 |
Description  |
|
|
The present invention relates to the transmission of information in
connection with the transmission of audio signals. In a particular
embodiment, the invention is directed to a and apparatus for the
transmission of associated data with portions of a commercial radio
broadcast transmission.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There exists a need for applying an identifying "signature" to wireless
audio transmissions, In commercial radio, for revenues are raised by a
station broadcaster by the acceptance for broadcast of paid programming.
Typically, such paid programming is in the form of commercials or
advertisements, but revenues may also be generated by the broadcast of
paid political announcements, quasi "public interest" transmissions and
the like. The consideration paid by the advertiser or its agent, such as
an advertising agency, is a function of both the length of the advertising
"spot" to be aired and the potential audience reachable by the station at
the time of intended broadcast. It is obviously the concern of the
advertiser that it receive a proper return on its investment; that is,
that the station broadcast a signal which bears the entirety of its
programming at the agreed-upon time and in the proper rotation of
commercials ordered.
The major radio broadcast networks alone have some 5700 local affiliate
stations. Each station has the ability to broadcast local advertising
spots, as well as spots provided by the network. Any practical system for
monitoring air time must be capable of identifying both the originator of
the spot and the station over which it is transmitted.
While the number of listeners tuned to a station is beyond the direct
control of the broadcaster, the broadcaster does have direct control over
the condition of the signal it transmits. Among the advertiser's concerns
which are within the broadcaster's control are the quality of the audio
signal bearing the commercial, and the airing of the entirety of the spot
at the proper time and in the proper order.
It is vitally important to the advertiser that the entirety of its spot be
transmitted. As commercials are often prepared with the "tag" or "punch"
at the end of the spot, it is important that the commercial does not end
prematurely. If, for example, a 60-second spot is only broadcast for 55
seconds, shortening of air time due to loss occurring at the beginning of
the spot is of less concern than loss at the end. Thus, while any time
loss is meaningful, the position of such loss within the commercial is
determinative of the loss of value resulting therefrom.
While it has been a standard industry practice for stations to maintain
logs of the content of their broadcasts, the log is unable to document the
specific identity, quality or precise length of a broadcast segment. In
addition, because the logs are maintained by station personnel themselves,
there exists the possibility that inaccurate or erroneous information can
be transcribed. Third-party services also make off-the-air recordings of
station broadcasts, and compile reports based upon review of the
recordings. This is a time consuming process, however, as the actual
analysis of the tape is performed by a human listener. The monitoring of a
large number of broadcasts over a significant length of time is both
costly and inefficient.
Another methodology employed to confirm the existence of the airing of a
particular spot is to directly compare a recording of the audio track
broadcast to a reference recording of the same material. Due to normal
degradation of the signal upon broadcast, coupled with static and other
atmospheric disturbances, however, such comparison is of only limited
reliability. An audio "signature" or "fingerprint" of a portion of an
audio segment can be utilized for comparison purposes, but the comparison
requires significant analysis. It is believed that such routines are no
more than 85% accurate.
It is accordingly a purpose of the present invention to provide a new and
improved method and apparatus for the identification and monitoring of a
wireless audio broadcast.
Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a new and improved
method and apparatus by which audio program identification can be
accomplished in an undetectable manner.
Still another purpose of the present invention is to provide such a method
and apparatus which does not degrade the audio signal.
Still another purpose of the present invention is to provide such a method
and apparatus which permits both source and signal identification and
duration data to be determined.
Yet a further purpose of the present invention is to provide such a method
and apparatus which may be incorporated into conventional broadcast
systems and which may be implemented simply and reliably.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides for the identification of an audio program
segment by use of a unique identifying code. This code, along with a
timing code which continues for the duration of the segment, is combined
with the segment audio signal in a unique manner which does not cause
degradation of the audio signal and which is virtually impossible to
detect or modify except by a mating receiving apparatus. Such a receiving
apparatus extracts the identification information for recordation and
storage, and utilizes the timing information to determine the duration of
the coded segment. By use of a progressive timing code initialized by the
beginning of the spot, the location in the spot of any loss of signal can
be determined.
In a form of the invention particularly well suited for use in connection
with a large scale system for monitoring commercial broadcasts, low level
spread spectrum encoding for the added data may be utilized to provide a
virtually undetectable identification signal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A fuller understanding of the present invention and the features and
benefits thereof may be obtained upon consideration of the following
detailed description of a preferred, but nonetheless illustrative
embodiment thereof, when reviewed in association with the annexed
drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the preparation of an audio master dub
recording for use in connection with the invention;
FIG. 3 is a representation of an audio recording with associated data; and
FIG. 4 is a depiction of an encoding scheme for live broadcasts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As shown in FIG. 1, an illustrative embodiment of the system of the present
invention comprises three main system elements; an encoding/transmitting
station 10 coupled to an audio recording payback unit 58, a
receiver/decoder station 12, and a data processing station 14. Encoding
comprises the addition of identification and timing signals to a desired
audio signal, which may exist in any one of a variety of forms. For
example, standard operating procedures in the radio industry call for the
preparation of a master tape, called an "audio master dub" for each
commercial to be aired. This master is used to make duplicates which are
delivered to each broadcast facility. Alternatively, the contents of the
audio master dub may be electronically transmitted to the broadcast
station over a telephone line, microwave link, or other transmission
means, and re-recorded locally at the station. The recorded material is
played and broadcast as known in the art.
In the present invention, the conventional audio signal is combined with
the encoded data, the composite signal being broadcast in the conventional
manner by transmitting antenna 16 to be received by the listening public
in the normal manner. In addition, however, the signal is received by
antenna 18 at receiving station 12, typically located at a site chosen to
be representative of a typical reception site for the transmission or at
the broadcast station site whereby the receiving station equipment may be
incorporated into, or serve as associated equipment to reception equipment
utilized by the station to monitor the broadcast signal. After decoding,
wherein the added data is extracted from the composite signal, the data is
passed to a data processing station 14, where analysis of the data is
performed. Such a station may be at the site of receiver 12 or may
constitute a remote facility.
As depicted in FIG. 2, in a first embodiment of the present invention an
audio master dub 20 is generated at an appropriate facility by combining
audio source material 22 with source identification and timing signals
through encoder 24. While it is contemplated that the source material 22
will typically be a recording, it is to be recognized that live material
as well can be combined with the data to be encoded.
As presented in FIG. 3, the identification portion of the encoded data may
be, for example, an industry-standard code utilizing an alphanumeric
character set to identify both the sponsor and the specific commercial
property in a unique manner. This can be used to further identify the
source of the spot, (i.e., network or local) by an appropriate code.
Encoded in conjunction with the identification data 30 is a timing signal
26, generated by an appropriate time base as known in the art, which
commences with the beginning of the spot and which is maintained and
incremented through its duration. The timing signal 26 may be a
representation of the cumulative duration of the spot on an
interval-by-interval basis. Use of a unique marker 32 at each chosen
interval, such as every 5 seconds, allows both the duration of the spot,
as well as the location of each marked interval within the spot, to be
determined. The identification code 30 may also be repeated periodically
during the spot to insure that the spot can be identified at the receiving
station in the event a portion of the spot is lost. Typically, both the
identification code and the timing code may be formed as digital
representations of the data to be added.
After the data is encoded and combined with the source audio to produce the
master dub 20, the dub is utilized to produce the local tapes 46 in a
conventional manner, either by direct duplication and delivery of the
resulting composite tape to the station or by transmission of the audio
signal by telephone, microwave or the like, and re-recording. As an
alternative to being added to the audio signal at the time of creation of
a master dub, however, identification and timing data can be applied
locally, on a station-by-station basis. This may be advantageous if the
data is to include a station identifier in addition to spot information.
The resultant composite recording 46, whether produced remote or local to
the broadcaster, contains the original audio signal with an embedded data
signal which cannot be decoded or heard without specialized decoding
circuitry.
The added information data must be combined with the audio signal in a
manner which does not degrade the audio. In addition, it is preferable
that the data be combined with the audio signal in a manner which makes it
difficult, if not impossible, for unauthorized personnel to either read
the data or be able to modify it.
A particularly preferred methodology for such combining of data
incorporates the use of spread spectrum communication technology. Spread
spectrum communication is a modulation technique in which a communications
signal is spread over an extended frequency range. In the present
invention, the use of a digitized data signal combined with the
conventional audio broadcast provides a broadening of the audio signal,
which can be detected and utilized by an appropriate receiver to extract
the encoded data from the broadcast signal.
While the digital representation of the data to be added can be combined
directly with the conventional audio signal, a preferred methodology is to
further process the data for increased security and more reliable
transmission. In a preferred embodiment each bit of the digital data
string is itself further converted into a digital data string, preferably
of the type which allows accurate verification at the reception end. One
skilled in the art will recognize that the use of an appropriate "code
vector", or conversion key of the "Gold Code" format, having a length of
.sup.n -1 bits for each bit of the initial data stream, can provide for
transmission at high accuracy and with high security.
In conjunction with the present invention, a code vector of 511 (n=9) or
1023 (n=10) bits is presently contemplated. Each "one" bit in the
digitized data is converted to the code vector bit string, while each
"zero" in the digitized data is converted to the inverse bit string of the
code vector. The conversion is done in real time, at a bit rate
sufficiently fast to preserve the temporal relationship of the data signal
to the audio track. The sequence of code vectors and inverted code vectors
representing the identification and timing signals is then combined with
the audio signal through the encoder 24 to yield a new master dub tape 20.
The level of the encoded data is very low, typically not to exceed the
level of ambient noise for the recording. To the general listener, no
change in the signal can be perceived. The encoded recording can then be
utilized in the conventional manner by the broadcast station. The summing
of the high bit rate encoded data with the audio signal results in a
broadening of the frequency spectrum of the audio. While insufficient to
cause signal degradation to a listener, the broadening can be perceived
and correlated with the appropriate code vector, provided to the reception
station to permit the encoded data to be extracted.
In addition to the encoding of appropriate broadcast data into a recording
intended for subsequent broadcast, it is also contemplated that such data
may be incorporated into live broadcast transmission segments, such as
advertising spots read by an on-the-air radio announcer. As depicted in
FIG. 4, the announcer is provided with a script 34 having a text portion
44 and bar coding 36 in the margin adjacent the portion of the script text
corresponding to the spot for which encoding is required. The script may
itself be highlighted at 60, or otherwise provided with indicia to remind
the reader that a swipe is to begin. By use of a light pen 38, the
announcer swipes or reads the coding at the commencement 52 of the marked
script portion and swipes it a second time at its conclusion 54, which may
bear similar highlighting indicia 56. Alternatively, a second bar coding
40 may be positioned on the script page adjacent the end of the script
portion desired to be identified. This may be of value when the script is
lengthy to avoid the time and effort which might be required for the
announcer to return to the commencement of the segment. The bar coding
will contain the identification of the content of the script. The swiping
occurs as the announcer reads the text into the microphone 50.
The light pen is connected to a suitable microprocessor 42 which either
utilizes the bar coded data directly or, by use of stored conversion
routines, identifies the code and associates it with stored identification
data. In either case, the appropriate identification data is generated for
encoding. The microphone 50 is also coupled to the microprocessor, which
combines the identification data with the audio signal for broadcast
through the transmission equipment 10. The initial swipe also cues the
microprocessor to commence generation of sequential timing signals by an
internal clock, such timing signals, as well as other data to be encoded,
halting upon receipt of the second, spot-closing, swipe.
Upon reception, a broadcast including the encoded data cannot be
distinguished by the listener from a conventional broadcast not including
such information. At the monitoring station 12, however, the receiving
apparatus contains appropriate circuitry to detect and decode the embedded
data. Because of the characteristics of the code vector as previously
described, a receiver having knowledge of the code vector can assemble a
running bit string of a length corresponding to the length of the code
vector and utilize it to extract the binary data stream. Once decoded, the
data may be stored, along with a locally generated time code, to permit
analysis of the spots to be accomplished. Because the decoding can be
performed essentially in real time, the sensing of encoded data may
further serve as a cue for further or additional processing. For example,
it may be desirous to provide a recording of the received audio signal to
verify the encoded data. Such recording can be done on a selective basis,
initiated by the sensing of an embedded data string, without the need for
human intervention or editing.
The data processing facility 14 receives the data as decoded by the
receiver. Because the present invention is well suited for the monitoring
and analysis of broadcast data in many markets and/or many stations, a
preferred embodiment provides a central facility which receives data from
a plurality of receiver sites. The data may be stored and conveyed in the
form of disc or tape records, or may be transmitted to the central
facility by dedicated or public phone lines, radio/microwave or the like.
Alternatively, on-site equipment, at the receiving facility 12, can be
employed for processing. The processing facility is provided with
reference data, typically provided by advertising agencies or others on
behalf of the spot owners, which includes, by spot identification code,
the time, day, date and stations for the spot. The known intended duration
for the spot is also provided. It is to be recognized, however, that the
intended duration is of primary value only in the case where the spot is
prerecorded. Due to variation in presentation, a live spot may not lend
itself to duration comparison with any meaningful level of confidence.
The receiver at station 12 may be dedicated to a given broadcast station,
in which a plurality of individually-tuned receivers may be gauged
together; or may alternatively be of the type which can scan across a
plurality of frequencies. With an appropriately high scan rate, it may be
possible to multiplex several stations into a single output stream without
compromising data integrity.
By use of appropriate known merge and processing techniques, the
broadcast-derived data, including station identification, is compared to
the reference data and appropriate reports generated. In a first report
form, only discrepancies between expected and actual broadcast are
displayed, the encoded timing signals allowing a precise determination of
both the duration and position of signal loss to be determined and
presented. In the event the corroboration is required, the audio record
can be accessed.
In another form, a report can be utilized for billing purposes to the
sponsor, whereby each occasion of a spot broadcast can be identified and
presented to the sponsor, thus providing independent and accurate air-time
charge computation and verification. Again, the audiotape record, if
generated, can serve as corroboration for the reported data.
* * * * *
|
|
 |
|
 |
Description |
|
