Systems and methods for creating and delivering an interactive display of thumbnail windows of visual content of different video game sessions are presented. In one embodiment, a method provides for sending, by a server of a service, an interactive interface for display on display of a client device. The interactive interface has a set of thumbnail windows and each thumbnail window depicts visual content of different video game sessions being played. Responsive to a selection of a thumbnail window by a user of the client device, the method provides for sending a video stream associated with the selected thumbnail window from the set of thumbnail windows. The video stream enables the user of the client device to view interactive game play of a video game associated with the video stream.

A communication system 10 includes a head end 12 that generates a device list with channel or content authorizations. The head end communicates the list to a system gateway 26. The gateway 26 receives the list. A plurality of user devices 28 is coupled to the gateway 26. A first device of the plurality of user devices generates a channel or content request at the system gateway. The gateway 26 compares the channel or content authorizations from the list to the channel request from the first user device and communicates to the first user device a channel or content corresponding to the channel request in response to comparing. Thus, authorized users are able to receive the channel or content in response to the list. The list may be generated at a subscriber information module 52 and communicated with the content or channel through a satellite 18 or through a communication network 50.

A method, system and apparatus for announcing caller information to users over a television link. The method comprises receiving, via a portion of a data network adapted for handling Voice-over-IP (VoIP) calls, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signalling information associated with an incoming call destined for a destination party, the SIP signalling information comprising a portion conveying information regarding an origin of the incoming call and information regarding an identity of the destination party. The method further comprises attempting to establish a telephony link with a device associated with the destination party over a communication network in response to the receiving. The method further comprises releasing the portion of the SIP signalling information to a processing entity to cause delivery of an indication of the origin of the incoming call over a television link associated with the destination party, the indication based on the information regarding an origin of the incoming call.

A gateway for location at a user premises is provided. Bother users and user devices are registered with the gateway which is provided by a service provider. Users access services, such as video streaming, on their user devices via the gateway. The gateway allows users to share content. The gateway collects information about the user's patterns of behaviour for the system provider, and can be used to directly obtain feedback from the users.

Methods and systems for processing instructions by an online video game hosting system are provided. One example method includes receiving a control signal for a video game. The control signal is received by a server of the online video game hosting system, and the control signal is transmitted from a client device to the server over a network. Then, executing the online video game by the server while receiving the control signal. The executing causes generation of a sequence of video frames and encoding the sequence of video frames to generate a first compressed sequence of video frames and generate a second compressed sequence of video frames. Transmitting the first compressed sequence of video frames to the client device over the network for decoding by the client device to produce a first decoded sequence of video frames for displaying on a display of the client device. Receiving feedback information from the client device, the feedback information used to determine whether one or more of the first compressed sequence of video frames has been successfully decoded at the client device and modifying the encoding of the sequence of video frames in response to the feedback information. The second compressed sequence of video frames are directed to a storage associated with the server and wherein the quality of the second compressed sequence of video frames is higher than a quality of the first compressed sequence of video frames.

A network device may receive a signal from a headend, wherein a bandwidth of the received signal spans from a low frequency to a high frequency and encompasses a plurality of sub-bands. The network device may determine, based on communication with the headend, whether one of more of the sub-bands residing above a threshold frequency are available for carrying downstream data from the headend to the circuitry. The network device may digitize the signal using an ADC operating at a sampling frequency. The sampling frequency may be configured based on a result of the determining. When the sub-band(s) are available for carrying downstream data from the headend to the network device, the sampling frequency may be set to a relatively high frequency. When the sub-band(s) are not available for carrying downstream data from the headend to the network device, the sampling frequency may be set to a relatively low frequency.

A computer-implemented method for online game streaming is provided, which includes receiving a request from a remote client to access a user account. The user account identifies information regarding the user and digital content available for the user to access from the remote client. The request is received over an Internet connection at a hosting service that includes one or more servers and the digital content including a video game. The method includes receiving selection of the game by the hosting service from the remote client and initiating a data rate test of the remote client. The data rate test identifies a maximum available data rate between the remote client and one or more servers of the hosting service. The data rate test includes gradually increasingly the data rate and then gradually decreasing the data rate to identify an active data rate for streaming interactive content of the video game.

A satellite reception assembly may include a housing configured to support receipt and handling of a plurality of satellite signals. The housing may include circuitry incorporating integrated stacking architecture for supporting and/or providing channel and/or band stacking whereby particular channels or bands, from multiple satellite signals that are received via the satellite reception assembly, may be combined onto a single output signal that may be communicated from the satellite reception assembly to a gateway device for concurrent distribution thereby to a plurality of client devices serviced by the gateway device.

A receiver includes a plurality of input paths for receiving and processing a plurality of input RF signals. The input paths isolate one or more portions of corresponding ones of the received input RF signals, and combine the isolated portions of the corresponding ones of the received input RF signals onto one or more output signals. A bandwidth of the isolated portions of the corresponding ones of the received input RF signals and a bandwidth of the output signals are variable. The isolated portions of the corresponding ones of the received plurality of input RF signals are extracted and utilized to generate the output signals. The portions of the corresponding ones of the received plurality of input RF signals may be mapped into one or more channel slots in the time domain. The channel slots may be assigned in the frequency domain to one or more frequency bins.

A method by which a streaming interactive video user session is handed off from one streaming interactive video server to another without noticeable disruption to the video stream or the user interactivity.