Home Box Office, Inc.

Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.p.

General Instrument Corporation

Time Warner Inc.

Craig Davis Cuttner

Robert M Zitter

Henry Hsu

Nicolas Peck

James E Granger

Robert May

Marc D Rosenberg

Bruce E Probst

Debra R Smul

Michael S Pontecorvo

Elizabeth B Flanagan

Dennis P Wilkinson

Kevin C Dowdell

John K Billock

Conor Patrick Cahill

Siu-Wai Wu

Vincent C Liu

Spencer Stephens

John C Beyler

Bruce Probst

Michael Gabriel

Jeffrey A Dibartolomeo

Mary Baumgartner

Juho Parviainen

Sandy Alessandro Spadavecchia

Robert I Martin

Alexander Thompson Grishaver

Stephanie Otto

Michael Stanley Onaitis

Kenneth W Long

Hans J Deutmeyer

Ly Tran

Robert I M Martin

John Barnett Ovrutsky

Sarah Cotsen

Lars Stalling

Henry Merritt Paulson, Iii

A system and method for generating a list of content is disclosed. A processor may store in memory at least one content preference of a user, may store at least one non-user content preference of at least one entity other than the user, may associate the at least one non-user content preference with the user, and may generate the content list based on a combination of the at least one content preference of the user and the at least one non-user content preference for output to the user.

Method and system for providing 'what's next' data

A method and apparatus updates supplement information (SI) in a time-shifted multimedia program that includes a primary multimedia-content feed and one or more SI overlays. In one embodiment, the invention identifies spatial, temporal, and/or logical occurrences of supplemental information (SI) in a recorded program and replaces this potentially outdated information with SI that is either less time-sensitive and/or updated to be relevant to the playback time of the program. In another embodiment, SI overlays are identified by tags that are embedded into a multimedia program feed and stored (time-shifted) along with the feed by an enhanced digital video recorder (EDVR) set-top. The set-top decodes the stored feed, reads the tags to determine sources for replacement SI, retrieves the replacement SI from the sources, and creates updated overlays from the replacement SI. The set-top then replaces the original overlays with updated SI overlays and outputs the result to a display.

Updating information in time-shifted multimedia content

Systems and methods are disclosed herein to a computer-implemented method for providing assistive technology, the method comprising receiving, by a computing device, a media file comprising an assistive media component configured to assist a user with viewing or hearing a particular content file being screened at a venue; receiving, by a computing device, an audio portion of the content file using an audio receiving device; determining, by a computing device, a time signature of the audio portion of the content file by performing sound processing on the received audio portion of the content file; synchronizing, by a computing device, the media file with the content file by matching a time synchrony track of the media file with the determined time signature of the content file; and outputting, by a computing device, the assistive media component included in the media file in synchronization with the content file.

System and method for assistive caption, video description, and audio distribution

In one embodiment, a 3D display has an image processor including an overlay detector connected to a display controller. The image processor receives a 3D-compatible image stream from a 2D legacy device that may superimpose overlays, e.g., a 2D captions, over 3D-compatible images. The overlay detector automatically determines whether a received image comprises a caption overlay and, if so, provides the location and dimensions of the overlay to the display controller. The display controller processes the overlaid 3D-compatible image to isolate the caption characters of the caption overlay and generates, for a viewer of the 3D display, different left-eye and right-eye images, each including overlaid caption characters that substantially match the characters of the caption overlay. The result is the appearance, to the viewer, of a substantially flat and coherent caption overlay over a 3D image.

Identification of 3D format and graphics rendering on 3D displays

An integrated media viewing environment including a user interface (UI) and a method for providing a program guide with an integrated media viewing environment. The integrated media viewing environment presents viewers with on-screen displays, e.g., a single, integrated on-screen display, that may be used to obtain, view and/or record media content, including programming that is currently airing, available via download or data streaming, available on an 'on demand' basis, and/or available from local storage or removable media.

Integrated media viewing environment

A process and facility supports recipient-specific customization of mass-duplicated tapes. Video from a master tape is passed through a VBI encoder whose output feeds two or more overlay units, each associated with a tape recorder. Recipient-specific watermarking instructions and address information for each tape are fed to the VBI encoder where they are encoded into the VBI of the video. Each overlay unit reads the VBI and decodes the address, and if relevant for that unit, applies the overlays to the video, which is recorded by its associated recording deck. Optionally, each tape and overlay unit includes a barcode that is scanned into a database where associations between tapes and the overlays are stored. Alternatively, high-density barcode labels that include the overlay instructions are printed and applied to tapes. The barcodes are scanned into the overlay units and applied following the receipt of a timecode or other trigger.

Personalization of mass-duplicated media

Content is distributed from a source to a sink only if the sink is within a predetermined geographic locality. In one embodiment, a signature request is sent to the sink. The sink obtains an actual signature compares it to the requested signature, and if the requested signature and the actual signature resemble each other sufficiently closely, then the content is sent to the sink The signature is compiled from parameters obtained from appropriate parameter detectors. The parameter detectors generate, detect and monitor various signals required for determining the locality of the sink.

Method and system for determining locality using network signatures

In a system and method of producing time-synchronous textual descriptions of stage directions in live or pre-recorded productions to provide assistive program descriptions to visually-impaired consumers, a processor may parse stage directions from a production script and synchronize the parsed stage directions with closed captioning streams. The method may include viewing a live or pre-recorded production, creating textual descriptions of the stage directions using a stenography system, and outputting the textual descriptions to a separate output stream than that of dialogue descriptions. In addition, the method may include creating audio descriptions of the stage directions, and converting the audio descriptions to textual descriptions of the stage directions using a voice-recognition system. Further, the method may include distributing the synchronized stage directions, and receiving and decoding the synchronized stage directions using a text-based system.

Method and process for text-based assistive program descriptions for television

Instances of data-storage media having pits and lands, such as individual DVDs or CDs, are manufactured by selectively illuminating a light-curable material to form cured regions corresponding to the lands. The selective illumination of the light-curable material can be implemented using mask-based illumination or selective laser illumination or both. The mask used in mask-based illumination can have one or more extra opaque portions and/or one or more extra transparent portions corresponding to false pits and/or false lands, respectively, where selective laser illumination is used to convert one or more false pits/lands produced during mask-based illumination into true pits/lands for the competed medium.

Manufacturing data-storage media using light-curable material

Methods and apparatus are provided for allocating bandwidth among members of two statistical multiplexing groups having overlapping members. At least two groups of such services having overlapping members are defined. The members of a first one of the groups consume a first bandwidth and the members of a second one of the groups consume a second bandwidth. A total bandwidth of all the members of the groups together is restricted to be no more than a total available bandwidth. In order to accomplish this, the members of the first and second groups are statistically multiplexed based on bandwidth requirements of members common to both said first and second groups.

Method and apparatus for statistically multiplexing multiple groups of services

A system and method for providing quality assurance for interactive television and software application data packages delivered via a network. By employing 'code checks' that determine 'code points' based on the original package, content or data packages may be checked for errors at any later point within the network path from the provider to the subscriber. The data package can be checked for errors by performing some or all of the code checks and comparing the current code point values to the original code point values. If the current values differ from the original values, then the data package has changed and an error is likely to have occurred. Further action may then be taken to determine the nature of the error and to respond to it.

Systems and methods for performing quality assurance on interactive television and software application data delivered via a network

An image and audio degradation simulator simulates in real time selected degradation effects on images and audio of a film or television production. The degradation effects, which can include those incurred after the electronic capture of the production to its display at a final destination, are performed on electrical signals representing pictures and sound. Simulations can be displayed in real time either substantially immediately upon completion of a portion of the production or at any stage thereafter. Such real-time degradation simulations give a producer an opportunity to see and hear what an end-user (e.g., a television viewer or moviegoer) would see and hear, thus allowing the producer to make typically cost-effective production changes (e.g., to lighting, audio, wardrobe, background, etc.) while that production is still in progress.

Image and audio degradation simulator

A telecasting service is provided that offers video programs upon viewer demand, and which includes an interactive interface for facilitating viewer selection of video programs. The interactive interface allows the viewer to scan through a list of video programs available on the demand telecasting service. The interactive interface also provides the viewer with still images, full-motion previews, and textual descriptions of the available programs. The demand telecasting service distinguishes subscribers from non-subscribers, and provides an interactive facility for allowing non-subscribers to subscribe to the system.

Telecasting service for providing video programs on demand with an interactive interface for facilitating viewer selection of video programs

Growing community of inventors

Norwalk, CT, United States of America

Craig Davis Cuttner