Patent Publication Number: US-2015067726-A1

Title: Interaction of user devices and servers in an environment

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This patent application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/940,115, filed Jul. 11, 2013, which is a continuation application and claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/556,461 filed Jul. 24, 2012 (U.S. Pat. No. 8,495,235, issued Jul. 23, 2013), which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent No. 61/604,693 filed Feb. 29, 2012. The content of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/940,115, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/556,461 and U.S. Provisional Patent No. 61/604,693 are all incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     A television generally provides both video and audio to viewers. In some situations, such as in a gym, restaurant/bar, airport waiting area, etc., multiple TVs or other video display devices (each with different video content) may be provided for public viewing to multiple clients/patrons in a single large room. If the audio signals of each TV were also provided for public listening in these situations, the noise level in the room would be intolerable and the people would not be able to distinguish the audio from any single TV nor the voices in their own personal conversations. Consequently, it is preferable to mute the audio signals on each of the TVs in these situations in order to prevent audio chaos. Some of the people, however, may be interested in hearing the audio in addition to seeing the video of some of the display devices in the room, and each such person may be interested in the program that&#39;s on a different one of the display devices. 
     One suggested solution is for the close captioning feature to be turned on for some or all of the display devices, so the people can read the text version of the audio for the program that interests them. However, the close captions are not always a sufficient solution for all of the people in the room. 
     Another suggested solution is for the audio streams to be provided through relatively short-distance or low-power radio broadcasts within the establishment wherein the display devices are viewable. Each display device is associated with a different radio frequency. Thus, the people can view a selected display device while listening to the corresponding audio stream by tuning their radios to the proper frequency. Each person uses headphones or earbuds or the like for private listening. For this solution to work, each person either brings their own radio or borrows/rents one from the establishment. 
     In another solution in an airplane environment, passengers are provided with video content on display devices while the associated audio is provided through a network. The network feeds the audio stream to an in-seat console such that when a user plugs a headset into the console, the audio stream is provided for the user&#39;s enjoyment. 
     SUMMARY 
     In an environment where video display devices are available for simultaneous viewing by multiple people, servers provide audio streams to user devices for individual private listening. People may, thus, listen to the audio streams through their user devices while watching the video display devices. An application on the user devices determines which audio streams are available, and the servers may indicate which audio streams are available. The application sends a request to a server to transmit a selected audio stream. The server transmits the selected audio stream, e.g. over a wireless network in the environment. 
     A variety of additional features are enabled by the interaction of the application and the servers. For example, the selected audio streams may be converted from stereo to mono. Additionally, advertisements may be presented through the user devices. Also, the selected audio stream may be paused and later resumed at a pause point. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified schematic drawing of an environment incorporating audio-video (A/V) equipment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  are simplified examples of signs or cards that may be used in the environment shown in  FIG. 1  to provide information to users therein according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 4-18  are simplified examples of views of a user interface for an application for use with the A/V equipment shown in  FIG. 1  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 19  is a simplified schematic diagram of at least some of the A/V equipment that may be used in the environment shown in  FIG. 1  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 20  is a simplified diagram of functions provided through at least some of the A/V equipment used in the environment shown in  FIG. 1  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 21  is a simplified schematic diagram of a network incorporating the environment shown in  FIG. 1  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 22  is a simplified schematic diagram of a system that may be used in the environment shown in  FIG. 1  in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 23  is a simplified schematic diagram of at least part of an audio subsystem for use in the system shown in  FIG. 22  in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 24  is a simplified flow chart of an example process for at least some of the functions of servers and user devices that may be used in the environment shown in  FIG. 1  in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 25  is a simplified example of a view of a user interface for an application for use with the A/V equipment shown in  FIG. 1  in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In some embodiments, the solution described herein allows a user to utilize a personal portable device such as a smartphone to enjoy audio associated with a public display of video. The portable device utilizes a software application to provide the association of audio with the public video. Therefore, the present solution does not require very specific hardware within the seats or chairs or treadmills or nearby display devices, so it is readily adaptable for a restaurant/bar or other establishments. 
     An environment  100  incorporating a variety of audio-video (A/V) equipment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . In general, the environment  100  includes one or more video display devices  101  available for viewing by multiple people/users  102 , at least some of whom have any one of a variety of user devices that have a display (the user devices)  103 . Video streams (at least one per display device  101 ), such as television programs, Internet-based content, VCR/DVD/Blue-ray/DVR videos, etc., are generally provided through the display devices  101 . The users  102  may thus watch as many of the video streams as are within viewing range or as are desired. Additionally, multiple audio streams corresponding to the video streams (generally at least one for each different video stream) are made available through a network (generally including one or more servers  104  and one or more network access points  105 ) accessible by the user devices  103 . The users  102  who choose to do so, therefore, may select any available audio stream for listening with their user devices  103  while watching the corresponding video stream on the corresponding display device  101 . 
     The environment  100  may be any place where video content may be viewed. For example, in some embodiments, the environment  100  may be a public establishment, such as a bar/pub, restaurant, airport lounge/waiting area, medical waiting area, exercise gym, outdoor venue, concert arena, drive-in movie theater or other establishment that provides at least one display device  101  for customer or public viewing. Users  102  with user devices  103  within the establishment may listen to the audio stream associated with the display device  101  of their choice without disturbing any other people in the same establishment. Additionally, picture-in-a-picture situations may have multiple video streams for only one display device  101 , but if the audio streams are also available simultaneously, then different users  102  may listen to different audio streams. Furthermore, various features of the present invention may be used in a movie theater, a video conferencing setting, a distance video-learning environment, a home, an office or other place with at least one display device  101  where private listening is desired. In some embodiments, the environment  100  is an unstructured environment, as differentiated from rows of airplane seats or even rows of treadmills, where a user may listen only to the audio that corresponds to a single available display device. 
     According to some embodiments, the user devices  103  are multifunctional mobile devices, such as smart phones (e.g. iPhones™, Android™ phones, Windows Phones™, BlackBerry™ phones, Symbian™ phones, etc.), cordless phones, notebook computers, tablet computers, Maemo™ devices, MeeGo™ devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), iPod Touches™, handheld game devices, audio/MP3 players, etc. Unlike for the prior art solution, described above, of using a radio to listen to the audio associated with display devices, it has become common practice in many places for people to carry one or more of the mobile devices mentioned, but not a radio. Additionally, whereas it may be inconvenient or troublesome to have to borrow or rent a radio from the establishment/environment  100 , no such inconvenience occurs with respect to the mobile devices mentioned, since users  102  tend to always carry them anyway. Furthermore, cleanliness and health issues may arise from using borrowed or rented headphones, and cost and convenience issues may arise if the establishment/environment  100  has to provide new headphones or radio receivers for each customer, but no such problems arise when the users  102  all have their own user devices  103 , through which they may listen to the audio. As such, the present invention is ideally suited for use with such mobile devices, since the users  102  need only download an application (or app) to run on their mobile device in order to access the benefits of the present invention when they enter the environment  100  and learn of the availability of the application. However, it is understood that the present invention is not necessarily limited only to use with mobile devices. Therefore, other embodiments may use devices that are typically not mobile for the user devices  103 , such as desktop computers, game consoles, set top boxes, video recorders/players, land line phones, etc. In general, any computerized device capable of loading and/or running an application may potentially be used as the user devices  103 . 
     In some embodiments, the users  102  listen to the selected audio stream via a set of headphones, earbuds, earplugs or other listening device  106 . The listening device  106  may include a wired or wireless connection to the user device  103 . Alternatively, if the user device  103  has a built-in speaker, then the user  102  may listen to the selected audio stream through the speaker, e.g. by holding the user device  103  next to the user&#39;s ear or placing the user device  103  near the user  102 . 
     The display devices  101  may be televisions, computer monitors or other appropriate video or A/V display devices. In some embodiments, the audio stream received by the user devices  103  may take a path that completely bypasses the display devices  101 , so it is not necessary for the display devices  101  to have audio capabilities. However, if the display device  101  can handle the audio stream, then some embodiments may pass the audio stream to the display device  101  in addition to the video stream, even if the audio stream is not presented through the display device  101 , in order to preserve the option of sometimes turning on the audio of the display device  101 . Additionally, if the display device  101  is so equipped, some embodiments may use the audio stream from a headphone jack or line out port of the display device  101  as the source for the audio stream that is transmitted to the user devices  103 . Furthermore, in some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein for the servers  104  and the network access points  105  may be built in to the display devices  101 , so that the audio streams received by the user devices  103  may come directly from the display devices  101 . 
     According to some embodiments, each user device  103  receives a selected one of the audio streams wirelessly. In these cases, therefore, the network access points  105  are wireless access points (WAPs) that transmit the audio streams wirelessly, such as with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth™, mobile phone, fixed wireless or other appropriate wireless technology. According to other embodiments, however, the network access points  105  use wired (rather than wireless) connections or a combination of both wired and wireless connections, so a physical cable may connect the network access points  105  to some or all of the user devices  103 . The wired connections, however, may be less attractive for environments  100  in which flexibility and ease of use are generally desirable. For example, in a bar, restaurant, airport waiting area or the like, many of the customers (users  102 ) will likely already have a wireless multifunction mobile device (the user device  103 ) with them and will find it easy and convenient simply to access the audio streams wirelessly. In some embodiments, however, one or more users  102  may have a user device  103  placed in a preferred location for watching video content, e.g. next to a bed, sofa or chair in a home or office environment. In such cases, a wired connection between the user device  103  and the server  104  may be just as easy or convenient to establish as a wireless connection. 
     Each server  104  may be a specially designed electronic device having the functions described herein or a general purpose computer with appropriate peripheral devices and software for performing the functions described herein or other appropriate combination of hardware components and software. As a general purpose computer, the server  104  may include a motherboard with a microprocessor, a hard drive, memory (storing software and data) and other appropriate subcomponents and/or slots for attaching daughter cards for performing the functions described herein. Additionally, each server  104  may be a single unit device, or the functions thereof may be spread across multiple physical units with coordinated activities. In some embodiments, some or all of the functions of the servers  104  may be performed across the Internet or other network or within a cloud computing system. 
     Furthermore, according to different embodiments, the servers  104  may be located within the environment  100  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) or off premises (e.g. across the Internet or within a cloud computing system). If within the environment  100 , then the servers  104  generally represent one or more hardware units (with or without software) that perform services with the A/V streams that are only within the environment  100 . If off premises, however, then the servers  104  may represent a variety of different combinations and numbers of hardware units (with or without software) that may handle more than just the A/V streams that go to only one environment  100 . In such embodiments, the servers  104  may service any number of one or more environments  100 , each with its own appropriate configuration of display devices  101  and network access points  105 . Location information from/about the environments  100  may aid in assuring that the appropriate audio content is available to each environment  100 , including the correct over-the-air TV broadcasts. 
     The number of servers  104  that service any given environment  100  (either within the environment  100  or off premises) is generally dependent on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the number of display devices  101  within the environment  100 , the number of audio or A/V streams each server  104  is capable of handling, the number of network access points  105  and user devices  103  each server  104  is capable of servicing and the number of users  102  that can fit in the environment  100 . Additionally, the number of network access points  105  within any given environment  100  is generally dependent on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the number of display devices  101  within the environment  100 , the size of the environment  100 , the number of users  102  that can fit in the environment  100 , the range of each network access point  105 , the bandwidth and/or transmission speed of each network access point  105 , the degree of audio compression and the presence of any RF obstructions (e.g. walls separating different rooms within the environment  100 ). In some embodiments, there may even be at least one server  104  and at least one network access point  105  connected at each display device  101 . 
     Each server  104  generally receives one or more audio streams (and optionally the corresponding one or more video streams) from an audio or A/V source (described below). The servers  104  also generally receive (among other potential communications) requests from the user devices  103  to access the audio streams. Therefore, each server  104  also generally processes (including encoding and packetizing) each of its requested audio streams for transmission through the network access points  105  to the user devices  103  that made the access requests. In some embodiments, each server  104  does not process any of its audio streams that have not been requested by any user device  103 . Additional functions and configurations of the servers  104  are described below with respect to  FIGS. 19-21 . 
     In some embodiments, each of the display devices  101  has a number, letter, symbol, code, thumbnail or other display indicator  107  associated with it. For example, the display indicator  107  for each display device  101  may be a sign mounted on or near the display device  101 . The display indicator  107  generally uniquely identifies the associated display device  101 . Additionally, either the servers  104  or the network access points  105  (or both) provide to the user devices  103  identifying information for each available audio stream in a manner that corresponds to the display indicators  107 , as described below. Therefore, each user  102  is able to select through the user device  103  the audio stream that corresponds to the desired display device  101 . 
     Particularly for, but not necessarily limited to, embodiments in which the environment  100  is a public venue or establishment (e.g. bar, pub, restaurant, airport lounge area, museum, medical waiting room, etc.), an information sign  108  may be provided within the environment  100  to present information to the users  102  regarding how to access the audio streams for the display devices  101  and any other features available through the application that they can run on their user devices  103 . The information sign  108  may be prominently displayed within the environment  100 . Alternatively, an information card with similar information may be placed on each of the tables within the environment  100 , e.g. for embodiments involving a bar or restaurant. 
     Two examples of an information sign (or card) that may be used for the information sign  108  are shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The words shown on the example information sign/card  109  in  FIG. 2  and the example information sign/card  110  in  FIG. 3  are given for illustrative purposes only, so it is understood that embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the wordings shown. Any appropriate wording that provides any desired initial information is acceptable. Such information may include, but not be limited to, the availability of any of the functions described herein. 
     For the example information sign/card  109  in  FIG. 2 , a first section  111  generally informs the users  102  that they can listen to the audio for any of the display devices  101  by downloading an application to their smart phone or Wi-Fi enabled user device  103 . A second example section  112  generally informs the users  102  of the operating systems or platforms or types of user devices  103  that the can use the application, e.g. Apple™ devices (iPhone™, iPad™ and iPod Touch™), Google Android™ devices or Windows Phone™ devices. (Other types of user devices may also be supported in other embodiments.) A third example section  113  generally provides a URL (uniform resource locator) that the users  102  may enter into their user devices  103  to download the application (or access a website where the application may be found) through a cell phone network or a network/wireless access point, depending on the capabilities of the user devices  103 . The network access points  105  and servers  104 , for example, may serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot through which the user devices  103  can download the application. A fourth example section  114  in the example information sign/card  109  generally provides a QR (Quick Response) Code™ (a type of matrix barcode or two-dimensional code for use with devices that have cameras, such as some types of the user devices  103 ) that can be used for URL redirection to acquire the application or access the website for the application. 
     The example information sign/card  110  in  FIG. 3  generally informs the users  102  of the application and provides information for additional features available through the application besides audio listening. Such features may be a natural addition to the audio listening application, since once the users  102  have accessed the servers  104 , this connection becomes a convenient means through which the users  102  could further interact with the environment  100 . For example, in an embodiment in which the environment  100  is a bar or restaurant, a first section  115  of the example information sign/card  110  generally informs the users  102  that they can order food and drink through an application on their user device  103  without having to get the attention of a wait staff person. A second section  116  generally informs the users  102  how to acquire the application for their user devices  103 . In the illustrated case, another QR Code is provided for this purpose, but other means for accessing a website or the application may also be provided. 
     A third section  117  generally provides a Wi-Fi SSID (Service Set Identifier) and password for the user  102  to use with the user device  103  to login to the server  104  through the network access point  105 . The login may be done in order to download the application or after downloading the application to access the available services through the application. The application, for example, may recognize a special string of letters and/or numbers within the SSID to identify the network access point  105  as being a gateway to the relevant servers  104  and the desired services. (The SSIDs of the network access points  105  may, thus, be factory set in order to ensure proper interoperability with the applications on the user devices  103 . Otherwise, instructions for an operator to set up the servers  104  and the network access points  105  in an environment  100  may instruct the operator to use a predetermined character string for at least part of the SSIDs.) In some embodiments, the application may be designed to ignore Wi-Fi hotspots that use SSIDs that do not have the special string of letters and/or numbers. In the illustrated case, an example trade name “ExXothermic” (used here and in other Figs.) is used as the special string of letters within the SSID to inform the application (or the user  102 ) that the network access point  105  with that SSID will lead to the appropriate server  104  and at least some of the desired services. In other embodiments, the SSIDs do not have any special string of letters or numbers, so the applications on the user devices  103  may have to query every accessible network access point  105  or hot spot to determine whether a server  104  is available. The remaining string “@Joes” is an example of additional optional characters in the SSID that may specifically identify the corresponding network access point  105  as being within a particular example environment  100  having an example name “Joe&#39;s”. 
     In an embodiment in which the example information sign/card  110  is associated with a particular table within the environment  100 , a fourth section  118  generally identifies the table, e.g. with a letter, symbol or number (in this example, the number  3 ). An additional QR Code is also provided, so that properly equipped user devices  103  can scan the QR Code to identify the table. In this manner, the food and/or beverage order placed by the user  102  can be associated with the proper table for delivery by a wait staff person. 
     In addition to the example trade name “ExXothermic”, the example information sign/card  110  shows an example logo  119 . With such pieces of information, the users  102  who have previously tried out the application on their user devices  103  at any participating environment  100  can quickly identify the current environment  100  as one in which they can use the same application. 
     In some embodiment, the servers  104  work only with “approved” applications. Such approval requirements may be implemented in a similar manner to that of set-top-boxes which are authorized to decode only certain cable or satellite channels. For instance, the servers  104  may encrypt the audio streams in a way that can be decrypted only by particular keys that are distributed only to the approved applications. These keys may be updated when new versions or upgrades of the application are downloaded and installed on the user devices  103 . Alternatively, the application could use other keys to request the servers  104  to send the keys for decrypting the audio streams. 
     Similarly, in some embodiments, the applications may work only with “approved” servers  104 . For example, the application may enable audio streaming only after ascertaining, through an exchange of keys, that the transmitting server  104  is approved. 
     The downloading of the application to the user devices  103  is generally performed according to the conventional functions of the user devices  103  and does not need to be described here. Once downloaded, the exact series of information or screens presented to the users  102  through the user devices  103  may depend on the design choices of the makers of the application. For an embodiment using a smart phone or other multifunctional mobile device for the user device  103 , an example series of views or simulated screenshots of screens of a user interface for the application is provided in  FIGS. 4-18 . It is understood, however, that the present invention is not necessarily limited to these particular examples. Instead, these examples are provided for illustrative purposes only, and other embodiments may present any other appropriate information, options or screen views, including, but not limited to, any that may be associated with any of the functions described herein. Additionally, any of the features shown for any of the screens in  FIGS. 4-18  may be optional where appropriate. 
     In the illustrated example, an initial welcome screen  120 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , is presented on a display of the user devices  103  to the users  102  upon launching the application on their user devices  103 . Additionally, an option is provided to the users  102  to “sign up” (e.g. a touch screen button  121 ) for the services provided by the application, so the servers  104  can potentially keep track of the activities and preferences of the users  102 . If already signed up, the users  102  may “login” (e.g. a touch screen button  122 ) to the services. Alternatively, the users  102  may simply “jump in” (e.g. a touch screen button  123 ) to the services anonymously for those users  102  who prefer not to be tracked by the servers  104 . Furthermore, an example touch screen section  124  may lead the users  102  to further information on how to acquire such services for their own environments  100 . Other embodiments may present other information or options in an initial welcome screen. 
     In this example, if the user  102  chooses to “sign up” (button  121 ,  FIG. 4 ), then the user  102  is directed to a sign up screen  125 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The user  102  may then enter pertinent information, such as an email address, a username and a password in appropriate entry boxes, e.g.  126 ,  127  and  128 , respectively. The user  102  may also be allowed to link (e.g. at  129 ) this sign up with an available social networking service, such as Internet-based social networking features of Facebook (as shown), Twitter, Google+ or the like (e.g. for ease of logging in or to allow the application or server  104  to post messages on the user&#39;s behalf within the social networking site). Additionally, the user  102  may be allowed to choose (e.g. at  130 ) to remain anonymous (e.g. to prevent being tracked by the server  104 ) or to disable social media/networking functions (e.g. to prevent the application or server  104  from posting messages on the user&#39;s behalf to any social networking sites). However, by logging in (not anonymously) when they enter an environment  100 , the users  102  may garner “loyalty points” for the time and money they spend within the environments  100 . The application and/or the servers  104  may track such time and/or money for each user  102  who does not login anonymously. Thus, the users  102  may be rewarded with specials, discounts and/or free items by the owner of the environment  100  or by the operator of the servers  104  when they garner a certain number of “loyalty points.” 
     Furthermore, an optional entry box  131  may be provided for a new user  102  to enter identifying information of a preexisting user  102  who has recommended the application or the environment  100  to the new user  102 . In this manner, the new user  102  may be linked to the preexisting user  102 , so that the server  104  or the owners of the environment  100  may provide bonuses to the preexisting user  102  for having brought in the new user  102 . The users  102  may also garner additional “loyalty points” for bringing in new users  102  or simply new customers to the environment  100 . The users  102  may gain further loyalty points when the new users  102  return to the environment  100  in the future. 
     After entering all of the pertinent information and selecting the various options, the user  102  may press a touch screen button  132  to complete the sign up. Alternatively, the user  102  may prefer to return to the initial welcome screen  120  by pressing another touch screen button  133  (e.g. “Home”). Other embodiments may offer other sign up procedures or selections. 
     In this example, if the user  102  chooses to “login” (button  122 ,  FIG. 4 ), then the user  102  is directed to a login screen  134 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . The user  102  thus enters an email address (e.g. at  135 ) and password (e.g. at  136 ) using a touch screen keyboard (e.g. at  137 ). There is also an option (e.g. at  138 ) for the user  102  to select when the user  102  has forgotten the password. Furthermore, there is another option for the user  102  to set (e.g. at  139 ) to always login anonymously or not. There is a touch screen button “Done”  140  for when the user  102  has finished entering information or making selections. Additionally, there is a touch screen button “Home”  141  for the user  102  to return to the initial welcome screen  120  if desired. Other embodiments may offer other login procedures or selections. 
     In this example, after the user  102  has signed up or logged in, the user device  103  presents a general action selection screen  142 , as shown in  FIG. 7 , wherein the user  102  is prompted for an action by asking “What would you like to do?” “Back” (at  143 ) and “Cancel” (at  144 ) touch screen buttons are provided for the user  102  to return to an earlier screen, cancel a command or exit the application if desired. An option to order food and drinks (e.g. touch screen button  145 ) may lead the user  102  to another screen for that purpose, as described below with respect to  FIGS. 14-18 . An option (e.g. touch screen button  146 ) may be provided for the user  102  to try to obtain free promotional items being given away by an owner of the environment  100 . Touching this button  146 , thus, may present the user  102  with another screen (not shown) for such opportunities. 
     An option (e.g. touch screen button  147 ) to make friends, meet other people and/or potentially join or form a group of people within the environment  100  may lead the user  102  to yet another screen (not shown). Since it is fairly well established that customers of a bar or pub, for example, will have more fun if they are interacting with other customers in the establishment, thereby staying to buy more products from the establishment, this option may lead to any number or combinations of opportunities for social interaction by the users  102 . Any type of environment  100  may, thus, reward the formation of groups of the users  102  by providing free snacks, munchies, hors d′oeuvres, appetizers, drinks, paraphernalia, goods, services, coupons, etc. to members of the group. The users  102  also may come together into groups for reasons other than to receive free stuff, such as to play a game or engage in competitions or just to socialize and get to know each other. The application on the user devices  103 , thus, may facilitate the games, competitions and socializing by providing a user interface for performing these tasks. Various embodiments, therefore, may provide a variety of different screens (not shown) for establishing and participating in groups or meeting other people or playing games within the environment  100 . Additionally, such activities may be linked to the users&#39; social networks to enable further opportunities for social interaction. In an embodiment in which the environment  100  is a workout gym, for example, a user  102  may use the form-a-group button  147  to expedite finding a workout partner, e.g. someone who generally shows up around the same time as the user  102 . A user  102  could provide a relationship status to other users  102  within the gym, e.g. “always works alone”, “looking for a partner”, “need a carpool”, etc. 
     The formation of the groups may be done in many different ways. For example, the application may lead some users  102  to other users  102 , or some users  102  may approach other customers (whether they are other users  102  or not) within the environment  100 , or some users  102  may bring other people into the environment, etc. To establish multiple users  102  as a group, the users  102  may exchange some identifying information that they enter into the application on their user devices  103 , thereby linking their user devices  103  into a group. In order to prevent unwanted exchange of private information, for example, the server  104  or the application on the user devices  103  may randomly generate a code that one user  102  may give to another user  102  to form a group. Alternatively, the application of one user device  103  may present a screen with another QR Code of which another user device  103  (if so equipped) may take a picture in order to have the application of the other user device  103  automatically link the user devices  103  into a group. Other embodiments may use other appropriate ways to form groups or allow users  102  to meet each other within environments  100 . 
     An option to listen to one of the display devices  101  (e.g. “listen to a TV” touch screen button  148 ) may lead the user  102  to another screen, such as is described below with reference to  FIG. 8 . Another option (e.g. touch screen button  149 ) to play a game (e.g. a trivia game, and with or without a group) may lead the user  102  to one or more additional screens (not shown). Another option (e.g. touch screen button  150 ) to modify certain settings for the application may lead the user  102  to one or more other screens, such as those described below with reference to  FIGS. 11-13 . Furthermore, another option (e.g. touch screen button  151 ) to call a taxi may automatically place a call to a taxi service or may lead the user  102  to another screen (not shown) with further options to select one of multiple known taxi services that operate near the environment  100 . 
     Other embodiments may include other options for general functions not shown in  FIG. 7 . For example, for an embodiment in which the environment  100  is an exercise gym or facility, the application may provide an option for the user  102  to keep track of exercises and workouts and time spent in the gym. In another example, for an embodiment in which the environment  100  is a bar, the application may provide an option for the user  102  to keep track of the amount of alcohol the user  102  has consumed over a period of time. The alcohol consumption data may also be provided to the server  104  in order to alert a manager or wait staff person within the environment  100  that a particular user  102  may need a free coffee or taxi ride. 
     In addition to the other options described herein, a set of icon control buttons  152 - 157  that may be used on multiple screens are shown at the bottom of the general action selection screen  142 . For example, a home icon  152  may be pressed to take the user  102  back to an initial home screen, such as the initial welcome screen  120  or the general action selection screen  142 . A mode icon  153  may be pressed to take the user  102  to a mode selection screen, such as that described below with respect to  FIG. 11 . A services icon  154 , similar to the function of the “order food and drinks” touch screen button  145  described above, may be pressed to take the user  102  to a food and drink selection screen, as described below with respect to  FIGS. 14-18 . A social icon  155 , similar to the “make friends or form a group” touch screen button  147  described above, may be pressed for a similar function. An equalizer icon  156  may be pressed to take the user  102  to an equalizer selection screen, such as that described below with respect to  FIG. 12 . A settings icon  157  may be pressed to take the user  102  to a settings selection screen, such as that described below with respect to  FIG. 13 . Other embodiments may use different types or numbers (including zero) of icons for different purposes. 
     Furthermore, the general action selection screen  142  has a mute icon  158 . If the application is playing an audio stream associated with one of the display devices  101  ( FIG. 1 ) while the user  102  is viewing this screen  142 , the user  102  has the option of muting (and un-muting) the audio stream by pressing the mute icon  158 . In some embodiments in which the user device  103  is a smart phone, the mute function may be automatic when a call comes in. On the other hand, in an embodiment in which the environment  100  is a movie theater and the user device  103  is a smart phone, the application on the user device  103  may automatically silence the ringer of the user device  103 . 
     In this example, after the user  102  has signed up, logged in or made an appropriate selection (such as pressing the “listen to a TV” touch screen button  148 , mentioned above), the application on the user device  103  presents a display device selection screen  159 , as shown in  FIG. 8 . This selection screen  159  prompts the user  102  to select one of the display devices  101  for listening to the associated audio stream. Thus, the display device selection screen  159  presents a set or table of display identifiers  160 . 
     The display identifiers  160  generally correspond to the numbers, letters, symbols, codes, thumbnails or other display indicators  107  associated with the display devices  101 , as described above. In the illustrated example, the numbers  1 - 25  are displayed. The numbers  1 - 11 ,  17  and  18  are shown as white numbers on a black background to indicate that the audio streams for the corresponding display devices  101  are available to the user device  103 . The numbers  12 - 16  and  19 - 25  are shown as black numbers on a cross-hatched background to indicate that either there are no display devices  101  that correspond to these numbers within the environment  100  or the network access points  105  that service these display devices  101  are out of range of the user device  103 . The user  102  may select any of the available audio streams by pressing on the corresponding number. The application then connects to the network access point  105  that services or hosts the selected audio stream. The number “2” is highlighted to indicate that the user device  103  is currently accessing the display device  101  that corresponds to the display indicator  107  number “2”. 
     In some embodiments, the servers  104  may provide audio streams not associated with any of the display devices  101 . Examples may include Pandora™ or Sirius™ radio. Therefore, additional audio identifiers or descriptors (not shown) may be presented alongside the display identifiers  160 . 
     The application on the user device  103  may receive or gather data that indicates which display identifiers  160  should be presented as being available in a variety of different ways. For example, the SSIDs for the network access points  105  may indicate which display devices  101  each network access point  105  services. In some embodiments, if the network access points  105  each service only one display device  101 , then the display indicator  107  (e.g. a number or letter) may be part of the SSID and may follow immediately after a specific string of characters. For example, if the application on the user device  103  receives an SSID of “ExX12” from a network access point  105 , the application may interpret the string “ExX” as indicating that the network access point  105  is connected to at least one of the desired servers  104  and that the audio stream corresponding to the display device  101  having the display indicator  107  of number “12” is available. In other embodiments, if the network access points  105  service more than one display device  101 , but each display indicator  107  is guaranteed to be only a single character, then an SSID of “ExX034a” may indicate that the network access point  105  services the display devices  101  that have the display indicators  107  of numbers “0”, “3” and “4” and letter “a”. In another embodiment, if the network access points  105  service more than one display device  101 , and each display indicator  107  is guaranteed to be no bigger than three characters, then an SSID of “ExX005007023” may indicate that the network access point  105  services the display devices  101  that have the display indicators  107  of numbers “5”, “7” and “23”. In another embodiment, an SSID of “ExX#[5:8]” may indicate that the network access point  105  services the display devices  101  that have the display indicators  107  of numbers “5”, “6”, “7” and “8”. 
     In some embodiments, however, the SSIDs do not indicate which display devices  101  each network access point  105  services. In such cases, the application on the user devices  103  may have to login to each accessible network access point  105  and query each connected server  104  for a list of the available display indicators  107 . Each of the network access points  105  may potentially have the same recognizable SSID in this case. Other embodiments may user other techniques or any combination of these and other techniques for the applications on the user devices  103  to determine which display identifiers  160  are to be presented as available. If the operating system of the user device  103  does not allow applications to automatically select an SSID to connect to a network access point  105 , then the application may have to present available SSIDs to the user  102  for the user  102  to make the selection. 
     A set of page indicator circles  161  are also provided. The number of page indicator circles  161  corresponds to the number of pages of display identifiers  160  that are available. In the illustrated example, three page indicator circles  161  are shown to indicate that there are three pages of display identifiers  160  available. The first (left-most) page indicator circle  161  is fully blackened to indicate that the current page of display identifiers  160  is the first such page. The user  102  may switch to the other pages by swiping the screen left or right as if leafing through pages of a book. Other embodiments may use other methods of presenting multiple display identifiers  160  or multiple pages of such display identifiers  160 . 
     Additionally, other embodiments may allow other methods of selecting an audio stream. For example, If the user device  103  contains a camera, the channel selection can be done by a bar code or QR Code on the information sign  108  ( FIG. 1 ) or with the appropriate pattern recognition software by pointing the camera at the desired display device  101  or at a thumbnail of the show that is playing on the display devices  101 . There may also be other designators which may include electromagnetic signatures. 
     Alternatively, the application may switch to a different audio stream based on whether the user points the camera of the user device  103  at a particular display device  101 . Also, low-resolution versions of the available video streams could be transmitted to the user device  103 , so the application can correlate the images streamed to the user device  193  and the image seen by the camera of the user device  103  to choose the best display device  101  match. Alternatively, the image taken by the camera of the user device  103  may be transmitted to the server  104  for the server  104  to make the match. 
     In other embodiments, a motion/direction sensor, e.g. connected to the user&#39;s listening device, may determine which direction the user  102  is looking, so that when the user  102  looks in the direction of a particular display device  101 , the user  102  hears the audio stream for that display device  101 . Additionally or in the alternative, when the user  102  looks at a person, a microphone turns on, so the user may hear that person. A locking option may allow the user  102  to prevent the application from changing the audio stream every time the user  102  looks in a different direction. In some embodiments, the user  102  may toggle a touch screen button when looking at a particular display device  101  in order to lock onto that display device  101 . In some embodiments, the application may respond to keying sequences so that the user  102  can quickly select a mode in which the user device  103  relays an audio stream. For example, a single click of a key may cause the user device  103  to pause the sound. Two clicks may be used to change to a different display device  101 . The user  102  may, in some embodiments, hold down a key on the user device  103  to be able to scan various audio streams, for example, as the user  102  looks in different directions, or as in a manner similar to the scan function of a car radio. 
     In this example, a volume slider bar  162  is provided to enable the user  102  to control the volume of the audio stream. Alternatively, the user  102  could adjust the volume using a volume control means built in to the user device  103 . Additionally, the mute icon  158  is provided in this screen  159  to allow the user  102  to mute and un-mute the audio stream. 
     In this example, some of the icon control buttons  152 - 157  shown in  FIG. 7  and described above are also shown in  FIG. 8 . For the screen  159 , however, only the icon buttons  152 ,  153 ,  156  and  157  are shown to illustrate the option of using only those icon control buttons that may be relevant to a particular screen, rather than always using all of the same icon control buttons for every screen. 
     Furthermore, the screen  159  includes an ad section  163 . A banner ad or scrolling ad or other visual message may be placed here if available. For example, the owner of the environment  100  or the operator of the servers  104  or other contractors may insert such ads or messages into this screen  159  and any other appropriate screens that may be used. Additionally, such visual ads or messages or coupons may be provided to the users  102  via pop-up windows or full screens. 
     In this example, upon selecting one of the display identifiers  160  in the display device selection screen  159 , an additional selection screen may be presented, such as a pop-up window  164  that may appear over the screen  159 , as shown in  FIG. 9 . Some of the video streams that may be provided to the display devices  101 , for example, may have more than one audio stream available, i.e. may support an SAP (Second Audio Program). The pop-up window  164 , therefore, illustrates an example in which the user  102  may select an English or Spanish (Español) audio stream for the corresponding video stream. Additionally, closed captioning or subtitles may be available for the video stream, so the user  102  may turn on this option in addition to or instead of the selected audio stream. The user  102  may then read the closed captions more easily with the user device  103  than on the display device  102 , since the user  102  may have the option of making the text as large as necessary to read comfortably. Additionally, in some embodiments, the servers  104  or applications on the user devices  103  may provide real time language translation to the user  102 , which may be an option that the user  102  may select on the pop-up window  164 . This feature could be stand-alone or connected via the Internet to cloud services such as Google Translate™. 
     After selecting a desired audio stream and/or closed captioning as in  FIGS. 8  and/or  9 , the application may present any appropriate screen while the user  102  listens to the audio stream (or reads the closed captions). For example, the application may continue to present the display device selection screen  159  of  FIG. 8  or return to the general action selection screen  142  of  FIG. 7  or simply blank-out the screen during this time. For closed captions, a special closed captioning screen (not shown) may be presented. For embodiments in which the environment  100  is a home or movie theater, for example, it may be preferable to ensure that the screen of the user device  103  does not put out too much light that might annoy other people in the home or movie theater. The special closed captioning screen, for example, may use light colored or red letters on a dark background, to minimize the output of light. In some embodiments, the screen on the user device  103  could show any data feed that the user  102  desires, such as a stock ticker. 
     While the user  102  is listening to the audio stream, the user  102  may move around within the environment  100  or even temporarily leave the environment  100 . In doing so, the user  102  may go out of range of the network access point  105  that is supplying the audio stream. For example, the user  102  may go to the restroom in the environment  100  or go outside the environment  100  to smoke or to retrieve something from the user&#39;s car and then return to the user&#39;s previous location within the environment  100 . In this case, while the user device  103  is out of range of the network access point  105  intended to serve the desired audio stream, the corresponding server  104  may route the audio stream through another server  104  to another network access point  105  that is within range of the user device  103 , so that the user device  103  may continue to receive the audio stream relatively uninterrupted. Alternatively, the application may present another screen to inform the user  102  of what has happened. For example, another pop-up window  165  may appear over the screen  159 , as shown in  FIG. 10 . In this example, the pop-up window  165  generally informs the user  102  that the network access point  105  is out of range or that the audio stream is otherwise no longer available. Optionally, the application may inform the user  102  that it will reconnect to the network access point  105  and resume playing the audio stream if it becomes available again. Additionally, the application may prompt the user  102  to select a different audio stream if one is available. In some embodiments, the application may drop into a power save mode until the user  102  selects an available display identifier  160 . 
     In some embodiments, more than one of the network access points  105  may provide the same audio stream or service the same display device  101 . Alternatively, the servers  104  may keep track of which of the display devices  101  are presenting the same video stream, so that the corresponding audio streams, which may be serviced by different network access points  105 , are also the same. In either case, multiple network access points  105  located throughout the environment  100  may be able to transmit the same audio streams. Therefore, some embodiments may allow for the user devices  103  to switch to other network access points  105  as the user  102  moves through the environment  100  (or relatively close outside the environment  100 ) in order to maintain the selected audio stream. The SSIDs of more than one network access point  105  may be the same to facilitate such roaming. This feature may superficially resemble the function of cell phone systems that allow cell phones to move from one cell transceiver to another without dropping a call. 
     In some embodiments, the application on the user device  103  may run in the background, so the user  102  can launch a second application on the user device  103 . However, if the second application logs into an SSID not associated with the network access points  105  or servers  104  for the audio streaming, then the audio streaming may be disabled. In this case, another screen or pop-up window (not shown) may be used to alert the user  102  of this occurrence. However, if the user device  103  has already lost contact with the network access point  105  (e.g. the user  102  has walked out of range), then the application may allow the changing of the SSID without interference. 
     An example mode selection screen  166  for setting a mode of listening to the audio stream is shown in  FIG. 11 . The application on the user device  103  may present this or a similar screen when the user  102  presses the mode icon  153 , mentioned above. In this example, an enlarged image  167  of the mode icon  153  (e.g. an image or drawing of the back of a person&#39;s head with wired earbuds attached to the person&#39;s ears) is shown in about the middle of the screen  166 . The letters “L” and “R” indicate the left and right earbuds or individual audio streams. A touch switch  168  is provided for selecting a mono, rather than a stereo, audio stream if desired. Another touch switch  169  is provided for switching the left and right individual audio streams if desired. Additionally, the volume slider bar  162 , the ad section  163  and some of the icon buttons  152 ,  153 ,  156  and  157  are provided. Other embodiments may provide other listening mode features for selection or adjustment or other means for making such selections and adjustments. In still other embodiments, the application does not provide for any such selections or adjustments. 
     An example equalizer selection screen  170  for setting volume levels for different frequencies of the audio stream is shown in  FIG. 12 . The application on the user device  103  may present this or a similar screen when the user  102  presses the equalizer icon  156 , mentioned above. In this example, slider bars  171 ,  172  and  173  are provided for adjusting base, mid-range and treble frequencies, respectively. Additionally, the ad section  163  and some of the icon buttons  152 ,  153 ,  156  and  157  are provided. Other embodiments may provide other equalizer features for selection or adjustment or other means for making such selections and adjustments. In still other embodiments, the application does not provide for any such selections or adjustments. 
     An example settings selection screen  174  for setting various preferences for, or obtaining various information about, the application is shown in  FIG. 13 . The application on the user device  103  may present this or a similar screen when the user  102  presses the settings icon  157 , mentioned above. In this example, the username of the user  102  is “John Q. Public.” An option  175  is provided for changing the user&#39;s password. An option  176  is provided for turning on/off the use of social networking features (e.g. Facebook is shown). An option  177  for turning on/off a setting to login anonymously. An option  178  is provided that may lead the users  102  to further information on how to acquire such services for their own environments  100 . An option  179  is provided that may lead the users  102  to a FAQ (answers to Frequently Asked Questions) regarding the available services. An option  180  is provided that may lead the users  102  to a text of the privacy policy of the owners of the environment  100  or operators of the servers  104  regarding the services. An option  181  is provided that may lead the users  102  to a text of a legal policy or disclaimer with regard to the services. Additionally, an option  182  is provided for the users  102  to logout of the services. Other embodiments may provide for other application settings or information. 
     For embodiments in which the environment  100  is a bar or restaurant type of establishment, an initial food and drinks ordering screen  200  for using the application to order food and drinks from the establishment is shown in  FIG. 14 . The application on the user device  103  may present this or a similar screen when the user  102  presses the “order food and drinks” touch screen button  145  or the services icon  154 , mentioned above. In this example, a “favorites” option  201  is provided for the user  102  to be taken to a list of items that the user  102  has previously or most frequently ordered from the current environment  100  or that the user  102  has otherwise previously indicated are the user&#39;s favorite items. A star icon is used to readily distinguish “favorites” in this and other screens. An “alcoholic beverages” option  202  is provided for the user  102  to be taken to a list of available alcoholic beverages. Information provided by the user  102  in other screens (not shown) or through social networking services may help to confirm whether the user  102  is of the legal drinking age. A “non-alcoholic beverages” option  203  is provided for the user  102  to be taken to a list of available non-alcoholic beverages, such as sodas, juices, milk, water, etc. A “munchies” option  204  is provided for the user  102  to be taken to a list of available snacks, hors d′oeuvres, appetizers or the like. A “freebies” option  205  is provided for the user  102  to be taken to a list of free items that the user  102  may have qualified for with “loyalty points” (mentioned above), specials or other giveaways. A “meals/food” option  206  is provided for the user  102  to be taken to a list of available food menu items. A “search” option  207  is provided for the user  102  to be taken to a search screen, as described below with reference to  FIGS. 15 and 16 . Additionally, the “Back” (at  143 ) and “Cancel” (at  144 ) touch screen buttons, the mute icon  158  and the icon control buttons  152 - 157  are also provided (mentioned above). Other embodiments may provide for other options that are appropriate for an environment  100  in which food and drink type items are served. 
     In this example, if the user  102  selects the “search” option  207 , then the user  102  may be presented with a search screen  208 , as shown in  FIG. 15 . Tapping on a search space  209  may cause another touch screen keyboard (e.g. as in  FIG. 6  at  137 ) to appear below the search space  209 , so the user  102  can enter a search term. Alternatively, the user  102  may be presented with a section  210  showing some of the user&#39;s recently ordered items and a section  211  showing some specials available for the user  102 , in case any of these items are the one that the user  102  intended to search for. The user  102  could then bypass the search by selecting one or more of these items in section  210  or  211 . Additionally, the “Back” (at  143 ) and “Cancel” (at  144 ) touch screen buttons, the mute icon  158  and the icon control buttons  152 - 157  are also provided (mentioned above). Other embodiments may present other search options that may be appropriate for the type of environment  100 . 
     In this example, if the user  102  enters a search term in the search screen  208 , then the user  102  may be presented with a results screen  212 , as shown in  FIG. 16 . In this case, the search term entered by the user  102  is shown in another search space  213 , and search results related to the search term are shown in a results space  214 . The user  102  may then select one of these items by pressing on it or return to the previous screen to do another search (e.g. pressing the “back” touch screen button  143 ) or cancel the search and return to the initial food and drinks ordering screen  200  or the general action selection screen  142  (e.g. pressing the “cancel” touch screen button  144 ). Additionally, the mute icon  158  and the icon control buttons  152 - 157  are also provided (mentioned above). Other embodiments may present other results options that may be appropriate for the type of environment  100 . 
     In this example, if the user  102  selects an item to purchase, either from the search or results screens  208  or  212  or from any of the screens to which the user  102  was directed by any of the options  201 - 206  on the initial food and drinks ordering screen  200 , then the user  102  may be presented with an item purchase screen  215 , as shown in  FIG. 17 . A set of order customization options  216  may be provided for the user  102  to make certain common customizations of the order. Alternatively, a “comments” option  217  may be provided for the user  102  to enter any comments or special instructions related to the order. Another option  218  may be provided for the user  102  to mark this item as one of the user&#39;s favorites, which may then show up when the user  102  selects the “favorites” option  201  on the initial food and drinks ordering screen  200  in the future. Another option  219  may be provided for the user  102  to add another item to this order, the selection of which may cause the user  102  to be returned to the initial food and drinks ordering screen  200 . A “place order” option  220  may be provided for the user  102  to go to another screen on which the user  102  may review the entire order, as well as make selections to be changed for the order. Additionally, the “Back” (at  143 ) and “Cancel” (at  144 ) touch screen buttons, the mute icon  158  and the icon control buttons  152 - 157  are also provided (mentioned above). Other embodiments may present other options for allowing the user  102  to customize the selected item as may be appropriate. 
     In this example, if the user  102  chooses to purchase any items through the application on the user device  103 , e.g. by pressing the “place order” option  220  on screen  215 , the user  102  may be presented with a screen  221  with which to place or confirm the order. In this example, the user  102  has selected three items  222  to purchase, one of which is free since it is perhaps a freebie provided to all customers or perhaps the user  102  has earned it with loyalty points (mentioned above). The user  102  may change any of the items  222  by pressing the item on the screen  221 . Favorite items may be marked with the star, and there may be a star touch screen button to enable the user to select all of the items  222  as favorites. Any other discounts the user  102  may have due to loyalty points or coupons may be shown along with a subtotal, tax, tip and total. The tip percentage may be automatically set by the user  102  within the application or by the owners/operators of the environment  100  through the servers  104 . The user&#39;s table identifier (e.g. for embodiments with tables in the environment  100 ) is also shown along with an option  223  to change the table identifier (e.g. in case the user  102  moves to a different table in the environment  100 ). Selectable options  224  to either run a tab or to pay for the order now may be provided for the user&#39;s choice. The order may be placed through one of the servers  104  when the user  102  presses a “buy it” touch screen button  225 . The order may then be directed to a user device  103  operated or carried by a manager, bartender or wait staff person within the environment  100  in order to fill the order and to present the user  102  with a check/invoice when necessary. In some embodiments, payment may be made through the application on the user device  103  to the servers  104 , so the wait staff person does not have to handle that part of the transaction. Additionally, the “Back” (at  143 ) and “Cancel” (at  144 ) touch screen buttons, the mute icon  158  and the icon control buttons  152 - 157  are also provided (mentioned above). Other embodiments may present other options for allowing the user  102  to complete, confirm or place the order as may be appropriate. 
     An example architecture for connecting at least some of the A/V equipment within the environment  100  is shown in  FIG. 19  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. (Other embodiments in which the functions of the server  104  are not within the environment  100  are described elsewhere.) The A/V equipment generally includes one or more A/V sources  226 , one or more optional receiver (and channel selector) boxes or A/V stream splitters (the optional receiver)  227 , one or more of the display devices  101 , one or more of the servers  104  and one or more wireless access points (WAPs)  228  (e.g. the network access points  105  of  FIG. 1 ). It is understood, however, that the present invention is not necessarily limited to the architecture shown. Additionally, some variations on the illustrated architecture may render some of the components or connections unnecessary or optional. 
     The A/V sources  226  may be any available or appropriate A/V stream source. For example, the A/V sources  226  may be any combination of cable TV, TV antennas, over-the-air TV broadcasts, satellite dishes, VCR/DVD/Blue-ray/DVR devices or network devices (e.g. for Internet-based video services). The A/V sources  226 , thus, provide one or more A/V streams, such as television programs, VCR/DVD/Blue-ray/DVR videos, Internet-based content, etc. 
     The optional receivers  227  may be any appropriate or necessary set top boxes or intermediary devices as may be used with the A/V sources  226 . The receivers  227  are considered optional, since some such A/V sources  226  do not require any such intermediary device. For embodiments that do not include the optional receivers  227 , the A/V streams from the A/V sources  226  may pass directly to the display devices  101  or to the servers  104  or both. To pass the A/V streams to both, one or more A/V splitters (e.g. a coaxial cable splitter, HDMI splitter, etc.) may be used in place of the optional receivers  227 . 
     Some types of the optional receivers  227  have separate outputs for audio and video, so some embodiments pass the video streams only to the display devices  101  and the audio streams only to the servers  104 . On the other hand, some types of the optional receivers  227  have outputs only for the combined audio and video streams (e.g. coaxial cables, HDMI, etc.), so some embodiments pass the A/V streams only to the display devices  101 , only to the servers  104  or to both (e.g. through multiple outputs or A/V splitters). For those embodiments in which the entire A/V streams are provided only to the display devices  101  (from either the A/V sources  226  or the optional receivers  227 ), the audio stream is provided from the display devices  101  (e.g. from a headphone jack) to the servers  104 . For those embodiments in which the entire A/V streams are provided only to the servers  104  (from either the A/V sources  226  or the optional receivers  227 ), the video stream (or A/V stream) is provided from the servers  104  to the display devices  101 . 
     The servers  104  provide the audio streams (e.g. properly encoded, packetized, etc.) to the WAPs  228 . The WAPs  228  transmit the audio streams to the user devices  103 . Depending on the embodiment, the WAPs  228  also transmit data between the servers  104  and the user devices  103  for the various other functions described herein. In some embodiments, the servers  104  also transmit and receive various data through another network or the Internet. In some embodiments, a server  104  may transmit an audio stream to another server  104  within a network, so that the audio stream can be further transmitted through a network access point  105  that is within range of the user device  103 . 
     An example functional block diagram of the server  104  is shown in  FIG. 20  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. It is understood that the present invention is not necessarily limited to the functions shown or described. Instead, some of the functions may be optional or not included in some embodiments, and other functions not shown or described may be included in other embodiments. Additionally, some connections between functional blocks may be different from those shown and described, depending on various embodiments and/or the types of physical components used in the server  104 . 
     Each of the illustrated example functional blocks and connections between functional blocks generally represents any appropriate physical or hardware components or combination of hardware components and software that may be necessary for the described functions. For example, some of the functional blocks may represent audio processing circuitry, video processing circuitry, microprocessors, memory, software, networking interfaces, I/O ports, etc. In some embodiments, some functional blocks may represent more than one hardware component, and some functional blocks may be combined into a fewer number of hardware components. 
     In some embodiments, some or all of the functions are incorporated into one or more devices that may be located within the environment  100 , as mentioned above. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions may be incorporated in one or more devices located outside the environment  100  or partially on and partially off premises, as mentioned above. 
     In the illustrated example, the server  104  is shown having one or more audio inputs  229  for receiving one or more audio streams, one or more video inputs  230  for receiving one or more video streams and one or more combined A/V inputs  231  for receiving one or more A/V streams. These input functional blocks  229 - 231  generally represent one or more I/O connectors and circuitry for the variety of different types of A/V sources  226  that may be used, e.g. coaxial cable connectors, modems, wireless adapters, HDMI ports, network adapters, Ethernet ports, stereo audio ports, component video ports, S-video ports, etc. Some types of video content may be provided through one of these inputs (from one type of A/V source  226 , e.g. cable or satellite) and the audio content provided through a different input (from another type of A/V source  226 , e.g. the Internet). Multiple language audio streams, for example, may be enabled by this technique. The video inputs  230  and A/V inputs  231  may be considered optional, so they may not be present in some embodiments, since the audio processing may be considered the primary function of the servers  104  in some embodiments. It is also possible that the social interaction and/or food/drink ordering functions are considered the primary functions in some embodiments, so the audio inputs  229  may potentially also be considered optional. 
     For embodiments in which the server  104  handles the video streams in addition to the audio streams, one or more video processing functional blocks  232  and one or more video outputs  233  are shown. The video outputs  233  may include any appropriate video connectors, such as coaxial cable connectors, wireless adapters, HDMI ports, network adapters, Ethernet ports, component video ports, S-video ports, etc. for connecting to the display devices  101 . The video processing functional blocks  232  each generally include a delay or synchronization functional block  234  and a video encoding functional block  235 . In some embodiments, however, the sum of the video processing functions at  232  may simply result in passing the video stream directly through or around the server  104  from the video inputs  230  or the A/V inputs  231  to the video outputs  233 . In other embodiments, the video stream may have to be output in a different form than it was input, so the encoding function at  235  enables any appropriate video stream conversions (e.g. from an analog coaxial cable input to an HDMI output or any other conversion). Additionally, since the video streams and audio streams do not necessarily pass through the same equipment, it is possible for the syncing of the video and audio streams to be off by an intolerable amount by the time they reach the display devices  101  and the user devices  103 , respectively. The delay or synchronization functions at  234 , therefore, enable synchronization of the video and audio streams, e.g. by delaying the video stream by an appropriate amount. For example, a generator may produce a video test pattern so that the appropriate delay can be introduced into the video stream, so that the video and audio are synchronized from the user&#39;s perspective (lip sync&#39;d). 
     In this example, one or more optional tuner functional blocks  236  (e.g. a TV tuner circuit) may be included for a video input  230  or A/V input  231  that requires tuning in order to extract a desired video stream or A/V stream. Additionally, for embodiments in which the video and audio streams are received together (e.g. through a coaxial cable, HDMI, etc.), an audio-video separation functional block  237  may be included to separate the two streams or to extract one from the other. Furthermore, a channel selection/tuning functional block  238  may control the various types of inputs  229 - 231  and/or the optional tuners at  236  so that the desired audio streams may be obtained. Thus, some of the functions of the display devices  101  (as a conventional television) or of the optional receivers  227  may be incorporated into the servers  104 . However, if only one audio stream for each input  229 - 231  is received, then the tuners at  236  and the channel selection/tuning functions at  238  may be unnecessary. 
     The one or more audio streams (e.g. from the audio inputs  229 , the A/V inputs  231  or the audio-video separation functional block  237 ) are generally provided to an audio processing functional block  239 . The audio processing functional block  239  generally converts the audio streams received at the inputs  229  and/or  231  into a proper format for transmission through a network I/O adapter  240  (e.g. an Ethernet port, USB port, etc.) to the WAPs  228  or network access points  105 . Additionally, if it is desired to provide the audio streams to the display devices  101  as well, then the audio streams may also simply be transmitted through the audio processing functional block  239  or directly from the audio or A/V inputs  229  or  231  or the audio-video separation functional block  237  to one or more audio outputs  241  connected to the display devices  101 . 
     Depending on the number, type and encoding of the audio streams, some of the illustrated audio processing functions at  239  may be optional or unnecessary. In this example, however, the audio processing functional block  239  generally includes a multiplexing functional block  242 , an analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion functional block  243 , a delay/synchronization functional block  244 , an audio encoding (including perceptual encoding) functional block  245  and a packetization functional block  246 . The functions at  242 - 246  are generally, but not necessarily, performed in the order shown from top to bottom in  FIG. 20 . 
     If the server  104  receives multiple components of one audio stream (e.g. left and right stereo components, Dolby Digital 5.1 ™, etc.), then the multiplexing function at  242  multiplexes the two streams into one for eventual transmission to the user devices  103 . Additionally, if the server  104  receives more than one audio stream, then the multiplexing function at  242  potentially further multiplexes all of these streams together for further processing. If the server  104  receives more audio streams than it has been requested to provide to the user devices  103 , then the audio processing functional block  239  may process only the requested audio streams, so the total number of multiplexed audio streams may vary during operation of the server  104 . 
     If the received audio streams are analog, then the A/D conversion function at  243  converts the analog audio signals (using time slicing if multiplexed) into an appropriate digital format. On the other hand, if any of the audio streams are received in digital format, then the A/D conversion function at  243  may be skipped for those audio streams. If all of the audio streams are digital (e.g. all from an Internet-based source, etc.), then the A/D conversion functional block  243  may not be required. 
     Again, since the video streams and audio streams do not necessarily pass through the same equipment, it is possible for the syncing of the video and audio streams to be off by an intolerable amount by the time they reach or pass through the display devices  101  and the user devices  103 , respectively. The delay or synchronization functions at  244 , therefore, enable synchronization of the video and audio streams, e.g. by delaying the audio stream by an appropriate amount. (Alternatively, the audio delay/synchronization functions may be in the user devices  103 , e.g. as describe below.) For example, a generator may produce an audio test pattern so that the appropriate delay can be introduced into the audio stream, so that the video and audio are synchronized from the user&#39;s perspective (lip sync&#39;d). The delay/synchronization functional block  244  may work in cooperation with the delay/synchronization functional block  234  in the video processing functions at  232 . The server  104 , thus, may use either or both delay/synchronization functional blocks  234  and  244  to synchronize the video and audio streams. Alternatively, the server  104  may have neither delay/synchronization functional block  234  or  244  if synchronization is determined not to be a problem in all or most configurations of the overall A/V equipment (e.g.  101  and  103 - 105 ). Alternatively, the lip sync function may be external to the servers  104 . This alternative may be appropriate if, for instance, lip sync calibration is done at setup by a technician. In some embodiments, if the audio and video streams are provided over the Internet, the audio stream may be provided with a sufficiently large lead over the video stream that synchronization could always be assured by delaying the audio stream at the server  104  or the user device  103 . 
     The delay/synchronization functions at  234  and  244  generally enable the server  104  to address fixed offset and/or any variable offset between the audio and video streams. The fixed offset is generally dependant on the various devices between the A/V source  226  ( FIG. 19 ) and the display devices  101  and the user devices  103 . The display device  101 , for example, may contain several frames of image data on which it would do advanced image processing in order to deliver the final imagery to the screen. At a 60 Hz refresh rate and 5 frames of data, for example, then a latency of about 83 ms may occur. 
     There are several ways to assure that the video and audio streams are synchronized from the perspective of the user  102 . One method is to have the user  102  manually adjust the audio delay using a control in the application on the user device  103 , which may send an appropriate control signal to the delay/synchronization functional block  244 . This technique may be implemented, for instance, with a buffer of adjustable depth. 
     A second method is for the delay/synchronization functions at  234  and  244  to include a lip sync calibration generator, or for a technician to use an external lip-sync calibration generator, with which to calibrate the video and audio streams. The calibration may be done so that for each type of user device  103  and display device  101 , the application sets the audio delay (via an adjustable buffer) to an appropriate delay value. For instance, a technician at a particular environment  100 , may connect the calibration generator and, by changing the audio delay, adjust the lip sync on a representative user device  103  to be within specification. On the other hand, some types of the user devices  103  may be previously tested, so their internal delay offsets may be known. The server  104  may store this information, so when one of the user devices  103  accesses the server  104 , the user device  103  may tell the server  104  what type of user device  103  it is. Then the server  104  may set within the delay/synchronization functional block  244  (or transmit to the application on the user device  103 ) the proper calibrated audio delay to use. Alternatively, the application on each user device  103  may be provided with data regarding the delay on that type of user device  103 . The application may then query the server  104  about its delay characteristics, including the video delay, and thus be able to set the proper buffer delay within the user device  103  or instruct the server  104  to set the proper delay within the delay/synchronization functional block  244 . 
     A third method is for the server  104  to timestamp the audio stream. By adjusting when audio is pulled out of a buffer on the user device  103 , the user device  103  assures that the audio stream is lip sync&#39;d to the video stream. Each server  104  may be calibrated for the delay in the video path and to assure that the server  104  and the application use the same time reference. 
     A fourth method is for the server  104  to transmit a low resolution, but lip sync&#39;d, version of the video stream to the application. The application then uses the camera on the user device  103  to observe the display device  101  and correlate it to the video image it received. The application then calculates the relative video path delay by observing at what time shift the maximum correlation occurs and uses that to control the buffer delay. 
     In some embodiments, the video and audio streams may be synchronized within the following specs: Sara Kudrle et. al. (July 2011). “Fingerprinting for Solving A/V Synchronization Issues within Broadcast Environments”. Motion Imaging Journal (SMPTE). This reference states, “Appropriate A/V sync limits have been established and the range that is considered acceptable for film is +1-22 ms. The range for video, according to the ATSC, is up to 15 ms lead time and about 45 ms lag time.” In some embodiments, however, a lag time up to 150 ms is acceptable. It shall be appreciated that it may happen for the audio stream to lead the video stream by more than these amounts. In a typical display device  101  that has audio capabilities, the audio is delayed appropriately to be in sync with the video, at least to the extent that the original source is in sync. 
     In some embodiments, problems may arrive when the audio stream is separated from the video stream before reaching the display device  101  and put through, for instance, a separate audio system. In that case, the audio stream may significantly lead the video stream. To fix this, a variety of vendors offer products, e.g., the Hall Research AD-340 ™ or the Felston DD740 ™, that delay the audio by an adjustable amount. Additionally, the HDMI 1.3 specification also offers a lip sync mechanism. 
     Some embodiments of the present invention experience one or more additional delays. For example, there may be substantial delays in the WAPs  228  or network access points  105  as well as in the execution of the application on the user devices  103 . For instance, Wi-Fi latency may vary widely depending on the number of user devices  103 , interference sources, etc. On the user devices  103 , processing latency may depend on whether or not the user device  103  is in power save mode or not. Also, some user devices  103  may provide multiprocessing, so the load on the processor can vary. In some embodiments, therefore, it is likely that the latency of the audio path will be larger than that of the video path. 
     In some embodiments, the overall system (e.g.  101  and  103 - 105 ) may keep the audio delay sufficiently low so that delaying the video is unnecessary. In some embodiments, for example, WEP or WPA encryption may be turned off. In other embodiments, the user device  103  is kept out of any power save mode. 
     The overall system (e.g.  101  and  103 - 105 ) in some embodiments provides a sync solution without delaying the video signal. For example, the server  104  separates the audio stream before it goes to the display devices  101  so that the video delay is in parallel with the audio delay. When synchronizing, the server  104  takes into consideration that the audio stream would have been additionally delayed if inside the display device  101  so that it is in sync with the video stream. Thus, any extra audio delay created by the network access points  105  and the user device  103  would be in parallel with the video delay. 
     In some embodiments, the video stream may be written into a frame buffer in the video processing functional block  232  that holds a certain number of video frames, e.g. up to 10-20 frames. This buffer may cause a delay that may or may not be fixed. The server  104  may further provide a variable delay in the audio path so that the audio and video streams can be equalized. Additionally, the server  104  may keep any variation in latency within the network access point  105  and the user device  103  low so that the audio delay determination is only needed once per setup. 
     In some embodiments, the overall system (e.g.  101 ,  103 - 105 ) addresses interference and moving the user device  103  out of power save mode. In some cases, the delay involved with WEP or WPA security, may be acceptable assuming that it is relatively fixed or assisted by special purpose hardware in the user device  103 . 
     If the audio or video delay is too variable, some embodiments of the overall system (e.g.  101 ,  103 - 105 ) provides alternatively or additionally another mechanism for synchronization. The overall system (e.g.  101 ,  103 - 105 ) may utilize solutions known in the VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) or streaming video industries. These solutions dynamically adjust the relative delay of the audio and video streams using, for instance, timestamps for both data streams. They generally involve an audio data buffer in the user device  103  with flow control and a method for pulling the audio stream out of the buffer at the right time (as determined by the time stamps) and making sure that the buffer gets neither too empty nor too full through the use of flow control. In addition or in the alternative, the overall system (e.g.  101 ,  103 - 105 ) may perform more or less compression on the audio depending on the average available bandwidth. 
     The audio encoding functions at  245  (sometimes called codecs) generally encode and/or compress the audio streams (using time slicing if multiplexed) into a proper format (e.g. MP3, MPEG-4, AAC (E)LD, HE-AAC, S/PDIF, etc.) for use by the user devices  103 . (The degree of audio compression may be adaptive to the environment  100 .) Additionally, the packetization functions at  246  generally appropriately packetize the encoded audio streams for transmission through the network I/O adapter  240  and the WAPs  228  or network access points  105  to the user devices  103 , e.g. with ADTS (Audio Data Transport Stream), a channel number and encryption if needed. 
     In this example, the server  104  also has a user or application interaction functional block  247 . These functions generally include those not involved directly with the audio streams. For example, the interaction functions at  247  may include login and register functional blocks  248  and  249 , respectively. The login and register functions at  248  and  249  may provide the screens  120 ,  125  and  134  ( FIGS. 4 ,  5  and  6 , respectively) to the user devices  103  and the underlying functions associated therewith for the users  102  to sign up or login to the servers  104 , as described above. 
     In this example, the interaction functions at  247  may include a settings functional block  250 . The settings functions at  250  may provide the screens  166 ,  170  and  174  ( FIGS. 11 ,  12  and  13 , respectively) to the user devices  103  and the underlying functions associated therewith for the users  102  to set various options for the application as they relate to the servers  104 , including storing setting information and other functions described above. (Some of the underlying functions associated with the screens  166 ,  170  and  174 , however, may be performed within the user devices  103  without interaction with the servers  104 .) 
     In this example, the interaction functions at  247  may include a display list functional block  251 . The display list functions at  251  may provide a list of available display devices  101  to the user devices  103  for the user devices  103  to generate the display device selection screen  159  shown in  FIG. 8  and the language pop-up window  164  shown in  FIG. 9 . 
     In this example, the interaction functions at  247  may include a display selection functional block  252 . When the user  102  selects a display device  101  from the display device selection screen  159  shown in  FIG. 8 , the display selection functions at  252  may control the channel selection/tuning functions at  238 , the inputs  229 - 231 , the tuners at  236  and the audio processing functions at  239  as necessary to produce the audio stream corresponding to the selected display device  101 . 
     In this example, the interaction functions at  247  may include a content change request functional block  253 . The content change request functions at  253  generally enable the users  102  to request that the TV channel or video content being provided over one of the display devices  101  to be changed to something different. The application on the user devices  103  may provide a screen option (not shown) for making a content change request. Then a pop-up window (not shown) may be provided to other user devices  103  that are receiving the audio stream for the same display device  101 . The pop-up window may allow the other users  102  to agree or disagree with the content change. If a certain percentage of the users  102  agree, then the change may be made to the selected display device  101 . The change may be automatic through the display selection functions at  252 , or a manager or other person within the environment  100  may be alerted (e.g. with a text message through a multifunctional mobile device carried by the person) to make the change. By having the manager or other person within the environment  100  make the change, the owner/operator of the environment  100  may limit inappropriate public content within the environment  100  and may choose video streams that would attract the largest clientele. In either case, it may be preferable not to allow the users  102  to change the video content of the display devices  101  (or otherwise control the display devices  101 ) without approval in order to prevent conflicts among users  102 . 
     In this example, the interaction functions at  247  may include a hot spot functional block  254 . The hot spot functions at  254  may allow the users  102  to use the servers  104  and network access points  105  as a conventional Wi-Fi “hot spot” to access other resources, such as the Internet. The bandwidth made available for this function may be limited in order to ensure that sufficient bandwidth of the servers  104  and the network access points  105  is reserved for the audio streaming, food/drink ordering and social interaction functions within the environment  100 . 
     In this example, the interaction functions at  247  may include a menu order functional block  255 . The menu order functions at  255  may provide the screen options and underlying functions associated with the food and drink ordering functions described above with reference to  FIGS. 14-18 . A list of available menu items and prices for the environment  100  may, thus, be maintained within the menu order functional block  255 . 
     In this example, the interaction functions at  247  may include a web server functional block  256 . The web server functions at  256  may provide web page files in response to any conventional World Wide Web access requests. This function may be the means by which data is provided to the user devices  103  for some or all of the functions described herein. For example, the web server functional block  256  may provide a web page for downloading the application for the user devices  103  or an informational web page describing the services provided. The web pages may also include a restaurant or movie review page, a food/beverage menu, advertisements for specials or upcoming features. The web pages may be provided through the network access points  105  or through the Internet, e.g. through a network I/O adapter  257 . 
     The network I/O adapter  257  may be an Ethernet or USB port, for example, and may connect the server  104  to other servers  104  or network devices within the environment  100  or off premises. The network I/O adapter  257  may be used to download software updates, to debug operational problems, etc. 
     In this example, the interaction functions at  247  may include a pop ups functional block  258 . The pop ups functions at  258  may send data to the user devices  103  to cause the user devices  103  to generate pop up windows (not shown) to provide various types of information to the users  102 . For example, drink specials may be announced, or a notification of approaching closing time may be given. Alternatively, while the user  102  is watching and listening to a particular program, trivia questions or information regarding the program may appear in the pop up windows. Such pop ups may be part of a game played by multiple users  102  to win free food/drinks or loyalty points. Any appropriate message may be provided as determined by the owner/operator of the environment  100  or of the servers  104 . 
     In this example, the interaction functions at  247  may include an alter audio stream functional block  259 . The alter audio stream functions at  259  may allow the owner, operator or manager of the environment  100  to provide audio messages to the users  102  through the user devices  103 . This function may interrupt the audio stream being provided to the user devices  103  for the users  102  to watch the display devices  101 . The existing audio stream may, thus, be temporarily muted in order to provide an alternate audio stream, e.g. to announce drink specials, last call or closing time. The alter audio stream functional block  259  may, thus, control the audio processing functions at  239  to allow inserting an alternate audio stream into the existing audio stream. Furthermore, the alter audio stream functions at  259  may detect when a commercial advertisement has interrupted a program on the display devices  101  in order to insert the alternate audio stream during the commercial break, so that the program is not interrupted. 
     In this example, the interaction functions at  247  may include an advertisement content functional block  260 . The advertisement content functions at  260  may provide the alternate audio streams or the pop up window content for advertisements by the owner/operator of the environment  100  or by beverage or food suppliers or manufacturers or by other nearby business establishments or by broad-based regional/national/global business interests. The advertisements may be personalized using the name of the user  102 , since that information may be provided when signing up or logging in, and/or appropriately targeted by the type of environment  100 . Additionally, the servers  104  may monitor when users  102  enter and leave the environment  100 , so the owners/operators of the environment  100  may tailor advertised specials or programs for when certain loyal users  102  are present, as opposed to the general public. In some embodiments, the servers  104  may offer surveys or solicit comments/feedback from the users  102  or announce upcoming events. 
     Other functions not shown or described may also be provided. For example, the servers  104  may provide data to the user devices  103  to support any of the other functions described herein. Additionally, the functions of the servers  104  may be upgraded, e.g. through the network I/O adapter  257 . 
     An example overall network  261 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, that may include multiple instances of the environment  100  is shown in  FIG. 21 . The example network  261  generally includes multiple environments  100  represented by establishments  262 ,  263  and  264  connected to a cloud computing system or the Internet or other appropriate network system (the cloud)  265 . Some or all of the controls or data for functions within the establishments  262 - 264  may originate in the cloud  265 . 
     The establishment  263  generally represents embodiments in which some or all of the functions of the servers  104  are placed within the environment  100 . In this case, the establishment  263  generally includes one or more of the servers  104  and WAPs  228  (or network access points  105 ) on premises along with a network access point  266  for accessing the cloud  265 . A control device  267  may be placed within the establishment  263  to allow the owner/operator/manager of the establishment  263  or the owner/operator of the servers  104  to control or make changes for any of the functions of the servers  104  and the WAPs  228 . 
     The establishment  264  generally represents embodiments in which some or all of the functions of the servers  104  are placed within the cloud  265 . In this case, a server functions functional block  268  is shown in the cloud  265  and a router  269  (or other network devices) is shown in the establishment  264 . The server functions functional block  268  generally represents any physical hardware and software within the cloud  265  that may be used to provide any of the functions described herein (including, but not limited to, the functions described with reference to  FIG. 20 ) for the establishment  264 . For example, the audio streams, video streams or A/V streams may be provided through, or from within, the cloud  265 , so the server functions at  268  process and transmit the audio streams (and optionally the video streams) as necessary to the establishment  264  through the router  269  and the WAPs  228  (or network access points  105 ) to the user devices  103  (and optionally the display devices  101 ) within the establishment  264 . 
     One or more control devices  270  are shown connected through the cloud  265  for controlling any aspects of the services provided to the establishments  262 - 264 , regardless of the placement of the server functions. For example, software upgrades may be provided through the control devices  270  to upgrade functions of the servers  104  or the application on the user devices  103 . Additionally, the advertisement content may be distributed from the control devices  270  by the owner/operators of the server functions or by business interests providing the advertisements. 
       FIG. 22  shows a simplified schematic diagram of at least part of an example system  400  that may be used in the environment  100  shown in  FIG. 1  in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment enables users  102  to be able to listen to the audio stream associated with one of the display devices  101  with one ear and to listen simultaneously to ambient sounds in the environment  100  with their other ear. These users  102  may thus enjoy the audio content with the video content provided by one of the available display devices  101  while also participating in conversations with other people in the environment  100 . Alternatively, the audio stream associated with one of the display devices  101  (e.g. showing a particularly popular sporting event) may be provided as the ambient sound for all people in the entire environment  100 , so this embodiment may allow some of the users  102  to listen to the ambient sound audio stream with one ear, while also listening to the audio stream associated with a different display device  101  with their other ear. 
     To listen to both of the audio sources (ambient and streaming through their user device  103 ) a user  102  may put an earbud or headphone speaker in or on one ear, and leave the other ear uncovered or unencumbered. The user  102  may thus hear the selected audio stream through the headphone speaker while listening to the ambient sound through the uncovered ear. If the selected audio stream has both left and right stereo audio components, but the user  102  uses only one headphone speaker, then part of the audio content may be lost. According to the present embodiment, however, the stereo audio streams that may be presented to some or all of the users  102  through their user devices  103  may be converted to mono audio streams prior to transmission to the user devices  103 . In this manner, the stereo-to-mono audio feature enables the users  102  to use only one conventional earbud or headphone speaker in order to hear the full stereo sound in only one ear, albeit without the stereo effect. 
     In alternative embodiments, the users  102  may desire to attach a speaker (e.g., a portable table top speaker) to their user device  103 , so that the audio stream can be heard by anyone within an appropriate listening distance of the speaker. In such embodiments, the audio stream is preferably mono, as in the previous embodiment, since such speakers typically have limited capability. 
     According to the illustrated embodiment, the example system  400  generally includes any appropriate number and/or combination of the A/V source  226 , the receiver  227 , the display device  101 , the server  104 , and the WAPs  228 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  19 , and  21  and described above. Additionally, the example system  400  generally includes one or more audio subsystems  401 , a network switch  402 , and a router  403 , among other possible components not shown for simplicity of illustration and description. (In some embodiments, some of these components may be optional or may not be included.) In various embodiments, some of the functions of the receiver  227 , the audio subsystem  401 , and the server  104  may be in one or the other of these devices or in one combined device, e.g., the audio processing functions at  239  ( FIG. 20 ) in the server  104  may perform some or all of the functions of the audio subsystem  401 , and the tuners at  236  and the audio-video separation functional block  237  may perform some or all of the functions of the receiver  227 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the A/V content is generally received from the A/V sources  226  by the receivers  227 . The video content streams are transmitted by the receivers  227  to the display devices  101 , and the stereo audio streams are provided to the audio subsystem  401 . At least a portion of the audio subsystem  401  converts the stereo audio streams into mono audio streams. (Alternatively, the receivers  227  may perform the stereo-to-mono conversion.) 
     For example, a conversion circuit  404  shown in a simplified schematic diagram in  FIG. 23  may form at least part of the audio subsystem  401  for converting input analog stereo audio streams (e.g.,  405  and  406 ) into one or more output multiplexed digital mono audio streams (e.g.,  407 ). The conversion circuit  404  may include one or more stereo-to-mono conversion circuits  408  and  409  (e.g., resistors  410 ,  411 , and  412 , and operational amplifier  413 ) and a stereo analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and multiplexor  414  to produce the multiplexed digital mono audio streams (e.g.,  407 ) from the analog stereo audio streams (e.g.,  405  and  406 ). The operational amplifier  413  buffers the inputs  405  or  406 . The resistor  412  controls the gain. A node  415  is commonly called a summing junction, at which the left and right stereo audio signals are summed to one mono signal. The ADC  414  generally includes two internal ADCs to handle stereo inputs, but in this configuration the ADC  414  handles two mono inputs from the conversion circuits  408  and  409 . 
     The server  104  receives (e.g., at input  229 ,  FIG. 20 ) the multiplexed digital mono audio streams (e.g.,  407 ). (Alternatively, the server  104  may perform any of the appropriate audio processing functions at  239  ( FIG. 20 ). For example, the A/D conversion or multiplexing functions mentioned previously may be performed in the server  104 , e.g., at  243  and/or  242  ( FIG. 20 )). The mono audio streams are encoded at  245  and packetized at  246  in the server  104 . The digital audio streams are thus compressed, e.g., by a codec such as MPEG 3, AAC, or Opus, for transmitting through the audio outputs  241  or the network I/O adapter  240  to a Local Area Network (LAN). 
     The LAN generally includes any appropriate combination of Ethernet, WIFI, Bluetooth, etc. components. For example, the LAN may include the network switch  402 , the WAPs  228 , and the router  403 . The router  403  is generally for optionally connecting to a WAN, such as the Internet or the Cloud  265 , e.g., for purposes described above. 
     The audio streams are transmitted through the network switch  402  and the WAPs  228  for wireless transmission to the user devices  103 . The audio streams may use any appropriate protocol, e.g., S/PDIF, TCP or UDP. The UDP protocol may be less reliable than TCP, but may be used when there is more concern for speed and efficiency and less concern for end-to-end reliability, since a few lost packets are not so important in audio streaming. 
     The network switch  402  and the WAPs  228  may also be used to transmit data back from the user devices  103  to the server  104  (and through the router  403  to the Cloud  265 ). With this functionality, in some embodiments, the users  102  may select whether to hear the audio streams in stereo or mono. In this case, the interaction functions at  247  ( FIG. 20 ) may present an appropriate menu on the user devices  103  through the settings functions at  250 , so the users  102  may make their desired selection to send a command to the server  104  to either use or bypass the stereo-to-mono functions described herein. 
     In addition to the advantage of enabling greater flexibility in how the users  102  listen to their selected audio streams, the present embodiment enables additional advantages. For example, when two left and right stereo audio streams are combined into one mono audio stream, some of the components downstream from the combination point may be simplified. In other words, when the number of audio streams is reduced, the number of audio components for handling the streams may also be reduced. Additionally, the bandwidth of components necessary for digital transmission of the audio streams through the server  104 , the network switch  402 , and the WAPs  228  can also be reduced. In this manner, the size, complexity, and cost of these components can be reduced. 
       FIG. 24  shows a simplified flow chart of an example process  420  for at least some of the functions of the servers  104  and the user devices  103  in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. (Variations on this embodiment may use different steps or different combinations of steps or different orders of operation of the steps.) This embodiment enables advertisements to be presented to the users  102  at various times during operation of the application that runs on the user devices  103 . For example, an ad may be presented upon starting or launching the application on the user devices  103 , upon the user devices  103  connecting to or logging into the server  104 , upon selecting an audio stream associated with one of the display devices  101 , and/or upon leaving the environment  100  or losing or ending the WIFI signal to the WAPs  105  or  228 . 
     The ads may be stored on the server  104  and may be uploaded to the server  104  from a storage medium (e.g., DVD, flash drive, etc.) at the server  104  or transmitted to the server  104  from the Cloud  265 , e.g., under control of the advertisement content functions at  260  ( FIG. 20 ), the control devices  270  and/or other appropriate control mechanisms. Alternatively, the ads may be transmitted from the Cloud  265  to the user devices  103  without interacting with the server  104 . In either case, the ads may be streamed to the user device  103  when needed or may be uploaded to and stored on the user device  103  for use at any appropriate time. 
     Since one of the purposes of the application is to present audio streams through the user devices  103 , the ads may ideally also be audio in nature. Thus, the users may hear the ads even if, as may often be the case, they are not looking at the display screen of their user devices  103 . However, since many types of the user devices  103  can also present images or video, the ads may alternatively be imagery, video or any combination of imagery, video, audio, and audible alerts. 
     According to the example process  420 , upon starting (at  421 ) the application on the user device  103 , an ad may be presented (at  422 ) through the user device  103 , e.g., while the application is launching, upon completing the launch and/or while connecting to the WAP  228  and the server  104 . The ad at this time may have previously been loaded onto and stored in the user device  103 , e.g., during a previous running of the application. However, if no ad is already available on the user device  103 , and since the application has not yet connected to the server  104  to load an ad, the ad presentation at  422  may be skipped. 
     In some embodiments, after each time an ad is presented through the user device  103 , a timer may be started or reset (e.g., at  423 ). (The timer is not started if the ad is not presented.) This timer may ensure that another ad is not presented before the timer has timed out, e.g., after a few minutes. In this manner, the users  102  are not subjected to the ads too frequently, e.g., when the users  102  change selected channels often. 
     At  424 , the application on the user device  103  connects to the WAP  228  and then to the server  104 . At this point, the application can now download an ad from the server  104 , so the server  104  is instructed to transmit (at  425 ) an ad to the user device  103 . Alternatively, if the user device  103  already has an ad stored in memory that may be presented in the subsequent steps, then the transmit and download may be skipped. In another alternative, the application may download any number of ads to be immediately presented (e.g., streaming the ad) or stored for later presentation. If the previous ad was not presented at  422  or the timer started at  423  has timed out, then a streamed or stored ad may be presented through the user device  103  to the user  102 . The timer is then reset/started at  426 . If the ad was presented at  422  and the timer started at  423  has not timed out, however, then  425  and  426  may be skipped. 
     At  427 , the application determines the channels or audio streams that are available, as described above. This data is then presented (e.g., by the interaction functions at  247 ,  FIG. 20 ) through the display screen of the user device  103  for the user  102  to make a selection. At  428 , the user  102  inputs a selection of the channel or audio stream, and the application transmits the selection to the server  104 . Additionally, in some embodiments, the user  102  may also select (at  429 ) to receive the audio stream in stereo or mono, as described above. 
     Before the selected audio stream is presented to the user  102  through the user device  103 , if the timer has timed out (or has not yet been started), as determined at  430 , then at  431  the server  104  may be instructed to transmit an ad for the user device  103  to download and present to the user  102 . (Alternatively, for each transmit/download step described herein, if the user device  103  already has an ad stored in memory that may be used, then the transmit/download may be skipped, and the application may present the ad currently stored on the user device  103  to the user  102 .) At  432 , the timer is reset or started. After presenting the ad, or if the timer has not yet timed out (as determined at  430 ) after the audio stream selection has been made, then at  433  the server  104  may be instructed to transmit the selected audio stream for the application on the user device  103  to present to the user  102 . Alternatively, transmission of the selected audio stream may begin during (or at least before the end of) the ad presentation, so that the selected audio stream is almost immediately ready for presentation as soon as the ad has completed. 
     During each ad presentation described herein, since the video content in which the user  102  is interested is available on one of the display devices  101  and not dependent on the operation of the user device  103  or the application thereon, the user  102  may view and enjoy the full unobstructed and unaltered video content during the entire time while the ad is being presented. Additionally, in some embodiments, the user  102  may interrupt any of the ad presentations, e.g., by a keypad input, a touch screen input or a prescribed movement of the user device  103  (for those user devices that have motion sensors or accelerometers). The ad presentation interruption may be done at any time during the ad presentation or only after a certain amount of time has elapsed. If the ad is interrupted, then the application on the user device  103  may begin presenting (at  433 ) the selected audio stream as soon as it is ready. Additionally, the timer may then be reset or started (at  432 ) for the same amount of time as in other reset/start steps or for a different amount of time, e.g., the ad interruption may result in the timer being set for a shorter time period, so that the next ad presentation may potentially be started sooner than if the user  102  had allowed the ad to play to conclusion. 
     The application continues to present the audio stream to the user  102  while continually checking whether the user  102  has stopped the audio stream presentation (as determined at  434 ) or the user device  103  has lost or somehow ended the connection with the WAP  228  and the server  104  (as determined at  435 ). If the user  102  has stopped the audio stream presentation (as determined at  434 ), then the application may (at  436 , if the timer has timed out) present an ad again and reset the timer. This presentation may be done immediately upon stopping the audio stream or within some appropriate period of time thereafter. The application may then return to  427  to display the available channels or audio streams again. In some embodiments, the audio stream presentation may be stopped by switching channels, e.g., by pressing or double-clicking a hot key on the user device  103  or an icon on the display screen of the user device  103 , in which case the application may not return to  427 , but may skip to  429  or  430  as appropriate. If the connection to the WAP  228  and/or the server  104  is lost (e.g., by software/hardware malfunction or the user device  103  leaving the environment  100 ) or is ended (e.g., by an action by the user  102 ), as determined at  435 , then the application may present (at  437 ) to the user  102  any ad that had already been stored on the user device  103 . The process  420  may then end (at  438 ) or the application may present any other appropriate menu option to the user  102 . 
     In some embodiments, the server  104  may transmit an ad to the user device  103  at any time while the server  104  and the user device  103  are connected, including in the background while performing other interactions with the user device  103 , e.g., multiplexed with the selected audio stream while transmitting the selected audio stream, while waiting to receive a channel selection from the user device  103 , etc. In this manner, the ad may be downloaded onto the user device  103  in advance of a time when the ad is to be presented. Thus, the user device  103  may begin presenting the ad with minimal delay at each presentation time. Furthermore, the ad transmission may be repeated for additional ads that may replace or supplement previously transmitted ads, so the user device  103  may almost always have one or more ads ready to be presented at any time. Additionally, in some embodiments, the ads may be transmitted to the user devices  103  using a different transmission protocol or using different types of transmission packets. For example, the ads may be transmitted using TCP, and the audio streams associated with the display devices  101  may be transmitted by UDP (or other protocol appropriate for audio streaming). 
       FIG. 25  is a simplified example of a view of a user interface  450  for an application running on the user device  103  in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. (This application may be part of any of the previously described applications on the user device  103 . Additionally, the illustrated view of the user interface  450  may be a default view that is displayed on the display screen of the user device  103  while the selected audio stream is being presented.) This application enables recording, in addition to live streaming, of one or more selected audio streams associated with one or more of the display devices  101 . With this recording feature, if the user  102  is interrupted, e.g., by a phone call or a conversation with another person in the environment  100 , then the audio stream may be paused (e.g., at a “pause point”) for a period of time and then resumed, so the missed part of the audio stream, or some portion thereof, may be played back. The resumed playback may begin at the pause point or may begin at a point near the pause point, e.g., a few seconds before the pause point (if recording is always active) or within an appropriate time interval before or after the pause point. In some embodiments, the recording feature may maintain only a certain amount of only the most recently received portion of the audio stream. In this case, if the pause in the audio stream lasts for longer than a certain maximum time interval, then the application may begin to delete the oldest portion of the recorded audio. In this manner, the user  102  may lose a portion of the audio stream, but the recorded audio is limited to a maximum amount or buffer of storage space, so not all available storage space is used up. 
     In some embodiments, if the user device  103  is a mobile phone, then the recording feature may be automatically initiated in response to receiving a phone call, and the end of the phone call may automatically cause the audio stream to resume. Additionally or in the alternative, the recording feature may be initiated by the user  102  making a keypad or touchscreen input, and the resume may be caused by another keypad or touchscreen input. 
     Since the presentation of the video stream on the display device  101  associated with the selected audio stream is generally not affected by the application running on the user device  103 , the pausing of the selected audio stream is likely to cause the selected audio stream to be out of sync with the video stream. In some embodiments, therefore, when presentation of the selected audio stream is resumed, the playback speed may be increased by an appropriate factor (e.g., 1.5× to 2×) using any appropriate technique to a higher-than-normal speed until the selected audio stream catches up with the video stream, and then streaming of the selected audio stream may proceed at a normal rate. In this case, the recording feature continues to record the incoming audio stream until the high-speed playback catches up with the live stream. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the user interface  450  includes various control features. Some of these features may be optional, or not included in some embodiments; whereas other features not shown may be included in still other embodiments. For example, the user interface  450  is shown including an active channel region  451 , an inactive channel region  452 , a playback control region  453 , an information region  454 , and a drop-down menu icon  455 , among other regions, icons, etc. The active channel region  451  is shown including a play/pause icon  456 , a rewind icon  457 , and a channel indicator  458  (e.g., for Channel Y). The inactive channel region  452  is shown including a rewind icon  459 , and a channel indicator  460  (e.g., for Channel X). The information region  454  is shown including a play/pause icon  461 , a rewind icon  462 , and a fast forward or skip icon  463 . 
     The playback control region  453  shows that the audio stream for Channel Y is currently playing, but the audio stream is stopped. This condition may have occurred when the audio stream was paused, as described above. To restart the audio stream, the user  102  may touch the play/pause icon  456  or  461 . Upon doing so, the user device  103  may begin playing the audio stream for Channel Y at the point where it was paused. 
     In  FIG. 25 , since the audio stream is currently stopped, the play/pause icon  456  or  461  looks like a typical right-pointing “play” triangle icon. When the audio stream is not stopped, on the other hand, the play/pause icon  456  or  461  may switch to look like a typical “pause” icon with parallel vertical bars. The user  102  may thus pause the audio stream presentation by touching the “pause” icon and start the audio stream presentation by touching the “play” icon. 
     In some embodiments, the user device  103  may continuously record the audio stream, even though it is not paused. In this manner, the user device  103  may store a certain amount of the most recently presented audio content, e.g., the most recent few seconds or few minutes. At any time, therefore, the user  102  may touch the rewind icon  457  or  462  to cause the audio presentation to rewind to an earlier point in the stream and replay some portion of the stored audio content for the currently playing channel. Again, the replayed portion may optionally be presented at an increased playback speed until it catches up with the live stream. With this feature, if the user  102  forgets to pause the audio stream presentation when distracted away from the audio content, e.g., when speaking with a person in the environment  100 , the user  102  may cause the missed portion of the audio stream to be repeated, so as not to miss any of it. Additionally, in some embodiments, repeated touching of the rewind icon  457  or  462  may cause the audio playback to step back a set amount of time, e.g., a few seconds, until the audio playback reaches the point at which the user  102  stopped paying attention or runs out of stored audio content. On the other hand, touching the fast forward or skip icon  463  may cause the playback of the stored audio content to skip forward to a later point in the playback or all the way to the live stream. 
     One reason, among other potential reasons, for providing the inactive channel region  452  in the illustrated embodiment is to enable the user  102  to switch quickly to this channel, e.g., when the user  102  is interested in the video content of two different display devices  101 . By touching anywhere in the inactive channel region  452 , the user device  103  may switch to the audio stream of the second channel, so that the second channel (channel X) becomes the active channel and the first channel (channel Y) becomes the inactive channel. The user device  103  may thus send a new request to the server  104  to transmit the audio stream associated with the second channel. 
     To minimize any delay in making the switch between channels, however, some embodiments may enable receiving the audio stream for the inactive channel while presenting and/or recording the audio stream for the active channel. In this case, the user device  103  does not need to send a new request to the server  104 . Instead, the user device  103  may simply start to present from the second audio stream, since the user device  103  is already receiving it. Additionally, the user device  103  may continue to receive the first audio stream, so that a switch back to the first channel may also be done with minimal delay. 
     Furthermore, in some embodiments, the user device  103  may record both audio streams for the two channels (X and Y). In this case, the rewind feature described above may be used with both channels, regardless of which channel is currently active. Touching the rewind icon  459  for the inactive channel, therefore, may not only cause the user device  103  to switch from the first to the second channel, but also to step backward in the stored audio content of the second channel to present a portion of the second audio stream that the user  102  may have missed. The user  102  may thus keep up with the audio content associated with two different display devices  101  by frequently switching between the two channels and listening to the recorded audio content at a higher-than-normal playback speed. Additionally, even if the user  102  is interrupted from both audio streams, e.g., by a phone call, the user  102  may get caught up with both audio streams after returning from the interruption. 
     In some embodiments, the recording and channel switching functions are performed by the application running on the user device  103 , while the server  104  is enabled simply to transmit one or more audio streams to the user device  103 . In other embodiments, some of the recording and/or channel switching functions are performed by the server  104 , e.g., the server  104  may maintain in memory the most recent few minutes of audio content for all available audio streams associated with all of the display devices  101 , and the server  104  may pause and resume the transmission of the audio streams. In this case, the rewind feature may send a request from the user device  103  to the server  104  with a specified starting point within the recorded audio stream at which to begin the audio transmission. In some embodiments, only the minimum necessary functions (e.g., the user interface functions) are enabled on the user device  103 . 
     Although embodiments of the present invention have been discussed primarily with respect to specific embodiments thereof, other variations are possible. Various configurations of the described system may be used in place of, or in addition to, the configurations presented herein. For example, additional components may be included in circuits where appropriate. As another example, configurations were described with general reference to certain types and combinations of circuit components, but other types and/or combinations of circuit components could be used in addition to or in the place of those described. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended to limit the present invention. Nothing in the disclosure should indicate that the present invention is limited to systems that have the specific type of devices shown and described. Nothing in the disclosure should indicate that the present invention is limited to systems that require a particular form of semiconductor processing or integrated circuits. In general, any diagrams presented are only intended to indicate one possible configuration, and many variations are possible. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that methods and systems consistent with the present invention are suitable for use in a wide range of applications. 
     While the specification has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing, may readily conceive of alterations to, variations of, and equivalents to these embodiments. These and other modifications and variations to the present invention may be practiced by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which is more particularly set forth in the appended claims.