| Patent application number | Description | Published |
| 20080310627 | ASYNCHRONOUS DOWNLOAD - 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. | 12-18-2008 |
| 20080313127 | MULTIDIMENSIONAL TIMELINE BROWSERS FOR BROADCAST MEDIA - 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. | 12-18-2008 |
| 20080313146 | CONTENT SEARCH SERVICE, FINDING CONTENT, AND PREFETCHING FOR THIN CLIENT - 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. | 12-18-2008 |
| 20080313324 | REDUNDANT PILE OF INEXPENSIVE DRIVERS (RPID) - 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. | 12-18-2008 |
| 20080313402 | VIRTUAL PERSONAL VIDEO RECORDER - 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. | 12-18-2008 |
| 20080317292 | AUTOMATIC CONFIGURATION OF DEVICES BASED ON BIOMETRIC DATA - The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can obtain biometric data from a user as the user interacts with a device. Based upon the obtained biometric data, the architecture can determine an identity of the user and automatically apply settings associated with that particular user to the device. The settings can relate to a physical configuration of the device (or aspects, features, and/or peripherals of the device), as well as to a data set employed by the device (or components of the device). As such, a user of the device can benefit from enhanced efficiency, utility, and/or convenience. | 12-25-2008 |
| 20080317439 | SOCIAL NETWORK BASED RECORDING - 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. | 12-25-2008 |
| 20080318597 | INTENSITY-BASED MAPS - The claimed subject matter relates to a first architecture that can create an intensity map based upon intensity scores, and to a second architecture that can provide intensity scores and can request and receive the intensity map. Intensity scores can relate to an approval or a level of satisfaction of a current location of a user and can be conveniently provided, in some cases with a single keystroke (e.g., 0-9 from a conventional cell phone keypad) by, say, mobile device users. Numerous intensity scores can be received and aggregated to produce an intensity map of a given area or region. Portions of the intensity map can be provided to requesting devices, potentially filtered based upon a variety of criteria. As a result, the intensity map can provide in substantially real-time a visual indication of locations or entities that might be interesting to explore. | 12-25-2008 |
| 20080319773 | PERSONALIZED TRAVEL GUIDE - The claimed subject matter relates to architectures for providing and accessing a service that facilitates an enhanced travel experience. The architectures can determine a location of a subscribing mobile device, match a profile relating to the device with available guides for a site in proximity to the location, and transmit a notification to the device of the availability of the guide(s). The architecture can also provide incentives to third-parties for authoring guides or content for guides as well as tools and/or templates to assist in guide creation. In addition, the architecture can receive requests from the device for guides as well as facilitate the output of the guide on the subscribing device. | 12-25-2008 |
| 20080320510 | SHARING VIEWING STATISTICS - 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. | 12-25-2008 |
| 20080320513 | DYNAMIC CHANNEL SURFING GUIDE AND CUSTOMIZED TELEVISION HOME PAGE - 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.” | 12-25-2008 |
| 20080320516 | TAILORED CHANNEL FOR CONTENT CONSUMPTION - The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can establish a tailored and/or personalized content channel. The content channel can be interfaced with one or more devices, and can be configured to serve particular content or types of content as well as to filter particular content or types of content. The content can be selected or filtered based upon a wide variety of factors that can be expressly specified, or in some cases intelligently inferred. In addition, the architecture can provide detailed analysis of content and summarize various content consumption habits or histories. | 12-25-2008 |
| 20090006694 | MULTI-TASKING INTERFERENCE MODEL - The subject disclosure pertains to a multi-tasking interference system. A gatekeeper receives primary and secondary inputs, and a quantifier ascertains attention values associated with primary inputs and interruption values associated with secondary inputs. Attention values are ascertained based on attributes associated with primary inputs such as type or genre of media presentation, temporal location within media presentation, or a likelihood of impending commercials. Based on a comparison between attention values and interruption values the gatekeeper determines whether, when, and how to interrupt the primary input with the secondary input and accordingly thereafter interrupts the primary input with the secondary input based on the foregoing assessment. | 01-01-2009 |
| 20090113480 | NON-MEDIA-CENTRIC PACKAGING OF CONTENT - The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can establish a tailored and/or personalized content channel based various aspects of a social network. The content channel can be interfaced with one or more devices, and can be configured to serve content based upon a content schedule. The content schedule can be programmed based upon selections or recommendations of a member of a user's social network. The architecture can further maintain presence information associated with a member of the social network, such as indicia of the member's current behavior or activity. | 04-30-2009 |
| 20090132326 | INTEGRATING ADS WITH MEDIA - The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can utilize special metadata to facilitate an improved advertising model in connection with media content delivery. The architecture can monitor a media player device and can launch a metadata interface on the media player device upon detection that a pause feature has been activated. Accordingly, while the media player device is paused (and therefore not presenting the media in a normal fashion), a user can interact with the metadata interface. The metadata interface can provide, e.g., advertisements or additional information related to elements or objects that exist in the media. In addition, the metadata interface can launch suitable applications in accordance with the special metadata. Additionally, the architecture can embed metadata in the media, which can be done in accordance with an advertiser bidding model. | 05-21-2009 |
| 20090163272 | CONNECTED GAMING - Systems and methods are provided that facilitate a connected gaming experience for multiple players utilizing multiple disparate devices. A game service affords playing a game over a communication framework which can include wired and wireless local area and wide area networks, as well as access to a global positioning system. The game service allows users to play a game in multiple devices, seamlessly switching devices at desired times and locations. In addition, the game service affords community-driven development of a game, as well as customization, through the communication framework. The latter also facilitates exchange of various contents among players, and between a player and the game service: (a) news, (b) advertising, (c) alerts, and (d) participant's real-world positioning information. Real-world embedding into a game is facilitated by the game service in combination with global tracking information received through the communication framework. | 06-25-2009 |
| 20090287987 | NON-DESTRUCTIVE MEDIA PRESENTATION DERIVATIVES - The claimed subject matter relates to various architectures that can, inter alia, facilitate creation of a synch file as well as facilitate interpretation of the synch file. Both creation and interpretation can be accomplished in conjunction with an original media asset. The synch file can include transformation commands that can operate on a presentation of the asset rather than upon the asset itself. Accordingly, what is actually perceived by a content consumer during a presentation of the asset need not be exactly what the asset creator fixed in a tangible medium. Rather, the content consumer can observe a derivative media presentation based upon interpretation of the synch file. | 11-19-2009 |
| 20090319562 | CANVAS APPROACH FOR ANALYTICS - The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can construct a map for summarizing analyses with respect to data included in a database. In addition, the architecture can display the map in a special canvas area. Generally, the map is a hub-and-spoke-style map in which a hub is associated with an entity (e.g., a related set of records) included in a database. Likewise, the spokes are typically representative of operations (e.g., filter, join, transform) that act upon the hub/entity from which it extends. The map can aid with open-ended analysis on complex databases by recording and ordering competing hypotheses and can also further collaborative efforts with respect to analysis. | 12-24-2009 |
| 20090322755 | DECLARATIVE APPROACH FOR VISUZLIATION - The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can support a declarative model-based approach to designing, constructing, and rendering visualizations. By complying with a declarative descriptor, components can be readily customized by way of modifications to the model—declaratively specifying suitable features, behaviors, appearances and so forth. The descriptors that conform to the model can also facilitate connecting to various data sources and performing data transformation operations. Moreover, the descriptors that conform to the model can declaratively specify relationships based upon a scene layout. Accordingly, the architecture can further describe the scene layout and provide features based upon the layout. | 12-31-2009 |