An electronic device associated with a media-providing service receives a first media item and a request, from a second device, for playback of the first media content item. The electronic device determines an insertion time within the first media content item for inserting a second media content item, and generates a queue indicating an order in which a first, second, and third file are to be provided. The first file corresponds to a portion of the first media content item from a start of the first media content item until the insertion time, the second file corresponds to the second media content item, and the third file corresponds to a portion of the first media content item starting at the insertion time. The electronic device generates the files, and queues the second electronic device to play back the first, second, and the third files in accordance with the queue.

Methods, systems, and apparatuses for improved content recording and playback are described herein. A user device may concurrently record and output a content item. For example, the user device may be associated with a recording session. A session index may identify the recording session and indicate the user device is concurrently recording and outputting the content item. The session index may be used to ensure that a manifest for the content item is continuously updated.

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.

Methods, systems, and computer programs for generating a playlist of media content items without explicit content. A vector space is created that represents explicit and non-explicit tracks in the same playlists created by other users and then tracks are filtered based on cosine distance between the “seed tracks” and all the tracks in the aforementioned playlist. The explicit tracks are filtered out, and tracks are sorted based on the affinity of the user to the artist.

Embodiments generally relate to providing a personalized program and channel guide database. In some embodiments, a method includes receiving a personalized database request from a user. The method further includes obtaining one or more playlists from one or more corresponding content providers. The method further includes generating a personalized database for the user, where the personalized database includes the one or more playlists.

An electronic device including a display device configured to render first content. The electronic device is communicably coupled to the display device and controls one or more imaging devices to receive one or more images from the one or more imaging devices. The electronic device further determines a first position of one or more living objects within a pre-defined region from the display device, based on the received one or more images and the rendered first content. The electronic device further controls an orientation of the display device towards the determined first position of the one or more living objects.

A system and method of operating a content distribution system includes generating a first request for first content by a first user device. Based on the first request for the first content, the first content is pre-positioned by communicating the first content to a downstream storage device closer to a second user device without communicating the first content to the first user device using the downstream storage device; and storing the first content in the downstream storage device as pre-positioned content. The method further includes communicating the first content to the second user device from the downstream storage device.

Aspects of the disclosure provide methods, apparatuses, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for receiving media data. One apparatus includes processing circuitry that receives a media presentation description (MPD) file including an essential property descriptor that is associated with a session-based description (SBD) file and includes a key-value element. The processing circuitry determines a value in the SBD file corresponding to a key in the key-value element. The processing circuitry sends a request to a server based on the corresponding value.

A method for transmitting a multimedia resource, including: determining target address information based on a media presentation description of a multimedia resource, where the media presentation description includes address information of the multimedia resource having different code rates, and the target address information is address information of the multimedia resource having a target code rate; and sending a frame acquiring request carrying the target address information to a server, where the frame acquiring request is configured to instruct the server to return media frames of the multimedia resource at the target code rate.

The present disclosure provides a video recommendation method and apparatus, an electronic device, and a computer-readable storage medium. The video recommendation method includes: transmitting a video obtaining request to a server in response to receiving a play trigger operation for target preview information in preview information displayed on a first display interface, the video obtaining request carrying identification information of a first video corresponding to the target preview information; receiving, from the server, the first video, a second video having a video similarity satisfying a first predetermined condition with the first video, and corresponding second video preview information; and playing the first video through a first region of a second display interface, and displaying a first predetermined number of pieces of preview information within the second video preview information through a second region of the second display interface, the second display interface including the first region and the second region.