Sony Corporation

Sony Electronics Inc

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

America Online, Inc.

Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC

Fusionone, Inc.

Synchronoss Technologies, Inc

Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

Edgar Allan Tu

Robert Hardacker

Peter Rae Shintani

Wendell D Brown

Mark David Klein

Milton Massey Frazier

Jason R Meerbergen

Ryuichi Iwamura

Thomas Patrick Dawson

Djung N Nguyen

Steven Friedlander

Behram Mario Dacosta

Yuko Nishikawa

Leo Pedlow

Rolf Toft

Sabrina Tai-Chen Yeh

Ludovic Etienne Douillet

George Edward Williams

David Boyden

Takashi Hironaka

Rajesh Rao

Travis Charles Baurmann

Mark Hanson

Tracy Ho

Eric Pang

Ian Charles Matthews

Nicholas James Colsey

John Salisbury

Benbuck Nason

Shuji Hiramatsu

Shigeru Enomoto

Toru Morita

Noam Rimon

Gen Tsuchikawa

Michael Reitmeyer

Digital content can be sold by an original sales entity (OSE) to an affiliate sales entity (ASE) for playing of the content by the ASE. The ASE is permitted to transfer the content to another ASE, and sales credit for the secondary transfer is split between the transferring ASE and the OSE upon synchronization of a ledger of the recipient ASE with the system database.

System and method for transfer of digital media

A method for operational support for remote network systems which allows for the rapid replacement of one server with another, in such instances as server malfunctions, routine maintenance, or upgrades. The method generally comprises providing a program storage device containing a machine identifier associated with a first, original server, transferring the program storage device and machine identifier to a second, spare server, and remotely configuring the second, spare server, according to the program storage device and machine identifier associated with the first, original server, such that the second, spare server becomes an identical replacement for the first, original server. Thus, if the first, original server malfunctions, the spare or replacement server can be remotely configured to replace the original server according to the information in the machine identifier stored on the program storage device.

Apparatus and method for operational support of remote network systems

A TV-set is equipped with HDMI and USB connections that allow it to display and run audio-video content from a variety of conventional consumer devices. The TV-set is further equipped to provide a secure HDMI-USB interface that will allow the transfer of licensed high definition content and Internet subscriber services. Such secure HDMI-USB interface also enables a selection of proprietary application modules to be attached. Downloadable user interface templates, much like XML style sheets, are rendered to a user interface displayed on the screen. These are associated with corresponding thumbnails and URI's that allow a user to surf through lists and catalogs of materials, and then to play them in the appropriate formats and provide the machine with a customized controller. A remote commander is simplified, yet expanded to control all the attached devices through interactions with the user interface. The functions of the remote commander's keys change depending on where the user is navigating and what device is being controlled, similar to so-called soft-keys.

Automatically reconfigurable multimedia system with interchangeable personality adapters

A user of a device may be uniquely identified using a metric that is contingent upon the user using the device for its intended purpose without the user having to perform a separate step, function, or operation for the express purpose of identifying the user. Context sensitive content may be provided to or from the device based on the user's patterns of use of the device without requiring the user's personal information. The context sensitive content depends on the user's identity.

Process and apparatus for automatically identifying user of consumer electronics

Consumer devices and methods for operating consumer devices are disclosed. A consumer electronic device may include user identification unit incorporated into a control module of the device. A user of a consumer electronics device is uniquely identified using a metric that is contingent upon the user using the device normally. Content that depends on the user's identity can be provided to or from the device. The user may be uniquely identified using a biometric sensor to provide the metric. The content provided to or from the device or other performance characteristics of the device may be tailored to the particular user based on the user's identity.

A favorites GUI for a TV includes a carousel-type display of icons representing user-defined favorites that is overlaid on the current background video of the TV, with the center-most icon being the 'current' icon and being enlarged relative to the other icons. Live video appears in icons representing TV channels. Other icons can represent, e.g., favorite photo/music files, favorite games from a game console, favorite content from an ambient player, etc.

Favorite GUI for TV

A system and method for effectively performing a streamlined photo distribution procedure may include a photo data source that provides photo data to a source device in an electronic network. A source photo manager of the source device may be utilized to designate one or more message targets for receiving the photo data from the source device. A source mail program may access the photo data to automatically create a photo message that includes the photo data and photo identifier means to request special handling of the photo data. The source mail program may then automatically transmit the photo message over the electronic network to be downloaded by a target mail program of a target device corresponding to the foregoing designated message target. The target mail program may automatically detect the photo identifier means in the photo message, and may responsively provide the photo data to a target photo manager of the target device for automatic storage into a target photo album of the target device.

System and method for effectively performing a streamlined photo distribution procedure

Network registration for a device is achieved by providing the device with an RFID chip bearing a MAC address, cryptographic capabilities and keys, and then disposing the device near a registration server (such as a home network server/server TV) to cause the information on the RFID chip to be automatically transferred to the server and thus execute registration of the device on the network automatically, relieving a person from having to enter long strings of numbers.

System and method for RFID transfer of MAC, keys

A contents display control system includes: a media type determination unit configured to determine a media type of selected media contents; a contents display parameter adjustment unit operating to generate at least one adjustment value for at least one display parameter of the selected media contents; and a contents display processor configured to control display of the selected media contents in the background when graphical user interface is present in the foreground, the contents display processor controlling the display by appropriately adjusting the at least one display parameter of the selected media contents with the at least one adjustment value for the determined media type.

Control of background media when foreground graphical user interface is invoked

Control information is exchanged between a component and a remote control device or a server using RFID or using network discovery procedures. The control information if gathered by the server is provided to the remote. In this way, the need to manually program the remote with component code information is eliminated.

System and method for universal remote control

A method of scrolling in a graphical user interface includes: receiving a command to scroll a plurality of contents icons displayed in the graphical user interface; and retrieving an appropriate number of additional contents icons from a contents icon database to provide a scrolled display in the graphical user interface, wherein the contents icon database is divided into a plurality of entries, each entry of the plurality of entries including at least data for a contents icon of the plurality of contents icons and a link to a contents file, each entry of the database is configured to be fixed in size so that the data for the contents icon can be quickly accessed, and the contents icon can be scrolled in the graphical user interface at a relatively high speed.

Fast scrolling in a graphical user interface

A plurality of identification miniature images for to-be-replayed objects is displayed simultaneously on a manipulating-function menu screen with taking one of the to-be-replayed objects corresponding to one of the identification miniature images in a predetermined position as a to-be-replayed object of interest. There are displayed a first group of a plurality of manipulating-function items for the respective to-be-replayed objects and a second group of a plurality of manipulating-function items related to a plurality of to-be-replayed objects. While any one of the manipulating-function items included in the first group is being selected, the identification miniature image corresponding to the to-be-replayed object of interest is displayed for differentiation from the other identification miniature images.

Playback device, and method of displaying manipulation menu in playback device

TV display with graphical user interface for TV favorites

Growing community of inventors

Castro Valley, CA, United States of America

Edgar Allan Tu