Abstract: A directional sound apparatus is described. The apparatus comprises a receiver operable to receive audio data associated with a video stream and to receive, over a network, ancillary audio data containing supplemental audio data associated with the video stream; a storage device operable to store a plurality of profiles, each profile being associated with a different user of the sound system and defining the audio to be provided to the user; a user location device defining a first positional location of a first user having a stored profile; an audio output operable to connect to a plurality of speakers; and an audio controller operable to control the audio output to the plurality of speakers to simultaneously provide the audio data and the supplemental audio data to the first user at the first positional location and said audio data to a second user located at a second, different, positional location.

Abstract: A packet-based data network including: an audio/video network including a packet-switched network over which data including audio and/or video data packets can be carried; at least one data source connected to the network and operable to assemble packetized data comprising audio/video data at a first resolution and at a second resolution greater than the first resolution, and to transmit data packets carrying multiple audio/video streams at the first resolution by multicast network transmission; and at least one client connected to the network, being a data handling device for handling packetized audio/video data and being arranged to join the multicast group to receive the multiple audio/video streams at the first resolution. The client is associated with a graphical user interface configured in conjunction with a processor to select an audio/video stream.

Abstract: An identification module (such as a SIM card) for securely providing a mobile identity to a mobile data network for use in identifying mobile equipment in which that identification module is installed comprises a mobile identity memory which securely stores data defining two or more different mobile identities; a selector for selecting a mobile identity from the two or more mobile identities; a network interface for generating data derived from the selected mobile identity for transmission to a mobile network during a network authorization procedure, and for receiving acknowledgement data back from the mobile network indicating whether authorization was successful based on that selected mobile identity; and a detector for detecting whether the acknowledgement data indicates an unsuccessful authorization with the mobile network and, if so, for initiating a further network authorization procedure in which the selector selects a different one of the two or more mobile identities.

Abstract: A mobile data communications system that includes a mobile device having a reconfigurable user identification module that stores a mobile identity and provides mobile data communication via a mobile network, subject to the mobile identity being registered with the mobile network, and an account control server that includes memory to store identification and payment details for a user of the mobile device and a mobile identity provider to provide a mobile identity to the mobile device and to an authorization server of a mobile network. In response to a request by a user of the mobile device to obtain data access by a particular mobile network, the account control server provides a mobile identity to the mobile device for storage by the user identification module, provides the same mobile identity to the authorization server of that mobile network, and provides user identification and payment details to that mobile network.

Abstract: An audio and/or video generation apparatus which is arranged in operation to generate audio and/or video signals representative of an audio and/or video source, the audio and/or video generation apparatus comprising a recording unit which records the audio and/or video signals on a recording medium, wherein the audio and/or video generation apparatus is arranged to receive metadata associated with the audio and/or video signals generated by a data processor, the recording unit records the metadata on the recording medium with the audio and/or video signals. The data processor receives signals representative of the time codes of the recorded audio/video signals, and the metadata includes time code data representative of the in and out points of a take of the audio/video signals generated by the data processor. The metadata also includes unique identification code for identifying the audio/video signals. The unique identification code is a UMID or the like.

Abstract: A method of inserting ancillary content between first content and second content to be streamed over a network in accordance with a playlist is described. The method includes: streaming the first content from a first location on the network, the location being defined in the playlist; storing information indicating ancillary information relating to the streaming of the first content; streaming the ancillary content from a second, different, location on the network, the location being defined in the playlist; and determining the location of the second content from the playlist, wherein when the location of the second content is the first location, the method streams the second content using the stored ancillary information, and when the location of the second content is different to the first location, the method deletes the stored ancillary information.

Abstract: A data transmission system may have a sending apparatus that sends streaming data, and a receiving apparatus that receives the streaming data and transmits a request of switch of the streaming data to the sending apparatus, in which the sending apparatus may switch the streaming data in response to the received request. The receiving apparatus may include a receiving section, a storage section that stores the streaming data temporarily and transfers it, an operation-detecting section that detects whether a user operates the request, and a control section that controls a transfer rate of the streaming data stored in the storage section to fast-forward the streaming data when the operation-detecting section detects that the user's operation. The sending apparatus may include an information-adding section that adds to the streaming data additional information on the user's operation when receiving a notice of user's operation, and a sending section that sends the additional-information-added streaming data.

Abstract: There is described a device for providing a media content item to a user, the device comprising: a media content item receiver operable to receive the media content item as a data stream, the data stream comprising identifying data which identifies the media content item; a memory operable to store user profile information associated with the user of the device; a supplementary information requester operable to transmit the identifying data which identifies the media content item, the user profile information, and a request for supplementary information related to the media content item to a server over a network; a supplementary information receiver operable to receive supplementary information related to the media content item from the server over the network, the supplementary information being determined by the server on the basis of the transmitted identifying data which identifies the media content item and the transmitted user profile information; and a supplementary information transmitter operable to

Abstract: An apparatus for selecting television programs for display on a display device, for example a television, includes a receiver receiving audio/video data representing the television programs and receiving data indicating a schedule for the television programs. A control process receives an indication for at least one of the television programs to be broadcast providing a status of an availability for streaming the television program after the television program has been broadcast, and in response to the indication of the status of the availability for streaming the television program to perform a predetermined action in accordance with predetermined conditions. The predetermined actions may include, for example, recording the television program or generating a prompt for the user to watch the broadcast television program in response to an indication by the availability status that the television program will not be made available for streaming after being broadcast.

Abstract: An audio and/or video generation apparatus which is arranged in operation to generate audio and/or video signals representative of an audio and/or video source, the audio and/or video generation apparatus comprising a recording unit which records the audio and/or video signals on a recording medium, wherein the audio and/or video generation apparatus is arranged to receive metadata associated with the audio and/or video signals generated by a data processor, the recording unit records the metadata on the recording medium with the audio and/or video signals. The data processor receives signals representative of the time codes of the recorded audio/video signals, and the metadata includes time code data representative of the in and out points of a take of the audio/video signals generated by the data processor. The metadata also includes unique identification code for identifying the audio/video signals. The unique identification code is a UMID or the like.

Abstract: A method comprising: receiving, via a distribution channel, video data having an identifier that identifies a position within a video and an address defining a location of a stored playlist. The method also comprises obtaining from a server a playlist in response to a user input, where the playlist includes location information identifying a location of a stored transport stream. The method also comprises receiving the transport stream from the location identified in the playlist over a network, and displaying the obtained transport stream.

Abstract: A method of controlling storage of electrical energy by charging and discharging an energy storage device in response to pricing data indicative of future prices of electrical energy over time and energy losses caused by charging and discharging the energy storage device comprises detecting alternating candidate charging and discharging occasions with respect to the pricing data by selecting a next occurrence of a locally minimum price in the pricing data as a candidate charging occasion or a next occurrence of a locally maximum price in the pricing data as a candidate discharging occasion; validating a candidate charging or discharging occasion if the price difference between that candidate charging or discharging occasion and another later price in the pricing data is at least sufficient to compensate for the energy losses caused by charging and discharging the energy storage device; and charging and discharging the energy storage device at the validated charging and discharging occasions, respectively.

Abstract: A method operating a telecommunications system including a base station and plural terminal devices arranged to communicate over a radio interface supporting a downlink shared channel conveying user-plane data from the base station to the terminal devices and a downlink control channel conveying control-plane data from the base station to the terminal devices. The control-plane data can convey information on physical resource allocations for the downlink shared channel for respective of the terminal devices. The radio interface uses a radio frame structure including plural subframes. Each subframe includes a control region supporting the downlink control channel and a user-plane region supporting the downlink shared channel. The method uses the control region of a first radio subframe to convey an indication of a physical resource allocation for a first terminal device on the shared downlink channel in the user-plane region of a second radio subframe subsequent to the first radio subframe.

Abstract: A method operating a telecommunications system including a base station and plural terminal devices arranged to communicate over a radio interface supporting a downlink shared channel conveying user-plane data from the base station to the terminal devices and a downlink control channel conveying control-plane data from the base station to the terminal devices. The control-plane data conveys information on physical resource allocations for the downlink shared channel for respective of the terminal devices. The radio interface is based on a radio frame structure including plural subframes each including a control region supporting the downlink control channel and a user-plane region supporting the downlink shared channel. The method uses the control region of a first radio subframe to convey an indication of a physical resource allocation for a first terminal device on the shared downlink channel in the user-plane region of a second radio subframe subsequent to the first radio subframe.

Abstract: A capturing device includes: an image sensor generating an image signal; a storage unit setting a second region in a first region; a timing adjusting unit adjusting a timing at which the image signal is read out to write the image signal in the storage unit, and a timing at which the image signal is read out from the storage unit; an image conversion processing unit performing a predetermined process on the image, alternately writing a first image signal corresponding to a full image or a second image signal corresponding to a partial image in the first region in a different frame period, and writing an image signal that is different from the image signal written in the first region in the second region; and an output unit converting and outputting the first and second image signals into an image signal in a predetermined format.

Abstract: A querying system in a computer apparatus may be customized by connection of a removable storage medium device to a storage medium interface of the computer apparatus. The computer apparatus detects whether, in the storage medium thereof, there is stored customisation data that indicates a change to the query engine data identifying locations where query messages are sent. If so, the query engine data in the computer apparatus is changed accordingly.

Abstract: An audio/video content receiver configured to receive media content by a broadcast data path, the media content includes a host module having a tuner configured to assign logical channel indices to media channels to allow selection, at the host module, of the media channels for reproduction by selecting the corresponding logical channel index, the host module storing channel association data associating the logical channel indices with the received media channels. A removable conditional access module (CAM) includes an access controller decoding access-controlled encoded broadcast content, the host module and the removable CAM to provide an encrypted communication link for decoded access-controlled encoded broadcast content between the CAM and the host module. The host module includes a detector configured to detect a conflict of logical channel index between the channel association data acquired by the host from the broadcast data path and the channel association data provided by the CAM.

Abstract: A method of operation of an audio/video content receiver having a content decoder capable of decoding an audio/video programme from a packetized data stream by using data packets defining decryption information comprises the steps of: receiving encoded audio/video content as a packetized data stream comprising one or more programmes having data packets identified by respective sets of one or more packet identifiers and comprising identification data mapping programmes to respective sets of the packet identifiers; selecting data packets from the packetized data stream for a required programme according to the set of packet identifiers defined by the identification data for that stream in respect of the required programme; selecting further data packets from the packetized data stream from which a programme is selected which have packet identifiers not included in the identification data for that packetized data stream; generating a composite packetized data stream from the selected packets; generating composit

Abstract: A mobile data communications device includes: a reconfigurable user identification module operable to store at least a current primary mobile identity, the mobile device being operable to provide mobile data communication via a mobile network subject to the primary mobile identity being authorised with the mobile network; and a detector to detect the user identity of a current user of the mobile device; the mobile device being operable to access a mobile identity database which provides a mobile identity to the reconfigurable user identification module for use as the primary mobile identity, in response to the detected user identity of the current user of the mobile device.

Abstract: VPI/VCI of an ATM cell is translated into an internal ID by distribute VPI/VCI entries into sections in a table according to a portion of each VPI/VCI entry. A section to be searched according to the portion of a VPI/VCI of the received ATM cell is selected; and a search over the selected section is performed to find an entry corresponding to the VPI/VCI of the received ATM cell. An internal ID corresponding to the found entry is outputted.