Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.

Verizon and Redbox Digital Entertainment Services, LLC

Michael Patrick Ruffini

Harpal Singh Bassali

Dongchen Wang

Armando Paul Stettner

Marcelo D Lechner

Sankar Subramanian

Jianxiu Hao

Joseph G Fragale

John K Trimper

Dwight W Fronsdahl

Robin Montague Mathews

Eric N Klings

Paul D Heitlinger

Rahul Kher

Jian Huang

Lily F Chen

Dale E Veeneman

James F Di Mattia

Zhong Chen

Nabil N Bitar

Gaurav D Mehta

Daniel J O'Callaghan

Christina Lynn Fyock

Arjun Baskaran

Tushar Saxena

Martin Busse

Thierry R Sender

Donald Gene Archer

Rajesh Yadav

Padmakumar Rajan

Dolapo O Kukoyi

Te Sheng Lin

M James Ho

Joseph E Scott

Mariappan Chellam

Paulo Goncalves De Barros

Jason L Malamud

Akhil Malhotra

Harshi Agrawal

A status of an Internet of Things (IoT) device included in a local area cloud is identified. The local area cloud includes IoT devices that are connected in a wireless local area network (WLAN), and one IoT device functions as a leader of the local area cloud. A cloud server associated with the IoT device is identified and information identifying the status is forwarded to the cloud server via a wireless wide area network (WWAN). The cloud server selects an action to be performed by the IoT device and forwards data identifying the action. The leader receives and distributes information identifying the action to the IoT device via the local area cloud. The action may include actions by multiple IoT devices in the local area cloud or IoT devices included in multiple local area clouds. A user may input data to control the cloud server.

Internet of things (IoT) platform and application framework

One or more network devices provide, to a user device, a content list of content items available for presentation. The one or more network devices receive, from the user device, a personalized channel plan that includes a schedule of selected content items, from the content list, for presentation on a viewing device that is different than the user device. The one or more network devices select, based on the selected content items, advertising for inclusion with the selected content items and assign links for the viewing device to obtain the selected content items. The one or more network devices send the links to the user device, which may in turn be provided to the viewing device.

Network for personalized content aggregation platform

Network devices provide, to a content source device, an uplink user interface to describe and upload video content. The network devices receive, via the uplink user interface, descriptive information for the video content and generate, based on the descriptive information received via the uplink user interface, a unique content identifier for the video content. The network devices incorporate, based on the descriptive information, a listing of the video content into a catalog of content available to users of a content distribution network. The network devices receive, from the content source device, the video content and receive, from a user device, a request to view the video content that includes the unique content identifier. The network devices provide, to the user device, a link to enable the user device to access the video content via the content distribution network.

Content publishing for personalized content aggregation platform

A system may receive a first list of users of a provider network. For each of the first list of users, the system may obtain data pertaining to the user's categories of interest from a social media system; infer video programs based on the data; infer a list of one or more video channels based on the video programs; score the one or more video channels; rank the list of one or more video channels based on the scores; and recommend the ranked list of one or more video channels.

Video programming and suggestion system

A method, performed by a computer device, may include determining one or more frequently watched television channels associated with a customer's account. The method may further include obtaining content associated with the one or more frequently watched television channels via multicast transmission units from a video serving office associated with a television services provider; converting the multicast transmission units into video segments playable by a media playing device; storing the video segments in a cache associated with the computer device; detecting a selection of a television channel associated with the obtained content made via the media playing device; and providing the stored video segments to the media playing device, in response to detecting the selection of the television channel associated with the obtained content.

In-home smart video cache

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 method, a device, and a non-transitory storage medium provide an extended content delivery network service in which user devices are configured as extended content delivery network devices that download and/or stream programs to other users of the extended content delivery network service. Additionally, a method, a device, and a non-transitory storage medium provide an in-home media server device that stores programs in a same format as a format of the programs stored in a content delivery network, and provide an error correction service in which a portion of a program including an error, initially received via a multicast or broadcast transmission, is replaced with a corrected portion of the program via a unicast transmission. Still further, a method, a device, and a non-transitory storage medium provide a mobile extended content delivery network device that downloads or streams programs to other users of the extended content delivery network service.

Extended, home, and mobile content delivery networks

A method, in a multiple modem device that includes a notification modem and a Wi-Fi modem, includes identifying data to be collected and rules for selecting an optimal modem for data transmission from the multiple modem device. The method also includes collecting the data, and determining whether the data is to be sent via the notification modem based on a payload size associated with the data and the rules. The method includes sending the data via a control channel of a cellular network associated with the notification modem in response to a determination that the data to be sent via the notification modem. A determination whether a Wi-Fi network is available is made in response to a determination that the data is not to be sent via the notification modem. The data is sent via the Wi-Fi modem over the Wi-Fi network.

Multiple modem device including notification modem

Devices, methods, and storage media provide for receiving an airing of a program and a national ad; recording the program and the national ad; identifying an age of the national ad; comparing the age of the national ad to a threshold time period; and obtaining a replacement national ad in response to a comparison indicating that the age of the national ad exceeds the threshold time period.

Ad replacement

A user device receives, from a network device, a content index of content items available for presentation via a content distribution network. The user device presents a user interface to configure a personalized channel plan and receives, via the user interface, user input to configure the personalized channel plan. The personalized channel plan includes a schedule of selected content items, from the content index, for presentation on a remote viewing device. The user device sends, to a remote viewing device, presentation instructions for the personalized channel plan, wherein the instructions cause the viewing device to present the selected content items to the user.

Personalized content aggregation platform

A routing device is coupled to a storage device to function as a digital video recorder (DVR) to store digital content. The routing device may include a client function to receive and store the digital content, and a server function to provide the stored digital content to a user device. Digital content directed to the client function may be recorded by the storage device, while other digital content may be passed by server function to the user device. The digital content may be received by the routing device in an encoded and/or encrypted format, and the digital content may be recorded by the storage device in the encoded and/or encrypted format.

Configurable digital content storage

A method, a device, and a non-transitory storage medium provide for receiving program data of programs; receiving files pertaining to each of the programs, wherein the files include a manifest file and M3U8 files; selecting one of the programs and the manifest file; adding multicast information to each M3U8 file pertaining to the program, wherein the multicast information indicates a multicast channel and a date and a time of a multicast; segmenting the program data of the program based on a maximum transmission unit of the multicast channel; storing the manifest file and the M3U8 files pertaining to the program; providing the manifest file and one or more of the M3U8 files pertaining to the program, to a user device; and multicasting a segmented program data via the wireless network based on the multicast information, wherein the multicasting includes the adaptive bitrate streaming service.

Multicast and unicast adaptive bitrate services

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 server device may receive, from a user device, a request to store a unique copy of particular content, associated with a particular user; store, in a storage device associated with the server device, the unique copy of the particular content; determine a set of attributes of the particular content; determine a set of criteria based on which the unique copy of the particular content should be provided to the user device, the determining being based on one or more attributes, of the set of attributes of the particular content; determine that the set of criteria have been met; output, based on determining that the set of criteria have been met, the unique copy of the particular content to the user device; and delete the unique copy of the particular content from the storage device after outputting the particular content to the user device.

Temporary storage of recorded content on a cloud storage server

One or more servers in an IP network receive, from a user device, a selection of live streaming content and assemble an index file including links to chunks of the selected live streaming content and links to advertising files for insertion within the selected live streaming content. The one or more severs send, to the user device, a link to the index file associated with the selected live streaming content and receive, from the user device, a streaming request for the selected live streaming content. The one or more servers send, to the user device, the index file including the links to chunks of the selected live streaming content and the links to advertising files for insertion within the selected live streaming content. The user device may use the links to combine the chunks of the selected live streaming content and the advertising files into a single linear presentation. A standards-based client for the user device is used with the server side implementation. Multiple groupings of index files, based on various location and business criteria, allow for reduction in media stream creation, and granularity of addressing each subscriber.

Growing community of inventors

Methuen, MA, United States of America

Michael Patrick Ruffini