The multi-screen casting system for a flipped teaching classroom contains, with the classroom, at least a receiving screen having a video/audio receiving interface connected to a multimedia streaming device, a set of at least two inter-casting devices, and a wireless broad band base station providing dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz) WiFi LAN communications. The multimedia streaming device contains firmware for locating and processing video/audio transmission within the WiFi LAN, and presenting received video/audio or data on the connected receiving screen. Each inter-casting device is one of a notebook computer, a smart phone, and a tablet computer. The inter-casting devices conduct, in a time-sharing manner, peer-to-peer communications among themselves and many-to-one communications to the multimedia steaming device of the receiving screen.

A content receiving device includes: a first receiver that receives a content item; a list transmitter; a thumbnail generator; and a thumbnail transmitter. The list transmitter transmits a list, which includes information indicating the content item received by the first receiver, to a display device through a server. The thumbnail generator generates a thumbnail of the content item received by the first receiver. The thumbnail transmitter transmits the thumbnail generated by the thumbnail generator, to the display device. The display device includes: a second receiver; and a display. The second receiver receives the list transmitted by the list transmitter, and the thumbnail transmitted by the thumbnail transmitter. The display displays an image in which a thumbnail of a content item among a plurality of the thumbnails received by the second receiver is associated with the information included in the list received by the second receiver, the thumbnail of the content item corresponding to the information.

The exemplary embodiments relate to improving the user experience associated with a digital platform. A first user device configured to remotely access a digital platform may receive a first signal broadcast by a second user device. Two or more types of communication protocols that are available to use for establishing a direct communication channel between the user devices are identified. One of the communication protocols is selected and a communication channel is established between the user devices in accordance with the selected communication protocol. The first user device then receives authentication information from the second user and establishes a session with the digital platform based on the authentication information received from the second user device.

A computing device may include a memory and a processor cooperating therewith to receive a plurality of data streams from at least one data source to be relayed to different destinations on demand, where each data stream has a respective content identifier associated therewith. The processor may further determine when a first one of the data streams for a first destination shares identical data with a second one of the data streams for a second destination based upon the respective content identifiers associated therewith, and suspend relaying the second data stream to the second destination, and begin relaying the first data stream to the second destination, based upon the determination that the first and second data streams share identical data based upon the respective content identifiers associated therewith.

A method includes evaluating a bandwidth capacity of an uplink between a first customer premises equipment device and a network node of a multimedia distribution network. The method includes receiving a message at the first customer premises equipment device from the network node, the message indicating a request for multimedia content by a second customer premises equipment device, and instructing the first customer premise equipment device to provide the multimedia content to the second customer premise equipment device. The method includes transmitting a portion of the multimedia content from the first customer premises equipment device to the second customer premises equipment device. The method further includes, when the bandwidth capacity of the uplink is greater than a threshold, transmitting the multimedia content from the first customer premises equipment device to a first set of helper virtual peers selected based on the bandwidth capacity.

A system and method are disclosed for enhancing a linear broadcast of a network television program by automatically displaying alerts over the linear broadcast relating to web content determined to be of interest to the linear broadcast or user. The alert may include a link such that, once actioned upon, web content may be presented to the user in addition to the linear broadcast or in the place of the linear broadcast.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to a content fling system and method. The content fling system may support a plurality of users flinging content or media at various times including simultaneously to the same output device. The content fling system may further support users flinging from various locations. The content fling system can also support a single content item being played back on a plurality of output devices.

Methods, devices, systems, and computer-readable media with instructions for text communications with imbedded audio or audiovisual elements are described. One embodiment involves displaying a user interface for chat communication with a time-ordered display space for communications. Text communications and audiovisual communications are each presented in associated rows within the user interface. Various embodiments enable audio or video notes as well as audio or video streaming or multi-user calls within the user interface with individual communications or connections presented within the time-ordered display. In some embodiments, communications within the display are deleted based on ephemeral message triggers.

Techniques for delivering video content are provided. A video distribution service maintains associations of viewer devices that have portions of specific items of video content. As new viewer devices, which lack the specific video content, make requests for the specific items of video content from the video distribution system, the video distribution system identifies a viewer device from which a portion of the item of video content may be acquired. Viewer devices having the requested content are identified by comparing distances between the locations of the requestor device and the other viewer devices of the plurality of viewers to a distance threshold. The first portion of a first item of video content is obtained from a source viewer device and a second portion of the first item of video content is obtained from the video distribution system. Other embodiments are disclosed.

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a set top box (STB) comprising a controller to analyze scheduled media content with limited temporal accessibility provided by a content provider, select a portion of the media content based on the analysis of the media content and a recipient media device to receive the portion of the media content, transmit the portion of the media content to a DVR to store the portion of the media content, and transmit a metadata pointer associated with the portion of the media content to a server. A request to accept the portion of the media content is received by the recipient media device via the server, and the portion of the media content is retrieved from the DVR by the server based on the metadata pointer when the recipient media device accepts the request. Other embodiments are disclosed.