Patent ID: 7987489

Claim:
A method in a legacy device bridge for controlling a consumer electronic device via a network that communicates information in accordance with a packet-based communication protocol, wherein the consumer electronic device does not communicate in accordance with the packet-based communication protocol, comprising: receiving in the legacy device bridge one or more infrared or serial control codes for communicating with the consumer electronic device from a device that is not connected to the network or to the consumer electronic device; storing said one or more infrared or serial control codes in a memory accessible to the legacy device bridge; receiving a command in the legacy device bridge from a device communicatively coupled to the network, wherein said command is formatted in accordance with the packet-based communication protocol; converting said command in the legacy device bridge into a format suitable for communication with the consumer electronic device, wherein said converting said command into a format suitable for communication with the consumer electronic device comprises converting said command into one of said infrared or serial control codes stored in said memory accessible to the legacy device bridge; and transmitting said converted command from the legacy device bridge to the consumer electronic device.