Abstract: A system includes a subscriber information service (SIS), logic defining a digital advertising campaign, and logic to operate the SIS to maintain an impression-to-decision ratio for one or more aspects of the advertising campaign and to apply the ratio to frequency capping the one or more aspects of the advertising campaign.

Abstract: A system to delivery media over a network for rendering by client devices forms a definition of a group of people who have opted-in to experience a defined shared media experience, and augments the shared media as a result of a dynamic measurement of one or more characteristics of the group.

Abstract: A linear digital advertising system includes ad decision logic configured to be centrally operable by a plurality of customer premise equipment. Each customer premise equipment includes a digital ad splicer, an ad content cache, a viewer attribute associator, and an interface to the ad decision logic. A proxy is operable between the customer premise equipment and the ad decision logic and includes an ad request and decision associator. The digital ad splicer is responsive to a control from the proxy identifying ad content, the control from the proxy received via the interface to the ad decision logic. The digital ad splicer is configured to operate the ad content cache to download from a content distribution network ad content determined by the control from the proxy, and to receive the ad content from the ad content cache and to splice the ad content into a simultaneously received and rendered linear program content stream.

Abstract: A system to delivery media over a network for rendering by client devices forms a definition of a group of people who have opted-in to experience a defined shared media experience, and augments the shared media as a result of a dynamic measurement of one or more characteristics of the group.

Abstract: Data is divided into parts and each part provided to a different processor. Each processor processes the provided data part to produce a partial CRC result. The partial CRC results from each of the different processors are XORed to produce a CRC of the data.

Abstract: A video on demand server includes a video pump an ad management system interface to disable fast forwarding during commercials and allow fast forwarding during play of content. A playlist generator configures the disabling and allowing of fast forwarding and compiles the playlist from (a) separately provided breakpoints for the commercials during presentation of the content, and (b) an ad map including trick mode instructions that define commands for enabling and disabling trickmode during presentation of the commercials.

Abstract: A system includes a cache, coupled to a receiver, to store received content and advertisements. An interface in the receiver detects the occurrence of an advantageous condition during the play of content retrieved from the cache. The receiver locates one or more advertisements in the cache, and enables the display of a user interface in place of the content so long as the advantageous condition is detected. The user interface includes selectable indicia of the located advertisements and an indicia of the content. The interface is adapted to locate one or more advertisements using markers that are inserted into the content by the interface, and pointers to the one or more advertisements associated with the markers, the pointers having a stored association to the markers.

Abstract: A system includes a receiver to receive content and an advertisement. The system further includes a cache, coupled to the receiver, to store the content and the advertisement. An interface in the receiver receives an updated advertisement and updating instructions, the updating instructions to enable the receiver to replace the stored advertisement with the updated advertisement. The receiver detects a starting point of the advertisement and creates a marker and inserts it into the content to indicate said starting point, and stores the advertisement from the content to a memory storage location separate from the content, and creates and stores a pointer to the memory location. The interface detects a user-initiated pause in the viewing of content, retrieves the updated advertisement from storage, and provides a user interface that enables the user to view the retrieved advertisement for as long as the viewing of the content remains paused.

Abstract: A data delivery mechanism, such as a recordable disk or packets on a wire, delivering an info segment which specifies interruption points at which a first content item such as a television program is to be interrupted and a second content item such as an advertisement is to be inserted. The info segment may prevent certain types of second content items from being utilized, may permit them to be avoided, may control their duration, and other aspects of their utilization. The info segment may specify with which first content item it is associated. Other embodiments are also disclosed and claimed, such as an electronic programming guide.

Abstract: Content which users may wish to receive may be distributed with interrupting content such that the use of the content on the user's receiver may be interrupted and replaced with the interrupting content. The content which the user wishes to receive may be software, audio, video, graphics or other material and the interrupting content in one embodiment of the prevent invention may be advertisements. In this way, the user's receiver may be utilized to determine when it is appropriate to interrupt the interruptible content with the interrupting content. This may provide a convenient mechanism for reduced price or free distribution of a wide variety of media currently provided only in physical form or only for free without any compensation to the content provider.

Abstract: A client processor-based system may receive software from a web site server as well as information about when commercial advertisements will be distributed over video distribution systems. This information may be used by the client processor-based system to automatically record commercial broadcast from a video distribution system. The recorded commercial broadcast may then be automatically replayed in the course of using content or services received in return for playing the commercial advertisement.