Abstract: Items of video content offered for viewing on a video-on-demand (VOD) platform of a digital TV service provider are each assigned a respective title and hierarchical address corresponding to hierarchically-arranged categories and subcategories within which the title for the video content is to be categorized. The title is listed in a location of an electronic program guide (EPG) using the same categories and subcategories as its hierarchical address. Any TV subscriber can access the EPG and navigate through its categories and subcategories to find a title for viewing on the TV. The EPG dynamically adjust its display listings of each level of categories, subcategories, and titles in order to minimize the number of remote control keypresses needed for a viewer to navigate to a title of interest.

Abstract: A method and a system configured to execute the mentioned method is suggested, where the method is capturing media content associated with at least one object, using a plurality of media capturing devices, each carried by a mobile communication device, together forming a mobile media device. The method comprise: controlling each of the mobile media devices according to a respective, predefined role and role specific rules for mobile media device movements, while capturing media content, following the movement of the at least one determined object; acquiring sensor data, indicative of the mobile media device movements, from the mobile media devices, and updating the roles of the mobile media devices, based on the acquired sensor data.

Abstract: A thermostat and system and method for use of the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, multiple wireless transceivers are located within a housing, which also interconnectively includes a processor and memory. To improve convenience, the thermostat may establish a pairing with a proximate wireless-enabled interactive programmable device having a display. Virtual remote control functionality for various amenities may then be provided. To improve safety, the thermostat may be incorporated into a geolocation and safety network.

Abstract: An audience measurement service may monitor broadcasts in a region, ingesting closed captioning data, metadata, displayed text or logos, performing facial recognition on people, and/or generating audio/video fingerprints of broadcast content to create a database of content and associated keywords, along with times at which the content was broadcast. The audience measurement service may receive user search queries from a search provider and detect “spiking” queries. The audience measurement service may determine whether the spiking queries are related, contextually and temporally, to an item of content identified in the database, and infer that users generating the queries likely viewed the item of content. In some implementations, the audience measurement service may also infer that the users likely viewed other items of content (e.g. advertisements) displayed during the prior or subsequent few minutes on the same broadcast channel as the query-triggering item.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for facilitating the selection of content for a television broadcast system. A first request for content in a broadcasting based format is received from a television broadcast system. A second request for content in a computer based format is sent to a network-based content selection system. A content identifier associated with selected content is received from the network-based content selection system and sent to the television broadcast system.

Abstract: A video management device includes a storage processing unit configured to store video data received through a network in a storage unit, a calculation unit configured to classify a video data group stored in the storage unit based on combinations of imaging locations and content of video data, and to calculate a frequency of appearance of each of the combinations, and a selection unit configured to select video data to be deleted from the storage unit based on the frequency of appearance, thereby increasing a possibility that the deletion of a high-value video will be avoided.

Abstract: To secure easiness of component selection at a reception side. A transmission stream is generated in which a first transmission packet including a predetermined component and a second transmission packet including signaling information related to the predetermined component are multiplexed in a time division manner.

Abstract: Techniques for regional viewership predictions of broadcast events such as live broadcast professional sporting events. The techniques can make the predictions without a direct response variable such as regional viewership data for training a prediction model. Instead, in one technique, demand information for a good or service is used. From the demand information, a derivative demand for the good or service relative to a normal demand is determined. A regression framework is used to learn relationships between the derivative demand for the good or service and features of past live broadcast sporting events. This results in a matrix of feature weights. A non-parametric mixture framework is then used to find a set of feature weights that can be applied to features of future broadcast events to generate regional viewership predictions for the events.

Abstract: There is provided a system and method for the synchronizing on-air commercial programming with interactive applications, providing interactive content synchronized with on-air television programming. There is provided a system comprising a client device with a display device and an input device and running a synchronization application. The client device receives digital data transmitted from a server, and transmits user feedback information generated from user interactions with the digital data back to the server. The digital data are interactive advertisements, such as online social games, that increase users' awareness of the advertised products or messages. The digital data are delivered to the user's client device in synchronization with the broadcasting of on-air television commercials.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for capturing observations of customer-premise equipment or customer-provided equipment (CPE) devices. The method includes reporting a problem detect by a user during use of a customer-premise equipment or customer-provided equipment (CPE) device with one or more specific buttons on a remote controller; and entering the problem into a log with a timestamp.

Abstract: A method and system for codec of visual feature data is provided. First protocol format visual feature data generated by an intelligent front end and a certificate identity used to uniquely identify a corresponding first protocol format are received. The first protocol format visual feature data is converted to a same type of second protocol format visual feature data according to the certificate identity. The second protocol format visual feature data is received and parsed according to the second protocol format to obtain original visual feature data that are generated by the intelligent front end and contained in the first protocol format visual feature data.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture to perform media device asset qualification are disclosed. An example apparatus includes at least one memory, and at least one processor to execute instructions to at least identify a first set of candidate media device assets for disqualification, the candidate media device assets including A) a signature and B) a media identifier that identifies media, generate a hash table using a second set of the candidate media device assets, determine one or more counts of matches between C) a first signature and a first media identifier of a first candidate media device asset of the second set and D) respective signatures and media identifiers of multiple ones of the second set using the hash table, the multiple ones of the second set not including the first candidate media device asset, and load the first signature into a reference database as a reference signature.

Abstract: A method of presenting an audio signal to a user of a mixed reality environment is disclosed, the method comprising the steps of detecting a first audio signal in the mixed reality environment, where the first audio signal is a real audio signal; identifying a virtual object intersected by the first audio signal in the mixed reality environment; identifying a listener coordinate associated with the user; determining, using the virtual object and the listener coordinate, a transfer function; applying the transfer function to the first audio signal to produce a second audio signal; and presenting, to the user, the second audio signal.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are system, apparatus, article of manufacture, method, and computer program product embodiments for remotely controlling a media device. An embodiment includes an apparatus including a radio frequency (RF) communications chip, a memory, and at least one processor coupled to the RF communications chip and the memory. The at least one processor is configured to receive an electronic signal indicative of a user command and generate, based on the electronic signal, an action frame packet configured to instruct a media device to perform a function associated with the user command. Subsequently, the at least one processor is configured to transmit, using the RF communications chip, the action frame packet to the media device.

Abstract: Systems and methods for providing a first user with recommendations of media assets for inclusion in a playlist for a second user based on the second user's viewing activity. These systems and methods receive, from the second user, an expression of disinterest in a media asset included in the playlist for the second user, update a user profile associated with the second user based on the expression of disinterest, and determine a recommendation for another media asset based on the updated user profile associated with the second user. The systems and methods provide the recommendation to the first user. By recommending media assets that the second user is least likely to object to, these systems and methods reduce the frequency of disruptive requests for media assets from the second user.

Abstract: In some implementations, a device includes one or more processors and a non-transitory memory. In some implementations, a method includes determining that a video frame to be presented at a client device includes a portion that corresponds to a particular playback position within a video content item. In some implementations, the method includes obtaining audio data that corresponds to the particular playback position within the video content item. In some implementations, the method includes transmitting the audio data to the client device separate from the video frame.

Abstract: Example methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture (e.g., physical storage media) to assign respondents to geographic locations for audience measurement are disclosed. Example apparatus disclosed herein are to determine a set of constraints based on aggregate values of demographic features associated with respective ones of the geographic locations. Disclosed example apparatus are also to construct a model to return probabilities that respective ones the respondents are associated with the respective ones of the geographic locations, the model to have a set of parameters, respective ones of the parameters to be associated with respective ones of the constraints. Disclosed example apparatus are further to evaluate the model based on values of the set of parameters and values of the demographic features for a first one of the respondents to determine a set of probabilities that the first respondent is to be assigned to respective ones of the geographic locations.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to optimize reference signature matching using watermark matching. An example disclosed herein includes selecting first unhashed reference signatures to evaluate for a second time segment of monitoring data based on watermark coverage of a first time segment of the monitoring data, the monitoring data obtained from a meter monitoring media presented by a media device and comparing the first unhashed reference signatures with first unhashed monitored signatures from the second time segment of the monitoring data.

Abstract: A method, a set-top box, and non-transitory computer readable medium are disclosed for detecting incompatible cables for devices. The method includes: setting, on an electronic device, a high speed data-transfer mode; sending, from the electronic device, data to a device at the high speed data-transfer mode over a cable under test; determining, on the electronic device, a number of authentication attempts by the device; and determining, by the electronic device, that the number of authentication attempts by the device is less a predetermined number that the cable under test is compatible with the high speed data-transfer mode.

Abstract: Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a processing system that performs operations including collecting encrypted network traffic flow data from user interaction with an application, deriving a first set of traffic feature vectors from the encrypted network traffic flow data collected, training a machine learning algorithm on the first set of traffic feature vectors to classify each traffic feature vector in the first set of traffic feature vectors as associated with a type of the application or not associated with the type of the application, and classifying whether an encrypted network traffic flow as the type of the application by applying the machine learning algorithm to a traffic feature vector of the encrypted network traffic flow. Other embodiments are disclosed.