Patent ID: 8489784

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: one or more ports, the one or more ports including one or more adaptable ports, each adaptable port including a receptacle to accept a plug of a connector element for connection of a cable, the receptacle including a plurality of electrical contacts; an adaptable port device to process data including multimedia data received from one or more connected multimedia data sources at the one or more adaptable ports, wherein the adaptable port device is operable to: detect a multimedia signal format for each multimedia data source that is connected with an adaptable port of the one or more adaptable ports, and adapt each of the adaptable ports that is currently connected to be compatible with the detected multimedia signal format for the connected multimedia data source; and a signal format detector and switch for each of the one or more adaptable ports, the signal format detector for an adaptable port to detect a multimedia signal format for data received at the adaptable port and the switch to direct the data to one of a plurality of elements based on a class of the detected multimedia signal format; wherein the plurality of elements includes a first multiplexer and a second multiplexer, and the switch of each of the one or more adaptable ports is to direct data to the first multiplexer for multimedia data of a first class from the adaptable port and is to direct data to the second multiplexer for multimedia data of a second class from the adaptable port; wherein the first multiplexer is an analog multiplexer for multiplexing the first class of data, the first class of data being data having an analog multimedia signal format, and the second multiplexer is a digital multiplexer for multiplexing the second class of data, the second class of data being data having a digital multimedia signal format.