Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Zhigu Holdings Limited

Microsoft Corporation

Cory J Cirrincione

Joseph Lloyd McClanahan

Sean E Kollenkark

Douglas Duane Berrett

Mark D Schwesinger

Andrew Peter Oakley

Vignesh Sachidanandam

Frederic Azera

Doug Berrett

Chad Gibson

Jessica Ellen Zahn

Clifton James Hebert

Colin Lee Acton

Michael S Hayton

Alex Savchenko

Joe McClanahan

Hiroshi Ohno

Michael J Patten

Christopher Bruce Weare

Kevin Timothy Shields

Robert Michael Dolin

John Thomas Carlson

Todd San Jule

Talal Ali Batrouny

Renaud Bordelet

Shawn E Pickett

Tara Kraft

Luke Wabaunsee McCullough

Joe Downing

Hans Peter Hess

Elyssa Cox

Paul Michael Irwin

Chad Wesley Wahlin

Jeffrey Christopher Abraham

Erick Fejta

Mike Albee

Catherine Pham

Joseph L Mcclanahan

Douglas D Berrett

Andrew P Oakley

Various embodiments provide a so-called companion experience in which content consumed on a primary screen can serve as a source for an automatic search that returns related content that can be presented on an auxiliary screen. The companion experience can be considered to reside in a layer that can be moved across different screens. The different screens can include different physical screens, such as those associated with different computing devices, or the same physical screen in which the companion experience would be rendered in a frame or sub-window.

Companion experience

A storage machine holds instructions executable by a logic machine to receive a digital representation of a spoken command. The digital representation is provided to a speech recognizer trained with a user-specific grammar library. The logic machine then receives from the speech recognizer a confidence rating for each of a plurality of different media items. The confidence rating indicates the likelihood that the media item is named in the spoken command. The logic machine then automatically plays back the media item with a greatest confidence rating.

Media item selection using user-specific grammar

Embodiments related to controlling media privacy settings are disclosed. One disclosed embodiment provides a media server system including a configured to receive media consumption data for each media content item of a plurality of media content items consumed by a user. Media consumption data for each media content item includes an item-specific privacy status and a media content item identifier. The server is also configured to receive, from one or more of another user and a media content item recommendations program, a request for access to the media consumption data for a media content item, and to provide one or more of the other user and the media content item recommendations program with access to the media consumption data based on the item-specific privacy status of the media consumption data.

Controlling media consumption privacy settings

A music service remote from a local device user identifies matching video and music content. An identification of a piece of media content that is part of a collection or playlist, is received by the service, the selected piece of media content being included in a unified catalog of video and music content that is accessible by the music service. If the selected piece of media content has a matching member in the unified catalog, the matching member replaces the selected piece of media content during playback of the collection on the local device. The service analyzes a collection of media content associated with the user, the content collection being either i) stored locally on the local device, or ii) stored remotely from the local device in a store that is accessible by the music service, or iii) stored using a combination of local and remote storage.

Automapping of music tracks to music videos

A television recording system in which multiple client devices can form a group, sharing tuners and channel lineups. The clients may be desktop or laptop computers, digital video recorders or other set top boxes. A device within the group may act as a master, maintaining a master recording schedule and assigning tuners to record programs when scheduled or when a client requests use of a tuner for display live programming. Clients may register with the master, revealing the capabilities of their tuners. The master may, each time a tuner is desired, select an appropriate tuner based on multiple criteria, including bandwidth considerations and capabilities of the tuner.

Aggregated tuner scheduling

Systems and methods for detecting whether or not two devices are proximate to one another in order to provide a shared computing experience are provided. The method includes broadcasting audio from a first computing device; receiving the broadcast audio at a second computing device; and processing the received audio to identify a unique audio signature within the broadcasted/received audio. The unique audio signature uniquely identifying the first computing device. The method may further include determining that the first computing device and the second computing device are proximate to one another based on the broadcast audio; and providing a shared computing experience at one or both of the first computing device and the second computing device, where the shared computing experience is not provided in the event that it is determined that the first and second computing devices are non-proximate to one another.

Proximity detection for shared computing experiences

The technology is a system and method for displaying a non-grid electronic program guide. Available television channels and episodes are identified in a program guide database. The available television channels are displayed in a first window of the guide. The television series associated with the available episodes are displayed in a second window of the guide. In response to selecting one of the available television channels, the available television episodes are narrowed to the television series that air on the selected television channel. In response to the selection of one of the television series, episodes of the selected television series are displayed in a third window of the guide. Selecting an episode displays the episode information in a fourth window of the guide.

Non-grid television guide

Techniques are disclosed herein for managing the transfer of digital media that is recorded on a source device (e.g., personal video recorder) to a target device (e.g., portable media player). In one aspect, a user interface is provided for scheduling recording of digital media content on a source device and for inputting user preferences for transferring digital media content to be recorded on the source device to a target device. A user request is received in the user interface to schedule recording of digital media on the source device. User preferences for transferring digital media from the source device to the target device are also received in the user interface. The digital media is recorded on the source device per the user's request. Synchronization of the recorded digital media from the source device to the target device is managed based on the user preferences.

Managing synchronization of media programs to portable devices

A video recording system that controls recording of television programming relating to sporting events to better match the intent of a user who specified programming for recording. The system merges data from an electronic program guide and sports data, such as from a news feed, to determine values of recording parameters, such as start and stop time and channel. User input may specify a player, team, league or other sports entity for which sporting events are to be recorded. The system may use the sports data to identify sporting events involving the specified sports entity and then access an electronic program guide to determine a channel on which to record the sporting events. When the user specifies a sporting event to record, sports data may be used to track progress of the event and dynamically adjust an ending time of the recording to ensure that the full event is recorded.

Recording of sports related television programming

Growing community of inventors

Bellevue, WA, United States of America

Cory J Cirrincione