Abstract:
A replacement pathway in an STB is utilized to determine loss of packets and delivery error during reception of media broadcasts, and to retrieve replacement data from one or more replacement media servers. The retrieval of the replacement data is performed during playback of the received media broadcasts. The communication of media broadcast incorporates delays to accommodate the retrieval of replacement data. Alternatively, received broadcast media streams are buffered to enable retrieval of replacement data and to provide seamless presentation of media content in the media broadcasts. The replacement media server performs access authentication operations during replacement data retrieval. The replacement media server is accessed via markup language, for example, HTML and/or XML, based interfaces and/or dedicated APIs. The replacement media server may deny replacement data based on plurality of service criteria such as acceptance and denial criteria, which may comprise allowable bandwidth and/or error rates.
Abstract:
A method for allocating communication resources for communication includes, in a first communication system including a plurality of transmitters, allocating frequency and time bandwidth for communication with a second communication system; determining a first portion of the plurality of transmitters for communication with the second communication system based, at least in part, on information obtained from the second communication system; and allocating the first portion of the plurality of transmitters for communication with the second communication system utilizing the allocated frequency and time bandwidth. A second portion of the plurality of transmitters may be allocated for a purpose other than communication with the second communication system utilizing the allocated frequency and time bandwidth. The allocating of the second portion of the plurality of transmitters includes allocating the second portion of the plurality of transmitters for communication with a third communication system utilizing the allocated frequency and time bandwidth.
Abstract:
A primary computing device and a secondary computing device couple with an internal storage component of the primary device powered by, and data accessed by either the first or secondary computing device. The internal storage component includes multiple connectors for connecting internal buses and external buses over which data can be accessed, internally or externally. It includes an internal storage unit (in general, at least one storage unit, and multiple storage units are supported) to which data can be written and from which data can be read. It also includes arbitration and isolation circuitry that makes it possible to access the internal storage unit (for read/write data access, etc.) over one of the buses. The arbitration and an isolation circuitry also facilitates powering the internal storage component employing power supplied by an internal power source, or via an external power source, such as power from an USB connection.
Abstract:
Systems having a user interface comprising a filtered view of media available for consumption are disclosed. An embodiment of the present invention may provide a first user with a view that enables consumption of only the available media that matches characteristics of a media filter. The characteristics of the media filter may be specified by a second user, and the second user may define the characteristics of the media filter remotely, via a communication network. The user interface may support separate media filters for each of a number of different users. Filter characteristics such as type of media channel, the language of any dialogue, an industry rating, an overall viewer rating, and the media format may be supported. The media filter characteristics may be applied not only to what is displayed on the user interface, but also the media available for selection via a remote control.
Abstract:
A search operation can implement a two step approach to provide geographically restricted and verified information to a user. First, high relevance search results are obtained by searching only in a specifically defined region. Second, the quality of the search results can be improved by performing contact address correlation. If the search server finds a reliable reference address in the search results these search results can be presented to the user after removing-search results not correlating well with legitimate and registered addresses. Therefore, the region-restricted presents only presents legitimate web pages or search results to a user. Thus, the region-restricted search operation improves quality and may minimize search time and reduce a huge volume of non-valued Internet traffic, which is likely to impair the overall performance and experience on the Internet.
Abstract:
A system providing billing support for the exchange of media is disclosed. An embodiment of the present invention may provide for the authorization of and billing for the delivery of media from a media server to local storage for consumption on a television display. The media may be audio, still pictures, video, or data. Other embodiments may provide for the authorization of and billing for the transfer of media from a media peripheral to a media server for media backup or distribution. A media peripheral may be, for example, a digital camera, digital camcorder, personal computer (PC), personal digital assistant (PDA), multi-media gateway, and MP3 player. An embodiment may support pre-payment, payment at time of use, and post-use billing for the media exchange. In an embodiment of the present invention, the storing or accessing of media may be performed without identifying the user to the media server.
Abstract:
In most of the Internet search operations, unwanted search results can be eliminated to reduce the high volume of the Internet traffic, and make the search operation highly efficient, according to the present invention. The present invention proposes a two step approach. The first step is to achieve the high relevance of the search results by search region restricted search operation. The second step, further adds high degree of relevance to the search results by the contact address correlation with a reliable reference address or the legitimate contact address eliminating the crap and squatter sites from the search result list. The region restricted search does searching in a selected geographical region. Thus the region restricted search operation minimizes the search time and huge volume of Internet traffic, which is likely to impair the overall Internet performance.
Abstract:
Systems and methods are provided in which eyewear with time shared viewing is capable of supporting delivery of differing content to multiple viewers/users. The content that is delivered to each viewer includes a respective frame sequence that is displayed on a screen. The frame sequences are mixed when they are displayed on the screen. A lens assembly may be used by each viewer to view the frame sequence that is delivered to that viewer. For instance, a first lens assembly may pass a first frame sequence but not frame sequences other than the first frame sequence. A second lens assembly may pass a second frame sequence but not frame sequences other than the second frame sequence, and so on. The content that is delivered to a viewer may depend on a maturity of the viewer (e.g., whether the viewer's maturity is less than a maturity threshold).
Abstract:
Systems and methods are provided that relate to frame formatting supporting mixed two and three dimensional video data communication. For example, frames in frame sequence(s) may be formatted to indicate that a first screen configuration is to be used for displaying first video content, that a second screen configuration is to be used for displaying second video content, and so on. The screen configurations may be different or the same. In another example, the frames in the frame sequence(s) may be formatted to indicate that the first video content is to be displayed at a first region of a screen, that the second video content is to be displayed at a second region of the screen, and so on. The regions of the screen may partially overlap, fully overlap, not overlap, be configured such that one or more regions are within one or more other regions, etc.
Abstract:
Remote control devices that support interaction by a viewer with a screen assembly of a display device are provided. The eyes of the viewer have a first position within a premises relative to the screen assembly of the display device. The remote control device has a second position within the premises relative to the screen assembly of the display device. The remote control device includes an input interface that receives viewer input, a communication interface that supports wireless transmissions, and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry participates in a generation of location information relating to the first position of the eyes of the viewer. The processing circuitry causes the communication interface to make at least one wireless transmission relating to the generation of the location information. The processing circuitry, at least in part, causes a reconfiguration of the screen assembly based on the location information.