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: Seek and other trick play functions can be improved in placeshifting and similarly live-encoded video streams. Thumbnail images are derived from I-frames (or similar key frames) of the source video stream rather than from the live-encoded stream. The thumbnail images are tagged to indicate a presentation time stamp (PTS) or similar identification of the source video frame that was used to create the thumbnail image. The tagged thumbnails are provided to the media player, which renders the images to indicate different portions of the video stream as the viewer scans or performs other functions. When the viewer selects to skip to a different part of the video stream, the PTS or similar identifier associated with the presented thumbnail image is sent to the placeshifting encoder to identify the appropriate starting point to resume live encoding.

Abstract: Systems and processes are provided for interactive reassignment of character names in an audio video program including a tuner configured for receiving and demodulating a video signal to extract the audio video program, a user input operative to receive a user request to substitute an original character name within the audio video program with an alternative character name, a memory configured to buffer the audio video program to generate a delayed audio video program, a processor configured to detect the original character name within the audio video program and to replace the original character name with the alternative character name within the delayed audio video program to generate a modified audio video program, and a loudspeaker configured to reproduce the alternative character name in response to the modified audio video program.

Abstract: Systems and processes are provided for interactive reassignment of character faces in an audio video program including receiving, via an audio video input, an audio video program, receiving, via a user interface, a request to substitute an original character face within the audio video program with an alternative character face, delaying, using a buffer, the audio video program to generate a delayed audio video program, detecting, with a processor, an occurrence of the original character face within the audio video program, the processor being further operative for replacing an image of the original character face in the delayed audio video program with an image of the alternative character face to generate a modified delayed audio video program and coupling the modified delayed audio video program to a display and loudspeaker.

Abstract: Systems, devices and processes and described herein to improve the generation of video content in video production systems. In general, the systems, devices and processes facilitate the incorporation of one or more remotely captured video streams into an output video stream for use in video conferencing. Specifically, the systems, devices and processes provide for the use of a dynamically adjustable time clock delay to generate a relatively low latency output video stream suitable for use in video conferencing. The use of dynamically adjustable time clock delay allows one or more input video streams to be generated by one or more remote video capture devices, transmitted to a video access point device, and selectively combined at the video access point device into the output video stream with relatively low latency suitable for video conferencing.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for viewing video content are provided. Video content is displayed in a video region of a display, while application content is displayed in an application region of the display. Based on the application content, candidate video content relevant to the application content is determined and, in response to user input, selected video content is displayed in the video region of the display.

Abstract: An method of operating a video production device receives a plurality of video input streams from a plurality of different video capture devices, and selects one of the video input streams as a current video output stream. In response to the selection, the method determines a prioritization scheme for the plurality of video input streams, generates video format instructions for each of the plurality of different video capture devices, in accordance with the determined prioritization scheme; and sends the video format instructions from the video production device to the plurality of different video capture devices. The video format instructions are configurable to be executed by the video capture devices to confirm or adjust at least one video quality setting of the video input streams, such that the current video output stream is of higher quality relative to unselected video input streams of the plurality of video input streams.

Abstract: A method and system for voice emotion identification contained in audio in a call providing customer support between a customer and a service agent by implementing an emotion identification application to identify emotions captured in a voice of the customer from audio received by a media streaming device; receiving, by the emotion identification application, an audio stream of a series of voice samples contained in consecutive frames from audio received; extracting, by the emotion identification application, a set of voice emotion features from each frame in each voice sample of the audio by applying a trained machine learning (ML) model for identifying emotions utilizing a neural networks to determine one or more voice emotions by a configured set of voice emotion features captured in each voice sample; and classifying, by the emotion identification application, each emotion determined by the trained ML model based on a set of classifying features to label one or more types of emotions captured in each voic

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: A method for brand recognition in video by implementing a brand recognition application coupled to a streaming media player, for identifying an observed set of brands streamed in a broadcast video; receiving, by the brand recognition application, a broadcast video stream of a series of images contained in consecutive frames about an object of interest; extracting a set of brand features from each of image received by applying a trained brand recognition model with neural networks in order to detect one or more features related to each displayed object of interest in each frame, wherein the object of interest is associated with a brand image contained video content displayed to a viewer; and displaying, by a graphic user interface, information from the brand recognition application comprising at least time detected of the brand image in the video content of the broadcast video.

Abstract: Systems, devices and processes and described herein to improve the generation of video content in video production systems. In general, the systems, devices and processes facilitate the incorporation of remotely generated user telestration inputs into output video streams generated by the video production systems. In one embodiment user telestration inputs are received at a control device. Minimum capture shapes corresponding to the user telestration inputs are then determined and images corresponding to the minimum capture shape are captured. The captured images are then transmitted from the control device to the video access point device. At the video access point device the captured images can then be combined with previously captured and transmitted images and overlaid with a selected input video stream. The video input stream with the overlaid image can then be transmitted as an output video stream.

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: Systems and methods for synchronizing video generated by a camera with media content generated by a media source external to the camera. A calibration procedure is performed in which a time delay is determined that includes a camera delay associated with the camera. A display device displays a sequence of images comprising a first image displayed for a first time period and a second image displayed for a second time period. The camera captures a plurality of captured images capturing display of the sequence of images and a transmitter device coupled to the camera transmits the captured images to a hub. The hub determines a target image of the captured images corresponding to display of the second image. The time delay is determined based on a difference between a time associated with the target image and a time associated with the second image.

Abstract: Various techniques are described herein for supporting voice command control of electronic programming guides (EPGs) and other media content selection systems. The voice input hardware and software components of a remote control device, television receiver, smartphone, virtual assistant, and/or other media device may receive voice commands from a user corresponding to a selection of a media content. In response to the received voice input, the media device may perform a speech-to-text conversion of the voice input, and then perform an analysis of the command text to determine one or more content selections of the user. The analysis may include identifying within the command text one or more television channel names, program names, or other media content names, as well as identifying other instructions, preferences, or other meaningful insights from the command text.

Abstract: Systems and processes are provided for joint video production in an electronic device including receiving a first video stream from a first video capture device, determining an availability of a first decoder, coupling the first video stream to the first decoder in response to the first decoder being available, receiving a second video stream from a second video capture device, determining the availability of the first decoder, coupling the second video stream to a network interface for decoding by an external decoder in response to the first decoder decoding the first video stream, receiving a first decoded video stream from the first decoder, receiving a second decoded video stream from the network interface, and displaying the first decoded video stream and the second decoded video stream on a user interface.

Abstract: Systems and processes are provided to detect an improper external power supply including a battery having a battery current output, a power supply for receiving an external voltage and an external current from an external power supply and for generating a control signal in response to receiving the external voltage, a processor operative to determine a first polarity of the battery current output at a first time in response to the control signal, to generate an error indicator in response to the first polarity being indicative of a discharging battery, and a display operative to display a user warning indicative of an improper external power supply in response to the error indicator.

Abstract: Various systems, device and automated processes allow video streaming hosts or other server devices to submit their media access control (MAC) addresses to a backend address server operating on a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet. Client devices attempting to subsequently contact the server device can contact the address to obtain the MAC address of the target server, thereby allowing the client device to locate and contact the server device using the obtained MAC address.

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: 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: Systems, methods, and devices are disclosed enabling smart search functionalities utilizing key scene changes appearing in video content. In various embodiments, the method includes the step or process of, while engaged in playback of the video content, receiving a user command at a playback device to shift a current playback position of the video content to a default search playback position (PPDS). In response to receipt of the user command, the playback device searches a time window encompassing the default search playback position (PPDS) for a key scene change in the video content. If locating a key scene change within the time window, the playback device shifts playback of the video content to a playback position corresponding to the key scene change (PPST). Otherwise, the playback device shifts playback of the video content to the default search playback position (PPDS).