Patent ID: 7047305

Claim:
A system for transferring real time video information from a source device to one of a plurality of output devices, the system comprising: at least one image capturing device to acquire video information, the image capturing device including a processor, a graphics module coupled to the processor, a browsing device coupled to the processor, a packetizing portion coupled to the processor, the packetizing portion being adapted to convert the video information into a single packetized stream of video information, the single packetized stream of video information being in a first format, and an output device coupled to the processor to transfer the single packetized stream of video information to a network; a network gateway coupled to the image capturing device through the network, the network gateway being coupled to a worldwide network of computers, the network gateway including a gateway transcoding device to transcode the single packetized stream of video information from the first format into multiple compressed output streams of video information having different second compression formats, the network gateway also including a packetizing portion to transfer the compressed output streams of video information in the second compression formats to the network; and at least one display device coupled to the network gateway through the world wide network of computers to convert one of the compressed output streams of video information that it receives into video information for display, the display device having a display for displaying the video information on the display device; wherein the first format is selected from compressed and uncompressed audiovideo formats; and wherein the network gateway can provide the multiple compressed output streams of video information, having the different second compression formats and which were transcoded from the single packetized stream of video information having the first format, with unique sets of audiovisual characteristics, from which at least one compressed output stream can be selected to be displayed on the display.