Personal broadcasting and viewing method of audio and video data using a wide area network

Claim 1

A method for digital audio/video transmission to mobile computing devices including registering a client device with a server for receiving audio/video data in a useable format, the method comprising: obtaining profile information associated with a selected format of a mobile client device at a server, the mobile client device receiving audio/video data from at least one of a plurality of source devices, the mobile client device being one of a plurality of mobile client devices, each of the mobile client devices being capable of receiving audio/video data in one of a plurality of selected formats; at the server, determining a processing program for the selected format from one of a plurality of processing programs, each of the plurality of processing programs being stored in a the server and each processing program being usable to convert the audio/video data to a format that is different from each other's formats; connecting at least one of the plurality of source devices of audio/video data to the server, each of the source devices being capable of outputting audio/video data in one or more formats; and at the server, converting the audio/video data from its format to the selected format through the processing program in the server based at least in part on the profile information; transferring audio/video data in the selected format from the server to the mobile client device in a streaming session; at the server, determining dynamically changing channel characteristics, including computing channel bandwidth; at the server, updating the profile information during the streaming session, including updating the profile information based on dynamically changing channel characteristics and dynamically changing characteristics of the mobile client device; and at the server, adjusting the audio/video data being transferred to the mobile client device during the session and in response to the updated profile information, including server determination of appropriate audio/video data to send to the mobile client device based at least in part on the computed channel bandwidth and other channel characteristics that were determined by the server.

Claim 2

A method for digital audio/video transmission to mobile computing devices including registering a client device with a server for receiving audio/video data in a useable format, the method comprising: obtaining profile information associated with a selected format of a mobile client device at a server, the mobile client device receiving audio/video data from at least one of a plurality of source devices, the mobile client device being one of a plurality of mobile client devices, each of the mobile client devices being capable of receiving audio/video data in one of a plurality of selected formats; at the server, determining a processing program for the selected format from one of a plurality of processing programs, each of the plurality of processing programs being stored in a the server and each processing program being usable to convert the audio/video data to a format that is different from each other's formats; connecting at least one of the plurality of source devices of audio/video data to the server, each of the source devices being capable of outputting audio/video data in one or more formats; and at the server, converting the audio/video data from its format to the selected format through the processing program in the server based at least in part on the profile information; transferring audio/video data in the selected format from the server to the mobile client device in a streaming session; at the server, determining dynamically changing channel characteristics, including computing channel bandwidth; at the server, updating the profile information during the streaming session, including updating the profile information based on dynamically changing channel characteristics and dynamically changing characteristics of the mobile client device; and at the server, adjusting the audio/video data being transferred to the mobile client device during the session and in response to the updated profile information, including server determination of appropriate audio/video data to send to the mobile client device based at least in part on the computed channel bandwidth and other channel characteristics that were determined by the server.

Claim 12

A method for transmitting audio/video data to viewing devices, the method comprising: prompting at least two selections on a viewing device, the viewing device being coupled to a world wide network of computers, the two selections comprising a first selection for an automatic set up and a second selection for a manual set up; selecting either the first selection or the second selection and transmitting the selection to a server, the server being coupled to a source of audio/video data; if the first selection is entered, transforming at the server input audio/video data based upon a profile associated with the viewing device; if the second selection is entered, transforming at the server the input audio/video data based on selectable parameters; transmitting the transformed audio/video data from the server to the viewing device in a session based upon the first selection and in accordance with the profile, or based upon the second selection; at the server, updating the profile during the session based at least in part on characteristics of the viewing device that dynamically change during the session and on dynamically changing characteristics of a connection that carries the session; at the server, determining the dynamically changing connection characteristics including computing channel bandwidth; and at the server, adjusting the audio/video data being transmitted to the viewing device based on the updated profile during the session, including server determination of appropriate audio/video data to send to the viewing device based at least in part on the computed channel bandwidth and other connection characteristics that were determined by the server.

Claim 13

A method for transmitting audio/video data to viewing devices, the method comprising: prompting at least two selections on a viewing device, the viewing device being coupled to a world wide network of computers, the two selections comprising a first selection for an automatic set up and a second selection for a manual set up; selecting either the first selection or the second selection and transmitting the selection to a server, the server being coupled to a source of audio/video data; if the first selection is entered, transforming at the server input audio/video data based upon a profile associated with the viewing device; if the second selection is entered, transforming at the server the input audio/video data based on selectable parameters; transmitting the transformed audio/video data from the server to the viewing device in a session based upon the first selection and in accordance with the profile, or based upon the second selection; at the server, updating the profile during the session based at least in part on characteristics of the viewing device that dynamically change during the session and on dynamically changing characteristics of a connection that carries the session; at the server, determining the dynamically changing connection characteristics including computing channel bandwidth; and at the server, adjusting the audio/video data being transmitted to the viewing device based on the updated profile during the session, including server determination of appropriate audio/video data to send to the viewing device based at least in part on the computed channel bandwidth and other connection characteristics that were determined by the server.

Claim 20

A system for transmission of audio/video data to a wireless display device, the system comprising: a means for obtaining profile information associated with the wireless display device, the profile information including statistics associated with dynamically changing characteristics of the wireless display device and dynamically changing characteristics of a communication link to the wireless display device the means for obtaining the profile information including a server-side means for determining the characteristics of the communication link, including computing channel bandwidth; a server means for formatting the audio/video data based on the profile information; a means for sending the formatted audio/video data to the wireless display device in a session; a server means for logging the statistics during the session and using the statistics to update the profile information during the session; a server means for determining which particular audio/video data, from a plurality of available audio/video data, to send to respective wireless display devices, based at least in part on the computed channel bandwidth and other connection characteristics that were determined by the server-side means.

Claim 21

A system for transmission of audio/video data to a wireless display device, the system comprising: a means for obtaining profile information associated with the wireless display device, the profile information including statistics associated with dynamically changing characteristics of the wireless display device and dynamically changing characteristics of a communication link to the wireless display device the means for obtaining the profile information including a server-side means for determining the characteristics of the communication link, including computing channel bandwidth; a server means for formatting the audio/video data based on the profile information; a means for sending the formatted audio/video data to the wireless display device in a session; a server means for logging the statistics during the session and using the statistics to update the profile information during the session; a server means for determining which particular audio/video data, from a plurality of available audio/video data, to send to respective wireless display devices, based at least in part on the computed channel bandwidth and other connection characteristics that were determined by the server-side means.