Patents Examined by Nicholas Corbo
  • Patent number: 9398323
    Abstract: A resident application and a second application are provided in a set-top terminal to receive a TV broadcast service and network personal video recorder (NPVR) service, respectively. The resident application is suspended in favor of the second application when a user changes from a broadcast channel to an NPVR enabled channel, and vice versa. In an embodiment where a digital video recorder (DVR) set-top terminal is used, a DVR server therein provides trick mode functions (pause, rewind and fast-forward) before an NPVR session, e.g., a Look Back session, is established. In another embodiment, during an NPVR session the DVR server plays back recorded programming content downloaded from a communications network, and provides trick mode functions as well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2016
    Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC
    Inventors: Vipul B. Patel, John W. Callahan
  • Patent number: 9386350
    Abstract: Systems and methods are discussed for providing guidance for Internet-delivered media. In some embodiments, information on available media on the Internet is gathered. The information is associated with existing media guidance data. The associations enable a media guidance application to identify relevant online media and to display listings in a user-friendly way. A user interface for an online media guidance application is also provided. The user interface allows a user to narrow down the large amount of Internet-delivered media in a systematic way according to criteria that interests a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2016
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventors: Kirsten Rasanen, Jay S. Bryant
  • Patent number: 9380347
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method and system for accessing services in a television system. In one implementation, a DHCT presents a user a menu containing a plurality of selectable link representations corresponding to separate services or applications offered by the cable television system. The user navigates the menu with a remote device and selects a desired service by choosing the selectable link representation corresponding to the desired service or application. The DHCT receives the user input, translates the selectable link command into an executable call, and activates the service or application corresponding to the selected link representation from the menu chosen by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Dean F. Jerding, Arturo A. Rodriguez, Robert O. Banker, John M. Schlarb, Robert T. Van Orden, Bindu Crandall
  • Patent number: 9351050
    Abstract: A web-based service which provides a notification such an email to a user to facilitate managing the recording of broadcast content using a personal video recorder (PVR). The user can agree to participate in the service in exchange for emails which can provide information such as a summary of programs recorded over a few days, missed recordings, and scheduling conflicts. The notification can include targeted recommendations, targeted advertising and information about recording habits of members of a social network of the user. A notification can be provided on an urgent basis if program schedule conflicts or hardware or software problems with the user's equipment are detected. The user's equipment can include a PC-based PVR, or a PC which communicates with a separate PVR device. PC-related information such as events thrown can also be reported up to the web service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2016
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventor: Kenneth S Reneris
  • Patent number: 9351032
    Abstract: A method for presenting advertisements for commercial products in video productions, whereby the commercial product is placed in the video production as an element of the video production. A viewer is enabled to interact with the video production to select the product. Information is then displayed about the selected product; and the viewer is enabled to purchase the selected product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2016
    Assignee: Cinsay, Inc.
    Inventors: Christian Briggs, Heath McBurnett, Delfino Galindo, Jr., Freddy Knuth
  • Patent number: 9344759
    Abstract: An example method comprises determining, by a computing device, an indication of video content, determining, by the computing device and based at least in part on the indication, one or more candidate albums, selecting, by the computing device, a particular candidate album of the one or more candidate albums based at least in part on a match between an audio fingerprint of an audio track included in the video content and an audio fingerprint of an audio track included in the particular candidate album, and sending, by the computing device, a message that associates the video content with the particular candidate album.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Matthew Sharifi
  • Patent number: 9344754
    Abstract: A method for presenting advertisements for commercial products in video productions, whereby the commercial product is placed in the video production as an element of the video production. A viewer is enabled to interact with the video production to select the product. Information is then displayed about the selected product; and the viewer is enabled to purchase the selected product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: Cinsay, Inc.
    Inventors: Christian Briggs, Heath McBurnett, Delfino Galindo, Jr., Freddy Knuth
  • Patent number: 9338494
    Abstract: An IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) as a first display device may be controlled in part by user on a second display device. The second display device can set start and end times for content which the user of the second display device recommends to the IPTV device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignees: SONY CORPORATION, SONY NETWORK ENTERTAINMENT INTERNATIONAL LLC
    Inventors: Charles McCoy, Ling Jun Wong, True Xiong
  • Patent number: 9338500
    Abstract: A method for presenting advertisements for commercial products in video productions, whereby the commercial product is placed in the video production as an element of the video production. A viewer is enabled to interact with the video production to select the product. Information is then displayed about the selected product; and the viewer is enabled to purchase the selected product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignee: Cinsay, Inc.
    Inventors: Christian Briggs, Heath McBurnett, Delfino Galindo, Jr., Freddy Knuth
  • Patent number: 9338499
    Abstract: A method for presenting advertisements for commercial products in video productions, whereby the commercial product is placed in the video production as an element of the video production. A viewer is enabled to interact with the video production to select the product. Information is then displayed about the selected product; and the viewer is enabled to purchase the selected product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignee: Cinsay, Inc.
    Inventors: Christian Briggs, Heath McBurnett, Delfino Galindo, Jr., Freddy Knuth
  • Patent number: 9332302
    Abstract: A method for presenting advertisements for commercial products in video productions, whereby the commercial product is placed in the video production as an element of the video production. A viewer is enabled to interact with the video production to select the product. Information is then displayed about the selected product; and the viewer is enabled to purchase the selected product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2016
    Assignee: Cinsay, Inc.
    Inventors: Christian Briggs, Heath McBurnett, Delfino Galindo, Jr., Freddy Knuth
  • Patent number: 9325965
    Abstract: Disclosure is directed to providing an electronic program guide to one or more viewers in manner that does not interfere with others' viewing of other program service content. In one embodiment, altered 3D output signals are used such that one frequency of the output signal contains an EPG data image and a second frequency of the 3D output signal contains visual content from the broadcast service transmission. In another embodiment, an EPG is periodically inserted into video stream during predetermined frames, which are then captured and held by a synchronized headset. In another embodiment, an EPG image is output through the projector onto a projection surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.
    Inventors: Michiel Beemster, David Bonfrer, Marcel Westenbroek
  • Patent number: 9319745
    Abstract: A media player system for product placements, including: a controller; a computer-readable non-transitory memory in communication with the controller including instructions that when executed by the controller cause it to: display a user interface including a video frame and a product information area, wherein the product information area is adjacent or overlaps the video frame; display contents of a video in the video frame, wherein the video includes corresponding video metadata; receive a current location of a cursor; and when the current location of the cursor is within a product hotspot, display product information associated with the product hotspot in the product information area, wherein the product hotspot is defined by the video metadata as a location within the video frame, at one or more points in time, that is associated with the product information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: VIDRETAL, INC.
    Inventor: Christopher G. Rankine
  • Patent number: 9319734
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a digital broadcasting receiver for a magic remote control and a method of controlling the receiver. The digital broadcasting receiver for the magic remote control according to an embodiment of the present invention may include: a receiving unit receiving a control signal, wherein the control signal includes a first signal representing that a button of the magic remote control is pressed, a second signal representing the drag state of the magic remote control while the button of the magic remote control is pressed, and a third signal representing that the button of the magic remote control is released; a display unit; a processor; and a platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Hotaek Hong, Joonhui Lee, Sanghyun Kim, Kyutae Ahn
  • Patent number: 9313552
    Abstract: An apparatus for relaying a terrestrial broadcast signal includes a broadcast receiving unit configured to receive a broadcast signal from a terrestrial broadcast station via a over-the-air broadcast network and a broadcast streaming unit configured to stream the broadcast signal to a display terminal via a wireless communication network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2016
    Assignee: ECOPRO ICT, INC.
    Inventors: Sang Il Park, Ju Nyen Kim
  • Patent number: 9301012
    Abstract: An exemplary method includes detecting, on a media content recording device, a media content recording conflict between a plurality of scheduled recordings of media content instances, and outputting, for display on a display device, data representative of a graphical user interface including a plurality of graphical objects representative of the plurality of scheduled recordings of the media content instances and at least one option configured to facilitate resolution of the media content recording conflict. Corresponding methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer-readable media are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2016
    Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
    Inventors: Heath Stallings, Venkata S. Adimatyam, Brian F. Roberts
  • Patent number: 9294731
    Abstract: A system and method for delivering video content over a network in communication with a subscriber having an associated electronic device is disclosed. A network server is provided and is configured to transmit a plurality of multicast streams of video content over the network. A scheduled start time for the transmission of a first stream of the multicast streams is assigned. A request for the video content is received at a first time, which is after said scheduled start time and the request is the first request for the video content received by the network server after the scheduled start time. The first stream is transmitted over the network only after the request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC
    Inventors: Michael P. Morrissey, Jade D. Kerr, Clinton J. Smoyer, Andrew V. Cook, Kevin Michael McBride
  • Patent number: 9271022
    Abstract: Subscribing to channels and playing content, including: selecting an available subscription channel with an application on a second device; modifying a user's, subscription list based on the selected subscription-channel; and executing commands on any of the subscription channels of the user's subscription list. Keywords include: media, internet content, BIVL subscription and device infrastructure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2016
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, SONY NETWORK ENTERTAINMENT INTERNATIONAL LLC
    Inventors: Ling Jun Wong, True Xiong, Charles McCoy, Leo Pedlow
  • Patent number: 9264752
    Abstract: An example method involves: (i) accessing data representing a news program schedule that specifies a sequence of events to be carried out using a news production system, wherein the schedule is divided into contiguous portions; (ii) for each portion: determining that m media servers are sufficient to execute any events of that portion and associated with a first device, allocating m media servers to the first device, thereby leaving one or more unallocated media servers, and allocating n media servers, from the unallocated media servers, to a second device; and (iii) for each of the contiguous portions, utilizing at least a portion of the allocated m media servers to carry out the events specified in that portion and associated with the first device and utilizing at least a portion of the allocated n media servers to carry out the events specified in that portion and associated with the second device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: Tribune Broadcasting Company, LLC
    Inventor: Hank J. Hundemer
  • Patent number: 9246613
    Abstract: An approach is provided for extending social networking to television viewing. A community of a plurality of users is created, wherein each user is logged in a device configured to present audio-video content. Presence information of one of the users in the community is determined and transmitted to a corresponding device of another one of the users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
    Inventors: Martin W. McKee, Paul T. Schultz, Robert A. Sartini, Hubert Sieh