Abstract: One embodiment of an inventive networking environment includes clients called sending clients because they send network content through a network, and clients called receiving clients because they receive the network content from the sending clients through the network. Both sending clients and receiving clients are “clients” in that they rely on a management server to orchestrate the secure transfer of information from sending clients to receiving clients.

Abstract: Graphical, video, and audio dam is integrated into a single processing environment. The present invention employs an integrated graphics/video controller (IVC) which interfaces with application software through a graphics API and a video API. The IVC receives graphics commands through the graphics API and video commands through the video API. A mask driver produces information from the graphics commands including clipping information, graphics information and mask information. A blender uses the mask information, the graphics information, and the clipping information for combining or compositing graphics images with video images. The video commands of the video command stream provide functions for configuring the operation of the IVC. These functions include commands for loading software video decoders in a decoder block within the IVC. Video data transferred to the IVC via the video API may be encoded in a variety of different formats.