This application claims priority from U.S. provisional application No. filed on 13/8/1999, 60/148,807, and U.S. application No.09/627,870 filed on 28/7/2000, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Detailed description of the illustrated embodiments
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a system is provided for delivering data content to a movie viewer. The content includes advertising and non-advertising content from various sources that are assembled into an image. Several sets of content may be displayed simultaneously. For example, as shown in fig. 1, four sets of content are included in one composite screen image 10, each set of content being in its frame 12, 14, 16 and 18.
The exemplary image in fig. 1 is based on hypertext markup language (HTML). Each frame comprises an HTML page with visual content. The length of the entire image of the example is designed to run for a specific time, for example 20 minutes. In most cases, the pages are arranged to change content during this time, either by scrolling or by content replacement.
The upper left frame 12 comprises a page with a single GIF image, which is an icon for the system and is used to convey the name, logo, and a means for contacting the system operator.
The upper right frame 14 includes a page that displays a set of GIF images (some dynamic and others static). These GIF graphs are commonly referred to as "banner advertisements. These pages displaying advertisements are played in such a way that the advertisement displayed is changed every 10 seconds. In this way, 40 independent GIF images can be completely cycled over 6 minutes and 40 seconds. Each advertisement may be displayed 3 times in 20 minutes. The advertiser for the frame 14 may be a national health organization and may, for example, include a logo on the right side of the frame 14.
The lower left corner frame 16 includes a page with mixed text and graphics. Both the text and the graphics are news content. They are designed to scroll play from top to bottom in 6 minutes and 40 seconds. The content is displayed 3 times in 20 seconds. The text and graphics within the framework 16 may be, for example, movie information of interest and news in the form of magazines.
The lower right corner frame 18 includes a page having multiple sets of content. The page is designed to play the content in 20 minutes. The content is primarily unimportant items and phrases, etc., but the last item in the set of content is a close-up advertisement as shown in fig. 1. The trivia and phrase are shown in the first 19 minutes and the close-up advertisement is shown in the last minute. The trivia and phrases are text and graphics, such as news content, but the close-up advertisement is a Shockwave animation. The advertisement may convey availability of movie related items, for example, in a domestic fast food restaurant.
The images are delivered in their ordinary customer service form using internet technology. The HTML content is retrieved and presented to a screen or other output device, such as INTERNET EXPLORER (sold by microsoft corporation of washington) or NAVIGATOR (sold by NETSCAPE corporation of california), via a web browser. The browser requests, accepts and sends the HTML stream into audiovisual images. The browser is an end user of the HTML content, also called a client. The content is obtained from other programs, the server program, which is running constantly and replies to content requests. Delivering HTML requires a transport protocol to move the content from the server process to the client. The protocol is the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), and the service process is called an HTTP server.
The content of the example shown in FIG. 1 includes system logos, banner advertisements, news items, and unimportant content. In other embodiments, the content further includes, but is not limited to, sports games rebroadcasts, program listings, movie reviews, dramas, editorial and talk shows, cartoons, art and literature titles, live broadcasts and live recordings of places, characters and events, and health sub-shows, among others.
The image is not limited to the four frames shown in fig. 1. The image may provide only one frame or any number of multiple frames. Four frames are an example as this is believed to be the optimal number for the movie audience. However, other frame layouts and frame numbers may be tried to optimize the image. Further, the layout and number of frames may vary for different purposes, and the image may be designed to run for any time, not limited to 20 minutes.
In addition, banner advertisements need not remain in the GIF format and may be static or dynamic. Such advertising may be, for example, JPEG format (provided by the joint photographic experts group), PNG format (issued by thomas butler and tom rayne as RFC2083 by IETF), TIF format (provided by seattle Aldus, washington) BMP format (provided by microsoft), or provided in other image formats. They may also be an animation or video, in AVI format (supplied by Microsoft corporation), MPEG format (published by Moving Picture Experts Group as IEC/ISO 11172-1, 2, 3 and the description that follows), in REALMEDIA (supplied by Real Networks, Inc. in Seattle, Washington), or in other time-varying formats. They may also be presented in a vector format, such as WINDOWS METAFILE (WMF) format (available from microsoft corporation) or other vector formats. Such banner advertisements may also be embedded in, for example, SHOCKWAVE animation or other formats, by ACTIVEX (available from microsoft corporation) or JAVA APPLET (available from Sun, ca). Over time, new formats and rendering of binary objects may occur. Since these new formats and binary objects are designed for HTML or for successors of HTML, they are candidates for use as banner ad images.
The advertisement also does not need to retain slogans. They will be displayed in any size and shape depending on the space available in the home page. The advertisement need not be limited to 10 seconds of display. The close-up ad in the lower right corner of the example of fig. 1 is a 60 second ad that is not a conventional banner size. These advertisements may be converted in many different ways, including but not limited to scroll screens and evanescent. The content in other frames, such as banner advertisements, may be in any HTML-available format.
Each HTML format, HTTP protocol, HTTP server and browser together present the image in the preferred embodiment to the viewer. However, there are other languages, transmission protocols, and presentation software that may be combined to produce the same or similar results. Another approach would include successor blocks of HTML, extensible markup language (XML) using extensible link language (XLL), merging and associated specification. Other devices for the same purpose are available from the general markup language Standard (SGML).
Other languages may be constructed for storing, communicating, and displaying text, images, and graphics. These languages may, but need not, be specified by a Document Type Definition (DTD). These languages may display content very naturally or they may dominate the binary object, which may display the secondary content of the markup. This would eliminate the need for HTML, XML or other SGML-based equivalent implementations of the present invention.
The content does not have to be compressed into a language or script. They can be controlled by the application of a range of materials. This series of materials may be merely a list of contents that may or may not contain associated characteristics and performance parameters. Such a list of contents may be identified by specialized display software and displayed according to its characteristics and execution parameters. This would eliminate the need for a language and achieve the objects of the invention as well.
The properties and execution parameters are also embedded in the display object. In this way, a series of display objects are displayed as a stream of information, using specialized display software, depending on their own internal characteristics and execution parameters. This would eliminate the need for a range of materials and achieve the objects of the invention as such.
Whether by language, series of materials, or stream of objects, the data is retrieved from a central server. The preferred embodiment drags content from the server to the client under a set of events and behaviors initiated and controlled by the client. Techniques for processing data include, but are not limited to, Webcasting technology offered by the POINTCAST (sold by EntryPoint, san Diego, Calif.) program, and the CHANNEL program (sold by Microsoft corporation).
In the preferred embodiment of the system of the present invention, the overall system 20 can be described as a common interconnection of computers, software and electronics, as shown in FIG. 2. These components include a central content provider 22, a set of servers 24 connected to the central content provider 22 through the internet 28, through a firewall 26, and a set of client components 30 connected to the servers 24 through an intranet 32. Each customer assembly section includes a customer assembly processing unit 34 and a projector 36. Grouping of interconnected devices facilitates centralized management of content and distribution of presentation of content. The server 24 is housed in one or more central facilities, while the client components 30 are housed in the theatres they serve. The server 24 is connected to the internet 28 and is protected by a firewall 26 to facilitate access to the system from the outside.
The server 24 has as its main task to accept, store and assemble information content for playback. The servers 24 are configured with real estate protection that provides uninterrupted service in the event that one or more of the servers 24 fail to operate properly. With redundant processors or memory devices, a failure in one area can be immediately compensated in another area until the failed system is restored and begins to operate. In addition, the location clusters of servers will be distributed geographically, serving local areas. Once a fix fails, one or more other fixes take over the service until the fix is repaired. By means of the device and redundant positioning, the system as a whole does not fail at a single point.
The server is geographically located to provide access to a high quality capability and communication server. The physical structure of the server may be sized and partitioned to accommodate the requirements of the system. The Cluster (Cluster) will be replicated for redundancy and to reduce the implementation cost of the WAN. The server runs a UNIX system (an operating system developed by AT & T, now available from many vendors) or similar operating system that can perform multiple server operations on one machine to adapt the logical structure of the present invention. Other operating systems include, but are not limited to, LINUX (developed by Linus Torvalds, Santa Clara, Calif.), AIX (sold by Armonk International Business machines corporation, New Jersey), VMS (sold by digital Equipment corporation, Compaq of Houston's division, Texas), and WINDOWS NT (sold by Microsoft corporation). These include, but are not limited to, all forms, versions and variations of these operating systems.
The server computers may themselves be general purpose computers and may include one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs), Random Access Memory (RAM) and permanent data storage devices (e.g., magnetic disks). The CPU executes the software instructions, thus operating on the data. The instructions and data are staged for execution in RAM. The software and data are stored in persistent data storage. General purpose computers are available from IBM, HP, Sun, DEC and many other vendors. A preferred embodiment of the system is adapted for use with one or more computers purchased from one or more vendors based on cost/performance criteria.
The client device 30 has as its main task to display content information. So that failure of the information content of one client system does not adversely affect the server, other client systems, or the interconnection. Such failures are managed through rapid repair and/or replacement.
As shown in fig. 3, the client system 30 includes a Personal Computer (PC)34 connected to an intranet 32 of the system via a connection port 40, through which the PC receives the played content. The client system 30 also includes the digital projector 34, through which the personal computer causes the content being played to appear on a cinema screen 42. Fig. 3 shows the physical construction of a single screen cinema in which the personal computer itself serves as the presentation platform for the locally received portions and the played content, as well as the presentation system for the content to appear on the screen.
As a platform for presentation of the locally accepted parts and content, the personal computer 34 accepts the images via an intranet and implements them for access by a local server program. When the screen operator activates the presentation, digital projector 36 is activated to project the content to be presented onto screen 42 for viewing by the audience. One client system is required at each screen for projecting the information of the present invention. However, in a multi-screen cinema complex, the structure is varied.
In another embodiment of the present invention comprising a multi-screen cinema complex, as shown in fig. 4, each client system 44 is connected to a sub-network (local area network, LAN)46, which in turn is connected to a personal computer sub-network server/http server 48. The server 48 is connected to the intranet 32 through an intranet communication port 40. The local sub-network server 48 acts as the only point of contact with the intranet and as a local HTTP server. In this way, client systems on the subnet share a connection with the system's intranet, without requiring a separate connection. And providing the content to be played from a single machine is more efficient than updating each customer's personal computer individually. Furthermore, the image records are generated on this common machine and the records are more efficiently transmitted back to the central server.
Each client system 44 includes a PC50 which may be any general purpose small computer capable of running the required software. This includes a small computer that is not labeled as a personal computer, but may be labeled as a workstation or other name. For example, such a system may include a 200MHz or faster single or dual processor computer having 64 or more megabytes of RAM and 2 or more gigabytes of disk storage. Suitable processors include, but are not limited to, the Pentium central processing unit manufactured by Intel corporation of Santa Clara, Calif., the central processing unit manufactured by AMD corporation of California, and the central processing unit manufactured by Cyrix of the division of VIA technologies, Inc. of Taipei, Taiwan. Other suitable processors include, but are not limited to, POWER PC processors (provided by motorola, illinois).
Each client system 44 also includes a projector 52, which is a high-density output device that projects digital images onto a reflective surface 54 for viewing by more viewers. Examples of suitable projectors for projecting digital images onto commercial movie screens include, but are not limited to, projectors manufactured by Barco Display Systems of Ketreick, Belgium, projectors manufactured by "digital projection International Inc" of Manchester, UK, and projectors manufactured by NEC of Tokyo, Japan.
The intranet 32 may be, for example, a Wide Area Network (WAN), and may be implemented via one or more physical connections, including, but not limited to, wires, radio, fiber optics, and satellites. TCP/IP is used as a low-level protocol, high-level protocols such as FTP and HTTP for transferring content from one computer to another.
The internet connection 28 is a high-speed connection from one or more system servers to one or more Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The one or more servers connected to the internet include a firewall. The firewall provides advertisers and other content providers with secure access to the system and protects the system from adverse activity by content providers on the other internet.
Connected to the internet means that a content provider can transfer its information content from any point of entry to the internet. Since the internet is accessible from many points around the world, this means that content providers can access the system from many locations around the world.
Other configurations may also serve the same function as the preferred embodiment of the present invention. These other configurations include, but are not limited to, a fully centralized configuration and a multi-projector configuration.
In a fully centralized architecture, the content to be played is either prepared or quickly assembled from its content assembly and transferred directly to the PC, and rendered and projected onto the movie screen. Problems in such systems include potential spikes in server requests and spikes in network traffic. However, the theatre schedules can be staggered to reduce the request spikes and/or the servers and networks can be scaled up to meet these surges. This solution is in fact the preferred embodiment when the server has spare capacity and the network has spare bandwidth.
The multi-projector system is one in which a single computer drives more than one projector and screen. This may be a suitable solution if the images on all screens of the theatre complex are the same. The multi-projector system described above is also a suitable solution if the computer power is large enough to allow more than one image to be displayed simultaneously, or to ensure that the images do not overlap by means of an interleaved schedule.
The personal computer used to provide services to the client system may be replaced with special hardware and software for special purposes, such as connecting networked computer devices and possibly networked network servers. This particular device includes, but is not limited to, a family diskless workstation called a web tv and a "set-top box" family. Since in many cases the client system does not need to have much content on a continuous basis, such a device would be a suitable and cost effective alternative.
In a cinema complex, the sub-network server is shown as a computer that is merely a server. Such a sub-web server serves the dual function of playing the image content locally and rendering the content to a screen that is part of the client system.
In fig. 5 a client server logic diagram 60 is shown illustrating the access steps and data flow in the main application of the present invention. Contact is established by the content service provider when the content provider enters the global resource locator (URL) of the present system into their web browser 62 (both IE and Navigator are possible browsers). The system can be accessed through an HTTP server 64 that responds to browser HTML page requests. The content provider establishes a working session with the system by entering the system. Supporting the working session and performing dynamic data exchange is a hypertext preprocessor 66. In a preferred embodiment, the system uses an APACHE HTTP server (sold by apache software Foundation, maryland) which is compiled with a PHP hypertext preprocessor (developed by PHP development group, www.php.net).
Apache services the web page in PHP scripts, and the scripts are executed by a PHP interpreter before servicing the web page. In this manner, the Apache/PHP server can execute these instructions, including the processing service 68 described in detail below, and return the results as part of an HTML page to the content provider's web browser. To interact with the present invention, the content provider enters the system by clicking on a check-in prompt option that represents a landing page. In the process of moving to the login screen, the HTTP protocol is transformed to a protective case port, which encrypts the data stream of the internet. This exchange will be saved on the secure port until the content provider exits the system, which marks the end of the session. HTTP exchanged over a secure port is often referred to as HTTP. This provides sufficient protection for the data exchanged during the session.
Apache and PHP are just one solution for implementing a dynamic web interface, often referred to as dynamic html (dhtml). Other solutions for server-side embodiments include, but are not limited to, JAVA SERVER PAGES, or JSP (sold by Sun microsystems), ACTIVE SERVER PAGES or ASP (sold by Microsoft corporation) and COLDFUSION (sold by Allaire corporation, Mass.). These embodiments have the same working principle. However, DHTML is not the only solution required to support the system of the present invention.
Other solutions include the use of HTML in embedded dual interface (machine code or virtual machine code instructions) and server side program support. Techniques to facilitate client-side dual interfaces include, but are not limited to, JAVA APPLETS and ACTIVE X control techniques, and techniques to facilitate server-side dual processing include, but are not limited to, COMPONENT OBJECT MODEL (offered by Microsoft corporation), ENTERPRISE JAVA BEANS (sold by Sun microsystems), and COMMON OBJECT REQUEST BROKERARHITECTURE (offered by the "target management group", www.omg.org). The system of the present invention may be implemented using these or similar techniques. This use may be a tertiary structure similar to the preferred embodiment, or the same or similar apparatus as described herein may be used. Such a system may serve the same purpose as the present invention, regardless of whether it employs the structures and/or devices of the present invention.
Development environments that bring these technologies together for application development purposes include, but are not limited to, SILVERSTREAM (sold by SilverStream corporation, ma) and VISUAL AGE (sold by International business machines). The system of the present invention may be implemented using these or similar development environments.
The content providers have their desktop computers 62 connected to the HTTP server 64 through a browser by entering the URL of the system (e.g., HTTP:// www.cinecast.com) into their own browser. The content provider enters a username and password as part of the login process. The PHP script instructions invoke a login service in the processing service 68 which in turn queries the database 70 for records to which it matches. If a matching object is found, a dialog is established under the account of the content provider and the user is provided with a main page that provides the user with a series of options for establishing and managing the content as a job. The content provider creates a job that is stored in the database 70 in a manner similar to PHP script instructions and processing service programs. Among the information stored as part of the job are the directory of the requested content, the location of playback, and the content itself. When the preparation job is completed, the user submits the job.
The submitted job is in a pending state before its contents reach the screen as described below. If the job is approved, it is ready to be processed by the scheduling and production program 72.
The scheduling and production program 72 schedules all of the presentation content for all locations. When a movie schedule is available and a job scheduling request is ready for scheduling, the scheduler generates a content schedule, which may be used by the production process. This procedure will be described in detail below. The scheduling, production and registration program 72 also generates an image for each film showing for each screen position. The image is transmitted to an HTTP server local to the screen location showing the movie 74. The local HTTP server can run on the client PC or on the sub-network PC, depending on the site architecture.
The theater manager or a device controlled by the theater manager can invoke the start of the presentation image at the beginning of the seating process, or prior to the official presentation, or at any predetermined time. The image will appear on screen 42 via projector 36. The preferred embodiment uses a front screen projector, however, a rear screen projector may also be used. In fact, the output device may be any other device, including but not limited to a CRT, LCD or LED device mounted at a theater auditorium, lobby, entrance or other location where people may wait, pass and gather.
The play records are generated by the local HTTP server 74 through the process of each play of each movie. The record is transmitted back from the client system and read. When the record is read, the job schedule is updated to confirm that the content has been played. In this way, the job can be checked for completion of execution and a report can be generated. The recorded job schedule will be accessed in conjunction with the box office data to generate detailed viewing reports for charging and/or cost/profit analysis.
The advanced server-side architecture shown in FIG. 6 comprises a more detailed view of a portion of the system shown in FIG. 5. The system comprises a three-level structure, noting that the User Interface (UI) is implemented in a web-centric manner, which may itself be multi-level, and also noting that its final function is to prepare the display content for the client system, which itself is a two-level structure.
As shown in FIG. 6, the high-level server-side logical structure includes a two-level, three-level, and multi-level structure, which refers to the structure of the User Interface (UI), processing and data storage requirements associated with most information systems. Each of these three requirements constitutes one level, the UI level generally referring to the first or top level, the processing level generally referring to the second or middle level, and the data storage level referring to the third or bottom level. More specifically, the first level includes an HTTP server (fixed) for external content provider portal 80 and an HTTP server for internet system portal 82. The second level includes processing services supporting UI functionality 84, a scheduler to match requests to actual conditions 86, a production program 88 for compiling the images, and a recording program 90 for recycling playback records. The client system 92 is itself a two-level process. The third level includes an accounts and users storage section 94, a theater manager and address storage 96, a movies and release storage section 98, a jobs and schedules storage section 100, a jobs content storage section 102 and a play volume storage section 104. A three-level structure organizes the system into three different levels. In a two-level structure, the entire process is split between the first and third levels, leaving a UI level and a data storage level. Multi-stage simply refers to a two-stage or three-stage structure.
Although the third stage is labeled as the last stage, it is often the first stage designed. After understanding the requirements, the artifacts can be identified and used to represent persistency in a database or some other data storage system. The processing in the second level is mimicked by the data in the third level, and the representation of the useful data in the final data can be exchanged with user and process selections, which are made available to the user in the UI level.
The data storage (or third) level is organized into four wide groups of data (in a database) and two volumes. These four databases may or may not include physical partitioning in the data. The account and user database 94 maintains contact, charges, logins, and other records relating to account information. The job and schedule database 100 maintains a record of each job text describing the content. Each text includes provider information, schedule information. Job flow status information, other text related information, and the vector of the actual content data stored in job content volume 102. The theater manager and address database 96 maintains information describing each screen location, the actual schedule, the number of box office sales, affiliates in the complex, affiliates in the theater manager, and other location-related information. The movie information is stored in the movie and release database 98 along with descriptive text, classifications, expected total box office values, and other relevant information. The content to be shown is placed on the playback volume 104 waiting to be transferred to the target address.
The reason for using a database is because the database can reliably restore complex data and relationships between data. The database management system (DBMS) used in the preferred embodiment is a relational database. Other databases for DBMS selection include hierarchical databases, object-oriented databases, and network databases. A preferred embodiment of the present system will utilize one or more DBMS derived from one or more suppliers based on price/performance parameters. Suitable DBMS software includes, but is not limited to, Oracle (sold by Oracle corporation, California), SYBASE (sold by Sybase corporation, California), INFORMIX (sold by Informix software corporation, California), and DB2 (sold by International Business Machines).
A user is a level of abstraction. What comes out of the user 110 are multiple levels, as shown in FIG. 7A. Most of these levels are records that include information about participants that have particular permissions to interact with the system. One participant is a person or thing outside of the system or a transaction that interacts with the system, such as the Rational UnifiedProcess software (sold by Rational software corporation of california). More specifically, the levels may include an account contact 112, a theater manager contact 114, a system administrator 116, a job contact 118, an address administrator 120, and a system operator 122. The system administrator 116, job contact 118, address administrator 120, and system operator 122 are all participants.
All user levels share the same state and state changes. Referring to FIG. 7B, a user level begins at state 130, (shown in FIG. 132) and is created by the system administrator 116 or system operator 122 (only the system administrator can create, modify, or delete a new system administrator or new system operator). Once the user level is established, the user is in an active state (as shown at 134), which is the user's normal state. In the active state, the user can open a work dialog window with the system and interact with the system to the extent allowed by its level.
The user may be paused (as shown at 136) by the system administrator 116 or the system operator 122. The suspended user (state 138) may establish a working session with the system, but within a very limited scope. The purpose of this state is to prevent users from using any artifacts on the system, significantly reducing their other priorities to system operators and system administrators. An artifact is a piece of information that is generated, modified or used by a program that defines a scope of responsibility and that is visually controlled. An artifact may be a model, an original copy of a model, or a file provided by Rational unified Process software (available from Rational software corporation). The user may also resume from the suspended state 138 to the active state 134 as shown at 140. A user can be terminated as shown at 142 and the termination state 144 is a user-level termination state. In the termination state 144, the user cannot establish a working session with the system. In other embodiments, additional states may be added that are useful for providing partial functionality.
The account contacts 112 are not described as participants in the system, but rather as contacts to accounts, finance, administration, or other tasks. When an account is opened, one or more account contacts are established. The account contacts can be added, deleted, and changed throughout the presence of the account.
The job contact 118 is derived from the account contact 112. However, the job contact 118 is described as a contact in the system. The job contact 118 is a contact for one or more particular jobs. The job contact 118 can perform one or more roles for the job, including job author, job edit, job reader. However, these roles are not necessarily different to extend the user-level hierarchy, which they may do in different embodiments. The job contacts 118 may establish, schedule requests, submit and cancel jobs when they are designated contacts. A job contact is defaulted to the designated contact they are doing for the job being created. Additional job contacts may be designated by the incumbent job contact, the system operator or system administrator.
The exhibitor contact 114 is not depicted as a contact of the system, but rather a contact of the exhibitor, economic, administrative, or other aspect. When an exhibitor is established, one or more exhibitor contacts are established. The exhibitor contact may be added, deleted or changed at all times that the exhibitor is present.
An address manager 120 is derived from the exhibitor contact 114. The address manager 120 is depicted as a system participant. The address administrator is a contact for one or more exhibitor addresses. In a particular play movie belonging to a particular screen of a place for which the manager is assigned responsibility, the address manager can create, delete and modify schedules (for future plays) and box-office sales records (from the current play situation). When a screen is added to a specified location or when an address manager is initially generated, the address manager is specified by a system operator or system administrator. The address administrator may be created by a system operator or system administrator.
A system administrator 116 is depicted as a participant in the system. The system administrator may make any and all changes to the system, including but not limited to: change system data stored in databases and system volumes, start and stop the processes, programs, servers and services, and add, remove and configure hardware.
A system operator 122 is depicted as a participant in the system. The system operator 122 may make changes to the data stored in the database and system volumes. These changes are limited by the internal system interface provided. They cannot make particular changes to the data through a direct interface, such as a command interpreter, or make particular queries to the database through an "indirect" interface.
An account is an artifact that defines a unique content provider. The account may be created for an advertiser, a non-profit organization, an agent. The agent may be an advertising agency or other type of content provider. An account must have one or more account contacts, which may or may not be job contacts. Account contacts are responsible for the appropriateness of the content they provide and for payment of the account. An ACCOUNT and its status are represented in the CC _ ACCOUNT and support tables.
An account may be created by a system operator or system administrator. This process begins at state 150 in fig. 8. Once the account is created (shown at 152), it is in an active state 154. The account has two other states, a suspend state 156 and a close state 158. An account may be suspended from the active state 154, as shown at 160, and may subsequently be restored to the active state, as shown at 162. An account may be closed from either the active state 154 (as shown at 164) or the suspended state 156 (as shown at 166). Active users associated with the active account may set up new or manage existing related jobs. An active user may browse existing work associated with a suspended account. An active user cannot access any information related to a closed account. The account is suspended due to billing problems, disruptive activity, or inactivity for a period of time. The account may be closed for various reasons including, but not limited to: there are problems that cannot be solved, or the content provider of the account terminates.
An operation artifact is a combination of information content and context. The content may be, for example, a GIF file, whether static or dynamic, a SHOCKWAVE portion, or any other file that can be exposed or stored in HTML or XML. The context is a scheduling request, target audience and other relevant information. Although a JOB object is a transient object with limited start, life and end, it has continuous representativeness in the persistent structure (database "table") CC _ JOB and its supporting tables.
A job must have one or more scheduling requests that define where and when the content should be played. However, there is only one request, and this request may not be satisfied. Fulfilling a request is a task of the scheduler. As shown in fig. 9, the scheduling request is up to a four dimensional space that describes where and when the content should be played, dates of start and end, time of day, location and movie. More specifically, the axis designated 170 represents the date, along which there are start and end dates (172 and 174). The axis marked 176 represents the time of day, along which there are start and end times (178 and 180). The axes indicated at 182 represent positions and the three-dimensional frame defined by the three axes represents a particular movie 184. Additional priority attributes may also be obtained. More specifically, the priority called "run of house" is a low level priority that places content based on last minute availability, which does not reserve a time slot and therefore can be emptied in advance. Content providers can obtain this option at a lower cost.
A job may be established by a job contact, system operator, or system administrator. A job is started at state 200 of fig. 10 and is set up (as shown at 202). The job is initially set up in the active state 204. The creator of the job is designated as the initial contact for the job. Only the contact, the system operator or system administrator may update the job from the forward pointing job. The contacts of the jobs may update the active jobs by updating job content, adding, deleting, and changing scheduling requests, and submitting or cancelling job content. A system operator or a system administrator may also perform these operations.
Once the job has completed, the content is transferred and one or more scheduling requests are added, the job contact may submit a job (as shown at 206) to be granted. In the workflow of the system, submitting a job is the first step. Because the system is centrally operated, the workflow follows the state transition of the operation. The main flow is indicated by thick arrows in fig. 10.
The submitted job is pending approval in terms of its integrity, lack of conflict, appropriateness, and available capacity (at state 208). If the job is approved (as shown at 210), its status is changed to approved (212). If it is not approved, as indicated at 214, the job is rejected and placed in an inactive state 216 and the content provider will be notified of such rejection. The content provider may then take other methods and first reactivate the job to resubmit the job (as shown at 218). The job for an activity may be canceled as shown at 220.
Depending on the date approved, the approved job is queried (state 220) and scheduled by the scheduler. The running job (state 222) is an approved job that has started running as shown at 224. Once a job has been played for the last time (as shown at 226), its status is changed from running to archiving (step 228). From any state, pending, approved, and running, the job may be suspended. A suspended job is in a suspended state and can be released from suspension at any time. In the suspended state, the contents of the job are not displayed.
When a job runs, its schedule is recorded, whether it is played or not (with reason codes). The recorded schedule describes the time and place of job content display. The last record attribute is inserted after the last display and the job is set to archive.
The client remains in the system due to the conflict. An advertiser may, under certain conditions, strive for a unique opportunity to transact with a media manager or theater manager to prevent other competitors from advertising. In addition, an advertiser may want to see the advertiser's current directory before submitting a job. The subject CC _ CLIENT is a representation of all customers. There is a representation of all conflict relationships in the attributes and support tables of the CC _ CLIENT.
The movie job is a description of the movie content. A release object is an extension of a movie object that represents release time, projected total volume, and other studio-estimated information. This relationship facilitates republishing, limited publishing, and previewing. Movies and releases are popular because they are already known at the studio. The second-run movie and the classical movie are backfilled. The MOVIEs and RELEASEs are represented in the CC _ MOVIE, CC _ MOVIE RELEASE, and support tables.
An object of projection is a movie which is played at a specific time on a specific screen. The SCHEDULE object is created by the scheduler to reserve a JOB for a particular play, represented in CC _ watching and CC _ JOB _ SCHEDULE.
The box office reception object (reception object) is input or loaded into the CC _ BO _ RECEIPTS table. The receiving object makes the number of each broadcast and the total ticket amount very detailed. When the receiving objects are known, they can be used together with the recorded schedule to find the viewing of a job.
The screen object represents each movie screen (screen). One or more screens have membership in the object at address. An address object is a theater complex or other collection of screens at the same address. One or more addresses have membership in an exhibitor object, and an address object is located within a regional object. A request may specify a screen, address, exhibitor, or region. The schedule is associated with screens in that the request is assigned to one or more screens. The EXHIBITOR, location, SCREEN and area are represented in CC _ EXHIBITOR, CC _ SITE, CC _ SCREEN, CC _ SITE _ REGION and their supporting tables.
The screen image is divided. The transient diagram shown in fig. 1 has four parts. The format object includes HTML, XML or SGML code, which describes the allocation layout. Each partition is a framework object that may or may not have its own code. The job content needle is set to a specific frame type having a specific size and purpose. One type of framework is a banner framework, which is used to transmit short and wide banner content, particularly advertising content. Another form of frame is a close-up frame, which is larger and more prominent than the slogan frame. The close-up framework is typically used to deliver non-advertising content, such as unimportant events or news. The format and framework objects are configurable and can describe any layout for maximum extension. The FORMAT and FRAME objects are represented in CC _ PRESENTATION _ FORMAT and CC _ PRESENTATION _ FRAME.
The database may have a body relationship diagram as shown in fig. 11 to mimic the database. Fig. 11 shows the relationship between the important data of the system, and the artifacts that hold the system, i.e. the tables and their interrelationships. The chart is one of many ways to represent data and is a comprehensive description of only the major artifacts of the preferred embodiment. The database can further be standardized or non-standardized for performance or other reasons, and still serve the same purpose.
The primary users 250 of the system are advertisers or ad agencies, who will establish an account 252. The account 252 has the necessary attributes to facilitate charging. The user can establish a job 254 associated with a customer 256 via an account. The job 254 is a job containing the corresponding content and the transmission of the description of the content. The transmitted description is primarily retained in one or more scheduling requests 258.
A scheduling request 258 details the delivery of job content into a combination of one or more of time 260, movie 262 and/or screen (location) 264. The request may thus be to set an advertisement for a particular movie in general, or to set an advertisement for a particular movie specifically at a particular time and at a particular location. For multiple requests per job, an advertiser can serve multiple market segments with the same job content. A job schedule is a job request that has been translated into a particular exhibition. Because of the play, itself is scheduled 7-14 days in advance, and because advertisers and agents require play weeks or months ago, a job request can be uncertain for some period of time.
A movie is a unique attraction. Among the many attributes of the movie are attributes such as genre and rating, which naturally appeal to a certain number of movie viewers. The screen refers to a movie screen at a physical location (position) 266, which belongs to the playback flow 268. Screens have special attributes including geographical location, and location/sound amplifiers that naturally attract a certain number of viewers of the movie.
Time is also an important aspect of playback. Because time is linear, it can be represented using standard numeric symbols and saved using standard time/date persistence techniques. One play 270 is exactly when a movie crosses over on one screen at one time. A show will typically be set up 7-14 days in advance. Receiver 272 is a special cinematic presence recorder.
Some tables may contain a large number of records. The table has changed data (working table), e.g. CC _ JOB _ SCHEDULE, which can be periodically emptied and the emptied records can be recycled to a database with a similar schema. The emptied data can be accessed by standard partitioning techniques, e.g. from data or from identifiers, or by support vectors (redirection tables) or by some other standard technique. Non-worksheets may be partitioned using similar techniques.
At the service level, the transactional service creates, reads, modifies, and deletes information stored in the data storage level in the working transactional unit. The scheduler matches the requested schedule with the actually available schedule. The production program assembles the content into an image according to a schedule and causes it to be displayed for transmission. The login program retrieves the image record from the client system. Transactional services support functionality in the UI level. The available functions are determined by the type of user, the client's role with respect to the data that it wants to control, and their priority in the system. Transactional services include, but are not limited to, establishing, deleting, and updating routes for all major artifacts. They include, but are not limited to, state transition routes.
An example of such a state transition procedure is called cacout. create, which receives two parameters, strName (which is a cssring) and iType (which is an integer). This program returns an integer, iActlD, which is a unique ACD-ID or negative error. The program creates an ACCOUNT by adding an entry to CC _ ACCOUNT. It assigns and returns a unique ACT ID, starts the ACCOUNT to the active state, and adds a create token to CC ACCOUNT NOTES.
Another example of a state transition procedure is caccount. delete, which receives two parameters: iActID (which is a 32-bit integer) and bdep (which is a boolean value where the default value is an error). This program returns a boolean value bsequenss. Setting dBeep to correct, this function deletes all relevant CONTACTs (CC _ CONTACT), the CONTACT byte (CC _ CONTACT _ NOTES) and the ADDRESS (CC _ ADDRESS). This function actually deletes the ACCOUNT token and all tokens in CC _ ACCOUNT _ NOTES with ID iActID in CC-ACCOUNT.
A third example of a state transition procedure is caccount. This program suspends ACCOUNT logging with ID iActID in CC-ACCOUNT and creates a new token in CC _ ACCOUNT _ NOTES.
The scheduler is a continuously running program that connects the content of the job to the playout of each movie. Limited content may be included in the image. The number of contents can be read and counted from the specified image format and frame record. When the broadcast is played on the screen, the scheduler reads the broadcast content (CC _ shown) when the content is available in the system. The JOB's directory REQUEST (CC _ SCHEDULE _ REQUEST) is read and an entry is added to CC _ JOB _ SCHEDULE, ordered by the approved date. After the image volume of the content is filled, all other requests are not satisfied. If a job request cannot be satisfied, a notification or a portion of the billing report may be sent to the content provider in an email or registration message. However, when new play content is added or the currently scheduled job is cancelled, capacity is available again.
A job is not passed unless there is a high degree of certainty that the job will be implemented. One exception is that low priority (run-of-house) jobs do not share the same high confidence in the layout. If a JOB can be satisfied, a time entry is added to CC _ JOB _ SCHEDULE.
As shown in fig. 12, there are a variety of catalog request variations that are generated based on different factors such as location 300, movie 302, time of day 304, date 306. The area indicated in location 300 represents a directory request where there is only a specific location request, but no other specific criteria. The indication area of 304 indicates that the directory request has a special time requirement and no other special criteria. The field indicated at 306 indicates that the catalog request has only a special date requirement and no other special criteria.
The overlapping areas represent combinations of the particular criteria shown. For example, the area indicated by 308 represents a special request with a combination of location and time of day factors, without other special requirements. The area indicated at 310 represents a combination of time of day and date criteria for each location, movie.
These changes are translated directly to one or more SOL statements for building a directory. Once the directory is created, the copy will be moved as it is currently considered unnecessary. Copies are provided because the scheduling grant requests overlap and not because of the overlap of the queries. This directory is used to add a SCHEDULE to CC _ JOB _ SCHEDULE.
The production monitoring device produces the playback content from the format, frame definition and content. The FORMAT and FRAME are generated by address and date from CC _ preamble _ FORMAT and CC _ preamble _ FRAME. The content is read from the job monitored by the catalog monitor. The remaining additional capacity is filled with low priority, content.
As shown in fig. 13, the contents are assembled into an image according to a previously defined play frame. Content of each layout specific type for frame 350 is assembled. The top left panel 352 is a logo panel and the content identified is assembled into the content for playback at the most appropriate portion of the frame 350. The lower left corner panel 354 is a news panel with news content assembled with a scroll script to enable it to be activated. The lower right corner panel 356 is a trivial content and feature advertisement panel where scripted resets of trivial content, feature advertisements, and replacement content are compiled together. The top right panel 358 is a banner ad panel to which a list of banner ads generated by the dispatcher and a banner script for replacing the ads are assembled. The frame 350, the layout 352 and 358 and the layout content together constitute the playing content.
The playing content is transmitted stage by stage. The schedule is compared to the schedule of a few days earlier and their content cannot be played while the copy is still registered. This step reuses content that has already been transmitted and stored in the broadband of the WAN. After the rating, the content is compressed into a separate file and transmitted to the client PC to be responsible for the playing service.
The login program is responsible for the playing service and recovers the playing login of the client PC. The log-in information is extracted to update the schedule entry to confirm that they are either played or a reason code is used to indicate that they will not be played.
At the user end interface, the user operates the system by using two separate HTML/http (web) interfaces, one of which is exposed to the internet and the other of which is restricted to the intranet inside the system. The exposure of the internet is secure and provides only the necessary level of functionality to describe, organize and submit information content. The exposure of the intranet provides the system operator and administrator with full authority to perform duties and manage the system in the workflow.
The system mainly comprises three user interfaces, a supplier interface, a display supplier interface and an operator interface. These interfaces provide the required functionality for a particular user to perform their work.
As shown in FIG. 14, the client system logical structure comprises a two-level structure consisting of an HTML/XML browser 360 that exchanges data with an HTTP server 362. Such a system may be used regardless of whether the client system is stand alone or multi-screen. The image is received from the server-side production process 364 and stored in the local volume 366. The transfer of volumes across the WAN is accomplished by using File Transfer Protocol (FTP), HTML images, film copies or movies across Network File System (NFS), or by a custom program using sockets. Once the image is localized to the client system, it can be played to the viewer at any time.
The image begins when one loads the HTML/XML browser 360 on the client personal computer. The browser sets the URL to a specific screen. The local HTTP server 362 responds by sending out an image from a local volume to the browser. The content of the browser is displayed by the connected display hardware for viewing by the intended viewer.
When the content of the image is served, the HTTP server 362 loads the record into a file to account for the fact that the content has been served and thus played in front of the intended viewer. The record includes not only the unique ID of the content, but also time and place data. The log files are periodically collected by the server-side logging program 364, and the image log data is returned from the HTTP server 362 to the local volume 366, as shown at 368, and from the local volume 366 to the server-side program, as shown at 370.
A viewing report may also be prepared. The viewership report may be generated for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, charging based on viewership, compensation given for fixed-price jobs, or for advertising effectiveness.
As shown in fig. 15, a viewership report 400 may include identifying data such as customer data, job data, the date the advertisement was played, an account (or agent), and customer contacts. The viewing report may include catalog request data that gives details of the request (e.g., movie, time of day, date and place) and details of the actual viewing (e.g., number of movies, days, screens and people).
Advertisements may be sold based on viewership and expected viewership. That is, the job may be paid solely on the number of people that can be reached. The advertisement may also be paid for based on expected viewership. Other methods of adding certainty to a seller based on viewership include, but are not limited to, using viewership in a catalog request.
The viewership reports may be used in conjunction with the customer's sales information to cost/profit analysis and refine the target market. This type of analysis requires a simple correction analysis by location, film or time. In this way, advertisers can adjust their advertising characteristics and develop more targeted and cost-effective programs.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the system and method of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. The present invention includes various changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.