Self-configuring media devices and methods
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorChristopher D. McKillop
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for self-configuring portable electronic devices are provided. In one embodiment, the portable device includes carrier circuitry that receives compressed data streams of information and application circuitry that decompresses the received data stream in accordance with a specific CODEC. The device includes the capability for the carrier circuitry to provide the specific CODEC required to decompress the data stream to the application circuitry. The transfer of the specific CODEC can be done as a default action or it can be done based on a queue received from the application circuitry.
Claims17
A method for configuring a system having at least a transmitting device and a receiving device, the method performed at the receiving device comprising:
- transmitting, from the receiving device, information indicating one or more CODECs resident in memory of the receiving device to the transmitting device which in response to receiving the information determines whether the receiving device has a specific CODEC resident in the memory of the receiving device;
- receiving wirelessly at the receiving device the specific CODEC from the transmitting device only if the specific CODEC is not resident in the memory of the receiving device;
- receiving wirelessly at the receiving device a data stream which has been compressed using the specific CODEC.
A multimedia player for operation with a playback unit, the multimedia player comprising:
- a user interface that receives a command to play a data stream that has been compressed using a specific CODEC;
- a processor, coupled to the user interface, that determines whether the playback unit has the specific CODEC resident in memory in response to the user interface receiving the command;
- and
- communications circuitry, coupled to the processor, that:
- wirelessly receives, from the playback unit, information indicating CODECs resident in the memory of the playback unit before the processor determines whether the playback unit has the specific CODEC resident in memory;
- wirelessly sends the specific CODEC to the playback unit only if the specific CODEC is not resident in the memory in the playback unit;
- and
- wirelessly sends the data stream to the playback unit.
A machine readable non-transitory storage medium storing executable instructions which when executed perform a method for configuring a system having at least a transmitting device and a receiving device, the method performed at the receiving device comprising:
- transmitting, from the receiving device, information indicating one or more CODECs resident in memory of the receiving device to the transmitting device which in response to receiving the information determines whether the receiving device has a specific CODEC resident in the memory of the receiving device;
- receiving wirelessly at the receiving device the specific CODEC from the transmitting device only if the specific CODEC is not resident in the memory of the receiving device;
- receiving wirelessly at the receiving device a data stream which has been compressed using the specific CODEC.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.