Patents Examined by Alfonso Castro
  • Patent number: 12382117
    Abstract: A system and method is provided for reducing the bandwidth for media broadcast production. The system includes a plurality of content providing devices and a remote production system. Each of the content providing devices has a corresponding variable encoder. The remote production system transmits control signals to the variable encoders, controlling them to use a high-fidelity encoding method or a compressed encoding method. The remote production system controls the variable encoders such that a media feed being included in a media production is encoded using the high-fidelity encoding method, and some or all of the other media streams are encoded using the compressed encoding method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2025
    Assignee: GRASS VALLEY CANADA
    Inventors: Joost August Adriaan Felix Emanuel Uijtdehaag, Paulus Wilhelmus Marinus Gijsbertus De Bresser
  • Patent number: 12375163
    Abstract: Embodiments provide efficient delivery of multiple media channels to in-transport terminals, for example, to reduce channel zapping delay in a bandwidth efficient manner. For example, an in-transport media (ITM) server can distribute multiple channel offerings to ITM clients in a transport craft. Meanwhile, the ITM server can monitor which channel offerings are presently being consumed via the ITM clients, and can transmit feedback to a remote media server, accordingly. Based on the feedback, the ITM server can receive the channel offerings from the remote media server, in such a way that one or more of the channel offerings is received as a low-fidelity instance when not presently being consumed via any of the ITM clients, and one or more of the channel offerings is received as a high-fidelity instance when presently being consumed via at least one of the ITM clients.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2025
    Assignee: VIASAT INC.
    Inventors: Joshua G. Slater, Joshua J. Righetti, Nirmalkumar Velayudhan
  • Patent number: 12323662
    Abstract: Systems, media devices, machine-readable media, and methods facilitate content adaptation to endpoints. First content that includes audio content and video content may be received. An adaptation protocol may be detected as applying to the first content based at least in part on one or more of a destination specification and/or an endpoint specification identified for the first content. The first content may be analyzed based at least in part on the adaptation protocol. A portion of the first content that has a content characteristic specified by the adaptation protocol may be determined. A set of rules governing content modification in accordance with the adaptation protocol may be identified. The first content may be modified in accordance with the adaptation protocol and the set of rules. The modified first content may be transferred so that the modified first content is accessible with an endpoint media device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2025
    Assignee: DISH Network L.L.C.
    Inventor: Henry Gregg Martch
  • Patent number: 12323650
    Abstract: A method includes: receiving text data and motion data of a virtual object, the motion data including a motion identifier of a specified motion and a start position identifier of a start position that the specified motion starts being in line with text in the text data; generating audio data and expression data of the virtual object according to the text data, and generating facial images of the virtual object according to the expression data; generating a background image sequence containing the specified motion according to the start position identifier and the motion identifier, the background image sequence including at least one background image; performing image fusion processing on the facial images and the at least one background image to obtain one or more live video frames; and synthesizing the live video frames with the audio data into a live video stream in real time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2025
    Assignee: TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Shaoming Zhu
  • Patent number: 12301908
    Abstract: Processes, computing systems, and devices perform operations to generate an interface for selecting streaming content on a client device. The operations include selecting a tile of video content for inclusion in a ribbon, compiling a set of eligibility keys that identify subscription levels with an upgrade path to access the video content of the tile, and compiling a set of lineup keys that identify subscription levels with access to the video content of the tile. A key associated with a user account is matched to the set of eligibility keys or the set of lineup keys to select the ribbon for presentation to the user account. The ribbon is transmitted to the client device in the interface for selecting the streaming content device in response to the user account associated with the key being authenticated on the client device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2025
    Assignee: Sling TV L.L.C.
    Inventor: Trent Badger
  • Patent number: 12284413
    Abstract: Examples of methods are described. In some examples, a method includes sending a video feed from a client device to a host device. In some examples, the method includes receiving a stream from the host device. In some examples, the stream includes a region based on the video feed. In some examples, the method includes replacing the region with the video feed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Teradici Co.
    Inventor: Peter William Longhurst
  • Patent number: 12256112
    Abstract: Methods and systems for using packager systems for streaming. The packager system including packagers configured to process packets, each packager having a packet listener, a sequence list generator, and a segment generator; and at least one cluster controller including a manifest generator. The at least one cluster controller configured to configure a packager from the packagers as an active packager by enabling a packet listener, a sequence list generator, and a segment generator, configure a remaining packager from the packagers as a backup packager by disabling a segment generator, receive segments, sequence list, and metadata based on processed packets from the active packager, generate, via the manifest generator, a manifest based on the segments, the sequence list, and the metadata, and send the segments and the manifest to a streaming system component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2024
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: Charter Communications Operating, LLC
    Inventors: Moin Pansare, Sachin Reddy Kota, David Agranoff, Vipul Patel
  • Patent number: 12244883
    Abstract: A system is provided for generating a live output stream manifest based on an event. Each of a set of discrete service engines ingest a portion of a programming schedule comprising a playlist of media content. Based on processing of source manifests encapsulated by the media content, a collection of disparate manifest units is obtained. The collection of disparate manifest units is stored as indexed disparate manifest units in a data store based on a set of indexing parameters. Based on an event including a set of indexed disparate manifest units retrieved from the data store, a live output stream manifest is generated during a current iteration in response to a client request comprising a set of client request parameters. The retrieval of the set of indexed disparate manifest units is performed just-in-time based on a query that corresponds to the set of client request parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
    Inventors: Nicolas Paul Webb, Nishith Kumar Sinha
  • Patent number: 12238370
    Abstract: An example device for transporting media data includes: a memory configured to store media data; and one or more processors implemented in circuitry and configured to: determine that a manifest file for a media presentation includes data representing a delta time value for a resynchronization element of a segment of the media presentation; determine a multiple of the delta time value; determine a number of chunks of the segment that are currently available for retrieval using the multiple of the delta time value; send a request to a server device for the chunks of the segment that are currently available, wherein the request omits chunks of the segment that are not currently available; and store data of chunks received in response to the request in the memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignee: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Thomas Stockhammer, Ece Ozturk
  • Patent number: 12231708
    Abstract: A server system receives a request to generate a playlist. The playlist includes a sequence of media items. The server system receives a plurality of constraints that define disqualification criteria for excluding media items from a respective slot in the sequence of media items. The plurality of constraints for the respective slot in the sequence of media items includes at least one constraint that is based on already-populated slots in the sequence of media items. The server system generates the playlist by sequentially populating each respective slot in the sequence of media items, including selecting, for the respective slot, a respective media item that meets the plurality of constraints for the respective slot in the sequence of media items. The server system provides the playlist to a user of the media providing service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2025
    Assignee: Spotify AB
    Inventors: Paul Lamere, Christopher James Ciollaro, Chang Min Jeon, Peter Martin Deglopper, James Faulkner Kirk, Adam Latour Piel
  • Patent number: 12206917
    Abstract: A video information periodic broadcasting method includes segmenting video information with an equal duration to obtain video segments Si of each time series, where i is the segment serial number of the video segments. The video segments Si are connected in series in an order of ascending the segment serial numbers. Segmenting each video segment Si with an equal duration to obtain video sub-segments Si,j of each time series, where the number of the video sub-segments Si,j of each time series is equal to the segment serial number of the video segments corresponding to the same time series, j is the sub-segment serial numbers of all the video sub-segments of the video segment. The video sub-segments Si,j are connected in series in an order of ascending the sub-segment serial numbers to form the video segment Si. Transmitting the video sub-segments through multiple periodic broadcasting channels with an equal bandwidth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignees: NANJING SUPERCOHESION COMMUNICATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., TSINGHUA SHENZHEN INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE SCHOOL
    Inventor: Xingjun Wang
  • Patent number: 12177516
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus to determine media viewing information for hybrid content delivery are disclosed. An example apparatus includes at least one memory, machine readable instructions, and processor circuitry to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to monitor network traffic associated with at least one device during a media session, determine viewing information associated with the media session based on a consumption data message in the network traffic, the consumption data message transmitted by the at least one device, determine a program identifier of primary content received by the at least one device, the program identifier indicative of a program presented as the primary content by the at least one device, associate a panelist identifier with the viewing information and the program identifier of the primary content, and generate a media session report based on the panelist identifier, the viewing information, and the program identifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Alexander Topchy, Vladimir Kuznetsov
  • Patent number: 12170806
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing media content to supplement an exhibit from an image of an audience for the exhibit include an image capture device proximate the exhibit that captures an image of the audience that includes the faces of audience members. A facial recognition process is used to identify each audience member, and certain audience characteristics are determined from the captured image. Stored information about the identified audience members and/or the audience characteristic information are used to determine the media content to provide to a playback device for playback while the exhibit is viewed by the audience.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2024
    Inventor: Maris Jacob Ensing
  • Patent number: 12118575
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus to apply household-level weights to audience measurement data at a household-member level are disclosed. An example method to determine demographics of populations to measure media audiences of populations includes determining demographics for members of a first household of a sub-population. First demographics of a first member of the first household are different than second demographics of a second member of the first household. The example method includes calculating a first household-level weight for the first household based on a demographics distribution of the sub-population and aggregate demographics of a population.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Michael Sheppard, Jonathan Sullivan, Peter Lipa, Alejandro Terrazas
  • Patent number: 12101532
    Abstract: A transcoding engine communicatively coupled to a broadcast source receiver for receiving the broadcast stream, decoding the broadcast stream, extracting and storing the PSIP tables from the broadcast stream and inserting metadata into the decoded broadcast stream, encoding the broadcast stream and the metadata, and attaching the PSIP tables to the encoded broadcast stream. A listener server device is communicatively coupled to the transcoding engine for receiving the encoded broadcast stream and establishing a low-latency tunnel with a caller client over a public internet and providing the encoded broadcast stream to the caller client through the low-latency tunnel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2024
    Assignee: Circle Computer Resources, Inc.
    Inventors: James Baird, Seth Kelly, Josh Merrifield
  • Patent number: 12003818
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for generating and presenting content series recommendations to a particular user that has just completed binge-watching a particular content series. The recommendations are based on content series consumed by other users who have also consumed the content series just completed by the user and that share behavioral attributes to that of the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2024
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventor: Daniel Robideaux
  • Patent number: 11991406
    Abstract: An ad is placed in a movie, by analyzing inherent characteristics of the movie, analyzing viewed characteristics of the movie, analyzing viewer characteristics of a viewer of the movie, obtaining advertiser preferences for placement of the ad in the movie, determining costs of placing the ad in the movie based on the inherent characteristics of the movie, the viewed characteristics of the movie, the viewer characteristics and the advertiser preferences, and placing the ad in the movie in accordance with the inherent characteristics of the movie, the viewed characteristics of the movie, the viewer characteristics, the advertiser preferences and the determined costs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2024
    Assignee: Open Text SA ULC
    Inventors: Thomas S. Gilley, Eric Hoffert, Rabih Nassar, Paul Soukup
  • Patent number: 11910040
    Abstract: Methods and systems for using packager systems for streaming. The packager system including packagers configured to process packets, each packager having a packet listener, a sequence list generator, and a segment generator; and at least one cluster controller including a manifest generator. The at least one cluster controller configured to configure a packager from the packagers as an active packager by enabling a packet listener, a sequence list generator, and a segment generator, configure a remaining packager from the packagers as a backup packager by disabling a segment generator, receive segments, sequence list, and metadata based on processed packets from the active packager, generate, via the manifest generator, a manifest based on the segments, the sequence list, and the metadata, and send the segments and the manifest to a streaming system component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Charter Communications Operating, LLC
    Inventors: Moin Pansare, Sachin Reddy Kota, David Agranoff, Vipul Patel
  • Patent number: 11889147
    Abstract: An electronic device and method are provided for display of signing video through an adjustable user interface (UI) element. The electronic device receives a first media stream that includes a video. The electronic device determines a location of a signer in the video. The electronic device extracts a video portion that corresponds to the determined location in the video. The electronic device controls a playback of the video on the display device. The electronic device controls the display device based on the playback to render the UI element on the display device and display the extracted video portion inside the UI element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: SONY GROUP CORPORATION
    Inventors: Brant Candelore, Adam Goldberg, Robert Blanchard
  • Patent number: 11856273
    Abstract: A satellite provider system receives a provider stream including break cue data. The satellite provider system generates adjusted break cue data by adjusting time stamps in the break cue data. The satellite provider system inserts the break cue data, the adjusted break cue data, and break description data into the provider stream in data packets all having a same packet identification. The satellite provider system broadcasts the provider stream from a satellite transponder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: DISH Network L.L.C.
    Inventor: Robert Percival