Importance

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Abstract

A method and system for automatically qualifying a signal reproduction device for installation of monitoring equipment. In a household in which viewing patterns are to be monitored, for example, a relatively inexpensive and simple set usage device is installed in proximity to a television set which is expected to receive little or no use. Times when the set is in use are sensed, and data concerning those times are stored and transmitted to a central location. At the central location, the times represented by the transmitted data are compared to a minimum usage threshold, and a more sophisticated monitoring device, able to detect the channel tuning state of the T.V. set, is installed in proximity to the T.V. set only if the usage of the T.V. set exceeds the minimum usage threshold. The number of relatively expensive and complex tuning-monitoring devices required to be installed is thereby reduced.

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First Claim