Terminal Equipment | Nielsen Encoders

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Nielsen Overview

Nielsen has a 90 year legacy in providing clarity for their clients around the global consumer. Nielsen knows what consumers watch – and what they buy – and more significantly they provide intelligence to help their clients understand these behaviors in relation to their business. Nielsen is dedicated to innovative methodologies and technologies, allowing them to be at the forefront of how they capture consumer behavior, which is integral to their clients’ business growth.

Active/Passive (A/P) Audience Measurement

In 2005, the Nielsen Company introduced the Active/Passive Audience Measurement system designed for the purpose of measuring new forms of media distribution, multi-platform content, and particularly DTV and DVR-based time shifted viewing. The A/P measurement system utilizes multiple identification engines to credit television tuning, including advanced audio encoding or watermarking (embedded within the audio spectrum), audio signatures or fingerprints which require a sample compared against a reference, and video watermarking.

Multi-Level Encoding

Nielsen’s patented audio watermarking technology provides the capability to track content distribution from its origin to its final destination. This is accomplished through the insertion of a unique Program Content SID (Source Identification Code) at the broadcast network or national syndicator distribution center and insertion of a Final Distributor SID at a local broadcast station, local cable origination or national cable network distribution center . The SID is a second-by-second serial number used by Nielsen and the television industry to uniquely identify program content to ensure proper crediting of viewing. Both Program Content and Final Distributor codes co-exist, resulting in audio content that is multi-level watermarked. Nielsen’s household meters detect and decode these watermarks to identify viewership.

Additionally, the patented Automated Measurement of Lineups (AMOL) technology is inserted in the VBI portion of the video and employs multi-level tracking capabilities similar to its audio counterpart.

Nielsen's Audio Encoding Technique

The NAVE II embeds a very small amount of audio energy in louder portions of the audio to ensure the non-audibility of the code. This process has been refined over several years using Nielsen and outside testing to ensure audio quality is maintained. The system has been tested through AC-3 and MPEG-2 compression to ensure survival.