Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110103374 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR PACKETIZED CONTENT DELIVERY OVER A CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORK - Methods and apparatus for delivery of packetized content (e.g., video, audio, data, etc.) over a content delivery network. In one embodiment, the content is packetized using an Internet Protocol (IP), and delivered by a service provider over both managed and unmanaged networks to subscribers of the provider, so as to provide delivery at any time, at any location, and via any designated user device. The delivered content may originate from the service provider, third-party content sources (e.g., networks or studios), the subscriber(s) themselves, or other sources including the Internet. Use of a common control and service functions within the network afford the ability to integrate or blend services together, thereby affording the service provider and subscriber new service and economic opportunities. Content delivery sessions may also be migrated from one device to another. A network-based user interface infrastructure, and gateway-based client-side architecture, are also disclosed. | 05-05-2011 |
20110107364 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR PACKETIZED CONTENT DELIVERY OVER A CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORK - Methods and apparatus for delivery of packetized content (e.g., video, audio, data, etc.) over a content delivery network. In one embodiment, the content is packetized using an Internet Protocol (IP), and delivered by a service provider over both managed and unmanaged networks to subscribers of the provider, so as to provide delivery at any time, at any location, and via any designated user device. The delivered content may originate from the service provider, third-party content sources (e.g., networks or studios), the subscriber(s) themselves, or other sources including the Internet. Use of a common control and service functions within the network afford the ability to integrate or blend services together, thereby affording the service provider and subscriber new service and economic opportunities. Content delivery sessions may also be migrated from one device to another. A network-based user interface infrastructure, and gateway-based client-side architecture, are also disclosed. | 05-05-2011 |
20110107379 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR PACKETIZED CONTENT DELIVERY OVER A CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORK - Methods and apparatus for delivery of packetized content (e.g., video, audio, data, etc.) over a content delivery network. In one embodiment, the content is packetized using an Internet Protocol (IP), and delivered by a service provider over both managed and unmanaged networks to subscribers of the provider, so as to provide delivery at any time, at any location, and via any designated user device. The delivered content may originate from the service provider, third-party content sources (e.g., networks or studios), the subscriber(s) themselves, or other sources including the Internet. Use of a common control and service functions within the network afford the ability to integrate or blend services together, thereby affording the service provider and subscriber new service and economic opportunities. Content delivery sessions may also be migrated from one device to another. A network-based user interface infrastructure, and gateway-based client-side architecture, are also disclosed. | 05-05-2011 |
20110295719 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING ELECTRONIC REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION AND PROMOTIONS ON MULTIPLE DEVICE PLATFORMS IN AN INTEGRATED MANNER - Methods and apparatus for supporting electronic promotions and electronic requests for information, e.g., in an integrated manner, on multiple platforms including, e.g., cable network systems, cell phones, etc., are described. Rewards and/or benefits are tracked in a centralized manner and a subscriber is allowed to accumulate rewards and benefits in a single account irrespective of which device or platform was used to initiate an eRFI and/or to act upon a promotion. The methods and apparatus of the present invention allow a cable service provider which supports eRFI on set top boxes to use the same eRFI server to provide responses to eRFI requests received from devices, e.g., cell phones and/or E-mail devices corresponding to a service subscriber, to forward electronic promotion information and to reward users in a forwarding chain for redemptions of coupons included in forwarded promotion information. Forwarded promotion information securely identifies each device/user in the forwarding chain. | 12-01-2011 |
20120185897 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR CENTRALIZED AND DECENTRALIZED EMERGENCY ALERT MESSAGING - Apparatus and methods for providing emergency alert system (EAS) data to subscribers of a content-based network for multiple locations including via mobile devices. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a server performing real-time receipt and encapsulation of the EAS data, transport of the EAS data to client devices over an IP or other packet-switched network, and use of applications running on the client devices to decode and display the EAS data. In one variant, a centralized EAS (CEAS) entity is used to aggregate and distribute EAS messages to video registration servers (VRS), which use stored client device data and user preferences to map delivery of relevant EAMs over the IP network. In another variant, instant messaging (IM) infrastructure is used to deliver and display at least portion of the EAS data via a separate transport process. | 07-19-2012 |
20120204215 | DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDER (DVR) METHODS AND APPARATUS - Digital video recorder (DVR) methods and apparatus are described. By combining DVR and on-demand functionality a large number of programs selected by a user can be made available to the DVR user and may be included in a single content availability list. The list may indicate whether the recording is available via an on-demand service or is locally recorded/stored content. When the user selects content for recording a check is automatically made to determine if the content is available via an on-demand server. If the content is available via an on-demand server the user is provided the opportunity to choose between the content being recorded by the DVR or being added to the recordings list but supplied via the on-demand server. In some embodiments the user may select the DVR to default to on-demand content supply as opposed to local recording when the content is available for on-demand delivery. | 08-09-2012 |
20130074106 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR CUSTOMIZING VIDEO SERVICES PROVIDED TO CUSTOMERS IN HOTELS - Methods and apparatus facilitating sharing of customer information known to a video service provider which services a customer's home, with a hotel chain at which the customer is staying as a guest, are described. Disclosure of information about the customer's home service may, and in some embodiments is, limited to information directly related to providing the customer personalized video service. Information known about a guest by the guest's home video service provider is extended to the hotel by allowing that guest's home channel-watching preferences to be retrieved and stored within the hotel system. Based on the information retrieved from the cable operator or other service provider, when a guest is checked into a room, the STB (or other video-delivery/rendering device) used at the hotel is customized so that, channels are made available on the TV for channel surfing in the manner normally seen at the guest's home. | 03-21-2013 |
20140109132 | CAPTION DATA DELIVERY APPARATUS AND METHODS - Apparatus and methods for efficiently and flexibly providing caption data (e.g., closed captioning) to subscribers of a content-based network, such as for example Internet protocol television (IPTV) subscribers. In one exemplary embodiment, the apparatus includes a server performing real-time extraction and encapsulation of caption data, transport of caption data to client devices over the network, and use of one or more applications running on the client devices to decode and display the caption data consistent with the multimedia (audio/video) content with which it is associated. In one variant, instant messaging (IM) infrastructure is used to authenticate clients and receive and display the caption data via a separate transport process. Server and client-side apparatus adapted for caption data receipt, decoding and display are also disclosed. | 04-17-2014 |
20140130073 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DELIVERING MEDIA BASED ON VIEWER BEHAVIOR - Methods, systems and devices are provided for communicating multimedia content over a service provider network. A network server may receive an audio-video stream from a content provider server, relaying the audio-video stream to a receiver device via the service provider network, receive an operating mode notification identifying a user behavior from the receiver device, and ceasing the relaying of the audio-video stream to the receiver device based on the user behavior. The network server may also alter the audio-video stream based on the received operating mode notification and send the altered audio-video stream to the receiver device via the service provider network. | 05-08-2014 |
20140146815 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR EFFICIENT IP MULTICASTING IN A CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORK - Methods and apparatus for assigning physical channels in a content-based network. In an exemplary embodiment, the network comprises a cable television network having a plurality of cable modems, and the physical channels are assigned to the cable modems based at least in part on any multicast transmissions that may exist on the system. When two cable modems are receiving the same multicast transmission, the invention causes tuning of one or more of the cable modems to the same physical channel in order to limit the total number multicast transmissions on the network. Multicast transmissions typically comprise video or audio information, but other types of information may also be multicast according to the invention. In another embodiment, a multicast transmission list (containing a list of multicast transmissions and the corresponding physical channels) is sent to the set of cable modems. This list is used by the modems (or associated CPE) to manage channel allocation and tuning. | 05-29-2014 |
20140173652 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR MULTIMEDIA COORDINATION - Methods and apparatus for providing coordination between two or more different media distribution channels. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a server and associated client processes disposed ob various components of a managed content distribution network (e.g., cable or satellite network). The server process coordinates with the client processes to obtain user interactivity data useful is assessing the efficacy of certain secondary content (e.g., advertisements). In one variant, input is received from, and provided to, other associated media campaigns (e.g., print, online, and/or telephonic) so as to allow rapid and effective coordination between the campaigns. Mechanisms for improving user engagement to the secondary content are also disclosed. | 06-19-2014 |
20140282777 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR DELIVERY OF MULTICAST AND UNICAST CONTENT IN A CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORK - Methods and apparatus for providing delivery of content to client devices of a network via both multicast and unicast mechanisms. In one embodiment, a system for use in a managed content delivery network is described to bridge multicast to unicast, so that the total network bandwidth consumption is significantly lower than a corresponding unicast-only delivery solution, yet which still provides improved quality of service and user viewing experience as compared to a multicast-only delivery solution. In addition, various exemplary aspects of the present disclosure are readily adapted for real-time multicast to unicast streaming of audio and data to, among other things, minimize network bandwidth usage, while maintaining the guaranteed delivery of unicast streams with little or no modification to the existing client device logic. | 09-18-2014 |
20140317657 | ZONE CONTROL METHODS AND APPARATUS - Methods and apparatus for providing control over targeted secondary content based on a zone associated with a user. In one exemplary embodiment, a user request for primary content from a non-legacy device results in the delivery of the same secondary content which would have been provided had the request been generated at a legacy device (so-called “zone preservation”). To accomplish this, the devices are associated with a user's zone at a zone preservation server in communication with the server providing content to the devices. The zone preservation server associates each user with an advertisement zone identifier, and utilizes the identifier to direct the delivery of primary and secondary content. In another embodiment, a prescribed rule set for one or more zones is employed, such as where certain types of advertisements or secondary content are inserted given a particular device or user context. | 10-23-2014 |