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Actor Marlon Brando has four patents, all named "Drumhead tensioning device and method."
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7876480 | Apparatus, method, and computer program for processing information An information processing apparatus includes a selector for selecting removal information concerning contents to be removed, the removal information prepared on a per content basis for the contents to be removed and including a value uniquely determined from data wi... | 01/25/2011 |
| 7398000 | Digital video segment identification An entertainment system, having a capability to playback a stored digital video record that includes frames of video data received from a television broadcast system, approximates ranges of frames in a digital video record that are either commercials or non-commerci... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7269330 | Method and apparatus for controlling a video recorder/player to selectively alter a video signal The method and apparatus operates in a video recorder and playback unit to identify selected broadcast segments, such as commercial advertisements, of a television signal in real-time for the purpose of either suspending recording or advancing playback of the televi... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7260308 | Content identification in a digital video recorder The invention concerns a method and apparatus for controlling a video-media recording device configured for automatically identifying and selectively skipping commercial message segments of a video signal. The method can include the steps of recording the video sign... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7209631 | Image recording/reproducing apparatus A video recording/reproducing apparatus capable of discriminating commercial message portions even when a broadcasting mode is the same. A magnetic head records television broadcasting signals to a magnetic tape and reproduces the television broadcasting signals fro... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7206494 | Detection rules for a digital video recorder The invention concerns a method and system for identifying commercial message segments of a video signal. A set of rules is applied for determining the occurrence of commercial messages with a higher degree of accuracy as compared to conventional methods. In general... | 04/17/2007 |
| 7110658 | Method and apparatus for eliminating television commercial messages A video recording and playback device (10) incorporates a processor (114) for processing the video signal to detect the presence of commercial messages. Video and audio event detectors (102, 104) detect the presence of events in the signal as it... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7012653 | Program restart and commercial ending notification method and system A method and system are provided for allowing channel surfing during the presentation of a commercial broadcast by returning the viewer to the desired program channel after the commercial broadcast has concluded. When a commercial broadcast is received that interrup... | 03/14/2006 |
| 6993245 | Iterative, maximally probable, batch-mode commercial detection for audiovisual content Identification of starting and ending times of commercial breaks and commercials within those commercial breaks found in audiovisual content is disclosed. A solution to a “batch optimization” problem is used in which commercial locations within a set of audiovis... | 01/31/2006 |
| 6968117 | Multi-image reproducing and recording apparatus with appended information In order to select and designate the appropriate identification information when the multi image representing picture is recorded as a multi image onto a recording medium, a reproducing circuit 20 reproduces a recorded image at a designated track, its reprodu... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6937658 | Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and distribution media An information processing apparatus capable of accurately detecting commercials included in a television broadcast. A commercial candidate section detector detects a commercial candidate section based on the characteristics of transitions between a program and a com... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6856758 | Method and apparatus for insuring complete recording of a television program The duration of a recording is automatically extended in the event that a televised program extends beyond the scheduled end of the television broadcast. Groups or “clusters” of commercial messages are detected. If no such group is found at the end of a schedule... | 02/15/2005 |
| 6819863 | System and method for locating program boundaries and commercial boundaries using audio categories For use in a video signal processor, there is disclosed a system and method for locating program boundaries and commercial boundaries using audio categories. The system comprises an audio classifier controller that obtains information concerning the audio categories... | 11/16/2004 |
| 6581207 | Information filtering system and method In an information filtering unit connected with user's video equipment by a communications line, a program content analyzing section analyzes the contents of broadcast programs from a broadcasting station in terms of substantial information such as video ... | 06/17/2003 |
| 6577346 | Recognizing a pattern in a video segment to identify the video segment A method and system are described for identifying video segments (e.g., commercials or television programs) without using any identification data that may or may not be provided in the non-displayed overscan portion or the vertical blanking interval of th... | 06/10/2003 |
| 6546556 | Video clip identification system unusable for commercial cutting A tagged scene of a video stream transmitted from a first to second stations in television broadcasting system is collected while preventing the tags from being used for commercial cutting (i.e., indiscriminate tagged scene cutting). The first station gen... | 04/08/2003 |
| 6442326 | Commercial broadcasting system A commercial sending system that can easily record a non-recorded commercial material is provided. When a play list is input from a creating block or a receiving block, a CM material DB managing block is asked whether or not CM materials included in the l... | 08/27/2002 |
| 6404977 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING A VIDEOTAPE RECORDER IN REAL-TIME TO AUTOMATICALLY IDENTIFY AND SELECTIVELY SKIP SEGMENTS OF A TELEVISION BROADCAST SIGNAL DURING RECORDING OF THE TELEVISION SIGNAL The method and apparatus operates in a VCR to identify selected broadcast segments, such as commercial advertisements, of a television signal in real-time for the purpose of suspending recording of the television signal during each unwanted segment. A sig... | 06/11/2002 |
| 6285818 | Commercial detection which detects a scene change in a video signal and the time interval of scene change points A commercial detector includes a soundless section detecting circuit which detects a soundless section of an audio signal SA and a scene change detecting circuit which detects a scene change point of an image from a video signal SV d... | 09/04/2001 |
| 6275646 | Image recording/reproducing apparatus A video recording/reproducing apparatus capable of discriminating commercial message portions even when a broadcasting mode is the same. A magnetic head records television broadcasting signals to a magnetic tape and reproduces the television broadcasting ... | 08/14/2001 |
| 6226444 | Method and apparatus for recording program data without commercials A method for managing recording of broadcast data includes recording the broadcast data on a recordable medium. Whether a commercial or a program is being broadcasted in the broadcast data is determined. Recording is stopped when a commercial is being bro... | 05/01/2001 |
| 6122322 | Subliminal message protection The present invention relates to a method and to a system for detecting a first context change between two frames. When a second context change between a further two frames occurs within a predetermined time interval, the frames accommodated within the tw... | 09/19/2000 |
| 6100941 | Apparatus and method for locating a commercial disposed within a video data stream A commercial detection apparatus includes a frame grab thread which acquires frames from an input data stream to be analyzed by a cut detector thread and a filter thread. A commercial detection thread determines whether a commercial has occurred from data... | 08/08/2000 |
| 6041159 | Telecommunications device having a remote controller A telecommunications device having a remote controller, which device contains a circuit arrangement for automatic identification of additional information in a program channel by means of which circuit arrangement a transmission of the program channel is ... | 03/21/2000 |
| 6006005 | Automatic telerecording apparatus An automatic telerecording apparatus is comprised of a television antenna which receives a television signal, and a key view-designating block which designates as a key view a view appearing in an identical or similar pattern every time a television progr... | 12/21/1999 |
| 6002831 | Image recording/reproducing apparatus A video recording/reproducing apparatus capable of discriminating commercial message portions even when a broadcasting mode is the same. A magnetic head records television broadcasting signals to a magnetic tape and reproduces the television broadcasting ... | 12/14/1999 |
| 5999688 | Method and apparatus for controlling a video player to automatically locate a segment of a recorded program A video playback device includes video and audio event detectors which detect the presence of events in the video signal as it is played. When the viewer commands the device to skip past a portion of a recorded program, a processor monitors the detected e... | 12/07/1999 |
| 5999689 | Method and apparatus for controlling a videotape recorder in real-time to automatically identify and selectively skip segments of a television broadcast signal during recording of the television signal The method and apparatus operates in a VCR to identify selected broadcast segments, such as commercial advertisements, of a television signal in real-time for the purpose of suspending recording of the television signal during each unwanted segment. A sig... | 12/07/1999 |
| 5987210 | Method and apparatus for eliminating television commercial messages A video recording and playback device (10) incorporates a processor (114) for processing the video signal to detect the presence of commercial messages. Video and audio event detectors (102, 104) detect the presence of events in the signal as it is record... | 11/16/1999 |
| 5911029 | Apparatus for recording and playback of a television broadcast signal capable of playback with commercials skipped by a simple operation While television broadcast signals are reproduced by a mechanism, if a commercial starts, the user operates a remote controller to set the VCR to cue mode. Thereafter, a black frame detecting portion detects a black frame included in the reproduced signal... | 06/08/1999 |
| 5708477 | Video signal identifier for controlling a VCR and television based on the occurrence of commercials A video signal identifier ("VSI") electrically coupled to both a VCR and a television to control their operation. The VSI memorizes commercials then automatically controls the television and video cassette recorder upon identifying a re-occurrence of the ... | 01/13/1998 |
| 5696866 | Method and apparatus for eliminating television commercial messages During recording of a television signal on a VCR, data are accumulated with respect to the time of occurrence and duration of detectable events, such as blank frames, in the television signal, and such data are stored. Subsequent to the recording process,... | 12/09/1997 |
| 5692093 | Method and apparatus for eliminating television commercial messages During recording of a television signal on a VCR, data are accumulated with respect to the time of occurrence and duration of detectable events, such as blank frames, in the television signal, and such data are stored. Timing reference data are written on... | 11/25/1997 |
| 5668917 | Apparatus and method for detection of unwanted broadcast information Unwanted information, such as commercials, is typically transmitted from a transmission station many times each day. The repetitive nature of such unwanted information is used by the present apparatus/method to distinguish unwanted information from normal... | 09/16/1997 |
| 5659653 | Method for programming a recording device and programming device Program related data contained in the broadcast signal of an advertisement for a future television show are evaluated and compared with the current TV set tuning when a LEARN button on a remote control is pressed. A VCR tunes to the present TV channel and... | 08/19/1997 |
| 5485219 | Electric service to record transmissions without recording commercials A central station monitors television broadcasts and issues control and informational broadcasts to receivers located in the homes of users. The information broadcasts include a TV program schedule table and recorder control data. In response to the contr... | 01/16/1996 |
| 5446488 | Television programme distribution signal having the capability to selectively block non-programme material Television programs interupted by non-program material, such as commercials, are broadcasted by the disclosed system over standard TV channels. An ecrypted indicating signal is also broadcasted by the system such that the ecrypted signal can be received a... | 08/29/1995 |
| 5343251 | Method and apparatus for classifying patterns of television programs and commercials based on discerning of broadcast audio and video signals A method and apparatus for classifying patterns of television programs and commercials, based on learning and discerning of broadcast audio and video signals, wherein the signals might be incomplete and the number of discerning features is large. The appa... | 08/30/1994 |
| 5333091 | Method and apparatus for controlling a videotape player to automatically scan past recorded commercial messages An automatic editing device is coupled between a conventional VCR and a conventional television monitor/receiver. During recording of a television signal, data is accumulated with respect to the time of occurrence and duration of detectable events, such a... | 07/26/1994 |
| 5172111 | Stored media screening device A program material screening device is provided whereby the owner/operator of a program material playback device such as a videocassette player, television, laser disc player, motion picture projector, phonograph or the like may automatically and selectiv... | 12/15/1992 |
