Patent ID: 8667539

Claim:
A system for managing information relating to scannable icon data, the scannable icon data included in analog video signals or digital video signals, the scannable icon data generated by and received from a source provider, the system comprising: a. a data stream processor configured to receive and process one or more of the analog video signals or digital video signals and, in the case of analog video signals, to convert portions of the analog video signals to digital format and to provide a first digital video data stream corresponding to at least some converted portions of the analog video signals; b. a video decoder coupled to the data stream processor configured to decode digital video signals received from the data stream processor in order to provide a second digital video data stream; c. a graphical image detector coupled to the data stream processor and to the video decoder and configured to receive the first digital video data stream from the data stream processor or the second digital video data stream from the video decoder, and to automatically and autonomously detect, in the first digital video data stream or second digital video data stream, scannable icon data corresponding to a scannable icon, the scannable icon data configured for generation of a scannable icon for presentation on a video display, the scannable icon including at least one built-in recognition-aid precursor, the scannable icon capable of being scanned from the video display by a mobile device to produce at least an address configured to allow the mobile device automatically to access content on the internet; the graphical image detector configured to detect the scannable icon data by comparing pixels in a bitmap in recognition-aid precursor data in the scannable icon data, the recognition-aid precursor data corresponding to the at least one built-in recognition-aid precursor in scannable icon; d. a graphical image decoder configured to receive scannable icon data from the graphical image detector and to decode the scannable icon data to decoded data that includes at least (1) an address configured to allow access to content on the internet; and (2) collateral information that includes at least one of channel source, unique identifier and timestamp; and e. a first library configured to receive, from the graphical image decoder, the decoded data and to store the decoded data, the first library also configured to receive ancillary information, the ancillary information relevant to the analog or digital video signal that includes the scannable icon data.