Patent ID: 6678737
Filing Date: 2004-01-13
Classification: H04L,H04N

Abstract:
In a home network appliance that is configured to connect with a plurality of portal devices, each of the portal devices including an input device for receiving a request for at least one of Internet data and multimedia data from a user and display device for displaying the requested data to the user, wherein each display device has its own particular display requirements, and wherein the home network appliance is further configured to perform at least some of the processing of the requested data that would otherwise be required by each of the portal devices in order to display the requested data in the particular format required by each of the corresponding display devices, a method for reducing data processing capability requirements of the portal devices to display the requested data, comprising:an act of receiving, from one or more of the plurality of portal devices at the home network appliance, a request for data; an act of the home network appliance accessing the requested data; an act of the home network appliance performing display processing on the requested data that is required to modify a display format of the requested data into one or more particular display formats, as required for display by each of the one or more corresponding display devices, and such that the one or more portal devices do not have to perform said display processing to the requested data in order to place the requested data into the one or more particular display formats required by the one or more corresponding display devices; and an act of transmitting the processed data to the one or more portal devices for display at the one or more portal devices.