Abstract: Systems and methods for obtaining network diagnostic information within a hospitality environment are provided. More specifically, application identification information may be received at a diagnostic device, based on the application identification information, a diagnostic application may be received, site configuration may be obtained, the diagnostic application may be configured with the site configuration information, and network diagnostic information may be obtained. The network diagnostic information may then be provided to a remote monitoring server.

Abstract: Methods and systems for routing key commands received from a remote-control device are provided. The method and/or system may include receiving, at a device, a key command from the remote-control device, generating a first message that includes the key command, sending, from the device, the first message to a keystroke router, and determining, at the keystroke router, a system network controller associated with the device. Moreover, the keystroke router may send the key command to the system network controller.

Abstract: Systems and methods directed to a communication system in a hospitality environment are provided. The communication system may include a server, an output device, and a local player in communication with the server and configured to provide display information to the output device. The local player is configured to provide a status message to the server, receive application identification from the server identifying one or more applications to execute, retrieve additional content from a content source, and execute the one or more applications thereby providing the display information including the additional content to the output device for display at the output device.

Abstract: Systems and methods for pairing user devices to selected output devices are provided. Pairing can include providing information identifying a user device to a system authority, such as a remote communication interface server. In response to verifying that a user associated with the identified user device is authorized to use a selected output device, the information identifying the user device and a local player connected to the selected output device is provided to a local controller or server. The local controller then creates and maintains an association between the user device and the local player, allowing a user of the user device to cast content to an output device associated with the paired local player.

Abstract: Methods and systems for selecting and delivering content are provided. More particularly, content can be delivered to an output device from a user device through a device adaptor, such as an over-the-top (OTT) device. The OTT device or devices available to the user device are determined by a communication server. In particular, the OTT device or devices available to the user device are limited to those OTT devices associated with an output device in the user's room, or that the user is otherwise authorized to access.

Abstract: Methods and systems for selectively connecting a user device on a first network to a peripheral device on a second network are provided. More particularly, a communication server controls the peripheral devices that are visible to a user device in a discovery process. In addition, the communication server limits the peripheral devices that are available to a user device to those peripheral devices that the user device is authorized to access. The system further enables a user device to operably connect to a visible peripheral device.

Abstract: Methods and systems for enabling a function based on identifying information for a mobile device are provided. The identifying information can include location information, and is provided from a communication device or identification tag. The mobile device provides the identifying information to a system authority. The mobile device can also provide additional identifying information to the system authority. The system authority can then authorize a command and control or a content delivery operation.

Abstract: Methods and systems for enabling a function based on location information for a mobile device are provided. The location information is provided from a sensor device. The sensor device can have a known location, and can provide information identifying the mobile device to a system authority that enables the function. The mobile device can also provide additional identifying information to the system authority. Different communication channels established partially or entirely over different communication networks can be used to deliver the different identifiers.

Abstract: A dynamically configurable video signal processing system including an encoder and decoder processes data in the form of hierarchical layers. The system partitions data between hierarchical layers and allows variation in the number of layers employed. Data is automatically partitioned into one or more hierarchical layers as a function of one or more parameters selected from available system bandwidth, input data rate, and output signal quality. In addition, the image resolution and corresponding number of pixels per image of the data may be varied as a function of system parameters.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for scaling the bitstream of a compressed video signal includes partial decoding hardware (38, 41) to permit excising of higher frequency AC DCT coefficients or re-quantizing quantized data with a coarser quantization factor. The scaling is performed on a block (macroblock) basis in a manner which linearly scales the amount of compressed data per block. An analyzer (40) generates a profile of cumulative partially decompressed data over a video frame, and bitstream scaling (42) is performed in a manner which insures that a profile of the scaled signal substantially comports with the profile of the original data.

Abstract: An apparatus for successive refinement of video frames, and methods of operating the same result in reduced latency for downloading the video frames. The apparatus for transmitting video frames comprises a plurality of video frames encoded to provide a plurality of program modules. A first program module provides a first video frame. A second program module provides an enhancement to the first video frame. A cataloging resource which provides scheduling requests for transmission of the plurality of program modules requests the first program module and the second program module for transmission. An output driver which transmits program modules receives the scheduling requests from the cataloging resource for the first program module and the second program module and selects the first program module and the second program module for transmission to produce a higher quality first video frame.

Abstract: A dynamically configurable video signal processing system partitions and encodes data using a variable number of data segments and variable data resolution. The system partitions data into a variable number of data segments by predicting, as a function of the data rate, first and second distortion factors for the data partitioned into first and second numbers of data segments. The first and second distortion factors are mutually compared and the data is partitioned into the number of data segments which exhibits the lower distortion factor value. First and second distortion factors for the data encoded with first and second data resolutions are also predicted. The first and second distortion factors are similarly compared and the data is encoded with the resolution exhibiting the lower distortion factor value.

Abstract: A transactional server system for transferring subscriber information requests to information service providers, and methods of operating the same result in discouraging reconstruction of the subscriber information. The transactional server system comprises a subscriber platform which transfers an encrypted identification and a message request block. A transaction server is coupled to the subscriber platform to initiate a subscriber information request in response to the message request block and the encrypted identification, and transfer the message request block to the information service providers in response to subscriber information. A database server coupled to the transaction server and having a plurality of subscriber information receives the subscriber information request and decrypts the encrypted identification to provide the subscriber information to the transaction server.