Media channel identification and action with multi-match detection and disambiguation based on matching with differential reference—fingerprint feature

A system comprising:

• a network communication interface;
• a processing unit;
• non-transitory data storage;
• and
• program instructions stored in the non-transitory data storage and executable by the processing unit to carry out operations including:
• receiving from a media presentation device, via the network communication interface, a query fingerprint of media content being rendered by the media presentation device,
• determining that the received fingerprint matches multiple reference fingerprints each corresponding with a different respective channel,
• responsive to at least determining that the received fingerprint matches the multiple reference fingerprints each corresponding with a different respective channel, performing disambiguation by (i) identifying a fingerprint feature that differs as between the multiple reference fingerprints and (ii) determining that the query fingerprint matches just one of the reference fingerprints as to the identified fingerprint feature, whereby the disambiguation establishes that the media presentation device is receiving the media content on the channel corresponding with the one reference fingerprint, and
• taking action based on the establishing that the single channel carries the media content being rendered by the media presentation device,
• wherein the system includes or has access to channel-data that indicates for the channels corresponding with the multiple reference fingerprints a region of media content that is channel specific, and wherein identifying the fingerprint feature that differs as between the multiple reference fingerprints comprises (i) referring to the data to determine the region of media content that is channel specific and (ii) identifying as the fingerprint feature that differs as between the multiple reference fingerprints a fingerprint feature corresponding with the determined region of media content, and
• wherein the media content comprises video content, and wherein the region of media content that is channel specific comprises a video frame region that is at least one of (i) at a video frame edge or (ii) where channel identification is presented.