Management and display of video content

• US 8,281,343 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2009
• Issued: 10/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kaplan, Jonathan, Braunstein, Ariel, Furlan, John Louis Warpakowski
• Primary Examiner(s): Saltarelli, Dominic D
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chung, Jason J
• Application Number:
  US12/538,073
• Publication Number:
  US 20100295994A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,152 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/74
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A method of transmitting video content between a computing device and display device. The method includes establishing a data connection between a receiver unit and the display device, where the receiver unit includes a first wireless transceiver and an output port, establishing a data connection between a transmitter unit and the computing device, where the transmitter unit includes a second wireless transceiver and a memory and is configured to perform two-way wireless communications with only the receiver unit and is configured to not perform two-way wireless communications with any other devices, and transmitting the video content from the transmitter unit to the receiver unit.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of wirelessly transmitting video content between a computing device and display device, the method comprising:

receiving a request to display, at the display device, video content from the computing device, wherein a first wired data connection is established between the display device and a receiver unit that includes a first wireless transceiver component and an output port, wherein a second wired data connection is established between the computing device and a transmitter unit that comprises a dongle communicably connected to the computing device and that includes a second wireless transceiver component and a memory, wherein the transmitter unit is pre-paired with the receiver unit in a walled-garden configuration such that the transmitter unit and the receiver unit are preconfigured to, without any end-user configuration, perform two-way wireless communications with each other and not with any other transmitter unit and not with any other receiver unit, in order to transmit the video content from the computing device to the display device, wherein the video content is received at the transmitter unit and from the computing device via the first wired data connection;

wirelessly transmitting the video content from the transmitter unit to the receiver unit by operation of one or more computer processors, wherein the video content is transmitted from the receiver unit to the display device via the second wired data connection, responsive to the request, wherein the transmitter unit is configured to operate in;

(i) a mass storage mode when the transmitter unit is first communicably connected to the computing device, to facilitate the computing device accessing an application stored on the transmitter unit and (ii) a transmitter mode to facilitate transmitting the video content from the computing device to the receiver unit;

wherein the transmitter unit is optionally configured to dismount itself as a mass storage device of the computing device, when switching from the mass storage mode to the transmitter mode;

wherein the receiver unit is configured to operate in;

(i) a wireless communications learning mode to pre-pair with the transmitter unit via a shared code;

(ii) a processing mode to scale the video content from a first resolution to a second resolution different from the first resolution; and

(iii) an overlay mode to effect overlaying a visual indication that the video content is available from the transmitter unit.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is transferred from the memory of the transmitter unit to the computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiver unit is further pre-paired with a remote control.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the shared code is encrypted.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the shared code comprises (a) an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the receiver unit, (b) a username and a password, or (c) an email address.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a pairing signal is transmitted to the receiver unit to establish two-way wireless communications between the transmitter unit and the receiver unit;

and

wherein the transmitter unit and the receiver unit are pre-paired such that the transmitter unit performs two-way wireless communications only with the receiver unit and does not perform two-way wireless communications with any other devices, wherein the receiver unit and the transmitter unit are pre-paired to prevent cross-talk with other receiver units or transmitter units.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the receiver unit and the transmitter unit are further pre-paired with and receives at least one predefined command from a remote control that is configured to perform two-way communications with the receiver unit and the transmitter unit and not with any other receiver unit or transmitter unit, to prevent cross-talk with other receiver units or transmitter units, wherein the two-way communications performed by the remote control is different from the two-way wireless communications performed between the receiver unit and the transmitter unit and include at least one of infrared (IR) communications and radio frequency (RF) communications.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the receiver unit is further configured to operate in a pass-through mode to pass, to the display device, video content received from the transmitter unit over video content received from a second computing device, wherein the video content received from the second computing device is passed without performing any further processing.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the shared code is encrypted, wherein the application comprises a software application, wherein the receiver unit comprises a router configured to interact with the installed software application via the transmitter unit, and wherein the software application includes a user-customizable user interface and is configured to:

generate, based on user input, one or more user-defined channels for sharing video content between users; and

output metadata associated with the video content, wherein the metadata is stored in at least one of;

(i) the computing device and (ii) another computing device operatively connected to the computing device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein processing of the video content is divided, at least in a first combination of modes of the transmitter unit and the receiver unit, between the computing device, the transmitter unit, and the receiver unit, wherein a first portion of the processing of the video content is performed by at least one of the computing device and the transmitter unit, to reduce an amount of bandwidth consumed in transmitting the video content to the receiver unit, and wherein a second portion of the processing, performed by the receiver unit, is smaller than the first portion of the processing.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the transmitter unit further includes a data connector configured to operate according to a predefined communications standard, wherein the predefined communications standard comprises Universal Serial Bus (USB), wherein the output port of the receiver unit comprises an output port configured to operate according to a predefined interface, wherein the predefined interface comprises High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), and wherein the encrypted code comprises at least one of:

(i) an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the receiver unit;

(ii) a username and a password; and

(iii) an email address.

12. A transmitter unit configured to transmit video content from a computing device to a display device the transmitter unit comprising:

a data connector configured to communicably connect the transmitter unit to the computing device; and

a transceiver component pre-paired in a walled-garden configuration with a receiver unit that is communicably connected to the display device, such that the transceiver component is preconfigured to, without any end-user configuration, perform two-way wireless communications with the receiver unit and not with any other receiver unit and not with any other transmitter unit, in order to transmit the video content from the computing device to the display device;

wherein video content is received at the transmitter unit and from the computing device via a first wired data connection established between the receiver unit and the display device, wherein the video content is wirelessly transmitted from the transmitter unit to the receiver unit, wherein the video content is transmitted from the receiver unit to the display device via a second wired data connection established between the transmitter unit and the computing device;

wherein the transmitter unit includes a dongle and is configured to operate in;

(i) a mass storage mode when the transmitter unit is first communicably connected to the computing device, to facilitate the computing device accessing an application stored on the transmitter unit and (ii) a transmitter mode to facilitate transmitting the video content from the computing device to the receiver unit;

wherein the transmitter unit is optionally configured to dismount itself as a mass storage device of the computing device, when switching from the mass storage mode to the transmitter mode;

wherein the receiver unit is configured to operate in;

(i) a wireless communications learning mode to pre-pair with the transmitter unit via a shared code;

(ii) a processing mode to scale the video content from a first resolution to a second resolution different from the first resolution; and

(iii) an overlay mode to effect overlaying a visual indication that the video content is available from the transmitter unit.

13. The transmitter unit of claim 12, further comprising a memory storing the application, wherein the application is transferred to and installed on the computing device when the transmitter unit is first communicably connected to the computing device.

14. The transmitter unit of claim 12, wherein the shared code is encrypted.

15. A receiver unit configured to receive video content from a computing device for display on a display device, the receiver unit comprising:

a transceiver component pre-paired in a walled-garden configuration with a transmitter unit comprising a dongle that is communicably connected to the computing device, such that the transceiver component is preconfigured to, without any end-user configuration, perform two-way wireless communications with the transmitter unit and not with any other transmitter unit and not with any other receiver unit, in order to transmit the video content from the computing device to the display device; and

an output port configured to communicably connect the receiver unit with the display device and to transmit the video content received from the transmitter unit to the display device;

wherein video content is received at the transmitter unit and from the computing device via a first wired data connection established between the receiver unit and the display device, wherein the video content is wirelessly transmitted from the transmitter unit to the receiver unit, wherein the video content is transmitted from the receiver unit to the display device via a second wired data connection established between the transmitter unit and the computing device;

wherein the transmitter unit is configured to operate in;

(i) a mass storage mode when the transmitter unit is first communicably connected to the computing device, to facilitate the computing device accessing an application stored on the transmitter unit and (ii) a transmitter mode to facilitate transmitting the video content from the computing device to the receiver unit;

wherein the transmitter unit is optionally configured to dismount itself as a mass storage device of the computing device, when switching from the mass storage mode to the transmitter mode;

wherein the receiver unit is configured to operate in;

(i) a wireless communications learning mode to pre-pair with the transmitter unit via a shared code;

(ii) a processing mode to scale the video content from a first resolution to a second resolution different from the first resolution; and

(iii) an overlay mode to effect overlaying a visual indication that the video content is available from the transmitter unit.

16. The receiver unit of claim 15, wherein the receiver unit comprises a router configured to interact with the application executing on the computer system.

17. The receiver unit of claim 15, wherein the computing device is configured to generate information to be displayed on the display device, and the receiver unit acts as a pass-through device that receives the information from the computing device and passes the information to the display device for display without performing any further processing on the information.

18. The receiver unit of claim 15, further comprising a processing unit that is configured to generate information to be displayed on the display device by processing information received from the computing device.

19. The receiver unit of claim 18, wherein processing the information received from the computing device comprises scaling video content received from the computing device from a first resolution to a second resolution, wherein the second resolution is greater than the first resolution.