Abstract: A remote media player and methods for managing content. The media player includes a storage component to store content files. A user interface allows the user to make content selections. The content selections are used with a content database to manage the relationships between the selections and the content files. The player also includes a processor to perform organization tasks on the content files based upon the content selections.

Abstract: A remote media player and methods for managing content. The media player includes a storage component to store content files. A user interface allows the user to make content selections. The content selections are used with a content database to manage the relationships between the selections and the content files. The player also includes a processor to perform organization tasks on the content files based upon the content selections.

Abstract: A remote media player and methods for managing content. The media player includes storage to store content files. A user interface allows the user to make content selections. The content selections are used with a content database to manage the relationships between the selections and the content files. The player also includes a processor to perform organization tasks on the content files based upon the content selections.

Abstract: A microprocessor including an instruction translation unit and a storage control unit is provided. The instruction translation unit scans the instructions to be executed by the microprocessor. The instructions are coded in the instruction set of a CPU core included within the microprocessor. The instruction translation unit detects code sequences which may be more efficiently executed in a DSP core included within the microprocessor, and translates detected code sequences into one or more DSP instructions. The instruction translation unit conveys the translated code sequences to a storage control unit. The storage control unit stores the code sequences along with the address of the original code sequences. As instructions are fetched, the storage control unit is searched. If a translated code sequence is stored for the instructions being fetched, the translated code sequence is substituted for the code sequence.

Abstract: A media system. The system includes a store of individual files of media content and a repository of meta-information that is related to the individual files of media content. The system also includes a query interface enabling creation of queries that are used on a database to identify files of media content that satisfy the query.

Abstract: A remote media player and methods for managing content. The media player includes storage to store content files. A user interface allows the user to make content selections. The content selections are used with a content database to manage the relationships between the selections and the content files. The player also includes a processor to perform organization tasks on the content files based upon the content selections.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for verifying the legitimacy of a digital media file, including an analysis module for determining control information associated with the digital media file and for computing a known hash value that uniquely identifies the digital media file, and a verification module for computing a verification hash value from the analyzed digital media file received, and for comparing that verification hash value to the known hash value to verify the analyzed digital media file received has not been compromised. Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for verifying the legitimacy of a digital media file previously established as legitimate.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a media server. Another embodiment of the present invention provides a system for enabling protected media content to be shared between playback devices. Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for enabling protected media content to be shared between playback devices. Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for maintaining a desired distribution of acquired rights to use associated with media content. Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for integrating a new component into a system for enabling protected media content to be shared between playback devices.

Abstract: An execute unit including an integer operation circuit is provided. The integer operation circuit is dynamically configurable to operate upon many different widths of operands. A single pair of operands may be operated upon, wherein the width of the operands is the maximum width the integer operation circuit is configured to handle. Alternatively, multiple pairs of operands having narrower widths may be operated upon. The instruction being executed defines the width of the operands and therefore the number of operands. Wide operand operations are performed at a rate of one per instruction, and a rate of more than one instruction is achieved for narrow operands. The same integer operation circuitry is employed to perform both narrow and wide integer operations. Silicon area consumed by the integer operation circuitry may be reduced as compared to a wide integer operation circuit and multiple narrow integer operation circuits.

Abstract: The present invention comprises an improved vocoder system and method for estimating the pitch of a speech signal. The speech signal comprises a stream of digitized speech samples. The speech samples are partitioned into frames. For each frame of the speech signal, an optimal order-two inverse filter is determined. The optimal order-two inverse filter is determined by computing an order-two inverse filter at various locations within the speech frame. For each order-two inverse filter an energy value is calculated which represents the proportion of energy which would remain if the speech signal were filtered with the order-two inverse filter. The order-two inverse filter which minimizes the energy proportion is chosen to be the optimal order-two inverse filter. The optimal order-two inverse filter is then used to filter the samples of the speech frame. An autocorrelation is performed on the filtered signal for a range of tine-delay values.

Abstract: A vocoder system and method for estimating the pitch of a speech signal. The speech signal comprises a stream of digitized speech samples. The speech samples are partitioned into frames. For each frame of the speech signal, the following processing steps are performed. First, an optimal order-two inverse filter is determined based on the samples of the speech frame. Second, a dominant formant frequency is calculated from the coefficients of the optimal order-two inverse filter. Third, an autocorrelation function is calculated on the samples of the speech frame. The autocorrelation is performed for a range of time-delay values over which the pitch period and its multiples might be expected to occur. Fourth, the peaks of the autocorrelation function are analyzed incorporating the knowledge of the dominant formant period (which is the inverse of the dominant formant frequency). Normally, the dominant formant is the first formant.

Abstract: A digital voice data storage and retrieval system using a low bit rate encoder which provides enhanced speech signal quality while also reducing memory size requirements. The system comprises a voice coder/decoder which preferably includes a digital signal processor (DSP) and also preferably includes a local memory. During encoding of the voice data, the voice coder/decoder receives voice input waveforms and generates a parametric representation of the voice data. A storage memory is coupled to the voice coder/decoder for storing the parametric data. During decoding of the voice data, the voice coder/decoder receives the parametric data from the storage memory and reproduces the voice waveforms. According to the invention, an interframe smoothing method is performed on the parametric data after encoding of all of the speech data has completed and the parametric data has been stored in the storage memory.

Abstract: The system and method of the present invention uses a zero-crossing rate measurement in order to determine the initiation and/or termination of speech in an audio signal input. It is especially well suited for detecting the termination of a telephone message in a telephone answering device. Specifically, a sample of the zero-crossing rate signal is determined by counting the number of consecutive speech samples required for the occurrence of a pre-defined number of consecutive zero-crossings. The resultant zero-crossing rate signal is smoothed and applied to a differentiator. A short-time magnitude integration is performed to measure the energy in the differentiated signal. The output of the magnitude integration is provided to a threshold detector which produces a sequence of decision values indicating the presence or absence of speech. Finally, the decision values are filtered to produce a more definitive sequence of final decision values.

Abstract: An improved vocoder system and method for estimating pitch in a speech waveform which pre-filters speech data with improved efficiency and reduced computational requirements. The vocoder system is preferably a low bit rate speech coder which analyzes a plurality of frames of speech data in parallel. Once the LPC filter coefficients and the pitch for a first frame have been calculated, the vocoder then looks ahead to the next frame to estimate the pitch, i.e., to estimate the pitch of the next frame. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the vocoder filters speech data in a second frame using a plurality of the coefficients from a first frame as a multi pole analysis filter. These coefficients are used as a "crude" two pole analysis filter.

Abstract: A system and method for performing software patches for embedded system devices in which the firmware of the system is included in non-alterable storage of the device. The patch mechanism provides a means for finding firmware errors, prototyping fixes to the errors and/or prototyping new functionality of the firmware of the embedded system. The system comprises an embedded system device coupled to an external memory. The device includes a non-alterable memory, including firmware, coupled to a processor. The device further includes a relatively small amount of patch RAM within the device also coupled to the processor. The patches are loaded from the external memory into the patch RAM. The device further includes a means for determining if one or more patches are to be applied. If the device detects a patch to be applied, the system loads the patch from the external memory into the patch RAM. The device also includes a breakpoint register.

Abstract: A method of managing a memory array having a plurality of erasable sectors. The method initially assigns at least one of the erasable sectors as a storage array and at least one of the erasable sectors as an update array. At least one data file is then sequentially written into the storage array beginning at a starting byte within the storage array. Each data file written into the storage array is initially designated as an active file. Thereafter, one or more of the active files is deleted by re-designating an active file as a deleted file. The deletion of active files is accomplished without erasing any of the erasable sectors. In a presently preferred embodiment, the deletion of files is accomplished by setting an Active/Delete flag in a header of the file. After deleting one or more active files, the array comprises at least one active file and at least one deleted file.

Abstract: An instruction translation unit is provided which reduces instructions from a source instruction set to a set of intermediate, atomic operations. The atomic operations are then recombined into instructions in the target instruction set. An execution core coupled to the instruction translation unit may be configured to execute instructions from the target instruction set. However, compatibility with the source instruction set is maintained. By reducing a plurality of source instructions into atomic operations, portions of multiple source instructions may be combined into a target instructions. The execution core may thereby be more efficiently utilized.

Abstract: A vocoder for generating speech from a plurality of stored speech parameters which efficiently computes a band limited noise signal for use in the speech production model. The band limited noise signal generator includes a white Gaussian noise generator coupled to a band-width limiting filter. The resulting band limited white Gaussian noise signal is provided to a bank of modulators, each having predetermined modulation frequency. The outputs of each of the modulators are provided to variable gain units and summed together to produce the band limited noise signal.

Abstract: A CPU or microprocessor which includes a general purpose CPU component, such as an X86 core, and also includes a DSP core. The CPU also includes an intelligent DSP function decoder or preprocessor which examines X86 opcode sequences and determines if a DSP function is being executed. If the DSP function decoder determines that a DSP function is being executed, the DSP function decoder converts or maps the opcodes to a DSP macro instruction that is provided to the DSP core. The DSP core executes one or more DSP instructions to implement the desired DSP function in response to the macro instruction. The DSP core implements or performs the DSP function using a lesser number of instructions and also in reduced number of clock cycles, thus increasing system performance. If the X86 opcodes in the instruction cache or instruction memory do not indicate or are not intended to perform a DSP-type function, the opcodes are provided to the X86 core as which occurs in current prior art computer systems.

Abstract: A CPU or microprocessor which includes a general purpose CPU component, such as an X86 core, an also includes a DSP core. The CPU also includes an intelligent DSP function decoder or preprocessor which examines X86 opcode sequences and determines if a DSP function is being executed. If the DSP function decoder determines that a DSP function is being executed, the DSP function decoder converts or maps the opcodes to a DSP macro instruction that is provided to the DSP core. The DSP core executes one or more DSP instructions to implement the desired DSP function in response to the macro instruction. The DSP core implements or performs the DSP function using a lesser number of instructions and also in reduced number of clock cycles, thus increasing system performance. If the X86 opcodes in the instruction cache or instruction memory do not indicate or are not intended to perform a DSP-type function, the opcodes are provided to the X86 core as which occurs in current prior art computer systems.