In response to an operation such as power-on or power-off, channel change and sound volume change, a television set combined with a personal computer automatically makes e-mail with information in a predetermined format indicative of the operation attached. The e-mail is automatically sent to another television set to inform the other television set of operation of the own television set. On the other hand, the e-mail can be sent to a rating company for audience share survey. The television set automatically reads the received e-mail and attachment to change the indication of display. The television set has storage of the received information for analysis of an abnormality. Abnormality can be also sensed through abnormal act on the remote controller apt to be taken by a person in panic or off the truck. The television set refuses information from unknown address for blocking an attack of a stranger.

Creating a sub-titles stream or file composed of sub-titles elements. For each sub-titles element in said sub-titles elements, a sub-titles element is inserted into the sub-titles stream or file, at least one end-of-block condition related to a mode of presentation of sub-titles is verified, and a datum representative of an end of a block according to the mode of presentation of sub-titles is inserted into the sub-titles stream or file upon satisfying said at least one end-of-block condition. A sub-titles stream or file may be presented on a terminal of a user by selecting on the terminal a mode of presentation of sub-titles, reading a sub-titles block associated with the mode of presentation in the stream or file, and presenting on the terminal the at least one sub-titles block according to the mode of presentation.

A network device can include a tuner configured to receive audio and video data of at least one broadcast program, a network interface configured to receive at least one thumbnail image corresponding the at least one broadcast program, a user interface configured to receive a first command for executing an electronic program guide from a remote controller, and a controller configured to output a signal for displaying the electronic program guide in response to the first command. Also, the electronic program guide can include the at least one thumbnail image within a designated time zone.

According to other aspects, a real-time system may be provided that is capable of scaling to hundreds of thousands of real-time clients (or more) to conduct a single-program instance in an interactive manner that combines video elements with interactive program elements. To provide such capabilities, a system and client software is provided that allows real-time distribution of video, and scripted rendering of interactive elements in relation to the video. Such systems may include, for example, cluster-based systems that are capable of scaling horizontally based on the number of clients involved in a particular program instance.

Examples are described for integrating interface functionality with other experiences. For example, if a user is interested in a particular item of scheduled or on-demand content (e.g., a television series episode), the user may also be interested in a web page devoted to the television series and/or other extras such as cast interviews, news, related theme apps, and the like. These types of experiences may be integrated into an interface by presenting the experiences as supplemental services that may be presented and/or selected.

A system having an adaptive browse feature and an adaptive flip feature is provided. The adaptive browse and flip features may be selected to receive program viewing suggestions. The system may provide a suggestion by displaying an adaptive browse region or adaptive flip region including a program suggestion. The system identifies programs to suggest based on a user=s viewing activity. The system uses different algorithms that are user-selectable and user-adjustable to identify program suggestions. The system may query a program guide database to build a list of programs having attributes similar to the attributes of the current program or the last viewed program. The system may use an adaptive learning algorithm such as a neural network. The neural network may be trained by the program guide by monitoring user-viewing activity. Each algorithm may be personalized for multiple users.

Images may be periodically captured from each of a plurality of content streams comprising programs. Each of the content streams may be associated with capture parameters. The capture parameters may include information on how frequently images from the stream may be captured. The captured images may be made available to various clients for various uses, such as for display of a schedule of available programs.

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions to present a plurality of unassociated media programs from a single presentation device having overlapping presentation periods, and cause the single presentation device to present a user interface for one of the plurality of unassociated media programs responsive to detecting a request for the user interface. Each of the plurality of unassociated media programs can be viewable only with a viewing apparatus. The viewing apparatus can be configured for viewing one of the unassociated media programs at a time. Other embodiments are disclosed and contemplated.

Disclosed is a system and method for distributing media content. The system can include a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores executable instructions for causing the processor to detect a stamp key embedded in the media content, and request an ad stamp associated with the stamp key. The stamp key may comprise a unique digital key for the ad stamp. The memory can further cause the processor to communicatively connect to a user system and a content system. The content system may be configured to distribute the media content. The user system may comprise a display and may be configured to receive the ad stamp and present the ad stamp on the display.

A system and method for inserting a composited image or otherwise generated graphic into a selected video by way of a programmatic process. According to some embodiments, a system may comprise an Automated Placement Opportunity Identification (APOI) engine, a Placement Insertion Interface (PII) engine, a preview system, and an automated compositing service. The system finalizes a graphic composite into a video and provides a user with a preview for final export or further manipulation.