A system for remotely controlling client recording and storage behavior schedules the recording, storing, and deleting of multimedia content on a client system storage device. The viewer may request that certain content be captured. Capture requests also allow the service to determine content to be recorded by the client system in the same manner that a viewer requests that certain content are recorded but are more powerful than what a viewer can request. Recording requests for a capture request can preempt viewer requests or be entered at the same or lower priority as a viewer request. Capture requests can adjust all aspects of a recording request and affect the capture request itself. Client system operational functionality are also manipulated by the service using capture requests.

The disclosure is directed to an apparatus that can include a first receiver, a second receiver, a video demultiplexor, and an assembly engine. The first receiver can receive multiplexed multimedia content and advertisement, the multiplexed multimedia content and advertisement being received over a reduced number of broadcast channels to release at least one of bandwidth and radio frequency spectrum, not included in the reduced number of broadcast channels, for other applications. The second receiver can receive unavailable other content, the unavailable other content being other content that is different from the multiplexed multimedia content and advertisement and unavailable to the apparatus. The video demultiplexor can demultiplex the received multiplexed multimedia content and advertisement from the reduced number of broadcast channels to produce a multimedia content and an advertisement and store, within a storage device, the multimedia content and the advertisement.

In some implementations, a computing device can transfer a playback queue between the computing device and a playback device. For example, the computing device can detect when the computing device is within a threshold distance of a playback device. The computing device can establish a connection to the playback device and receive state information describing the media playback state of the playback device. The computing device can determine the media playback state of the computing device. The computing device can present graphical user interfaces for initiating a transfer of a playback queue between the computing device and the playback device based on the playback state of the devices. The computing device can initiate a transfer of the playback queue in response to user input to one of the graphical user interfaces or automatically based on the context of the computing device.

A method, system, computer medium, and other embodiments for integrating unrelated web hosted services with stand-alone media-based devices are provided. Users can access and control the media-based device conveniently with a web-browser through various portals on the Internet. In one embodiment, users access the media-based device through one or more unrelated web portals, so as to control and to program the media-based device in a single web session, and to see information both stored on the media-based device and originating from third-party online sources of information and services in a single integrated presentation.

Systems and methods are presented herein that facilitate temporally synchronizing, in real time, a separately sourced high quality audio segment of a live event with a video segment that is generated by a recording device associated with a member of the audience. An A-V Synchronization Application may synchronize a video segment of a live event that is generated from a personal electronic device of an audience member with a high quality audio segment that is separately sourced and generated by professional sound recording equipment at the live event. The result of the temporal synchronization is a high fidelity digital audio visual recording of the live event. In various, the audience member may stream, in real-time, the high fidelity digital audio visual recording to an additional electronic device at a different geo-location. In some examples, narrative audio segments may be also included as part of the high fidelity digital audio visual recording.

A system for remotely controlling client recording and storage behavior schedules the recording, storing, and deleting of multimedia content on a client system storage device. The viewer may request that certain content be captured. Capture requests also allow the service to determine content to be recorded by the client system in the same manner that a viewer requests that certain content are recorded but are more powerful than what a viewer can request. Recording requests for a capture request can preempt viewer requests or be entered at the same or lower priority as a viewer request. Capture requests can adjust all aspects of a recording request and affect the capture request itself. Client system operational functionality are also manipulated by the service using capture requests.

An original advertisement is transformed at a first content viewing device into a transferrable incentivized deferred advertisement that itself includes as added encoded data elements a configured incentive, a configured incentive time period within which to obtain the configured incentive, and a reporting instruction that causes an alternative content viewing device to report advertisement viewing back to the first content viewing device. The transferrable incentivized deferred advertisement, that includes the added encoded data elements, is transferred to the alternative content viewing device.

One embodiment takes the form of a method and apparatus for creating a customer-specific encryption key for encrypting digital information. The encryption key may be based on a customer number and may be associated with several devices such that the devices may encrypt and decrypt the digital information. Because each device may have the same encryption key, the encrypted data may be encrypted by a first device, transferred from the first device to a second device and decrypted and read by the second device. Thus, encrypted digital information may be shared between devices that generate a customer-specific encryption key from a common customer number. In one embodiment, the customer-specific encryption key may be utilized by a set-top box of a television system to encrypt and decrypt a digitally recorded television program.

A computer implemented method for detecting user engagement with auxiliary content consumed by a user at a viewing device, the method comprising, at the viewing device generating requests for auxiliary content associated with media content selected by the user to be consumed; receiving auxiliary content from an auxiliary content store and playing out the auxiliary content to the user; displaying at least one user engagement element associated with the auxiliary content, the user engagement element defining an expected user activity; generating user engagement data based on the engagement of a user with the user engagement element in accordance with the expected user activity, and formulating a message to be transmitted to an auxiliary content controller, the messaging including a user identifier and the user engagement data.

An original advertisement is transformed at a first content viewing device into a transferrable incentivized deferred advertisement that itself includes as added encoded data elements a configured incentive, a configured incentive time period within which to obtain the configured incentive, and a reporting instruction that causes an alternative content viewing device to report advertisement viewing back to the first content viewing device. The transferrable incentivized deferred advertisement, that includes the added encoded data elements, is transferred to the alternative content viewing device.