A system and method in which a TV signal reception device (e.g., set top box) receives a broadcast signal, sends the broadcast signal to a TV, and sends an event signal to a rating statistics information server or associated user terminal when a predetermined condition occurs, to ultimately cause an associated user terminal to generate fingerprint data of audio from the TV and to provide the fingerprint data to the server so as to facilitate channel identification and generation of ratings statistics.

A system and method in which a TV signal reception device (e.g., set top box) receives a broadcast signal, sends the broadcast signal to a TV, and sends an event signal to a rating statistics information server or associated user terminal when a predetermined condition occurs, to ultimately cause an associated user terminal to generate fingerprint data of audio from the TV and to provide the fingerprint data to the server so as to facilitate channel identification and generation of ratings statistics.

A method and system for identifying social trends are provided. The method includes collecting multimedia content from a plurality of data sources; gathering environmental variables related to the collected multimedia content; extracting visual elements from the collected multimedia content; generating at least one signature for each extracted visual element; generating at least one cluster of visual elements by clustering at least similar signatures generated for the extracted visual elements; correlating environmental variables related to visual elements in the at least one cluster; determining at least one social trend by associating the correlated environmental variables with the at least one cluster.

A method and system for identifying social trends are provided. The method includes collecting multimedia content from a plurality of data sources; gathering environmental variables related to the collected multimedia content; extracting visual elements from the collected multimedia content; generating at least one signature for each extracted visual element; generating at least one cluster of visual elements by clustering at least similar signatures generated for the extracted visual elements; correlating environmental variables related to visual elements in the at least one cluster; determining at least one social trend by associating the correlated environmental variables with the at least one cluster.

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 for identifying media content using temporal signal characteristics are disclosed. An example apparatus includes at least one memory, computer readable instructions, and at least one processor to execute the instructions to identify intervals in a media signal; generate interval sums for respective ones of the intervals, a first interval sum of the interval sums based on a sum of magnitudes of first peaks of the media signal that occur between zero crossings of a first interval of the intervals of the media signal; identify second peaks based on the interval sums; and generate a signature representative of the media signal based on the second peaks.

Methods and apparatus for identifying media content using temporal signal characteristics are disclosed. An example apparatus includes at least one memory, computer readable instructions, and at least one processor to execute the instructions to identify intervals in a media signal; generate interval sums for respective ones of the intervals, a first interval sum of the interval sums based on a sum of magnitudes of first peaks of the media signal that occur between zero crossings of a first interval of the intervals of the media signal; identify second peaks based on the interval sums; and generate a signature representative of the media signal based on the second peaks.

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed selectively generating and storing hashed reference signatures. An example method disclosed herein determining whether watermark coverage of a first media segment satisfies a dropout constraint, the first media segment corresponding to a first monitoring time interval of a media source feed and, when the watermark coverage of the first media segment does not satisfy the dropout constraint hashing first media signatures associated with the first media segment to generate corresponding first hashed signatures and generating first reference data for the first media segment, the first reference data including the first hashed signatures and the first media signatures. The example method further includes, when the watermark coverage of the first media segment satisfies the dropout constraint, generating second reference data for the first media segment, the second reference data including the first media signatures.

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed selectively generating and storing hashed reference signatures. An example method disclosed herein determining whether watermark coverage of a first media segment satisfies a dropout constraint, the first media segment corresponding to a first monitoring time interval of a media source feed and, when the watermark coverage of the first media segment does not satisfy the dropout constraint hashing first media signatures associated with the first media segment to generate corresponding first hashed signatures and generating first reference data for the first media segment, the first reference data including the first hashed signatures and the first media signatures. The example method further includes, when the watermark coverage of the first media segment satisfies the dropout constraint, generating second reference data for the first media segment, the second reference data including the first media signatures.

A communication system detects a state of a connected television. The communication system receives a request to establish a communication session with a local communication device via a network. The communication system outputs a reference audio signal to a locally connected audio output device. The communication system captures an ambient audio signal from a local microphone and compares the reference audio signal and the ambient audio signal to determine if the reference audio signal and the ambient audio signal match by meeting a similarity threshold. initiates an action with respect to the communication session based on the comparison.