Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.

Google Inc.

General Instrument Corporation

Arris Technology, Inc.

Glenn Altchek

Marcelo D Lechner

Aakash Chokshi

Shashank Shekhar Sharma

Ataqurahman Patil

Srinivas Anumala

Paul Moroney

Clyde N Robbins

Apoorv Srivastava

A device may receive content data identifying television schedules for content to be provided for viewing in a first geographic location and a second geographic location, and may identify a first available time slot for content in the first geographic location and a second available time slot for content in the second geographic location. The device may identify a first set of content for the first available time slot and a second set of content for the second available time slot, and may assign values to the first and second sets. The device may determine whether the values assigned to the first and second sets satisfy a threshold value, and may cause, when a value of content in the first set fails to satisfy the threshold value, a first client device, in the first geographic location, to obtain replacement content with a value that satisfies the threshold value.

Systems and methods for value-based provision of television content in a hybrid quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)/internet protocol (IP) content delivery environment

A device may receive content data identifying television schedules for content to be provided for viewing in a first geographic location and a second geographic location, and may identify a first available time slot for content in the first geographic location and a second available time slot for content in the second geographic location. The device may identify a first set of content for the first available time slot and a second set of content for the second available time slot, and may assign values to the first and second sets. The device may determine whether the values assigned to the first and second sets satisfy a threshold value, and may cause, when a value of an content in the first set fails to satisfy the threshold value, a first client device, in the first geographic location, to obtain a replacement content with a value that satisfies the threshold value.

Devices, methods, and storage media provide for identifying, by an ad insertion device, at least one prospect for inserting a selected ad via a set of hidden channels during a target programming timeslot based on ad schedules for a plurality of networks; determining based on hidden channel usage data for a programming timeslot corresponding to the target programming timeslot, that a likelihood of availability of at least one hidden channel of the set of hidden channels during the target programming timeslot exceeds a first threshold level; and sending an instruction to an interface device to insert the selected ad via the at least one hidden channel during the target programming timeslot.

Channel usage management in terrestrial distribution systems

Devices, methods, and storage media provide for receiving ad schedules for an upcoming programming timeslot for a network lineup; identifying an opportunity to insert a selected ad via a set of hidden channels during the upcoming programming timeslot based on the ad schedules; retrieving, based on the identifying, stored hidden channel usage data for previous programming timeslots that correspond to the upcoming programming timeslot; determining whether an availability likelihood of a hidden channel during the upcoming programming timeslot exceeds a threshold; retrieving, when the threshold is exceeded, ad insertion collision data for the previous programming timeslots; determining, based on the collision data, whether a likelihood of a collision occurring on the hidden channels during the upcoming programming timeslot exceeds another threshold; and sending, when the other threshold is not exceeded, an instruction to a user interface device to insert the selected ad via the hidden channel during the upcoming programming timeslot.

Apparatus forming part of a home entertainment system includes an electronic device having an input accepting a signal corresponding to an externally-generated first user interface, a control module for internally-generating a signal corresponding to a second user interface, and an output for transmitting a combination of the above referenced signals for display. The control module controls an arrangement of display of the first user interface and the second user interface. The apparatus also includes a remote controller for communicating via a two-way communication link with the control module of the electronic device concerning a selection of one of the first user interface and the second user interface. The remote controller having an emitter for emitting control code signals, and the operation of the emitter is controlled by communications received by the remote controller from the control module of the electronic device. A method is also provided.

Remote control apparatus, method and user interface system

A content distribution system includes a distribution center, a processor, a switch, and first and second multiplexers. The distribution center receives and applies program content on program channels. The processor identifies subsets of the program channels in response to a respective score associated with the program channels. The switch couples the distribution center to the multiplexers. The switch applies program channels to respective inputs of the first and second multiplexers in response to the processor. A method for optimizing a multiplexed transport channel includes the steps of identifying a set of program channels designated for distribution via the multiplexed transport channel, arranging the set of program channels in subsets, the program channels within a subset grouped in accordance with a viewing score, multiplexing the program channels of the subsets to a respective transport channel and applying the respective transport channels to a distribution medium for delivery to the destination.

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Lawrenceville, NJ, United States of America

Glenn Altchek