Abstract: A system includes a subscriber information service (SIS), logic defining a digital advertising campaign, and logic to operate the SIS to maintain an impression-to-decision ratio for one or more aspects of the advertising campaign and to apply the ratio to frequency capping the one or more aspects of the advertising campaign.

Abstract: A method includes submitting one or more digital video program files for storage on behalf of one or more video servers; the act of submitting the video program files triggering logic to scan the program files to identify information about location and duration of ad breaks; storing the video program files and information about the location and duration of the ad breaks in a database external to the video program files in a manner that associates the video program files with corresponding information about the location and duration of the ad breaks, and in a manner that provides the video servers with access to both the video program files and information about the location and duration of the ad breaks; and removing the ad breaks from the video program files prior to streaming the video program files.

Abstract: A stream server system includes logic to provide an output stream to a machine data network; logic to specify to a stream splicer, without modifying the output stream, a playlist file as a file to provide ad content, the playlist file including identifications of multiple digital content files each comprising a separate advertisement; and logic to stream the multiple content files individually to a stream splicer as a Single Program Transport Stream and to identify the content from the multiple content files to the stream splicer as a single content segment.

Abstract: A video-on-demand (VOD) service provider is configured to select advertising to provide with video-on-demand content, the advertising selected at least in part according to at least one of content metadata, ad schedules, or subscriber profile information, and to signal when the advertising is unavailable. The VOD service provider is configured to identify ad break points for the video-on-demand content to generate a playlist identifying the video-on-demand content and when the video-on-demand content is to be provided, and identifying content corresponding to selected advertising and when the content corresponding to the selected advertising is to be provided.

Abstract: A method may include and/or involve identifying a received signal as an indication that advertising content should be provided, determining ad content to provide in response to the signal, specifying a playlist file as a file to provide the ad content, the playlist file including identifications of multiple digital content files including the ad content, and streaming the multiple content files as a Single Program Transport Stream.

Abstract: A custom ad selection and delivery system may include an ad selector to select candidate ads for one or more ad avail opportunities, a bandwidth resource manager to provide information about available bandwidth in a content delivery system, and a policy manager to weight ad avail opportunity versus bandwidth costs to delivery customized advertising to subscribers, and to cause allocation of bandwidth and insertion of customized ads into multiple program streams comprising the same program content but different ad content, and to cause different subscriber equipment to map different program frequencies to similar content streams having advertising content inserted therein that is customized to different subscriber demographics.

Abstract: A method including identifying one or more ad break points within digital video and/or audio content, selecting ad content to provide with the video and/or audio content, and generating a playlist referencing the ad content at the one or more ad break points.

Abstract: A custom ad selection and delivery system may include an ad selector to select candidate ads for one or more ad avail opportunities, a bandwidth resource manager to provide information about available bandwidth in a content delivery system, and a policy manager to weight ad avail opportunity versus bandwidth costs to delivery customized advertising to subscribers, and to cause allocation of bandwidth and insertion of customized ads into multiple program streams comprising the same program content but different ad content, and to cause different subscriber equipment to map different program frequencies to similar content streams having advertising content inserted therein that is customized to different subscriber demographics.

Abstract: An ultrasonic computed tomography tree or log scanner has a plurality of ultrasonic transceivers carried on a belt (102) sized to encircle a tree (100). The belt includes an apparatus for engaging is tightly around the tree (104). The transceivers are strapped around the tree, and their mutual relative distances are known. Electronic circuitry energizes the transmitters in a known sequence. The signals received at each of the receivers are also collected and analyzed. Computed tomographic techniques analyze the time of arrival of the acoustic pulse that is first to arrive at each receiver. A signal processor generates a two-dimensional image of a slice of the tree (110) at the locus of the belt.