Intelligently downloading content to user devices is described herein. According to an embodiment, a user request for content is received. In response to the request, a low quality version of the content is downloaded and played to the user. Then, a higher quality version of the content is downloaded (this may occur during or after the download or playback of the low quality version of the content). Playback of the low quality version is discontinued. Then, playback of the higher quality version begins at the point where playback of the low quality version was discontinued. In some embodiments, the low quality version and the higher quality version of the requested content (among all the versions of the requested content) are identified via crowdsourcing.

A method and system for rendering a HTTP Live Streaming video stream on a display includes a player receiving a master manifest from a network device in response to selecting a video channel. The player also receives a plurality of variant manifests referenced by the master manifest from the network device, where each of the variant manifests references video files each of which having a different bit rate for the same video stream. The player simultaneously maintains the variant manifests in the player. The player determines an effective start time of the video stream based upon the selecting video channel where the effective start time is a time later than an earliest time referenced in the plurality of variant manifests. The player enables reverse of the video stream based upon one of the variant manifests to as early as the effective start time and not enabling reverse of the video stream based upon one of the variant manifests to a time earlier than the effective start time.

A method and test instrument for validating MPEG content in a CATV network, particularly one having a Remote PHY architecture.

Embodiments are related to faster provisioning of targeted advertisements at a set-top box (STB) via an Internet Protocol (IP) connection between the STB and a remote server. The disclosed IP-based advertisement distribution system enables targeted advertisements to be pulled from the remote server efficiently, causing the advertisements to be made available within a short time frame (e.g., less than one day from the time when the advertisements are available). The disclosed methods enables a STB to determine whether to retain existing targeted advertisements, discard them, or provision newly-available advertisements. The targeted advertisements can depend on various factors such as demographic information of an owner of the STB, lifestyle information of the owner of the STB, etc.

The invention provides a method of media content delivery, where the time taken to deliver each chunk of content is measured, from which the stability or consistency of delivery times are calculated. The amount of data buffered at the user's device awaiting decoding and play-back can then be adjusted (such as by playing out the content slower or quicker), in order to achieve a good compromise between continuous play-out and low end-to-end delay, taking into consideration the current network characteristics.

Methods, systems, and computer readable media for controlling delivery of content are provided. In some embodiments, a system for controlling delivery of content is provided. The system includes processing circuitry configured to: transmit, to a server, a plurality of requests for blocks of the content; while at least some of the plurality of requests are still outstanding: detect a change of a service characteristic of a connection between the system and the server; determine a preferred number of outstanding requests; and cancel at least some of the requests from the plurality that are still outstanding based on the preferred number and a count of the requests from the plurality that are still outstanding.

As a bit stream generation method for generating a bit stream of transmission data in which a plurality of signals including at least a tactile signal is multiplexed, a signal transmission unrequired section of the tactile signal is determined and, in a case where the signal transmission unrequired section exists, the bit stream in which additional information other than the tactile signal is inserted into the signal transmission unrequired section is generated.

A method for streaming a 360 degree video over a communications network, wherein the video is streamed in a plurality of chunks, includes selecting a prediction window during which to predict a field of view within the video, the field of view is expected to be visible by a viewer at a time of playback of a next chunk of the video, wherein a duration of the prediction window is based on at least one condition within the communications network, selecting a machine learning algorithm to predict the field of view based on a head movement of the viewer, wherein the machine learning algorithm is selected based on the duration of the prediction window, predicting the field of view based on the head movement of the viewer and the machine learning algorithm, identifying a tile of the next chunk that corresponds to the field of view, and downloading the tile.

A client for streaming a video from a remote media service is arranged for being available upon request in at least a first representation having a first group of pictures, GOP, size qualified by a first quality score, and a second representation having a second GOP size larger than the first GOP size and qualified by a second quality score superior to the first quality score. The client is configured to perform the following steps monitoring operational metrics of the video during playback of the first representation; and when a requirement of the second representation is met requesting the remote media service to receive a stream of the video according to the second representation and switching the playback of the video to the second representation thereby increasing the quality score of the representation.

This application discloses a video data processing method and apparatus, and an electronic device. The method includes: receiving, by an electronic device, a first data packet, where the first data packet constitutes a target video frame; and in a case that the target video frame is a damaged frame, determining, by the electronic device based on a packet loss rate of second data packets, whether to decode the first data packet, where the second data packets are data packets received by the electronic device within a predetermined time period before the first data packet is received.