Switcher for wireless display devices

• US 9,667,905 B1
• Filed: 11/23/2015
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Dish Network Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Echostar Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Halper, Brandon, Moran, Lawrence
• Primary Examiner(s): Natnael, Paulos M
• Application Number:
  US14/948,672
• Publication Number:
  US 20170150087A1
• Time in Patent Office: 554 Days
• Field of Search: 348725, 348705, 348706, 348460
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/60 for the sound signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/104 Switchers or splitters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A media switching device includes a computer including a processor programmed to actuate the media switching device to select, based on a first input received from a user, a first media content item from one or more received media content items. The processor is further programmed to transmit a first portion of the first media content item via a first wired connection to a first media display device; and transmit a second portion of the first media content item to a second media display device via a radio frequency transceiver.

Claims

1. A media switching device comprising:

a computer including a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor such that the processor is programmed to actuate the media switching device to;

transmit, via a first wired connection to a first display device, a first portion of a first media content item during a reception of the first media content item from a first media source device;

transmit, via a first radio frequency transceiver to a second media display device, a second portion of the first media content item during the reception of the first media content item from the first media source device;

switch, based on a first input received from a user, a second media source device;

receive a second media content item from the second media source device;

transmit, during the reception of the second media content item, a first portion of the second media content item via the first wired connection to the first media display device; and

transmit, during the reception of the second media content item, a second portion of the second media content item to the second media display device via the first radio frequency transceiver.

2. The media switching device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

establish, prior to transmitting the second portion of the first media content item, a first radio frequency communications channel between the first radio frequency transceiver and the second media display device.

3. The media switching device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

receive the first portion of the second media content item via a second wired connection with the second media source device; and

receive the second portion of the second media content item via a third wired connection with the second media source device.

4. The media switching device of claim 1, wherein the first portion of each of the first and second media content items includes video data.

5. The media switching device of claim 1, wherein the second portion of each of the first and second media content items includes audio data.

6. The media device of claim 1, further comprising:

a second radio frequency transceiver programmed to;

establish a second radio frequency communications channel between the second radio frequency transceiver and the first media source device; and

receive the second portion of the first media content item via the second radio frequency communications channel.

7. The media device of claim 6, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

generate the first radio frequency output based on the second portion of the first media content item received via the second radio frequency communications channel.

8. The media device of claim 6, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

instruct, based on the first input from the user, the second radio frequency transceiver to release the second communications channel with the first media source device and establish a third radio frequency communications channel with the second media source device.

9. The media device of claim 8, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

generate a radio frequency output based on the second portion of a second media content item received via the third radio frequency communication channel.

10. A method comprising:

transmitting, by a computer included in a switching device, via a first wired connection to a first display device, a first portion of a first media content item during a reception of the first media content item from a first media source device;

transmitting, via a first radio frequency transceiver to a second media display device, a second portion of the first media content item during the reception of the first media content item from the first media source device;

switching, based on a first input received from a user, from receiving the first media content item from the first media source device to receiving a second media content item from a second media source device;

transmitting, during the reception of the second media content item, a first portion of the second media content item via the first wired connection to the first media display device; and

transmitting, during the reception of the second media content item, a second portion of the second media content item to the second media display device via the first radio frequency transceiver.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

establishing, prior to transmitting the second portion of the first media content item, a first radio frequency communications channel between the first radio frequency transceiver and the second media display device.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving the first portion of the second media content item via a second wired connection with the second media source device; and

receiving the second portion of the second media content item via a third wired connection with the second media source device.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the first portion of each of the first and second media content items includes video data.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the second portion of the first media content item includes audio data.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

establishing a second radio frequency communications channel between a second radio frequency transceiver included in the switching device and the first media source device; and

receiving the second portion of the first media content item via the second radio frequency communications channel.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

generating the first radio frequency output based on the second portion of the first media content item received via the second radio frequency communications channel.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

instructing, based on the first input from the user, the second radio frequency transceiver to release the second communications channel with the first media source device and establish a third radio frequency communications channel with the second media source device.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

generating a radio frequency output based on the second portion of a second media content item received via the third radio frequency communication channel.