Abstract: The disclosure relates to an enhanced system and methodology of navigating video sources to determine video content to potentially view. Available video sources, such as individual television channels, not currently being viewed are monitored and analyzed, such as to determine if an advertisement is currently being presented. As a result of the content analysis and user preferences, the user is provided with a recommended subset of video sources to potentially view. User preferences can be explicitly indicated or inferred, such as based on a user's historical viewing habits. In addition, user preferences can be set for individual users or collective users, such as a combined mother and son “user.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to an enhanced user media viewing experience in a shared viewing environment. A content sharing system is provided in which one digital video recording device controls the presentation of the same video content and optionally the acquiring of that video content on disparately located digital video recording devices. Various communications devices (e.g., VOIP devices, web cameras, instant messaging, etc.) are used to facilitate interactions between viewers at the disparately located locations. User-generated commentary, whether live via the communication devices or pre-recorded, is presented while a viewer is viewing a particular piece of video content and can be synchronized to be presented at a particular time in the video.

Abstract: A content recommendation system and methodology is provided in which various demographic information and viewing information is obtained from multiple viewers and recommendations of video content to view are provided to a viewer based on the viewer's demographic profile and the viewing preferences of other viewers with the same or similar demographic profile. The recommendations are a result of data mining the aggregated viewing information. Other feedback, such as real-time statistics or likes/dislikes, can also be provided for presentation to the viewer.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that asynchronously disseminates multimedia content to disparate clients. The disclosed system can include a component that receives multimedia content supplied by a multimedia publisher, encrypts or applies a time sensitive lock to the received multimedia content, disseminates the encrypted or locked multimedia content to the disparate clients, and a time subsequent, generates and distributes to the disparate clients a counterpart to the time sensitive lock necessary to unlock and play the disseminated and encrypted or locked multimedia content on the clients.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that effectuates selective viewing of multimedia audio and/or visual content. The disclosed system can include a component that obtains multimedia audio or visual content from a broadcast server, categorizes the multimedia audio or visual content, and associates index tags to categorized multimedia audio or visual content. The index tags are utilized to provide a facility to search or summarize the categorized multimedia audio or visual content, wherein the resultant searches and summarizations can be displayed on a display associated with the component.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that manages media content. The disclosed system includes a component that synchronizes with a multimedia player that is in communication with the component. The component upon synchronization automatically determines an amount of storage space available on the handheld device and based at least in part on this available space, the component substitutes a first media presentation persisted on the storage space with a second media presentation retrieved from a media storage farm.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that effectuates and facilitates search of multimedia content. The disclosed system can include components that extract closed captioned information from video content, index the extracted information against frames of corresponding video content, and utilize associated metadata, tags, and indexes to search through the extracted information and respond to a submitted query with identified video content.

Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that manages storage media associated with a plurality of disparate devices. The disclosed system can include a network of disparate devices wherein each device in the network can be associated with storage media. Additionally, the disclosed system can also include a component that identifies each device in the network, associates a likelihood that the device will periodically leave or rejoin the network, and utilizes the associated likelihood to construct a logical redundant pile of inexpensive disks comprising the storage media associated with the disparate devices.

Abstract: A communication path is established that allows for communication between a filter graph space and a network driver space in a system. The communication path allows bi-directional communication between a filter graph driver in the filter graph space and a network driver in the network driver space. Addresses of data can be passed from the network driver to the filter graph driver, which allows the filter graph driver to communicate with a filter graph manager as necessary to configure the filter graph space to obtain data from the requested address. The data obtained from the address is then passed from the filter graph driver to the network driver.

Abstract: A communication path is established that allows for communication between a filter graph space and a network driver space in a system. The communication path allows bidirectional communication between a filter graph driver in the filter graph space and a network driver in the network driver space. Addresses of data can be passed from the network driver to the filter graph driver, which allows the filter graph driver to communicate with a filter graph manager as necessary to configure the filter graph space to obtain data from the requested address. The data obtained from the address is then passed from the filter graph driver to the network driver.

Abstract: An interface device to a broadcast medium uses the Internet Protocol communication layer to communicate with other devices on a network. The device may be associated with a single controlling device on the network, through which other devices on the same network may query and schedule the interface device. The interface device may accept several sources of broadcast or other media, including video and audio, and prepare and normalize the content for used by other devices. Several different physical interfaces may be used to subsequently convert the Internet Protocol communications into useful content streams for various devices, including storage and rendering devices.

Abstract: A communication path is established that allows for communication between a filter graph space and a network driver space in a system. The communication path allows bi-directional communication between a filter graph driver in the filter graph space and a network driver in the network driver space. Addresses of data can be passed from the network driver to the filter graph driver, which allows the filter graph driver to communicate with a filter graph manager as necessary to configure the filter graph space to obtain data from the requested address. The data obtained from the address is then passed from the filter graph driver to the network driver.

Abstract: A modularized broadcast receiver driver architecture includes one or more control nodes, under control of a network module, that perform a series of one or more functions to receive a broadcast signal and extract content information from the signal. None of the multiple control nodes requires knowledge of the network type via which the signal is being received. Rather, a network module is aware of the network type and configures the control nodes to carry out their respective functions.

Abstract: A computing system such as a Programmable Video Recorder (PVR) receives broadcast data and enhanced file-state data from a data source. The broadcast data may include multimedia data. The enhanced file-state data may include web-based data such as ATVEF data. The PVR buffers the broadcast data and the enhanced file-state data in a backing store that is associated with the PVR. The PVR also creates an index for indexing the enhanced file-state data so that, when the broadcast data is rendered, the correct file-state data can be located and rendered at the appropriate time with the broadcast data. The index may classify the enhanced file-state data by GUID, sequence number, and valid start and end times associated with corresponding broadcast data. The index may also include pointers for locating the enhanced file-state data from the buffer of the PVR.

Abstract: An extensible framework for tuning to programming sources includes tune request objects and tuning space objects that are used to maintain and pass information regarding how to tune to a particular program. The extensible framework can be easily modified by creating, deleting, or modifying tune request objects and tuning space objects without requiring changes on the part of applications interacting with the framework.