Providing automatic format conversion via an access gateway in a home
First Claim
1. A system supporting access to multimedia information by a plurality of access devices, the system capable of automatically converting a format of the multimedia information, the system comprising:
- a gateway communicatively coupled to a broadband network and at least one wireless interface, the gateway capable of selectively exchanging multimedia information among the at least one wireless interface and the broadband network, and of communicating with the plurality of access devices via the at least one wireless interface;
the gateway capable of receiving from at least one of the plurality of access devices, at least one of;
information identifying an access device and information identifying a user;
the gateway capable of accessing format compatibility information based upon the at least one of;
information identifying an access device and information identifying a user;
the gateway capable of accepting a request for delivery of identified multimedia information having a first format; and
wherein the requested multimedia information is converted from the first format to a second format based upon the format compatibility information.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method supporting the automatic conversion of multimedia information from a first format to a second format in a broadband access gateway and/or network-based server are disclosed. The broadband access gateway and/or network-based server may convert multimedia information that is in a format that an access device is not capable of processing. The gateway and/or server may automatically detect the format incompatibility, and may automatically convert or arrange for conversion of the multimedia information to a format that is compatible with the access device, based upon compatibility information associated with the access device. The conversion may be based upon a set of user-defined quality of service criteria, and may be subject to the control of digital rights management parameters associated with the requested multimedia information. The user of the access device may be prompted when the conversion is expected to impact the quality of the multimedia information being played, and the user may be offered options that permit the user to minimize the impact upon the user.
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Citations
53 Claims
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1. A system supporting access to multimedia information by a plurality of access devices, the system capable of automatically converting a format of the multimedia information, the system comprising:
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a gateway communicatively coupled to a broadband network and at least one wireless interface, the gateway capable of selectively exchanging multimedia information among the at least one wireless interface and the broadband network, and of communicating with the plurality of access devices via the at least one wireless interface;
the gateway capable of receiving from at least one of the plurality of access devices, at least one of;
information identifying an access device and information identifying a user;
the gateway capable of accessing format compatibility information based upon the at least one of;
information identifying an access device and information identifying a user;
the gateway capable of accepting a request for delivery of identified multimedia information having a first format; and
wherein the requested multimedia information is converted from the first format to a second format based upon the format compatibility information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method supporting automatic conversion of multimedia information from a first format to a second format, the method comprising:
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receiving from at least one of a plurality of access devices, at least one of;
information identifying an access device and information identifying a user;
accessing format compatibility information based upon the at least one of;
information identifying an access device and information identifying a user;
accepting a request for delivery of identified multimedia information having a first format; and
converting the requested multimedia information from the first format to a second format based upon the format compatibility information. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A machine-readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections for operating a gateway supporting automatic conversion of multimedia information from a first format to a second format, the code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the operations comprising:
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receiving from at least one of a plurality of access devices, at least one of;
information identifying an access device and information identifying a user;
accessing format compatibility information based upon the at least one of;
information identifying an access device and information identifying a user;
accepting a request for delivery of identified multimedia information having a first format; and
converting the requested multimedia information from the first format to a second format based upon the format compatibility information. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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Specification