Methods and systems are provided for a transportation vehicle. One method includes enabling by a processor, a night mode for a seat device of an in-flight entertainment system (IFE) on an aircraft based on a night mode trigger; displaying by the processor, during the night mode, a wake-up user interface on the seat device for a passenger, when a seat device monitor backlight has turned on after the backlight was turned off, or a seat device backlight timer has triggered, where a brightness of the wake-up user interface is lower than a brightness of a default user interface of the seat device; and enabling by the processor a first set of functions of the seat device accessible from the wake-up user interface, the first set of functions being less than a second set of functions accessible from the default user-interface.

Vehicular systems located in commercial passenger vehicles are tested and maintained for operational effectiveness. This patent document describes techniques to perform secure testing on multiple seatback monitors that are located on or in seats in a commercial passenger vehicle and that are associated with a vehicle entertainment system. An example method can determine whether multiple sets of usernames and passwords received by a device authorize a person operating a test-related software on the device to securely test one or more groups of multiple seatback monitors in the commercial passenger vehicle. The example method can also enable selection of a group of multiple seatback monitors that can be specifically tested.

Methods and systems are provided for a transportation vehicle. One method includes parsing by a processor on an aircraft, metadata of media content received by the aircraft, while the aircraft is in flight, the media content includes a media file and the metadata. The metadata indicates a start date when the media content can be presented to a device on the aircraft and an end date when media content is to become inaccessible. The method further includes dynamically generating a unique identifier for the media content by the processor, the unique identifier based on an aircraft identifier; updating the metadata by the processor by associating the unique identifier with the media content; storing the media content with the updated metadata and an indicator when the media content is to be deleted; and using the unique identifier by the processor for tracking usage of the media content on the aircraft.

Disclosed embodiments are directed at devices, methods, and systems for association of reader devices to IFE monitors in a commercial passenger vehicle. An example method includes determining at a client computing system included in an IFE monitor that at least one reader device is remotely located from the client computing system; using a wired Ethernet connection to a server, the client computing system requesting the server to discover an electronic tag information; and upon the client computing system receiving the electronic tag information from the server over the wired Ethernet connection, the client computing system processing the electronic tag information, wherein another IFE monitor supplies electrical power to the at least one reader device, wherein the client computing system is unaware of a physical location of the at least one reader device, and wherein the server is included in the another IFE monitor.

A content distribution apparatus onboard a vehicle periodically travelling within direct communicative range of other content distribution apparatuses onboard respective other vehicles has a storage interface to a local content data repository, and a mesh network interface establishing mesh network data communications links with the content distribution apparatuses. A comparator is in communication with the local content data repository over the storage interface, and a missing content segments list is generated by the comparator based upon an evaluation of a master content list against a local inventory of the segments of content data. The missing content data is retrieved from one or more upstream source content distribution apparatuses over a first mesh network data communications link. The content data in the local inventory is also transmitted to a downstream requestor content distribution apparatus over a second mesh network data communications link.

A system for wireless distribution of aircraft data, avionics parameters or control commands between a standardized aircraft interface point and other systems, including a portable in-flight entertainment (IFE) server. The system comprises an aircraft data system with avionics buses for carrying at least one of aircraft data, avionics parameters or control commands. A first module is configured to directly interface with the avionics buses, in order to read/write data. A second module is configured to combine/adapt the data and generate signals of the combined/adapted data. A third module is configured to transmit the signals from the second module via wireless standard protocols towards the portable IFE server. The IFE server is configured to receive the signals from the third module.

A seating assembly for a passenger aircraft. The seat system may include at least one passenger seat and a seat back tray assembly mounted onto the back of the passenger seat and movable between a first storage position and a second deployed position. The tray assembly may include (i) a tray having a first and second attachment arm mounted onto the tray for installing the tray onto the back of a seat system; (ii) a sliding mechanism installed on the first and second attachment arms adapted for providing movement between a first forward position and a second aft position to a seated passenger parallel to the first and second attachment arms; and (iii) an alignment mechanism attached to the sliding mechanism for maintaining the tray in a horizontally aligned relationship during the movement. The seat system may further include a PED holder adapted to hold a personal electronic device.

Systems and methods for presenting media content in an aircraft are provided. A first video display unit is communicatively coupled to a personal electronic device for obtaining therefrom a request to present the media content. A wireless access point is communicatively coupled to the first video display unit for receiving from the first video display unit a first command to query the personal electronic device for media presentation parameters, and the wireless access point is communicatively coupled to the personal electronic device for obtaining the media presentation parameters therefrom. A second video display unit is communicatively coupled to the first video display unit via the wireless access point. The wireless access point is configured for issuing a second command to at least one of the first and second video display units to cause the media content to be presented according to the media presentation parameters.

A passenger tray with an integrated user interface device is disclosed. In embodiments, a passenger tray assembly includes a passenger tray with a cavity defined in a surface of the passenger tray. A user interface device is disposed within the cavity. The user interface device includes a capacitive touch interface that is configured to generate signals for controlling one or more electronic components in a passenger environment. For example, the capacitive touch interface can be configured to generate signals for controlling an in-flight entertainment device, an actuator of a passenger chair, a passenger light system, and/or a flight attendant alert system.

An expansion of the display of graphical content over multiple spatially separated smart monitors of an in-flight entertainment system involves initiating data communications links between each of the multiple smart monitors. A background graphical content is segmented into corresponding sections for each of the multiple smart monitors, with being unique to a specific one. Each of the sections of the background graphical content are displayed on the respective smart monitors, and a moving foreground graphical content is animated across one or more of the smart monitors. Transitions of the moving foreground graphical content from an originating one of the smart monitors to a destination one of the smart monitors is communicated over the corresponding data communications link initiated therewith. Inputs from the smart monitors are received to correspondingly modify the animating of the moving foreground graphical content.