Patent application number | Description | Published |
20140218391 | GRAPHICALLY MANAGING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS - One or more devices may receive information associated with multiple electronic communications intended for a user; identify attributes of the multiple electronic communications; determine, based on the attributes, display data for displaying representations of multiple electronic communications; and cause, based on the display data, the representations of the, multiple electronic communications to be displayed as a graphical display of icons arranged in a particular graphical structure in which the icons are connected via links. The icon may correspond to the representation of an electronic communication. The icon may be presented within the graphical display to visually indicate, to the user, an attribute of the electronic communication. | 08-07-2014 |
20140337590 | SMART DIGITAL MESSAGE ARCHIVAL - A device may receive information identifying an attribute to be used when determining whether to archive a digital message. The attribute may be associated with the digital message. The device may determine an attribute value based on the attribute and the digital message. The device may determine an archival weight corresponding to the attribute. The device may compute an archival score for the digital message. The archival score may be based on the attribute value and the archival weight. The device may determine that the archival score satisfies a threshold. The device may archive the digital message based on determining that the archival score satisfies the threshold. | 11-13-2014 |
20140359669 | Video-on-Demand Content Based Channel Surfing Methods and Systems - An exemplary method includes a media content presentation system 1) maintaining a video-on-demand (“VOD”) channel surfing list associated with a user of a media content access device, the VOD channel surfing list identifying a plurality of VOD content instances selected from a library of VOD content instances that are available by way of the media content access device during a VOD browsing session, 2) associating the VOD content instances identified in the VOD channel surfing list with a plurality of VOD channels, 3) detecting a channel surfing command provided by the user during the VOD browsing session, and 4) directing, in response to the channel surfing command, the media content access device to switch to a VOD channel included in the plurality of VOD channels that is presenting a video preview of a VOD content instance identified in the VOD channel surfing list and associated with the VOD channel. | 12-04-2014 |
20150019968 | Methods and Systems for Facilitating Media-on-Demand-Based Channel Changing - An exemplary method includes a media service system providing a manifest file for use by a media player to perform adaptive bitrate switching in accordance with an adaptive bitrate streaming heuristic, the manifest file including data that associates a first media program provided by an on-demand media service with a first bitrate and a second media program provided by the on-demand media service with a second bitrate; directing the media player to present the first media program; detecting, while the first media program is being presented, a channel change command provided by the user; and directing, in response to the channel change command, the media player to switch from presenting the first media program to presenting the second media program by providing the media player with a command to use the manifest file to switch from the first bitrate to the second bitrate. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed. | 01-15-2015 |
20150121214 | Device Context-Based Methods and Systems for Providing a Personalized Interaction Experience with a Media Service - An exemplary method includes 1) detecting a first activity performed by a first user with respect to a media service while the first user is logged in to the media service with a particular user account and a second activity performed by a second user with respect to the media service while the second user is logged in to the media service with the particular user account, 2) determining that the first activity is performed within a first device context and that the second activity is performed within a second device context, 3) including, based on the determination, the first activity in a local activity set associated with the first device context, 4) excluding, based on the determination, the second activity from the local activity set, and 5) using the local activity set to provide a personalized interaction experience with the media service within the first device context. | 04-30-2015 |
20150350701 | Methods and Systems for Managing Storage of Media Program Copies Within a Network Digital Video Recording System - An exemplary method includes a network DVR system identifying a total number of requests provided by a plurality of users to record a media program during a presentation of the media program, determining, based on the total number of requests and on a predicted playback rate associated with the media program, a maximum number of temporally overlapping playback sessions of the media program that will potentially be initiated by the plurality of users subsequent to the presentation of the media program, and storing, in response to the requests and based on the determining, a plurality of unique copies of the media program. Corresponding systems and methods are also described. | 12-03-2015 |
20160105720 | Device Context-Based Methods and Systems for Providing a Personalized Interaction Experience with a Media Service - A system detects a first activity performed by a first user with respect to a media service while the first user is logged in to the media service with a particular user account and a second activity performed by a second user with respect to the media service while the second user is logged in to the media service with the particular user account, determines that the first activity is performed within a first device context and that the second activity is performed within a second device context, includes, based on the determination, the first activity in a local activity set associated with the first device context, the local activity set including one or more activities performed with respect to the media service exclusively in the first device context, and uses the local activity set to provide a personalized interaction experience with the media service within the first device context. | 04-14-2016 |
20160127777 | Media Service Personalization Systems and Methods - An exemplary media service personalization system maintains profiles for multiple media service access devices associated with an end-user account with a media service, generates a merged profile based on the profiles for the media service access devices, and directs a communal media service access device associated with the end-user account to personalize the media service based on the merged profile. | 05-05-2016 |
20160127780 | Media Service User Interface Systems and Methods - An exemplary computer-implemented media service user interface system detects a request for information about a media program series and, in response, generates a media program series page for the media program series and provides a view of at least a portion of the media program series page for display on a display screen. In certain examples, the system generates the media program series page by determining, across multiple different media content presentation sources by way of which media content is accessible through a media service for presentation by a media content access device, episodes of the media program series that are available for access by the media content access device through the media service, and populating the media program series page with page content that represents the episodes of the media program series that are available for access by the media content access device through the media service. | 05-05-2016 |
20160127784 | Context-Based Media Program Presentation Methods and Systems - An exemplary computer-implemented media service system detects an input command provided by a user to initiate a viewing session by way of a display screen in communication with a media content processing device that operates in accordance with a media service, identifies a context within which the input command is provided by the user, selects, based on the identified context, a media program available by way of the media service and that is potentially of interest to the user, and directs the media content processing device to present the media program by way of the display screen when the viewing session begins in response to the input command. Corresponding systems and methods are also described. | 05-05-2016 |
20160127788 | Methods and Systems for Providing Context-Based Customer Support for a User Interface View Associated with a Television Service - An exemplary computer-implemented television service system detects, while a media content processing device is presenting a user interface view associated with a television service within a display screen in communication with the media content processing device, an input command provided by a user of the media content processing device and representative of a request for customer support. In response, the system identifies a context within which the input command is provided by the user, selects, based on the identified context, customer support content provided by the television service and associated with the user interface view being presented within the display screen, and directs the media content processing device to present the customer support content within the user interface view. Corresponding systems and methods are also described. | 05-05-2016 |
20160127789 | Methods and Systems for Providing Source-Agnostic Access to Media Programs - An exemplary computer-implemented media service system detects user input representative of a request by a user to flag a set of related media programs, monitors an availability of the media programs from a plurality of different presentation sources, determines when the user is likely to access each media program included in the set of related media programs, dynamically selects, based on the monitored availability of the media programs from the different presentation sources and on when the user is likely to access each media program included in the set of related media programs, a presentation source from the plurality of different presentation sources for each media program included in the set of related media programs, and provides the user with access to each media program included in the set of related media programs by way of a single user interface. Corresponding systems and methods are also described. | 05-05-2016 |
20160127791 | Media Guide User Interface Systems and Methods - Exemplary systems and methods provide a media guide graphical user interface having distinct views dedicated to presenting different sets of information about media content distributed by way of a media service, such as a first view dedicated to presenting information about media programs scheduled for distribution by way of a media service during one or more time slots that overlap a current time and a second view dedicated to presenting information about media programs scheduled for distribution by way of the media service during one or more time slots that are temporally subsequent to the one or more time slots that overlap the current time. In certain examples, a requested view of the media guide graphical user interface is dynamically populated with a select set of categories and category-specific media programs based on one or more predefined selection factors. | 05-05-2016 |