Methods and systems are provided herein for generating notifications based on the interests of guests. Guests may request notifications on their host's television, and the system will generate notifications based on the guest's interests and preferences as stored in the guest's user profile. In doing so, the guest will be notified of events of interest, such as when a favorite sports team scores a point or when an important scene in a favorite movie is playing. The system monitors the network of the apartment or house and detects when a guest device is accessing the network. The system then accesses the guest's interests and identifies a set of programs based on these interests. The system then monitors these programs and generates notifications on the display device when an event of interest has occurred in one of the identified programs.

A thermostat and system and method for use of the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, multiple wireless transceivers are located within a housing, which also interconnectively includes a processor, memory, and a camera. To improve convenience, the thermostat may establish a pairing with a proximate wireless-enabled interactive programmable device having a display. Virtual remote control functionality for various amenities may then be provided. To improve safety, the thermostat may be incorporated into a geolocation and safety network and, under certain conditions, the thermostat may provide a video feed.

A media device includes: a microphone for recording a television; a memory having the important content; and a processor to: instruct the microphone to record audio data while the television is operating in a primary mode and store in the memory; instruct the television to switch operation from the primary mode to an important content mode; provide the important content to the television; subsequently instruct the television to switch from the important content mode to the primary mode using a primary protocol; instruct the microphone to record subsequent audio data; determine whether the television switched from the important content mode to the primary mode based on the initial audio data and the subsequent audio data; and instruct the television to switch from the important content mode to the primary mode using a secondary protocol when it is determined that the television has not switched.

A companion device interoperating with a broadcast reception device for receiving a broadcast signal, can include a communication device configured to connect the companion device with the broadcast reception device, in which the broadcast signal includes emergency alert information and service information for a broadcast service, and the service information includes service identification information for identifying the broadcast service and name information of the broadcast service, and the emergency alert information and the service information are carried in Internet Protocol (IP) packets having a same IP address; and a controller configured to receive the emergency alert information from the broadcast reception device, the emergency alert information including identifier information for the emergency alert information, category information of the emergency alert information, and priority information for the emergency alert information, and the controller receiving information for components of the broadcast service.

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.

Systems and methods are described herein for presenting additional information related to an emergency alert. A media guidance application may detect that a new emergency alert has been received. The media guidance application may then perform a search of various content sources (e.g., program listings, the Internet, etc.) for content related to the emergency alert. The media guidance application may then present the search results in a contextual menu enabling the user to access content of the search results. The media guidance application may also provide more options, such as, recording or pausing media content that the user was in the process of consuming when the emergency alert was generated, and an option to the user not to bring up the contextual menu again if the same emergency alert is repeated.

It is provided a method for controlling delivered video based on a source video. The source video includes a first video sequence followed by a first replacement time slot, the first replacement time slot followed by a third video sequence. The method includes requesting a second video sequence with a maximum duration T.sub.req by a video controller to be inserted into a time slot corresponding to the first replacement time slot in the delivered video. The duration T.sub.2 of the second video sequence is shorter or equal to T.sub.req, determining the time difference T.sub.10−T.sub.2 between the duration T.sub.10 of the first replacement time slot and the duration of the second video sequence by the video controller; placing the second video sequence by the video controller into a time slot in the delivered video corresponding to first replacement time slot and shifting the subsequent third video sequence towards the second video sequence in the delivered video, and thereby providing a continuous video stream through influencing of the delay between the video source and the delivered video.

Multiple scheduling producers such as content management systems, advertisement systems, and emergency broadcast systems can independently send scheduling events to scheduling consumers such as streaming servers, guide generators, and playlogs. The scheduling consumers maintain state machines with persistent storage to process scheduling events from scheduling producers and output media channel playlists, channel guides, and/or content. Scheduling producers can contribute independently to define a channel playout while information at scheduling consumers remains synchronized.

Dispatch-aiding communications between computing devices of a responder and a dispatch unit include a computing device of the responder determining that an event occurred, automatically sending an indication of the event to a computing device of the dispatch unit, receiving a request for information from the computing device of the dispatch unit, obtaining the information requested by the computing device of the dispatch unit, and sending the information requested by the computing device of the dispatch unit to the computing device of the dispatch unit. The computing device of the dispatch unit sends the request for information to the computing device of the responder in response to receiving the indication of the event.

A method and system for controlling dynamic content modification such as dynamic advertisement insertion. An example method includes detecting presence of an emergency-alert audio tone in a media stream accessible to a media client, and responsively causing the media client to abandon a dynamic content modification, such as to forgo a planned dynamic content modification or to discontinue an in-progress dynamic content modification. This method could occur while the media client is processing a given media stream for presentation, and the method could include detecting presence of the emergency-alert audio tone in the given media stream or alternatively in another media stream accessible to the media client. And in the latter case, the method could further involve causing the media client to switch from processing the given media stream for presentation to instead processing the other media stream for presentation, which could facilitate presenting of an associated emergency alert.