Netflix Patent Grants

Fast-expiring licenses used to speculatively authorize access to streaming media content

Granted: October 23, 2018
Patent Number: 10108788
Techniques are disclosed for improving user experience of multimedia streaming over computer networks. More specifically, techniques presented herein reduce (or eliminate) latency in playback start time for streaming digital media content resulting from digital rights management (DRM) authorizations. A streaming media client (e.g., a browser, set-top box, mobile telephone or tablet “app”) may request a “fast-expiring” license for titles the streaming media client predicts a user…

Bit rate stream switching

Granted: October 9, 2018
Patent Number: 10097607
Embodiments for changing bit rates in streaming media are provided. As portions of a streaming media file are downloaded for playback, the size of the portion is compared with an expected size determined prior to initiating playback of streaming AV data. The portion of the media file may be padded such that the size of the portion matches the size specified prior to initiating playback of streaming AV data.

High dynamic range color conversion correction

Granted: September 18, 2018
Patent Number: 10080005
One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for correcting color values. The technique includes downsampling first color space values to generate downsampled color space values and upsampling the downsampled color space values to generate second color space values. The technique further includes modifying at least one component value included in the downsampled color space values based on a first component value included in the first color space values, a second…

Internationalization with virtual staging and versioning

Granted: September 11, 2018
Patent Number: 10075513
One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for providing a variation of digital content that is based on a client-specified context token. Localized digital assets, e.g., graphics resources, video resource, audio resources, and text string resources, are stored as a collection of records and are dynamically linked to a assemble a software system based on the client-specified context token to generate the variation of digital content. The client receives the assembled…

Efficient start-up for secured connections and related services

Granted: August 14, 2018
Patent Number: 10050955
One embodiment of the present invention includes an approach for efficient start-up for secured connections and related services. A client machine receives, via an application program, a request to send a secure message to a server machine. The client machine transmits a plurality of messages to the server machine that includes a first message comprising at least two of user authentication data, entity authentication data, key exchange data, and encrypted message data. The client machine…

Dynamic virtual chunking of streaming media content

Granted: July 24, 2018
Patent Number: 10033787
Techniques are disclosed for a client device to stream a user-selected media file from a content server. The client device may create a playlist of dynamic virtual chunks to represent a single media stream file on a streaming media server. The playlist itself may be generated from an index in the header of a given stream defining what chunks, or segments of multiplexed audiovisual content, are present within that stream. The playlist of dynamic virtual chunks provides the playback engine…

Techniques for predicting perceptual video quality

Granted: June 26, 2018
Patent Number: 10007977
In one embodiment of the present invention, a quality trainer and quality calculator collaborate to establish a consistent perceptual quality metric via machine learning. In a training phase, the quality trainer leverages machine intelligence techniques to create a perceptual quality model that combines objective metrics to optimally track a subjective metric assigned during viewings of training videos. Subsequently, the quality calculator applies the perceptual quality model to values…

Server selection for content distribution

Granted: June 12, 2018
Patent Number: 9998354
In an embodiment, a method comprises receiving a first routing table of a first server computer; receiving a second routing table of a second server computer; receiving a request, from a client computer, for information about content servers that hold a media item title, wherein the request includes a client internet protocol address of the client computer; estimating that the first server computer is closer to the client computer than the second server computer is to the client computer…

Dynamic security testing

Granted: June 5, 2018
Patent Number: 9990499
A method and system for discovering and testing security assets is provided. Based on source definition data describing sources to monitor on the one or more computer networks, an example system scans the sources to identify security assets. The system analyses the security assets to identify characteristics of the server-based applications. The system stores database records describing the security assets and the identified characteristics. The system queries the database records to…

Merchandising streaming video content

Granted: May 15, 2018
Patent Number: 9973800
Techniques are described for merchandising streaming media content to viewers in an engaging manner. A streaming media device may provide a content browsing interface configured to merchandise a set of streaming media titles to a viewer. Rather than rely solely on scrolling lists, titles, box shots, or other metadata associated with the titles available in the streaming media library, the content browsing interface merchandises the library by presenting short merchandising previews of…

Distributed traffic management system and techniques

Granted: April 24, 2018
Patent Number: 9954822
Approaches, techniques, and mechanisms are disclosed for implementing a distributed firewall. In an embodiment, many different computer assets police incoming messages based on local policy data. This local policy data is synchronized with global policy data. The global policy data is generated by one or more separate analyzers. Each analyzer has access to message logs, or information derived therefrom, for groups of computer assets, and is thus able to generate policies based on…

Method and system for improving security and reliability in a networked application environment

Granted: April 24, 2018
Patent Number: 9953173
A security application manages security and reliability of networked applications executing collection of interacting computing elements within a distributed computing architecture. The security application monitors various classes of resources utilized by the collection of nodes within the distributed computing architecture and determine whether utilization of a class of resources is approaching a pre-determined maximum limit. The security application performs a vulnerability scan of a…

Generation of paths through graph-based data representation

Granted: April 17, 2018
Patent Number: 9948602
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method, a computing system, and a computer-readable medium configured to generate requests for payload data through a graph-based data representation. The computer-implemented method includes generating a first request for translation that specifies a first path configured to identify first payload data associated with a graph object. The computer-implemented method further includes transmitting the first request to a path evaluator for…

Evaluation of paths through graph-based data representation

Granted: April 17, 2018
Patent Number: 9948601
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method, a computing system, and a computer-readable medium configured to respond to requests for payload data and provide unique cache keys for caching the payload data. The computer-implemented method includes accepting a first request for translation that specifies a first path configured to identify first payload data associated with a graph object. The computer-implemented method further includes determining that the graph object…

Variable bit video streams for adaptive streaming

Granted: March 27, 2018
Patent Number: 9930385
One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for adapting playback bit rate in a content delivery system based on scene complexity of the video content as well as network conditions and other performance factors. A scene complexity map of the video content indicates the complexity levels of different scenes within the video content. Using the scene complexity map, a content player may download scenes of lower scene complexity levels from video streams encoded to lower…

Systems and methods for suspended playback

Granted: March 13, 2018
Patent Number: 9917791
In an approach, a first application executing on a first computer acquires, one or more resources of the first computer, wherein the one or more resources include one or more shared resources that are shared among applications of the first computer. The first application receives a media stream from a second computer and presents playback of the media stream. In response to detecting that priority within the first computer has shifted to a second application, the first application pauses…

Display screen or portion thereof with a graphical user interface

Granted: March 6, 2018
Patent Number: D812090

Display screen or portion thereof with graphical user interface

Granted: March 6, 2018
Patent Number: D812069

Techniques for applying long term metrics to multivariate testing

Granted: February 27, 2018
Patent Number: 9906612
Embodiments provide techniques for testing a plurality of variations of a user experience on a subscription-based online site, where each of the plurality of variations is distinct from other variations in the plurality of variations. Each of a plurality of users is assigned to one of the plurality of variations. For each of a plurality of user requests received during a predetermined window of time, embodiments determine one of the plurality of variations for use in processing the user…

Display screen or portion thereof with a graphical user interface

Granted: February 6, 2018
Patent Number: D809555