Patent ID: 7565210

Claim:
A method of providing a remote data processing device with control data that enables a user to control the operation of a consumer electronics device, the method comprising: generating, in the consumer electronic device, a hypermedia data message, the hypermedia data message comprising a command set representing one or more menu options, the menu options corresponding to one or more actions configured to be performed by the consumer electronics device in response to receiving a control message corresponding to one or more of the menu options; and sending the hypermedia data message to the remote data processing device using a hypermedia data communications protocol, wherein the remote data processing device is operable to present the one or more menu options represented by the command set to the user using a man-machine interface, wherein both the remote data processing device and the consumer electronics device are configured to communicate using the hypermedia data communications protocol, and wherein the consumer electronic device is configured to operate in each of a plurality of operational states, the consumer electronic device having a different command set defining one or more actions which it may validly perform when operating in each of said states, and wherein the command set of the hypermedia data message does not comprise commands representing menu options corresponding to actions which may not be validly performed by the consumer electronics device in dependence on the current operational state of the consumer electronics device.