System for handling streaming information using a plurality of reader modules by enumerating output pins and associated streams of information

• US 7,558,918 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2005
• Issued: 07/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lorton, Christopher W., Parry, William G., Smirnov, Serge, Raja, Jayachandran, Lee, Mingtzong
• Primary Examiner(s): BATAILLE, PIERRE MICHE
• Application Number:
  US11/098,018
• Publication Number:
  US 20050246457A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,558 Days
• Field of Search: 711/110, 711/111, 711/167, 711/169, 711/118, 711/156, 710/52, 710/53, 710/36, 370/351, 370/401, 725/88
• US Class Current: 711/118
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10 Digital recording or reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10666 Ring buffers, e.g. buffers wherein an iteratively progressing read or write pointer moves back to the beginning of the buffer when reaching the last storage cell
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/322 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer

Abstract

An information appliance receives streaming information. The information appliance includes a storage buffer and a writer module which receives the streaming information and writes the streaming information to the buffer. A plurality of reader modules are configurable to read the streaming information from the buffer independently of one another.

Claims

1. A method of handling streaming information comprising multiple broadcast channels that includes at least one channel comprised of a plurality of streams of information, comprising:

receiving streaming information;

writing the streaming information to a circular buffer at a write position;

reading each of the plurality of streams in the channel of the streaming information from a first read position in the buffer;

simultaneously and independently reading the streaming information from a second read position in the buffer;

utilizing a control algorithm to prevent the written streaming information on the circular buffer from being written over when being read from either the first location or the second location;

receiving a request from a user to select one of the multiple broadcast channels of the streaming information; and

providing an object which exposes a method to receive the identifier request and, in response, enumerate a set of outputs; and

adjusting either the first read position and/or the second read position to be adjacent the write position when the request is received.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of simultaneously and independently reading comprises the step of reading the streaming information from the second location in the buffer which are different from the first location.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step simultaneously and independently reading comprises the step of reading the streaming information from the second location in the buffer at a different rate from the reading performed at the first location.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step simultaneously and independently reading comprises the step of independently controlling starting and stopping of reading at the second location from the reading performed at the first location.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step simultaneously and independently reading comprises the step of selecting the second location independently of selecting the first location.

6. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:

providing an object, associated with the set of outputs, which exposes a method that can be queried to indicate a location of the object used to enumerate the set of outputs.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein reading each of the plurality of streams comprises reading at least two of an audio stream, a video stream, and a textual stream.

8. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:

providing an object, associated with the set of outputs, which exposes a method that can be queried to indicate a location of the object used to enumerate the set of outputs.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein reading each of the plurality of streams comprises reading at least two of an audio stream, a video stream, and a textual stream.

10. A method of handling streaming information that includes at least one channel comprised of a plurality of streams of information, comprising:

writing the streaming information to a circular buffer at a write position;

reading each of the plurality of streams in the channel of the streaming information from a first location in the buffer at a first read position;

simultaneously and independently reading the streaming information from a second location in the buffer at a second read position;

utilizing a control algorithm to prevent the streaming information from being read from either the first location or the second location when the information is being written to the circular buffer;

receiving a request from a user to select one of the multiple broadcast channels of the streaming information;

providing an object which exposes a method to receive the identifier request and, in response, enumerate the set of outputs; and

adjusting either the first read position and/or the second read position to be adjacent the write position when the request is received.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of simultaneously and independently reading comprises the step of reading the streaming information from the second location in the buffer which are different from the first location.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the step simultaneously and independently reading comprises the step of reading the streaming information from the second location in the buffer at a different rate from the reading performed at the first location.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the step simultaneously and independently reading comprises the step of independently controlling starting and stopping of reading at the second location from the reading performed at the first location.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the step simultaneously and independently reading comprises the step of selecting the second location independently of selecting the first location.