Abstract: Receiving commands from a remote controller and automatically activating display areas for cursor navigation. Content display areas within a display frame respectively correspond to a variety of content items and include a primary display area wherein cursor navigation is activated and secondary display areas wherein cursor navigation is prevented. Remote controller navigational commands, for example, then allow cursor based navigation for the content item currently displayed in the primary display area. A content selection command such as a number key input of the remote controller allows immediate and automatic updating of the primary display area to include a desired content item that is associated to the command (e.g., the particular number).

Abstract: Hashes of metadata of digital photographs on, e.g., a removable camera memory are compared against values in a hash table representing previously stored photographs on an archive computer to ensure that only previously unstored photos are copied onto the archive computer.

Abstract: An embodiment is a technique to perform network-based traffic recognition and packet classification. A port identifier in a transport layer header of a packet having a packet type associated with a priority level is extracted. The packet is transmitted from or to an application according to a network protocol in a multi-hop mesh network having a local node and a remote node. The port identifier includes a port number. The packet is classified into the packet type using the port identifier and one of a pre-defined port list, a dynamic port table, and an application header of the application.

Abstract: When a user hovers a screen cursor over a TV channel icon on a cross-media bar (XMB) user interface (UI) for a threshold period, enhanced metadata from PSIP/XDS/EPG that pertains to the program currently available on the associated TV channel is presented in a pop-up window on the XMB UI.

Abstract: A method for a multi-tier wireless home mesh network may include authentication of a node within a wireless home networking environment after discovering a wireless home mesh network. The authentication comprises (1) transmitting a first message, the first message including (i) an encrypted pass-phrase being a pass-phrase encrypted with a public key of the node of the wireless home mesh network, (ii) a checksum of the encrypted pass-phrase, (iii) a public key of the wireless node, and (iv) a checksum of the public key of the wireless node, and (2) receiving a second message, the second message including a code to indicate whether the wireless node has been successfully authenticated along with the challenge text verification process to ensure the message was not tampered or sent by another node.

Abstract: GUI presentation in a home network is improved by using a video encoding tailored for GUI, while using normal video encoding for video presentation. Also, GUI command response time is shortened by reserving, for transmission of commands originated by a user input device, a time slot in a contention free period (CFP) of a transmission cycle between a client device receiving the commands and a server executing them.

Abstract: A television channel scan method involves successively scanning a sample number of channels within a first television channel plan to determine whether or not any channel was detected by sequentially tuning the channels at a tuner. If at least one channel is detected in the first television channel plan: then retrieving a map for all channels in the first television channel plan, and selecting all channels within the first television channel plan as channels available for a user to tune. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.

Abstract: A system and method for effectively performing a remote control configuration procedure includes a settop box that receives electronic programming from a program source and a television that is configured to reproduce the electronic programming. A remote control device controls various functionalities of the television over an RC-TV communications link. The remote control configuration procedure is coordinated by the television and a configuration server to allow the remote control device to also control various functionalities of the settop box over an RC-STB communication link. The television and the configuration server support a user-friendly interactive procedure to automatically determine and provide certain settop-box control information for adding appropriate settop-box control functions to the remote control device during the remote control configuration procedure.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for transmitting a digitally encoded video image in real time wherein the video image is digitally encoded using a compression algorithm having a variable bit rate, e.g., JPEG2K, to provide an encoded data stream, the encoded data stream is fed into a buffer of known size, and the data is read from the buffer via a streamer with a controllable bit rate to provide a bit stream at a desired stream bit rate for transmission. The bit rate of the encoded data stream from the encoder is monitored by a predictor and predicts a future bit rate of the encoded data stream; and, the bit rate of at least one of the encoder and the streamer is adjusted to provide the desired streaming bit rate wherein the predicting of the future bit rate is carried out using a prediction model based on a smoothed bit rate vs. time curve of the encoded data stream.

Abstract: A system and method for efficiently transferring data from an electronic camera device includes a camera device that is configured to capture image data and temporarily store the image data into an economical limited local buffer memory. A transfer manager from the camera device may then periodically arbitrate for access to a wireless communications network, and may transfer the captured image data from the buffer memory to a designated data destination, such as an image service on a distributed computer network like the Internet. A system user may then efficiently access the transferred image data from a dedicated storage location on the data destination by utilizing any appropriate data-access device, such as a personal computer device or a portable electronic device.

Abstract: A system provides access to services from different servers via a common API. The system includes service-offering servers, a client that uses services offered by the service-offering servers, and an interchange server that acts as an intermediary when the client uses a service. The client communicates with the interchange server using a common API when the client uses service from the service-offering servers. The interchange server uses a unique API, which is unique to the service-offering server that offers the service being used by the client, to execute a processing sequence that is unique to the service-offering server. Thus client is able to use services offered by the service-offering servers with the use of a common API and without any need to use a different unique API for each service-offering server.

Abstract: A system provides access to services from different servers via a common API. The system includes service-offering servers, a client that uses services offered by the service-offering servers, and an interchange server that acts as an intermediary when the client uses a service. The client communicates with the interchange server using a common API when the client uses service from the service-offering servers. The interchange server uses a unique API, which is unique to the service-offering server that offers the service being used by the client, to execute a processing sequence that is unique to the service-offering server. Thus client is able to use services offered by the service-offering servers with the use of a common API and without any need to use a different unique API for each service-offering server.

Abstract: In one aspect, the present invention provides electronic devices that comprise a doped semiconductor shared contact between (a) a gate conductor region of at least one transistor and (b) a source/drain diffusion region of at least one transistor. One specific example of such as shared contact, among many others, is a doped SiGe shared contact between (a) a gate conductor region shared by an N-channel MOSFET and a P-channel MOSFET and (b) a drain diffusion region of an N-channel MOSFET or of a P-channel MOSFET.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus, system and method for use in remotely diagnosing electronic devices and/or providing content. The method for use in remotely diagnosing includes the initiating a diagnostic analysis of an electronic device, identifying the electronic device, receiving scripts communicated over a distributed network for diagnosing, remotely initiating diagnostic instructions with the scripts and receiving a response based on the instruction. The method can further determine further diagnostic instructions based on responses, and remotely initiate further instructions with the scripts. Additionally, a system for use in remotely diagnosing electronic devices includes a script generator coupled with a distributed network, and a remote diagnostic controller coupled with the distributed network and with an electronic device. The script generator compiles scripts and forwards them over the distributed network.

Abstract: The return channel in a multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) communication system is used to provide signal information on an individual-channel basis. In one embodiment, in a controlled factory environment, this information may be used to incrementing up or down the variable gain amplifier and/or the power amplifier of a MIMO transmitter and/or receiver so as to generate a default signal power offset to be used during normal operation. Thereafter, such signal information may similarly be provided via the return channel and used to further adjust the transmit parameters to account for location-specific signal conditions.

Abstract: The present invention includes a method and device that allows efficient mixing of multiple video images with a graphics screen while utilizing only one video buffer. The present invention partitions the sole video buffer, pre-scales the plurality of video images and inserts them into the partitioned video buffer in a predetermined range of buffer addresses. The present invention mixes the partitioned video including the pre-scaled video images with the graphics screen to produce a video display including both a video screen and a graphics screen.

Abstract: A content downloader system including a display for displaying a user interface enabling a user to select content to be downloaded and initiate downloading; a set-top-box coupled to the display for providing the user interface and for receiving an indication of the content to be downloaded; and a content downloader coupled to and separate from the set-top-box, the content downloader for receiving the content. The content downloader has at least one memory component for storing content, at least one input/output connection for communicating to electronic devices, optionally including a removable memory card and optionally including an encryption/decryption unit. The content downloader may have an identification whereby its identity is authenticated by the content provider.

Abstract: A television device has a television receiver residing substantially within a television receiver enclosure. A high definition multimedia interface is (HDMI) coupled to the television receiver. A detachable HDMI switch is operatively coupled to the HDMI interface, the HDMI switch and has at least two user-side HDMI buses connected thereto. The detachable HDMI switch resides in an HDMI switch housing that exposes the at least two user-side HDMI connector ports. The detachable HDMI switch housing is detachably connected to the television receiver enclosure to permit the HDMI switch housing to be either attached to the television receiver enclosure for use at the television receiver enclosure, or to permit the HDMI switch housing to be separated from the television receiver enclosure to permit the HDMI switch housing to be situated remotely from the television receiver enclosure so that the HDMI connector ports are remotely accessible while being selectable by the television device.

Abstract: An embodiment of the present invention includes a search technique for image query. A region of interest (ROI) containing an image in a scene of a displayed content is captured. The ROI is analyzed locally or remotely to search for related content associated with the image. The related content is received.

Abstract: A system and method for accessing and utilizing ancillary data with an electronic camera device includes a data source that stores various selectable ancillary data files such as image template files, text overlay files, image background files, and special program instruction files. The data source may be implemented in any effective manner, including as a service on an distributed computer network like the Internet, as a discrete electronic device such as a personal computer, or as a removable, non-volatile memory device such as a flash memory. The electronic camera device may then utilize an ancillary data module to access, select, and download the ancillary data files from the data source for subsequently combining with other captured image data to thereby produce new composite images.