Abstract: 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.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a capture video is received that is captured during the playback of a trace video on a media player on a hardware platform. The capture video may be an external capture of a display of the trace video on the media player. To allow the external capture to be analyzed, the trace video may include visible codes on frames of the trace video that can be captured by a capture device. Particular embodiments analyze the frames of the capture video to extract identifiers associated with the visual codes on the frames. Events that occurred during playback are determined by analyzing a sequence of identifiers from the capture video to an expected sequence of identifiers from the trace video. Then, particular embodiments determine whether an API call from the media player was received that corresponds to the event while the media player was playing the trace video.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes: retrieving information for frame type decisions made by a first encoding process when encoding a video at a first bitrate to generate a first encoded video; while performing a second encoding process to encode the video at a second bitrate to generate a second encoded video, performing: determining a frame type decision from the information for frame type decisions, wherein the frame type decision comprises a frame type of a frame for the video that was encoded at the first bitrate; inserting a keyframe in the second encoded video based on the frame type decision, wherein the inserted keyframe in the second encoded video is aligned with a corresponding keyframe in the first encoded video; and continuing to retrieve frame type decisions and inserting keyframes in the second encoded video until the video is encoded at the second bitrate.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: A media server receives a first request to transmit the media program to the first device and streams the media program to the first device. The method monitors the streaming of the media program to the first device to generate media program streaming information and transmits the media program streaming information to a media program provider. A second request is received to resume transmission of the media program from a second device where the request includes a temporal location within the media program that was received from the media program provider. The media program provider determined the temporal location from the streaming information transmitted from the media server to the media program provider. The media server resumes transmission of the media program to the second device from the temporal location received from the media program provider.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method sends a request for a bundle of preview images for a video to a server. The video is played and a portion of the bundle of preview images for the video is received. The method decodes the portion of the bundle of preview images before the entire bundle of preview images is received. Then, an input from a user for a location in the video is received and the method determines if a preview image corresponding to the location has been decoded from the bundle of preview images. When the image corresponding to the location has been decoded, the preview image corresponding to the location is displayed as a preview image.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method determines a job to dispatch for transcoding a source file. The source file is stored on a node in a distributed file system in which a plurality of nodes are storing a plurality of source files. The method then determines location information for the source file in the distributed file system where the location information identifies the node in which the source file is stored. Also, a node in the plurality of nodes is determined in which to dispatch the job based on the location information for the source file. Then, the job is dispatched to the determined node such that transcoding of the source file is performed on the determined node. The determined node that performs the transcoding of the source file is also storing at least a portion of the plurality of source files.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, article of manufacture, and a memory structure for providing advertisements with a media program transmitted to a user device are described. Different versions of a media program and advertisements are generated and segmented, and transmitted to a media player individually, allowing different advertisements to be selected for presentation to users according to user demographics and other factors.

Abstract: Techniques for selecting a digital image are disclosed. The techniques may include receiving a first set of digital images, analyzing the first set of digital images to extract first image features from each of the first set of digital images, accessing a user profile, comparing the extracted first image features to a preset list of image features, ranking each digital image of the first set, selecting each digital image having a ranking that exceeds a threshold, assigning a category to each selected digital image based on a comparison of each selected digital image to a category database of digital image categories, displaying each selected digital image with the assigned category, receiving an input from the user in response to the displaying, updating the user profile and the category database based on the input, and selecting at least one subsequent digital image based on the updated user profile and category database.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method maintains files of an asset of video content at a plurality of content delivery networks (CDNs) for delivery to users. The method determines that the asset of video content has been distributed based on a first delivery classification that is used to determine a first combination of file sizes and CDNs. A set of asset characteristics is monitored and analyzed to determine whether the first delivery classification is changed to a second delivery classification. Different values for the set of asset characteristics result in different delivery classifications. When the first delivery classification of the asset of video content is changed to the second delivery classification, a distribution of the asset of video content is automatically changed where the second delivery classification is used to determine a second combination of file sizes and CDNs and the second combination is different from the first combination.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, article of manufacture, and a memory structure for presenting an advertisement for playback in conjunction with a streamed media program are described. The method permits the user to control advertising breaks and in particular, the timing of advertising breaks associated with the media program.

Abstract: Particular embodiments provide a watch list of shows to users. The watch list is personalized for each user. Also, the watch list is dynamically organized to predict an order the user will want to watch the shows. Particular embodiments analyze historical user behavior with respect to the timing for recurring releases of the episodes for shows to determine the order of the shows in the watch list. The watch list is organized in a way that a user may select a “watch all” button where unseen episodes for the shows in the watch list are all played to the user in an order that is predicted to be the order in which the user would want to watch the shows. Providing the watch all button makes it important to predict the order of the shows accurately.

Abstract: 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.