Methods and systems are described for a media guidance application that limits the incentive for authorized users to share content with unauthorized users, while still allowing users to access content virtually anywhere. Specifically, the media guidance application allows an authorized user to receive only a portion of a media asset that he or she is authorized to access on a different device, after a designated time period, and/or when the remaining portion of the media asset is inaccessible.

A main stream contains successive content elements of video and/or audio information that encode video and/or audio information at a first data rate. A computation circuit (144) computes main fingerprints from the successive content elements. A reference stream is received having a second data rate lower than the first data rate. The reference stream defines a sequence of the reference fingerprints. A comparator unit (144) compares the main fingerprints with the reference fingerprints. The main stream is monitored for the presence of inserted content elements between original content elements, where the original content elements have main fingerprints that match successive reference fingerprints and the inserted content elements have main fingerprints that do not match reference fingerprints. Rendering of inserted content elements to be skipped. In an embodiment when more than one content element matches only one is rendered. In another embodiment matching is used to control zapping to or from the main stream. In another embodiment matching is used to control linking of separately received mark-up information such as subtitles to points in the main stream.

A method for identifying popular segments of a network video comprising: receiving video player operation information for a plurality of video players operated by users accessing the network video; evaluating a popularity measure for one or more segments of the network-video using the received operation information so as to identify popular segments of the network video.

An adaptive streaming server, a method, and a system are described herein that create a content stream to be delivered to one or more clients by segmenting the content into data structures which are stored in random access memory (volatile storage) rather than segmenting the content into segment files which are stored on a disk or database (non-volatile storage).

Some demonstrative embodiments include devices, systems and/or methods to establish a connection to the Internet via a local gateway (L-GW) function for a LIPA or a SIPTO@LN. The establishment of the connection to the Internet may be performed, for example, by at least one of an E-RAB SETUP procedure, an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP procedure, an INITIAL UE MESSAGE procedure or an UPLINK NAS TRANSPORT procedure.

Techniques for generating an interactive and dynamically updated content stream are described herein. Data assets that correspond to video segments provided by a plurality of content providers may be maintained. A video segment may correspond to a first portion of a full video segment for a piece of content from the plurality of content providers. A content stream may be generated that includes video segments provided by the plurality of content providers based at least in part on the data assets. The content stream may be presented via an application. Second input may be received via the application during presentation of the content stream that corresponds to a navigation command for displaying different content. The content stream may be updated to at least one of removing certain video segments or adding new video segments to the content stream based at least in part on the second input.

Processes, systems and devices are described to enhance the television or other media viewing experience based upon excitement data that is associated with the program. Excitement data can be used to identify the most exciting portions of media programs, therefore allowing for improved identification of programs or portions of programs for viewing, streaming, recording or other purposes.

Techniques for serving a manifest file of an adaptive streaming video include receiving a request for the manifest file from a user device. The video is encoded at different reference bitrates and each encoded reference bitrate is divided into segments to generate video segment files. The manifest file includes an ordered list of universal resource locators (URLs) that reference a set of video segment files encoded at a particular reference bitrate. A source manifest file that indicates the set of video segment files is identified based on the request. An issued manifest file that includes a first URL and a second URL is generated based on the source manifest file. The first URL references a first domain and the second URL references a second domain that is different from the first domain. The issued manifest file is transmitted to the user device as a response to the request.

Methods and systems are provided for adjusting a size of a buffer based on a probability that a rewind request will be received during a currently playing segment of media. When the system determines that receiving a rewind request is likely, the system will increase the size of a buffer such that the rewind request can be accommodated using data from the buffer. When the system determines that receiving a rewind request is unlikely, the system will decrease the size of the buffer to free resources for other system components.

Provided herein are novel systems and methods of digital content delivery designed to be easy, instant, and minimally disruptive for the user. The novel systems and methods of the invention can provide the device user with an instant and ephemeral snippet of entertaining media, in a metered presentation controlled by the user. The system is minimally disruptive in that the user can summon a video clip or other media content with a simple input, whereupon a clip is instantly played for the user. Upon reaching the end of the media presentation, the media player window self-closes and returns the user's device to the exact state it was in prior. In this way, a user can enjoy a short, entertaining pause without substantially interrupting their previous activity on the device.