Abstract: A fault-tolerant, cloud-based system can comprise a redundancy control unit capable of switching between transcoded video streams output by two or more transcoders. The redundancy control unit outputs a manifest from one of the transcoded streams and, upon detecting a fault in the stream, can modify the manifest to switch to another of the transcoded video streams. The redundancy control unit can further modify the manifest to flag the discontinuity in the video stream, which allows the player to switch to the new transcoding video stream without error. Other embodiments can include additional redundancies to help provide additional fault tolerance.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for the creation of multi-codec encoding profiles (or encoding ladders), which define quality and bitrate for each of the streams made available to clients for streaming a video. In particular, optimization techniques may take into account a quality rate function of each of the codecs when determining the encoding ladder. Additional considerations may include a network bandwidth distribution and/or a distribution of client types.

Abstract: Techniques and a system are provided for protecting content (or media item) streamed over a network from unauthorized access. As an example, the streaming protection system generates statistics when a client requests a media item. The statistic may be generated based on various factors. The media item is divided into different portions, each portion requiring a different key to decrypt the portion so that it may be viewed by a user. Based on the generated statistic, the streaming protection system determines whether or not to allow the client access to the decryption key for a portion of the media item.

Abstract: Techniques and a system are provided for protecting content (or media item) streamed over a network from unauthorized access. As an example, the streaming protection system generates statistics when a client requests a media item. The statistic may be generated based on various factors. The media item is divided into different portions, each portion requiring a different key to decrypt the portion so that it may be viewed by a user. Based on the generated statistic, the streaming protection system determines whether or not to allow the client access to the decryption key for a portion of the media item.

Abstract: Techniques described herein provide for cloud-based media delivery that accepts or ingests media content, transcodes it according to various media profiles to create a plurality of video files, and provides notification that at least a portion of the video files is ready for delivery. The notification can be provided using a notification Unique Resource Locator (URL), which can be provided in a request to prepare the media content for delivery. Cloud-based media delivery can be customized based on any of a variety of factors, such as requesting party, media type, and the like.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for remotely controlling the distribution of digital assets to users in less-connected venues. When digital assets are cached within the less-connected venues, users within those less-connected venues are better able to consume the assets, and are therefore more likely to purchase rights to consume the assets. Users within a less-connected venue may purchase and consume assets while the target network is completely disconnected from the source network from which the digital asset distribution is controlled. Sessions that are initiated within less-connected venues may be transferred outside those venues, to allow users that have purchased assets to continue to consume those assets after they leave the less connected venues.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for dynamically creating index files for streaming media based on a determined chunking strategy. The chunking strategy can be determined using historical data of any of a variety of factors, such as Quality of Service (QoS) information. By using historical data in this manner, index files can be generated using chunking strategies that can improve these factors over time.

Abstract: Techniques described herein provide for cloud-based media delivery that accepts or ingests media content, transcodes it according to various media profiles to create a plurality of video files, and provides notification that at least a portion of the video files is ready for delivery. The notification can be provided using a notification Unique Resource Locator (URL), which can be provided in a request to prepare the media content for delivery. Business rules can be used to customize the cloud-based media delivery based on any of a variety of factors, such as requesting party, media type, and the like.

Abstract: Techniques for load balancing in a network of nodes can include a first node receiving and/or generating a request having an identifier, task description, and information regarding an entity originating the request. The first node can either perform the task and report back to the originating entity of the completion of the task, or forward the request to a random one of a plurality of other nodes with which the first node is communicatively connected.

Abstract: A method for dynamic file availability during remote transfer and transcoding involves the conversion of a non-streamable media file to a streamable format prior to transcoding, and the streaming of the transcoded file before ingest and transcode is complete. A first portion of a non-streamable media file is received at an ingest server for transcoding. Upon determining that the first portion does not include a header, the probable location of the header in the media file is determined and a header portion of the file is received at the ingest server. The first portion is combined with at least part of the header to produce a first streamable segment. Prior to receiving the last portion of the media file at the ingest server, the first streamable segment is transcoded at a first transcode server to produce a first transcoded streamable segment.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for dynamically creating index files for streaming media based on a determined chunking strategy. The chunking strategy can be determined using historical data of any of a variety of factors, such as Quality of Service (QoS) information. By using historical data in this manner, index files can be generated using chunking strategies that can improve these factors over time.

Abstract: Techniques described herein are directed toward creating one or more “dynamic profiles” for media (video) streaming in which an encoding bit rate (and optionally other profile settings) is optimized for particular content. More specifically, techniques involve performing one or more “probe” encodings of the particular content to determine an encoding bit rate (and optionally other profile settings) that results in an encoding having a quality value sufficiently near (within a threshold) a target quality value.

Abstract: Techniques described herein provide for cloud-based media delivery that accepts or ingests media content, transcodes it according to various media profiles to create a plurality of video files, and provides notification that at least a portion of the video files is ready for delivery. The notification can be provided using a notification Unique Resource Locator (URL), which can be provided in a request to prepare the media content for delivery. Business rules can be used to customize the cloud-based media delivery based on any of a variety of factors, such as requesting party, media type, and the like.

Abstract: Techniques described herein provide for cloud-based media delivery that accepts or ingests media content, transcodes it according to various media profiles to create a plurality of video files, and provides notification that at least a portion of the video files is ready for delivery. The notification can be provided using a notification Unique Resource Locator (URL), which can be provided in a request to prepare the media content for delivery. Business rules can be used to customize the cloud-based media delivery based on any of a variety of factors, such as requesting party, media type, and the like.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for dynamically creating index files for streaming media based on a determined chunking strategy. The chunking strategy can be determined using historical data of any of a variety of factors, such as Quality of Service (QoS) information. By using historical data in this manner, index files can be generated using chunking strategies that can improve these factors over time.

Abstract: Timestamps for streams of media that transition from one media source to another (such as from live content to on-demand content, and vice versa) can be rewritten by a server to help ensure error-free streaming by the client. Embodiments can coordinate the creation of a client manifest with the dynamic creation of a requested segment of media (i.e., “chunk”) to determine how to rewrite timestamps of requested chunks such that they are continuous through the transition.

Abstract: A system, method and apparatus are disclosed which may be used to provide demographic and behavior data of a user of a video service provider. The user demographic information may be obtained by obtaining an image of the user, analyzing the image data, and providing the information about the determined demographic data. Behavior data may be obtained from at least one sensor monitoring user actions and correlating the user actions with video content being provided to the user.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for processing metric information is disclosed in one embodiment. Metric information is gathered from a number of end users. At least some of the reference types are converted to value types and stored in non-mechanical memory. The value types are manipulated to summarize the metric information. The value types are processed using the stack instead of the heap.

Abstract: Timestamps for streams of media that transition from one media source to another (such as from live content to on-demand content, and vice versa) can be rewritten by a server to help ensure error-free streaming by the client. Embodiments can coordinate the creation of a client manifest with the dynamic creation of a requested segment of media (i.e., “chunk”) to determine how to rewrite timestamps of requested chunks such that they are continuous through the transition.

Abstract: Among other things, publishers of digital content are enabled each to define, for each of one or more digital content items, a style in which the digital content item is to be presented to a user and a condition under which the user may have the digital content item presented. The digital content items are stored in a content library, the styles and conditions associated with the digital content items are stored in a server. Each of the digital content items is enabled to be presented to users within presentation contexts that are accessible to the users and controlled by presentation context providers. The presentation of the digital content items includes obtaining the digital content items from the server and controlling the presentation to occur under the conditions and in the styles defined by the publishers.