Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.

Verizon Services Corporation

Verizon Services Organization Inc.

Harpal Singh Bassali

Michael Patrick Ruffini

Marcelo D Lechner

Armando Paul Stettner

Raul I Aldrey

Brian Frederick Roberts

Donald H Relyea

Japan A Mehta

Sudhanshu Sharma

Kristopher T Frazier

Dongchen Wang

Christina Lynn Fyock

Arjun Baskaran

John K Trimper

Donald Gene Archer

James F Di Mattia

Padmakumar Rajan

Dolapo O Kukoyi

Mariappan Chellam

Robert Beckwith

Akhil Malhotra

Harshi Agrawal

Mansey K Amin

Brent Simon

Rick Utley

Stella Alvo

An exemplary method includes a media content delivery system transmitting a transport stream containing an advertisement channel and a program channel, the program channel carrying a media program stream at a first bit rate, detecting an upcoming advertisement break within the media program stream, inserting, in response to the detecting of the upcoming advertisement break, an advertisement content stream having a second bit rate that is lower than the first bit rate into the program channel to temporally coincide with the advertisement break to free bandwidth in the transport stream during the advertisement break, and inserting an additional advertisement content stream in the advertisement channel, the additional advertisement content stream temporally coinciding with the advertisement break and utilizing at least a portion of the freed bandwidth in the transport stream. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Bandwidth management and advertisement insertion in media content delivery systems and methods

A multimedia client receives, over a subscription multimedia network, television content for presentation to a viewer, where the television content includes an advertising break and identifies a keyword associated with the television content. The multimedia client sends, over the subscription multimedia network, the keyword to an advertisement server and receives from the advertisement server, an advertisement corresponding to the keyword. The multimedia client then provides, for display to the viewer, the advertisement within the advertising break.

Real time television advertisement shaping

A device may include a communication interface configured to receive programming information and index data associated with the programming information from a service provider multicast over a plurality of channels. The device may also include logic configured to request address information from the service provider, receive the address information, wherein the address information includes a first multicast address, and join a first multicast group corresponding to the first multicast address, wherein the first multicast group is associated with the index data. The logic may also be configured to receive, via the communication interface, the index data, identify a second multicast address associated with at least some of the programming information, join a second multicast group corresponding to the second multicast address, and receive, via the communication interface, at least some of the programming information.

Data distribution

A method, a computer program product, and apparatus are provided for delivering information and commands regarding a media program. An advertisement is provided that allows a user to request more information about the media program by clicking on or otherwise selecting the advertisement. The information may be based on the identity of the user. The information may include programming guide information regarding the media program that is available to an associated set top box of the user. The user may also be able to send commands, such as record the media program or set up a reminder about the media program, through a DVR scheduling facility to the set top box. The set top box may be able to send an acceptance of the command or a notice of conflict to the user through the DVR scheduling facility.

Method, computer program product, and apparatus for delivering information and commands regarding a media program

Systems, apparatus, methods and computer readable mediums for efficient and unconstrained information distribution and IP multicasting are provided. An exemplary method may include receiving, from a set top box, information indicative of criteria associated with targeted advertisement; and determining, at a set top box, whether the criteria corresponds to a characteristic of a household at which the criteria is received. The method may also include joining, from a set top box, a multicast group associated with the criteria in the event the criteria is determined to correspond to the characteristic of the household at which the criteria is received. The method may also include receiving, via multicast, at a set top box, the targeted advertisement associated with the criteria; and displaying, at a video display device, the targeted advertisement. The exemplary method may allow efficient and unconstrained information distribution leading to improved application quality and performance.

Systems and methods for efficient messaging and targeted IP multicast advertisement in communication networks

An exemplary method includes receiving a command input by a user to record media content, recording media content data representative of the media content in response to the command, automatically selecting at least one storage device from a local storage device and a network storage device for storage of the recorded media content data in accordance with at least one of a plurality of storage balancing factors, and storing the recorded media content data in the at least one selected storage device. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Methods and systems for dynamically balancing storage of recorded media content data between a local storage device and a network storage device

An exemplary method includes processing a first program stream representative of media content having a first resolution and a second program stream representative of the media content having a second resolution, generating a single advertisement stream representative of advertisement content having a third resolution, detecting a transmission lag between the first and second program streams, dynamically synchronizing the first and second program streams to substantially remove the detected transmission lag, transmitting the synchronized first program stream by way of a first content channel, the synchronized second program stream by way of a second content channel, and the advertisement stream by way of an advertisement channel, and directing a media content access device to switch from being tuned to the second content channel to being tuned to the advertisement channel during an advertising break in the media content. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Methods and systems for synchronizing delivery of media content streams having different resolutions

An exemplary method includes receiving, by a media content delivery subsystem from an end-user media content processing device via a network, a request to record a live transmission of a media content instance, recording, by the media content delivery subsystem, the live transmission of the media content instance, and transmitting, by the media content delivery subsystem, data representative of the recorded live transmission of the media content instance to the end-user media content processing device via the network for local storage by the end-user media content processing device. In certain embodiments, the recording includes generating at least one media data file containing the data representative of the recorded live transmission of the media content instance, and the transmitting includes transferring the at least one media data file from the media content delivery subsystem to the end-user media content processing device via the network.

Media content delivery systems and methods

An exemplary method includes receiving a plurality of data chunks each representative of a distinct portion of a media content program, generating a personalized version of the media content program based on at least a subset of the data chunks and in accordance with one or more of a plurality of personalization factors associated with a user, and providing the personalized version of the media content program for presentation to the user. Corresponding methods and systems are also described.

Methods and systems for generating a personalized version of a media content program for a user

A first game server is configured to provide a game to a first category of user device. A second game server is configured to provide the game to a second category of user device. A game manager is configured to receive a request from a user device for the game application and to assign the request to one of the first game server and the second game server according to whether the user device is included in the first category of user device or the second category of user device.

Cross platform gaming

Media units are stored in a buffer, wherein an importance rating is assigned to each of the media units. At least some of the media units are selectively flushed from the buffer based on the importance rating.

Priority-based buffer management

An exemplary method includes maintaining data representative of a recorded media content instance comprising a media content program and a first advertisement and an index file corresponding to the recorded media content instance, playing back the recorded media content instance in accordance with timestamp data and storage location data included in the index file, dynamically replacing, during the playback of the recorded media content instance, a portion of the storage location data in the index file that corresponds to the first advertisement with storage location data corresponding to a second advertisement, and presenting the second advertisement in place of the first advertisement during the playback of the recorded media content instance in accordance with the modified index file. Corresponding methods and systems are also described.

Methods and systems for dynamically inserting an advertisement into a playback of a recorded media content instance

An exemplary method includes switching, by a media content access subsystem, from a program stream to an advertisement stream in response to a switching instruction received by the media content access subsystem, detecting, by the media content access subsystem, a predetermined number of markers included within the advertisement stream, the predetermined number of markers indicative of an error associated with the advertisement stream, and switching, by the media content access subsystem, from the advertisement stream to another media content stream in response to the detecting of the predetermined number of markers. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Methods and systems for recovering from errors associated with advertisement streams

An exemplary method includes receiving, by a three-dimensional ('3D') adapter subsystem separate from and communicatively coupled to a display device, a 3D video content stream comprising data representative of 3D video content, directing, by the 3D adapter subsystem, the display device to generate and display the 3D video content in accordance with the 3D video content stream, and calibrating, by the 3D adapter subsystem, the display of the 3D video content in accordance with one or more attributes of the display device. Corresponding methods and systems are also described.

Methods and systems for presenting three-dimensional video content

An exemplary method includes maintaining data representative of a plurality of advertisements each having one of a plurality of different resolutions, detecting a message indicative of an upcoming advertisement break in a media content program being transmitted to a media content access device by way of a content channel, detecting a resolution of the media content program, directing a dynamic advertisement delivery subsystem communicatively coupled to the media content access device to dynamically transmit a subset of the advertisements by way of one or more advertisement channels, wherein each advertisement included in the subset has the same resolution as the resolution of the media content program, and distributing tuning information associated with each of the one or more advertisement channels to the media content access device prior to an occurrence of the advertisement break. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Growing community of inventors

San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Harpal Singh Bassali