Advertisement insertion during application launch in handheld, mobile display devices

Abstract

A time delay that occurs when an application is launched in a mobile handheld display device (MHDD), when the application or content is downloaded, before the MHDD is ready for the user to interact with it, wastes the user's time and, in an embodiment of the invention, this time delay constitutes an interval that is used to display targeted advertisements that are already stored on the MHDD, and that are rendered and displayed to the user on the screen while the user waits for completion of downloading of the application or content to the MHDD. An embodiment of the invention provides a micro-splicer that inserts alternate content for display on an MHDD, and renders and displays pre-stored advertisements during application launch time.

1 . An apparatus comprising:
 a micro-splicer adapted to render and display an alternate multimedia content and a program on a mobile handheld display (MHDD) in response to instructions received from an alternate content scheduler;   a status register adapted to monitor status of a program download into a program buffer, in communication with said micro-splicer and said status register, and adapted to store said program after it is downloaded to said MHDD;   the status register monitoring a start of the download of said program, said program in said program buffer, while the program is being downloaded, program download completion, and program launch, and further adapted to continue to monitor a the program buffer and detect when stored program streams in said program buffer are sufficient to render and display on said MHDD; and   an alternate content scheduler, in communication with said micro-splicer and said status register, and adapted to switch said MHDD display between said alternate multimedia content and said program in response to said start of a download of said program, said program download while the program is being downloaded, program download completion and program launch status information, said scheduler adapted to synchronize insertion of said alternate multimedia content with the status of said program launch;   a storage to which said alternate multimedia content to be displayed during program downloading and prior to program launch is downloaded and saved on said MHDD; and   said alternate content scheduler adapted to select alternate multimedia content to be displayed during program download and launch in response to metadata provided to said MHDD prior to said program launch and adapted to stop loading said alternate multimedia content into said MHDD display buffer in response to receiving status information by said status register.   
     
     
         2 . A method comprising:
 rendering and displaying, by a micro-splicer, an alternate multimedia content and a multimedia program on a mobile handheld display (MHDD) in response to instructions received from an alternate content scheduler;   monitoring status, by a status register, of a start of a download of said program, said program download while the program is being downloaded, program download completion, and program launch, and adapted to continue to monitor a program buffer and detect when stored program streams in said program buffer are sufficient to render and display on said MHDD;   storing the program in the program buffer, in communication with said micro-splicer and said status register, adapted to store said program after it is downloaded to said MHDD; and   providing an alternate content scheduler, in communication with said micro-splicer and said status register, adapted to switch said MHDD display between said alternate multimedia content and said program in response to said start of a download of said program, said program download while the program is being downloaded, program download completion and program launch status information, said scheduler adapted to synchronize insertion of said alternate multimedia content with completion of said program launch;   providing a storage to which said alternate multimedia content to be displayed during program downloading and prior to program launch is downloaded and saved on said MHDD; and   selecting, by said scheduler, alternate multimedia content to be displayed during program download and launch in response to metadata provided to said MHDD prior to said program launch and adapted to stop loading said alternate multimedia content into said MHDD display buffer in response to receiving status information by said status register.   
     
     
         3 . An architecture to insert alternate multimedia content in a mobile handheld digital device (MHDD), said MHDD enabled with onboard processing capability for communication, storage, computation and display, comprising:
 a micro-splicer adapted for switching the rendering and display on said MHDD between display of said alternate multimedia content and downloaded program content;   a status register for monitoring status of a start of a download of said program, said program download while the program is being downloaded, program download completion, and program launch, and for continuing to monitor a program buffer and for detecting when stored program streams in said program buffer are sufficient to render and display on said MHDD; and   a scheduler adapted to receive and store said alternate multimedia content and related metadata over any of a broadcast and a unicast channel, said scheduler adapted to synchronize content switching on said MHDD between display of said alternate multimedia content and said downloaded program content, in response to receiving status information by said status register, by notifying said micro-splicer of program download initiation and download status, as obtained from said status register; such that said multimedia content is inserted and displayed on said MHDD during downloading and launching of program on said MHDD.   
     
     
         4 . An apparatus for synchronized insertion of alternate multimedia content into a mobile handheld display device (MHDD) for display to a user of said MHDD, said MHDD enabled with processing capability for communication, storage, computation and display, comprising:
 said MHDD adapted to download over a wireless network link alternate multimedia content and store said alternate multimedia content in an alternate content buffer in said MHDD prior to downloading a program over said wireless network link to said MHDD;   said MHDD adapted to receive metadata over said wireless network link prior to downloading said program, said metadata comprising information on which particular alternate multimedia content of said downloaded alternate multimedia content to display on said MHDD during said downloading of said program;   said MHDD adapted to decrypt, decode, and save said metadata on said MHDD in an alternate content scheduler;   said MHDD adapted to initiate said downloading of said program to said MHDD;   said MHDD adapted to receive, responsive to said initiating said downloading, program streams of said program over said wireless network link;   said MHDD adapted to decrypt, decode, and store, responsive to said MHDD receiving said program streams, said program streams on said MHDD in a program store till data in said program store is sufficient for rendering and display on said MHDD;   providing a program download status register adapted to inform, responsive to said initiating said downloading, said alternate content scheduler of said initiating said downloading said program, wherein said program download status register monitors a start of a program downloading on said MHDD;   said alternate content scheduler adapted to select, responsive to said informing said alternate content scheduler, a particular alternate multimedia content of said downloaded alternate multimedia content and associated with said program, said selecting based on said metadata;   said alternate content scheduler adapted to load, responsive to said selecting said particular alternate multimedia content, an MHDD display buffer with said stored particular alternate multimedia content;   a micro-splicer adapted to render and display said particular alternate multimedia content on said MHDD in response to instructions received by said micro-splicer from said alternate content scheduler;   subsequent to said initiating said downloading, said program download status register adapted to continue to monitor said program store and detect when said stored program streams on said program store are sufficient to render and display on said MHDD;   responsive to detecting that said stored program streams on said program store are sufficient to render and display, said program download status register adapted to inform said alternate content scheduler of said detection;   responsive to receiving said informing by said program download status register, said alternate content scheduler adapted to stop said loading said particular alternate multimedia content into said MHDD display buffer;   subsequent to said stopping loading said particular alternate multimedia content into said MHDD display buffer adapted to load said stored program streams into said MHDD display buffer from said program store based on instructions from said scheduler; and   said micro-splicer adapted to render and display said program streams on said MHDD from said MHDD display buffer;   such that said particular alternate multimedia content is inserted in a synchronized fashion into said MHDD and displayed during downloading of said program on said MHDD.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , said micro-splicer adapted to:
 initiate rendering and starting display of program content only after completion of rendering and display of a currently rendered and displayed alternate multimedia content.   
     
     
         6 . An apparatus to insert and display alternate content in a mobile handheld digital device (MHDD), said MHDD enabled with onboard processing capability for communication, storage, computation and display, in addition to program execution, comprising:
 said MHDD adapted to initiate a program download over a wireless network;   said MHDD adapted to receive alternate content metadata;   the onboard processing power of the MHDD adapted to decrypt and decode said received metadata and store said decrypted and decoded metadata in an alternate content buffer linked to a scheduler;   a file download status monitor adapted to maintain, responsive to said initiating said program download and while said program is being downloaded by said MHDD, status information of said program download and provide said status information to said scheduler from a start of said program download;   wherein said program download comprises:
 said MHDD receiving a program file from a mobile video provider over said wireless network; and 
 decrypting said program file and storing said decrypted program file in a content/program buffer; 
   said scheduler, responsive to said scheduler receiving said status information of said program download and based on said alternate content metadata, adapted to instruct a micro-splicer to load alternate content into a display buffer of the MHDD for display on a display of the MHDD;   said MHDD display adapted to display said alternate content in said display buffer;   said file download status monitor adapted to continue, while said alternate content is displayed on said MHDD display, to maintain status information of said program download until detecting an end of said program download or detecting sufficient data in said content/program buffer;   said scheduler adapted to instruct said micro-splicer to stop loading said alternate content into said display buffer when it receives a download completion status from said file download status monitor;   said micro-splicer adapted to load, once said alternate content display is complete, said program into said display buffer and display said program on said MHDD display.