Abstract: A communication system receives a request to establish a call between the communication system and a remote client device. The communication system sends a command to a television connected to the communication system that instructs the television to turn on and set its input source. The communication system requests a state of the television from the television. In response to receiving a response from the television indicating that the television configured for video output from the communication system, the communication system outputs video and audio received from the remote client device to the television, activates a camera of the communication system, and transmits video and audio from the communication system to the remote client device.

Abstract: A communication server facilitates a video call between client devices of a plurality of participants. During the video call, the communication server identifies an in-call activity to recommend to the plurality of participants in the video call based on user information. The in-call activity is selected to be relevant to each of the plurality of participants and jointly recommended to the plurality of participants of the video call. To identify the recommended in-call activity, the communication server may determine common interests among the plurality of participants and select an in-call activity that is associated with the common interests. After the recommended in-call activity is selected, an indication of the recommended in-call activity is provided to the client devices to enable the client devices to display a user interface including the in-call activity to the participants during the video call.

Abstract: A communication system receives a request to establish a call between the communication system and a remote client device. The communication system sends a command to a television connected to the communication system that instructs the television to turn on and set its input source. The communication system requests a state of the television from the television. In response to receiving a response from the television indicating that the television configured for video output from the communication system, the communication system outputs video and audio received from the remote client device to the television, activates a camera of the communication system, and transmits video and audio from the communication system to the remote client device.

Abstract: A communication server facilitates a video call between client devices of a plurality of participants. During the video call, the communication server identifies an in-call activity to recommend to the plurality of participants in the video call based on user information. The in-call activity is selected to be relevant to each of the plurality of participants and jointly recommended to the plurality of participants of the video call. To identify the recommended in-call activity, the communication server may determine common interests among the plurality of participants and select an in-call activity that is associated with the common interests. After the recommended in-call activity is selected, an indication of the recommended in-call activity is provided to the client devices to enable the client devices to display a user interface including the in-call activity to the participants during the video call.

Abstract: A communication server facilitates a video call between client devices of a plurality of participants. During the video call, the communication server identifies an in-call activity to recommend to the plurality of participants in the video call based on user information. The in-call activity is selected to be relevant to each of the plurality of participants and jointly recommended to the plurality of participants of the video call. To identify the recommended in-call activity, the communication server may determine common interests among the plurality of participants and select an in-call activity that is associated with the common interests. After the recommended in-call activity is selected, an indication of the recommended in-call activity is provided to the client devices to enable the client devices to display a user interface including the in-call activity to the participants during the video call.

Abstract: A communication system receives a request to establish a call between the communication system and a remote client device. The communication system sends a command to a television connected to the communication system that instructs the television to turn on and set its input source. The communication system requests a state of the television from the television. In response to receiving a response from the television indicating that the television configured for video output from the communication system, the communication system outputs video and audio received from the remote client device to the television, activates a camera of the communication system, and transmits video and audio from the communication system to the remote client device.

Abstract: An interactive display system may include (i) a housing surrounding at least a portion of a display region, (ii) a camera for capturing images via a camera opening defined in the housing, (iii) a microphone for capturing audio content, and (iv) a privacy switch assembly including a sliding member that is movable between a plurality of set positions. The plurality of set positions may include (i) a first position at which a field of view of the camera is unobstructed and the microphone is active, (ii) a second position at which a shutter of the privacy switch assembly blocks the field of view of the camera or the microphone is disabled, and (iii) a third position at which the shutter blocks the field of view of the camera and the microphone is disabled. Various other systems, devices, assemblies, and methods are also disclosed.

Abstract: The disclosed computer-implemented method may include (i) identifying, by a multimedia device that is connected to an external display, an action that is to be performed by the multimedia device, (ii) selecting, by the multimedia device, at least one visual pattern that corresponds to the action, and (iii) displaying, when the multimedia device performs the action, the visual pattern simultaneously on both the multimedia device and the external display to visually indicate that the action is being performed. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Abstract: A communication system enables users to select between individuals for tracking during video calls based on remote control input. The communication system establishes a video call session between a local client device and one or more remote client devices. The communication system uses a facial recognition algorithm to detect one or more faces from video data and obtains an identifier to each face. The communication system selects a first identifier. The communication system receives a navigation input from a remote control coupled to the communication system and, based on the input, selects a second identifier. The communication system receives an operation input and applies a center of focus of the video data to a second face corresponding to the second identifier.

Abstract: A computing device is associated with one or more electronic devices in a smart home environment. A current environment status is identified from a hierarchy of three or more alert levels of the smart home environment based on a combination of device states of a subset of electronic devices. The current environment status is indicated by an environment status indicator that is displayed in a display area of the computing device concurrently with device state icons corresponding to the device states of the subset of electronic devices. Further, based on the current environment status of the smart home environment, a feature sets is determined for a smart home application executable on the computing device for interacting with the smart home environment. The determined feature set includes selectable commands for performing device functions associated with the current environment status.

Abstract: A home security system may infer a mode of operation based on indications it receives regarding a user's behavior. The disclosed implementations provide for a vacation mode of operation that defines a response for a security event that differs from the response that would be provided by the home security system for the same security event if it operated in another mode such as an away mode.