Systems and methods are described herein for streaming during unavailability of a content server. Upon determining that there are conditions indicating buffering issues during delivery of a media asset, a server determines a first group of devices suitable for receiving the media asset from the server and sharing the media asset on a peer-to-peer network. Then, the server determines a second group of devices suitable for receiving the media asset on a peer-to-peer network from a first group device. The server then determines groupings within which to share and receive the media asset. Next, the server transmits instructions to the devices in the first group to maintain in buffer and share certain portions of the media asset with the second group devices within their grouping. Finally, the server updates information detailing the media asset portions the devices are maintaining in buffer and sharing.

Methods and systems are described for a media guidance application that limits the incentive for authorized users to share content with unauthorized users, while still allowing users to access content virtually anywhere. Specifically, the media guidance application allows an authorized user to receive only a portion of a media asset that he or she is authorized to access on a different device, after a designated time period, and/or when the remaining portion of the media asset is inaccessible.

Methods and systems are provided for a transportation vehicle. One method includes caching, by a ground-based caching device, media content provided by a streaming service; pre-fetching, by a server on an aircraft, a subset of the cached media content that is likely to be viewed by passengers on the aircraft, the pre-fetched content stored in a cache on the aircraft; presenting, by a first device on the aircraft, a first subset of the pre-fetched content to a non-subscriber of the media content on a first flight; presenting, by a second device on the aircraft, a second subset of the pre-fetched content to a subscriber of the media content on the first flight; and storing, by the second device, viewing history of the second subset by the subscriber.

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture to identify and triage digital ad ratings data quality issues are disclosed. An example apparatus includes score calculation circuitry to: generate one or more aggregate factor scores based on aggregate data from a first impression data point; generate one or more daily factor scores based on daily data from the from impression data point; normalize the one or more aggregate factor scores based on aggregate factor scores of at least a second data impression point; normalize the one or more daily factor scores based on daily factor scores of at least a second data impression point; calculate a final weight score for the first impression data point using the aggregate factor scores and the daily factor scores for the first impression data point; and flag the final weight score if it does not satisfy a threshold score.

For example, an apparatus may include a video encoder configured to encode video data into a parallel plurality of encoded video streams, the parallel plurality of encoded video streams including the video data encoded according to a respective plurality of different video bitrates; a selector configured to select, based on one or more parameters corresponding to a condition of a wireless communication link, a selected encoded video stream from the parallel plurality of encoded video streams; and a radio to transmit the selected encoded video stream over the wireless communication link.

A split architecture for encoding a video stream. A source encoder may encode a video content stream to obtain an encoded bitstream and a side information stream. The side information stream includes information characterizing rate and/or distortion estimation functions per block of the video content stream. Also, a different set of estimation functions may be included per coding mode. The encoded bitstream and side information stream may be received by a video transcoder, which transcodes the encoded bitstream to a client-requested picture resolution, according to a client-requested video format and bit rate. The side information stream allows the transcoder to efficiently and compactly perform rate control for its output bitstream, which is transmitted to the client device. This split architecture may be especially useful to operators of content delivery networks.

In one aspect, a method includes identifying an upcoming content modification opportunity on a channel. The method also includes responsive to identifying the upcoming content modification opportunity on the channel, identifying a group of multiple content-presentation devices tuned to the channel. The method also includes for each content-presentation device in the identified group, determining a respective probability of that content-presentation device successfully performing a respective content-modification operation in connection with the identified upcoming content modification opportunity on the channel. The method also includes using at least the determined probabilities as a basis to select, from among the content-presentation devices in the identified group, a subgroup of content-presentation devices. The method also includes performing actions that facilitate causing each of at least some of the content-presentation devices in the selected subgroup to perform a respective content-modification operation in connection with the identified upcoming content modification opportunity on the channel.

Client identifier watermarks in media signals are disclosed. An example apparatus to watermark a multilayered file includes a watermark storage to store media identifiers. The example apparatus also includes an encoder to encode a first bit sequence in the media file on a first encoding layer of a multilayered watermark, the first bit sequence to include a client identifier of a client associated with the media file, and encode a second bit sequence in the media file on a second encoding layer of the multilayered watermark, the second bit sequence to include a media identifier to identify media corresponding to the media file.

During operation a first personal-area network will activate a first camera. The first camera may be manually activated, or triggered by an audio signal. The event that causes the first camera to activate will also cause the personal-area network to send an acoustic signature to other personal-area networks. Personal-area networks that receive the acoustic signature will modify audio triggers so that the acoustic signature can be better distinguished from other noises.

A computing system is configured to execute a computer program on a server and to provide a video stream of the program output to a geographically remote client over a communication network. An add-on manager is provided to facilitate the use of add-ons to extend the functionality of the computer program. The add-on manager is responsive to commands received from the client and is configured to associate individual add-ons and add-on data with specific user accounts. The add-ons can be located on the server or some other location remote from the client.