Patent ID: 8161388

Claim:
A method for determining the characteristics of a display device coupled to a network client device capable of receiving television (TV) signals, the network client device having video and audio output capabilities, said method comprising: driving a display device with a first video output signal formatted according to a first video interface specification; responsive to driving the display device, soliciting a response from a user, the solicitation comprising information rendered on a screen of the display device, the solicitation and nature of the response used to determine whether the user clearly observes the information rendered on the display device, the information included in the first video output signal; responsive to receiving user input based on the solicitation, determining a characteristic of the display device; responsive to receiving no user input during a predetermined interval after the solicitation, automatically driving the display device with a second video output signal to solicit a response from the user; wherein the driving the display device with the second video output signal includes driving the display device with the second video output signal formatted according to a second video interface specification different than the first video interface specification, the second video output signal driven through an output port different than the output port used to drive the display device with the first video output signal; receiving a request for cycling through a different video format a different output port, or a combination of a different video format and a different output port; and cycling through a plurality of video formats, each part of the cycle including a predetermined time duration, the cycling occurring without an interruption corresponding to physical manipulation by a user of connections between the display device and the network client device.