The people meters would replace less technically advanced set-top boxes and the paper diaries that Nielsen began providing in 1950.

The company now uses a combination of meters and paper diaries to gather data four months a year.

Historically, the data has been collected from respondents via a paper diary .

Arbitron generates its data by asking consumers to record their listening habits in paper diaries.

Like Nielsen, Arbitron has been trying to abandon paper diaries.

Nielsen said the meters were more accurate than the set-top boxes and paper diaries it has used.

Currently, viewers in New York record the programs they watch in paper diaries.

The plans are written into formal, color-coded paper diaries, which must be signed by the appropriate authorities and handed in each month.

Such electronic features reduce the inaccuracy of self-reported data, a big problem with paper diaries.

"Patients quickly discern that researchers don't know if they are doing their paper diary," he said.