Comcast Cable Communications, LLC

Tvworks, LLC

Comcast Cable Holdings, LLC

Next Level Communications

Liberate Technologies, Inc.

Other

General Instrument Corporation

Ngna, LLC

Weidong Mao

Sree Kotay

Mark A Vickers

Gregory Allen Broome

Alexander Giladi

Elad Nafshi

Bruce Bradley

Robert Gaydos

Jason Press

John G Leddy

James Barkley

Todd A Walker

Thomas Day

David Chen

Phillip Gabler

David Andrew O'Hare

Jorge Salinger

Srinath V Ramaswamy

Chris Kennedy

Charles L Compton

Neville A Black

Alex Balk

Mark Swan

Mohsin Roowalla

Ross Gilson

Michael D McMahon

Danial E Holden

Anthony Gene Werner

Jiang Xu

Mark David Francisco

Brian Bulkowski

Raymond Drewry

David M Leonard

Kiran Srinivas Challapali

Brian Field

Francisco J Gonzalez

John Bevilacqua

Joseph Kiok

Saifur Rahman

Allen Broome

Eric Scott Rosenfeld

John G Hildebrand

Blake Orth

David Andrew Ohare

Ami Miron

Wayne E Hyatt

Robert Ford

Mark Andrew Vickers

David Andrew O'hare

Michael D Mcmahon

Venu Krishnamoorthy

Michael Newman

Aongus Flood

Anthony Werner

Alex Giladi

Methods and systems for managing data are disclosed. One method can comprise storing first data locally relative to a user device and storing second data remotely relative to the user device. The first data and the second data can relate to the same content. The method can also comprise generating a manifest comprising location information relating to the first data and the second data and receiving a request for transmission of one or more of the first data and the second data based upon the manifest.

Methods and systems for dynamic data management

Methods and systems for providing content are disclosed. One method can comprise receiving a request for content comprising at least a first segment. The method can also comprise determining an expiration condition of the first segment, and replacing the first segment with a second segment based on the expiration condition. The method can also comprise providing the second segment to a user or a device.

Content segment detection and replacement

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are described for encoding a scene of media content based on visual elements of the scene. A scene of media content may comprise one or more visual elements, such as individual objects in the scene. Each visual element may be classified based on, for example, the motion and/or identity of the visual element. Based on the visual element classifications, scene encoder parameters and/or visual element encoder parameters for different visual elements may be determined. The scene may be encoded using the scene encoder parameters and/or the visual element encoder parameters.

Scene classification and learning for video compression

An archive model can be used for managing networked storage of recorded content, such as network DVR (digital video recorder) content. Content may be initially recorded to an active storage device, with individual duplicate copies recorded for each requesting user, and subsequently archived to an archive storage device. For playback, the content can be reconstituted into the active storage device prior to delivery to the requesting user. Content can be predictively reconstituted in anticipation of user needs, and the reconstitution capacity of the system can be dynamically reallocated for load balancing.

Content archive model

Methods and systems are disclosed for providing video content in response to requests in a content delivery system with more speed and efficiency. In some aspects, network monitoring devices may gather content specific and network performance metrics, from user devices and content delivery components, to provide input to a computing device for deciding whether to store or delete different versions of the same or different items of content. The decision may be based on a policy which may include a weighted score based on a combination of usage and network efficiency scores. In other aspects, methods and systems are provided to initially provide to a user device a stored version of a content item, and then switch, as needed, to a different version of the content item using on-demand transcoding.

Policy based transcoding

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are described for encoding media content based on an ending delay of first media content and a startup delay of second media content. Second media content may be configured for transmission after first media content in a media content stream. The first media content may be associated with an ending delay corresponding to transmission and/or decoding of frames of the first media content. The second media content may be associated with a starting delay corresponding to transmission and/or decoding of frames of the second media content. The first media content and the second media content may be encoded using different encoding formats. Based on comparing the ending delay and starting delay to a threshold, encoding parameters may be selected, one or more frames may be removed from the first media content and/or the second media content, and/or buffers of one or more devices may be adjusted.

Seamless content encoding and transmission

Methods, systems, and apparatuses may encode a media content item based on metadata from previous encoding. The encoding may also generate encoding metadata, which may comprise a qualitative or quantitative characterization of the encoded media content item. A prediction engine may, based on this metadata, determine new encoding settings for the same or a different video resolution. The prediction engine may cause an encoded media content item to be stored and may cause encoding of the media content item using the new encoding settings.

Content-aware predictive bitrate ladder

A method and system for delivering content is provided. In one example, responsive to a request by a client device identifying a video program, the system is configured to determine different first and second network paths for delivery of the video program from a content source; deliver the video program via the first network path to the client device; and responsive to a change in status of the video program being delivered via the first network path, deliver the video program via the second network path to the client device.

Failover with redundant multicasts for switched digital video

Methods and system for content delivery, access, and storage are disclosed. In one aspect, an example method can comprise receiving a content item. The content item can comprise a plurality of fragments. An example method can comprise determining an identifier for each of the plurality of fragments, and generating an index file comprising the determined identifiers. An example method can comprise associating the index file with the content item. Additionally, an example method can comprise storing the content item and the index file. An example method can also comprise performing a de-duplication operation. For example, the de-duplication operation can be performed on one or more unique files to create a master file.

Management of content

An encoder may determine one or more encoding characteristics associated with a content segment of a content asset. The one or more encoding characteristics may comprise an estimated bitrate required for transmission of the content segment over a network. The one or more encoding characteristics associated with the content segment may be inserted into a portion of an other content segment, such as into a header of the other content segment. The content segment and the other content segment may be configured for linear transmission, such as using adaptive bitrate streaming. When the other content segment is received at a playback device prior to the content segment, the playback device may use the one or more encoding characteristics of the content segment embedded in the header of the other content segment to determine one or more playback characteristics of the content segment.

Delivery and playback of content

Systems and methods for delivering content to user equipment are described. The content may be delivered using Internet Protocol (IP) delivery, Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) delivery, or another delivery format. For example, the system may receive content including a plurality of segments. The system may use manifest data to identify each of the plurality of segments. The system may also use the manifest data to generate index data for the plurality of segments, and the index data may be delivered to user devices with the plurality of segments. In some aspects, the system may use location information (e.g., timestamps, such as program clock references) for one or more data packet of the one of the plurality of segments to generate location information for other data packets.

Packaging content for delivery

A media file may comprise a plurality of frames, each frame having a header that stores systems level information associated with the media file. A first portion of a frame that comprises the systems level information and a second portion of the frame that comprises the media content itself may be determined for one or more frames of the media file. A compressed header may be generated that comprises a subset of the systems level information associated with the media content of the frame. The compressed header may be generated by removing or compressing information that is determined to be redundant across the frames. The compressed header, as well as information for reconstructing the first frame based on the compressed header, may be sent to a device instead of the first portion of the frame, thereby reducing transmission bandwidth and storage requirements of the media file.

Overhead reduction in media storage and transmission

Per-segment parameters for content delivery are described herein. A manifest file for a segment and a parameter file for the segment may be sent to a user device. The parameter file may indicate one or more time ranges each corresponding to a parameter value. Requests for content segments based on the manifest file and the parameter file may be received. The user device may access the parameter file to determine a time range of the one or more time ranges into which a start time of a particular segment falls. The user device may determine a parameter value as corresponding to the determined time range. The user device may then generate a request to include the determined parameter value.

Per-segment parameters for content

A network digital video recording (nDVR) system may take into account the capabilities of a requesting user's local DVR when managing network recordings. The user's local DVR may include a temporary buffer that is normally used to record what the DVR is tuned to, and may be used for local trickplay functionality such as pausing live television. The nDVR features described herein may track the usage of the user's temporary DVR buffer, and use that in determining what to stream in response to a user's playback request. The nDVR system can also determine if the user's local DVR has an unused tuner at a time of a program recording, and can instruct the user's local DVR to also tune to the program.

Network recorder buffer

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West Windsor, NJ, United States of America

Weidong Mao