Thomson Licensing

Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc.

Thomas Patrick Newberry

Thomas Anthony Stahl

Izzat Hekmat Izzat

Timothy W Saeger

Kerry Wayne Calvert

Steven Charles Rhoads

David John Weaver

Glen Wakeman Ruch

Enrique Rodriguez-Cavazos

Richard Allen Norman

Liangzhone Wang

Timothy William Saeger

A gatewayidentifies mobile devicesconnected to it. Communication access numbers associated with the mobile devices are then obtained and synchronized with communication access numbers associated with the gateway. The gateway notifies a service provider for the mobile device that its calls should now be routed to the gateway instead of the mobile device. Calls received by the gateway can then be delayed, reformatted and/or otherwise transformed/controlled by the gateway and passed to connected landline devices.

Mobile device synchronization to a gateway

A method and apparatus for using an integrated circuit card to facilitate downloading reusable content from a server into a terminal. Specifically, the method comprises the steps of verifying that an entitlement contained in the integrated circuit card is correct for receiving the reusable content from the server and downloading the reusable content from the server into a memory of the terminal. The apparatus comprises a terminal, coupled to a remote server and an integrated circuit card, coupled to the terminal via the interface circuit, for enabling the server to download the reusable content in the terminal. The terminal comprises a processor for processing the download of the content from the server, a memory for receiving the downloaded content and an integrated circuit card interface circuit.

Method and apparatus for using an IC to facilitate downloading content

A method and apparatus is disclosed for transmitting a requested media file through a network. A master controller of a server partitions the media object. The master controller of the server then assigns a segment of said partitioned media object to a file partition handler for transmission over the network to a client that requested the media object. The file partition handler transmits the segment over a user datagram protocol port through the network to a client. The master controller then assigns a second segment of said partitioned media object to the file partition handler when the original segment is transmitted successfully to the client. The segmentation of the media object is determined in response to the availability of file partition handlers and the conditions specified by the client.

System and method for transmitting media based files

An apparatus for providing reserved connections between end stations, in a network, such as the Internet, capable of providing prioritized communications, comprises a switch in packet communications with end stations. The switch detects and forwards packets that contain prioritized data for priority processing, and packets that include requests for reserved connections according to a given reservation protocol. Output queues associated with egress ports of the switch correspond to different priorities associated with received priority packets. An additional output queue is associated with reserved connection data packets. In response to a reserved connection request, the switch determines if sufficient bandwidth exists in the switch to establish a reserved path within the network, and if so, allocates the and width for the reserved connection. In response to each received packet, the switch determines whether the packet is associated with the reserved connection and forwards those packets to the additional output queue on the egress port associated with the reserved connection path for transport to the intended destination.

Mechanism for providing quality of service in a network utilizing priority and reserved bandwidth protocols

A system of defining, creating and decoding composite virtual channels advantageously supports dynamic channel and event substitution. A method, for use in a decoder for acquiring a program conveyed on more than one broadcast channel, involves generating a program guide display. The program guide display lists programs being broadcast on a plurality of broadcast channels during specified broadcast time segments and also lists a particular program on both a first and a second broadcast channel. The particular program is acquired from the first broadcast channel in response to user selection of either of the first and second broadcast channels. A plurality of prioritized channel maps are used in substituting an alternative program for a first program on a broadcast channel.

Program guide information and processor for providing program and channel substitution

Analog and digital video signals are each representative of a picture and each may carry program guide information. A demultiplexer has the digital video signal as an input and the program guide information as an output. A demodulator has at least a luminance component of the analog video signal as an input and the program guide information as an output. A microprocessor, a video graphics adapter, the demultiplexer and the demodulator are interconnected by a data bus. Either of the program guide outputs is transferable to the video graphics adapter, which formats a graphics video signal representative of the program guide information. The graphics video signal and a selected one of the video signals are inputs to a multiplexer, which outputs a combined video signal representative of both the program guide information and the picture represented by the selected video signal.

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Westfield, IN, United States of America

Thomas Patrick Newberry