Google Inc.

Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Francis Tsui

Majd Bakar

John Affaki

Mark David Scott

Jennifer Shien-Ming Chen

Mark Alan Foltz

David L De Heer

Victor S Lee

Bryan Bradley Eyler

Pradip Kumar Fatehpuria

Byungchul Kim

Gaurav Agarwal

Rajeev Koodli

Bok Knun Randolph Chung

Hassan Sipra

Alan Jones

Sivaprasad Lakshmi Radhakrishnan

Bryan Eyler

A system enables universal remote media control across multiple platforms, devices, and users. A protocol allows a cast controller to have access to media operations and a state(s) associated with media content. The system receives commands from a cast controller, provides the commands to a media player, loads new media content into the media player, based on the commands, and receives state notifications from the media player. Another cast controller can receive the state notifications from the media player and control the media player based on the media operations and state(s) associated with media content.

System for universal remote media control in a multi-user, multi-platform, multi-device environment

Systems, methods, and media for presenting media content are provided. In some implementations, a system for presenting media content is provided, the system comprising: a hardware processor that is programmed to: establish a connection with a media playback device; respond to a discovery request from a computing device presenting a media content item; establish a persistent communication channel with the computing device over a network in response to a request from the computing device to establish the persistent communication channel; receive identifying information of the media content item being presented by the computing device and identifying information of a source of the media content item being presented by the computing device; request the media content item from the identified source of the media content item as a stream of media content; and cause the media content item to be presented using the media playback device.

Systems, methods, and media for presenting media content

Internet Connectivity Services provided by mobile wireless stations deployed in drones, balloons, airplanes etc. may be intermittent and in some cases event-driven, such as in response to emergency and natural disasters. In such deployments, end users of wireless devices may not know that Internet connectivity has become available. Even when the wireless device, such as a smartphone, is able to autonomously attach to the network when Internet connectivity becomes available, end users may not realize that their devices have re-connected to the network. The proposed systems and methods relate to providing Internet service availability notification to end users. The proposed systems and methods collect data related to Internet service availability notifications for analytics.

Method and apparatus for internet service availability notification

A system enables universal remote media control across multiple platforms, devices, and users. A protocol allows a media controller (such as computer or mobile device) to have access to running activities (such as a television show playing on a media player). The protocol does not require installation of a specific platform application, or a specific user-login/pairing of the media controller with the media player. The system receives commands from a media controller device using a common interface, provides the commands to a remote media player, loads new media content into the media player, based on the commands, and receives state notifications from the media player. The commands and the state notifications include a namespace and a message payload represented as a two-element script array. Another user or device can control the media player using the common interface, for example provided by a browser application on the media controller device.

Methods, systems, and media for providing access control for a computing device are provided. In some implementations, methods for providing access control for a computing device are provided, the methods comprising: receiving a first request to authenticate the computing device from a first sender device; authenticating the computing device based at least in part on the first request; transmitting a session identifier and a session key to the first sender device; receiving an application identifier associated with the sender device from the computing device; determining, using a hardware processor, whether a sender application executing on the sender device is valid based at least in part on the application identifier; and transmitting the session key to the computing device in response to determining that the sender application is valid.

Methods, systems, and media for providing access control for a computing device

A method includes initiating, by a processor of a device, a listening session including listening for a message from a mobile device and receiving the message from the mobile device via a microphone of the device, the message including configuration data for a network, and in response to receiving the message from the mobile device, initiating an access session with the network using the configuration data. In some implementations, the device is coupled to a media player. The media player may be a television. The configuration data may include at least one of an identifier for the network or a password for the network. In some implementations, the initiating occurs only after the device fails to connect to any network. In some implementations, the message is encoded in a sub-sonic signal.

Proximity detection by mobile devices

A first communication session is conducted between a media device and a mobile device. The first communication session includes requesting an authorization code from the mobile device and receiving the authorization code from the mobile device. The mobile device acts as an intermediary for obtaining authentication from a content server. The mobile device initiates a second communication session with a provider authorization service of the content server. The second communication session includes obtaining a token from the provider authorization service using the authorization code. The media device initiates a third communication session with the content server. The third communication session includes utilizing the token to obtain content from the content server. The system automatically attempts to renew the token in response to an expiration of the token.

Identification delegation for devices

Methods are disclosed for measuring ad impressions and receiving feedback on local ad assets inserted into a video transport stream at the set top box level. Each set top box stores the number of times an ad asset is inserted into an ad avail, along with a variety of other information relating to the playback of the ad asset. This measurement data is aggregated and sent to the ad decision service. In order to balance bandwidth usage, each set top box may report its measurement data to the ad decision service at a different time interval that is randomly selected. As it is desirable to receive the data in a timely manner, the random intervals may be confined so that all measurement data is reported within a predefined time period, such as for example over a twelve hour period.

Measurement and reporting of set top box inserted AD impressions

Methods are disclosed for inserting local ad assets into a video transport stream at the set top box level. The media advertising platform of the present system works in conjunction with existing platforms, such as an advertising decision service and a media platform. The present system further includes a client resident on end user set top boxes. In general, the present system operates by pre-caching advertisements to a set top box or boxes within a household or elsewhere. Each set top box is also assigned to particular groups, based on characteristics of the user of that set top box. Group membership information is also sent to the set top box and stored. The present system sends the set top box a decision matrix based on group memberships to allow the set top box to select and insert an ad asset targeted to the specific set top box.

Advertisement insertion decisions for set top box management of advertisements

Service substitution techniques are described. In an implementation, a substitution table is derived that specifies one or more service substitutions to be performed for content and that specifies particular geographic locations to perform at least one service substitution. One or more communications are formed to be streamed over a packet-switched network to a client that is to perform the at least one service substitution. The one or more communications include the substitution table and the content that corresponds to the at least one service substitution.

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Belmont, CA, United States of America

Francis Tsui