At&t Intellectual Property I, L.p.

Sbc Technology Resources, Inc.

Rakuten, Inc.

At&t Knowledge Ventures, LP

Paul Van Vleck

James H Pratt

Steven M Belz

Gregory Wesley Edwards

Lee Begeja

Sreenivasa Rao Gorti

Claire Svetlana Vishik

David Crawford Gibbon

Marc Andrew Sullivan

Randolph Wohlert

Scott A White

Philip Ted Kortum

Jerald Robert Howcroft

Michael F Grannan

Dinesh Nadarajah

Weijing Chen

Keith Joseph Allen

David Patron

Javier B Arellano

Michael Devlin

Donald Garofalo

Ahmad C Ansari

David Hartman

Vernon Daniel Reed

A method for transferring digital multimedia rights, the method including but not limited to requesting permission from the destination end user to transfer the digital multimedia rights to the destination end user device; and if the permission is received from the destination end user, canceling the source set of digital multimedia rights associated with the source end user and transferring the source set of digital multimedia rights associated with the source end user to the destination end user device. A system and computer program product are disclosed for performing the method.

System and method for providing multimedia digital rights transfer

A method includes receiving, at a media device, media content from a media content server. A portion of the media content includes a first item concurrently depicted with a second item. The method includes receiving an input indicating a selection of the second item within the media content. The method includes, in response to the input, sending an identification request for information corresponding to the second item to an identification server in response to the input. The identification request includes data relating to a depiction of the second item. The method also includes receiving the information from the identification server in response to the identification request. Other embodiments are disclosed.

System and method to identify an item depicted when media content is displayed

A method includes receiving, at a media device, media content from a media content server. A portion of the media content includes a first item concurrently depicted with a second item. The method includes receiving an input indicating a selection of the second item within the media content. The method includes, in response to the input, sending an identification request for information corresponding to the second item to an identification server in response to the input. The identification request includes data relating to a depiction of the second item. The method also includes receiving the information from the identification server in response to the identification request.

A method is disclosed that includes receiving, from a device of a user, a request to transmit a multimedia file. The method also includes automatically generating a generated content descriptor based on an analysis of the multimedia file using at least one analysis parameter. The method includes determining whether the generated content descriptor satisfies filter criteria of a profile associated with the user. The method further includes rejecting the request to transmit the multimedia file when the generated content descriptor does not satisfy the filter criteria of the profile. The method includes transmitting the multimedia file along with the generated content descriptor when the generated content descriptor satisfies the filter criteria of the profile.

Parametric analysis of media metadata

A method includes receiving, at a device configured to receive media content from equipment of a service provider, an activation request from a monitoring service. The activation request is associated with activation of a video camera coupled to the device. The activation request is received based on satisfaction of an alert condition. The method also includes activating the video camera based on data responsive to a prompt. The prompt is presented by the device in response to reception of the activation request.

System and method to monitor a person in a residence using a video camera

A method includes sending, from a media device, a request for viewership information via a network. The method also includes receiving, at the media device, the viewership information, where the viewership information is determined based on a corresponding portion of multicast routing table data stored at each of a plurality of edge routers, and where each portion includes a corresponding plurality of entries associated with media content. The method further includes receiving, at the media device, a user interface based on the viewership information.

System and method of determining viewership information

A method and system for contacting emergency service providers may allow using a remote control (RC) at a multimedia content distribution network (MCDN) client location. An MCDN user may use the RC, which may be configured to control customer premises equipment at the MCDN client, to signal an emergency event. In response, an MCDN server may be queried for emergency user information associated with the MCDN client and/or the MCDN user. Based on the emergency user information, third parties, such as emergency service providers, medical service providers, or private persons, may be contacted via the MCDN. A communications channel, including audio and/or video, between an emergency service provider and the MCDN client may be initiated based on the emergency user information.

Requesting emergency services via remote control

A computer-implemented method includes receiving, at a set-top box device, media content from a media content server. The media content includes one or more metadata tags associated with one or more items depicted when the media content is displayed. The computer-implemented method includes sending the media content to a display device. The computer-implemented method also includes receiving a first user selection to visually identify the one or more items. The computer-implemented method also includes receiving a purchase request to purchase at least one of the one or more items depicted.

A particular method includes receiving, at a set-top box device, an activation request from a monitoring service associated with activation of a video camera coupled to the set-top box device. The activation request is received when one or more alert conditions are satisfied. The method further includes activating the video camera based on a response to a prompt.

System and method to monitor a person in a residence with use of a set-top box device

A dynamic repository (either storing digital data content or pointers to stored digital data content) works in conjunction with a plurality of interfaces to manage digital content and digital rights policies associated with one or more users. Digital rights policies are unique to each user and such policies define access to digital content in the repository. The user's digital rights policy indicates the level of access a user has to digital content in the repository (e.g., the policy could indicate that the user has authorized access to a particular file for a period of seven days). The interfaces linked with the content repository are used to access and manipulate the digital data content (based upon each user's digital rights policy) and the digital rights policies stored in the content repository. The interfaces include: (a) one or more authentication interfaces for authenticating users, (b) one or more digital rights management (DRM) interfaces allowing users to add, delete, or edit the digital rights policies, (c) one or more data access interfaces allowing users to selectively access digital data content as defined by their individual digital rights policy, (d) one or more browsing interfaces allowing users to selectively browse said digital data content, or a (e) one or more content manipulation interfaces allowing said users to add, delete, or edit said digital data content.

Methods, systems, and products for managing digital content

A method includes receiving a first video clip and a second video clip. The first video clip and the second video clip are variable-bit-rate (VBR)-encoded to form a VBR-encoded aggregated video content item. The VBR-encoding of the first video clip is based on an encoding complexity of the second video clip.

Video quality testing by encoding aggregated clips

A method and system for programming a universal remote control (URC) to operate with a remote-controlled device is disclosed. Programming codes for the remote-controlled device may be transferred from an original remote control using a programming interface. The transfer may be performed directly with the URC. The transfer may also be performed using consumer-premises equipment of a multimedia content distribution network. The URC may be configured to use at least one of the programming codes to remotely control the remote-controlled device.

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Paul Van Vleck