A programming access device such as, for example, a cable or satellite set top box (STB), a digital video recorder (DVR), a personal computer, and/or a digital media receiver automatically optimizes an order of content choices presented in a content listing, such as a program guide display, favorite channel display, and/or a recording listing display based on the past viewing and/or recording history of a current user.

A system that provides for the accessing and playing of media files having differing associated rights such as non-DRM media files, purchased and downloaded media files, subscription download files such as tethered downloads, and subscription streamed DRM files. The system also provides a method and user interface for sharing a media collection among computing devices in communication via a network. The system allows access and playback, from each computing device on a network, of all media files in a media collection, regardless of their associated rights.

Embodiments described herein relate to real-time streaming of large quantities of time critical data over multiple distinct networks from a communications device. More specifically, embodiments described herein may address challenges and problems of maintaining consistent data reception quality when faced with the anomalies of a moving sender that is sending data using a relatively unstable method. This may be achieved by converting single source data into multiple data streams, placing them in transport buffers and storing them for forwarding.

Advertisements in broadcast television programming are digitally replaced with different ads prior to viewing. Replacement can occur in time and/or place shifted content, and can be used to promote a particular advertisement that the viewer has not yet seen, thereby improving the reach of the ad without oversaturation. Data reporting by the playback devices is collected in a database of viewed ads. The information in the database can be used to refresh previously-viewed ads, to increase saturation of particular ads, to replace previously-broadcast but no longer relevant ads, or for other purposes as desired.

A method of processing a service in a transmitter, and including generating, by a hardware processor, a first media component and a second media component for the service; generating, by the hardware processor, signaling data for the service; time interleaving, by a time interleaver, the first media component, wherein the first media component is time-interleaved by column-wise writing actual Forward Error Correction (FEC) blocks including the first media component in a Time Interleaving (TI) memory and diagonal-wise reading the first media component in the actual FEC blocks from the TI memory, wherein one or more virtual FEC blocks are skipped during the diagonal-wise reading the written first media component, and wherein a number of the one or more virtual FEC blocks is equal to a difference between a number of the actual FEC blocks and a column number of the TI memory; generating, by a signaling generator, physical layer signaling information, wherein the physical layer signaling information includes first physical layer signaling information and second physical layer signaling information, wherein the first physical layer signaling information includes information for identifying a size of the second physical layer signaling information and wherein the second physical layer signaling information includes information for obtaining the column number of the TI memory; transmitting, by an antenna, the time-interleaved first media component, the physical layer signaling information and the signaling data through a broadcast network; and transmitting, by a network interface, the second media component to a receiver through a broadband network. Further, the signaling data transmitted through the broadcast network includes first timeline information for specifying a timeline of the first media component transmitted through the broadcast network and uniform resource location information for the second media component.

A method for distributing video content across a network, the method comprising: providing video data to a primary data source, associating control data with the video data, broadcasting the video data with associated control data from the primary data source to one or more user devices across the network, providing a media player on the respective user devices which is operable in response to reading the control data to create auxiliary data locally on the respective user devices while the media player is playing the video data, creating the auxiliary data locally on the respective user devices while the media player is playing the video data locally on the respective user devices. The control data defines one or more elements of the auxiliary data to be created by the media player including the elements of the auxiliary data which are to be retrieved from the primary data source and one or more secondary data sources.

A method comprises, at a hybrid radio receiver configured to recover audio content separately from a broadcast radio signal and from a wireless network connection, receiving a reception metric that indicates audio quality of the audio content in the broadcast radio signal at any given time. The method further comprises, deriving, from fluctuations of the reception metric over time, fluctuation indicators that indicate audio quality fluctuations that are likely noticeable to a listener. The method further comprises deriving a switching decision to use the broadcast radio signal or the wireless network connection as a source of the audio content based on a previous switching decision and the fluctuation indicators to introduce hysteresis into the switching decision, and selecting the broadcast radio signal or the wireless network connection as the source of the audio content based on the switching decision.

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.

Systems and methods for addressing a corrupted segment in a media asset. The media guidance application determines that a segment of a media asset is corrupted. The media guidance application determines whether a retrieval period to retrieve an uncorrupted copy of the segment exceeds a threshold period. If the retrieval period does not exceed the threshold period, the media guidance application retrieves and generates for display the uncorrupted copy of the segment. If the retrieval period exceeds the threshold period, the media guidance application determines whether an importance level of the corrupted segment exceeds a threshold level. If the importance level exceeds the threshold level, the media guidance application generates for display a summary for the corrupted segment. If the importance level does not exceed the threshold level, the media guidance application generates for display the subsequent segment and the summary for the corrupted segment in an overlay.

Systems and methods are described for recommending a content item. A search query for a content item is received. The availability of the content item from more than one source is determined. In response to determining that the content item is available from more than one source, the quality of each of the available content items from respective sources is determined. A recommendation factor is determined. The recommendation factor is based on at least one of the bandwidth available to a user device, the resolution capability of the user device, and the quality of experience of each of the sources from which the content item is available. A list of search results for the available content items is generated. The list is ordered based on the quality of each of the available content items from respective sources and the recommendation factor.