Abstract: A system and method for coordinating advertisements on multiple playback devices during playback of heterogeneous content are provided. In general, a virtual group of playback devices or users of the playback devices is formed and managed by a virtual group (VG) control function. In operation, the VG control function operates to coordinate advertisement slots in heterogeneous content being played by the playback devices and provide targeted advertisements to the playback devices for insertion into the coordinated advertisement slots. The targeted advertisements may be, for example, targeted advertisements for each user or playback device, targeted advertisements for subsets of the users or playback devices in the virtual group, targeted advertisements for the virtual group, targeted complementary advertisements for subsets of users or playback devices in the virtual group, or targeted complementary advertisements for the virtual group.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for creating collaborative content tracks to be presented to a user concurrently with a media presentation such as a movie, an episode of a television series, a song, or the like. Each time a user selects and plays a media presentation, user events describing actions taken by the user while viewing or listening to the media presentation are collected and provided to a Collaborative Content Track (CCT) server. The user events may include user events occurring on a primary media playback system, user events occurring on associated secondary user devices, or a combination thereof. In this manner, the CCT server obtains user events for each of a number of media presentations. Based on the user events, the CCT server may generate CCTs for any one of the media presentations to be presented to a user concurrently with the media presentation.

Abstract: Syndication feeds for peer computer devices. In one aspect, a request is received at a server for a syndicated feed from a peer on a peer-to-peer network. It is determined whether the peer is currently online or offline; if online, the requested feed is pulled from the peer and served to the requestor, and if offline, the requested feed is retrieved from a cache of the server and served to the requestor. In one embodiment, an online/offline indicator is inserted in a feed by the server to indicate to the user the online or offline status.

Abstract: A system and method for recording a photo chat session are provided. In one embodiment, an online photo album is hosted by a peer node in a peer-to-peer (P2P) photosharing system, and a photo chat session is established between an owner at the peer node and a guest viewing the online photo album at a guest node. At the end of the photo chat session, either the owner or the guest requests that the photo chat session be saved. In response, the peer node generates a chat history including a slideshow for each shared image recreating a portion of the photo chat session related to the shared image. In another embodiment, an online photo album is hosted by a central node in a centrally hosted photosharing system, wherein the central node generates the chat history in response to a request from either the owner or the guest.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for hosting digital images embedded in an external website, wherein the digital images are modified to include additional content such as advertisements when served to a guest of the external website. In general, a host website including a web server and an image database operates to host digital images for external websites. When the web server associated with the host website receives a request for a digital image embedded within a webpage of the external website, the web server analyzes metadata associated with the digital image to produce selection criteria and selects additional content to add to the digital image based on the selection criteria. The web server then modifies the digital image to include the additional content, thereby generating a modified image, and provides the modified image to the requesting node.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for verifying account transactions. A transaction request is received that seeks to pre-approve a transaction for an account number. A verification character string is also received that is currently associated with the account number. If the transaction is pre-approved, then a new verification character string is assigned to the account number, such that the verification character string is changed with each transaction request.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for enabling information sharing in a distributed virtual world. In general, a virtual world client associated with a user participating in a virtual world operates to obtain one or more annotations associated with virtual world constructs identified as being of interest to the user. The virtual world constructs of interest to the user may be identified by the user or identified automatically by the virtual world client. In one embodiment, the one or more annotations are defined by other users participating in the virtual world. Once the one or more annotations are obtained, the virtual world client may, for example, present the one or more annotations to the user, present a portion of the one or more annotations to the user, notify the user that the one or more annotations are available, or the like.

Abstract: A client playback architecture for a media content distribution system is provided. In the preferred embodiment, the client playback architecture is a Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) based architecture. The RDMA based architecture enables the client playback device to obtain media content from a central server in real-time or in substantially real-time as the media content is needed for playback at the client playback device. More specifically, the playback device includes RDMA enabled playback circuitry operating to perform RDMA transfers for select media content, buffer the media content received as a result of the RDMA transfers, and provide the media content for presentation to one or more associated viewers via one or more audio/video interfaces.

Abstract: A system and method for creating and managing custom media channels within an Interactive Digital Program Guide (IDPG) of a device having a set-top box function associated with a cable or satellite television network. In general, a user interacts with the set-top box function to define a custom media channel. The custom media channel may be defined by a channel name and user preferences. Once the custom media channel is defined, an Internet search is performed based on the user preferences in order to identify media presentations for the custom media channel. Thereafter, when a user selects the custom media channel via the IDPG, the media presentations are played in a substantially continuous stream in either a predetermined or random sequence.

Abstract: A wireless multimedia brokerage service supports sharing of real-time multimedia content whereby a mobile device user can perceive real-time content from a device in visual proximity, such as a nearby display device, and share the content of the display device with another mobile terminal user without the need to download or otherwise directly access the real-time content. The brokerage service can handle the transactional details of obtaining rights to the real-time content and also manage establishing and terminating a real-time multimedia session with the device(s) of the recipient user(s). In some embodiments, the wireless multimedia content brokerage service can proactively obtain subscriptions to content providers based on the location of one or more users. The brokerage service can also proactively obtain and buffer real-time content after receiving a request to share the content, with the buffering allowing for content to be preserved while the recipient user or users are contacted.

Abstract: A system and method for providing personal broadcast channels are provided. In one embodiment, one or more users interact with a local broadcast agent hosted by a local server to define profiles for a number of personal broadcast channels. The profiles include information identifying types of content to be broadcast on the personal broadcast channels and optionally formats for the personal broadcast channels. Based on the profiles for the personal broadcast channels, the local broadcast agent generates a request for content types desired for the personal broadcast channels and provides the request to a content distribution agent hosted by a master server. Based on content provided to the local server in response to the request and the profiles of the personal broadcast channels, the local broadcast agent generates the local broadcast channels.

Abstract: A system and method for client-side watermarking of digital content using hybrid Intra-Frames (I-Frames) are provided. In general, a content source provides a compressed video stream and a hybrid I-Frame stream to a client device via a network. The hybrid I-Frame stream includes a number of low-loss I-Frames corresponding to select ones of the I-Frames in the compressed video stream to be used for client-side watermarking. The client device watermarks the I-Frames in the hybrid I-Frame stream, optionally compresses the watermarked I-Frames, and replaces the select ones of the I-Frames in the compressed video stream with the watermarked and optionally compressed I-Frames to provide a watermarked version of the compressed video stream.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for identifying participants for a preferential ad-hoc network using a peer-to-peer (P2P) network and then establishing the ad-hoc network with the identified participants. In general, an initiating peer node provides a request for participants for an ad-hoc network to the P2P network, wherein the request includes content information describing content stored at the initiating peer node. The content information is used by the peer nodes receiving the request to determine whether to join the ad-hock network. The peer nodes receiving the request that decide to join the ad-hoc network respond to the initiating peer node via the P2P network. All or select ones of the peer nodes responding to the request are identified as the participants for the ad-hoc network. Once the participants are identified, the initiating peer node dynamically establishes the ad-hoc network with the identified participants.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and products are disclosed for accessing media files. One such method accesses a hierarchically-arranged storage system storing media files. A graphical user interface is processed that has a single control. This single control allows a single input to select any media file within the hierarchical arrangement.

Abstract: A system and method for bypassing an access point in a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) for direct point-to-point data transfers are provided. A user device in the wireless LAN is equipped with a primary local wireless interface establishing a wireless communication link with an access point of the wireless LAN, a secondary local wireless interface used for direct point-to-point (P2P) file transfers, and a P2P file transfer application. When the P2P application desires to transfer a data file to another user device within the wireless LAN, the user device determines whether the other user device is within a coverage area of the secondary local wireless interface and whether the file transfer meets one or more alternate transfer criterion. If so, the data file is transferred to the other user device via a direct P2P wireless communication link, thereby bypassing the access point of the wireless LAN.

Abstract: A method and system for providing content in a virtual environment. A host computer hosting a region in a virtual environment provides an event stream including a plurality of event data segments identifying activity occurring in the virtual environment to a client computer participating in the virtual environment. The host computer receives a request to provide virtual environment content including imagery data associated with the virtual environment to the client computer, and provides a content stream including a plurality of content data segments containing virtual environment content at a content stream bandwidth based on an event stream bandwidth associated with the event stream to the client computer.

Abstract: A dynamic query response scheme for a distributed network is provided. In one embodiment, the distributed network is a peer-to-peer (P2P) network including a number of peer nodes. In general, peer nodes delay their query responses, address their query responses, or both delay and address their query responses dynamically to avoid feedback implosion. In one embodiment, the peer nodes delay their query responses, address their query responses, or both delay and address their query responses based on one or more quality metrics calculated for their query responses.

Abstract: A gateway interconnecting a high speed Wide Area Network (WAN) and a lower speed Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is provided. The high speed WAN is preferably connected to the gateway via a Fiber-to-the Home (FTTH) connection and associated FTTH modem. In general, the gateway includes an adaptable cross-layer offload engine operating to manage bandwidth between the high speed WAN and the lower speed WLAN. As data enters the gateway from the WAN at the high speed data rate of the WAN, the offload engine stores the data in a non-secure data cache. A rule check engine performs a stateless or stateful inspection of the data in the non-secure data cache. Thereafter, the data is moved from the non-secure data cache to a secure data cache and thereafter transmitted to an appropriate user device in the WLAN at the lower data rate of the WLAN.

Abstract: The present invention provides an interconnect device that connects a source device to a destination device, and allows the source device's non-compliant rights management (RM) interface to deliver media content with little or no restriction to the destination device's compliant RM interface.

Abstract: Methods of providing print fulfillment for digital images may include saving an image selection property in digital memory, saving a hatching property in digital memory, and saving digital images and associated image data in digital memory. A group of the digital images that satisfy the image selection property saved in digital memory may be selected, and it may be determined if the hatching property saved in digital memory is satisfied for the group of the digital images having associated image data that satisfy the image selection property. If the hatching property is satisfied, a print fulfillment order may be transmitted over a digital network requesting prints of the group of the digital images. Related systems and computer program products are also discussed.