Method and apparatus to speed transmission of CEC commands

A method for establishing faster transmission of Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) commands between first and second HDMI-compatible devices, comprising:

• the first HDMI-compatible device providing to the second HDMI-compatible device a device identifier that identifies the first HDMI-compatible device to the second HDMI-compatible device;
• the second HDMI-compatible device receiving the device identifier from the first HDMI-compatible device;
• transmitting CEC commands between the first and second devices over a standard HDMI CEC interface;
• confirming that the first and second devices share an alternate interface for transmitting CEC commands;
• transmitting CEC commands between the first and second devices over the alternate interface,
• wherein the alternate interface is a signaling path distinct from and faster than the standard HDMI CEC interface at transmitting CEC commands.

A method for establishing faster transmission of Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) commands between a module and a television device, comprising:

• the first HDMI-compatible device providing to the second HDMI-compatible device a device identifier that identifies the first HDMI-compatible device to the second HDMI-compatible device;
• the second HDMI-compatible device receiving the device identifier from the first HDMI-compatible device;
• confirming that the module and the television share an alternate interface for transmitting CEC commands, wherein the alternate interface is a signaling path distinct from a standard HDMI CEC interface between said module and television;
• transmitting CEC commands between said module and television over the alternate interface.

A module operable to interface with a television in an audio/visual system, comprising:

• a programmed processor;
• a software segment running on the programmed processor;
• a user interface software segment running on the programmed processor that receives user commands using the software segment;
• and
• a connector element,
• where the processor is configured to transmit a device identifier that identifies the module as a first HDMI-compatible device to a second HDMI-compatible device;
• wherein the module is operable to transmit CEC commands using an alternate interface coupled to the connector element and wherein the alternate interface is a signaling path distinct from a standard HDMI CEC interface.

A method for establishing faster transmission of Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) commands between first and second HDMI-compatible devices, comprising:

• determining that an HDMI connector having a standard HDMI CEC interface and an I2C data channel interface is coupled to the first and second HDMI-compatible devices, comprising:
• the first HDMI-compatible device providing to the second HDMI-compatible device over the I2C data channel interface a device identifier that identifies the first HDMI-compatible device to the second HDMI-compatible device, wherein the device identifier is acquired by the first HDMI-compatible device from the second HDMI-compatible device over the standard HDMI CEC interface of the HDMI connector;
• and
• the second HDMI-compatible device receiving the device identifier from the first HDMI-compatible device and using the received device identifier to determine that the HDMI connector is coupled to the first HDMI-compatible device;
• and
• transmitting CEC commands between the first and second HDMI-compatible devices over the I2C data channel of the HDMI connector, wherein the I2C data channel is an interface between the first and second HDMI-compatible devices of the HDMI connector that is separate from the standard HDMI CEC interface and faster than the HDMI connector than the standard HDMI CEC interface.

A method for establishing faster transmission of Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) commands between first and second HDMI-compatible devices, comprising:

• determining that the first and second HDMI-compatible devices share a first communication interface of a HDMI connector that is capable of transmitting CEC commands between the first and second HDMI-compatible devices at a first speed and share a second communication interface of the HDMI connector that is capable of transmitting CEC commands between the first and second HDMI-compatible devices at a second speed that is faster than the first speed of the first communication interface, wherein the first communication interface of the HDMI connector is a standard HDMI CEC interface separate from the second communication interface of the HDMI connector, comprising:
• the first HDMI-compatible device providing to the second HDMI-compatible device over the second communication interface of the HDMI connector a device identifier that identifies the first HDMI-compatible device to the second HDMI-compatible device, wherein the device identifier is acquired by the first HDMI-compatible device from the second HDMI-compatible device over the standard HDMI CEC interface of the HDMI connector;
• and
• the second HDMI-compatible device receiving the device identifier from the first HDMI-compatible device and using the received device identifier to determine that the HDMI connector is coupled to the first HDMI-compatible device;
• and
• transmitting CEC commands between the first and second HDMI-compatible devices over at least one of the standard HDMI CEC interface and the second communication interface of the HDMI connector.

A method for establishing faster transmission of Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) commands between first and second HDMI-compatible devices, comprising:

• determining that the first and second HDMI-compatible devices share a first communication interface capable of transmitting CEC commands between the first and second HDMI-compatible devices at a first speed, wherein the first communication interface is a standard HDMI CEC interface of a HDMI connector;
• determining that the first and second HDMI-compatible devices share a second communication interface capable of transmitting CEC commands between the first and second HDMI-compatible devices at a second speed that is faster than the first speed of the standard HDMI CEC interface, wherein the second communication interface is a USB interface of a non-HDMI connector between the first and second HDMI-compatible devices;
• and
• transmitting CEC commands between the first and second HDMI-compatible devices over at least one of the standard HDMI CEC interface and the USB interface of the non-HDMI connector, wherein transmission of CEC commands over the USB interface is accomplished using a CEC data format.

A module operable to interface with a television in an audio/visual system, comprising:

• a programmed processor;
• a software segment running on the programmed processor;
• a user interface software segment running on the programmed processor that receives user commands using the software segment;
• and
• a connector element,
• wherein the module is operable to receive a module identifier over the standard HDMI CEC interface of the connector element from the television and in response to receiving a polling message over the standard HDMI CEC interface from the television the module is operable to transmit the module identifier over a second communication interface of the connector element that is separate from and faster than the standard HDMI CEC interface;
• wherein further to transmission of the module identifier over the second communication interface distinct from the standard HDMI CEC interface, the module is operable to transmit CEC commands to and from the television over at least one of the standard HDMI CEC interface shared by the module and the television and the second communication interface shared by the module and television.