DISPLAY OF ABBREVIATED VIDEO CONTENT

1 . A method for providing desired video content to a user in conjunction with advertising information, wherein the advertising information is embodied in a full-length video advertisement and in an abbreviated video advertisement that is substantially shorter than the full-length video advertisement, the method comprising:

receiving at a server a request to send the desired content to a user computing device associated with the user and responsively initiating transmission of the full-length video advertisement and the desired content to the user computing device;

at the server detecting a buffer status of the full-length video advertisement, the buffer status being indicative of an amount of the full-length video advertisement that has been buffered for display at the user computing device; and

determining at the server whether to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement to the user computing device based on the detected buffer status.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the buffer status identifies a percentage of the full-length video advertisement that has been buffered.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining at the server whether to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement further comprises determining whether the buffer status is less than a buffer-status threshold when an elapsed time since the start of buffering the full-length video advertisement exceeds a time threshold.

4 . The method of claim 3 further comprising initiating transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement to be buffered and displayed in lieu of the full-length video advertisement when the buffer status is less than the buffer-status threshold and the elapsed time exceeds the time threshold.

5 . The method of claim 3 wherein determining at the server whether to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement comprises determining not to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement when the buffer status is greater than the buffer-status threshold and the elapsed time exceeds the time threshold.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining at the server whether to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement further comprises determining whether a window for display of the advertising material has been made not visible to the user and determining, if the window has been made not visible to the user, how long the window has been not visible to the user.

7 . The method of claim 6 :

wherein the window for display of the advertising material has been made not visible to the user; and

wherein determining at the server whether to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement comprises determining not to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement when the window has been not visible to the user for less than a first threshold period.

8 . The method of claim 6 :

wherein the window for display of the advertising material has been made not visible to the user; and

wherein determining at the server whether to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement comprises determining to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement to replace the full video advertisement when the window has been not visible to the user for more than the first threshold period but less than a second threshold period.

9 . The method of claim 6 :

wherein the window for display of the advertising material has been made not visible to the user; and

wherein determining at the server whether to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement comprises determining to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement to replace a portion of the desired content when the window has been not visible to the user for more than a third threshold period that exceeds the first threshold period and the second threshold period.

10 . A system for providing desired video content to a user in conjunction with advertising information, wherein the advertising information is embodied in a full-length video advertisement and an abbreviated video advertisement that is substantially shorter than the full-length video advertisement, the system comprising:

memory media containing desired video content, a full video advertisement, and an abbreviated video advertisement corresponding to the full video ad; and

a server configured to initiate transmission of the full-length video advertisement and the desired content to a user computing device upon receiving from the user computing device a request to send the desired content to the user computing device, the server being further configured to detect a buffer status of the full-length video advertisement, the buffer status being indicative of an amount of the full-length video advertisement that has been buffered for display at the user computing device, and to determine whether to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement to the user computing device based on the detected buffer status.

11 . The system of claim 10 wherein the buffer status identifies a percentage of the full-length video advertisement that has been buffered.

12 . The system of claim 10 wherein the server is configured to determine whether to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement by determining whether the buffer status is less than a buffer-status threshold when an elapsed time since the start of buffering the full-length video advertisement exceeds a time threshold.

13 . The system of claim 12 wherein the server is further configured to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement to be buffered and displayed in lieu of the full-length video advertisement when the buffer status is less than the buffer-status threshold and the elapsed time exceeds the time threshold.

14 . The system of claim 12 wherein the server is further configured to determine not to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement when the buffer status is greater than the buffer-status threshold and the elapsed time exceeds the time threshold.

15 . The system of claim 10 wherein the server is further configured to determine whether a window for display of the advertising material has been made not visible to the user, and to determine, if the window has been made not visible to the user, how long the window has been not visible to the user.

16 . The system of claim 15 wherein the server is further configured to not initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement when the window has been not visible to the user for less than a first threshold period.

17 . The system of claim 15 wherein the server is further configured to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement to replace the full video advertisement when the window has been not visible to the user for more than a first threshold period but less than a second threshold period.

18 . The system of claim 15 wherein the server is further configured to initiate transmission of the abbreviated video advertisement to replace a portion of the desired content when the window has been not visible to the user for more than a third threshold period that exceeds a first threshold period and a second threshold period.

19 . A method of selecting one of a full video advertisement and an abbreviated video advertisement for display to a user of a computing device in conjunction with a display of desired video content, the abbreviated video advertisement corresponding to the full video advertisement, the method comprising:

initiating buffering of the full video ad;

determining whether the buffering of the full video advertisement indicates a slow connection with respect to the computing device; and

initiating buffering of the abbreviated video advertisement to replace the full video advertisement when it is determined that the buffering of the full video advertisement indicates a slow connection with respect to the computing device.

20 . The method of claim 19 further comprising:

determining whether the user of the computing device has not seen a first portion, a second portion greater than the first portion, or a third portion greater than the first and second portions of the full video ad;

initiating buffering of the abbreviated video advertisement to replace the full video advertisement when the user has not seen a portion of the full video advertisement that is greater than the first portion but less than the second portion; and

initiating buffering of the abbreviated video advertisement to replace a portion of the desired video content when the user has not seen a portion of the full video advertisement that is greater than the third portion.