1676results about "Broadcast information generation" patented technology

A system and method for scheduling the receipt of desired movies and other forms of data from a network which simultaneously distributes many sources of such data to many customers, as in a cable television system. Customer profiles are developed for the recipient describing how important certain characteristics of the broadcast video program, movie or other data are to each customer. From these profiles, an "agreement matrix" is calculated by comparing the recipient's profiles to the actual profiles of the characteristics of the available video programs, movies, or other data. The agreement matrix thus characterizes the attractiveness of each video program, movie, or other data to each prospective customer. "Virtual" channels are generated from the agreement matrix to produce a series of video or data programming which will provide the greatest satisfaction to each customer. Feedback paths are also provided so that the customer's profiles and/or the profiles of the video programs or other data may be modified to reflect actual usage. Kiosks are also developed which assist customers in the selection of videos, music, books, and the like in accordance with the customer's objective profiles.

A visual audio mixing system which includes an audio input engine configured to input one or more audio files each associated with a channel. A shape engine is responsive to the audio input engine and is configured to create a unique visual image of a definable shape and/or color for each of the one or more of audio files. A visual display engine is responsive to the shape engine and is configured to display each visual image. A shape select engine is responsive to the visual display engine and is configured to provide selection of one or more visual images. The system includes a two-dimensional workspace. A coordinate engine is responsive to the shape select engine and is configured to instantiate selected visual images in the two-dimensional workspace. A mix engine is responsive to coordinate engine and is configured to mix the visual images instantiated in the two-dimensional workspace such that user provided movement of one or more of the visual images in one direction represents volume and user provided movement in another direction represents pan to provide a visual and audio representation of each audio file and its associated channel.

A system and method is disclosed to provide recommendations to a wireless device, based on stored bookmark/short-cut data. When a wireless device accesses services, data pertaining to the service access, along with any context related information is transmitted within the wireless device, or to a remote server. The data is processed in conjunction with bookmarks/short-cuts specified within the device, and are organized and presented to the wireless device in accordance with preference instructions specified within the wireless device.

An electronic apparatus, such as an electronic mixing apparatus and an electronic keyboard apparatus, and associated methods are disclosed. The electronic mixing apparatus or the electronic keyboard apparatus is provided on a touch screen that provides user input and display capabilities. In one embodiment, the touch screen is a multipoint touch screen so that multiple user touch inputs can be simultaneously acquired. In another embodiment, surface guides can be provided on the touch screen to assist with user input.

The invention relates to video and music distribution systems and, more particularly, to a system that blanket transmits video/audio content such as movies (for example, via satellite downlink transmission) to each customer's recording, storage and playback system. Customers may preselect from a list of available movies or other content in advance using an interactive screen selector, and pay for the video/audio content that is actually viewed.

Systems and methods for allocating bandwidth in a switched digital video (SDV) system based on channel interest. In some embodiments, bandwidth is deallocated from channels and allocated to requested channels having a higher interest. Tiered approaches for allocating bandwidth are disclosed. Embodiments in which QAMs are allocated across services in a multi-service system based on interest are also disclosed. Embodiments for accommodating emergency access system (EAS) functionality in a SDV system are also disclosed.

A method and an apparatus suggests programs for viewing by a subscriber. Terminals installed at a subscriber's home and at central locations, such as bookstores, video rental stores and libraries, provide responsive or intelligent search functions to suggest programs for viewing according to a subscriber's viewing preferences. Responsive searching includes posing questions to and receiving answers from the subscribers. Intelligent searching includes gathering historical data, such as the subscriber's history of programs watched. The programs include videotapes, videodiscs, television programs and electronic books. Subscribers indicate their selection and order the programs using a menu system. An automated billing system tracks the programs ordered.

A system residing preferably in a television set-top box monitors the television watching habits of one or more viewers and creates one or more profiles for each viewers descriptive of various characteristics of each viewers, including television watching preferences and demographics. The set-top box is able to select among various available video programming segments to create customized and/or targeted video programs for delivery to the viewer or viewers as a linear program. The customized linear video programs may include targeted content, advertising, and other video programming.

A technique for allocating bandwidth in a digital broadband delivery system (DBDS) using a bandwidth allocation manager to dynamically assign a content delivery mode to a plurality of digital transmission channels based on an allocation criteria received from a subscriber is disclosed herein. The bandwidth allocation manager determines a bandwidth allocation schedule for a predetermined bandwidth based on allocation criteria comprising a criteria received from a subscriber. The allocation criteria received from the subscriber may comprise a subscriber reservation request which is processed by the bandwidth allocation manager to determine the bandwidth allocation schedule.

Content is presented by sensing attributes of unknown audience members and determining demographics of the unknown audience members from the attributes that are sensed. A content presentation device is controlled based on the demographics that are determined. Related methods, systems, and computer program products are disclosed.

A play list manager is disclosed that can be used to create and update play lists. The play lists can be used for audio information, visual information, or a combination of audio and visual information. The user of the play list manager creates a play list and specifies certain criteria for automatically adding tracks to the play list. When a new track is added to the environment, the system tests whether the track's properties satisfy the criteria for the play list. If so, the new track is automatically added to the play list. In one alternative, a user can select a predefined play list, whose criteria has already been created. Upon selection of the predefined play list, the play list manager accesses each track and adds the track to the play list if the track's properties satisfy the criteria for the predefined play list.

A system for manually and automatically generating interactive content for integration with television programming uses existing analog or digital television programming that is entirely devoid of interactive content, or can integrate legacy interactive content with fully interactive content generated automatically and/or with authoring tools in order to provide a complete interactive experience to television viewers of current and future television programming.

A personalized audio system and method that overcomes many of the broadcast-type disadvantages associated with conventional radio stations. According to one embodiment, the personalized audio system includes the following: (1) a user interface that enables a user of the personalized audio system to specify a profile for a personalized audio channel, (2) a sound recording library comprising a plurality of sound recordings, (3) a playlist generator that (a) selects a plurality of sound recording identifiers from a set of sound recording identifiers, wherein each of the plurality of sound recording identifiers identifies a sound recording that matches the profile and that is stored in the library, and that (b) creates a playlist that lists the plurality of sound recording identifiers in a particular order, and (4) a sound recording reproducing device for reproducing the plurality of identified sound recordings according to the particular order in which the sound recording identifiers are listed in the playlist so that the user can listen to the sound recordings. Advantageously, the personalized audio system does not provide the user with a way to determine the plurality of sound recording identifiers prior to the reproducing means reproducing the plurality of sound recordings, and the personalized audio system does not provide the user with a way to directly control which sound recording identifiers in the set are selected by the playlist generator to be included in the plurality of sound recording identifiers.

Disclosed are systems and methods for creating and distributing programming content carried by a digital streaming media to be a plurality of remote nodes located over a large geographic area to create customized broadcast quality programming at the remote nodes. At the remote nodes, a multi-window screen display simultaneously shows different programming including national programming and local programming content. The remote nodes utilize a remote channel origination device to assemble the customized programming at the remote location that can be controlled from a central location. An encapsulated IP and IP encryption system is used to transport the digital streaming media to the appropriate remote nodes. Also disclosed is a graphical user interface (“GUI”) providing a software control interface for creating and editing shows or programs that can be aired or played on a remote display device having a multi-window display. The intuitive GUI Software provides the user the ability to easily manage and assemble a series of images, animations and transitions as a single broadcast quality program to be displayed on a remote display device. Another application software system is capable of automating the production of audio narration reports. The disclosed audio concatenation engine automates the creation of audio narration using prerecorded audio segments to minimize the requirement for live, on-air personnel to record audio narration segments.

A network-enabled audio device that provides a display device that allows the user to select playlists of music much like a jukebox is disclosed. The user can compose playlists from disk files, CD's, Internet streaming audio broadcasts, online music sites, and other audio sources. The user can also select a desired Web broadcast from a list of available Web broadcasts. In addition, the user can play standard audio CD's and MP3 encoded CD's and have access to local AM/FM stations. Further, the software, the user controls, and the display in the network-enabled audio device are operably configured and connected such that the user can listen to playlists that include CD's and other audio sources just as the user would choose a playlist in a jukebox. The user accesses a server site via a PC and the Internet. From the server site, the user obtains a list of the devices in his or her Internet Personal Audio Network (IPAN) and what songs are on those devices. The IPAN includes an IPAN server, an IPAN client, and IPAN software stored on the network-enabled audio device. Thus, the network-enabled audio device provides people who are or are not comfortable with computers a way of taking music from various sources and putting it into one place for listening pleasure. In one embodiment, the Personal Computer (PC) is used to compose the playlists, but the user is able to listen to playlists and other audio sources without using the PC.

Methods and systems for generating, distributing, and screening commercial content are disclosed. A commercial content generator (CCG) generates commercial content message and obtains from a push proxy agent address resolution server the network routing address of each push proxy agent that is required for distribution of the message to the target mobile subscriber audience. A push proxy agent receives a message containing commercial content and resolves a mobile subscriber identifier for each mobile subscriber who is to receive the commercial content information using subscriber information obtained from a subscriber location register, such as a visitor location register (VLR). The push proxy agent may also negotiate media format characteristics for each member of the target mobile subscriber audience and facilitate delivery of the commercial content to each member of the target mobile subscriber audience.

A method and apparatus for supporting a priority transmission of broadcasting data in a transmitter of a digital broadcasting system. A determination is made as to whether a priority transmission of one broadcasting service to be provided is supported. If the service supports the priority transmission, a plurality of subchannels to be transmitted for the service are set and a priority of the data to be mapped to the plurality of subchannels is set. The data of the broadcasting service is mapped to the plurality of subchannels according to the priority. Data streams mapped to the plurality of subchannels are encoded in different encoders and the encoded data streams are transmitted.

A broadcast system, method and apparatus providing content on demand. In one embodiment, the disclosed broadcast system includes a server that broadcasts meta-data to a plurality of clients. The meta-data describes a plurality of data files that are to be broadcast or potentially broadcast later by the server. Each client receives the broadcasted meta-data from the server and updates and maintains a local meta-data table and a content rating table. Based on the meta-data, previous access habits of the user and optional user classifications, the client system selectively receives and/or stores the data files that are later broadcast by the server. In one embodiment, the client systems transmit back to the server ratings of each one of the data files described by the meta-data based on the user's previously accessed data files and optional user classifications. The server then determines the data files to be broadcast and the broadcast schedule based on the ratings received from the clients.