Hawaii Patent of the Month – February 2021
Cable television systems deliver TV services to a large portion of American TV viewing homes. The system has a provider head equipped with video servers which transmit signals to local nodes, and then to the TV subscriber home. Video on Demand (VOD) options allow the user to to choose a program and have it delivered instantaneously to the TV. BroadBand iTV, Inc (BBiTV) has been working on a VOD system that incorporates ‘drill-down’ ads to ensure the viewer is exposed to their interests.
The design uses a ‘drill-down’ advertising method which means the user makes selections, narrowing down the ad possibilities to a specific content which would be of interest to the user. BBiTV explains the design using the example of automotive ads. The user could select an ‘Auto’ category and the VOD would move down the hierarchy, narrowing content down from auto to vehicle make (e.x Nissan), to model and so on. In this method, the user controls the ads they see and ensures it is a topic of interest. All of the stored content is saved in a hierarchical database with the broadest topics at the top and lower content getting progressively more specific. Building on information from users based on popular content and trends throughout the day, the system will be able to recommend options to the user. In this way, the user has more power over their ads, and ads are better targeted to people who will appreciate them.
About BBiTV
Broadband iTV (BBiTV) is a premier developer of an innovative interactive television and video-on-demand (VOD) intellectual property (IP) portfolio. An early player in the development of on-demand and interactive technology for the cable sector, it has become a natural technology test bed.
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