Hulu, LLC

Beijing Tusen Zhitu Technology Co., Ltd.

Zhibing Wang

Tao Xiong

Xin Jin

Ting-Hao Yang

Yizhe Tang

Qian Chang

Eric I Feng

Heng Su

Yupeng Liao

Cailiang Liu

Guoxin Zhang

Deliang Fu

Eugene Chuan-Huai Wei

Yuming Liang

Chenguang Zhang

Varun Narang

Wei Wang

Dong Wang

Hua Zheng

Baptiste Coudurier

Kang Kang

Andrew Cheng-min Lin

Haisheng Wu

Binbin Yu

Ting-hao Yang

Wei Feng

Di Wu

Dong Guo

Jianan Hao

Andrew Cheng-Min Lin

Shucheng Zhong

Ming Sun

Joyce Zhang

Betina J Chan-Martin

Jinlong Chai

Chenyang Cui

Foldable structure for one or more antennas

In one embodiment, a method includes sending videos to users that use a video delivery service. The videos include shows that have episodes released sequentially. The method records historical records of video views for the video based on the sending of the videos to the users. For a show, a show-specific model is determined to predict future video views by performing: determining historical records of video views for different episodes of the show; training the show-specific model with the historical records, wherein the show-specific model models a decay curve with a regularizing term to regularize a decay speed; using the show-specific model to predict future video views for a future time range for episodes of the show; and outputting the future video views to an ad system configured to sell ads for the show.

Video view estimation for shows delivered using a video delivery service

In one embodiment, a method selects a set of accounts related to a video using a first classifier that is trained to identify the set of accounts from a plurality of accounts and selects a token used to identify the video. A second classifier is trained to identify short messages that are related to the video using a first set of short messages from the accounts related to the video and the second set of short messages including the tokens. A third set of short messages is identified that is related to the video from a plurality of short messages. The method normalizes words in the set of short messages using a mixed model including a lexicon model and a translation model. Then, the method generates a set of ratings for the set of short messages and uses the set of ratings in a service for a video delivery service.

Short message classification for video delivery service and normalization

In one embodiment, a method receives a video and information for entities that appear in the video. The video is played in a media player without displaying a queue configured to display one or more entities. When an input is received to display the queue while playing the video, the method performs: determining a set of entities in relation to a time associated with playing the video using the information for the entities that appear in the video and displaying the set of entities in the queue, wherein the video continues to play in the media player while the queue is displayed.

Queue to display information for entities during video playback

A method transcodes a media program to produce a constant video quality transcoded version of the media program. The constant video quality transcoded version is transcoded by a transcoder operating in a first mode that targets video quality. A portion of the constant video quality transcoded version that fails to satisfy a constraint is determined. The method sets a transcoding parameter based on the portion failing to satisfy the constraint. A portion of the media program corresponding to the portion of the constant video quality transcoded version is transcoded according to the transcoding parameter to produce a constant bit rate version of the portion. The constant bit rate version is transcoded by the transcoder operating in a second mode that targets a bit rate. The method then substitutes the constant bit rate version for the portion of constant video quality transcoded version in generating a transcoded media program.

Hybrid transcoding of a media program

Particular embodiments provide dynamic seek processing that minimizes re-buffering after a seek request is received. When a seek occurs to a seeking position, a media player downloads a segment N of the media program that includes the seeking position. To address possible re-buffering, the media player employs a seeking process that may analyze playback factors to determine when to start playback after the segment N that contains the seeking position has been downloaded. Factors include the position within the segment N, the current bandwidth, the next segment's size, and the current bitrate being requested. Depending on these factors, the media player may decide to delay playback even though the segment N has already been downloaded. This allows the next segment N+1 more time to download and then playback can begin with less chance of re-buffering. Particular embodiments also provide a process to calculate the number of seconds to delay playback.

Dynamic seeking in video delivery systems

In one embodiment, a method determines known features for existing face tracks that have identity labels and builds a database using these features. The face tracks may have multiple different views of a face. Multiple features from the multiple faces may be taken to build the face models. For an unlabeled face track without identity information, the method determines its sampled features and finds labeled nearest neighbor features with respect to multiple feature spaces from the face models. For each face in the unlabeled face track, the method decomposes the face as a linear combination of its neighbors from the known features from the face models. Then, the method determines weights for the known features to weight the coefficients of the known features. Particular embodiments use a non-linear weighting function to learn the weights that provides more accurate labels.

Face track recognition with multi-sample multi-view weighting

A method and apparatus for encoding a source media program is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of transcoding the source media program to produce a constant video quality transcoded version of the media program, determining if a portion of constant video quality version of the transcoded media program fails to satisfy a constraint, if the portion of the transcoded media program fails to satisfy the constraint, adjusting at least one transcoding parameter of a set of transcoding parameters, transcoding the portion of the source media program according to the adjusted at least one transcoding parameter to produce a constant bit rate version of the portion of the transcoded media program, and substituting the constant bit rate version of the portion of the transcoded media program for the constant video quality portion of the transcoded media program.

Method and apparatus for hybrid transcoding of a media program

In one embodiment, a method determines a video including ad slots inserted within the video. The method generates a caption curve for a caption file of caption segments for a video based on start and stop times for caption segments in the caption file. The caption segments in the caption file were generated for the video without including ad slots. Then, the method determines a speech velocity for the video using the caption file and revises the caption curve based on the speech velocity and a number of characters in caption segments in the caption file. A speech probability curve is determined based on audio of the video and the method correlates the speech probability curve to the revised caption curve to align the caption segments of the caption file with speech of the video.

Caption and speech alignment for a video delivery system

A method and apparatus for sharing viewing information is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises receiving an designation of a second user from the first user; and transmitting the first user viewing information to the designated second user. The shared viewing information may comprise the identity of a currently viewed media program, a list of scheduled media program viewings, or the media program itself.

Method and apparatus for sharing viewing information

In one embodiment, a method receives a video for a media program and a set of captions for a dialog in the video. A media player plays the video. A time associated with playing of the video is determined and then the method determines a set of entities in relation to the time. The set of entities are included in one or more captions in the set of captions. The method displays the set of entities in a queue where the set of entities are associated with additional information for each respective entity in the set of entities.

Queue to display additional information for entities in captions

In one embodiment, a method determines thresholds for a multiple bitrate algorithm that adjusts which bitrates for a media program are requested. A first threshold is associated with a first buffer length and a first direction of adjustment and a second threshold is associated with a second buffer length greater than the first buffer length and a second direction of adjustment. The method then determines which threshold applies to a buffer length of a buffer buffering the media program. An adjustment to the multiple bitrate algorithm in the first direction or the second direction based on the threshold that applies where the adjustment in the first direction increases an aggressiveness used by the multiple bitrate algorithm to increase the bitrate requested and the adjustment in the second direction decreases the aggressiveness used by the multiple bitrate algorithm to increase the bitrate requested.

Dynamic adjustment to multiple bitrate algorithm based on buffer length

Particular embodiments configure a video delivery system to provide different modes for seeking in a video. The different modes may segment the video on different boundaries based on different characteristics of the video. For example, the different modes may seek by scene, by shot, and by dialogue. The boundaries for scenes, shots, and dialogue may start the video on logical points that do not break up the flow of the video. In another embodiment, the media player may save a seek history for a user and allow the user to scan the previous seek requests to go back to the seek times of previous seek requests. In one embodiment, the previous seek times are adjusted via the boundary information to show thumbnails for a shot, scene, or dialogue that correspond to the boundaries in the video rather than the original seek time.

Video delivery system configured to seek in a video using different modes

In one embodiment, a method defines information for a set of genomes where the set of genomes describe characteristics of media programs. The method also defines which genomes in the set of genomes correspond to which topics in a set of topics. Textual information for a plurality of media programs and the information are input into a model and the model is trained to determine a probability distribution of terms for the set of topics based on analyzing the textual information and the genome information. The method then outputs the trained model. The probability distribution of terms is usable to determine genomes for each of the plurality of media programs where a genome corresponds to a topic and is associated with a media program based on terms found in the textual information for the media program and the probability distribution of terms for the topic correspond to the genome.

Topic model based media program genome generation

A method, apparatus, article of manufacture for providing list of a plurality of media programs responsive to a user search query is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of accepting an general search query from a user computer, identifying a synonym for the general search query, identifying a category for the general search query according to the identified synonym, performing a categorical search of a media program database using the identified synonym and the identified category to obtain a search result, and transmitting the search result to the user computer for presentation on a display communicatively coupled to the user computer.

Growing community of inventors

Beijing, China

Zhibing Wang