The Directv Group, Inc.

Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc.

Hughes Electronics Corporation

General Electric Company

Directv, LLC

Open Tv Corporation

Rca Thomson Licensing Corp.

Kuriacose Joseph

Scott D Casavant

Sean S Lee

John L Norin

Jorge H Guzman

Ansley Wayne Jessup, Jr

Khader B Syed

Vincent Louis Dureau

Phillip T Wang

Michael J Koehnlein

Mehmet Kemal Ozkan

Daniel Jorge Reininger

Gerard V Talatinian

Christopher Yang

Woei-Shyang Yee

Wesley W Huie

Walter Kepley

Alain Delpuch

Steven E Lochner

Lin-Nan Lee

Mustafa Eroz

Raynold M Kahn

Feng-Wen Sun

Hanno Basse

Billy Wesley Beyers

Richard B Tatem

John Corrigan

Dipankar Raychaudhuri

Brady Court Tsurutani

Matthew J Thompson

David N Schlacht

T Paul Gaske

Drew T Chen

Johnny Shum

Jean-Rene Menand

Robert Davis

Eugene Suharev

Walter R Kepley

Yangyang Shi

Ernest Seah

Scott Casavant

Michael J Koehlein

Brian Michael Scally

Ansley Wayne Jessup

A system and method for operating a user receiving device includes a first user device having an identifier associated therewith. A mobile user device obtains the identifier and communicates the identifier associated with the first user receiving device to a second user receiving device. The second user receiving device receives and stores the first user profile settings from the first user receiving device and operates with the first user profile settings.

Method and system for transferring user settings to another user receiving device using a mobile user device

A user device and method comprising a satellite signal determination module receiving a satellite signal from a satellite comprising a first satellite signal identifier, a memory storing an expected satellite signal identifier for an authorized location of the user device, a comparison module comparing the first satellite signal identifier to the expected satellite signal identifier to identify the first satellite signal as unexpected when the first satellite signal is not the expected satellite signal and a disable module disabling the user device from processing satellite signals in response to comparing.

Method and system for detecting unauthorized use of a set top box using satellite signal identification

A system and method includes a host device using a first format, an intermediate device, a user device using a second format and a network in communication with the host device, the intermediate device and the user device. The user device communicates a first user generated signal having the second format to the intermediate device. The intermediate device converts the second format of the first user generated signal to the first format to form a second user generated signal. The intermediate device communicates the second user generated signal to the host device.

Method and system for communicating between a host device and user device through an intermediate device using a composite video signal

A system and method for determining unauthorized use of a set top box includes a satellite signal determination module in the set top box receives a satellite signal from a satellite comprising a first satellite signal identifier. A memory in the set top box stores a second satellite signal identifier for a location of the user device. The user device also includes a comparison module comparing the first satellite signal identifier to the second satellite signal identifier and a disable module disabling the user device from processing satellite signals in response to comparing.

A system and method for remotely transcoding content includes a cloud location storing content titles, communicating at least one of the content titles to a user device to form communicated content titles. The user device is in communication with the cloud location through a network. The user device generates a selection signal for selecting a first content title from communicated content titles to form a selection. The user device negotiates settings by intercommunicating between the user device and the cloud location in response to form the selection. The user device communicates the selection to the cloud location. The cloud location has a transcoder device transcoding content corresponding to the selection to form transcoded content in response to the optimal settings. The cloud location communicates the transcoded content to the user device.

Method and system for remotely transcoding content

A system and method for remotely transcoding content includes a cloud location storing content corresponding to content titles, generating a playlist corresponding to content titles subscribed to by a user of a user device stored therein, and communicating the playlist to the user device. A user device is in communication with the cloud location through a network. The user device generates a selection signal for selecting a first content title from the playlist to form a selection. The user device negotiates optimal settings by intercommunicating between the user device and the cloud location in response to forming the selection. The user device communicates the selection to the cloud location. The cloud location has a transcoder device transcoding content corresponding to the selection to form transcoded content in response to the optimal settings. The cloud location communicates the transcoded content to the user device.

A system and method for operating a user receiving device includes a first user device that receives first user settings and stores the first user settings therein. The first user device communicates first user settings to a second user receiving device. The second user receiving device operates with the first user settings.

A system and method for remotely transcoding content includes a set top box generating a playlist corresponding to content titles stored in a memory of the set top box. A user device is in communication with the cloud location and the set top box through a network. The user device reviews the playlist and selects a first content title from the playlist to form a selection. The cloud location includes a transcoder device transcoding content corresponding to the selection to form transcoded content. One of the cloud location and the set top box communicates the transcoded content to the user device.

A checkerboard subsampled image is packed in a format to remove shifts that would otherwise result in jagged edges where edges that were not jagged used to exist when checkerboard subsampling is used to reduce video bandwidth. The packing format places alternate rows of a checkerboard subsampled image row by row or places alternate columns of a checkerboard image line by line. By removing the shift and jagged edges, high frequency components that are difficult to compress and that display as annoying artifacts are eliminated.

System and method for distributing high-quality 3D video in a 2D format

A system and method for using content on multiple devices includes a head end associating a first user device and a second user device with a user account and authorizing the first user device and the second user device to receive content. The first user device forms a selection signal corresponding to a first content. The head end communicates the first content to the first user device corresponding to the selection signal. The first user device displays the first content on a first display associated therewith. The second user device receives the first content and displays the first content on a second display associated with the second user device.

Method and system for authorizing playback from multiple devices

A system and method for determining unauthorized use of a set top box includes a set top box that receives a profile of weather conditions in a geographic area, generating a weather log, comparing the weather log and the profile and disabling the set top box from receiving signals in response to comparing. A head end and a plurality of other set top boxes may be used to gather the weather data to form the profile.

Method and system for detecting unauthorized use of a set top box using weather profiles

A system and method for operating a user receiving device includes a head end associating a first user device with a user account having first user settings. A first user device communicates a device identifier associated with the user receiving device to the head end. The head end communicates the first user settings associated with the user account to the user receiving device. The user receiving device operates with the first user settings.

Method and system for transferring user settings to another user receiving device

A system and method for determining unauthorized use of a first user device associated with a local network that includes a plurality of user devices associated with a user account. A comparison module compares a first master identifier determined within the local network and an expected master identifier generated outside the local network. A disable module generates an error signal in response to comparing.

Method and system for detecting unauthorized use of a user device using receiver identification in a network

A system and method for determining unauthorized use of a set top box includes a terrestrial signal determination module in the set top box that receives terrestrial signals from a terrestrial source comprising terrestrial signal identifiers. A memory in the set top box stores expected terrestrial signal identifiers for a location of the user device. The user device also includes a comparison module comparing the received terrestrial signal identifier to the location-based terrestrial signal identifiers and a disable module disabling the user device from receiving satellite signals in response to comparing.

Method and system for detecting unauthorized use of a set top box using expected terrestrial signal identification

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Gaithersburg, MD, United States of America

Kuriacose Joseph