Methods and systems are disclosed herein for determining which of two multimedia devices to use to process a multimedia signal. A user may select a multimedia program from an interactive program guide. The first device will determine whether the multimedia specifications of the selected program exceed the capabilities of the first device. If so, the first device will transmit the multimedia signal to the second device without attempting to process it, and instruct the second device to process the signal and output the data obtained therefrom. If not, the first device will process the signal and transmit the multimedia data obtained from the signal to the second device for output.

A system and method for pairing a wireless set-top box with a wired set-top box is provided. The system and method provide a user with the ability to move the wireless set-top box to different locations, within the same authorized subscriber's household or use location, while allowing the service provider to monitor and prohibit unauthorized use of the wireless set-top box from outside of the authorized subscriber's household or use location.

This disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program that perform clock recovery processing efficiently and stably when a data stream having time information is received and clock recovery processing is performed. In one example, time information is extracted from a data stream including the time information serving as a reference when generating a system clock signal, and the time information is stored in a storage section. Further, the time information stored in the storage section is output synchronously with the system clock signal on the basis of a transmission rate of the data stream and position information regarding the time information in the data stream, and the clock recovery processing is performed on the basis of the time information output from the storage section and the system clock signal is generated.

A controller output device monitors a media stream buffer on each of multiple receiver output devices. The controller output device determines, at a given instance of time, a buffer data size value of the media stream buffer on each of the receiver output devices. Additionally, the controller output device determines a playback state and a buffer state of one or more of the receiver output devices at the given instance of time, based on the buffer data size values of the media stream buffer of each of the one or more receiver output devices.

Methods and systems for discovering and/or synchronizing a plurality of devices are described. Status information associated with one or more devices may be received. A registry of associated devices may be generated based on at least the status information. A user interface may be rendered based at least on the registry of associated devices. The user interface may indicate content outputted by the one or more devices.

Implementations of the present disclosure are directed to a method, a system, and an article for managing the presentation of content on client devices. An example computer-implemented method can include: receiving, from a client device, an indication of a presentation state (including a sound state) on the client device; providing the indication of the presentation state to a plurality of content providers; receiving from each content provider a proposal to present an item of content on the client device; selecting one of the proposals; and sending, to the client device, an identification of the item of content associated with the selected proposal.

Methods and systems are disclosed herein for determining which of two multimedia devices to use when launching an Internet multimedia application. A user may interact directly with a first device and select an application from the first device. The first device will determine whether the selected application is present on a second device and whether the capabilities of the second device make it a better choice for launching the selected application. If the first device is chosen, multimedia data is transmitted from the first device though the second device to a display. If the second device is chosen, the first device sends a command to the second device to launch the selected application and multimedia data is sent from the second device to a display.

The present invention is intended to permit both real-time display of a picture represented by a non-compressed video signal on a television and display of a picture represented by a compressed video signal at any desired time by simultaneously transmitting the compressed video signal and non-compressed video signal via one interface. An STB packetizes a compressed video signal, and multiplexes the compressed video signal and a blanking signal combined with a non-compressed video signal. Thus, both the video signals are transmitted simultaneously. A picture represented by the non-compressed video signal is displayed on a television in real time. The compressed video signal is stored in a storage medium incorporated in the television, read at any user's desired time, and decoded so that a picture represented by the compressed video signal can be viewed at the user's desired time.

The present invention is intended to permit both real-time display of a picture represented by a non-compressed video signal on a television and display of a picture represented by a compressed video signal at any desired time by simultaneously transmitting the compressed video signal and non-compressed video signal via one interface. An STB packetizes a compressed video signal, and multiplexes the compressed video signal and a blanking signal combined with a non-compressed video signal. Thus, both the video signals are transmitted simultaneously. A picture represented by the non-compressed video signal is displayed on a television in real time. The compressed video signal is stored in a storage medium incorporated in the television, read at any user's desired time, and decoded so that a picture represented by the compressed video signal can be viewed at the user's desired time.

The present invention is intended to permit both real-time display of a picture represented by a non-compressed video signal on a television and display of a picture represented by a compressed video signal at any desired time by simultaneously transmitting the compressed video signal and non-compressed video signal via one interface. An STB packetizes a compressed video signal, and multiplexes the compressed video signal and a blanking signal combined with a non-compressed video signal. Thus, both the video signals are transmitted simultaneously. A picture represented by the non-compressed video signal is displayed on a television in real time. The compressed video signal is stored in a storage medium incorporated in the television, read at any user's desired time, and decoded so that a picture represented by the compressed video signal can be viewed at the user's desired time.