Abstract:
An advertising method and system to disseminate information concerning multiple products includes a database containing the information and provides a perceivable stimulus to a consumer positioned proximate to site, with the site being remotely disposed with respect to the database. To disseminate the information, a set of software modules are employed which implement a set of functionalities intended to provide centralized management, remote distribution, and the stimulus. The stimulus is provided by playback of digitally encoded information which may include a stimulus that is either auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile or any combination thereof. The stimulus may be provided by a dedicated multimedia kiosk which includes a monitor, digital processor having a sound card and an input device, such as a keyboard or a mouse. In addition, the stimulus may be provided using products advertised for sell in the retail store where the consumer is located or in conjunction with a kiosk. The stimulus may be either interactive or non-interactive. For example, an interactive consumer stimulus may be initiated by a consumer scanning a UPC code on a product of interest.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This invention claims priority from a provisional application entitled “DIGITAL DEPARTMENT SYSTEM” (U.S. Provisional Application Number 60/055,708), filed Aug. 8, 1997, having M. Stern as inventor, and having as assignee PICS Previews, Inc., the assignee of the present invention. This provisional is incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety and for all purposes. 
     This application is also related to concurrently filed and commonly assigned patent application Ser. No. 09/130,900 entitled “DIGITAL DEPARTMENT SYSTEM,” having Michael Stern listed as inventor; and to concurrently filed and commonly assigned patent application Ser. No. 09/130,899 entitled “AN AUDIOVISUAL CONTENT DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM,” having Michael Stern listed as inventor; and to concurrently filed and commonly assigned patent application Ser. No. 09/131,286 entitled “A RECONFIGURABLE AUDIOVISUAL PREVIEWING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATION,” having Michael Stern listed as inventor. Each of the above referenced applications are assigned to PICS Previews, Inc., the assignee of the present invention, and each of the above referenced applications are hereby incorporated by reference, in their entirety and for all purposes. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to advertising systems in which retail advertisements may be created at a centralized situs and distributed to one or more remote locations. Specifically, the present invention is directed to an advertisement method and system suited for advertising to consumers in retail stores. 
     Television and radio media have been recognized as a powerful and efficient medium for broadcasting advertising and entertainment content to a large, widely dispersed audience, e.g., potentially millions of television viewers. To that end, these media have traditionally garnered a major share of advertising budgets amounting to billions of dollars per year. The money directed toward advertising has increased the amount of advertisements to which television and radio audiences are exposed, resulting in sensory overload or audience resentment. The former results in the advertisement losing its impact and the latter resulting having a negative impact on the product being advertised. For example, many television audiences ignore commercials entirely by changing from one channel to another via their hand-held television remote control. It is estimated that one-fifth of all television viewers pay no attention to television commercials. Further, recent technological changes have drastically reduced the size of the television and radio audiences. Many individuals who would otherwise be in the television and radio audiences are preoccupied with cable television, video cassette recorders, compact diskette players and the Internet. 
     Finally, advertising through television and radio media frustrates attempts to taylor commercials to specific target audiences in a cost efficient manner. Due to the large undifferentiated audiences, advertisements over these media often reach individuals having little or no interest in the products being advertised or may not appreciate the message of the advertisement. Moreover, the cost of duplicating advertisements for a single product to target different audiences is usually not economically feasible. As a result, advertising dollars are ineffectively spent on messages that may reach the wrong audiences under the wrong circumstances. 
     To overcome these problems with advertising through television and radio media, several systems have been recently developed for displaying advertisements on television monitors positioned throughout a store, referred to herein as point-of-purchase advertisement systems. In-store advertising of this nature is particularly advantageous because the sight and action of television is combined with the impact of point-of-purchase to deliver a powerful and timely message in the retail store where buying decisions are being made. 
     For example, an advertising system known as Info-Channel produced by Scala, Inc., 1801 Robert Fulton Drive, Suite 400, Reston, Va. 22091, allows advertisement pages with text and illustrations to be transmitted from a control center to a network of television sets. Infochannel can also connect several television networks located in different buildings by using computers and modems which permit the advertisements to be sent to the remote locations over standard telephone lines. Control software known as InfoNet permits different advertisements to be sent to different locations automatically. Finally, InfoChannel includes means for broadcasting the advertisements to remote locations by inserting the advertisement data into a television channel&#39;s free space in such a manner that the advertising data can be extracted from the television signal by the computers at each location. In this manner, broadcasts via satellite to thousands of locations can occur simultaneously. 
     Another advertising system known as AdVision produced by Video Arts Systems &amp; Technology, Inc. of Sea Girt Village Center, 2175 Hwy. 35, #8-R, Sea Girt, N.J. 08750 delivers advertisements and electronic bulletin-board type presentations by means of a production workstation, and a plurality of receiving player systems positioned at remote locations. The advertisements are transmitted from the production workstation to the receiving player systems at the remote locations over cable television. 
     Similar to InfoChannel, a system known as Videofax produced by The Videofax Company, 60 Madison Avenue, Suite 903, New York, N.Y. 10010, enables still video images to be transmitted across standard telephone networks or corporate data networks to remote receiver systems, which then display the video images. 
     Another advertising system known as NewMedia produced by NewMedia Corporation of 201 North Union Street, Alexandria, Va. 22314 employs satellites or modems and telephone lines, to transmit advertisements from a digital studio to remote locations for display by computer or television monitors. A communications manager controls the file server of the data television network with appropriate data compression, inscription, forward error correction, format conversion and addressing to increase reception reliability. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,066 to Fisher et al. discloses an in-store advertising system for displaying advertisements that involves preparing graphical art from the actual products or from flat art, for each advertised product. Each frame is stored in computer memory as a digital graphics file. As desired, pricing and advertising copies are added as overlays to the digital art of each frame. Control data is defined for each frame indicating its destination location(s) and the run time for each destination location. The digital graphic files containing a digital frame and the respective control data for each frame are then loaded into an uplink control computer. The control data is analyzed by the uplink computer to compute an adlist which lists the digital frames and their respective destination. The uplink control computer is interfaced to a satellite addressable network control system (ANCS) to unmute the desired satellite receiver(s) at the remote location(s), based upon a predefined transmission script. The uplink computer then transmits the respective graphic files, control data and adlist via a satellite transmitter to a commercial broadcasting satellite. The remote receivers display the graphic data based on the code data. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,424 to Gifford discloses a system for the purchasing of goods or information over a computer network that includes merchant computers on a network to maintain databases of digital advertisements that are accessed by buyer computers. In response to user inquiries, buyer computers retrieve and display digital advertisements from merchant computers. A digital advertisement can include a program that is interpreted by a buyer&#39;s computer. The buyer computers include a means for a user to purchase the product described by a digital advertisement. If a user has not specified a means of payment at the time of purchase, it can be requested after a purchase transaction is initiated. A network payment system performs payment order authorization in a network with untrusted switching, transmission, and host components. Payment orders are backed by accounts in an external financial system network, and the payment system obtains account authorizations from this external network in real-time. Payment orders are signed with authenticators that can be based on any combination of a secret function of the payment order parameters, a single-use transaction identifier, or a specified network address. 
     While the prior art point-of-purchase advertisement systems overcome many of the drawbacks associated with television and radio advertisements, the advertisement message provided by these systems are often lost among the myriad of static and print-oriented media proximate to the point of purchase advertisement system, e.g., signage and packing labels. As a result, the message of the advertisements are often lost in the clutter and the consumer often fails to either perceive the message of the advertisement or associate the message with the product being advertised. 
     What is needed, therefore, is a method and system for advertising products to consumers while the consumer is disposed proximate to the product being advertised while ensuring that the consumer is ready to perceive the message content of the advertisement. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An advertising method and system to disseminate information concerning multiple products includes a database containing the information and provides a perceivable stimulus to a consumer positioned proximate to site, with the site being remotely disposed with respect to the database. To disseminate the information, a set of software modules are employed which implement a set of functionalities intended to provide centralized management, remote distribution, and the stimulus. The stimulus is provided by playback of digitally encoded information which may include a stimulus that is either auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile or any combination thereof. The stimulus may be provided by a dedicated multimedia kiosk which includes a monitor, digital processor having a sound card and an input device, such as a keyboard or a mouse. In addition, the stimulus may be provided using products advertised for sell in the retail store where the consumer is located or in conjunction with a kiosk. The stimulus may be either interactive or non-interactive. For example, an interactive consumer stimulus may be initiated by a consumer scanning a UPC code on a product on interest. 
     Preferably, all the sites in a store are connected to a network and are able to store and present digital content both non-interactively and interactively on a per product basis. The network is connected to a centralized store server with the content for each of the store sites being stored therein in a database. The store server distributes advertisements to each of the store sites based upon a plurality of parameters, one of which is the proximity of the site to a product being advertised thereon. Content intended for playback in the retail store is received from a centralized database remotely disposed with respect to the store server. Dissemination of information concerning products are achieved based upon factors such as the products present in a store, as well as the timeliness of the information. Preferably, the information from the centralized database is disseminated via a satellite based network to the designated stores. The store server of each store, upon receiving the information, manages the process of distributing the same within the store. The store server acknowledges receipt of the information from the centralized database through a back-channel network which is then used to update central database. Additionally, statistics and logs which reflect consumer use patterns and operating conditions are gathered and returned to the centralized database. Critical error conditions are monitored throughout the information dissemination process and are conveyed the store server through a standard SNMP trapping mechanism which can be monitored for each installation. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a simplified plan view of a system for disseminating information in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a computer network shown in FIG.  1  and positioned at a retail store; 
     FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing how information is disseminated; 
     FIG. 4 is a simplified data flow chart in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIG. 1, an advertising system  10  is shown as including a network management center  12  (NMC  12 ) which has one or more is a computer systems  14  at least one of which is adapted to receive information in a variety of formats, e.g., audio information  16 , video information  18  and literature  20 . If not already in digitized form, the NMC  10  is adapted to digitize the aforementioned information and maintain a database of the same in variety of file formats. In data communication with the NMC  12  is a network operating center  22  (NOC  22 ) The NOC  22  is in selective data communication with one or more satellites  24 . The satellites are, in turn, in selective data communication with one or more servers  26  associated with one or more retail stores  28 . The server  26  is in data communication with one or more sites  30  via a network employing one of a plurality of information distribution protocols, e.g., the Internet protocol (IP) multicasting, switched multimegabit data service (SMDS), WAN, Internet group management protocol (IGMP), Starburst™ multicasting (Multicast FTP™), or Hughes&#39; DirecPC™ are all possible. However, satellite distribution is but one way of distributing information. Other methods, such as wide area networks (WAN), Internet connections (via, for example, an independent service provider (ISP)), or other electronic distribution medium could be employed in place of the satellite distribution system. 
     In an exemplary embodiment, the NOC  20  includes an uplink control computer  36  and a conventional addressable network controller system (ANCS)  38  having outputs which feed to a modulator  40 . The modulator  40  converts the baseband signal into a radio frequency subcarrier. These subcarriers are then fed to an upconverter  42  which converts the signals to a high frequency microwave signal to be transmitted to satellite  22  via an antenna  44  which is coupled to the upconverter  42 . An power amplifier (not shown) may be connected to receive the microwave signal and increase its power to 200 watts or more before transmission to the satellite  40 . The computer system  14 , employed by the NMC  12 , may include a 32-bit operating system using a windowing environment (e.g., Windows™ or X-Windows operating system) including a processor  32  in data communication with a memory  34 . The processor is adapted to execute system software, which is a computer program stored in a memory  34 . Any type of memory device may be employed, such as a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a card rack or a combination thereof. 
     The satellites  22  are, in turn, in selective data communication with one or more servers  26  associated with one or more retail stores  28 . To that end, each retail store  28  includes a receiver/decoder  48  which is connected to an antenna  50  to sense and decoded information on the microwave signal. The server  26  is in data communication with the receiver/decoder and connected to one or more sites  30  via a network. In this fashion, information received from the satellite  22  may be distributed to one or more of the sites  30  in one or more stores  28 . 
     Referring to FIG. 2, each of the sites  30  connected to an exemplary network in a store  28  may include one or more of many differing input/output devices. For example, site  30   a  includes a one or more television sets  60  which may be displayed for retail sale in the store  28 , typically referred to as a “wall of eyes”. Site  30   b  includes one or more speakers, in this case headsets  64  connected to a the server through a preamplifier  66  and a multiplexer  68 . In this fashion, audio information, e.g., music, may be perceived by multiple consumers in the store  28 . Employing the multiplexer allows providing different channels so that multiple songs may be heard through multiple headsets  64  contemporaneously. Site  30   c  includes one or more audio/video kiosks  70  which typically include a monitor  72 , a memory  74 , and speakers  76  all of which are in data communication with a processor  78 . Also included in the kiosk  70  is a data entry device such as a keyboard  80  and/or an optical sensor  82 , also known as a light pen. Site  30   d  includes an Internet connection via a local area network  84  (LAN  84 ) which may accommodate on-line Internet commerce access. The LAN  84  may include a UNIX server  86  and/or a CBL server  88 , or any other server known in the art. 
     In addition to sites  30   a - 30   d , mentioned above, server  26  may be connected to other devices in the store  28 , including a centralized musical system  90  as well as a desk top personal computer system  92  and a video cassette recorder  94  connected to a television monitor  96 . however, it should be realized that the receiver decoder connected to the server  26  may also be connected directly to some of the aforementioned components, e.g., the VCR  94  to receive video streams directly from the satellite  22 . The network which connects the server  26  to the sites  30  effectuates file information transfer therebetween using convention protocols, such as the TCP/IP and FTP may be provided to one or more consumers at the site  30   b.    
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, in operation the NMC  12  receives information, as step  100 , from various source and in various formats, e.g., from publicly available or privately available information sources (CDs, other recordings, videos, and other sources) for distribution. Examples of the file formats include, but are not limited to a raster file format, such as Windows Bitmap (BMP), CompuServe GIF (GIF), Tagged Image File Format (TIFF), Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG or JPG), Device Independent Bitmap (DIB), Targa (TGA) or PCX, as well as a hybrid Formats, such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), Windows Metafile (WMF), Postscript (PS, EPS). If desired, document file may have a text format, such as, ASCII text (TXT), Rich Text Format (RTF), Microsoft Word (DOC) and the like, as well as a video stream, such as Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) Microsoft Video for Windows (AVI) Quicktime (MOV), an audio file or combination thereof. Also, a vector-based file such as Drawing Web Format (DWF), Autodesk AutoCAD (DWG), Drawing Exchange Format (DXF), Simple Vector Format (SVF), Bentley Microstation (DGN, CEL), Adobe Illustrator (AI), Corel Draw (CMX), Microsoft Powerpoint (PPT), HPGL and HPCL/2 may be stored thereon. The NMC then performs the necessary operations to digitize the information, at step  102 , if not already digitized. It should be understood, however, that information not requiring digitization may be distributed employing analog techniques. The digitized information in then transmitted to the NOC  20 , at step  104  which communicates the digitized information to commercial sales outlet  28  via satellite  22 , at step  106 . The server  26  then determines which sites  30  are to have the digitized information available to it, at step  108 . 
     Typically, the sites  30  receive digital information corresponding to products proximate thereto. For example, with respect to site  30   c , the digital information made available thereto is present in memory  76 . The information contained therein is operated on by the processor  74  to provide a sensory event/stimulus to a consumer proximate to a kiosk  70 . The processor  74  may be initiated in one of several manners to provide the stimulus. In one manner, a barker routine may periodically run which provides either an audio or visual stimuli or both to obtain the attention of a consumer proximate to the kiosk  70 . In this manner, a consumer may be made aware of the information available by the kiosk. Should a consumer desire to obtain additional information about a product, the light sensor  82  would be employed to scan a UPC code on the product, at step  110 . This would result in a description of the product being displayed on the monitor  72  which may be accompanied by an auditory description of the same on the speakers  76 , at step  112 . In a similar fashion, a barker routine may be employed to create visual display on the television monitors  60  associated with said  30   a  which could describe the functions of the kiosk  70 . Audio/video kiosks  70  allow users to preview audio and video samples. Examples of such interactive kiosks  70  are described in commonly assigned U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 08/183,596, filed Jan. 19, 1994 and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PREVIEWING PRODUCT INFORMATION AND EFFECTING a TRANSACTION”; No. 08/694,694, filed Aug. 8, 1996 and entitled “METHOD AND System FOR PREVIEWING AUDIO SELECTIONS”; Ser. No. 08/771,605, filed Dec. 20, 1996 and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUS PLAYING VIDEO AND AUDIO DATA”; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/013,693, filed Mar. 19, 1996 and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PREVIEWING AUDIO SELECTIONS”, each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Another example of such systems is described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,768 entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PREVIEWING RECORDED INFORMATION,” issued to M. R. Stern and S. M. Stern, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     At a predetermined time, the sites  30  are polled by the server  26 , at step  114  to gather information concerning the products for which the sites were queried, as well as the type of digital information available to the sites  30 . This facilitates compilation of statistical data concerning consumer trends and preferences for different products in the store  28 . In addition, the advertisements for the products may be kept contemporary by identifying the digital information with a date code. The statistical data compiled by the server  26  is then transmitted to the NMC  12  for analysis, at step  116 . 
     An important consideration with position the sites  30  throughout a retail store  28  is to ensure that the same are proximate to a product for which the site  30  is to provided information. In this fashion, not only will consumers be attracted to use the system, but this also facilitates use of the short term memory to associate a particular brand name of a product from the others which are disposed adjacent thereto with the information provided by the site  30 . This may prove important when piggybacking advertisements. For example, were a consumer to desire more information about a compact diskette (CD), the consumer would scan the UPC code on the product. Before receiving information about the CD information, or advertisements, concerning one or more additional products may be provided, e.g., a battery. The battery information would precede the information provided that concerns the product for which the UPC code was scanned. The entire length of time of the information provided concerning the scanned product and the position of the site  30  would be chosen so that the total time to for a consumer to walk from the site  30  to the battery section of the store would maximize recall of the battery information. 
     It was recognized that short-term memory is a temporary form of memory that lasts many seconds and that the same has limited capacity. This results in information placed in the short-term memory becoming deactivated (forgotten) very rapidly. By strategically placing the sites  30  proximate to the products for which information is provided thereby, association with the product on the shelf with the information is maximized. In this fashion, a consumer is more likely to chose a brand name of the product for which the site  30  provided information among the plurality of brand names of products disposed adjacent thereto. 
     Operation of the system  10  is controlled using a computer program product that is executed the processor  32  and server  28 . The computer program code can be written in any conventional computer readable programming language, for example, 68000 assembly language, C, C++, Pascal, Fortran or others. Suitable program code is entered into a single file, or multiple files, using a conventional text editor, and stored or embodied in a computer usable medium, such as the memory  34 , and the server  26 . If the entered code text is in a high level language, the code is compiled, and the resultant compiler code is then linked with an object code of precompiled Windows™ library routines. To execute the linked, compiled object code the system user invokes the object code, causing the processor  32  to load the code in the memory  34 . The processor  32  then reads and executes the code to perform the tasks identified in the program. 
     FIG. 4 shows an illustrative block diagram of the hierarchical control structure of system control software  200 . The control software  200  is divided into nine modules which communicate through either database records, files on disk, or through IP messages. the nine modules are as follows: a cataloging module  250 , a distribution editor module  300 , a builder module  350 , a sender module  400 , a reception module  450 , a site module  500 , a maintenance module  550 , a proxy module  600  and an SNMP agent module  650 . 
     The cataloging module  250  includes databases  252   a  and  252   b  associated with the NMC  12  and application software to operate the same. The database  252   a  and  252   b  contain tables of information. Representative tables tblUPCMaster, tblGroups, tblUPCGroups, tblPersons, tblVideoMaterials tblAudioMaterials and such as NMC.tbl_Groups.Group_Names. The tables tblVideoMaterials and tblAudioMaterials contain information concerning the advertisements, hereinafter referred to as advertisement information. The table tblUPCMaster contains information concerning UPC codes and products corresponding thereto. The tables tblGroups and tblUPCGroups contain information concerning the products associated with each store, hereinafter referred to as inventory information. The advertisement information is associated with various products, and the inventory information identifies the products associated with each of the retail stores  28 . For example, the table tblGroups may include information concerning stores  28  which are to receive advertisement information on a common date, and the table tblUPCGroups may include information concerning stores  28  which stock common products. Associated with the advertisement information and the inventory information are date ranges which indicate the time period for which this information is valid. In this fashion, the accuracy of the inventory information associated with a given retail store  28  is controlled, along with the applicability of the advertisement information corresponding to the products contained therein. In addition to the aforementioned tables of information, the databases  252   a  and  252   b  include control information in the fields of script table, NMC.Scripts.Script_ID. The script table comprises of scripts that define the operations of the sites  30 , including the order and type of stimulus to be provided thereby. 
     The distribution editor module  300  is responsible for initiating the distribution of the advertisement and control information to the retail store  28  and comprises of a database  302  and a user interface (not shown) for creating and viewing distribution tables in the database  302  which contain records to be disseminated to the retail store  28 . Specifically, the distribution editor module  300  performs lookup routines on NMC.tbl_Groups.Group_Names NMC.Scripts.Script_ID fields Although the data may be accessed employing and database program, it is preferred to employ a Borland Database Engine and an Access ODBC driver (not shown). To generate distribution tables, a target group name from the ‘Groups’ table is identified. Stores  28  within the target group and content assigned to that group will receive information therefrom. In addition, a date identifying a delay in distribution will be included, with no date indicating immediate transmission the records. Other parameters may also be included in the distribution tables, such as a date range from which to select content to be distributed and/or removed from the distribution table, and a script definition identifier for the sites  30 . Upon creation of the records in the distribution tables, the builder module  350  commences the functions associated therewith. 
     The builder module  350  is responsible for creating distribution files  352  from based upon parameter present in the distribution table of the distribution database  302  which are ultimately sent to each store  28 . To that end, the builder module  350  analyzes of the NMC database according to parameters present in the distribution table to determine the advertisement and control information to be included in the distribution files  304 . If necessary the builder module also generates scripts. The distribution files, along with any additional scripts generated by the builder module, are compressed into a single file for distribution to multiple stores, creating compressed data  354 . 
     More specifically, the distribution table is periodically scanned for new records by the builder module  350 . Upon sensing a new record, the builder module  350  creates a set of distribution files  352 . The set of distribution files  352  is created by performing a relational join between the ‘tblUPCMaster’ and ‘tblUPCGroups’ tables and querying for all information identifiers (product UPC code and corresponding advertisement information) that match the group and date range specified in the ‘distribution’ table creating a set of identifiers. The set of identifiers is referred to as the ‘pending distribution set’ and is copied into generated table called DSet_nn, where nn is the associated distribution identifier from the ‘distribution’ table. The generated DSet_nn table is a record of all the information that is to be included in the distribution files according to the user parameters stored in the records of the ‘distribution’ table. For each store  28  in the targeted group, the pending distribution set table is compared to the store  28 &#39;s current distribution set table (which is held in storeupdate.person.distribution_set_filename) and a result difference set will be generated. The difference set represents the differences between the current and pending distribution sets and will be copied into a temporary table called DiffSet. The DiffSet file is typically identical for all stores  28  in a group, excepting the situation where a store  28  has been recently added or moved to a group and has a different current distribution set when compare to the remaining stores  28  in the group. In this case, a separate difference set will be created for each newly added store in the group and the file name will reflect the store&#39;s identifier. 
     The builder module  350  then uses the information in the difference table, to search for and compile all the binary content files associated into a temporary directory structure that will mirror the in-store directory structure. The distribution files  352  are stored at the NMC  12  in temporary directory and file structures that mirror similar the directory and file structures on the sites  30  which are to receive the distribution files  352 . 
     Also the difference table information is used to create all necessary files used for textual information. The textual script files are in the Windows .ini file format for each script definition. These files include UPC.INI—where UPC is the UPC code of the CD title. Each script file contains all the information employed by a particular site  30  to execute predefined functions associated therewith. The information includes advertising information such as the names and paths of video files, audio files, and graphic files, control information such as order and sequence the aforementioned files, as well as textual data to be displayed on a monitor at the site  30 , provided one is present. Examples of script file formats are as follows: 
     {BUMPEREXCLUSION} 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblBumperExclusion where 
     tblBumperExclusion ScriptID=ScriptID 
     1=&lt;R1&gt; 
     2=&lt;R2&gt; 
     x=&lt;Rx&gt; 
     {&lt;R&gt;} 
     BV=&lt;R.Bumper_upc&gt; 
     EVx=&lt;R.Title_upc&gt; 
     {LCDTEXT} 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblLcdText where tblLcdText.ScriptID=ScriptID 
     1=&lt;R1&gt; 
     2=&lt;R2&gt; 
     x=&lt;Rx&gt; 
     {&lt;R&gt;} 
     1=&lt;R.lcd_text_line1&gt; 
     2=&lt;R.lcd_text_line2&gt; 
     {SETTINGS} 
     For the single record &lt;R&gt; in tblAudioSettings where 
     tblAudioSettings.ScriptID=ScriptID 
     &lt;R.Field Name&gt;=&lt;R.Field Contents&gt; 
     {ATTRACTSCRIPT} 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblAttractScript where tblAttractScript.ScriptID=ScriptID 
     &lt;R.Sequence&gt;= 
     &lt;R.Command&gt;;INDEX(&lt;R.Content &gt;); &lt;R.Method&gt;; &lt;R.Interruptable&gt; 
     {SCANSCRIPT} 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblScanScript where tblScanScript.ScriptID=ScriptID 
     &lt;R.Sequence&gt;= 
     &lt;R.Command&gt;;INDEX(&lt;R.Content&gt;); &lt;R.Method&gt;; &lt;R.Interruptable&gt; 
     In reference to ATTRACTSCRIPT and SCANSCRIPT INDEX &lt;(R.Content&gt;) 
     Where &lt;R.Command&gt; is ‘PA’, ‘PB’, ‘PT’ then &lt;R.Content&gt; is a &lt;UPC&gt; code and Index (&lt;UPC&gt;) is the index in the [ATTRACTS], [BUMPERS], [TITLES] section where &lt;UPC&gt; is located. 
     Where &lt;R.Command&gt; is ‘PL’ then &lt;R.Content&gt; is the &lt;Text ID&gt; and Index (&lt;TextID &gt;) is the index in the [LCDTEXT] section where &lt;TextID&gt; is located. 
     {&lt;UPC &gt;} from tblVideoMaterials 
     For the single record &lt;R&gt; in tblVideoMaterials where tblVideoMaterials.UPC=&lt;UPC&gt; 
     VF=&lt;R.video_filename&gt; 
     LCD1=&lt;R.lcd_text_line 1&gt; 
     LCD2=&lt;R.lcd_text_line2&gt; 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblVideoText where tblVideoText.UPC=&lt;UPC&gt; 
     TOx=&lt;R.text&gt; 
     TCx=&lt;R.left&gt;; &lt;R.top&gt;; &lt;R.width&gt;; &lt;R.height&gt;; 
     TFx=&lt;R.font_name&gt; 
     TRx=&lt;R.font_color&gt; 
     TZx=&lt;R.font_size&gt; 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblVideoIcon where tblVideolcon.UPC=&lt;UPC&gt; 
     GOx=&lt;R.graphic_filename&gt; 
     GCx=&lt;R.left&gt;; &lt;R.top&gt;; 
     {&lt;UPC&gt;} from tblBumperMaterials 
     For the single record &lt;R&gt; in tblBumperMaterials where 
     tblBumperMaterials.UPC &lt;UPC&gt; 
     VF=&lt;R.video_filename&gt; 
     LCD1=&lt;R.lcd_text_line1&gt; 
     LCD2=&lt;R.lcd_text_line2&gt; 
     TG=&lt;R.Bumperette_LGBitmap_Filename&gt; 
     IG=&lt;R.Bumperette_SMBitmap_Filename&gt; 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblVideoText where tblVideoText.UPC=&lt;UPC&gt; 
     TOx=&lt;R.text&gt; 
     TCx=&lt;R.left&gt;; &lt;R.top&gt;; &lt;R.width&gt;; &lt;R.height&gt;; 
     TFx=&lt;R.font_name&gt; 
     TRx=&lt;R.font_color&gt; 
     TZx=&lt;R.font_size&gt; 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblVideoIcon where tblVideolcon.UPC=&lt;UPC&gt; 
     GOx=&lt;R.graphic_filename&gt; 
     GCx=&lt;R.left&gt;;&lt;R.top&gt;; 
     {&lt;Tx&gt;} 
     For the single record &lt;R&gt; in tblVideoMaterials, tblAudioMaterials, tblUPCMaster, thiLinerNotes 
     VS=tblVideoMaterials.upc 
     AB=tblUPCMaster.audio_bitmap_filename 
     CB=tblUPCMaster.cover_bitmap_filename 
     LN=tblLinerNotes.line1+line2+line3+line4+line5+line6 
     ASx=tblAudioMaterials.upc+‘_’+tblAudioMaterials.seq 
     {ASx} 
     for the single record &lt;R&gt; in tblAudioMaterials 
     AT=tblAudioMaterials.audioFilename 
     AN=tblAudioMaterials.audioTrackname 
     AL1=tblAudioMaterials.lcd_text_line1 
     AL2=tblAudioMaterials.lcd_text_line2 
     AudioEC Script 
     {ATTRACTS} 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblVideoMaterial 
     where tblVideoMaterial.UPC D_SetX.UPC and 
     tblVideoMaterial.Destination=‘AudloEC’ and 
     D_SetX.Type=‘AM’ 
     1=&lt;R1.UPC&gt; 
     2=&lt;R2.UPC&gt; 
     x=&lt;Rx.UPC&gt; 
     {BUMPERS} 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in thlVideoMaterial where 
     tblVideoMaterial.UPC=D_SetX.UPC and 
     tblVideoMaterial.Destination=‘AudjoEC’ and 
     D_SetX.Type=‘B’ 
     1=&lt;R1.UPC&gt; 
     2=&lt;R2.UPC&gt; 
     x=&lt;Rx.UPC&gt; 
     {TITLES} 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblAudioMaterial where 
     tblVideoMaterial.UPC=D_SetX.UPC and 
     D_SetX.Type=‘M’ and 
     D_SetX.Featured=true 
     1=&lt;T1&gt; 
     2=&lt;T2&gt; 
     x=&lt;Tx&gt; 
     VideoEC Script 
     {ATTRACTS} 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblVideoMaterial where 
     tblVideoMaterial.UPC=D_SetX.UPC and 
     tblVideoMaterial.Destination=‘VideoEC’ and 
     D_SetX.Type=‘AM’ 
     1=&lt;R1.UPC&gt; 
     2=&lt;R2.UPC&gt; 
     x=&lt;Rx.UPC&gt; 
     {BUMPERS} 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblVideoMaterial where 
     tblVideoMaterial.UPC=D_SetX.UPC and 
     tblVideoMaterial.Destination=‘VideoEC’ and 
     D_SetX.Type=‘B’ 
     1=&lt;R1.UPC&gt; 
     2=&lt;R2.UPC&gt; 
     x=&lt;Rx.UPC&gt; 
     {TITLES} 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblVideoMaterial where 
     tblVideoMaterial.UPC=D_SetX.UPC and 
     D_SetX.Type=‘HIV’ 
     1=&lt;T1&gt; 
     2=&lt;T2&gt; 
     x=&lt;Tx&gt; 
     WOE Attract Script 
     {ATTRACTS} 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblVideoMaterial where 
     tblVideoMaterial.UPC=D_SetX.UPC and 
     tblVideoMaterial.Destination=‘WOE’ and 
     D_SetX.Type=‘AM’ 
     1=&lt;R1.UPC&gt; 
     2=&lt;R2.UPC&gt; 
     x=&lt;Rx.UPC&gt; 
     {BUMPERS} 
     For every record &lt;R&gt; in tblVideoMaterial where 
     tblVideoMaterial.UPC=D_SetX.UPC and 
     tblVideoMaterial.Destination=‘WOE’ and 
     D_SetX.Type=‘B’ 
     1=&lt;R1.UPC&gt; 
     2=&lt;R2.UPC&gt; 
     x=&lt;Rx.UPC&gt; 
     Each distribution file  352  in a the .big file format which includes: updated advertising information, in one or more separate compressed (.cab format) file(s) for each site  30  in a store  28 . The name of the .big files used in a distribution will have the following format: DsetX_Y.big, where x is the distribution set ID and y is the difference set ID. The names of the .big files are specified in a the Sender.Send.Package_Filename field of the sender database, discussed more fully below and includes timestamp information used by the maintenance module  550 . Within each .big file is a set of compressed .CAB files each representing the content that will be destined for a particular location. Each .CAB file specified will contain all the appropriate content compressed so as to mirror the directory structure as it exists in the store  28 . These files include the following: AudioEC.cab—which includes audio and video information for products features on a kiosk  70 , typically compact diskettes; LP.cab—which includes audio information without corresponding video information which may be included for sites having the headsets  64 ; VideoEC.cab—for sites  30  having the VCR  94  present; WOE.cab—for video information direction to the television monitors  60 , as well as setup.ini—which includes control information detailing at which site to uncompress each file Examples of the setup.ini file formats include [installSectionName]; extractFiles=cabFiles; deleteFiles=deleteFiles; [cabFiles]; LPData.cab=e:; audioEC.Cab=\\cd1\c; videoEC.cab=\\hv1\c; woe.cab=e:;[deleteFiles]; filename1.ext; filename2.ext; and filename3.ext. Finally, the builder module  350  creates a satellite address table-using the group information in the ‘distribution’ record&#39;s ‘Group_Name’ field, and compiles a list of store addresses both of which are stored in the sender database  356 . The name format is s_setxx where xx is the distribution set id. To that end a record is added to a sender database  356  containing the information necessary to enable sender module  400 , discussed more fully below, to transmit, via FTP, the .BIG file to the NOC  20  in preparation for satellite transmission. 
     The sender module  400  includes two threads of computer code: a send thread and a receive thread that transmit the compressed data  354  to the NOC  20  and also to process acknowledgments that return form each store  28  indicating that a distribution had been received. Specifically, the record created by the builder module  350  in the sender database  356  initiates the execution of the computer code associated with the sender module  400 . As a result, the sender module creates a group file  402  or address list which contains the Internet protocol (IP) addresses of each store  28  to receive a the compressed data  354 . The group file  402  and the compressed data  354  are both sent via FTP to the NOC  20 . Acknowledgment that the files were sent is transmitted back to the NMC  12  by the sender module  400 , requiring that the same has read/write access to the NMC to store the acknowledgments, because the acknowledgment includes updating one or more of the NMC databases  252   a  and  252   b  to reflect the current state of each store  28  when these are received. 
     Specifically, a record is detected in the Sender.Send table of the sender database  356  which specifies that compressed data  354  is awaiting transmission to one or more stores  28 . The sender module  400  associates timestamp information with the compressed data  354 , specifying the date upon which the sender module  400  is to create a ‘group  402  specifying the DNS qualified IP addresses for each store  28  to receive the same. The timestamp information is a package file having the following format: 
     
       
         ActivationDate_SendID.big 
       
     
     where ActivationDate is a mm-dd-yyyy date string and SendID is the send record identifier. For example, for send identifier 99 on July 1st is Jul. 1, 1997 — 99.big. After transmission, this file would be recognized by the maintenance module  550  to be activated on July 1 st . The send identifier is used in composing the name of the acknowledgment file so they are matched up on acknowledgment when the sender module  400  detects the file has been sent. 
     The group file  402  is then created for use with the Starburst Multicast server software contained at the NOC  20 . However, due to a limitation in the Starburst server software to resolve host names, DNS resolution is typically available to resolve each store&#39;s host name before it can be added to the group file  402 . The group file  402  includes a list of all the IP addresses for the stores that are to be included in the distribution and is copied along with the compressed data  354  to the NOC  20  via FTP with information stored in a registry (not shown). The format of the group file is as follows: 
     &lt;Header&gt; 
     &lt;group_type=‘address type’&gt; 
     &lt;max_passes=‘max passes’&gt; 
     &lt;address_type=‘address type’&gt; 
     for each store. 
     &lt;IP Addr:‘resolved IP address’&gt; 
     &lt;Client:‘resolved IP address’&gt; 
     &lt;Person:‘store name’&gt; 
     &lt;Phone1:left blank&gt; 
     &lt;Phone2:left blank&gt; 
     An exemplay group file  402  is as follows: 
     [MFTPSERVER GROUP FILE 3.02] 
     goup_type=Limited 
     max_asses=1 
     address_type=Multicast 
     IP Addr:1.2.3.4 
     Client:1.2.3.4 
     Person: Store1 
     Phone1: 
     Phone2: 
     IP Addr:11.22.33.44 
     Client:11.22.33.44 
     Person:Store2 
     Phone1: 
     Phone2: 
     IP Addr:.111.222.333.444 
     Client:111.222.333.444 
     Person:Store3 
     Phone1: 
     Phone2: 
     A record is then created for each store  28  that is included in the group file  402  in a Sender.Receive table which contains expected acknowledgment information, i.e., the name of the acknowledgment file that is expected for each store  28 . The sender module  400  also contains a thread which monitors the acknowledgment directory for the acknowledgment files as they come back from the stores. Each file is matched up and the NMC database  252   a  and  252   b  is updated accordingly. Fields in the Sender.Receive Table are as follows: 
     Sender.Receive.Send_ID—specifies the related Sender.Send record identifier 
     Sender.Receive.Store_ID—specifies the related NMC.Person record identifier 
     Sender.Receive.ACK_Filename—specifies the expected prefix of the name of the acknowledgment file 
     Sender.Receive.Received_Date—specifies the date on which the acknowledgment file was received. 
     Data fields in the Sender.Send Table are as follows: 
     Sender.Send.Send_Date—used to determine when the record is to be processed. 
     Sender.Send.Store_Set_Tablename—used to determine what table houses the IP addresses for each destination store. It is queried from the NMC.Person.Satellite_Address field for each destination store. 
     Sender.Send.Activation_Date—used to determine what day/time to transmit the distribution. This date is embedded into the distribution filename which the Maintenance module  550  uses to determine when to process the file in the store. 
     Sender.Package_Filename—used to get the name of the table which contains the list of addresses of the stores which are to receive the distributions. 
     Sender.Send.Group_Filename—specifies the path and name of the generated group filename (used by the Starburst software). 
     Sender.Send.Sent_Date—specifies when the distribution was sent. 
     Sender.Send.Completed_Date—specifies when the acknowledgments from all stores was received. 
     The executable name of the sender module  400  is sender.exe and has two modes of operation, Debug and Non-Debug, as well as dependent DLL&#39;s: Borland Database Engine 3.0 (ODBC support), ODBC 3.0 with Access ODBC Driver, wininet.dll (Microsoft). The sender module  400  is accessed by an interface including two output log windows (not shown). One of the output log windows displays messages from a sender thread that performs the sending function—transferring the distribution. The remaining window displays messages from the receive thread that performs the receiving function acknowledgments. Status and error messages will be displayed. 
     The operation mode is determined by a registry setting. In non-debug mode (non-interactive), as soon as Sender is launched, both the send and receive threads are started automatically and the output windows are minimized. In debug mode (interactive), a small screen with two buttons on it (‘Start’ and ‘Stop’) is provided and the user is required to press the ‘Start’ button to initiate the threads. In normal operation, the Sender Module  400  continuously runs on the NMC processor  32  server or when a known distribution task is pending (ie: an unprocessed record resides in the Sender.Send table). The Send thread performs the following functions: 
     Scans the Sender.Send table for records that have a Sender.Send.Send_Date that is equal to or before the current time and has a Sender.Send.Send_Date that is empty. 
     If one is found, it retrieves the store addresses from the Sender.Send.Store_Set_Tablename and builds the group file, first resolving the name to a qualified IP address. If an address cannot be qualified, the store will not be added to the group file and an error will be generated. If no valid Sender.Send records are found or if the addresses for all of the stores in a group cannot be resolved (DNS server down), the send thread is stopped and goes to sleep for the specified interval. 
     After the group file is built, the package file Sender.Send.Package_Filename is moved and renamed to the timestamped package filename format. 
     An FTP connection is then initiated using the information in the registry. 
     The group file and the distribution package are then transferred via FTP to the NOC. 
     For each store  28  that was added to the group file, a record is generated in the Sender.Receive table which contains the Send Identifier, Store Identifier, and the prefix of the expected Acknowledgment file that is to be received from the corresponding store. This prefix matches the Acknowledgment filename format. 
     The receive thread performs the following functions: 
     Scans the Registry.“ACK Directory” directory for files that have names matching a record in the Sender.Receive table which has a corresponding prefix that matches the Sender.Receive.ACK_Filename field value. 
     If one is found, it removes the file from the acknowledgment directory and posts the current time to the Sender.Receive.Received_Date field. The corresponding store record in the NMC.Person table NMC.Person.Distribution_Set_Filename field is updated with the Sender.Send.Store_Set_Tablename field value signifying the Distribution Set that is currently in the store. The corresponding record in the Distribution.Distribution table for Distribution.Distibution.Pending field is updated to signify the distribution was completed successfully. 
     A query is performed to determine the number of remaining outstanding Receive records (that is, unreceived acknowledgment files from stores in the same Send event). If any are found and the interval between the current time and the Sender.Send.Sent_Date is greater than the specified interval in Registry.“Delinquent Ack Interval (Hours)”, an error is generated for each store. If none are found (that is, all acknowledgments have been received), the Sender.Receive table records with the same completed Sender.Receive.Send_ID field are removed and the Sender.Send.Completed_Date field is updated with the current time. 
     The registry associated with the sender module  400  is as follows: 
     Subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\PICS\Sender 
     Log Filename==Name of the log file to generate 
     Debug Mode==Debug mode flag (0=Non-Debug Mode, 1=Debug Mode) 
     Group Type==Value to use for ‘group_type’ entry in group file 
     Header==Header string to use for group file header 
     Address Type==String to use for ‘address_type’ entry in group file 
     Max Passes==String to use for ‘max_passes’ entry in group file 
     FTP Address==String to use for IP Address of the FTP server on the NOC server 
     FTP Login Name==String to use for FTP login name 
     FTP Password==String to use for FTP login password 
     FTP Directory==String to use for FTP upload directory 
     ACK Directory==String to use for directory where acknowledgment files are downloaded to 
     Sleep Interval==Number of milliseconds to wait between scans of the Sender.Send for the send thread and to scan for acknowledgment files in ACK download directory for the receive thread 
     Delinquent Ack Interval (Hours)==Number of hours to wait before a non-acknowledged transmission is reported as an error by the receive thread 
     The reception module  450  comprises of computer code contained on the store server  26  that controls processing the compressed data  354 , prepared by the builder module  350  and transmitted via the sender module  400 . Specifically, the reception module  450  decompresses the compressed data  354  to retrieve one or more the distribution files  352  and deletes information no longer valid as designated by the distribution file. Valid information contained in the distribution files  352  are then moved to the appropriated site  30 . Any errors that occur in the distribution of information to the sites  30  is indicated by to the maintenance module  550  and to the SNMP Agent Module  650  employing IP. 
     Specifically, the reception module  450  uncompress the .big files and distribute its contents to the appropriate places. The files associated with the reception module  450  are as follows: 
     [installSectionName] 
     extractFiles=cabFiles 
     deleteFiles=deleteFiles 
     [cabFiles] 
     LPData.cab=e: 
     audioEC.Cab=\\cd1\c 
     videoEC.cab=\\hv1\c 
     woe.cab=e: 
     [deleteFiles] 
     filename1.ext 
     filename2.ext 
     filename3.ext 
     The registry settings of the reception module are as follows: 
     Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\PICS\BUILDER 
     Debug==Determines if the log window should be shown. 0=no log window. 1=log window. 
     In operation, the reception modules  450  is launched be executing the file rmod.exe with a one command line parameter. That parameter is the full path of the big file to extract. All errors will result in a SNMP trap. Critical errors, outlined below, will cause processing to stop. The following is the sequence of events that follows execution of rmod.exe file: 
     1) Files are extracted from the big file. On any error, a trap is generated and processing stops. 
     2) The big file is deleted. 
     3) The delete section of Setup.ini is parsed. Any error other than ‘file not found’ will cause processing to stop. 
     4) The extract section of Setup.ini is parsed. 
     a) Each cab file is extracted to its destination location, as illustrated in the file section. 
     b) Any error is critical, but processing will continue on a hopefully optimistic bases. 
     The site module  500  is computer code that is contained on both the store server  26  and in a memory associated with a site  30 , e.g., memory  76 . The site module  500  initiates the stimulus to be perceived by a consumer. As a result, the computer code present at a site  30  memory is dependent upon the devices associated therewith. For example, at a Kiosk  70 , the site module  500  may include computer code to facilitate playback of MPEG-2 MPEG-1 videos arranged in a sequence according to the scripts specified in the distribution file  352 . The videos may be displayed on a Kiosk  70  periodically, as discussed above, to obtain the attention of a consumer. Alternatively, the videos may by displayed in response to consumer interaction with the kiosk  70 . a consumer may employ the light sensor  82  to scan product UPC codes. 
     Specifically, the site module  600  interprets script files, playing digital video and audio files (MPEG-1 and MPEG-2) and responding to consumer actions through network communication with an optionally attached Listening Post device. 
     The script file contains instructions that define the behavior and content of the Site module  500 . The file is built at the NMC by the Builder Module and transmitted along with each new distribution. It defines which previewable UPC titles will be available, which advertising and attract videos are to played and in what order, as well as the behavior of the software to consumer commands from the Listening Post. 
     Content is either MPEG audio or video, text labels, or static graphics. Video files are either title previews, attract videos, or bumper videos. Static graphics are either full-screen bumper graphics, full-screen title background screens, or smaller graphics for various screen elements (bumper icons, arrow graphics, album covers, consumer error notifications). There are two modes of behavior, ‘Attract’ mode and ‘Scan’ mode. In attract mode, the video files defined in the script are played in order according to the attract portion of the script. In scan mode, the commands in the scanscript portion of the script are executed. 
     Consumer scans of titles and track/volume button presses are communicated from the Listening Post via IP. a TCP connection is established with device and track buttons are received and responded to during scan mode. Volume push buttons are always responded to as the volume is adjusted. 
     Script files associated with the site module  500  are as follows: 
     Script File—Playback behavior is driven by the script file. This file is read and parsed at startup. It is a text file in the Windows INI format It contains the following: 
     Script File Format 
     [VIDEO SECTION&lt;UPC&gt;]—This section contains a video definition. The section header is the UPC code. It contains the information necessary for a video to be played. Its keys are: 
     VF=filename; Name and path of the video&#39;s MPEG filename 
     LCD1=textString; Text for line 1 of the LCD panel when the video is played 
     LCD2=textString; Text for line 2 of the LCD panel when the video is played; these are used for optional text and graphic overlays—x is the index of each overlay 
     TOx=textString; Text used for overlay 
     TCx=Left;Top;Width;Height;; Screen coordinates in pixels for text box placement and size 
     TFx=fontName; Name of the font to use for drawing text 
     TRx=RRGGBB; Color value number in hex of color to use for drawing text ex: 0000FF 
     TZx=fontSize; Size in points of font to use for drawing text 
     GOx=filename; Name and path of a graphic overlay bitmap to be overlayed when video is played (x is the numberic count—there can be multiple overlays) 
     GCx=Left;Top;; Left and Top screen coordinate in which to place the corresponding x graphic; these are used for bumpers only 
     TG=filename; Graphic to display during transition screen between video playback and drill-down 
     IG=filename; Graphic to display as overlay on drill-down graphic (coordinate in settings section) 
     Example bumper video section with two text and two graphics overlays 
     [123456789012] 
     VF=c:\videos\video1.mpg 
     LCD1=Advertisers Name 
     LCD2=Product Name 
     TO1=Here&#39;s a text overlay string 
     TC1=100;100;50;200; 
     TF1=Arial 
     TR1=FFFFFF 
     TZ1=10 
     TO2=Here&#39;s a second text overlay string 
     TC2=50;10;300;10; 
     TF2=MS Sans Serif 
     TR2=FF00FF 
     TZ2=12 
     GO1=c:\graphics\v1_overlay1.bmp 
     GC1=10;10; 
     GO2=c:\graphics\v1_overlay2.bmp 
     GC2=500;750; 
     TG=c:\graphics\video1_trans.bmp 
     IG=c:\graphics\video1_icon.bmp 
     [AUDIO TRACK SECTION—&lt;UPC_x&gt;]—This section describes an audio track. 
     It&#39;s keys are: 
     AT=fileName; Name of MPEG audio track file to play 
     AN=trackName; Name of the audio track to display on drill-down screen 
     AL1=textString; String to display on line 1 of the LCD panel when track is played 
     AL2=textString; String to display on line 2 of the LCD panel when track is played 
     Example audio section definition 
     [123456789012 — 1] 
     AT=c:\audio\123456789012.mpg 
     AN=Stairway to Heaven 
     AL1=Led Zeppelin 
     AL2=Stairway to Heaven 
     [TITLE DEFINITION SECTION &lt;Tx&gt;]—This section describes a title. a title is a retail product which can be previewed at the Video Kiosk, has a video definition, and requires additional data including audio track information. This describes all the elements necessary for a title. Its keys are: 
     VS=upc; The video section definition for this title, is the same as the UPC code 
     ASx=audioSection; Section header string for audio track x 
     AB=filename; Name of the bitmap file to use for the drill-down function 
     CB=filename; Name of the bitmap file to use for the album cover overlay on a bumper video 
     LN=textString; Text string to use for liner notes overlayed on the drill-down screen 
     Example title definition section 
     [T1] 
     VS=123456789012 
     AS1=123456789012 — 1 
     AS2=123456789012 — 2 
     AS3=123456789012 — 3 
     AB=c:\graphics\title1_drilldown.bmp 
     CB=c:\graphics\title1_cover.bmp 
     LN=This is the artist Led Zeppelin, from their very first album in late 60&#39;s 
     [TITLE SECTION &lt;TITLES&gt;]—This section contains a list of title definitions. Refers to all the titles that can be previewed in the script. Its keys are: 
     N=Tx=titleHeader; Header string of the title definition for this index. N and x refer to the ordinal number (starting from one) of the title. 
     Example title section with 4 titles 
     [TITLES] 
     1=T1 
     2=T2 
     3=T3 
     4=T4 
     [ATTRACT VIDEOS SECTION &lt;ATTRACTS&gt;]—This section contains a list of video definitions to be used as attract videos in the script Its keys are: 
     N=UPC; Header string of the title definition for this index. N refers to the ordinal number (starting from one) of the attract video. 
     Example attract section with 4 videos 
     [ATTRACTS] 
     1=857394853029 
     2=485773940291 
     3=239487759294 
     4=094762884766 
     [BUMPER VIDEO SECTION &lt;BUMPERS&gt;]—This section contains a list of video definitions to be used as bumper videos played prior to a title preview. 
     N=UPC|NULL; Header string of the title definition for this index. N refers to the ordinal number (starting from one) of the attract video. Contains either the UPC code of the bumper section or the empty string which specifies a blank entry and one which results in a bumper being skipped (not played). 
     Example attract section with 4 videos 
     [BUMPERS] 
     1=557394853029 
     2=675773940291 
     3= 
     4=453762884766 
     5=[BUMPER EXCLUSION DEFINITION &lt;Bn&gt;]—This section contains a bumper exclusion definition. This specifies any situation where a particular bumper video not be played prior to one or more title videos. 
     BV=Bumper Video Index; Index of the bumper video for exclusion 
     EVn=Title Video Index; Index of the title video to exclude where n is the ordinal index in the list of videos to exclude 
     Example Bumper Exclusion definition section 
     [B1] 
     BV=5 
     EV1=1 
     EV2=7 
     EV3=25 
     [BUMPER EXCLUSION SECTION &lt;BUMPEREXCLUSION&gt;]—This section contains a list of bumper exclusion definitions for use during the scan mode of the script. 
     N=BUMPER EXCLUSION SECTION; Section header to use as a bumper exclusion. 
     Example Bumper Exclusion section 
     [BUMPEREXCLUSION] 
     1=B1 
     2=B2 
     3=B3 
     4=B4 
     [LCD TEXT DEFINITION SECTION &lt;Ln&gt;]—This section contains a LCD text definition. This specifies an individual two-line text screen to be displayed on the LCD panel of the Listening Post device attached to the Site module  500  interpreting this script. 
     1=Line one text string; String for line one 
     2=Line two text string; String for line two 
     Example LCD Text Definition section 
     [L1] 
     1=Hello World 
     2=Welcome to DDS! 
     [LCD TEXT SECTION &lt;LCDTEXT&gt;]—This section contains a list of LCD text definition section headers to use for the LCD text elements of the script. These entries are individually scriptable in the same manner as videos. 
     N=LCD Text Definition section; Section header to use as a LCD text definition 
     Example LCD Text section 
     [LCDTEXT] 
     1=L1 
     2=L2 
     3=L3 
     4=L4 
     [ATTRACT SCRIPT SECTION &lt;ATTRACTSCRIPT&gt;]—This section contains a list of script commands which define which videos are played during ‘attract’ mode. The commands are interpreted one at a time and continue in a loop during the attract mode. 
     N=COMMAND;INDEX;SEQUENCE;INTERRUPTABLE; This is the format of one script command. ‘COMMAND’ is one of the following strings: 
     PA=Play Attract Video 
     PT=Play Title Video 
     PB=Play Bumper Video 
     PL=Play LCD Text String 
     PF=Play Audio Song Titles—‘Drilldown Screen’ 
     ‘INDEX’ is the specific sequential index of the video or text element to play in the list of available videos. If this field is not blank, the ‘SEQUENCE’ field is ignored. 
     ‘SEQUENCE’ is either: 
     S=Play Video or Text in Sequential Order. If there is no ‘INDEX’ specified, the next video in the list of available videos is played. 
     R=Play Video or Text in Random Order. If there is no ‘INDEX’ specified, a random video is chosen from the list of available videos. 
     ‘INTERRUPTABLE’ is either: 
     Y=Video Playback can be Interrupted by User Action (Scan or Track Button) 
     N=Video Playback cannot be Interrupted by User Action (Scan or Track Button) 
     Example Attract Script 
     [ATTRACTSCRIPT] 
     1=PA;1;R;Y; 
     2=PL;;S;Y; 
     3=PT;;S;Y; 
     4=PA;;R;Y; 
     [SCAN SCRIPT SECTION &lt;SCANSCRIPT&gt;]—This section contains a list of script commands which define which videos are played during ‘scan’ mode—when a consumer initiates a product preview. The commands are interpreted one at a time are played one time for each product scan. The command format is the same as the attract script section. Note: the ‘PT’ command always refers to the product the consumer has scanned, hence any ‘INDEX’ or ‘SEQUENCE’ arguments are ignored. 
     Example scan script section 
     [SCANSCRIPT] 
     1=PL;;S;N; 
     2=PB;;S;N; 
     3=PT;;R;Y; 
     4=PF;;S;Y; 
     [DRILL-DOWN SETTINGS SECTION &lt;SETTINGS&gt;]—This section contains all the necessary settings to perform the drill-down portion of a scan script. 
     COVER_BITMAP_X_ORIGIN=n; X coordinate, in pixels, of upper left corner where a title&#39;s cover bitmap will be placed during bumper video playback prior to the title&#39;s preview 
     COVER_BITMAP_Y_ORIGIN=n; Y coordinate, in pixels, of upper left corner where a title&#39;s cover bitmap will be placed during bumper video playback prior to the title&#39;s preview; next title prompt settings 
     NEXT_TITLE_STRING=titleString; String to use for prompting the consumer during bumper video playback of the title which about to be previewed. 
     NEX_TITLE_LEFT=n; X coordinate, in pixels, of upper left corner where the 
     NEXT_TITLE_STRING prompt will be displayed during bumper video playback prior to the title&#39;s preview 
     NEXT_TITLE_RIGHT=n; Y coordinate, in pixels, of upper left corner for the NEXT_TITLE_STRING 
     NEXT_TITLE_TOP=n; X coordinate, in pixels, of lower right corner for the NEXT_TITLE_STRING 
     NEXT_TITLE_BOTTOM=n; Y coordinate, in pixels, of lower right corner for the NEXT_TITLE_STRING 
     NEXT_TITLE_FONT=fontName; Name of the font to use for NEXT_TITLE_STRING 
     NEXT_TITLE_FONTCOLOR=RGB color value; RGB color value, in hexadecimal, of the font color to use for NEXT_TITLE_STRING 
     NEXT_TITLE_FONTSIZE=fontSize; Size, in points, of the font for NEXT_TITLE_FONTSIZE; audio title settings 
     AUDIO_TITLE_LEFT=n; X coordinate, in pixels, of upper left corner where a title&#39;s audio track names will be displayed over the audio drill-down screen 
     AUDIO_TITLE_TOP=n; Y coordinate, in pixels, of upper left corner where a title&#39;s audio track names will be displayed over the audio drill-down screen 
     AUDIO_TITLE_RIGHT=n; X coordinate, in pixels, of lower right corner where a title&#39;s audio track names will be displayed over the audio drill-down screen 
     AUDIO_TITLE_BOTTOM=n; Y coordinate, in pixels, of lower right corner where a title&#39;s audio track names will be displayed over the audio drill-down screen 
     AUDIO_TITLE_FONT=fontName; Name of the font to use when drawing a title&#39;s audio track names 
     AUDIO_TITLE_FONTCOLOR=RGB color value; RGB color value, in hexadecimal, of the font color to use when drawing a title&#39;s audio track names 
     AUDIO_TITLE_FONTSIZE=fontSize; Size, in points, of the font to use when drawing a title&#39;s audio track names 
     AUDIO_TITLE_HILITE_FONT=fontName; Name of the font to use when drawing a title&#39;s currently selected audio track name 
     AUDIO_TITLE_HILITE COLOR=RGB color value; RGB color value, in hexadecimal, of the background color to use when drawing a title&#39;s currently selected audio track name 
     AUDIO_TITLE_HILITE_FONTCOLOR=RGB color value; RGB color value, in hexadecimal, of the font color to use when drawing a title&#39;s currently selected audio track name 
     AUDIO_TITLE_HILITE_FONTSIZE=fontSize; Size, in points, of the font to use when drawing a title&#39;s currently selected audio track; miscellaneous settings MORE_SONGS_PROMPT_BITMAP=fileName; Name and path of the bitmap file to use for prompting the user for more songs after a title&#39;s preview and before the drill-down screen 
     MORE_SONGS_PROMPT_TIMEOUT=n; Number of seconds to display the MORE_SONGS_PROMPT graphic when there is no consumer action before ending scan mode 
     PREVIOUS_TRACK_ERROR_BITMAP=fileName; Name and path of the bitmap file to use when the consumer attempts to navigate beyond the beginning of a title&#39;s track list 
     PREVIOUS_TRACK_ERROR_X_ORIGIN=n; X coordinate, in pixels, of the upper left corner to use when drawing the PREVIOUS_TRACK_ERROR_BITMAP 
     PREVIOUS_TRACK_ERROR_Y_ORIGIN=n; Y coordinate, in pixels, of the upper left corner to use when drawing the PREVIOUS_TRACK_ERROR_BITMAP 
     NEXT_TRACK_ERROR_BITMAP=fileName; Name and path of the bitmap file to use when the consumer attempts to navigate beyond the end of a title&#39;s track list 
     NEXT_TRACK_ERROR_X_ORIGIN=n; X coordinate, in pixels, of the upper left corner to use when drawing the NEXT_TRACK_ERROR_BITMAP 
     NEXT_TRACK_ERROR_Y_ORIGIN=n; Y coordinate, in pixels, of the upper left corner to use when drawing the NEXT_TRACK_ERROR_BITMAP 
     NEXT_TRACK_PROMPT_BITMAP=fileName; Name and path of the bitmap file to use for displaying the next track graphic prompting the user to press the ‘Next’ button on the Listening Post device 
     NEXT_TRACK_PROMPT_X ORIGIN=n; X coordinate, in pixels, of the upper left corner to use when drawing the NEXT_TRACK_PROMPT_BITMAP 
     NEXT_TRACK_PROMPT_Y_ORIGIN=n; Y coordinate, in pixels, of the upper left corner to use when drawing the NEXT_TRACK_PROMPT_BITMAP 
     AUDIO_ONLY_BITMAP=fileName; Name and path of the full-screen bitmap file to display when a non-featured title is begin previewed by the Listening Post attached to the Video Kiosk 
     PAUSE_BITMAP=fileName; Name and path of the full-screen bitmap to display when the Video Kiosk is paused by the Maintenance module  550  for an update 
     UNKNOWN_SCAN_BITMAP=fileName; Name and path of the full-screen bitmap file to display an unrecognizable scan message comes from the Listening Post device attached to the Video Kiosk 
     LINER_NOTES_FONT=fontName; 
     LINER_NOTES_FONTCOLOR=RGB color value; RGB color value, in hexadecimal, of the background color to use when drawing a title&#39;s currently selected audio track name 
     LINER_NOTES_FONTSIZE=fontSize; Size, in points, of the font to use when drawing a title&#39;s liner notes 
     LINER_NOTES_LEFT=n; X coordinate, in pixels, of upper left corner where a title&#39;s liner notes will be displayed over the audio drill-down screen 
     LINER_NOTES_TOP=n; Y coordinate, in pixels, of upper left corner where a title&#39;s liner notes will be displayed over the audio drill-down screen 
     LINER_NOTES_RIGHT=n; X coordinate, in pixels, of lower right corner where a title&#39;s liner notes will be displayed over the audio drill-down screen 
     LINER_NOTES_BOTTOM=n; Y coordinate, in pixels, of lower right corner where a title&#39;s liner notes will be displayed over the audio drill-down screen 
     BUMPER_ICON_X_ORIGIN=n; X coordinate, in pixels, of upper left corner where a bumper video&#39;s icon will be displayed over the audio drill-down screen 
     BUMPER_ICON_Y_ORIGIN=n; Y coordinate, in pixels, of upper left corner where a bumper video&#39;s icon will be displayed over the audio drill-down screen 
     BUMPERETTE_TIMEOUT=n; Amount of seconds to display a bumper video&#39;s full-screen transition graphic (or bumperette) after a title&#39;s preview and before the drill-down screen 
     TODO: Log File 
     Network 
     The Site module  500  performs communication over the TCP/IP network in the following manner: 
     
       
         
               
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Communication Task 
                 Method 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 Receive consumer actions: product 
                 TCP protocol. Uses port and 
               
               
                 UPC scans, track buttons, volume 
                 Listening Post address file 
               
               
                 buttons. 
                 information stored in the 
               
               
                   
                 registry to locate the IP address 
               
               
                   
                 of appropriate Listening Posts, 
               
               
                   
                 initiate and establish a 
               
               
                   
                 connection, and send/receive 
               
               
                   
                 messages to implement task. 
               
               
                   
                 Strings used for 
               
               
                   
                 communication (all strings 
               
               
                   
                 terminated with a carriage- 
               
               
                   
                 return character): 
               
               
                   
                 UUpcCode; Consumer 
               
               
                   
                 Product Scan, ex: 
               
               
                   
                 U123456789012 
               
               
                   
                 B[&lt;,&gt;,+,-]; Consumer 
               
               
                   
                 button press (‘&lt;’ = previous 
               
               
                   
                 track button, ‘&gt;’ = next track 
               
               
                   
                 button, ‘+’ = volume up 
               
               
                   
                 button, ‘−’ = volume down 
               
               
                   
                 button, ex: B + 
               
               
                   
                 L[1,2]TextString; LCD text 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 string for line one or 
               
               
                   
                 two for LP to display, 
               
               
                   
                 ex: L1Hello World! 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 U000000000000; Special UPC 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 code for non-featured 
               
               
                   
                 product titles 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 U111111111111; Special UPC 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 code for attract-mode 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Receive ‘PING’ requests 
                 UDP protocol. Uses port 
               
               
                 from Maintenance module 550 
                 information stored in the 
               
               
                   
                 registry to listen on a UDP 
               
               
                   
                 socket and respond to the 
               
               
                   
                 following message: 
               
               
                   
                 PING; a ping request from the 
               
               
                   
                 Maintenance module 550 
               
               
                   
                 To acknowledge a ping, the 
               
               
                   
                 following message is replied: 
               
               
                   
                 ACK; a ping acknowledgment 
               
               
                 Generating SNMP errors 
                 All critical-level errors 
               
               
                   
                 generate a message which is 
               
               
                   
                 sent to the SNMP Agent 
               
               
                   
                 module via UDP messages. 
               
               
                   
                 See the SNMP Agent Module 
               
               
                   
                 650 for details. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     All Listening Post device IP addresses are acquired from the Listening Post address file created and maintained by the Listening Post Server software. The name and location of this file as well as the section headers and entry keys are stored in the registry. 
     Registry 
     Subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\PICS\Video] 
     Debug Mode==Debug Mode flag (0=false, 1=true) 
     Key Color==4 byte RGB color value for MPEG decoder&#39;s transparent key color 
     Log Filename==Name and path of log file 
     MCI Open String==String to use when opening MCI device (decoder card dependent) 
     Overlay Capable==Flag to specify use of transparent overlays (0=no, 1=yes) 
     Scanner Port==Socket port number for Listening Post Scanner device communication 
     Scanner Reconnect Timeout==Amount of time, in milliseconds, to retry failed connection requests to the Listening Post device 
     Script Filename==Name and path of the script to execute 
     Uses Scanner==Flag to specify whether to establish communication with a Listening Post device (0=no, 1=yes) 
     Video Height==Height of the video output window in pixels 
     Video Left==Upper left X coordinate of video output window in pixels 
     Video Top==Upper left Y coordinate of video output window in pixels 
     Video Width==Width of the video output window in pixels 
     Ping Port==Socket port number to wait for ‘ping’ requests from server 
     Minimum Track Delay==Minimum amount of delay, in seconds, to wait between responses to track buttons 
     Use Track Buttons==Flag to specify whether track button press messages are responded to (0=no, 1=yes) 
     Scanner Address Filename==Name and path of scanner address file where Listening Post address file is stored 
     Scanner Address File Section==String used for section header where Listening Posts address entries are contained 
     Scanner Address File Key==String to use for address key in the address file 
     Volume Step==Amount of increment for volume presses 
     User Interface 
     The main interface for the Video Kiosk is the video output window (contains the decoded video) and the overlay window (contains any text and/or graphics overlays, if appropriate) which sits directly above the video output window. The size and position of these windows as well as the color value used by the MPEG decoder board for transparent overlays are defined in the registry. When the Site module  500  is in debug-mode (defined by registry setting), a resizable text output window is displayed over the video output window which contains all text status and error messages that are sent to the log file during non debug-mode. 
     Detail 
     Executable Name: endcap.exe 
     Dependent DLL&#39;s: winsck.ocx (Netmanage TCP OLE control version 1.0—Licensed) 
     The Site module  500  interacts with the consumer through the attached Listening Post (LP) device. The Site module  500  performs the following tasks: 
     Startup 
     Communicates with the MPEG decoder using MCI commands 
     The registry entries are retrieved and the script file is opened and parsed into memory. The script file is then closed. 
     The output window(s) are prepared and the MPEG decoder device is opened. 
     The ‘Attract’ mode is started. 
     A separate thread is started to initiate the TCP connection to the LP. 
     This continues until a connection is established and when an existing connection is lost. When the connection is established, consumer actions at the LP will be processed. 
     ‘Attract’ Mode 
     Occurs when the consumer is not interacting with the LP. 
     ATTRACTSCRIPT section of script file is read and script commands are interpreted and continue looping until a customer action occurs. The script is reset whenever the Attract Mode is restarted. 
     ‘Scan’ Mode 
     Occurs when the consumer performs a product UPC scan using LP. 
     The LP sends the UPC scan code to the Video Kiosk if the UPC is contained in the ‘Featured List’. Note: The ‘Featured List’ is a file which is read by the LP and is stored on the in-store server which contains all the UPC codes which are valid for the Video Kiosk to process. This file is created by the Builder Module and matches the UPC codes which are put in the TITLES section of script. The LP is responsible for searching this list after each UPC scan and to transmit only UPC codes which are in the ‘Featured List’ (in addition to the three ‘special’ UPC codes which are interpreted differently—see the ‘Network’ section). 
     SCANSCRIPT section of script file is read and script commands are interpreted. 
     ‘Drill-Down’ Mode 
     Occurs during Scan Mode and is triggered in the script with a ‘PF’ (Play Audio Files command). 
     Begins by displaying a full-screen ‘transition’ graphic associated with the Bumper video which preceded the title preview according to the most recent ‘PB’ (Play Bumper) command. The graphic is displayed for an interval specified in the script (see ‘Settings’ section of the script file). If no bumper was played (because of a NULL bumper entry), no graphic is displayed. 
     After the transition graphic is (optionally) displayed, the full-screen audio background for the title being previewed is displayed, the audio track titles are displayed, the liner notes are displayed, the first track name is highlighted, and the arrow graphic is displayed (position, font, and color information for all these elements are read from the script—see ‘Settings’ section of script file). 
     The first audio track is then played and the consumer can then navigate the tracks by using the LP navigation keys. The consumer can also adjust the volume accordingly. When the consumer presses the ‘Previous Track’ button when the current track is the first available track or presses the ‘Next Track’ button when the current track is the last available track, an error graphic is displayed. 
     When playback of the final track is finished, the ‘Attract Mode’ is reset and begins. 
     ‘Passive’ Mode 
     Occurs when the consumer scans a product not available for video preview but available for audio-only preview. The LP performs in stand-alone mode elsewhere in the DDS network (see ARMA documentation), whereas products can be scanned and their audio-only previews are played back through a set of attached headphones. The LP, in this mode, performs all consumer response functions. In order to preserve this behavior for LP devices attached to the Video Kiosk, the ‘Passive’ Mode is provided. 
     In this mode the LP, when a product is scanned, performs a lookup in the ‘featured list’ for the product&#39;s UPC. If it is found in this list, it is sent to the Video Kiosk via the TCP connection. If the UPC code is not found, the LP then performs its normal logic in that it attempts to locate the audio files on the server for that product (see ARMA documentation for more details). If the files are located, the LP sends a special UPC code (00000000000) to the Video Kiosk informing it that a non-featured product is about to be displayed. The Video Kiosk, in response to this message, stops any current playback and displays a full-screen static graphic (specified in the script) informing the user of the situation. The decoded audio from the LP is then sent to the Video Kiosk through its audio input which is then sent to the attached speakers. All subsequent volume control by the consumer is communicated to the Video Kiosk where it manages the mixer volume on its audio card. When the consumer has finished previewing the non-featured title, the LP sends another special UPC code to the Video Kiosk (111111111111) informing it to reset and resume the Attract Mode. 
     Additionally, when a scanned UPC code cannot be determined by the LP (not in the featured list and not available on the server), it sends a special UPC code (999999999999) informing the Video Kiosk that an unknown product scan has occurred. The Video Kiosk, in response to the message, displays a full-screen graphic (defined in the script) informing the user of the situation. This graphic is displayed for an interval defined in the script. At the end of this interval, the Attract Mode is reset and resumed. 
     Acknowledgment File 
     This file is created in the store by the Maintenance module  550 . It contains a 1 character blank ad has information within the name which is use by the Sender Module to process acknowledgments. 
     Acknowledgment filename format: 
     StoreName_ActivateDate_SendID.ReturnCode were: 
     StoreName=Hostname of the store (non-resolved machine name) 
     ActivateDate=Date distribution was distributed and hence activated 
     SendID=Corresponding Send table record identifier: Sender.Send.Send_ID 
     ReturnCode=Code returned by Reception Module upon completion of its process, one of the following: 
     0: no errors occurred 
     1: non-critical error occurred (process still completed) 
     2: critical error occurred (process did not complete) 
     Example: 
     DDS-SERV-00001 — 07-01-1997 — 99.0 
     Log File 
     The maintenance module  550  launches the reception module  500  upon detection of a distribution file  352 , and return code is employed to create an acknowledgment file which is sent via FTP to the NMC processor  32 . The maintenance module  550  also a periodic batch process to collect consumer usage statistics on the kiosks  70  and other interactive devices on the store network, querying for and gathering system information from the kiosks  70 , detection of newly acquired compressed data  354 , and launching of the reception module  450 , discussed above, when a newly acquired compressed file  354  is present at the server  26 . This entails sending network IP messages to the proxy module  600  to initiate shutdown of all the site  30  processes. To that end, the proxy module  600  is computer code store on the various sites  30  which terminate site  30  processed upon receive the IP message from the message module  550 . The proxy module  600  also indicates to a consumer at the site  30  that the same is unavailable during this time, e.g., by displaying a graphic on a monitor. Once these site  30  process are suspended, the appropriate log and statistics data is collected, compressed, and sent via FTP to the NMC processor  32 . When the maintenance module  550  is completed, it sends an additional IP message to the proxy module  600  informing it to restart the site  30  processes. 
     Specifically, the maintenance module  550  runs by the Windows NT task scheduler service typically around midnight. The Maintenance module  550  is responsible for determining if each instance of the Site module  500  is functioning as well as if the Listening Post devices are alive. Information about the state of each computer running the Site module  500  is obtained and collected. All statistics files generated by the Listening Post Software is gathered and collected. This information is then transmitted to the NMC server computer. 
     New distributions are also detected and the Reception Module is launched and its error code returned in the generated acknowledgment file transmitted to NMC server computer. 
     The maintenance module  550  has the following files associated therewith (default names in parens): 
     Maintenance Module Log File (serverlog.log)—The log file created during maintenance function. All status and error messages that occur during processing, but before transfer, are logged to this file. This file is collected and sent back the NMC as part of the maintenance function. 
     Video Kiosk Log File(s) (videolog.log)—The log files generated by the Video Kiosk(s). These are collected during the maintenance function. 
     Listening Post Device Log File(s) (cd*.log, hv*.log, lp*.log)—The log and statistics files for the Listening Post devices and the Listening Post server software. These are collected during the maintenance function. 
     Compressed Log Collection File (.zip)—This is a single compressed file which contains all of the log and statistics files to be sent to the NMC. The logs are divided by a directory structure that is stored along with the files themselves. 
     
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Directory 
                 Files 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 PICSLOG\ec.x\*.log 
                 Log files for a Listening Post device 
               
               
                   
                 connected to a CD Kiosk Kiosk 
               
               
                 PICSLOG\hv.*\*.log 
                 Log files for a Listening Post device 
               
               
                   
                 connected to a Home Video Kiosk 
               
               
                 PICSLOG\lp.*\*.log 
                 Log files for a stand-alone Listening 
               
               
                   
                 Post device 
               
               
                 PICSLOG\ServerLog\serverlog. 
                 Log file for a Listening Post device 
               
               
                 log 
                 connected to a CD kiosk 
               
               
                 PICSLOG\cdx\videolog.log 
                 Log file generated by the CD Kiosk 
               
               
                 PICSLOG\hvx\videolog.log 
                 Log file generated by the Home 
               
               
                   
                 Video Kiosk 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Each log file sent to the NMC has a filename that is timestamped and contains store origination. 
     Log filename format 
     PICSLOG_StoreAddress_‘Sent Date(mm-dd-yyyy)’.zip 
     Example 
     PICSLOG — 10.20.30.40 — 10-10-1997.zip 
     TODO: Log File 
     Distribution Acknowledgment File—The file that is generated and sent to the NMC server computer where it will be ultimately received by the Sender Module as an acknowledgment of a successful distribution. See the Sender Module section for the file format. 
     Network 
     The Maintenance module  550  performs communication over the TCP/IP network over the network in the following manner: 
     
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Communication Task 
                 Method 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 ‘Ping’ the Video Kiosk 
                 TCP protocol. Uses port and address 
               
               
                 Computer(s) to determine if 
                 information stored in the registry to 
               
               
                 Site module 500 is 
                 initiate a connection and verify Site 
               
               
                 functioning 
                 module 500 is operating. 
               
               
                 Send PAUSE/START messages 
                 UDP protocol. Uses port and address 
               
               
                 to all Listening Posts and 
                 information stored in the registry and 
               
               
                 Site module 500s for file 
                 addresses retrieved from the Listening 
               
               
                 updates 
                 Post address file maintained by the 
               
               
                   
                 Listening Post software to send the 
               
               
                   
                 messages. 
               
               
                   
                 Strings used for Listening Posts: 
               
               
                   
                 PAUSE_COMMAND = “Wait” 
               
               
                   
                 PLAY_COMMAND = “Start” 
               
               
                   
                 SHUTDOWN_COMMAND = 
               
               
                   
                 “Reboot” 
               
               
                   
                 Strings used for Site module 500s: 
               
               
                   
                 PAUSE_COMMAND = “PAUSE” 
               
               
                   
                 PLAY_COMMAND = “PLAY” 
               
               
                   
                 SHUTDOWN_COMMAND = 
               
               
                   
                 “SHUTDOWN” 
               
               
                 Retrieving remote log files 
                 Windows networking protocol. Uses 
               
               
                   
                 share and file name information stored 
               
               
                   
                 in the registry to attach to the shares and 
               
               
                   
                 retrieve the files 
               
               
                 Generating SNMP errors 
                 All critical-level errors generate a 
               
               
                   
                 message which is sent to the SNMP 
               
               
                   
                 Agent module via UDP messages. See 
               
               
                   
                 the SNMP Agent Module 650 for 
               
               
                   
                 details. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     User Interface 
     In debug-mode, all output is sent to a text window on the machine&#39;s desktop, in non debug-mode output is sent the log file and the output window is not visible. All critical errors are reported to the output and the SNMP Agent Module  650 . 
     Registry 
     Subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\PICS\Maintenance 
     Endcap Count=Number of Video Kiosk instances 
     Endcap Port==Socket port number for Listening Post device connected to Site module  500 s 
     Ping Port==Socket port number for communication with the Video Kiosks during test pings 
     Ping Timeout==Amount of time in milliseconds to wait for ping response from Video Kiosks 
     Log Filename==String to use for name and path of log file to generate during processing 
     Endcap1==String to use for name of computer running 1 st  instance of Video Kiosk (CD Endcap) 
     Endcap2==String to use for name of computer running 2nd instance of Video Kiosk (Home Video) 
     Debug Mode==Debug mode flag (0=false, 1=true) 
     Endcap Log Filename==Name of log file to collect from Video Kiosks 
     Temp Directory==Path to use for temporary directory 
     Endcap Log Sharename==Name of drive share on Video Kiosk computers to copy logs from 
     LP Log File Extension==File extension used by Listening Post log files 
     LP Root Directory==Drive and path of directory where root ARMA files are stored 
     Low Disk Space Threshold %==Number in percent where an error will generated if available space Falls below 
     Log FTP Address==Host address of NMC server computer for FTP transfer of logs/statistics 
     Log FTP Username==Login name for NMC&#39;s FTP server 
     Log FTP Password==Password for FTP session 
     Log FTP Directory==FTP Directory on NMC 
     Download Directory==Directory to watch for distribution downloads 
     Reception Module==Name and Path of the Reception Module executable 
     LP Address Filename==Name and Path of the Listening Post address file (terms.ini) 
     LP Address Section Header Prefix==String to use for address section header prefix in the address Tile 
     LP Address Key==String to use for address key in the address file 
     LP Port==Socket port number of Listening Post device(s) for communicating the ‘start’ and ‘stop’ IP messages 
     Ack FTP Address==String to use for host address of NMC server computer for sending of acknowledgments 
     Ack FTP Directory==String to use for the directory on the NMC that is to receive acknowledgments 
     Ack FTP Password==Login name for FTP acknowledgment session 
     Ack FTP Username==Password for FTP acknowledgment session 
     Detail 
     Executable Name: server.exe 
     Dependent DLL&#39;s: xcdzip32.dll (Xceed ZIP Library 2.0—Licensed), xcdunz32.dll (Xceed ZIP Library 2.0—Licensed), winsck.ocx (Netmanage TCP OLE control version 1.0—Licensed) 
     During normal operations, the Maintenance module  550  performs the following tasks: 
     ‘Ping’ each instance of the Site module  500  on the network. Locates from the registry the addresses of the remote Video Kiosk computers and initiates a TCP network connection. A connection request is sent for up to Registry.Ping Timeout seconds where after no connection is made, an error is generated. If a successful connection is made, it is noted in the output. 
     Send PAUSE signal to each Listening Post device. This entails retrieving the IP addresses for each device from the Listening Post address file (Registry.LP Address Filename) by searching the file for the sections (Registry.IP Address Section Header Prefix+DeviceNumber) and the entries (Registry.LP Address Key) which contain the addresses. If the file cannot be located or the entry is not found, an error will be generated. For each device entry found, the pause event string is sent (see Files section) on port Registry.Ping Port. 
     Send PAUSE signal to Site module  500 s. This entails using the Registry. ‘Endcap Count’ and Registry. “Endcapx” (where x is 2−Endcap Count) entries to get the address of each Video Kiosk instance and send a pause event string on port 
     Registry.Ping Port. Also sends the string to the local Site module  500 . Stop the Listening Post Server boot and log processes. Unloads the Listening Post server processes so files will be not locked. Uses the Registry for their names. 
     Gather All Log files. This entails locating, gathering and moving of all the log files generated by the system. Creates storage in the temporary directory specified in the registry to hold the files before compression to .zip format. For each instance of the Video Kiosk Log files, it uses the registry for computer name, share names, and file names. For each Listening Post device and Listening Post server software, it uses the registry to locate the files, which are stored locally. 
     Collect available disk space information. Checks and reports the Video Kiosk computer&#39;s available disk space from the published drive shares. Also checks and reports the amount of disk space available to the local disk drives. If the percentage available on any one falls below the threshold set in the registry, an error is generated to the output and the SNMP Agent. 
     Compresses Log Data. Compresses the log data into one file using the zip format. Transmit the Log Data. The file is renamed to contain address and timestamp information. An FTP session is initiated to the NMC server computer. If a connection is refused, the system will generate a random number between 1-30 and sleep for that many seconds and retry. If after 15 tries the system cannot be contacted, the operation is aborted. 
     Scan the Download Directory for new distributions. Checks in the directory specified in the registry for BIG files—if the timestamp in the prefix of the filename matches or is prior to the current time, the Reception Module is launched and the file is passed as an argument. Operation of the Maintenance module  550  is suspended until the Reception Module has finished processing the file and a return code has been received. When a return code is received, the acknowledgment file is created. PICS_SETUP.EXE—When this file is found, the file will be executed as an application and the Maintenance module  550  will close. 
     Transmit the acknowledgment file (if a distribution has been successfully complete). This entails initiating an FTP session to the NMC server computer. If a connection is refused, the system will generate a random number between 1-30 and sleep for that many seconds and retry. If after 15 tries the system cannot be contacted, the operation is aborted. 
     Send START signal to all systems. Sends START event signal to all modules that were previously PAUSE&#39;d. 
     The Proxy module  600  serves as a front-end for the Site module  500 . Its responsibility is two-fold. First, it serves as the communication layer between the Site module  500  and the Maintenance module  550  for distribution updates. Second, it is responsible for starting and stopping the Site module  500  process during updates in order to insure that files that may potentially be updated or removed during the process are not locked. In this manner, the Proxy module  600  is always used to start the Site module  500  as it keeps track of its process handle in order to be able to terminate it accordingly. 
     Additionally, the Proxy module  600  performs the task of displaying a static graphic to the consumer while the Site module  500  is terminated during a distribution update informing them of the situation. The Proxy module  600  reads information from the [SETTINGS] section of the script file, refer to the Site module  500 &#39;s ‘Files’ section for information on this file. The following elements of the [SETTINGS] section that are used are: 
     [SETTINGS] 
     PAUSE_BITMAP=fileName; Name and path of the full-screen bitmap to display when the Video Kiosk is paused by the Maintenance module  550  for an update 
     The Proxy Kiosk Module performs communication over the TCP/IP network in the following manner: 
     
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Communication Task 
                 Method 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 Receive PAUSE/START messages 
                 UDP protocol. Uses port 
               
               
                 from Maintenance module 550 
                 information stored in the registry 
               
               
                 during update process 
                 to create a socket to listen for 
               
               
                   
                 PAUSE/START messages. 
               
               
                   
                 Strings responded to by Proxy 
               
               
                   
                 module 600: 
               
               
                   
                 PAUSE_COMMAND = “PAUSE” 
               
               
                   
                 PLAY_COMMAND = “PLAY” 
               
               
                   
                 SHUTDOWN_COMMAND = 
               
               
                   
                 “SHUTDOWN” 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Registry 
     Subkey: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\PICS\Video] 
     Server Port==Socket port number to use for START/STOP messages 
     Video Application==Path and name of Video Kiosk executable 
     Script Filename==Name and path of the script to execute 
     Video Height==Height of the video output window in pixels 
     Video Left==Upper left X coordinate of video output window in pixels 
     Video Top==Upper left Y coordinate of video output window in pixels 
     Video Width==Width of the video output window in pixels 
     User Interface 
     The Proxy module  600  creates an output window which is the same size and position as the Site module  500 &#39;s video output and overlay windows. This window is used to display the pause graphic during updates. If a pause graphic is not available, a text message ‘System Unavailable’ is displayed in centered white text against a black background. 
     Command-Line Interface 
     The Proxy module  600  is executed by running the proxy.exe file and has the following dependent DLL&#39;s: winsck.ocx (Netmanage TCP/UDP OLE control version 1.0—Licensed). The Proxy module  600  accepts one optional command line argument: 
     -n: Where n is the number of seconds (between 0 and 9) to wait before starting the Site module  500 . This is for some situations where the Proxy module  600  is started automatically from the ‘Startup’ group. 
     Invoking the proxy module performs the following functionsnvokiperforms the following actions: 
     Startup 
     Retrieves registry settings to find the script file, the output window coordinates, the socket port to listen for server commands, and the path to the Site module  500  executable. 
     The script file is opened and the pause graphic filename is retrieved. The script file is then closed. The pause graphic is loaded into memory and the Site module  500  executable is started (after the optional number of seconds specified at the command-line). 
     The UDP socket port is opened. 
     PAUSE Message Received From Maintenance module  550   
     The Site module  500  process is closed. 
     The output window is brought to focus. 
     START Message Received From Maintenance module  550   
     The Site module  500  process is started. 
     The SNMP agent module comprises of computer code to gather various critical errors reported by the reception module  450 , the site module  500 , the maintenance module  550 , and the proxy module  600  to create SNMP error-trap conditions which will be reported to any local or remote SNMP manager which is listening for these traps. The SNMP manager resides in the NMC  12 . This entails listening for IP messages which contain information about the error including the location and level of criticality. Once an error is received, an appropriate SNMP error trap. This software resides on the in-store server and accepts IP error messages from any device on the in-store network. 
     Specifically, the SNMP has the following registry associated with it: 
     Subkey: 
     [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\PICS\SNMP\CurrentVersion] 
     Pathname==Path of directory where dll is located 
     Host==Hostname of computer running SNMP Agent 
     Port==Socket port number used to listen for error messages 
     The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form described, and many modifications and variations are possible in light of the teaching above. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto.