Patent ID: 8705872

Claim:
A media device, comprising: a program content stream interface configured to receive a program content stream comprising media content; an image capture device configured to capture a series of images of a user, and configured to generate image information corresponding to the series of captured images; a memory storing a plurality of predefined hand gesture commands, each of the predefined hand gesture commands uniquely corresponding to at least one of a plurality of commands associated with a remote control device, wherein the remote control device is configured to control at least one of the media device and an external device; a processor system communicatively coupled to the image capture device and the memory, wherein the processor system is configured to: receive the image information from the image capture device, identify at least one hand gesture made by the user from the received image information, determine a hand gesture command based upon the identified hand gesture, compare the determined hand gesture command with the plurality of predefined hand gesture commands, identify a matching hand gesture command from the plurality of predefined hand gesture commands corresponding to the determined at least one hand gesture command, determine whether the hand gesture command corresponds with operation of one of the media device and the external device, if the hand gesture command corresponds with operation of the media device, modifying output of the media content received by the program content stream interface based on the hand gesture command, and if the hand gesture command corresponds with the operation of the external device, generating an emulated remote control device command based upon the identified matching hand gesture command that is configured to control the operation of the media device; and a signal output device communicatively coupled to the processor system and configured to wirelessly communicate the emulated remote control device command from the media device to the external device, wherein the communicated emulated remote control device command is the same as a corresponding wireless command that would be communicated from the remote control device.