ADVERTISEMENT FILTRATION METHOD AND SYSTEM

摘要

Free-to-air television programmes are watched by a large number of viewers. The broadcast of these programmes are typically supported by television commercials. In fact, these commercials occupy a significant proportion of airtime. On an average, viewers can expect 2.4 minutes of commercials for every 10 minutes of broadcast time. This can vary with different broadcasters. This naturally translates into inconvenience for the consumers, who have to sit through these commercial breaks. The inconvenience is compounded for viewers who do not watch a show live, but rather, for individuals who store the television programmes for later viewing. One approach is to use a storage system, for example a videocassette recorder (VCR) to selectively record only regular programming and to suspend recording when during a commercial break. However, this requires a person to be physically present for discriminating the commercial portion from the regular programming. An embodiment of the invention uses the watermark shown with normal television programmes for discriminating between advertisement and non-advertisement period during screening of normal television programmes. Images, constituting a portion of a television programme which is screened during a non-advertisement period, are buffered for subsequent storage onto an image storage system for obtaining an advertisement free pre- recorded television programme.