초록 ▼

Fingerprint data derived from audio or other content is used as an identifier. The fingerprint data can be derived from the content. In one embodiment, fingerprint data supplied from two or more sources is aggregated. The aggregated fingerprint data is used to define a set of audio signals. An audi

Fingerprint data derived from audio or other content is used as an identifier. The fingerprint data can be derived from the content. In one embodiment, fingerprint data supplied from two or more sources is aggregated. The aggregated fingerprint data is used to define a set of audio signals. An audio signal from the set of audio signals is selected based on its probability of matching the fingerprint data. Digital watermarks can also be similarly used to define a set of audio signals.

대표청구항 ▼

We claim: 1. A method comprising: aggregating first fingerprint data and second fingerprint data, wherein fingerprint data comprises at least a reduced-bit representation of content, and wherein the first fingerprint data originated at a first source and the second fingerprint data originated at se

We claim: 1. A method comprising: aggregating first fingerprint data and second fingerprint data, wherein fingerprint data comprises at least a reduced-bit representation of content, and wherein the first fingerprint data originated at a first source and the second fingerprint data originated at second source, and wherein the first source and the second source are remotely located; identifying information associated with the first fingerprint data and the second fingerprint data; and determining a subset of the associated information. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said determining is based at least in part on a frequency occurrence of the subset, and wherein the frequency occurrence comprises a vote tally. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said determining is based at least in part on a frequency occurrence of the subset, and wherein the subset comprises at least one of audio, video, or image data. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the associated information comprises at least one of audio, video or image data. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said aggregating comprises aggregating fingerprint data within a predetermined time period. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first fingerprint data comprises a first set of audio fingerprints, and wherein the second fingerprint data comprises a second set of audio fingerprints. 7. A method to match a song based on an audio fingerprint, said method comprising: aggregating a first set of audio fingerprints provided by a first device with a second set of audio fingerprints provided by a remotely located second device; determining a plurality of songs relating to the aggregated fingerprints; and selecting a song from the plurality of songs based on a number of times a selected song matches the aggregated fingerprints. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the selected song includes the highest number of matches. 9. A method comprising: receiving a signal from a first broadcast source at a reference receiver; generating first fingerprint data from the received signal; applying the first fingerprint data to a database to select associated information; receiving second fingerprint data; and comparing the second fingerprint data with the associated information. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said comparing comprises selecting a subset from the associated information based on a vote tally. 11. A method comprising: receiving a signal from a first broadcast source at a reference receiver; generating first fingerprint data from the received signal; applying the first fingerprint data to a database to select associated information; receiving second fingerprint data; and comparing the second fingerprint data with the associated information, wherein said comparing comprises selecting a subset from the associated information based on a vote tally, and wherein the vote tally includes probabilities of a match with the second fingerprint data, and wherein the selected subset has a highest probability of a match. 12. A method comprising: receiving a signal from a first broadcast source at a reference receiver; generating first fingerprint data from the received signal; applying the first fingerprint data to a database to select associated information; receiving second fingerprint data; and comparing the second fingerprint data with the associated information, wherein a user device generates the second fingerprint data. 13. A method comprising: receiving a signal from a first broadcast source at a reference receiver; generating first fingerprint data from the received signal; applying the first fingerprint data to a database to select associated information; receiving second fingerprint data, wherein a cell phone generates the second fingerprint data; and comparing the second fingerprint data with the associated information. 14. A method comprising: receiving a signal from a first broadcast source at a reference receiver; generating first fingerprint data from the received signal; applying the first fingerprint data to a database to select associated information; receiving second fingerprint data, wherein a user device generates the second fingerprint data; comparing the second fingerprint data with the associated information; and determining a geographical location of the user device. 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the user device comprises a cell phone, and wherein the geographical location of the user device is determined by at least one of area code, cell site, device identifier, repeater identifier, or alpha-numeric data. 16. A method comprising: receiving a signal from a first broadcast source at a reference receiver; generating first fingerprint data from the received signal; applying the first fingerprint data to a database to select associated information; receiving second fingerprint data; comparing the second fingerprint data with the associated information; receiving a signal from a second broadcast source at the reference receiver; generating third fingerprint data from the received signal of the second broadcast source; and applying the third fingerprint data to the database to select associated information. 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the reference receiver comprises a plurality of receivers. 18. The method according to claim 17, wherein at least a first receiver of the plurality of receivers and a second receiver of the plurality of receivers are located in different geographical locations. 19. The method according to claim 9, wherein when a comparison of the second fingerprint data with the associated information does not identify a subset of the associated data, said method further comprises querying a second database to determine additional associated information. 20. A method comprising: receiving a signal front a first broadcast source at a reference receiver, the signal comprising an embedded digital watermark; decoding the digital watermark to obtain a plural-bit identifier; interrogating a database with the identifier to identify a set of fingerprints associated with the received signal; receiving second fingerprint data; and comparing the second fingerprint data with the set of fingerprints. 21. The method according to claim 20, wherein said comparing comprises selecting a subset from the set of fingerprints based on a vote tally. 22. A method comprising: cumulating a first set of representations of audio or video with a second set of representations of audio or video, wherein the representations comprise reduced-bit representations of audio or video, and wherein the first set of representations are provided from a first device and the second set of representations are provided from a second device; determining a plurality of audio and video content relating to the cumulated sets; and selecting a set of audio or video content from the plurality of audio or video content based on a number of times a selected set of audio and video content corresponds with the cumulated sets. 23. A method comprising: receiving content, wherein the content comprises an embedded digital watermark; decoding the digital watermark to obtain a plural-bit identifier; deriving a reduced-bit representation of the content; accessing a database with at least the plural-bit identifier; and using at least the reduced-bit representation of the content to help identify or authenticate the content.