Abstract: Systems, methods and devices are provided to reduce change latency and/or to provide a picture-in-picture (PIP) feature within a placeshifted media stream. As the viewer receives a primary stream containing selected programming, secondary programming that is likely to be of interest to the user is predicted. A secondary stream containing the predicted content is obtained at the same time as the primary stream selected by the user. The secondary stream may be of lower quality than the primary stream to preserve network bandwidth. If the user subsequently selects the predicted secondary content, the previously-obtained content can be quickly provided as an output to the display. Alternately, the primary and secondary streams may be simultaneously output to the display in PIP or another manner.

Abstract: A player decodes and renders encoded digital data received from an encoder. During processing, the player periodically monitors dropped frames as well as time spent. If the dropped frames are below a minimum, the player determines to signal the encoder to increase bit rate or frame rate by consulting a table. If the player determines to increase bit rate, the player signals accordingly. However, if the player determines to increase frame rate, the player first verifies that the spent time is below a minimum. To the contrary, if the dropped frames are both above the minimum and a first maximum but not a second maximum, the player determines to signal the encoder to decrease bit rate or frame rate by consulting the table and signaling accordingly. However, if the dropped frames are above the second maximum, the player signals the encoder to decrease the frame rate without consulting the table.

Abstract: Disclosure is directed to managing placeshifting events that are scheduled to occur at specified times. In particular, embodiments are directed to automatically establishing a connection between a placeshifting server and a placeshifting client in order to facilitate a scheduled placeshifting event. The connection may be established by the placeshifting server, which is associated with a receiver, first connecting to a backend server to obtain connection credentials and then connecting to placeshifting client using the connection credentials. The placeshifting client, which is running on a target device, may be configured to register and update its connection credentials at the backend server as the target device moves between networks. The connection may also be established by the placeshifting client connecting to the server at time that the placeshifting client has determined the placeshifting event is to occur.

Abstract: A method of establishing a network connection between two nodes of a communication network via a connectionless transport layer communication protocol is presented. In the method, a plurality of data packets is exchanged between a first node and a second node. Each of the data packets comprises a header and a payload formatted according to the connectionless protocol. The connectionless protocol payload of the data packets includes a separate header comprising a first port indicator for the first node and a second port indicator for the second node. The separate header of at least one of the data packets includes an indication to establish a connection between the first node and the second node. In response to the exchange of data packets, the first and second nodes establish the connection, wherein the first port indicator and the second port indicator are associated with the established connection between the nodes.

Abstract: A method of transmitting data over a communication network using negative acknowledgment is presented. In the method, a stream of data packets is transmitted from a first node of the network to a second node of the network. All but at least two of the stream of data packets is successfully received at the second node, wherein the data packets that are not successfully received are not located sequentially within the stream of data packets. A status packet is transmitted from the second node to the first node, wherein the status packet includes an indication of each of the data packets that were not successfully received. In response to receiving the status packet at the first node, the data packets that were not successfully received at the second node are retransmitted from the first node to the second node in response to receiving the status packet.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and program products are provided for selectively restricting the transmission of copy protected digital media content from a computer system, over a network, and to a remote display. In one embodiment, a method includes the steps of capturing digital media content rendered on the local display by a media player application executed by the computer system; determining whether the media player application is accessing copy protected digital media content; and, if the media player application is not accessing copy protected digital media content, converting the captured digital media content to a media stream and transmitting the media stream over a network for presentation on a remote display.

Abstract: Firmware is updated over a network by providing an update server having a number of stored firmware files and a list file, the list file including entries uniquely identifying the identity and location of each of the firmware files. One networked device (e.g., a media player device) determines the current firmware version of a second networked device (e.g., a placeshifting device) via communication over the network and queries the update server as to the most recent version of the firmware file associated with the second networked device. If the most recent version is newer than the current firmware version, the first networked device downloads the most recent version of the firmware file and then uploads it to the second networked device.

Abstract: A digital media player device includes, without limitation, a processor and a communication module coupled to the processor and configured to support data communication with a digital media place-shifting device. The processor and the communication module cooperate to attempt to establish data communication with the digital media place-shifting device in accordance with a connection mode sequence that identifies a plurality of different data communication modes supported by the digital media player device, until one of the plurality of different data communication modes can be used to initiate a data communication session between the digital media player device and the digital media place-shifting device. The processor and the communication module also cooperate to perform data communication with the digital media place-shifting device, using the one of the plurality of different data communication modes.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for providing a media stream transmitted from an encoding system to a remotely-located media player that requests segments of the media stream. The media stream is encoded into segments according to an encoding parameter. Data is gathered about current conditions of the network and/or the media player, and encoding of the media stream is adjusted during operation to adapt to changing conditions. The encoding parameter is suitably adjusted in response to changes in available bandwidth and/or segment transmit time, as appropriate.

Abstract: A player receives encoded content of a first resolution level from a content retransmitter and monitors bandwidth of the communication connection utilized to receive the content. When the bandwidth changes with respect to various threshold values corresponding to various resolution levels, the player signals the content retransmitter to increase or decrease the encoding resolution for future portions. The player also locates related substitute content. When the player signals the content retransmitter to decrease the resolution below a minimum, the player plays the substitute content instead of the received content. Subsequently when the bandwidth is again such that player signals the content retransmitter to increase the resolution to the minimum or above, the player plays the received content instead of the substitute content. In various implementations, the player may obtain substitute content prior to or at the time the player determines to play substitute content.

Abstract: An automated diagnostic system is presented here. The system includes a network-enabled device, a remote network-based search engine, and a data communication network to facilitate data communication between the network-enabled device and the remote network-based search engine. The device automatically detects a problem, error, or failure associated with its operation, and automatically sends a corresponding search query to the remote network-based search engine. The search engine receives the search query and, in response to the search query, searches for relevant information pertaining to the problem, error, or failure, and sends a corresponding response to the network-enabled device. The response includes response data having some contextual association with the solution. The device receives the response, processes at least some of the response data to determine a course of action, and initiates that course of action.

Abstract: Network-based localization is provided by submitting, on a server, a plurality of untranslated files requiring translation to a target language, and a localization tool client configured to communicate with the first server via a network. The untranslated files are downloaded from the server, and a user (translator) is allowed to translate the first file to create a translated file such that the file type is transparent to the user. The translated file is the uploaded from the localization tool client to the first server.

Abstract: A player receives encoded content of a first resolution level from a content retransmitter and monitors bandwidth of the communication connection utilized to receive the content. When the bandwidth changes with respect to various threshold values corresponding to various resolution levels, the player signals the content retransmitter to increase or decrease the encoding resolution for future portions. The player also locates related substitute content. When the player signals the content retransmitter to decrease the resolution below a minimum, the player plays the substitute content instead of the received content. Subsequently when the bandwidth is again such that player signals the content retransmitter to increase the resolution to the minimum or above, the player plays the received content instead of the substitute content. In various implementations, the player may obtain substitute content prior to or at the time the player determines to play substitute content.

Abstract: According to various exemplary embodiments, systems and methods are described, wherein the system implements a method executable by a host placeshifting device communicating via a network with a client and a backend media server, the method comprising: providing digital media content in the host placeshifting device; determining the presence of the client for receiving the digital media content; providing the client with electronic access to the digital media content via the network and the backend media service; and distributing the digital media content from the host placeshifting device over the network and via the backend server to the client, wherein the digital media is distributed in the form of a personalized television channel produced by the host placeshifting device.

Abstract: Systems, devices and methods are described to automatically detect scene changes in television programming streams received by a set top box or other television receiver, to classify the detected scenes, and to automatically provide the classified scenes to a viewer if the scenes are determined to be of interest to the viewer.

Abstract: Systems and methods are operable to present summaries of a media content event. An exemplary embodiment receives a media content stream having at least one media content event, receives a summary feed stream having at least one media content event summary segment associated with the received at least one media content event, receives a user request for presentation of the media content event summary residing in the received at least one media content event summary segment, ends or pauses presentation of the media content event on a media presentation device, and presents the media content event summary of the media content event summary segment on the media presentation device.

Abstract: A method of providing a description of a remote control device to a communication device configured to interact with an electronic device over a communication network as a remote control device is presented. In the method, the communication device transfers an indication of the electronic device over the network to a communication node. Afterward, the communication device receives the description of the remote control device associated with the electronic device from the node over the network. The communication device transfers a command associated with the remote control device over the network to the electronic device, wherein the command is generated using the description of the remote control device.

Abstract: A content retransmitter receives information for receivers and forms an authorized list by transmitting authentication prompts, receiving authentication information, and adding receivers if the authentication information for the respective receiver is verified to match stored user information. Subsequently, the content retransmitter may receive content and broadcast the received content to some or all of the receivers on the authorized list. Additionally, the content retransmitter may store the received content in a storage medium and provide the stored content to receivers on the authorized list upon request. The user authentication information received from the receivers may be passwords, biometric information, and so on. The received content may be broadcast to a subset of the authorized list corresponding to users who are related to the content.

Abstract: One embodiment may take the form of a system for translating an audio stream of programming content. The system may include an apparatus, a processing unit configured to execute a voice recognition algorithm and one or more executable commands, a receiver coupled to the processing unit and configured to receive a voice command in a first language, a communication component coupled to the processing unit and configured to receive programming content including an audio stream in a second language, and one or more storage media storing the voice recognition algorithm. The voice recognition algorithm may be configured to translate the audio stream into a first language if the first language does not match the second language.

Abstract: A method of encoding a time-domain audio signal is presented. A device transforms the time-domain signal into a frequency-domain signal including a sequence of sample blocks, wherein each block includes a coefficient for each of multiple frequencies. The coefficients of each block are grouped into frequency bands. For each frequency band of each block, a scale factor is estimated for the band, and the energy of the band for the block is compared with the energy of the band of an adjacent sample block, wherein the blocks may be adjacent to each other in either or both of an interchannel and a temporal sense. If the ratio of the band energy for the first block to the band energy for the adjacent block is less than some value, the scale factor of the band for the first block is increased. The coefficients of the band for each block are quantized based on the resulting scale factor. The encoded audio signal is generated based on the quantized coefficients and the scale factors.