Patent ID: 7920932

Claim:
A method of controlling presentation of audio data in a home entertainment system using a wireless home entertainment hub, the method comprising: obtaining by the wireless home entertainment hub a registration with a plurality of devices, the plurality of devices including at least one audio sink device and at least one source device, wherein the at least one audio sink device is capable of receiving a first number of audio channels used for presenting the audio data, wherein the registration facilitates direct transfer of data between the plurality of devices in response to receiving instructions from the wireless home entertainment hub; storing by the wireless home entertainment hub indications of the registration with each of the plurality of devices; receiving, by the wireless entertainment hub, the audio data from a first source device, the audio data comprising a second number of audio channels, wherein the second number of audio channels is greater than the first number of audio channels; processing by the wireless entertainment hub the audio data in response to presentation capabilities of the at least one audio sink device by down-mixing the audio data to the first number of audio channels; transmitting by the wireless home entertainment hub the audio data to the at least one audio sink device; transmitting by the wireless home entertainment hub instructions to the at least one audio sink device to discontinue receiving data from the first source device and begin receiving data from a second source device in response to activation of the second source device; and transmitting by the wireless home entertainment hub to the first source device an instruction to decrement an internal reference count, where in the first source device determines whether to stop transmitting based on the internal reference count.