In viewing a media presentation having multiple streams or tracks running in parallel and synchronized to a common playback timeline, a user experiencing one of the streams will miss interesting events and other content occurring in other streams. Accordingly, upon receiving an instruction to switch from a first stream to a second stream, a summary of the second stream is dynamically generated based on content that the user missed while watching the first stream. The summary is presented to the user prior to transitioning to presentation of the second stream.

In accordance with one or more aspects, a request to run an application is received. The application has an associated tune manifest that identifies one or more resources that the application may use. The tune manifest is compared to a device resource record, and a check is made, based at least in part on the comparing, whether the one or more resources identified in the tune manifest can be satisfied by the device. If the one or more resources identified in the tune manifest can be satisfied by the device, then the application is run; otherwise, a notification of a conflict between the application and the device is presented. Additionally, when the application exits, a device tune state that identifies a content source to which the device was tuned prior to running the application can be retrieved and the device restored to this device tune state.

A multimedia program recording schedule manager for DVR systems is described. In a first embodiment, for example, a method implemented by one or more server computing devices, the method comprising: receiving input selecting a particular DVR system; receiving input selecting a particular multimedia program for the particular DVR system to record on a repeat basis; adding the particular multimedia program to a server-side instance of a repeat recording schedule for the particular DVR system; and synchronizing the server-side instance of the repeat recording schedule with another instance of a repeat recording schedule for the particular DVR system resulting in the addition of the particular multimedia program to the other instance of the repeat recording schedule. In one embodiment, the other instance of the repeat recording schedule for the particular DVR system is a data component of the particular DVR system.

An information processing apparatus includes a content reproduction unit, a content part specification unit, a clustering unit, a class detection unit, a common class extraction unit, and a content retrieval unit. The content reproduction unit is configured to reproduce a reproduction content. The content part specification unit is configured to specify a plurality of content parts included in the reproduction content. The clustering unit is configured to classify the plurality of content parts into a plurality of clusters. The class detection unit is configured to detect a class from the plurality of content parts included in each of the plurality of clusters. The common class extraction unit is configured to extract a common class common to the plurality of clusters from the classes detected by the class detection unit. The content retrieval unit is configured to retrieve a content corresponding to the common class.

A method includes rendering a portion of first video on a display associated with a device; and, in response to a first user gesture and/or interaction on and/or with a touch-sensitive interface, selecting a second video, and rendering a portion of the second video on the display, wherein the first user gesture and/or interaction corresponded to a first time in the first video, and wherein the portion of the second video begins a second time in the second video corresponding substantially to the first time in the first video. The method may include, in response to a second user gesture and/or interaction on and/or with the touch-sensitive interface, selecting a third video, and rendering a portion of the third video on the display, wherein the second user gesture and/or interaction corresponded to a second time in the second video, and wherein the portion of the third video begins a third time in the third video corresponding substantially to the second time in the second video.

Disclosed is a system and method for controlling the playback speed, and user experience, of watching slow motion video content on a touch sensitive computing device such as a mobile phone, tablet or laptop with a touch sensitive screen. Key features of the disclosure are the simplicity of the user interface and the instant visual feedback given to the user.

There are many boxes (e.g., set-top boxes) in a system offering media services to users. Each of the boxes maintains a library with a significant number of titles. Techniques for updating the library in each of these boxes using a transmission infrastructure are described. According to one aspect of the techniques, a service provider is provided with a high bandwidth broadcasting or multicasting capability, a release fragmented into a header and several segments is transmitted to all boxes that are respectively configured to receive a proper release package to update the library. Alternatively, separate release packages may be transmitted via different channels to the boxes, wherein each of the boxes is tuned to a proper channel to receive a proper release package.

Improved technical functionality is provided to dynamically select and seamlessly play advertisements immediately before playing of a recorded program upon selection of the recorded program for playing, or upon other detected events and conditions associated with the set-top-box (STB) or user. In some embodiments, this is performed by using metadata which may be delivered to and stored on a digital video recorder (DVR) prior to recording the program, providing a technical solution to enable opportunities for additional advertisement impressions. Playing of the advertisement may also or instead occur upon the recorded program finishing playing. Thus, the technical solution provides the additional opportunity for the content creator and/or the satellite television or cable service provider to sell advertising spots in addition to those already sold for breaks within the recorded program.

A computer system provides a method for delivering a video stream to a viewer and delivering, in synchrony with the video stream, social media content created during the current and previous viewings of the video stream by first-time viewers of the video stream.

Systems, devices and methods are provided to arbitrate network bandwidth that is shared between multiple video players executing concurrently on one or more client platforms that each have at least one video data stream supplied over a data network. An amount of bandwidth available from the data network is determined. An arbitration module calculates whether the selected video players can sustain a video playback quality above a pre-defined threshold using the determined amount of bandwidth available, and a modify playback message is sent to at least one video player when the video playback quality is not sustainable. Various implementations could prioritize bandwidth based upon the content presented so that high-bandwidth scenes (e.g., action sequences) receive more bandwidth than more static scenes.