...that the Slinky toy was the result of a failed attempt by engineer Richard James to produce an antivibration device for ship instruments? His goal was to develop a spring that would instantaneously counterbalance the wave motion that rocks a ship at sea. Instead, he developed the Slinky.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8191089 | System and method for inserting advertisement in contents of video program The invention provides a system and method for inserting advertising in a video program, wherein appropriate advertisements are displayed at scheduled times in the process of a video program, characterized by matching image frames of a video program with object info... | 05/29/2012 |
| 8171510 | Method for using banner advertisements during commercial breaks Apparatus is provided by which a television viewer can view other images e.g. during commercials or main program. For example, during a commercial, a viewer may channel surf or surf the internet. A banner is provided on a viewing screen while the viewer watches thes... | 05/01/2012 |
| 8171509 | System and method for applying a database to video multimedia A system and method for applying a database to video multimedia is disclosed. One embodiment provides media content owners the capability to exploit video processing capabilities using rich, interactive and compelling visual content on a network. Mechanisms of assoc... | 05/01/2012 |
| 8166500 | Systems and methods for generating interactive video content The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for generating interactive content from video content. The method according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises identifying at least one product within the video content and converting th... | 04/24/2012 |
| 8165457 | Recording method, reproducing method, recording apparatus, and reproducing apparatus of digital stream According to one embodiment, this invention allows to acquire attribute information of a stream object and to generate it as management information upon recording a digital stream when an MPEG-TS that uses H.264 as a moving picture encoding format is to be recorded.... | 04/24/2012 |
| 8156520 | Methods and apparatus for presenting substitute content in an audio/video stream using text data Various embodiments of apparatus and/or methods are described for skipping, filtering and/or replacing content from an audio/video stream using text data associated with the audio/video stream. The text data is processed using location information that references a ... | 04/10/2012 |
| 8156519 | System, method and computer program product for calculating the cost of an advertisement A system, method and computer program product are provided for calculating the cost of an advertisement. Initially, data reflecting an advertisement and usage of the advertisement may be provided. The data provided may then be rated. A cost may then be calculated ba... | 04/10/2012 |
| 8151294 | Technique for delivering entertainment programming content including commercial content therein over a communications network Although personal video recorders (also known as digital video recorders) provide certain conveniences to viewers of programming content, such devices facilitate manipulation or Askipping@ of commercials, frustrating the intent of the advertisers of the commercials.... | 04/03/2012 |
| 8151293 | System and method for event-based automatic tuning A system for automatically tuning to a channel based on an event includes a tuner to tune to a first channel, an event table to associate an event with a second channel, and event detector to detect the event and to instruct the tuner to tune to the second channel i... | 04/03/2012 |
| 8140390 | System and method for displaying partial advertising data during trick play A method is disclosed including but not limited to initiating a trick play command having a trick play duration at the end user device during replay of video data an end user device main display; presenting an advertising data item having an advertising duration dur... | 03/20/2012 |
| 8141112 | Video signal content indexing and linking to information sources A method for identifying object images in a display of a video signal, storing object identification information in an overlay directory, and extracting object information relevant to identified objects from respective information databases is disclosed. Overlay dir... | 03/20/2012 |
| 8141113 | Methods and systems for recovering from errors associated with advertisement streams An exemplary method includes switching, by a media content access subsystem, from a program stream to an advertisement stream in response to a switching instruction received by the media content access subsystem, detecting, by the media content access subsystem, a p... | 03/20/2012 |
| 8141111 | Movie advertising playback techniques An ad in a movie can be a static ad having a position in the movie that cannot be moved, or a dynamic ad having a position in the movie that can be changed. When a viewer of the movie wishes to skip a portion of the movie containing the ad, the playback system deter... | 03/20/2012 |
| 8136133 | Methods and systems for broadcasting modified live media Methods and systems are presented for broadcasting a modified live media feed of an event. In an embodiment, the method includes receiving a live media feed at a broadcast computer from one or more recording devices, wherein the live media feed includes real time oc... | 03/13/2012 |
| 8122467 | Open API video system and method of making and using same A video player unit, system and method, and a video hierarchy. Included are at least one memory device, a plurality of communication access points for receiving at least one program play, an open application programming interface associated with the at least one mem... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8122466 | System and method for updating digital media content A system and method for updating digital content are provided. The system and method of the present disclosure enable updating of content on digital media by dynamically presenting specialized selected content from a global computer network, e.g., the Internet, or o... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8104058 | Frequency redirection for inband signaling A channel remapping pre-notification (RPN) message is transmitted in each of multiple frequencies prior to movement of data associated with one or more virtual channels to one or more different frequencies. The RPN message is also sent prior to transmission of a Vir... | 01/24/2012 |
| 8091103 | Server providing content directories of video signals and linkage to content information sources An overlay server for illustrative video streaming constitutes a central part of a distributed system for linking content of video recordings to relevant information sources. The overlay server maintains a global object directory including information pertinent to a... | 01/03/2012 |
| 8082564 | Method for creating a subscriber cable channel and set-top box for use therewith Media content is received from at least one external device that is coupled to a set-top box. Subscriber channel content is generated based on the media content. The subscriber channel content is transferred to a cable network to produce a subscriber cable channel. | 12/20/2011 |
| 8081867 | Record/playback apparatus A record/playback apparatus includes a recording unit that records a televised program being received by a receiving unit to a disk-shaped recording medium such as a DVD or HD. Also, a commercial message detecting unit detects a switch from main program to commercia... | 12/20/2011 |
| 8078033 | Recording apparatus A recording apparatus includes a recording unit that records a televised program being received by a receiving unit to a disk-shaped recording medium. The recording apparatus also includes a commercial message detecting unit that detects a switch from main program t... | 12/13/2011 |
| 8078493 | Method and system for pause ads A system and method for displaying ads on a client-side video replay system during a pause mode. The method may comprise determining that the video replay system should enter a pause mode, obtaining an ad, and displaying the ad on a display of the video replay syste... | 12/13/2011 |
| 8069459 | Method, apparatus and computer-readable medium for promoting television programs A method, which comprises: receiving from a provider of a first content stream an indication of a promotional time slot to be rendered available on the first content stream; accessing a program schedule indicative of television programs scheduled to begin airing on ... | 11/29/2011 |
| 8060903 | Signal processing apparatus and methods A unified system of programming communication. The system encompasses the prior art (television, radio, broadcast hardcopy, computer communications, etc.) and new user specific mass media. Within the unified system, parallel processing computer systems, each having ... | 11/15/2011 |
| 8051442 | Methods and apparatus for presenting advertisements based on a location of a presentation device Various embodiments of apparatus and/or methods are described for presenting advertisements in association with broadcast video content on a presentation device in a non-residential location. The advertisements are identified based on characteristics of the non-resi... | 11/01/2011 |
| 8051443 | Content replacement by PID mapping A method and apparatus for content substitution, consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention involves receiving data representing content, the data having at least first and second packet identifiers (PIDs) associated with first and second portions ... | 11/01/2011 |
| 8032905 | Interactive broadcast system and method with different content displayed to different viewers In a system and method for providing a television broadcast that displays different content for different viewers, a pool of content items, or particular items from a pool of content items, is integrated with a signal for a television program. The combined signal is... | 10/04/2011 |
| 7992166 | Providing alternative services based on receiver configuration and type of display device The present invention provides a system for providing alternative services in a television system. In one implementation, a subscriber is provided an alternative service upon attempting to access an unauthorized service, thereby providing a framework for efficient c... | 08/02/2011 |
| 7992165 | Insertion of digital media An example embodiment of the present invention provides a process for inserting a source media stream into a target media stream. The process opens and reads into memory structural information from a target media stream. The process then opens and reads into memory ... | 08/02/2011 |
| 7992167 | Content replacement by PID mapping A method and apparatus for content substitution, consistent with certain embodiments of the present invention involves receiving data representing content, the data having at least first and second packet identifiers (PIDs) associated with first and second portions ... | 08/02/2011 |
| 7987478 | Methods, devices, and computer program products for providing unobtrusive video advertising content A method of advertising during sequences of video images includes alerting a viewer of available video advertising content associated with an object displayed in a sequence of video images. A viewer selection of the object is received during the sequence of video im... | 07/26/2011 |
| 7962933 | Mid-roll insertion of digital media An example embodiment of the present invention provides a process for inserting a source media stream into a target media stream, which media streams might be in container file format. The process opens and reads into memory structural information from a target medi... | 06/14/2011 |
| 7962932 | Methods, systems, and computer program products for presenting a message on a display based on a display based on video frame types presented on the display Methods, systems, and computer program products for presenting a message on a display based on video frame types presented on the display are disclosed. According to one aspect, a method includes receiving a message having one of a plurality of priority levels for p... | 06/14/2011 |
| 7962931 | Method and system for integrating television brand advertising with promotional marketing A method for integrating television brand advertising with promotional marketing includes providing an image to be displayed in different television commercials for products from different advertisers, the image indicating a website; and providing at the website cou... | 06/14/2011 |
| 7949566 | Method and system for creating ad-books A method and apparatus and format and and form are provided for preparing ad-books or related print or publishing for an organization or organizations or a plethora of organizations over a communications network. The method includes preparing an ads or messages at a... | 05/24/2011 |
| 7941817 | System and method for directed television and radio advertising A method and a device that presents a broadcast commercial message selects a commercial message for presentation based on user profile criteria. A programming content signal is received at a customer premises equipment (CPE). A stored commercial message is selected ... | 05/10/2011 |
| 7934230 | IPTV architecture for dynamic commercial insertion Dynamic delivery of different commercials to different viewers is achieved using a network node within an IPTV packet-switched network that is coupled to receive both a multicast television program and commercial programs. The network node is able to identify one or... | 04/26/2011 |
| 7930713 | Providing alternative services based on receiver configuration and type of display device The present invention provides a system for providing alternative services in a television system. In one implementation, a subscriber is provided an alternative service upon attempting to access an unauthorized service, thereby providing a framework for efficient c... | 04/19/2011 |
| 7930714 | Video detection and insertion A television signal substitution system that replaces known video segments such as advertisements with selected replacement advertisements. Fingerprint data of known advertisements can be stored in a fingerprint database. When new fingerprint data is available, the ... | 04/19/2011 |
| 7917922 | Video input switching and signal processing apparatus An apparatus integrates a plurality of television signal sources into a cohesive audio/video environment. Internal provisions include a standard broadcast-frequency tuner, cable tuner as well as other optional inputs such as for a direct-broadcast satellite, previou... | 03/29/2011 |