Patent Publication Number: US-2012047527-A1

Title: Electronic device and method for embedding product information in videos with product placements

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to advertisement displaying devices and methods, particularly to an electronic device and method for embedding product information in videos with product placements. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Product placement is increasingly becoming a popular form of advertising in media environments, especially with the growing use of digital recording devices, such as TIVO and DVR, that allow viewers to skip commercials. While there are numerous advantages to this marketing strategy, one major disadvantage is that the viewers have no concrete information on what the product is or even where to purchase it. This lack of information can influence the effectiveness of this type of advertising. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of one embodiment of an electronic device including an embedding unit. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of one embodiment of function modules of the embedding unit of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a method for embedding product information in TV programs with product placements. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of comparing product images saved in an ad database with a presented product. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In general, the data “module,” as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, written in a programming language, such as, for example, Java, C, or assembly. One or more software instructions in the modules may be embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. It will be appreciated that modules may comprise connected logic units, such as gates and flip-flops, and may comprise programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. The modules described herein may be implemented as either software and/or hardware modules and may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium or other computer storage device. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of one embodiment of an electronic device  1  including an embedding unit  10 . In the embodiment, functions of the embedding unit  10  are implemented by the electronic device  1 . The embedding unit  10  can embed advertisements of products presented in a video, such as a TV program, and display the advertisements on a display device  2  that is electronically connected to the electronic device  1  via a wired or wireless connection. In one embodiment, the products may be cars, watches, or clothes. The advertisements of the presented products may be presented using, for example, text, audio, advertisement files, Web advertisements, and/or shopping websites. The video may be a TV program, such as a movie, a TV series, or any other entertainment show in TV or computer. 
     In one embodiment, the electronic device  1  may be a computer, a TV, a portable electronic device, or any other electronic device that includes a storage system  12  and at least one processor  14 . 
     The embed unit  10  is configured to convert product information of products uploaded by companies to advertisement information, and save the advertisement information in an advertisement (ad) database. In the embodiment, the advertisement information includes product images taken from different angles and advertisements of the products. When a video broadcasts, the embed unit  10  exports the advertisement for each of the presented products from the ad database, and displays the advertisement of each of the presented products on the display device  2 . 
     In one embodiment, the embed unit  10  displays the advertisement in the periphery of a display screen of the display device  2  concurrently with the video, such as an upper left corner, an upper right corner, a lower left corner, or a lower right corner of the display device  2 . In another embodiment, the embed unit  10  displays the advertisement on the display device  2  when the video ends or is paused. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of one embodiment of function modules of the embed unit  10  of  FIG. 1 . In one embodiment, the embed unit  10  includes a conversion module  100 , a recording module  102 , a detecting module  104 , and an output module  106 . Each of the modules  100 - 106  may be a software program including one or more computerized instructions that are stored in the storage system  12  and executed by the processor  14 . 
     In one embodiment, the storage system  12  may be a magnetic or an optical storage system, such as a hard disk drive, an optical drive, or a tape drive. 
     Before the display device  2  broadcasts a video, the conversion module  100  converts product information of products that have been uploaded by companies into advertisement information. In the embodiment, the advertisement information includes product images taken from different angles and advertisements of the products. 
     The recording module  102  saves the advertisement information in an ad database. As described in  FIG. 4 , the ad database  40  stores two products&#39; advertisement information  400 , and each of the two products&#39; advertisement information  400  includes a plurality of product images and an advertisement. 
     In the embodiment, the ad database can be an image file or a movie file that is compatible with the video, and the movie file may be in format of a MPEG-2, MPEG-4, or an AVC format, or other formats. 
     When the display device  2  broadcasts the video, the detecting module  104  exports an advertisement of a presented product from the ad database  40  according to images of the product presented on the video. In detail, the detecting module  104  detects the ad database  40  within a predetermined period to determine whether any product images are similar to the presented product. If there is a plurality of product images similar to the presented product, the detecting module  104  calculates a similarity between each of the product images with the presented product. If the similarity between one of the product images (i.e., product image M) and the presented product is greater than a predetermined threshold, the detecting module  104  will determine that the advertisement information including the product image M belongs to the presented product, and the advertisement included in the advertisement information is the advertisement of the presented product. In the embodiment, the detecting module  104  calculates the similarity by calculating a distance between an average pixel value of each of the product images and an average pixel value of the image of the presented product. 
     For example, if the product images in the advertisement information  400   a  and  400   b  are similar to the presented product, the detecting module  104  first calculates a similarity between each of the product images in the advertisement information  400   a  and the image of the presented product, and then calculates a similarity between each of the product images in the advertisement information  400   b  and the image of the presented product. If the calculated similarity of one of the product images in the advertisement information  400   a  is greater than the predetermined threshold, the detecting module  104  determines that the advertisement in the advertisement information  400   a  is the advertisement of the presented product. 
     The output module  106  exports the advertisement of the presented product from the advertisement information  400   a,  and displays the advertisement of the presented product on the display device  2 , so a viewer can browse the advertisement from the display device  2 . In one embodiment, the output module  106  displays the advertisement in the periphery of a display screen of the display device  2  concurrently with the video, such as an upper left corner, an upper right corner, a lower left corner, or a lower right corner of the display device  2 . In another embodiment, the output module  106  displays the advertisement on the display device  2  when the video ends or is paused. 
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a method for embedding product information in TV programs with product placements. Depending on the embodiment, additional blocks may be added, others removed, and the ordering of the blocks may be changed. 
     In block S 300 , the conversion module  100  converts product information of products that is uploaded by companies into advertisement information. In the embodiment, the advertisement information includes product images taken from different angles and advertisements of the products. 
     In block S 302 , the recording module  102  saves the advertisement information of the products in an ad database. As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the ad database  40  stores two products&#39; advertisement information  400 , and each of the two products&#39; advertisement information  400  includes a plurality of product images and an advertisement. 
     When the display device  2  displays the TV program, in block S 304 , the detecting module  104  detects the ad database  40  within a predetermined period to determine whether any product images are similar to the presented product in block S 306 . If some product images in the ad database  40  are similar to the presented product, the flow goes to block S 308 . If there are no product images similar to the presented product, the flow returns to block S 304 . 
     In block S 308 , the detecting module  104  calculates a similarity between each of the product images and the presented product, to determine an advertisement for the presented product. In the embodiment, if the similarity between one of the product images and the presented product is greater than a predetermined threshold, the detecting module  104  determines that the advertisement information (such as the advertisement information  400   a  illustrated in  FIG. 4 ) including the product image belongs to the presented product, and the detecting module  104  determines that the advertisement in the advertisement information  400  is the advertisement of the presented product. In the embodiment, the detecting module  104  calculates the similarity by calculating a distance between an average pixel value of each of the product images and an average pixel value of the image of the presented product. 
     In block S 310 , the output module  106  exports the advertisement of the presented product from the advertisement information  400   a  and displays the advertisement of the presented product on the display device  2 , so a viewer can browse the advertisement from the display device  2 . In the embodiment, the output module  106  can display the advertisement in the periphery of a display screen of the display device  2  concurrently with the TV program, or display the advertisement on the display device  2  when the TV program ends or is paused. 
     Although certain inventive embodiments of the present disclosure have been specifically described, the present disclosure is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various changes or modifications may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.