Abstract: In a method of metering Web usage, a collection program is downloaded from a server to a metered computer in response to a message transmitted from the metered computer to the server, and the collection program is executed on the metered computer in order to collect Web usage history information stored in a history file by a browser running on the metered computer. The collected Web site usage history information is transmitted by the metered computer to the server. The Web site usage history information is stored in the server along with Web site usage history information from other metered computers.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for improving data warehouse performance are disclosed. An example method to format data received from a data warehouse includes receiving an analysis instruction, retrieving data from the data warehouse based on the analysis instruction, and associating a mapping file with a fact table, the mapping file stored in a first hierarchical directory file path.

Abstract: An encoder calculates an entropy of at least a portion of a signal and encodes the signal with the calculated entropy. A decoder decodes the signal in order to recover the encoded entropy. The decoder may also determine an entropy of the signal and may compare the entropy that it determines to the decoded entropy. The decoder detects compression/decompression based upon results from the comparison, and/or the decoder prevents use of a device based upon results from the comparison.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for embedding a watermark are disclosed. In an example method, one or more frames associated with a compressed digital data stream (240) is identified. Each of the one or more frames is unpacked to determine a plurality of transform coefficient sets (320). The plurality of transform coefficient sets (320) is modified to embed the watermark (230).

Abstract: An encoder transforms at least a portion of a signal, counts the resulting transform coefficients having a zero value, and encodes the signal with the zero count. A decoder decodes the signal in order to recover the zero count. The decoder may also determine its own zero count of the signal as received and may compare the zero count that it determines to the recovered zero count. The decoder may be arranged to detect compression/decompression based upon results from the comparison, and/or the decoder may be arranged to prevent use of a device based upon results from the comparison.

Abstract: A detection apparatus includes a tuner tuned to the program and a meter coupled to the tuner and arranged to detect content ancillary information from the program tuned by the tuner. The content ancillary information may be a media link, closed captioning information, or the like. The meter may also be arranged to extract a broadcast signature from the program. A comparator compares the broadcast signature to a reference signature selected from a library of reference signatures based upon the content ancillary information. Broadcast signatures from unknown programs may be clustered at least partially on the basis of the content ancillary information.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus to extract audio codes are disclosed. An example method includes receiving signals on a plurality of channels and ranking the signals based on at least one characteristic of the signals. A first channel from the plurality of channels is selected based upon the ranking of the signals. The example method further include determining whether a first signal on the first channel includes at least one code and extracting the at least one code from the first signal when the first signal includes the at least one code.

Abstract: Display device ON/OFF detection methods and apparatus are disclosed. An example method disclosed herein to determine whether a presentation device is ON or OFF comprises determining a plurality of metrics based on monitoring at least one output of the presentation device, wherein each metric in the plurality of metrics comprises a decision indicating an operating state of the presentation device, and combining the plurality of metrics to determine whether the presentation device is one of ON or OFF, wherein combining the plurality of metrics comprises at least one of weighting the plurality of metrics or determining a majority vote of the plurality of metrics.

Abstract: The invention can enable monitoring of the display of content by a computer system. Moreover, the invention can enable monitoring of the displayed content to produce monitoring information from which conclusions may be deduced regarding the observation of the displayed content by an observer. The invention can also enable monitoring of the display at a content display site of content that is provided by a content provider site over a network to the content display site. Additionally, the invention can enable the expeditious provision of updated and/or tailored content over a network from a content provider site to a content display site so that the content provider's current and appropriately tailored content is always displayed at the content display site. Aspects of the invention related to transfer of content over a network are generally applicable to any type of network.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus to operate an audience metering device with voice commands are described herein. In an example method, at least one of a television program audio signal or a voice command from an audience member is transduced into an audio input signal. Based on the audio input signal and a television audio line signal, a residual audio signal is generated. One or more vectors from the residual audio signal are extracted. Based on the one or more vectors extracted from the residual audio signal, the voice command is identified.

Abstract: Systems and methods for determining whether a television is on and in near proximity are provided. An example system includes a sensor, an analog-to-digital converter, and a digital signal processor. The digital signal processor processes a set of digital audio samples detected by the sensor to determine if the sensor is in near proximity to a television in an on state.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus to detect content skipping by a consumer of a recorded program are disclosed. In a disclosed method, a plurality of recording times of sections of a recorded program are stored in association with playback times of the recorded program. Playback intervals between sequential pairs of the playback times are compared with corresponding recording intervals between sequential pairs of the recording times to determine if any portion of the recorded program was not played back in real time.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus to count people appearing in an image are disclosed. One disclosed method reduces objects appearing in a series of images to one or more blobs; for each individual image in a set of the images of the series of images, represents the one or more blobs in the individual image by one or more symbols in a histogram; and analyzes the symbols appearing in the histogram to count the people in the image.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for processing audience measurement data detects and corrects one or more corrupted time codes. The corrupted time codes are identified by calculating a first set of intervals between a set of read times that may, but need not, be consecutive, each of which corresponds to one of the time codes extracted from a broadcast signal. The first set of intervals are compared to a second set of intervals between the time codes to identify when one or more of the second intervals do not meet a predetermined criteria. At least one of the time codes associated with each of the second intervals that do not meet the criteria is identified as being corrupted. The method used to calculate a corrected time code involves using the magnitude of the corresponding first interval to calculate the corrected time code.

Abstract: Systems and methods for determining whether a television is on and in as near proximity are provided. An example system includes a sensor, an analog-to-digital converter, and a digital signal processor. The digital signal processor processes a set of digital audio samples detected by the sensor to determine if the sensor is in near proximity to a television in an on state.

Abstract: A method of analyzing multi-market broadcasts of commercial advertisements, has unique identifiers are assigned to a plurality of expected commercial advertisements, information regarding the plurality of expected commercial advertisements and respective unique identifiers is recorded in a computer database, electronic detections of a plurality of actual market-broadcast instances of a commercial advertisement are received, which comprise a plurality of broadcast markets, information regarding the detections is recorded in a computer database, related ones of the plurality of actual market-broadcast instances of the commercial advertisement is recorded in a computer database, which comprising a plurality of broadcast markets, information regarding a plurality of multi-market broadcast orders of commercial advertisements is recorded in a computer database, and related ones of the actual market-broadcast instances of the commercial advertisement are associated with a related multi-market broadcast order for sai

Abstract: Blocks of audio are encoded based upon corresponding first and second frequencies. The first and second frequencies are hopped from block to block. An audio quality measure (AQM) is computed for each block of audio such that, if x out of y blocks of audio have an AQM greater than a first predetermined threshold, encoding is suspended. For example, x may be nine and y may be 16. Also, if a ratio of the energy in a front part of a block of audio to the energy in a rear part of the block of audio is greater than a second predetermined threshold, that block of audio is not encoded even though x out of y blocks of audio have an AQM greater than the first predetermined threshold. Multiple distributors of the audio may encode the audio with their corresponding identities using the above processes.

Abstract: An encoder includes a sampler that samples an audio signal and that generates from the samples a plurality of short blocks of sampled audio. Each of the short blocks has a duration less than a minimum audibly perceivable signal delay. A processor combines the plurality of short blocks into a long block. The long block is transformed into a frequency domain signal having a plurality of independently modulatable frequency indices. The frequency difference between adjacent indices is determined by the minimum duration and the sampling rate of the sampler. A neighborhood of frequency indices is selected so that the frequency difference between a lowest index and a highest index within the neighborhood is less than a predetermined value. Two or more of the indices are modulated in the neighborhood so as to make a selected one of the indices an extremum while keeping the total energy of the neighborhood constant. A plurality of frequency bands are so coded.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting time compression of broadcast content that has been encoded with time data, includes a processor for comparing encoded time data with broadcast time data to determine whether the content has been time compressed. The method and apparatus additionally detect commercial advertisements inserted between segments and exclude when detecting time compression of the content.

Abstract: An encoder transforms at least a portion of a signal, counts the resulting transform coefficients having a zero value, and encodes the signal with the zero count. A decoder decodes the signal in order to recover the zero count. The decoder may also determine its own zero count of the signal as received and may compare the zero count that it determines to the recovered zero count. The decoder may be arranged to detect compression/decompression based upon results from the comparison, and/or the decoder may be arranged to prevent use of a device based upon results from the comparison.