Patent ID: 7035527

Claim:
A method for switching between a browser mode and a video mode in a video system for playing a video having a plurality of video clips, the method comprising the steps of: loading, in the browser mode, data segment of a browser program into a memory for use by a user to browse contents of the video representative of the video clips; selecting, while in the browser mode, one of the video clips by browsing the contents of the video for playback; storing a return address for the browser mode in the memory, in response to the selecting step; switching from the browser mode to a the video mode, in response to the selecting step; displacing the data segment of the browser program in the memory with a video bitstream representative of the video clip; playing the video clip from the memory in the video mode; retrieving the return address for the browser mode from the memory after the playing step; and returning to the browser mode according to the return address to enable the user to resume the browsing of the contents of the video representative of the video clips, wherein the returning step includes displacing the video bitstream in the memory with the data segment of the browser program.