The technology is intended to allow for the transmission of large volumes of user event data, such as video viewing and DVR activity. Deployed with cable and other broadband system operators, FourthWall's technology is intended to enable the collection of user event data from every set-top box in a market.
"This new patent allows for the efficient collection and retrieval of user event data from any broadband device, be it a set-top box, game console, or smart phone," said Dr. Louis Slothouber, chief scientist and co-founder of FourthWall Media. "What makes this technology unique is that event data is compressed into a small memory buffer in the broadband device in real time. These buffers are periodically uploaded to the collection end-point in the headend when bandwidth is available. We accommodate potentially huge volumes of data in resource- constrained situations, thus optimizing the use of bandwidth overall. This new patent dovetails perfectly with a prior patent granted last year. Together the two patents provide intellectual property for a complete end-to-end user event data collection solution across many consumer devices."
"More and more cable operators are benefitting from our proven data collection and processing technologies," said Tim Peters, FourthWall CEO. "Analytics built on census-level viewer data are critical to optimized ad placement and measurement. As television adopts programmatic advertising platforms, the availability of granular, precise viewer data will be a key driver."
FourthWall says this is its eleventh U.S. patent, with five more pending. The company also has 15 international patents.