Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving content metadata related to content items provided by a content provider; retrieving additional metadata from one or more external sources, the additional metadata including language variations of the content metadata; storing the content metadata with the additional metadata in a storage device, wherein the content metadata is stored in association with the additional metadata; receiving a search request from a user, the search request including one or more search terms expressed in a first language variation; identifying, among the content metadata or the additional metadata, relevant metadata matching the one or more search terms; identifying additional relevant metadata stored in association with the relevant metadata, the additional relevant metadata including language variations of the relevant metadata; and adding one or more additional search terms to the search request, the one or more additional search terms corresponding to the additional relevant meta

Abstract: A system for preparing data and video sequences to enable a viewer to scroll content in a plurality of directions including a first and second direction, the content including at least one element in motion, the system including a video sequence preparation module to prepare the video sequences including a first and second video sequence, each video sequence including still images, each still image including at least part of the content, at least some of the still images including the at least one element, the video sequences being prepared such that playing the first and second video sequence effects scrolling the content in the first and second direction, respectively, and a switchover determination module to prepare the data including corresponding switchover points in the video sequences for switching between the video sequences and therefore for switching the direction of scrolling by the viewer. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving content metadata related to content items provided by a content provider; retrieving additional metadata from one or more external sources, the additional metadata including language variations of the content metadata; storing the content metadata with the additional metadata in a storage device, wherein the content metadata is stored in association with the additional metadata; receiving a search request from a user, the search request including one or more search terms expressed in a first language variation; identifying, among the content metadata or the additional metadata, relevant metadata matching the one or more search terms; identifying additional relevant metadata stored in association with the relevant metadata, the additional relevant metadata including language variations of the relevant metadata; and adding one or more additional search terms to the search request, the one or more additional search terms corresponding to the additional relevant meta

Abstract: A method of detecting periodic activity patterns associated with the viewing of audio video content is described. The method includes: recording activity data in an activity log; suppressing the activity log one or more times to suppress non-relevant activity data thereby producing one or more sets of suppressed activity data; passing the one or more sets of suppressed activity data through a signal processing function to convert the one or more sets of suppressed activity data to one or more frequency responses; and analyzing the one or more frequency responses to detect the periodic activity patterns. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

Abstract: A content viewing estimation system including a module to receive a time measurement of how long at least part of a content item was rendered by an end-user rendering unit and outputted for display to an audio-visual outputting arrangement during a time window, a module to determine user interaction with the end-user rendering unit and/or the audio-visual outputting arrangement, a module to calculate an average content item duration of a plurality of content items rendered by the end-user rendering unit during the time window, and a module to estimate viewing by the user of the at least part content item such that if user interaction was not determined during the time window then time attributed to the viewing of the at least part content item is set to the minimum of a capping limit, the time measurement, and the average content item duration. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

Abstract: An end-user rendering system including an advertisement database to receive advertisements, and store the advertisements therein, a state database to store information, a decision model optimization module to receive a tree-type decision model and optimize the tree-type decision model based on at least some of the information stored in the state database, an advertisement decision module to evaluate the optimized tree-type decision model and select an advertising campaign, the selected advertising campaign having at least one advertisement, and a rendering module to render the at least one advertisement of the selected advertising campaign. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

Abstract: A method including providing a first content item for consumption, the first content item having a content placement opportunity at which a second content item can be consumed, dividing the first content item into a plurality of chunks, the placement opportunity being temporally disposed after a first one of the chunks and/or before a second one of the chunks, after a first point where the first chunk is operative to finish being rendered and/or before a second point where the second chunk is operative to start being rendered, and encoding the chunks yielding a plurality of encoded chunks, wherein the encoding includes performing, for each one of the chunks of the first content item encoding the audio/video frames of the one chunk at a first audio/video quality, and repeating encoding of the audio/video frames of the one chunk at a second audio/video quality. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

Abstract: A content viewing estimation system including a module to receive a time measurement of how long at least part of a content item was rendered by an end-user rendering unit and outputted for display to an audio-visual outputting arrangement during a time window, a module to determine user interaction with the end-user rendering unit and/or the audio-visual outputting arrangement, a module to calculate an average content item duration of a plurality of content items rendered by the end-user rendering unit during the time window, and a module to estimate viewing by the user of the at least part content item such that if user interaction was not determined during the time window then time attributed to the viewing of the at least part content item is set to the minimum of a capping limit, the time measurement, and the average content item duration. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

Abstract: An interactive method includes receiving background video including a multiplicity of video frames, at least one of the multiplicity of video frames include a plurality of sub-pictures, each of the plurality of sub-pictures representing an alternative background (1200), and switching between a first sub-picture of the plurality of sub-pictures and a second sub-picture of the plurality of sub-pictures (1210).

Abstract: A system for preparing data and video sequences to enable a viewer to scroll content in a plurality of directions including a first and second direction, the content including at least one element in motion, the system including a video sequence preparation module to prepare the video sequences including a first and second video sequence, each video sequence including still images, each still image including at least part of the content, at least some of the still images including the at least one element, the video sequences being prepared such that playing the first and second video sequence effects scrolling the content in the first and second direction, respectively, and a switchover determination module to prepare the data including corresponding switchover points in the video sequences for switching between the video sequences and therefore for switching the direction of scrolling by the viewer. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

Abstract: A system for preparing data and video sequences to enable a viewer to scroll content in a plurality of directions including a first and second direction, the content including at least one element in motion, the system including a video sequence preparation module to prepare the video sequences including a first and second video sequence, each video sequence including still images, each still image including at least part of the content, at least some of the still images including the at least one element, the video sequences being prepared such that playing the first and second video sequence effects scrolling the content in the first and second direction, respectively, and a switchover determination module to prepare the data including corresponding switchover points in the video sequences for switching between the video sequences and therefore for switching the direction of scrolling by the viewer. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

Abstract: A method of detecting periodic activity patterns associated with the viewing of audio video content is described. The method includes: recording activity data in an activity log; suppressing the activity log one or more times to suppress non-relevant activity data thereby producing one or more sets of suppressed activity data; passing the one or more sets of suppressed activity data through a signal processing function to convert the one or more sets of suppressed activity data to one or more frequency responses; and analysing the one or more frequency responses to detect the periodic activity patterns. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

Abstract: An end-user rendering system including an advertisement database to receive advertisements, and store the advertisements therein, a state database to store information, a decision model optimization module to receive a tree-type decision model and optimize the tree-type decision model based on at least some of the information stored in the state database, an advertisement decision module to evaluate the optimized tree-type decision model and select an advertising campaign, the selected advertising campaign having at least one advertisement, and a rendering module to render the at least one advertisement of the selected advertising campaign. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

Abstract: An interactive method includes receiving background video including a multiplicity of video frames, at least one of the multiplicity of video frames include a plurality of sub-pictures, each of the plurality of sub-pictures representing an alternative background (1200), and switching between a first sub-picture of the plurality of sub-pictures and a second sub-picture of the plurality of sub-pictures (1210).

Abstract: An interactive method includes receiving, at a display device, background video including a multiplicity of video frames, at least one of the multiplicity of video frames including a plurality of sub-pictures, each of the plurality of sub-pictures representing an alternative background, and switching, at the display device, between a first sub-picture of the plurality of sub-pictures and a second sub-picture of the plurality of sub-pictures. Related apparatus and methods are also disclosed.

Abstract: A system comprising a decoder arrangement to decode a plurality of video sequences including a first video sequence and a second video sequence, each of the video sequences including a plurality of frames including a first plurality of reference frames and a second plurality of non-reference frames, a selector operationally connected to the decoder arrangement, the selector being operative to select which of the video sequences is outputted to a display device for display, wherein during at least some of the time while the decoder arrangement is decoding the second video sequence which is selected for output to the display device, the decoder arrangement is operative to selectively decode the first video sequence, and then the selector is operative to switch to selecting the first video sequence for outputting to the display device for display. Related apparatus and methods are also described.