Patent ID: 8116317

Claim:
A system comprising: a data source device configured to communicate with a plurality of media devices within a local area network and a network device within the local area network that maintains traffic statistics for each of the plurality of media devices coupled to the network device, the data source device being further configured to prioritize a quality of service by: determining a policy set by a user for providing quality of service to the plurality of media devices coupled to the network device, the policy including a priority level set by the user for each of the plurality of media devices coupled to the network device, the policy including at least a first policy level set by the user for a first media device and a second policy level set by the user for a second media device to identify that the first media device is designated by the user as being more important than the second media device; determining that there is insufficient network bandwidth to start a new data stream to the first media device due to use of network bandwidth by an on-going data stream to the second media device; receiving, directly from the second media device, a priority level advertised by the second media device; receiving, from the network device, traffic statistics for the second media device that is receiving the on-going data stream; detecting from the traffic statistics that the second media device is receiving the on-going data stream at the priority level advertised by the second media device; notifying the first media device of the second media device if the priority level advertised by the second media device violates the second priority level set by the user for the second media device; transmitting a message to yield network bandwidth in use by the second media device if the priority level advertised by the second media device does not violate the second priority level set by the user for the second media device; and starting the new data stream to the first media device, wherein the new data stream is started in response to the user terminating the on-going data stream to the second media device when the priority level advertised by the second media device violates the second priority level set by the user for the second media device or in response to yielding of network bandwidth in use by the second media device when the priority level advertised by the second media device does not violate the second priority level set by the user for the second media device.