Abstract: In a streaming video system, a method determining a sequence of video programs playing on an interactive player device may include streaming a first video program including an ad break from a computer server to an interactive player device during a first streaming session. The method may further include automatically selecting a video advertisement or next program from a set of prospective video advertisements for play during the ad break or available programs, based at least in part on the first video program exclusive of any parameter based on user identity. The method may include providing the video advertisement to the interactive player device in the first streaming session at the ad break. Bases for selecting the next ad or program may include program popularity, rate of change in popularity, or other parameter. The method may be embodied in a computing apparatus or system.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 3, 2012
Date of Patent:
May 12, 2015
Assignee:
HULU, LLC
Inventors:
Peter E. Sargent, Hang Li, Hua Zheng, Liang Xiang, Chaitanya Laxminarayan, Nathan A. Hinish
Abstract: In one embodiment, a method receives a specification for aggregating data from processing of beacons. A beacon is associated with an event occurring at a client while a user is interacting with a web application and including unstructured data. The method then parses the specification to automatically generate an aggregation to aggregate structured data that has been converted from the unstructured data and stores dependency information for changes to the aggregation. State information is analyzed and the dependency information to determine when a change in the state information indicates that a change should be made to the aggregation. The method then dynamically changes the aggregation based on the analyzing to generate a new aggregation to aggregate different data based on changed information.
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. The method permits the user to interrupt the playback of the advertisement and continue with the playback of the media program with no further advertisements, or to interrupt the playback of the advertisement to substitute a different version of the advertisement.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 27, 2011
Date of Patent:
March 31, 2015
Assignee:
Hulu, LLC
Inventors:
Jason A. Kilar, Jessica Page Ivy, Wing Chit Mak, Richard W. Tom, Robert Masao Wong, Bryon Edward Schafer, Hua Zheng, Jean-Paul Colaco, Brian Soebekti
Abstract: In one embodiment, a method determines advertisement (ad) impressions previously determined for a site and respective predicted probabilities determined for the ad impressions. A mapping table is generated mapping predicted probabilities to respective precisions using seed data associated with the ad impressions. The method generates optimal options for using the first level and the second level for the segment using the mapping table. The optimal options include a first precision for the first level, a second precision for the second level, and a ratio of ad inventories allocated to the first level and the second level. Then the method selects one of the optimal options. The selected one of the optimal options includes parameters including a first threshold for the first level, a second threshold for the second level, and the ratio that are used to test whether a predicted probability for an ad impression is targeted to the first level or the second level.
Type:
Application
Filed:
August 23, 2013
Publication date:
February 26, 2015
Applicant:
Hulu, LLC
Inventors:
Dong Guo, Xuan Wei, Hua Zheng, Joyce Zhang
Abstract: Configuration of advertisements in a streaming video segment works in cooperation with a client device. Using a selection algorithm, a server selects a first number of default video advertisements for a video streaming session, and a second number of alternative video ads greater than the first number. The server provides identifiers for the alternative video advertisements and transmits the identifiers to the client device prior to a corresponding ad break in the streaming video. During or before streaming of one of the default video advertisements to the client device, the server detects a signal from the client device requesting that one of the alternative video advertisements be swapped for the one of the default video advertisements, interrupts streaming of the default video, and initiates streaming of the one of the alternative video advertisements, in response to detecting the signal. Corresponding operations may be performed by the client device.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 7, 2012
Date of Patent:
February 24, 2015
Assignee:
Hulu, LLC
Inventors:
Richard W. Tom, Jason A. Kilar, Jean-Paul Colaco, Bryon E. Schafer, Wing Chit Mak
Abstract: A method and apparatus for resuming playback of a media program, the playback initiated on a first device and resumed on a second device is disclosed. The method does not rely on additional messages transmitted from the playback devices, but rather on server side monitoring of the transmission of the media program.
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 source file 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.
Abstract: In one embodiment, a method determines a first local binary pattern for a first image in a video and a second local binary pattern for a second image in the video. Then, the method determines an optical flow between the first image and the second image based on a distance between the first local binary pattern and the second local binary pattern. The optical flow is output for use in aligning the first image to the second image.
Type:
Application
Filed:
June 28, 2013
Publication date:
January 1, 2015
Applicant:
Hulu, LLC
Inventors:
Tao Xiong, Zhibing Wang, Heng Su, Guoxin Zhang
Abstract: In a streaming video system with included video ad breaks, a pacing component allocates ads to particular ad breaks so as to pace the distribution of ads over a defined ad campaign period according to a pacing protocol using discrete time bins. A curve fitting algorithm may be used to provide increased or adjustable granularity of time bins used in the pacing protocol.
Abstract: A method and apparatus for obtaining media program metadata is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of receiving a media program callback message in a content delivery system from a client device displaying a webpage retrieved from a host server, the media program embedded in the retrieved webpage, the callback message comprising a callback address to the webpage, and storing the address as metadata associated with the media program in the database.
Abstract: In one embodiment, a method plays, on an interface, a media program in a media player operating in a first mode. A position change of the media player on the interface is determined while the media program is being played in the media player to cause the media player to move to an out of bounds position. The method detects the media player moving to the out of bounds position and upon detecting, automatically performs switching from the first mode to a second mode based on the media player moving to the out of bounds position where the second mode restricts movement of the media player. Also, the method transfers the media player to a new position that is not in the out of bounds position where the media player continues to play the media program in the new position.
Type:
Application
Filed:
June 3, 2014
Publication date:
December 11, 2014
Applicant:
Hulu, LLC
Inventors:
Bao Lei, Ilya Haykinson, Rajiv Naresh Makhijani
Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, article of manufacture, and computer readable storage medium provide media content. A web page context for a web page is determined and stored in a database. One or more media content files are analyzed to extract information that is stored in the database. The information is compared to the web page context. A matching media content file is determined from the one of the one or more media content files that matches the web page context based on the comparison. The matching media content file is then provided (e.g., to an internet portal web site).
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.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 27, 2011
Date of Patent:
September 30, 2014
Assignee:
Hulu, LLC
Inventors:
Jason A. Kilar, Jean-Paul Colaco, Richard W. Tom, Jessica P. Ivy
Abstract: A processing workflow method, system, and computer program product provide the ability; to recommend alternative programming during playback of a source media program. A media program player plays the source media program to a first viewer and provides information regarding the first viewer to a recommendation engine. The recommendation engine calculates and sends the media player a list of recommended media program candidates (including identifications of the candidates) based on the information. Prior to reaching an advertising break in the source media program, the media player transmits a request (including the identifications) for an advertisement to an advertising server and in response, receives an advertisement that is played to the first viewer during the advertising break.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 29, 2011
Date of Patent:
September 9, 2014
Assignee:
Hulu, LLC
Inventors:
Eugene Chuan-Huai Wei, Peter E. Sargent, Hua Zheng, Chaitanya Laxminarayan, Wing Chit Mak
Abstract: A computer-implemented method, apparatus, system, article of manufacture, and computer readable storage medium provide the ability to stream media content to multiple users. A first stream of/for the media content is streamed from a first location in the media content to a first user. A request is received from the first user to seek to a seek location (e.g., forward or backward) in the media content. A second location in the media content compatible with the seek location is determined. The second location is based on a second stream being streamed to one or more second users. The second stream is then streamed to the first user and the second user.
Abstract: In one embodiment, a method obtains metadata associated with a media program. The method receives user entered metadata from a first user for an object in a frame of the media program and compares the user entered metadata from the first user with user entered metadata from second users for the object. Then, the method verifies that the user entered metadata from the first user and the second users should be associated as augmenting metadata for the object in the media program based on the comparison. Upon verifying, the method performs: determining metadata storage including metadata for one or more other objects in the media program and storing the user entered metadata for the object in the media program in the metadata storage for the media program as the augmenting metadata.
Abstract: A method and apparatus for embedding a media program with a randomly user selected thumbnail is disclosed. The user can scan a media program to identify one of a plurality of media program frames, select the frame of interest, then designate it as the thumbnail to use in connection with the embedded media program.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 1, 2010
Date of Patent:
August 12, 2014
Assignee:
Hulu, LLC
Inventors:
Andrew Cheng-min Lin, Eric Buehl, Tienan Ren, Xin Jin, Eric I. Feng
Abstract: A method and apparatus for navigating a media program is disclosed. Viewing data for segments of the media program are monitored and used to compile statistics that are presented to the user in a histogram, so that popular portions of the media program can be identified and navigated to. One embodiment includes a searchable transcript of the media program that is synchronized with the histogram.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
December 10, 2009
Date of Patent:
August 12, 2014
Assignee:
Hulu, LLC
Inventors:
Eugene Chuan-Huai Wei, Varun Narang, Zhibing Wang, Yuming Liang, Xin Jin, Ting-Hao Yang, Eric Feng, Andrew Cheng-Min Lin
Abstract: In one embodiment, a method receives an object model determined from a specification for processing beacons. The method determines first information for a beacon object referenced in a basefact object to determine which beacon objects are applicable for the basefact object. Second information is determined for the structured data fields referenced in the basefact object to determine which output fields map to which structured data fields and third information is determined for a set of transformations for a set of input fields in the set of composite objects for the beacon to determine how to perform transformations to transform the set of input fields to the set of output fields. The method then generates instructions for a target program to process the beacons to transform the set of input fields to the set of output fields and map the set of output fields to the structured data fields.
Type:
Application
Filed:
March 27, 2014
Publication date:
July 31, 2014
Applicant:
Hulu, LLC
Inventors:
Lucas Waye, Kevin Seng, Viral Bajaria, Shane Moriah
Abstract: A method, apparatus, article of manufacture, and a memory structure for presenting a program guide for a video-on-demand system describing a plurality of media programs, each media program having a plurality of video frames. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of accepting a search request from a user, the search request comprising a search parameter having a search value; searching the media program database for the search value, the media program database having first metadata associated with a first individual video frame of the media program; and providing the program guide comprising a thumbnail depicting the first individual video frame of the media program associated with the first metadata to the user if the first metadata includes the search value.