摘要:
A method and apparatus for sharing viewing information is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises receiving an designation of a second user from the first user; and transmitting the first user viewing information to the designated second user. The shared viewing information may comprise the identity of a currently viewed media program, a list of scheduled media program viewings, or the media program itself.
摘要:
A jog control for navigating a media program having a plurality of frames and a method for using the navigation control is disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, the control comprises a radial control at one of a plurality of user-selectable radial distances from a center of the jog control, the radial distance indicative of a jog control scale factor, wherein selection of the radial control selects and fixes the jog control scale factor until the control area is unselected, and wherein rotation of the selected radial control about a center of the jog control commands navigation through the plurality of media program frames at a rate determined by the selected jog control scale factor and an angular rate of the selected radial control about the center of the jog control.
摘要:
A method and apparatus for resuming playback of a media program, the playback initiated on a first device and resumed on a second device is disclosed. The method does not rely on additional messages transmitted from the playback devices, but rather on server side monitoring of the transmission of the media program.
摘要:
A method, apparatus and article of manufacture for providing supplemental video content for third party websites is disclosed. In one embodiment, coded instructions are transmitted from a content enhancement server to a host server, for incorporation into the webpage source code. The host server is controlled by a first entity and the content enhancement server is controlled by a second entity commercially distinct from the first entity. Keywords are generated by execution of the coded instructions in the webpage received in the client computer from the host server, and the keywords are sent to a content enhancement server, which generates supplemental substantive video content information for transmission to the client.
摘要:
A method and apparatus for navigating a media program is disclosed. Viewing data for segments of the media program are monitored and used to compile statistics that are presented to the user in a histogram, so that popular portions of the media program can be identified and navigated to. One embodiment includes a searchable transcript of the media program that is synchronized with the histogram.
摘要:
A method, apparatus and article of manufacture for providing advertisements into a streamed media program is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of transmitting a webpage to a user computer, wherein the webpage includes instructions comprising instructions for embedding a media program player in the webpage, wherein the embedded media program player comprises an embedded search utility for accepting a textual user query, receiving a search query from the user computer in a media server, the search query entered into the embedded search utility, generating search results responsive to the user search query, transmitting the search results to the media program player embedded in the webpage, rendering the search results using the media program player; and displaying the rendered search results to the user.
摘要:
A method, apparatus, article of manufacture, and a memory structure for presenting a program guide for a video-on-demand system describing a plurality of media programs, each media program having a plurality of video frames. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of accepting a search request from a user, the search request comprising a search parameter having a search value; searching the media program database for the search value, the media program database having first metadata associated with a first individual video frame of the media program; and providing the program guide comprising a thumbnail depicting the first individual video frame of the media program associated with the first metadata to the user if the first metadata includes the search value.
摘要:
A method, apparatus, article of manufacture for producing one or more thumbnails from a media program comprising video data having a plurality of sequenced images. In an illustrative embodiment, the method comprises the steps of accepting a command to scan the video data to identify a candidate video frame for the thumbnail, accepting a command to select the candidate video frame for the thumbnail, automatically generating a set of candidate thumbnails, the set of candidate thumbnails comprising the selected candidate video frame and video frames temporally proximate the selected candidate video frame, presenting the set of candidate thumbnails for selection, and accepting a selection of one of the candidate thumbnails as the selected thumbnail.
摘要:
A method, apparatus, article of manufacture, and a memory structure for providing advertisements into a streamed media program is disclosed. One embodiment comprises a user computer for accepting user input, the user input directly defining user preferences regarding the presentation of the advertisements in the streamed media program and for inserting advertisements in the streamed media program according to the defined user preferences; and a media program provider communicatively coupled to the user computer, for transmitting the streamed media program to the user computer for presentation to the user on a display communicatively coupled to the user computer.