SNAPSHOT: iPharro

iPharro technology enables video content to be monitored and identified more quickly and efficiently than is possible with the human eye.
The fully automated process uses specialized software to analyze video clips and immediately identify them by comparing to a database of known video information. Since every video is different, each has its own "fingerprint," that is, a set of unique, readily identifiable characteristics. Potentially billions of these fingerprints can be efficiently stored in a database for quick comparison on demand.

Competing technologies often rely on the placement of earmarks or watermarks within content prior to distribution. Many of these watermarks are proprietary, meaning that outsiders interested in monitoring or tracking the content will be unable to do so. More than this, older legacy material which lacks watermarks cannot be tracked and embedded watermarks can be stripped off. iPharro avoids the pitfalls associated with this content identification technique by focusing on the characteristics of the content itself.

The result is a robust, scalable system, capable of recognizing video clips as they are uploaded / downloaded or within preexisting repositories of video content.

Copyright Protection

iPharro is on the forefront of digital asset management, helping content providers and distributors to protect valuable video content.
User-content generated sites, like YouTube and Dailymotion, unintentionally store vast amounts of illegal content. According to the US Patent and Trademark office, the US market alone loses $250 billion per year in revenues due to Internet piracy. iPharro technology can accurately and efficiently monitor and detect specific sequences that correspond to copyrighted material. This offers both content providers and distributors an added layer of protection.

Media Research

iPharro technology offers media players new and innovative ways to understand the marketplace.
Beyond just identifying video content, our technology can recognize and track alternations that have been made to preexisting video clips. Nielsen Media has already discovered the practicality of this, using the iPharro system to help monitor variations, like price or product packaging, in video advertisements.

Further, by monitoring multiple television channels in real time, iPharro technologies will enable Nielsen to track the placement of commercial advertisements. This will give Nielsen's customers an accurate picture of how the market for commercial advertisements is shaped, i.e. which commercials and types of commercials are played at which times during the week.