apparent that a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    The present invention, in one aspect, relates to a method for using metadata from a video signal to associate advertisements therewith. In one embodiment, the method includes (i) segmenting the video signal into a plurality of video clips, (ii) extracting audio and video features from a video signal, (iii) digitizing the plurality of video clips, (iv) identifying extracted audio features within respective digitized video clips using audio processing, wherein each audio feature is associated with the respective digitized video clip, (v) identifying extracted video features within respective digitized video clips using visual processing, wherein each video feature is associated with the respective digitized video clip, (vi) saving the associated audio features and associated video features in a metadata file, (vii) associating the metadata file with the video signal, (viii) storing the metadata file in a database, and (ix) providing the associated metadata file when a video player requests the corresponding video signal. The associated metadata file enables selection of a relevant advertisement for presentment in conjunction with each respective digitized video clip of the corresponding video signal based on the associated audio features and the associated video features of the respective digitized video clip. 
         [0009]    The video features includes at least one of (i) one or more people, (ii) one or more characters, (iii) one or more animals, (iv) one or more objects, (v) one or more geographic locations, (vi) background, (vii) one or more scene, or a combination of these features. In one embodiment, these video features are extracted by a visual processing system of the feature extraction system. In another embodiment, the method includes the step of identifying and recognizing one or more objects from the video signal by an object classification system of the feature extraction system. In yet another embodiment, the method includes the step of identifying and recognizing one or more scenes from the video signal by a scene classification system of the feature extraction system. In yet another embodiment, the method includes a combination of both steps. 
         [0010]    In one embodiment, the video signal may contain accompanying audio signal. Audio features of the audio signal includes at lest one of (i) a list of one or more words, (ii) speeches by one or more people, (iii) dialogue by one or more people, (iv) music, (v) background sound, and a combination of these audio features. In another embodiment, the method further includes the steps of: (i) identifying and recognizing one or more background sounds from the audio signal by using a sound classification system of the feature extraction system, (ii) identify and recognizing one or more music segments from the audio signal by using a music classification system of the feature extraction system, and (iii) identifying and recognizing human speech, dialogues, one or more words, one or more phrases by using a speech recognition system of the feature extraction system. In yet another embodiment, the method further includes the steps of: (i) collecting audio features of the audio signal by using audio signal recognition system of the feature extraction system, and (ii) saving the collected audio features in the metadata file. 
         [0011]    In one embodiment, the metadata file is an XML file. The metadata file contains one or more of (i) video identification information, (ii) a file name, (iii) a digital signature, (iv) the length of the video signal, (v) a keyword list, (vi) a time-coded transcript, (vii) one or more segments with a corresponding start and stop time, (viii) one or more contents, (ix) one or more characters, (x) one or more animals, (xi) one or more objects, and (xii) a list of vocabulary. 
         [0012]    In another aspect, the present invention relates to a system for using metadata from a video signal to associate advertisements therewith. In one embodiment, the system has (i) a segmentation system for dividing the video signal into a plurality of video clips, (ii) a digitizing system for digitizing the plurality of video clips, (iii) a feature extraction system for extracting audio features and video features from each digitized video clip, associating each audio feature with at least one digitized video clip, associating each video feature with at least one digitized video clip, and saving the audio features and video features into a metadata file associated with the video signal, (iv) a web interface to the feature extraction system for receiving the digitized video clips, and (v) a database accessible by a third party user, wherein video signals and associated metadata files are stored and indexed with a unique filename for each video signal in the database and its corresponding video signal. The associated metadata file is provided when a video player requests the corresponding video signal, and enables selection of a relevant advertisement for presentment in conjunction with each respective digitized video clip of the corresponding video signal based on the associated audio features and the associated video features of the respective digitized video clip. 
         [0013]    In one embodiment, the video features comprise at least one of (i) one or more people, (ii) one or more characters, (iii) one or more animals, (iv) one or more objects, (v) one or more geographic locations, (vi) background, (vii) one or more scenes, and (viii) any combination thereof. In another embodiment, the video signal includes an accompanying audio signal. 
         [0014]    In another embodiment, the audio features of the audio signal comprise one or more of (i) a list of one or more words, (ii) speeches by one or more people, (iii) dialogue by one or more people, (iv) music, (v) background sound, and (vi) any combination thereof. In one feature, the feature extraction system further comprises an audio signal recognition (ASR) system to identify and recognize the audio features of the video signal, and a visual processing system to identify and recognize the visual features of the video signal. In another feature, the visual processing system further comprises a object classification system to identify and recognize one or more objects from the video signal, and a scene classification system to identify and recognize one or more scenes from the video signal. In yet a further feature, the audio signal recognition system further comprises a sound classification system to identify and recognize one or more background sounds from the audio signal, and a music classification system to identify and recognize one or more music segments from the audio signal, and a speech recognition system to identify and recognize human speech, dialogues, one or more words, one or more phrases. In another feature, the metadata file comprises one or more of video identification information, a file name, a digital signature, the length of the video signal, a keyword list, a time-coded transcript, one or more segments with a corresponding start and stop time, one or more contents, one or more characters, one or more pets, one or more objects, and a list of vocabulary. 
         [0015]    These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0016]    The accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the written description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an embodiment, and wherein: 
           [0017]      FIG. 1A  illustrates a first embodiment of an advertisement placement system of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 1B  illustrates a second embodiment of an advertisement placement system of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 1C  illustrates a third embodiment of an advertisement placement system of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 1D  illustrates a fourth embodiment of an advertisement placement system of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 1E  illustrates a fifth embodiment of an advertisement placement system of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 1F  illustrates a sixth embodiment of an advertisement placement system of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 2  illustrates one representative display screen for viewing a video program and advertisements associated herewith based on underlying time-coded metadata; 
           [0024]      FIG. 3  illustrates a high level intake system for receiving video files and generating underlying time-coded metadata; 
           [0025]      FIG. 4  illustrates a more detailed flow chart describing the extraction of metadata from a video signal. 
           [0026]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate one exemplary meta data file generated and used within the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0027]    The present invention is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Various embodiments of the invention are now described in detail. Referring to the drawings, like numbers indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. 
         [0028]    The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinary meanings in the art, within the context of the invention, and in the specific context where each term is used. 
         [0029]    Certain terms that are used to describe the invention are discussed below, or elsewhere in the specification, to provide additional guidance to the practitioner in describing the apparatus and methods of the invention and how to make and use them. For convenience, certain terms may be highlighted, for example using italics and/or quotation marks. The use of highlighting has no influence on the scope and meaning of a term; the scope and meaning of a term is the same, in the same context, whether or not it is highlighted. It will be appreciated that the same thing can be said in more than one way. Consequently, alternative language and synonyms may be used for any one or more of the terms discussed herein, nor is any special significance to be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussed herein. Synonyms for certain terms are provided. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification, including examples of any terms discussed herein, is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the invention or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the invention is not limited to various embodiments given in this specification. Furthermore, subtitles may be used to help a reader of the specification to read through the specification, which the usage of subtitles, however, has no influence on the scope of the invention. 
         [0030]    As used herein, a video program refers to any multimedia content, such as a movie, a television program, an event, a video, an advertisement, a broadcast, or the like that a user would be interested in viewing online or in recorded format. 
         [0031]    Turning now to  FIG. 1A , a first preferred embodiment of an advertisement placement system  100 A based primarily upon time-coded metadata associated with an underlying video program displayed therewith is illustrated. In this first embodiment, it is contemplated that the video program will be viewed in a Video-on-Demand (VOD) or video streaming context from a video provider  110  and that the underlying metadata file associated with the video program, once created, is maintained by the video provider  110 . This system  100 A includes one or more video storage databases  115  of the video provider  110  and a video server  113  that provides video programs in VOD or video streaming format over a computer network, such as the Internet for example, to a viewer  150  (or end user). 
         [0032]    Before a specific video is provided to the viewer  150 , a video file  120  associated with the video program  121  is preferably provided to a metadata generator  130 . The video file  120  has or includes a unique file name or other video identifier (designated herein by the variable V ID ). As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the metadata generator  130  receives the video file  120  and, using a metadata processor  133 , creates or generates a time-coded metadata file  125  associated with the corresponding video file  120  and underlying video program  121 . As shown in  FIG. 1A , this metadata file  125  is stored in a database  135  of the metadata generator  130  but also provided back to the video provider  110  and associated with the corresponding video file  120  and underlying video program  121  in video storage databases  115 . 
         [0033]    When a request  140  for VOD or video streaming of the video program  121  associated with the video file  120  is received from a video display device  155  (such as a computer, Internet or interactive TV, or similar video playback or viewing device) of the viewer  150 , the video provider  110  begins providing access to the video program  121  in conventional fashion (i.e., this assumes all communication and billing parameters are already or previously satisfied; such communication and billing parameters being beyond the scope of the present invention but within the scope and understanding of those skilled in the art). Simultaneously or substantially simultaneously with the start of the video streaming, the metadata file  125  associated with the video file  120  is provided to an advertisement distributor  160 , which uses an advertisement server  163  to process the metadata file  125  to selectively identify one or more appropriate advertisements from its database  165  of potential advertisements that is appropriate to provide in conjunction with the video program  121  and, specifically, with each discrete segment of the video program  121  based on its time-coded metadata. The selected advertisement file(s)  175  are then provided to the video display device  155  of the viewer  150 . The metadata file  125  may be provided in whole to the advertisement distributor  160  or it may be parsed and provided in piece meal or “as needed” fashion to the advertisement distributor  160 . 
         [0034]    Preferably, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the video display  200  of the video display device  155  is configured to receive and display various types of advertisements in conjunction with the actual video display. Such advertisements are preferably displayed in manners that do not interrupt or delay viewing of the requested video, as would a conventional commercial shown on broadcast television. For example, such advertisements may be shown as conventional banner ads that appear (i) in an optional vertical side window or panel  205  or (ii) in an optional horizontal window or panel  210  that do not interfere with the main video display area  225 . The video display  200  may also include conventional header areas and menu control areas  215 ,  220 . Obviously, the placement and purpose of each of the windows and panels of the video display  200  are within the purview of those skilled in the art. In addition, although the advertisements can be displayed as banner ads, it is also possible and expected that alternative advertisements, such as interstitial ads, bug ads, or hyperlinks that can be opened or accessed by the viewer  150 , may be used alternatively or in conjunction with the banner advertisements. Such additional advertisements may be placed within the main video display area  225 , such as in the lower portion  230  of the main video display area  225 . In addition, it should also be understood that while “advertisements” are being used generally to define the information that may be displayed around and during the video playback, it is also possible and expected that other information associated with the video playback, such as background information, more detailed information about the video program, the actors in the video program, scenes, events or locations that appear in the video program, related videos or information, and the like, can be displayed, advertised, or linked during the playback and tied to the current time-code of the video as it is being viewed. Such advertisements can be text, still graphics, videos, audio, hyperlinks, or the like. In some embodiments, the advertisements merely display information. In other embodiments, the advertisements include a hyperlink that, when activated, pause the primary video and allow the user to view or access the advertisement or other additional information. 
         [0035]    Although not shown in  FIG. 1A , as the video program  121  is being viewed by the viewer  150 , the actual time-code of the video program  121  is provided either from the video provider  110  or, preferably, from the video display device  155  itself. This time-code information associated with the actual viewing of the video program  121  either is provided in real time to the advertisement distributor  160  so that appropriate advertisement files  175  can be provided back to the video display device  155  in real time or, alternatively, is provided in advance to the video display device  155  for caching and later access at the appropriate time, based on the time-code location of the video program  121  as it is being viewed. 
         [0036]    In an optional embodiment of that shown in  FIG. 1A , user or video display device characteristics  185  are obtainable from the video display device  155  and may be provided to the advertisement distributor  160 . Such user or video display device characteristics  185  typically include location, age, gender, interests, Internet websites visited, and other similar demographic data that may be obtained from cookies or similar tracking information. The advertisement distributor  160  utilizes the video display device characteristics  185  to generate advertisement files  175  that are further targeted and customized for the viewer  150 . The advertisement files  175  are provided back to the video display device  155  for display during viewing of the video program  121 . Such targeted advertisements are still shown and synchronized with the time-coded video program  121 ; however, the user data  185  enables the advertisement server  163  to select more accurately between one or more potentially valid advertisements that could be associated with the video program for a particular time-coded segment. 
         [0037]    Turning now to  FIG. 1B , a second preferred embodiment of an advertisement placement system  100 B based primarily upon time-coded metadata associated with an underlying video program displayed therewith is illustrated. In this embodiment, it is contemplated that the video program is still viewed in a Video-on-Demand (VOD) or video streaming context from a video provider  110 ; however, unlike the first embodiment, in this scenario, the underlying metadata file  125  associated with the video program  121  is sent to the video display device  155  along with the video program  121 . The video display device  155  (or at least the video player system/software installed on the video display device) then sends the metadata file  125  (or parsed segments thereof at appropriate time intervals) to the advertisement distributor  160  so that appropriate advertisement file(s)  175  are returned back to the player  155 . Again, optionally, user data  185  may be provided from the video display device  155  to the advertisement distributor  160  to enable the advertisement server  163  to select more accurately between one or more potentially valid advertisements that could be associated with the video program for a particular time-coded segment. 
         [0038]    Turning now to  FIG. 1C , a third preferred embodiment of an advertisement placement system  100 C based primarily upon time-coded metadata associated with an underlying video program displayed therewith is illustrated. In this embodiment, it is contemplated that the video program is also viewed in a Video-on-Demand (VOD) or video streaming context from a video provider  110 ; however, unlike the first and second embodiments, in this scenario, the underlying metadata file  125  associated with the video program  121 , once created, is not provided back to the video provider  110 . This embodiment is similar in most respects to the first embodiment; however, when a request for video  140  is received from the viewer  150 , the video provider  110  sends a request  145  for metadata file  125  associated with the video program  121 . This request  145  is either sent directly to the metadata generator  130  (as shown) or (as not shown) to the advertisement distributor  160  first, which then requests the same from the metadata generator  130 . The metadata generator  130  then retrieves the appropriate time-coded metadata file  125  from its database  135  and provides it to the advertisement distributor  160 . The remaining aspects, variations, and alternatives of this embodiment are similar to those discussed in association with the first embodiment. 
         [0039]    Turning now to  FIG. 1D , a fourth embodiment is illustrated, which is another variation of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1C . Again, the metadata file  125  is maintained by the metadata generator  130 , but upon receipt of a request  145 , this time from the video display device  155 , the metadata file  125  is provided to the video display device  155  and provided, preferably in parsed or “as needed” basis to the advertisement distributor  160 . In another slight alternative arrangement, in response to the request  145  (or series of requests containing the video ID and time code location) from the video display device  155 , the metadata generator  130  may provide the “as needed” portion of the metadata file  125  to the advertisement distributor  160  corresponding to the video segment being viewed by the viewer  150 . 
         [0040]    Turning now to  FIG. 1E , a fifth preferred embodiment of an advertisement placement system  100 E based primarily upon time-coded metadata associated with an underlying video program displayed therewith is illustrated. In this embodiment, it is contemplated that the video program is actually provided or sold to the viewer  150  on a DVD  117  or similar storage medium, or is provided as a file download (not shown) (as opposed to a mere video streaming in which the file is not actually downloaded) for later playback. This embodiment is similar to the first embodiment to the extent that the underlying metadata file associated with the video program, once created, is maintained by the video provider  110 . This system  100 E includes one or more video storage databases  115  of the video provider  110  and a video manager  116  that communicates with the metadata generator  130 , the advertisement distributor  160 , and the video storage databases  115 , and which manages the production of stored video programs  117  for distribution in DVD format or for download or the like. 
         [0041]    Similar to the first embodiment, before a stored video program  117  is created and made available to an viewer  150 , a video file  120  associated with the stored video program  117  is preferably provided to the metadata generator  130 . The video file  120  has or includes a unique file name or other video identifier (designated herein by the variable V ID ). As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the metadata generator  130  receives the video file  120  and, using a metadata processor  133 , creates or generates a time-coded metadata file  125  associated with the corresponding video file  120  and underlying video program  121 . This metadata file  125  is stored in a database  135  of the metadata generator  130  but is also provided back to the video provider  110  and associated with the corresponding video file  120  in video storage databases  115 . 
         [0042]    As part of the process for creating a stored video program  117 , the metadata file  125  associated with the video file  120  is provided to the advertisement distributor  160 , which uses an advertisement server  163  to process the metadata file  125  to selectively identify one or more appropriate advertisements from its database  165  of potential advertisements that is appropriate to provide in conjunction with the stored video program  117  and, specifically, with each discrete segment of the stored video program  117  based on its time-coded metadata. The selected advertisement file(s)  175  are then provided back to the video provider  110 , which incorporates the advertisement files  175  directly on the stored video program  117  along with the actual video file  120 . In this manner, the stored video program  117  has all necessary and desired advertisement files  175  built into the stored video program  117  and plays advertisements during viewing of the video in situations in which the video display device  155  does not (intentional, unintentional, non-compatible, or for whatever reason) have real time access to the Internet to obtain real-time advertisements associated with the video. The remaining aspects, variations, and alternatives of this embodiment are similar to those discussed in association with the first embodiment. 
         [0043]    Turning now to  FIG. 1F , a sixth preferred embodiment of an advertisement placement system  100 F based primarily upon time-coded metadata associated with an underlying video program displayed therewith is illustrated. This embodiment is similar to the fifth embodiment; however, it is contemplated that the video display device  155  has access to the Internet and, thus, is able to obtain real-time advertisement files  175  from advertisement distributor  160 . This arrangement is preferred to the fifth embodiment since advertisements associated with the video program are not fixed and unchangeable on the stored video program  117  media. Instead, over time and with each viewing of the stored video program  117 , the viewer  150 , potentially, has a new advertisement experience. 
         [0044]    For this reason, it is desirable to have the time-coded metadata file  125  actually stored on the stored video program  117  along with the video file  121  so that when the video program is actually being viewed by the viewer  150  on the video display device  155 , the video display device  155  initiates a communication with the advertisement distributor  160  to provide the time-coded metadata file  125  and to receive back appropriate advertisement file(s)  175 . Again, in an alternative arrangement, it may be desirable for the viewer  150  to provide or for the advertisement distributor  160  to have user or video display device characteristics  185  (as described in greater detail previously) so that the advertisement files  175  associated with the time-coded metadata of the stored video program  117  are tailored and targeted slightly more at the viewer  150 , but still associated with the appropriate segment of the video program. 
         [0045]    In an additional, alternative embodiment (not shown), the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 1E and 1F  are combined to store a base set of advertisement files  175  on the stored video program  117 . The advertisement files  175  are for situations in which the video display device  155  is “offline” and does not have access to the Internet. The video display device  155  (or the software associated with the stored video program  117 ) is configured to interact in real time with the advertisement distributor  160  to obtain current and up-to-date advertisement files  175  when it is actually able to access the Internet and communicate with the advertisement distributor  160 . In such a scenario, the more up-to-date advertisement files  175  are shown during the video playback if they are available. If they are not available, the pre-stored, base advertisement files  175  are used. 
         [0046]    It should also be understood that there are many other alternative arrangements and variations of how and where various files are stored and provided. The embodiments shown in  FIGS. 1A through 1F  represent just some of the more likely arrangements and components involved. Additionally, there may be multiple additional parties involved such that the roles and responsibilities for providing and receiving files, for processing files, and for exchanging and storing data can be handled by different parties or components. For example, there may be two separate parties or components used to generate time-coded metadata files and to store and provide such time-coded metadata files to third parties upon request. Likewise, the video provider may want to act as the throughput for the advertisement distributor so that the video display device never interacts directly with a specified advertisement distributor. This can be controlled more easily in the video streaming context, since the links to the advertisement distributor can be dynamically changed over time to point to the preferred or desired advertisement distributor associated with the video provider. For the stored video program embodiments, it may be desirable to have advertisement links that go back through the video provider—this would enable the video provider to update and change the advertisement distributor used over longer periods of time and prevent such links, hard-coded onto the stored video program from becoming obsolete or broken. 
         [0047]      FIGS. 3 through 5B  provide more detailed explanations are described for the creation of time-coded metadata files associated with underlying video programs. Turning first to  FIG. 3 , a high level view  300  of the intake process for creating a time-coded metadata file  125  is described. The metadata generator  130  receives the video file  120 , which has or includes a unique file name or other video identifier (designated herein by the variable V ID ). The video file  120  and identifier are stored initially in a SOAP database  310 . Preferably, the video file  120  is received in .mp4 (MPEG 4) format or, if not, is converted to such (or similar) format, as may be changed or updated from time to time. A hash of this file is run to generate a unique “video signature” and is checked against the existing video signatures stored in the database  135  to determine if a time-coded metadata file already exists for the video file  120  received. If so, the appropriate time-coded metadata file  125  is provided to any requesting party. If the file does not exist, the video file in .mp4 format is then provided to an audio processor  320  and to a video processor  330 . Once the audio and video have been parsed and used to identify underlying metadata of the video program, the time-coded metadata file is stored in database  135  and is available for distribution or use, as described in association with the embodiments of  FIGS. 1A through 1F . 
         [0048]      FIG. 4  illustrates, in more detail, the steps  400  performed by the metadata processor  133  when a video file  120  is received for intake and processing. First, the video identifier is obtained from the video provider (step  410 ). As stated previously, this identifier may simply be the file name for the video file or it may be the title and year of the video file or something similar. Based on this identifier, it is possible to determine whether this particular video had been previously processed (step  412 ). If the video had already been processed previously, the database storing such time-coded metadata file is updated and cross-referenced with the identifier and existing video signature (step  430 ), then the process jumps to step  480  and determines whether another video needs to be processed or not. If the video had not been processed previously, at least based on its identifier, the system then downloads or receives the full video file from the video provider for further processing (step  415 ). As part of step  415 , the video file is converted to .mp4 (MPEG 4) format, if it is not already in such format, and a hash or “video signature” of the .mp4 version of the video is created. Based on this video signature, it is possible to determine whether this particular video had been previously processed, even if the video identifier did not match a previously-known identifier (step  420 ). If the video had already been processed previously, the database storing such time-coded metadata files is updated and cross-referenced with the additional identifier and video signature, if necessary (step  430 ), then the process jumps to step  480  and determines whether another video needs to be processed or not. If the video had not been processed previously, it is then submitted to an audio processor (step  440 ) for audio capture and separation and speech recognition (among other things) and a video processor (step  450 ) for classification and analysis (among other things). The resulting metadata is compiled, tied to or associated with the underlying timecode of the video program, and stored in the metadata database (step  470 ). The process then determines whether there is another video to be processed (step  480 ). If so, the process  400  starts over. If not, the process  400  ends. 
         [0049]    Generally, when a video program is received or converted to .mp4 format, an underlying time-code exists or is established for the video program. All audio and video metadata identified or extracted from the video program by the metadata processor  133  is then tied or associated with specific points or regions within the time code. Initially, key identifiers for the video program are determined and identified. This includes all characters who appear in the video program, key or reoccurring scene locations, key props and objects, key terms, etc. The key identifiers are typically audio features and/or video features, and are extracted from the video signal. Then, the video portion of the video program is parsed and divided into “short clips” or discrete segments. Such segments can be specified by a predetermined time frame, but can alternatively be identified based on information within the video signal, such as, for example, a change of camera shots, angles, scene change, scene break or the like. It should also be noted that different video segments can be defined by different predetermined time frames. 
         [0050]    Once the video signal is divided, then each segmented video clip is then digitized. The breaks between each segment is identified and tied to the time-code timeline. Next, the metadata processor  133  runs a language and speech recognition process through the entire video and associates all of the dialogue and background audio with the appropriate video segments and time-codes. Next, characters within the video signal are associated with each of the dialogue entries. Finally, the metadata processor  133  runs a number of visual processing programs to identify characters, objects, scenes within each segment of the video program. Each identified audio feature is thus associated with at least one segmented video clip. Similarly, each identified video feature is also associated with at least one segmented video clip. 
         [0051]    The associated metadata file enables selection of a relevant advertisement for presentment in conjunction with each respective digitized video clip of the corresponding video signal based on the associated audio features and the associated video features of the respective digitized video clip. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that presentment is typically implemented by a visual display device, but may also include email, file delivery, and other delivery methods. 
         [0052]    The video features identified by the visual processor include at least one of (i) people, (ii) characters, (iii) animals, (iv) objects, (v) geographic locations, (vi) background, (vii) scenes, or a combination of any of these features. Preferably, these video features are extracted by a visual processing system of the feature extraction system. In one embodiment, the method includes the step of identifying and recognizing one or more objects from the video signal by an object classification system of the feature extraction system. In another embodiment, the method includes the step of identifying and recognizing one or more scenes from the video signal by a scene classification system of the feature extraction system. In yet another embodiment, the method includes a combination of both steps. 
         [0053]    Audio features of the audio signal includes at least one of (i) a list of one or more words, (ii) speeches by one or more people, (iii) dialogue by one or more people, (iv) music, (v) background sound, and a combination of these audio features. The method further includes the steps of: (i) identifying and recognizing one or more background sounds from the audio signal by using a sound classification system of the feature extraction system, (ii) identify and recognizing one or more music segments from the audio signal by using a music classification system of the feature extraction system, and (iii) identifying and recognizing human speech, dialogues, one or more words, one or more phrases by using a speech recognition system of the feature extraction system. The method further includes the steps of: (i) collecting audio features of the audio signal by using audio signal recognition system of the feature extraction system, and (ii) saving the collected audio features in the metadata file. 
         [0054]    Preferably, the metadata file is in XML format. An exemplary portion of a time-coded metadata file, in XML format, is illustrated in  FIGS. 5A and 5B . The metadata file contains one or more of (i) video identification information, (ii) a file name, (iii) a digital signature, (iv) the length of the video signal, (v) a keyword list, (vi) a time-coded transcript, (vii) one or more segments with a corresponding start and stop time, (viii) one or more contents, (ix) one or more characters, (x) one or more animals, (xi) one or more objects, and (xii) a list of vocabulary. 
         [0055]    The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. 
         [0056]    The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and the exemplary embodiments described therein.