VIDEO SEQUENCE ID BY DECIMATED SCENE SIGNATURE

A method for identifying video content consistent with certain embodiments involves, selecting a plurality pixels using a pixel selection algorithm, the pixels being selected to provide a repeatable selection of pixels in a selected frame in the video content; establishing a scene signature by: extracting a characteristic of each selected pixel that can be represented in a digital form for each pixel, and generating a digital stream by concatenating the digital form for the extracted characteristic of each pixel; transmitting the scene signature to an identification device for comparison with scene signatures in a database having a plurality of video content items to identify the video content; and receiving either the identification of the video content or an indication that no video content is uniquely identified by the scene signature. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.