Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Google Inc.

Rovi Technologies Corporation

Microsoft Corporation

Geoffrey R Smith

Peter John Potrebic

Simon Michael Rowe

Iain Merrick

John Alastair Hawkins

Michael A Killianey

Peter T Barrett

Dustin Lyle Green

Michael D Dodd

Grant Mohr

David C Clifford

Daniel John Zigmond

Greg Hecht

Yaroslav Volovich

James Armand Baldwin

Jay Shrauner

Kaustuv

Grant D Mohr

Kevin T Carle

Michael Andrew Cleron

Jeffrey D Yaksick

Patrik Schnell

Samuel Thomas Scott, Iii

Steven M Horowitz

Timothy M Dierks

Victor S Lee

Hans-Martin Krober

Pradipta Mitra

Michael A Killaney

Samuel Thomas Scott

Micheal D Dodd

A system or method selects among multiple tuners to tune a particular channel. A request is received to tune a first channel. In response to this request, a first tuner is assigned to tune the first channel. A request is received to tune a second channel. If the program tuned by the first tuner is not being recorded, the first tuner is assigned to tune the second channel. If the program tuned by the first tuner is being recorded, the second tuner is assigned to tune the second channel.

Method and apparatus for selecting among multiple tuners

Set top box logs are received from a television provider and processed to identify channel tunes and channel tune times. The channel tunes and channel tune times of the log data can be compared to expected air times of television advertisements on channels, and an impression values, e.g., projected viewers, can be generated for each television advertisement.

Determining automatically generated channel tunes based on channel tune dwell times

Log processing to determine impressions using an impression time window

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for panel surveys. In one aspect, a method include accessing television history data for viewing devices associated with panelists and that describes, for each viewing device, television advertisements that were presented by use of the viewing device; a proper subset of panelists are selected based on the determinations of television advertisements that were presented and television advertisements that were not presented by use of the viewing device associated with the panelists, and for each of the selected panelists, a survey for the panelist is generated, the survey including one or more questions, each of the questions having been selected based on the television advertisements that were presented and television advertisements that were not presented by use of the viewing device associated with the panelist.

Exposure based customization of surveys

Reporting data related to content processing devices, e.g., television devices, are processed to identify channel tunes and corresponding tune times of the content processing devices. Automatically generated channel tunes based on the corresponding tune times are identified. Content items that are aired during a time period defined by the corresponding tune times can be adjusted.

Channel tune dwell time log processing

Log processing to determine impression values using reliable durations

Accelerated channel change (ACC) strategies are described for supplying a client module with media information by transitioning between a first delivery of media information provided by first delivery functionality and a second delivery of media information provided by second delivery functionality without exceeding prescribed data rate limitations. The first delivery functionality can represent server-based functionality for delivering a unicast stream of media information at a data rate (or maximum data rate) of some excess amount over the nominal rate of delivery, starting at a selected location within the media information. The second delivery functionality can represent any functionality for delivering the media information at the data rate (or maximum data rate) of the nominal rate of delivery. A join interval separates the first delivery at the excess rate and the second delivery at the nominal rate. In that period, the first delivery functionality can provide media information at a join interval data rate. The join interval data rate, if it is below the nominal data rate, will cause the client module to miss packets of media information. The client module can receive these missing packets by issuing retry requests to the first delivery functionality or to some other entity. The client module can determine the excess amount available by investigating the amount of missing information that occurs at different data rates; or the excess amount can be defined in advance.

Accelerated channel change in rate-limited environments

Set top box logs are received from a television provider and processed to compensate for broadcast latency and generate normalized log data, e.g., log data that are indexed to a relative time. Channel tunes and the channel tune times of the normalized log data can be compared to expected air times of television advertisements on channels, and an impression values, e.g., projected viewers, can be generated for each television advertisement.

Strategies are described for performing retry analysis in an environment which involves the transmission of media information from a source module to a target module. In the context of the source module, the retry analysis determines whether the source module should satisfy the retry requests issued by the target module. In the context of the target module, the retry analysis determines whether the target module should generate the retry requests in the first place. Novel request reporting formats are also described. The target module performs analysis to determine what reporting format it should use to convey the retry requests to the source module.

Retry strategies for use in a streaming environment

Retry request overload protection is described. A server system determines a client status based on retry requests received from the client. The client status may be used to determine whether to accept and/or process new retry requests received from the client and/or whether to transmit previously requested retry packets to the client. The client status may be based on a number of retry requests received from the client, a number of retry packets requested by the client, and/or a number of bytes of data associated with the retry requests received from the client. The client status may be updated periodically, enabling a non-favorable client status to be modified to a favorable client status if retry requests recently received from the client are within favorable limits.

Retry request overload protection

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Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Geoffrey R Smith