Embodiments described herein provide various techniques for programming and authorizing television receivers and other subscriber equipment via Internet Protocol (IP) networks. In some embodiments, a television receiver device (e.g., a satellite television receiver, cable television receiver, etc.) may detect and establish a connection to an IP network. After connecting to an IP network, the receiver may transmit identification data to a backend computer server of a cable or satellite television provider. The backend server may use the receiver identification data to determine television subscription(s) associated with the receiver and/or customer, and may determine and transmit one or more authorization codes back to the television receiver over the IP network. The television receiver may use the authorization codes to program the receiver device to decode and output the television channels and programs corresponding to the subscription.

The present invention relates to a method and device for transmitting/receiving information efficiently between devices in a multimedia system. A method of communicating between devices in a multimedia system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: searching a second device for a first device to use a broadcast service or content; acquiring second information on at least one service terminal point for the first device to receive first information related to the broadcast service or the content from the second device; requesting, by means of the first device, the transmission of the first information related to the broadcast service or the content by using the second information; and receiving, by means of the first device from the second device, the first information as a response to the request.

A server operated by a service provider may enable a user to upgrade and/or purchase one or more service plans associated with a user account and provided by the service provider. The service plan may include access to one or more third-party services that provide content accessible via applications. The service provider may inform a notification service that operates a device management platform that the user account is permitted access to the content provider. The notification service may send a message to the user device including an indication that the user device now has access to the content provider and/or a selectable option to install an application associated with the content provider.

A method and system for planning and running video-on-demand (VOD) advertising includes a planner for planning advertising campaigns and an ad selector for running selected advertisements from selected ones of the campaigns. The campaigns are associated with household demographic classifications, video content category categories, household geographic locations, and/or video viewing times. In response to a viewer requesting a video, the selector selects the campaigns corresponding to the demographic classification associated with the viewer, the content category of the requested video, the geographic location associated with the viewer, and/or the viewing time at which the requested video is viewed. The demographic classification is determined by using an identifier of the viewer's set-top-box. The selector may select the campaigns corresponding to the content categories of the requested video. The content categories are determined by using an identifier associated with the requested video.

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to estimate an audience population. An example apparatus includes at least one memory; instructions in the apparatus; and processor circuitry to execute the instructions to: determine whether respective ones of respondents are associated with a characteristic; detect unique instances of the respective ones of the respondents; in response to the respective ones of the respondents being associated with the characteristic, increase a sample capture count by one; in response to detecting the unique instances of the respective ones of the respondents exhibiting the characteristic, increase a unique capture count by one; determine a seed population estimate based on the unique capture count; and determine a population estimate having the characteristic based on the sample capture count, the unique capture count, the seed population estimate, and a number of available samples.

Methods and apparatus to generate audience measurement data from population sample data having incomplete demographic classifications are disclosed. An example method includes detecting that a number of impressions a time segment of a video occurred based on messages; detecting that no impressions for the time segment of the video were detected by the database proprietor; determining respective percentages of exposures of the video that are attributable to corresponding ones of multiple demographic groups, determining the respective percentages being based on the first demographic information provided by the database proprietor for exposures of other time segments of the video; attributing respective portions of the number of impressions to the demographic groups based on the respective percentages to determine imputed numbers of impressions; generating adjusted numbers of impressions based on the imputed numbers of impressions; and determining ratings information for the video using the adjusted numbers of impressions.

A method of initializing, provisioning, and managing a cable modem and a customer premise equipment device includes sending a customized configuration file to the cable modem. The configuration file contains service provisioning information and further includes information indicative of a network address type for the customer premise equipment device. A message is passed from the cable modem to the customer premise equipment device indicative of the network address type. The customer premise equipment device is provided with a network address in accordance with the network address type indicated in the message. In this way, the customer premise equipment device knows what kind of address to obtain, and excessive transactions are avoided.

An electronic device executing an application through communication with a user input apparatus, the electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes: a communication unit that is configured to communicate with the user input apparatus; an information generation unit that generates information about an exclusive controller that controls the application and is executed in the user input apparatus; and a controller that controls the information generation unit to generate the information about the exclusive controller when the electronic device is paired with the user input apparatus, and controls the communication unit to transmit the generated information about the exclusive controller to the user input apparatus.

Disclosed are methods, apparatus, systems, and computer-readable storage media for representing a portion of a user interface of a web browser as a web address. In some implementations, a computing device receives a request to encode as a web address a portion of a user interface provided in a web browser at the computing device. The computing device then generates a web address to identify content of the portion of the user interface. The portion of the user interface represented by the web address includes a primary user interface component and one or more secondary user interface components associated with the primary user interface component.

An approach is provided for a segment-based viewing of a watermarked recording. The approach involves receiving a request, from an evaluator, to access one of a plurality of media associated with a plurality of interviewees, wherein each of the plurality of media represents a recording of an interview of a corresponding interviewee; and wherein the request relates to evaluation of the corresponding interviewee for admission or hiring. The approach also involves determining source-identifying information associated with the evaluator. The approach further involves determining source-identifying information associated with the request. The approach additionally involves generating a watermark based on the source-identifying information, wherein the watermark is configured to depict an identifier of the evaluator during a presentation of the requested media. The approach further involves modifying the one media to superimpose the watermark on the recording. The approach also involves initiating transmission of the requested media with the generated watermark to a target device associated with the evaluator.