Certain exemplary embodiments relate to entertainment systems that interact with users so as to provide for social networking and/or other services. In certain exemplary embodiments, an entertainment system is configured to provide jukebox-related and entertainment system mediated services that are accessible from within and from the outside of the location, coordinating social networking services among and between patrons within and outside of the location and also providing for advertisement opportunities. In certain exemplary embodiments, the entertainment system within a location may serve as and/or be connected to a jukebox. The entertainment system within the location may be connected to one or more client devices, one or more displays, one or more bar-top or hand-held gaming devices, etc., in certain exemplary embodiments. The jukebox-related and entertainment system mediated services may provide mechanisms for enhancing patrons' experiences, creating a sense of ownership and/or belongingness to a connected community of entertainment system users.

A method for streaming an audio-video file can include: receiving a request for a playback segment of the audio-video file in a rendition from a computational device; in response to identifying absence of the playback segment in the rendition from a rendition cache and identifying absence of an assignment to transcode the playback segment in the rendition: assigning a worker to transcode the playback segment in the rendition. The method can also include, at the worker: identifying a subset of mezzanine segments in the set of mezzanine segments coinciding with a playback interval in the audio-video file; and for each mezzanine segment in the subset of mezzanine segments: concurrently transcoding the mezzanine segment into a rendition segment in the rendition and transmitting the rendition segment coinciding with the playback interval to the computational device via a peer-to-peer stream; and storing the rendition segment in the rendition cache.

A transaction platform including at least one or more public, public-private and/or private distributed ledgers or blockchains that together enable the secure effectuation and recordation of one or more transactions while maintaining transaction party confidentiality. The private distributed ledgers or blockchains are able to store, maintain and provide information about the parties related to the transactions which the distributed blockchains or databases are able to utilize in order to securely and quickly validate, execute and record the transactions in a manner that is GDPR and other data privacy law complaint.

This application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to an auxiliary-link-based call compensation system and apparatus, and chip. The system includes: a first terminal, a second terminal, and a core network device. The first terminal and the second terminal establish a primary link in response to a dialing operation entered by a user. The first terminal and the second terminal establish at least one auxiliary link in response to an auxiliary link establishment condition. The first terminal transmits call data packets with the second terminal by using the primary link and the at least one auxiliary link. The first terminal and/or the second terminal performs post-processing and playing on the call data packets received by using the primary link and the at least one auxiliary link.

The present invention relates to a method for streaming, on a player of a client device (11), a broadcast content within a peer-to-peer network (10) of client devices (11, 12), said content consisting of a sequence of segments available in a plurality of levels of quality and said player being adapted to choose the level of quality of the segments in accordance with an adaptive bitrate ABR regulation logic; the client device (11) comprising a first buffer (M1) adapted to store segments in a format suitable for transfer within the peer-to-peer network (10), the method being characterized in that it comprises the implementation, by data processing means (110) of the device (11), of steps of: a. Receiving a request for a segment from the player; b. Providing, in response, said segment from the first buffer (M1) upon expiry of a response deadline defined with respect to said ABR logic of the player.

Example techniques relate to playback queue subscriptions. An example implementation involves a computing system receiving, from a first computing device associated with a first user account, an instruction to enable subscription to a first playback queue associated with a first media playback system. In response to the instruction, the computing system enables second user accounts to subscribe to the first playback queue. The second user accounts are registered with respective second media playback systems in respective second household. The computing system receives, from a particular second media playback system, a request to subscribe to the first playback queue; and in response, sends one or more messages that update a control interface of the first control device to display a subscriber indication and (ii) sends one or more messages that populate a second playback queue of the particular second media playback system with audio tracks of the first playback queue.

Data reception via an appropriate route is realized on an information processing apparatus that can receive data from a communication apparatus via one of a plurality of different routes, and in a control method therefor. If a first device has been discovered on a first network, data is received from the first device on the first network. If the data received from the first device on the first network is to be transferred from a second device existing on a second network, the data is uploaded onto the second device. At this time, whether or not data received by the first reception unit is to be transferred from the second device is determined in accordance with a setting at the time of the discovery of the first device.

A live data broadcast method is performed at a computer server that is communicatively coupled to a first terminal and a second terminal. The method includes: detecting, during live broadcast of content of a first application running in a foreground of the first terminal to the second terminal, that the first terminal switches the first application to run in a background of the second terminal; obtaining predetermined multimedia content associated with the live broadcast; sending instructions to the second terminal to play the predetermined multimedia content on the second terminal, the predetermined multimedia content being different from content of a second application running in the foreground; and communicating status updates related to the live broadcast with the first terminal and the second terminal, respectively.

A network appliance which receives digital content from a remote location; said appliance including decoding and recoding means by which digital content is downloaded, decoded then recoded for on-transmission to a digital device for consumption by a user. In a particular form each network appliance operates according to secure peer assist criteria; said secure peer assist criteria enabling reception of at least portions of said item of content from others of said plurality of network appliances if said item of content has been previously downloaded to said others of said plurality of network appliances.

Techniques have been developed to facilitate the livestreaming of group audiovisual performances. Audiovisual performances including vocal music are captured and coordinated with performances of other users in ways that can create compelling user and listener experiences. For example, in some cases or embodiments, duets with a host performer may be supported in a sing-with-the-artist style audiovisual livestream in which aspiring vocalists request or queue particular songs for a live radio show entertainment format. The developed techniques provide a communications latency-tolerant mechanism for synchronizing vocal performances captured at geographically-separated devices (e.g., at globally-distributed, but network-connected mobile phones or tablets or at audiovisual capture devices geographically separated from a live studio).