Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for configuring static memory in a device by analyzing a set of functionalities of a first device based on at least one use case wherein the at least one use case are associated with configuring available static memory in processing at least one functionality of the first device; configuring at least a first profile composed of the first part for memory allocation of the available static memory to a first processor, and a second part for memory allocation of the available static memory to a second processor of the first device; selecting the first profile either automatically or via a graphical user interface (GUI) by identifying a set of performance characteristics related to the functionality, and implementing the memory allocation by the first profile in processing the at least one functionality in the use case by the first device.

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. In accordance with one embodiment, a method of encoding a media stream provided from an encoding system to a remotely-located client includes establishing a data connection with the client and acquiring, from the client, client information including a client identifier, a public internet protocol (IP) address, and a geographical location associated with the client. The method further includes determining, based on the client information, whether historical bit rate data is available in a historical bit rate data store provided by the encoding system. If such historical bit rate data is available, an initial bit rate parameter is set for the media stream and the media stream is encoded at the encoding system according to the initial bit rate parameter and transmitted to the client.

Abstract: A method for speech emotion recognition for enriching speech to text communications between users in speech chat sessions including implementing a speech emotion recognition model to enable converting observed emotions in speech samples to enrich text with visual emotion content by: generating a data set of speech samples with labels of a plurality of emotion classes; extracting a set of acoustic features from each of the emotion classes; generating a machine learning (ML) model based on the acoustic features and data set; training the ML model from acoustic features from speech samples during speech chat sessions; predicting emotion content based on a trained ML model in the observed speech; generating enriched text based on predicted emotion content of the trained ML model; and presenting the enriched text in speech to text communications between users in the chat session for visual notice of an observed emotion in the speech sample.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices are provided for optimizing streaming bitrate in response to variations in processor load. In various embodiments, a streaming media server includes a processor and a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer-readable code or instructions. When executed by the processor, the computer-readable code causes the server to encode segments of a video stream at a final variable bitrate (ABRFINAL). The encoded segments are transmitted from the server, over a network, and to a first client media receiver for presentation to an end user. The steps of encoding and transmitting are repeated during a streaming video session with the first client media receiver, while varying a value of ABRFINAL based, at least in part, upon a running average of a processor load placed on the processor (LOADAVG).

Abstract: Techniques are described for handling stale variant cases that arise in adaptive streaming of content by media players. For example, embodiments include a delegate subsystem integrated with a media player client. The delegate subsystem can act as a proxy for requesting variant manifest update requests on behalf of the media player client and for receiving corresponding responses. The delegate subsystem can track the received update responses to determine whether the responses indicate a stale variant condition. If so, the delegate subsystem can issue a failover trigger to the media player client, such as by returning an error code, a variant gap tag, or the like. The failover trigger can cause the media player client 110 automatically to respond by executing a failover routine.

Abstract: A method of encoding packets of a media stream includes establishing a data connection between a client device and a server, sending a first packet of the media stream from the server to the client device at a first bit rate, receiving, at the server, a first acknowledgment signal from the client device responsive to receipt of the first packet, determining a second bit rate based on the first acknowledgment signal, and sending a second packet of the media stream from the server to the client at the second bit rate.

Abstract: Systems, devices and automated processes reduce the effects of unwanted interruption during video encoding by reserving header space at the outset of video encoding. This reserved space can be progressively filled on any periodic or other basis as encoding continues so that a recent header is always available. If an interruption occurs, only the video content encoded after the last header write will be lost, thereby greatly reducing the effects of the interruption.

Abstract: Client and server devices identify each other over a LAN or similar network through a series of unicasts. Rather than broadcasting a service announcement or discovery request as a broadcast or multicast, for example, a device instead transmits a series of unicast messages using a finite set of recipient network addresses and port numbers. Responses to the unicast messages can be collected and tracked to thereby allow subsequent communications to occur via unicasts with only the recognized addresses, with a multicast to only the recognized addresses, and/or otherwise as desired. By allowing the clients and servers to communicate with a finite set of unicast messages, a “broadcast” type message can be sent on the network without a need for router configuration. Moreover, unicasts can be sent using different protocols (e.g., TCP) than the subsequent traffic (e.g., UDP), thereby making discovery of compatible devices on the network more reliable.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for automatically establishing communications with a media device. One method involves a client device capturing and analyzing an image of a media device to obtain identification information associated with the media device, automatically configuring a network interface of the client device to communicate on a wireless network using at least a portion of the identification information associated with the media device obtained from the captured image, and thereafter establishing a peer-to-peer communication session with the media device via the wireless network. In one or more embodiments, a name or other identifier associated with the wireless network includes the portion of the identification information.

Abstract: Various embodiments provide media based on a detected language being spoken. In one embodiment, the system electronically detects which language of a plurality of languages is being spoken by a user, such during a conversation or while giving a voice command to the television. Based on which language of a plurality of languages is being spoken by the user, the system electronically presents media to the user that is in the detected language. For example, the media may be television channels and/or programs that are in the detected language and/or a program guide, such as a pop-up menu, including such media that are in the detected language.

Abstract: A technique is described for generating a unified list (e.g., a list ribbon) of programs from a variety and disparate channels, the list for display on an over-the-top (OTT) client device. As an example, the unified list can be generated from OTT live channels and from over-the-air OTA and/or Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) live channels. Further, the unified list can include OTT recordings on the cloud and OTA/ATSC recordings on the local hard drive connected to an OTA local DVR. Thus, the OTT device Client obtains the list from the DVR backend, instead of going to the local OTA client box for the local recordings.

Abstract: Systems and processes are provided to generate and transmit a thumbnail image for a video searching function including a video input configured to receive a video signal, a processor configured to decode the video signal to generate a video program, to generate a plurality of thumbnail images in response to the video program, to determine a subset of the plurality of thumbnail images in response to a client request and to couple the subset of the plurality of thumbnail images to a network interface, and the network interface configured to transmit and receive data on a local area network, the network interface being operative to receive the client request from a client device and to transmit the subset of the plurality of thumbnail images to the network interface for transmission to the client device.

Abstract: Devices, methods, and program products are provided enabling Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) optimization upon initialization of a streaming video session. In embodiments, the method includes launching a streaming media interface application in response to user input. Substantially concurrently with application launch, the client media receiver further transmits a request over a communications network to a streaming media server for a sample video stream. As the video stream is received, the client media receiver plays the sample video stream as, for example, a background process. When subsequently receiving user input selecting streaming content for end user viewing, the client media receiver determines an optimized ABR setting based upon a recent ABR value of the sample video stream. The client media receiver transmits a request to the streaming media server for user-selected content stream at the optimized ABR setting and then presents the content stream for end user viewing.

Abstract: Smart battery charging solutions are disclosed. The smart charging solutions of the disclosure enable a user to configure a mobile device with individualized battery charging settings. The user specific settings may be combined with system settings to generate rules on battery charging. Context awareness is achieved through various sensors and through information sharing within and among the systems of the mobile device. The battery charging rules and the context awareness information are used together in controlling the charging of a battery.

Abstract: A system includes a computing device programmed to generate an aggregated media item that includes individual media items from a plurality of inputs. The aggregated media item combines one or more of the individual media items for a common display. The computing device is further programmed to send the aggregated media item to a media device and receive commands from the media device. The commands identify data from the aggregated media content item to be included in a media output item. The computing device is further programmed to generate the media output item based on the aggregated media content item and the commands.

Abstract: Systems and methods for facilitating setting of television program series recording priority ranking include functionality that monitors television series program viewing habits of a user for a plurality of different television program series. The system then changes television program series recording priority rankings to resolve recording conflicts based on the monitoring of the television series program viewing habits. In some embodiments, the system first sends a notification to the user of an option to upgrade a recording priority ranking. Additionally, the system may record television program episodes whose recordings were skipped due to them having a lower recording priority ranking. The system may record such skipped television program episodes during the next time slot in which a skipped episode is rebroadcast and does not conflict with a higher priority broadcast.

Abstract: A method for speech emotion recognition for enriching speech to text communications between users in speech chat sessions including: implementing a speech emotion recognition model to enable converting observed emotions in speech samples to enrich text with visual emotion content by: generating a data set of speech samples with labels of a plurality of emotion classes; extracting a set of acoustic features from each of the emotion classes; generating a machine learning (ML) model based on the acoustic features and data set; training the ML model from acoustic features from speech samples during speech chat sessions; predicting emotion content based on a trained ML model in the observed speech; generating enriched text based on predicted emotion content of the trained ML model; and presenting the enriched text in speech to text communications between users in the chat session for visual notice of an observed emotion in the speech sample.

Abstract: Devices, methods, and program products are provided, which support multiple Digital Rights Management (DRM) schemes or platforms during the placeshifting of media content. A given placeshifting session may be initiated between a placeshifting device and a user-controlled client media receiver executing a browser player. In one embodiment, the DRM placeshifting method includes storing, in a memory associated with the placeshifting device, DRM-protected content; receiving a request from the client media receiver over a communications network to stream the DRM-protected content to the device; and obtaining a placeshifting key and initialization instructions for the DRM-protected content. The DRM-protected content is streamed to the client media receiver in an encrypted format accessible with a placeshifting decryption key.

Abstract: Methods, Systems, and Apparatuses are described to implement voice search in media content for requesting media content of a video clip of a scene contained in the media content streamed to the client device; for capturing the voice request for the media content of the video clip to display at the client device wherein the streamed media content is a selected video streamed from a video source; for applying a NLP solution to convert the voice request to text for matching to a set of one or more words contained in at least close caption text of the selected video; for associating matched words to close caption text with a start index and an end index of the video clip contained in the selected video; and for streaming the video clip to the client device based on the start index and the end index associated with matched closed caption text.

Abstract: Novel techniques are described for lock-free sharing of a circular buffer. Embodiments can provide shared, lock-free, constant-bitrate access by multiple consumer systems to a live stream of audiovisual information being recorded to a circular buffer by a producer. For example, when a producer system writes a data stream to the circular buffer, the producer system records shared metadata. When a consumer system desires to begin reading from the shared buffer at a particular time, the shared metadata is used to compute a predicted write pointer location and corresponding dirty region around the write pointer at the desired read time. A read pointer of the consumer system can be set to avoid the dirty region, thereby permitting read access to a stable region of the circular buffer without relying on a buffer lock.