Abstract: An apparatus and method for monitoring activity of a device. The method includes associating one or more monitoring devices with an electronic device. Rules that have been established to define acceptable content that can be accessed by the electronic device are accessed. Requested content, which is requested by the electronic device, is identified. The requested content is compared to the established rules. An alert condition is generated when the requested content violates the established rules.

Abstract: A method and system for monitoring biometric data. The method includes authenticating a user and providing content to a user device associated with the user. Biometric data associated with the user is obtained and compared to one or more threshold values. A representation of the comparison is generated and provided to the user.

Abstract: A method and system for organizing content data by adding one or more identifiers that place the content data in context or provide additional details about the content. The method includes attaching a label to image data and classifying the image data based on the label.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and system for sharing content between a plurality of electronic devices including identifying an event and detecting one or more electronic devices based on the identified event. Electronic content is obtained from one or more of the electronic devices related to the event and provided to one or more output devices based on a comparison.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for resuming playback of media content from more than one Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) device. The playback of a media asset or media content typically contains an asset ID and a start time. Based on the architecture of a second display device (e.g., a second IPTV device) the IPTV system determines the identity of an account and its associated IPTV devices. When a user pauses an asset, the system sends the asset identification (ID) and the stop time to a server operatively coupled to the system. The next time (within a predefined duration) the user requests the same asset ID, the pause time and the asset ID are returned. Using the pause time and the asset ID, the user can resume playback of the asset.

Abstract: Some embodiments provide methods, systems and apparatuses for use in managing playback of content. Some of these methods comprise: maintaining, at a playback device, a first media stream in a stand-by mode; continuing to acquire, from over a distributed network while in the stand-by mode, one or more index files of the first media stream, where the one or more index files identify a plurality of media files of the first media stream configured to be played back at the playback device, while not acquiring the media files of the first media stream while the first media stream is in the stand-by mode; and tracking the one or more index files relative to a playback timing f the first media stream while in the stand-by mode, where the playback timing continues to increment while the first media stream is in the stand-by mode.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for creating channels dedicated to a particular type of content. The method includes acquiring seed content and using the seed content in the creation or updating of a content list. Additional content for the channel is acquired based on the common features of the content list.

Abstract: Managing digital rights of contents and services streamed to a client device, including: receiving and validating a certificate from the client device; enabling the client device to log into and communicate with a server using a secure protocol to establish a private relationship between the client device and the server; and transmitting a resource identifier to the client device using the secure protocol when the private relationship is established.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for generating a synchronization signal for a plurality of three-dimensional (3-D) image display devices is disclosed. The method and apparatus includes a synchronization manager configured for generating the synchronization signal utilized by the plurality of 3-D display devices for synchronously displaying respective content in accordance with a timing signal associated with the synchronization signal.

Abstract: Certain aspects of a method and apparatus for communicating media content may include a server communicatively coupled to a plurality of content rendering devices. One or more processors in the server may be operable to determine a set of configuration settings associated with the media content based on a set of parameters. The server may encode the media content and the determined set of configuration settings to generate an encoded media content. The determined set of configuration settings may be included in a header section of the encoded media content. The server may transmit the encoded media content to at least one of the plurality of content rendering devices.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for processing a video signal is provided. The method and apparatus comprises a consolidator configured to consolidate a plurality of unutilized regions based on a determination of a difference between an aspect ratio of a display being generated and an aspect ratio of first content to form a consolidated display region. The method and apparatus consolidates the plurality of unutilized regions to generate an output video signal having the consolidated region and a first content region associated with the first content. The plurality of unutilized regions is consolidated by at least partially moving the first content region towards at least one edge of the output video signal. The plurality of unutilized regions is consolidated by scaling down size of the first content region associated with the first content.

Abstract: Certain aspects of a system and method for inserting an advertisement in a media stream may include a content access server. The content access server may receive the media stream from one or more content providers. The media stream may comprise one or more pre-determined positions for inserting the advertisement. The content access server may insert the advertisement in the media stream at one of the one or more pre-determined positions. The advertisement is selected from one or more advertisements in real-time based on a first metadata associated with the media stream, a location of the one or more pre-determined positions in the media stream, and one or more parameters associated with a user.

Abstract: Certain aspects of a system and method for inserting an advertisement in a media stream may include a content access server. The content access server may receive the media stream from one or more content providers. The media stream may comprise one or more pre-determined positions for inserting the advertisement. The content access server may insert the advertisement in the media stream at one of the one or more pre-determined positions. The advertisement is selected from one or more advertisements in real-time based on a first metadata associated with the media stream, a location of the one or more pre-determined positions in the media stream, and one or more parameters associated with a user.

Abstract: Certain aspects of an apparatus and method for determining information associated with a food product may include a server that is communicably coupled to a computing device. The server may deconstruct a three dimensional (3-D) image of the food product to identify one or more ingredients in the food product. Further, the server may compare the deconstructed 3-D image with a database of pre-stored images of food products to determine a type of the one or more ingredients in the food product. The server may determine nutritional information associated with the food product based on the determined type of the one or more ingredients.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided to allow users to browse services, content items, or the like using the language that is generally most familiar to them, and in particular ones that are not available on an IPTV. Thus, users can browse content offerings on the second display in a language and font set that are personalized to themselves, and they may further send the content item to the IPTV for playback. The disclosed systems and methods provide a way for a group of users to exploit individual “second displays” to view, browse, and navigate content or data service offerings, by service providers, e.g., internet network services, in a preferred language and using preferred fonts, especially one not supported by a content playback device, on behalf of a content playback device, e.g., IPTV, the same having authenticated credentials for playback of such content, and then arrange for a selected content item or items to be played back on the content playback device.

Abstract: Managing digital rights of contents and services streamed to a client device, including: receiving and validating a certificate from the client device; enabling the client device to log into and communicate with a server using a secure protocol to establish a private relationship between the client device and the server; and transmitting a resource identifier to the client device using the secure protocol when the private relationship is established.

Abstract: A device is enabled to display Internet TV by accessing a management server and receiving back from the server a user token and a service list of predefined content servers. A user can select a content server on the service list which causes the device to upload its user token to the management server, which in turn sends back the network path to the content server along with a content server-user-unique service token (SUIT) that the device uses to access the content on the content server, in some embodiments on per-title PPV access, per-content category PPV access, or per-service PPV access.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for creating channels dedicated to a particular type of content. The method includes acquiring seed content and using the seed content in the creation or updating of a content list. Additional content for the channel is acquired based on the common features of the content list.

Abstract: A system and method for text to speech conversion. The method of performing text to speech conversion on a portable device includes: identifying a portion of text for conversion to speech format, wherein the identifying includes performing a prediction based on information associated with a user. While the portable device is connected to a power source, a text to speech conversion is performed on the portion of text to produce converted speech. The converted speech is stored into a memory device of the portable device. A reader application is executed, wherein a user request is received for narration of the portion of text. During the executing, the converted speech is accessed from the memory device and rendered to the user, responsive to the user request.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for providing character input to a display device. In one embodiment, a method includes detecting a user selection of an application which allows for character input by a user, launching a receiver application by the display device, and detecting a transmission from a user device by a messenger application of the display device, the transmission identifying at least one graphical character based on user operation of a user device. The method may further include displaying the at least one graphical character.