Other

Sony Corporation

Sony Electronics Inc

Sho Kou

Hisato Shima

Chenchu Lakshmi Chilamakuri

Qi Benjamin Hu

Ratna Vemuri

Annie Wang

Michael Berkovec

Steven Kennedy

A method and system for efficiently allowing a controller device to receive information from a tuner device regarding the content of a digital television bit-stream. The present invention first receives a digital television bit-stream at a tuner device. The digital television bit-stream comprises video, audio, and data information, as well as tables that describe the content of the bit-stream. Next, to obtain a table, a controller device sets a value specifying a desired table in an attribute field of a command. Next, the controller sets at least one flag in a flag field of the command. The setting of the flag indicates the table which is being requested. Additionally, because a single attribute field may hold different types of information, the flags indicate which type of information is in the attribute field for this issuance of the command. The controller, then issues the command to the tuner, which determines what table is being requested, based upon the flags set. The tuner then returns that table to the controller.

Method and system for devices efficiently sharing information regarding the content of a digital television bit-stream

A method of and apparatus for supporting and enabling the selection and mixing of multiple input data streams from multiple sources within a receiving device allowing external control includes a receiving device, a control device and one or more source devices. The receiving device receives input data streams from the source devices. The input data streams are provided as inputs to selectors within the receiving device. The selectors output selective ones of the input data streams to a mixer, based on control information received from a control device. The mixer then combines the selected input data streams into an output stream, based on control information received from the control device. The interfaces and functions of the selectors and the mixer are provided to the control device in response to a request from the control device. As the control device receives control inputs, the control device provides control information to the selectors and the mixer within the receiving device to control the output of the input data streams.

Method of and apparatus for supporting and enabling the selection and mixing of multiple streams of audio/video data from multiple sources within a receiving device allowing external control

A system for performing caching procedures in an electronic network may include a user device that communicates with a server device in the electronic network for transmitting message information to a selected buddy device in the electronic network. A messaging application of the user device may temporarily store the message information into a cache device as a cached message until a successful transmission of the cached message to the buddy device becomes possible through the server device and over the electronic network.

Methodology for performing caching procedures in an electronic network

A method and system for selecting and controlling target devices on a digital home network, in particular a network compliant with IEEE 1394. Various aspects of the process for connecting target devices are moved from the controller to the target devices. An input-select button is used to select a device (a source device) to provide an input signal to another device (a sink device) on the home network. An output-select button is used to specify which output plug is to be used by the source device.

Method and system for selecting and controlling devices in a home network

A system for dynamically building a graphical user interface of a target device in a home audio video network. The system includes a computer system within a host device coupled to the home audio video network, the computer system having a processor coupled to a memory via a bus. The computer system is configured to implement a graphical user interface for one or more target devices coupled to the home audio video network by executing software stored in the memory, wherein the software causes the computer system to perform the steps for dynamically building the graphical user interface. The steps include enumerating units on the network, each unit being a software based representation of a target device. The subunits within each unit are enumerated, the subunits being software based representations of functions of the target device. The requirements for a GUI (graphical user interface) is then determined for each subunit. The computer system then builds an overall GUI framework by aggregating the requirements. Respective portions of the overall GUI framework are assigned to each subunit discovered during the enumeration. Subsequently, a completed overall GUI interface is rendered on a display for the user, wherein each subunit renders its respective portion of the overall GUI interface.

Method and system for dynamically building the graphical user interface of a home AV network device

The present invention enables automatic setting a natural language default selection in a video presentation device and facilitates easy manufacturing adjustments to accommodate a variety of possible natural language preferences that exist among different geographical areas. A video tuner natural language default selection system of the present invention facilitates reception of video communication signals (e.g., a television broadcast signal) and tuning into particular geographical default natural language information included in the video communication signal. A tuner controller provides instructions to a tuner on the selection of the geographical default natural language information for communication to downstream components. A memory stores information for the tuner controller, including a geographical default natural language indicator for referring to a geographical natural language table comprising natural language selections. In one exemplary implementation the geographical natural language table is configured to comply with IEEE 1394 requirements and is included in an IEEE 1394 compliant AV/C tuner preferred components list descriptor.

System and method for setting default audio and subtitling language preferences for a video tuner

The isochronous channel number to be used in transferring an isochronous data stream over a bus from a source device to a destination device can be selected via a simple and straightforward method or a low cost apparatus. The device identifier of the source device is obtained. A device identifier suitable in some embodiments of the invention is the node identifier of the source device within an IEEE-1394, IEEE-1394a or an IEEE-1394.B bus. If the source device is not currently outputting another isochronous stream over the bus, then an isochronous channel number that corresponds to (for example, equals) the source device identifier can be used. In some embodiments, each device is entitled to use an isochronous channel number equal to its physical ID and thus need not check to see if that channel is otherwise in use. When multiple isochronous channels are to be output from the same device, then some embodiments use the device identifier of a device to which the isochronous stream is to be transmitted, when the isochronous channel of that number is available. Some embodiments use the highest available channel number below the isochronous channel reserved for broadcasting. Some embodiments listen on the bus for isochronous transmissions to determine that a particular isochronous channel is not currently in use. Some embodiments of the invention are advantageous for situations where the bus is a simple one that does not have an isochronous resource manager.

Allocating isochronous channel numbers to devices on an IEEE-1394 bus

Systems and methods consistent with the present invention include a peripheral device connected to a telecommunications network via a telephone line and connected to a multimedia network via a high-speed serial interface. The peripheral device establishes and maintains multiple logical connections between devices in the multimedia network and devices in the telecommunications network.

Apparatus and method for interfacing between multimedia network and telecommunications network

A controlling application generates objects and handles to represent units within a network. To generate an object representing a device, subobjects for each subunit within the device are assembled into the object representing the device. When the unit reports its self-identifying information, the controlling application determines which subunits are included within the unit. Subobjects representing these subunits are copied from a subobject library and assembled into the object representing this device. Preferably, a handle includes a pointer value pointing to an address of the corresponding object for the device.

Method of and apparatus for dynamically binding subobjects into objects to represent functions and characteristics of a device within an IEEE 1394 serial bus network

A controlling application utilizes existing handle objects, as appropriate, to reconfigure objects to dynamically enumerate and represent devices coupled to a serial bus network after a bus reset event. Preferably, the serial bus network is an IEEE 1394-1995 serial bus network. During a self-identifying process, after the bus reset, information about the characteristics of the devices within the network is received. From this self-identifying information objects representing the devices are generated. Existing handle objects from a previous bus configuration are then compared to these objects. If a handle matches an object, then a pointer value within the handle is changed to point to an address of the object. Preferably, a handle includes a 64 bit unique identifier value that is compared to the objects to find a match. For devices removed from the network, the handle object is preferably never discarded but is made invalid. For devices added to the network, existing invalid handle objects are preferably re-validated and attached to objects representing devices. If there are no further existing handles and a device does not yet have an attached handle, then a handle is generated and attached to the device. A handle is only generated if there are more devices within the network than there are existing handles. Preferably, a handle includes a pointer value pointing to an address of the corresponding object for the device.

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Saratoga, CA, United States of America

Sho Kou