A media appliance comprising: video apparatus for outputting signals to a screen; a control device allowing a user to control the output of signals from the video apparatus to the screen, thereby selecting a viewing activity; a network interface for accessing a packet-based network; a memory storing a communication client application; and processing apparatus, coupled to the memory, network interface and video apparatus, and arranged to execute the communication client application; wherein the client application is configured so as when executed to allow the user to conduct bidirectional communications with other users via the packet-based network, and output notifications to the user of incoming communication events received from other users over the packet-based network; and wherein the client application is further configured to defer one or more of said notifications of incoming communication events received during said viewing activity, determine a delineation in the viewing activity, and automatically output the one or more notifications to the user following said delineation.

Various embodiments provide a method performed by a handheld device and the handheld device, where a USB interface of the handheld device with an infrared remote control application is connected to a port of a display device by using an adapter cable, the handheld device determines that a preset source port of the display device is not the connected port, and automatically switches the source port to the connected port by using the infrared remote control application. The handheld device sends to-be-displayed content of the handheld device to the display device by using the USB interface, the adapter cable, and the connected port to enable the display device to display the to-be-displayed content.

Disclosed herein are system, apparatus, article of manufacture, method, and computer program product embodiments for remotely controlling a media device. An embodiment includes an apparatus including a radio frequency (RF) communications chip, a memory, and at least one processor coupled to the RF communications chip and the memory. The at least one processor is configured to receive an electronic signal indicative of a user command and generate, based on the electronic signal, an action frame packet configured to instruct a media device to perform a function associated with the user command. Subsequently, the at least one processor is configured to transmit, using the RF communications chip, the action frame packet to the media device.

A television and system and method for providing a remote control device are disclosed. In one embodiment of the television, the television includes a processor, a memory, a tuner, a panel, and an audio driver therein in an interconnected architecture. The television may establish a pairing with a proximate wireless-enabled interactive programmable device, such as a proximate wireless-enabled interactive handheld device having a touch screen display, whereby formatted parallel audiovisual experience instructions, including virtual buttons, may be transmitted to the proximate wireless-enabled interactive programmable device for display on the touch screen display to create an experience parallel to the experience on the television. The television receives and processes virtual remote control functionality input instructions from the proximate wireless-enabled interactive programmable device to control amenities associated with the television.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device waking-up method. The device waking-up method includes: a Bluetooth module receives data to be processed sent by a first Bluetooth peripheral when a protocol stack module is in a dormant state, where the Bluetooth module stores information, sent by the protocol stack module before entering the dormant state, of a second Bluetooth peripheral which successfully performs Bluetooth pairing with the Bluetooth module; and the Bluetooth module wakes up a device according to the data to be processed and the information of the second Bluetooth peripheral.

An electronic device may have a housing. The housing may be characterized by a vertical axis and may have housing structures such as cylindrical housing structures with a cylindrical surface. A speaker may be mounted in the housing to provide sound through openings in the housing structures. A visual output device may be mounted in the housing to provide light through openings in the housing structures. The visual output device may include an electrophoretic display, a light-emitting diode display, or other display with an array of pixels that display images or may include other components for emitting light. During operation, voice commands may be received by a microphone in the device and action taken based on the commands and other information. The action taken may include playing sound with the speaker and providing visual output with the visual output device.

A set top/back box and system and method for providing a remote control device are disclosed. In one embodiment, one or more wireless transceivers are located within a housing, which also interconnectively includes television input/output, a processor, and memory. The set top/back box may establish a pairing with a programmable device, such as a proximate wireless-enabled interactive handheld device having a touch screen display, whereby formatted parallel audiovisual experience instructions, including virtual buttons, may be transmitted to the programmable device for display on the touch screen display to create an experience parallel to the experience on the television. The set top/back box receives and processes virtual remote control functionality input instructions from the programmable device to control amenities associated with the set top/back box.

A smart control device is provided. The smart control device and a display panel of a smart TV are separately provided. The smart control device includes: a lifting unit, and a charging unit, and a main control unit including a main control circuit board configured to control the display panel. The lifting unit includes a bearing platform configured to bear a target object, an infrared sensor, and a lifting motor. The main control unit is configured to control an operation of the lifting motor and adjust a position of the bearing platform according to a detection signal of the infrared sensor. The charging unit is configured to charge the target object upon receiving a preset position signal generated in response to a determination that the bearing platform reaches a preset position.

A slave relay station is adapted to serve and/or host pages comprising a simplified graphic user interface (GUI) encoded in a widely recognized format such as, for example, HTML, or WML. The GUI embodies activatable links corresponding to control functions for configured appliances. A wireless phone or other device with network access and the capability to process and present such pages, for example via a Web browser, may then be utilized to effect control of such appliances by simply navigating to the network address of the slave relay station, obtaining an appropriate GUI page, and interacting with the links.

The disclosure provides a display apparatus, and the display apparatus at least includes a display and a controller. At an initial state, the display presents a homepage; in response to a startup instruction, the display jumps to a search interface from the homepage; the search interface has a user interface, and the user interface is configured to receive a search content input from a user; in response to a search instruction, the controller reads the search content; and if the search content includes a phrase for locating, the controller controls an application corresponding to the phrase for locating to be started so as to transmit the search content to the application to cause the application to send a request carrying the search content to a server of the application.