A system includes a primary playback system and a secondary playback system. The primary playback system plays back selected content. The secondary playback system monitors progress of the primary playback system playing back the content. Based on detected progress, the secondary playback system synchronizes playback of supplemental media (such as descriptive audio, closed caption text, etc.) associated with the content on a secondary playback system operated by a user. In response to detecting a scheduled advertisement window during playback of the content on the primary playback system, the secondary playback system discontinues playback of the supplemental media associated with the content on the secondary playback system. During or after playback of the advertisement on the primary playback system, the secondary playback system monitors playback of the selected content by the primary playback system to re-synchronize playback of supplemental media to the playback of the content on the secondary playback system.

A holistic solution for improving the quality of publicly available/published video by providing an improved audio. The owner of the published video or audio content within the published video can upload the improved audio to a network database where it is associated with a video feature in common with the publicly available video. The client consuming the video, can activate a novel application/module/browser extension on a client terminal to detect the video feature of a currently selected video to begin downloading the improved audio. After a significant portion of the audio has been downloaded the invention mutes the audio playback of the video on the client terminal at or about the same time as it begins playback of the audio content so as to minimize distortion from the transition between the original audio and the improved audio. Additional features including audio/video synchronization, selectable audio tracks, visual feedback, and monetization are disclosed.

Methods and apparatus are described that provide a mechanism for transferring and/or synchronizing playback of media content from one media device to another in a seamless fashion. A media device 102 may be arranged to detect playback of media content from another media device 104. The media device 102 captures a portion of the media content being played back and identifies the captured media content and content provider 106a. The media device downloads or streams the identified media content from the content provider 106a, while also synchronizing playback of the identified/downloaded/streamed media content on the media device 102 with the playback of the media content on the other device 104. The media content may be embedded with a digital watermark for identification of the media content and the content provider 106a. A machine-to-machine platform 108 may assist in identifying the media content and content provider 106a from the captured media content.

A media output device operates to receive audio and/or video data for a content item. The audio and/or video data can be communicated from another device over a network. The output device generates an audio or video output for the content item based on the audio or video data. While receiving the audio or video data, the output device determines an instance of time that is synchronized to an external clock reference. The output device also determines an output correction to perform based at least in part on the synchronized instance of time. The output device adjusts the output to include the output correction.

The present disclosure relates to a signal processing device and an image display apparatus including the same. A signal processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a synchronizer configured to decode bootstrap data of first frame data in the received baseband signal; and an error corrector including a decoder configured to decode basic signaling data of the first frame data, and processing payload data of the first frame data is started within a first frame data period or a reception period of the first frame data. Accordingly, a data output time according to processing of frame data can be shortened.

A system that enables an event or moments within an event to be captured and provided in a record that preserves at least some aspects of the participant's perspective of the event. In particular, the present invention involves centralized recording of the event in one or more modes including video, audio, and still image recordings and a system that enables a participant (i.e., one who perceives the event) to select portions of the event recording substantially contemporaneously with the event occurrence. A personalized record is made by duplicating the selected portions from the event record. In a particular example, the personalized record is recorded on a digital media such as a compact disc (CD) or digital video disk (DVD) or the like.

A system clock reference is transmitted to user devices (1, 2, 3) over a short range communication channel (40) and used to calculated a clock offset. The clock offset is stored together with a user identifier in a server memory (15), from which the clock offset can be retrieved when receiving the user identifier together with a video stream (21, 22, 23) of video frames (31, 32, 33) tagged with respective timestamps. The timestamps are converted into capture times according to a system clock (17) using the retrieved clock offsets. Video streams (21, 22, 23) from multiple user devices (1, 2, 3) thereby have video frames timestamped using a same clock reference and can be time aligned.

Video playback method and control terminal thereof are provided. The invention receives video data stream, determines if a to-be-decoded frame meets a discard condition according to the time stamp of the to-be-decoded frame, if the discard condition is met, discards the non-reference frame to be decoded in the video data stream, and if the discard condition is not met, decodes the to-be-decoded frame into to-be-output frame; determines if the to-be-output frame meets the discard condition according to the time stamp of the to-be-output frame; if the discard condition is met, discards the to-be-output frame; if the discard condition is not met, outputs the to-be-output frame as output frame, such that the time intervals of the time stamps of the sequentially output frames according to the display order are equal.

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, receiving, by a first line card coupled to minimally twisted or non-twisted pair cables, a very high digital subscriber line signal, modifying the very high digital subscriber line signal for transmission over the minimally twisted or non-twisted pair cables to generate an updated very high digital subscriber line signal that overcomes a transmission deficiency, and transmitting from the first line card the updated very high digital subscriber line signal to a second line card to cause the second line card to receive the adapted very high digital subscriber line signal at a desired signal quality and convert the updated very high digital subscriber line signal to a very high digital subscriber line signal for presentation of interactive television services at the customer premise equipment. Other embodiments are disclosed.

An image processing method includes at least following steps: partitioning a picture into a plurality of picture regions, wherein each picture region comprises at least one pixel group row, each pixel group row comprises at least one pixel group, and the picture regions comprise a first picture region and a second picture region horizontally adjacent to each other; and performing flatness check upon a specific pixel group in a pixel group row of the first picture region through using at least one pixel borrowed from the second picture region.