Cache management techniques are described for a content distribution network (CDN), for example, a video on demand (VOD) system supporting user requests and delivery of video content. A preferred cache size may be calculated for one or more cache devices in the CDN, for example, based on a maximum cache memory size, a bandwidth availability associated with the CDN, and a title dispersion calculation determined by the user requests within the CDN. After establishing the cache with a set of assets (e.g., video content), an asset replacement algorithm may be executed at one or more cache devices in the CDN. When a determination is made that a new asset should be added to a full cache, a multi-factor comparative analysis may be performed on the assets currently residing in the cache, comparing the popularity and size of assets and combinations of assets, along with other factors to determine which assets should be replaced in the cache device.

A system for presenting live video content to a plurality of participant client devices is disclosed. An interactive program, including the live video content and an interactive component, is generated and a moderator interface is provided to enable a user of a moderator client device to create a look for the interactive program. The live video content and the interactive component are simultaneously displayed on a display of each of a plurality of participant client devices with the look created by the user of the moderator client device. The live video content and a response to the live video content are simultaneously displayed at each of the participant client devices with the look created by the user of the moderator client. The interactive program and the response are archived so that users of the plurality of participant devices may continue to interact with the interactive program after termination of the interactive program.

A moderator client device may add program information for multi-media content using interactive elements. The moderator client device may associate an interactive component with the multi-media content using the interactive elements on a moderator interface. An interactive program may be generated from the multi-media content, tags and time-codes, and the interactive component. A response to the interactive program may be received from a viewer client device based on an interaction of the user of the viewer client device with the interactive component. The response received from the viewer client device may be displayed simultaneously with the updated interactive program on the display of each of a plurality of viewer client devices.

A system, method and computer-readable medium are presented for providing real-time content-based navigation of live video programming. The method aspect of the invention comprises receiving a live video program, generating an index to the received live video program by extracting images and/or text from the video program, recording the live video program, presenting at least a portion of data associated with the generated index to a user, receiving user input regarding a portion of the recorded video program to which the user desires to navigate and playing back the recorded video program starting at the navigated portion identified by the user input.

A method includes receiving a media request for a target device. The signaling information may be received from the target device and a media server. At least one attribute of the target device and the media server may be identified using the signaling information. At least one attribute of the target device and the media server may be evaluated against a service level objective to select a media format. The service level objective may include consideration of the target device and available bandwidth over a provider network. The media may be provided in the selected media format over the provider network to the target device.

A resource management system may use information regarding the bandwidth status of a downstream communication path to determine what portion of queued content should be sent in the current available bandwidth timeslot. In some embodiments, multiple versions of the same requested content may be available, and the system may select a lower-quality version to send if needed to meet a time deadline included in the original content request.

Roughly described, a system and method for delivering video content to a user's client device in a video-on-demand (VOD) system, which includes providing a collection of video segments, the segments having a predefined default sequence; establishing a streaming video session according to a session-oriented protocol; transmitting toward the client device a script executable by the client device, the script operable to transmit navigational codes toward the head-end equipment in response to and indicating user selection among navigational choices; beginning transmission of the video segments in the collection toward the client device in accordance with the default sequence of segments; and in response to receipt of one of the navigational codes, and without tearing down the streaming video session, altering the transmission sequence to jump to the segment that the user selected.

In an example implementation, a method is described. The implementation accesses a plurality of media clips including a first video clip and a second video clip, matches a first fingerprint of the first video clip with a second fingerprint of the second video clip. The implementation also matches a first event location of the first video clip with a second event location of the second video clip, determines an overlap of the first video clip with the second video clip based at least in part on the match of the first fingerprint with the second fingerprint and the match of the first event location with the second event location, merges the first and second video clips into a group of overlapping video clips based on the overlap, and generates a presentation that includes the group formed by merging the first and second video clips based on the overlap.

Multimedia content to participant client devices may be simultaneously presented using a moderator device. An interactive program with the multimedia content and an interactive component associated with the multimedia content may be generated. Participant client devices and the user of the moderator client device may interact with the interactive program to cause the multimedia content and the interactive component to be simultaneously displayed on the display of each of the participant client devices and the display of the moderator client device.

A video-on-demand system including a video server storing video-on-demand content and for streaming video-on-demand through a first layer of an internet page having a first layer and a second layer; and a controller for causing there to be formed in the second layer a plurality of selectable overlay images such that a user at a location in communication with the internet remote from the video server and the controller can display streamed video-on-demand of the first layer in combination with the overlay images of the second layer and can select one of the overlay images; wherein the overlay images correspond to respective control functions for the video-on-demand stream; and the controller is responsive to selection of an overlay image to change the video-on-demand stream in accordance with the corresponding respective control function.