Guest Tek Interactive Entertainment Ltd.

Lindsey M Carriere

Peter S Warrick

Brendan G Cassidy

Darren T Ziebart

Michael D McCarthy

Andrew Terrance MacMillan

Arnon Levy

Joseph A Kullos

Diego Fontes

Brian W King

Gary R Court

Lyndon J Carriere

Aaron J Segstro

Michael D Mccarthy

A media system includes a plurality of set-top boxes coupled to a coax network and a controller. The controller displays a first passkey to a user in response to receiving a request from the user to activate playback of a media content on a particular set-top box. The set-top box receives the first passkey from the user and determines whether the user is authorized to activate playback of the media content by comparing the first passkey received from the user with a second passkey obtained from a passkey module on the set-top box. When the user is determined by the set-top box to be authorized to activate playback of the media content, the set-top box determines a radio frequency channel of the coax network according to the first passkey received from the user and begins playback of the media content received on the radio frequency channel on a display device.

Activating media function on particular media device at hospitality establishment utilizing passkey generated according to current time and identifier of the particular media device

A media system includes a computer network, a media device supporting a network-based media sharing protocol, a plurality of output devices located at a plurality of physical locations within a hospitality establishment, and a system controller. In response to a first event, the system controller assigns the media device to a particular guest device by reconfiguring one or more components of the computer network to enable the particular guest device to utilize the network-based media sharing protocol to share media over the computer network with the media device, and commands an output device located at a physical location associated with the particular guest device to play media corresponding to the media signal outputted by the media device on the output port. In response to a second event, the system controller un-assigns the media device from the particular guest device and commands the output device to stop playing the media.

Allowing both internet access and network-based media sharing with media devices of particular guest room in response to confirming personal details received from guest device match registered guest of hospitality establishment

An app server receives a device token from a software application on a mobile device. The device token identifies the mobile device for pushing notification messages of the software application to the mobile device via a push notification system. The mobile device is monitored while accessing the Internet in order to detect when the user may benefit from upgraded access to the Internet. The app server then sends one or more notification message(s) to the user such as by sending a message to the device token of the mobile device via the push notification system or to a display device associated with the user at the hospitality establishment. The notification message invites the user to upgrade their Internet access. The push notification system alerts the user to the notification message via the user interface of the mobile device even when the software application is not running on the mobile device.

Leveraging push notification capabilities on mobile device to dynamically upgrade network service entitlement for a different device

A media server is for enabling codeless pairing between a mobile device and a particular one of a plurality of media devices. The media server is communicatively coupled to the mobile device and the media devices via a computer network. The media server receives a request by a first media device to enter a codeless pairing mode, queries a database to determine whether any other of the media devices is currently in the codeless pairing mode&#x2014;and, when yes, the media server transmits a busy message to the first media device, and, when no, the media server detects a media session initiated by the mobile device. Upon detecting the media session, the media server pairs the mobile device with the first media device and causes the first media device to play media content associated with the media session.

Pairing mobile device with media device at hospitality establishment based on internet access login record of the mobile device without requiring user to input media device connect code

A content selector retrieves customization criteria corresponding to a plurality of guests of a hospitality location. According to the criteria, a core set of channels is automatically selected to make available from a plurality of available channels for streaming via the external computer network. Bandwidth between the external computer network and the hospitality location is reserved to ensure all core channels can be concurrently streamed to the hospitality location. An interactive program guide available on the entertainment devices is customized to list at least one of the core channels as available for viewing. For each channel of the core set, the channel is streamed to the hospitality location only when the channel is being viewed on at least one of the entertainment devices. Updated guest related customization criteria is retrieved and the core channels available for viewing are dynamically changed as the guests of the hospitality location change over time.

Content selector dynamically changing core set of streaming channels available for viewing at hospitality location according to guest related customization criteria

Event-triggered upgrading of network access service entitlement via audio-visual entertainment system

Dynamically enabling user device to discover service available on computer network

Media server for enabling codeless pairing between mobile device and particular one of a plurality of media devices

Authorizing playback and selecting RF channel for media content playback according to passkeys

Dynamically enabling user device to utilize network-based media sharing protocol

A user profile server stores a user profile corresponding to a user identifier. The user profile includes user-specific information of a user associated with the user identifier. The server receives a location update associated with the user identifier, the location update representing a current location of the user associated with the user identifier and determine a hospitality location within a predetermined distance of the current location represented by the location update. The server communicates at least one of the user-specific information to a controller associated with the hospitality location thereby allowing the controller to provide the user-tailored experience to the user according to the at least one of the user-specific information received from the user-profile server. In this way, users who travel during unplanned trips or to locations that do not accept reservations may benefit from user-tailored experiences.

User profile server to provide tailored experience at hospitality locations within predetermined distance from the user

A media server receives a request from an unpaired mobile device, queries a login database to determine whether the mobile device is logged in for high speed Internet access, and, when yes, identifies a particular guest area of the hospitality establishment according to details in its login record. One of the media devices accessible from within the particular guest area is selected and paired with the mobile device without requiring a user of the mobile device to input into the mobile device a connect code of the selected media device. In another example, a user initiates a codeless pairing mode on a particular one of the media devices and begins interacting with the media server utilizing an unpaired mobile device. Since, only one media device can be in that mode at a time, the media server pairs the newly detected unpaired mobile device with the particular media device.

Leveraging media device pairing to simplify granting mobile device access to external network

A user profile server stores a particular user profile corresponding to a user who belongs to a plurality of separate loyalty programs, and the particular user profile includes a plurality of different loyalty program user identifiers each identifying the user on a respective one of the separate loyalty programs. The user profile server communicates user a preference included on the particular user profile to a first controller via the computer network and communicates the user preference included on the particular user profile to a second controller via the computer network. The first controller is associated with a first hospitality location where the user is identified according to a first loyalty program user identifier included on the particular user profile, and the second is controller is associated with a second hospitality location where the user is identified according to a second loyalty program user identifier included on the particular user profile.

User profile server passing media content preference between entertainment devices to provide user-tailored entertainment experience

A media system providing customized media functions at a hospitality establishment includes a first device operable to display a first passkey to a user attempting to activate a media function on a particular media device. The hospitality establishment includes a plurality of media devices installed at a plurality of different locations therein. A second device is operable to receive the first passkey from the user, determine whether the first passkey received from the user matches a second passkey associated with the particular media device, and activate the media function on the particular media device in response to determining that the first passkey received from the user matches the second passkey associated with the particular media device.

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Calgary, Canada

Lindsey M Carriere