A receiving device is provided that includes circuitry configured to receive a digital broadcast stream. The circuitry is configured to acquire server information corresponding to a viewing history server that collects viewing history information related to a viewing history of content. The server information is included in the digital broadcast stream. The circuitry is further configured to control transmission of the viewing history information to the viewing history server based on the acquired server information.

A method, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and reception apparatus for extracting metadata, and an information providing apparatus for providing the metadata. The method for extracting metadata includes processing, by circuitry of the reception apparatus, content that includes the metadata embedded therein. The metadata is embedded as a watermark in a first portion of a video frame of the content. The circuitry determines symbol values of the watermark from the video frame based on luminance values in pixels of the first portion of the video frame of the content to extract the metadata. At least one of the luminance values is less than 16.

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture (e.g., physical storage media) to verify radio station watermarking with software defined radios are disclosed. Example methods disclosed herein to verify watermarking of radio station broadcasts include calibrating a notch filter to attenuate a first radio station broadcast signal. Disclosed example methods also include tuning a software defined radio to demodulate a second radio station broadcast signal from an output of the notch filter, the second radio station broadcast signal different from the first radio station broadcast signal. Disclosed example methods further include processing, with a watermark decoder, audio data resulting from the tuning of the software defined radio to verify watermarking of the second radio station broadcast signal.

A method of providing a broadcast content, comprising: receiving a broadcast content from an external input source, the broadcast content derived from a broadcast stream, wherein the broadcast content includes a plurality of watermarks carrying fragments of full watermark information, wherein the full watermark information includes first URL data and second URL data, the first URL data including signaling bits which identify a portion of a final URL, the second URL data including the rest of the final URL, wherein values of the signaling bits are pre-assigned to specific URL strings, wherein the full watermark information further includes type information and point information, the type information specifying type of a corresponding watermark, and the point information identifying where the corresponding watermark is embedded in the broadcast content; extracting the watermarks from the broadcast content; re-assembling the full watermark information using the watermarks.

A second screen system comprises a first screen that renders a first content comprising watermarks of a first type and watermarks of a second type. The watermarks of the first type are captured by a second screen that reacts to these watermarks. The second screen displays information to a user and receives user input. The second screen also watermarks a second content with watermarks of the second type and renders the second content. A third device captures watermarks of the second type in both the first content and the second content. Since the watermarks embedded by the second screen can depend on the user's actions, the third device can indirectly react to the user's actions.

Methods and apparatus are disclosed for supplementing partially readable and/or inaccurate codes. An example apparatus includes a watermark analyzer to select a first watermark and a second watermark decoded from media; a comparator to compare a first decoded timestamp of the first watermark to a second decoded timestamp of the second watermark; and a timestamp adjuster to adjust the second decoded timestamp based on the first decoded timestamp of the second watermark when at least a threshold number of symbols of the second decoded timestamp match corresponding symbols of the first decoded timestamp.

Methods and apparatus to audio watermarking and watermark detection and extracted are described herein. An example method includes receiving a media content signal, sampling the media content signal to generate samples, storing the samples in a buffer, determining a first sequence of samples in the buffer, determining a second sequence of samples in the buffer, wherein the second sequence of samples is of substantially equal length as the first sequence of samples, calculating an average of the first sequence of samples and the second sequence of samples to generate an average sequence of samples, extracting an identifier from the average sequence of samples, and storing the identifier in a tangible memory.

Determining effect of changes in parameters may include, during a time interval, rotating from setting a first parameter to a first value for a first time period, to setting the first parameter to a second value for a second time period such that the time interval includes multiple first time periods with the first parameter set to the first value sequenced with multiple second time periods with the first parameter set to the second value; obtaining, for the time interval, a first set of ratings corresponding to the first time periods and a second set of ratings corresponding to the second time periods; averaging, for the time interval, the first set of ratings to a first average rating and the second set of ratings to a second average rating; and correlating the first average rating to the first value and the second average rating to the second value.

Music is blanket transmitted (for example, via satellite downlink transmission) to each customer's user station where selected music files are recorded. Customers preselect from a list of available music in advance using an interactive screen selector, and pay only for music that they choose to playback for their enjoyment. An antipiracy WID tag is woven into the recorded music so that any illegal copies therefrom may be traced to the purchase transaction. Music is transmitted on a fixed schedule or through an active scheduling process that monitors music requests from all or a subset of satellite receivers and adjusts scheduling according to demand for various CD's. Receivers store selections that are likely to be preferred by a specific customer. In those instances where weather conditions, motion of atmospheric layers or dish obstructions result in data loss, the system downloads the next transmission of the requested CD and uses both transmissions to produce a good copy. In conjunction with the blanket transmission of more popular music, an automated CD manufacturing facility may be provided to manufacture CD's that are not frequently requested and distribute them by ground transportation.

A play-out device is provided for playing out an audio signal via a speaker to provide a sound signal, and a recording device for recording the sound signal to obtain a recorded signal comprising a recording of at least the sound signal. The play-out device is configured for generating noise suppression data comprising the audio signal, or a reference thereto, and timing information for enabling the audio signal to be correlated in time with the recorded signal. A noise suppression subsystem is provided with the recorded signal and the noise suppression data. The noise suppression subsystem comprises a timing manager for synchronizing the audio signal with the recorded signal based on the timing information, and a noise suppressor for processing the recorded signal based on said synchronized audio signal to obtain a processed signal in which the recording of the sound signal is suppressed. The noise suppression subsystem is thus enabled to perform noise suppression, even when not comprised in the play-out device but rather in another device such as the recording device.