Abstract: An inflight communication system is disclosed. In some embodiments, the system includes a video display unit (VDU) with a detachable module having a plurality of user interface elements thereon to facilitate, for example, recovery from failure of one of the user interface elements in that the detachable module can be replaced without replacing the entire VDU. In some embodiments, the system includes a VDU with integrated and/or rendered flight attendant call button and/or reading light control button. In some embodiments, the system includes a public address (PA) system that bypasses the IFE head end servers when delivering PA audio to seat audio/visual (A/V) systems, thereby reducing or eliminating the risk of PA audio output failure on seat A/V systems due to server crashes and improving synchronization between the PA audio output on the public loudspeakers and the seat A/V systems.

Abstract: Serial networking dedicated fiber optic inflight entertainment (IFE) systems, methods therefor and components thereof, that exhibit improved configuration and failover attributes through implementation of novel network configuration protocols. In some aspects of the invention, such an IFE system comprises a plurality of head end line replaceable units (HE-LRUs) and a plurality of serial networking line replaceable units (SN-LRUs), wherein each of the SN-LRUs individually detects that a closed system network has been formed between the plurality of HE-LRUs and the plurality of SN-LRUs based on a plurality of packets sourced by at least one of the HE-LRUs and received on a plurality of ports of each of the SN-LRUs, and wherein in response to detecting that the closed system network has been formed one of the SN-LRUs blocks one of its ports based on further detecting that the SN-LRU is a middle SN-LRU.