Patent ID: 7068674

Claim:
A method of transmitting a data stream among a plurality of nodes in a digital interface, the method comprising: determining, at a first node of the plurality of nodes, that a second node is to be a master in accordance with a user selection, the user selection determining a connection for transmitting the data stream; transmitting from the first node to the second node a connection command having a predetermined format; allocating, using an isochronous resource manager, a channel for transmitting the data stream via the connection and a bandwidth for transmitting the data stream via the connection; and transmitting the data stream by one of a point-to-point connection between the first and second nodes and a broadcast connection among the nodes, the point-by-point connection effecting a transmission from the second node to the first node and the broadcast connection effecting a transmission from the second node to at least one of the plurality of the nodes, the transmission occurring after a making of the connection according to the received connection command and before a breaking of the connection according to the received connection command; wherein the predetermined format of the connection command of the comprises: a subfunction field for indicating one of the point-to-point connection and the broadcast connection; a connection field for indicating one of the making of the connection and the breaking of the connection; a source node identification field for identifying a source node for transmitting the data stream; and a destination node identification field for identifying a destination node for receiving the data stream.