FR2881594A1 - Data exchange method for e.g. camcorder, involves collecting lists of media found and/or received independently from apparatus where medias are found by each apparatus having performed searching of type of media - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves transmitting a list representative of a type of media, representing a physical entity, found on each of two apparatuses by the apparatus to another apparatus susceptible to process the type of media. The lists of media found and/or received independently from the apparatus where the medias are found are collected by each apparatus having performed the searching of the type of media. An independent claim is also included for a data exchange device between apparatus connected to a network.

Description

DATA EXCHANGE METHOD AND DEVICE 5

  The present invention relates to a method and a device for exchanging data. It applies, in particular to the exchange of data between disparate sources and signal diffusers on a home network, for example between a music channel, a television, a computer terminal, a remote control.

  Each user of audiovisual and computer equipment can have many data sources that represent, in different ways, the same physical entities, for example image signals or sound signals.

  Thus, VCRs, digital cameras, compact disc players, video intercoms, video intercoms, video surveillance systems provide all capable of providing representative information of images but in media and formats so different that they do not can only very partially be exchanged. The user can not choose any source and any of the image display means to access this information.

  The present invention aims to remedy these disadvantages.

  For this purpose, according to a first aspect, the present invention aims a method of data exchange between devices connected to a network, characterized in that it comprises: - a search step, by each of at least two devices at least one type of media representative of at least one physical entity, directly accessible by said apparatus, - a transmission step, by each device having carried out said search step with at least one other device capable of processing said type of media, a representative list of media found on said device during the search step and - an aggregation step, by each device having made said search, lists of media found and / or received independently of the device where these media are.

  Thus, the user has virtually, on each device performing the aggregation step, a set of media that are available, regardless of the device to which he has access.

  Thus, the architecture is not centralized but based on the availability of services on the network. Each device sends a general request to which all the entities that render the required service and the operation is dynamic.

  According to particular characteristics, during the aggregation step, the aggregated lists are arranged by physical entity.

  Thus, the sound files are arranged in a first category, the still image files are placed in a second category, the motion picture files are arranged in a third category, for example.

  According to particular characteristics, during the aggregation step, the aggregated lists are arranged by type of media.

  Thus, the compressed files are arranged in different categories according to the compression or coding formats that have been used.

  According to particular characteristics, during the research stage, the media affected by a broadcasting ban are not taken into account.

  Thus, for example, films stored in non-volatile memory can be protected against pirated copies and can only be read on each device that reads said non-volatile memory.

  According to particular characteristics, during the aggregation step, the aggregated list comprises, for each medium, a pointer that represents the location of said media on the network.

  With these provisions, each device having performed an aggregation step can access each media individually.

  According to particular characteristics, during the aggregation step, the aggregated list comprises, for each medium, an interface capable of processing said medium.

  Thanks to these provisions, the processing of each media of the list can be performed by the apparatus performing said aggregation.

  According to particular characteristics, for at least one medium implementing hypertext links, during the search step, search pages are searched for by the searching device and, during the transmission step, transmit a representative list of these pages.

  It can be observed that these pages, for example pages of sites accessible on the Internet, may be pages of recently visited sites, pages registered in the favorite pages and pages on which windows are open on the device.

  According to particular characteristics, for at least one medium implementing hypertext links, during the search step, search links accessible on a page of a window opened by the device performing the search and, during in the transmission step, a representative list of these links is transmitted.

  According to particular features, the method as briefly described above includes a step of selecting, for at least one media broadcasting device, a medium represented in the aggregated list.

  According to particular features, the method as briefly described above comprises a step of selecting a media diffusion apparatus.

  With these provisions, the user can choose to display, on a television, pages that access his personal computer or photos stored in his digital camera, for example, by a simple selection in the aggregated list.

  According to particular features, said step of selecting a medium comprises a step of selection by a manual remote control.

  According to particular features, during the selection step by a manual remote control, light signals and radio signals are transmitted to said remote control.

  Thanks to these arrangements, several signal receivers can simultaneously receive the commands transmitted by the manual remote control, even if they are optically masked.

  According to particular characteristics, during the step of selection by a manual remote control, it is displayed on said remote control, three-dimensional images representative of the devices capable of broadcasting at least one type of media.

  According to particular characteristics, during the step of selection by a manual remote control, a request is made for each device within range of the remote control to provide a response identifying it.

  According to particular characteristics, during the step of selecting a medium, arrow keys and a validation key are used.

  According to particular features, following the media selection step, the apparatus that gives the most direct access to the selected media transmits said media to the selected apparatus for broadcasting said media.

  According to a second aspect, the present invention aims at a device for exchanging data between devices connected to a network, characterized in that it comprises, in at least two of said devices: a search means of at least one type media representative of at least one physical entity, directly accessible by said apparatus; means for transmitting, to at least one other apparatus capable of processing said type of medium, a representative list of media found on said apparatus by the search means and a means for aggregating the lists of found media and or received independently of the apparatus in which the media is located.

  Thus, the user has virtually, on each device performing the aggregation step, a set of media that are available, regardless of the device to which he has access.

  According to particular features, the aggregation means is adapted so that the aggregated list is arranged by physical entity.

  According to particular features, the aggregation means is adapted so that the aggregated list is arranged by type of media.

  According to particular characteristics, the search means is adapted to not take into account the media affected by a prohibition or a limitation of diffusion.

  According to particular features, the aggregation means is adapted so that the aggregated list comprises, for each medium, a pointer which represents the location of said medium on the network.

  According to particular features, the aggregation means is adapted so that the aggregated list comprises, for each medium, an interface capable of processing said medium.

  According to particular features, the device as briefly described above comprises means for selecting a medium represented in the aggregated list.

  According to particular features, the device as briefly described above comprises means for selecting the device for broadcasting a medium.

  According to particular features, said means for selecting a medium comprises a manual remote control.

  According to particular features, said manual remote control comprises a light signal transmitter and a radio signal transmitter.

  According to particular features, the manual remote control is adapted to display three-dimensional images representative of the devices capable of broadcasting at least one type of media.

  According to particular characteristics, the manual remote control is adapted to issue a request for each device within range of the remote control to provide a response identifying it.

  According to particular characteristics, at least one device is adapted so that the selection of a media uses arrow keys and a validation key. According to particular features, when the selection of a medium concerns a medium for which the apparatus gives the most direct access to said selected medium, the transmission means is adapted to transmit said medium to the selected apparatus for broadcasting said medium .

  The advantages, aims and special features of the device object of the second aspect of the present invention being identical to those of the method object of the first aspect of the present invention, they are not recalled here.

  Other advantages, aims and features of the present invention will emerge from the description which follows, made for an explanatory and in no way limiting purpose, with reference to the appended drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a particular embodiment of the image editing device object of the present invention, - Figures 2A and 2B show a remote control preferably implemented in combination with the device shown in Figure 1, during two phases of operation of this device and FIG. 3 represents, in the form of a logic diagram, a particular embodiment of the image editing method that is the subject of the present invention.

  Although the devices described for accessing a computer network, for example the Internet, are described in the description as user terminals, particularly of the individual computer type, all types of apparatus can be implemented, for example digital assistants. personal (known as PDA for personal digital assistant) and phones, especially mobile phones.

  FIG. 1 shows a home network comprising a user terminal 100, a user terminal 120, a server 125, a television set 130, an intercom 140, a surveillance system 145 comprising video surveillance cameras 147, a home automation system 150 , a music channel 155, a video signal decoder 157 and a movie player 160. All these devices are interconnected by a network 165. Some of these devices are controlled by a remote control 170.

  The user terminal 100, of known type, for example in the form of a personal computer (known as PC for personal computer) comprises a central unit 102, a non-volatile memory 104, a keyboard 106, a pointing device 108, a display screen 110, a modem 112 and a radio communication device 114 for communication between the remote control 170 and the terminal 100. The user terminal 100 is adapted to implement navigation software on the Internet and, preferably, background task, an operating system and software implementing the method object of the present invention. The operating system provides generic services that can be used by any type of application and the software makes its own use. For example, the operating system provides network access services, but the data that passes through it is the responsibility of the software (the application layer).

  The non-volatile memory 104 takes, for example, the form of a hard disk. The keyboard 106 is a keypad or a touch screen, for example. The pointing device 108 takes for example the shape of a mouse, a trackball, a touchpad or a touch screen. The modem 112 may be adapted to a switched telephone network, a broadband network, a cable network, a satellite network or a terrestrial wireless network, for example.

  The radio communication device 114 for the communication between the remote control 170 and the terminal 100 is of known type and implements, for example, a carrier of 433 MHz and a port called "USB" (acronym for Universal Serial Bus, or " Universal serial bus "in French).

  The user terminal 120 is similar to the user terminal 100. The components, subsystems and software of the user terminal 120 are therefore not detailed here.

  The signal decoder 157 is known in the United States as the "settop box". It decodes signals from terrestrial or cable television or satellite channels.

  The server 125, the television set 130, the music channel 155, the video signal decoder 157 and the movie player 160 all have software implementing the method that is the subject of the present invention. The remote control 170 is illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The remote control 170 implements a particular display and navigation software, if it is provided with a display, as is the case in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

  Alternatively (not shown) the interphone 140, the surveillance system 145 comprising video surveillance cameras 147 and the home automation system 150 also implement software implementing the method object of the present invention.

  All of these devices, server 125, television 130, music channel 155, decoder of video signals 157, movie player 160 and remote control 170, implement, in their communication, the standard UPnP (for universal plug and play that we can translate by immediate use right from the connection, universal). It is recalled here that this standard allows self-configuration of networked devices without complex installation step and allows these devices to recognize and control each other through descriptions of their features.

  The music channel 155 is adapted to play musical media and to emit sound signals. The film player 160 is a camcorder, a video recorder or an optical disk player.

  It will be observed that all the apparatuses illustrated in FIG. 1 are not indispensable to the implementation of the present invention but that, preferably, it implements at least the terminal 100 and the signal decoder 157 connected to the television set. 130, the terminal 100 and the signal decoder 157 being interconnected by an electric cable or a wireless support (not shown), for example housings known under the trade name "video sender" or "video" transmitter "(trade mark) which communicate with each other on a 2.4 GHz carrier.

  FIG. 2A shows that the remote control 170 comprises a keyboard 200 comprising arrow keys 201 to 204, a validation key 205, a return key 206 and other keys 207, a video signal transmitter / receiver 210 , for example infrared signals and a radio transmitter / receiver 220. The remote control 170 is adapted to control all or part of the apparatuses illustrated in FIG. 1 and, in particular, the television 130 and the signal decoder 157 via infrared signals and the terminal 100, via radio signals.

  Although the remote control 170 is described here in the form of a conventional remote control, it may, in accordance with the present invention, take the form of a personal digital assistant (known as "PDA" for personal digital assistant) or handheld computer (known as "pocket PC") or mobile phone.

  Thus, the remote control communicates both on a radio medium, with the user terminal 100 and on an infrared medium, with the television 130 or with the signal decoder 157, in a manner known per se.

  By the implementation of the present invention, the user can have, on an auxiliary input of his television, for example auxiliary 1, a chain, an output of the film player 160 and, on an auxiliary input, for example auxiliary 2 , access to an aggregated list of all available media and authorized access, present on the network 165. This access is also called, in the description "media server" and includes access to data held by devices connected to the network and the data accessible by the computer network, for example the Internet, via the modem 112 of the user terminal 100.

  The remote control 170 thus gives access, with simplified ergonomics using the arrow and validation keys, for example to an image library on the hard disk of the PC or to slideshows (in English "slide show"), to music files, movies, like a TV channel.

  It is observed that the remote control 170 also controls the sound and the pause and resume broadcast of a media.

  The software implementing the present invention comprises three modules (not shown): the "media server" or "media server" module, which allows several devices to display, each, an aggregated list of media available on the network; and with authorized access, - the "renderer" or "broadcaster" module which implements the main drivers and standards of compression and / or data transmission of the media available on the network, for example MP3 and divix (registered trademarks) and the module "control point" or "control point" which allows, either by using the remote control 170, or by using the user interfaces of the devices implemented, to select a media, in an aggregated list and a device that will broadcast said medium, among the devices connected to the network 165.

  After simple tap and drop operations (in English "drag 'n drop") to inform the media server directories where it should search the media, the media server module implemented on the terminal 100 scans (in English "parse") l set of media, data files representative of physical entities, for example sound and / or image, available on the terminal 100 and creates a list or a virtual database in which the media are indexed automatically and organized by physical entity , for example in the following manner: audiovisual media, - still image media, - sound media and - pages available on the computer network, for example internet and selected as favorites by the user (in English "bookmark").

  It is observed that the rights of access (in English DRM for Digital Rights Management) may include refusals of aggregation (for example for all the media from the signal decoder 157 or by rights on the files kept by the terminal 100) of media, in which case the media server module does not take into account the media whose distribution is not allowed, in the list or database transmitted.

  Then, the list of media is transmitted to the signal decoder 157, and the other devices that aggregate, in a tree first by physical entities represented by these media, then media by media, with the list of other media available on the network 165 that these devices can process, for example broadcast.

  For this purpose, for example on the signal decoder 157, there is provided a portable server independent of the operating system of the signal decoder and which manages the virtual database of the aggregated list of available media.

  It is observed that, thanks to these characteristics, each device connected to the network has the location of available media and authorized access, without these media have been moved. Each device capable of broadcasting a medium, for example the signal decoder 157, then associates, with each medium of the aggregated list, an interface application between the format of the medium and the format of the broadcaster with which it is associated, here the television. For example, the following interfaces are associated with the media: players (in English "players") of MP3, Divix, Codec Microsoft (registered trademark), codec mpeg 2 (registered trademark). The signal decoder 157 then displays the first node level of the tree of the aggregated list on the television 130.

  Preferably, the devices performing the aggregation of the virtual databases or lists only aggregate the media that they can broadcast. For example, a camera does not aggregate text files. Thus, each device displays only an aggregated list of media to which it can give access.

  The control point module makes it possible to select, remotely, on the one hand an information broadcasting device represented by a medium and, on the other hand, a medium to be broadcast by said broadcasting device. According to the implementations, the user interface of this module, if it has one can be a keyboard, a pointing device, a remote control. In other embodiments, without a user interface, this module is controlled by a background task automatically launching a media at a given time, for example.

  To select the media broadcast device, the remote control 170 first sends a request to all devices that can communicate with it, in accordance with the UPnP standard. In response, all the devices that can communicate with the remote control 170 emit a response that identifies them, that is, which indicates the functions of these devices.

  Upon receipt of these responses, the remote control 170 displays a three-dimensional shape 215 representative of each responding device, for example a three-dimensional image of a CRT television, a three-dimensional image of a flat screen television , a desktop computer, a laptop, a signal decoder, a lamp, shutters, ... As seen in Figure 2A, these images are organized in a virtual room looking like a home or apartment interior.

  This human-machine interface adapts to its environment either by configuration by the user or automatically.

  In order to automatically adapt the representation of the answering devices that may communicate with the remote control, these devices are geolocated, for example by using several WIFI, infrared or bluetooth (registered trademark) transmitters, and triangulation after measurement of the power received, the level of signal or CRC consumption (redundancy codes).

  In addition, this man-machine interface performs an automatic customization according to the person who implements it: an autoconfiguration takes place according to the identification of the user. This identification is, for example, given by secret code or by the use of a biometrics sensor 220, which makes it possible to assign restrictions on access to resources reserved for certain potential users (for example children).

  If, with the remote control 170, the user selects the media accessible via the Internet, by using the right arrow of the keyboard of his remote control in the list of available physical entity types, he observes, either on the broadcasting device, by example the TV 130, or on the screen of its remote control 170, if it has, a list of pages of sites directly accessible.

  By using the arrows 201 to 204 on the keypad of the remote control, the user selects the page in the list of pages and validates his choice with the validation key 205.

  Once the user has selected an email address in the aggregated list, the page corresponding to said address is displayed and the software application automatically identifies all the hypertext links available on the page as well as their position in the page (in abscissa and on the ordinate).

  By using the arrow keys on the remote control, the user can choose and select a link from the page (see Figure 2B).

  Thus, in some embodiments of the present invention, the user is provided with an embedded internet browser for environments that do not have one. A definition of a "browser" is used here, an application that uses the Internet and presents data from it in a graphical form.

  For this purpose, the device that has access to the Internet, here the terminal 100, locates all the links present on the page and classifies them in a list that it keeps. For example, this identification is performed by basic functions of the operating system or browser, which the software calls. Other techniques can be implemented, such as analyzing the HTML source code to detect tags indicating the existence of links in the page.

  Each link is then marked by its physical position in the displayed page and the relationships between the physical positions of the links are mapped to the arrows of the remote control keyboard in a two-dimensional array in which each box is occupied, at most, by a link.

  For example, starting from a first link, the other link that is to the right of the first link in an angle in the range [+45, -45 [and closest to the first link is assigned to the box on the right of the table, relative to the box corresponding to the first link.

  Starting from the first link represented in a given box of this table, when the user presses the right arrow on the keyboard of the remote control, he causes the highlighting of the link present in the box of the table to the right of the box assigned to the first link .

  The first highlighted link is the first link in the list when you first view the page. Thus, the highlighting is performed starting from the link at the top left and then following a search algorithm dulien most "close" depending on the navigation key or arrow 201 to 204 pressed.

  Once the link that interests him highlighted, the user presses the validation key 205 to select the link, as if he had clicked on it with the pointing device 108.

  To exit the page, the user presses the return key 206 on his remote control 170.

  The module Renderer uses the principles of peer-to-peer exchanges in English "peerto-peer" for exchange of media files. Recall that in the classical architectures, it is a server that manages the exchanges between two clients for the duration of the communication. In the "peer-to-peer" principle, each of the extremities knows the other, either by prior request on a server, which only has this use at the beginning of the session, or because the users have set themselves up. agreement. Each of the two machines is client and server and they do not need any outside help to communicate.

  Once selected by physical entity and type of media, the user is presented with media lists sorted by area of interest or genre. It is observed that among the properties of the files, there are descriptions, known by the English name of "tag" for "label". These tags represent, for example, the genre of a piece of music, for example jazz, rock, classical, ... The user can edit some of these descriptions to indicate his interests.

  Similarly, the classification can be done by date, by artist, in alphabetical order ... It is observed that the classification can implement the result of systems of automatic analysis of sets of files, for example musical, in order to assign each file a genre, for example according to rhythms, instruments, ...

  The ranking can also implement media usage data, for example by highlighting the most used or most recently used media.

  It is observed that in the absence of descriptive data, the name of the file is used.

  In the case of a duplicate (two media with the same descriptive data), it is possible, for example, to leave the duplicate in the aggregated list or give priority to the local media and eliminate each duplicate at a distance.

  On appropriate hardware, the software can handle multiple input and output streams, multiple input (source) and output (broadcast) devices, and store the contents in local or remote hard drives.

  Selected media sources are referenced and indexed in a media database. This content and related information is made available to the outside world by each device in the network through UPnP requests. Any UPnP compatible application can connect to the media server and request any content from this media server.

  The media server provides a default database manager, although it can implement other pre-existing database managers.

  The renderer media interface between the media files and the final broadcast device.

  It is observed that a light operating system is sufficient to implement the present invention, in particular on devices that are not computers, for example the signal decoder 157.

  FIG. 3 shows a step 300 of implementation of the light operating system on various devices capable of implementing the present invention.

  The operating system that is installed on each device is layered in an abstract architecture. In this architecture, applications are always control points in the broad sense. Whether media or home automation, applications are the software elements that will make use of the services available on the network, either in a basic way (direct control by the user) or in an evolved way (programmed reactions to events, preprogrammed actions, etc.) with or without a user interface as already discussed above.

  The platform includes JAVA-compatible subsystems constituting a lightweight, fast virtual machine, adapted to meet the needs of embedded software markets. The virtual machine is Java compatible at the level of bytecode and file formats. On the other hand, not all Java base classes are available.

  For the implementation on an already installed network comprising a terminal and a personal digital assistant, the additional elements include software for computer terminals (media server, media renderer and UPnP standard support) software for personal assistants (Java virtual machine, compiled to run in the target environment, support for the UPnP standard and the application itself, Java code intended to run on this virtual machine.

  The software has been designed to be independent of pre-existing platforms and makes extensive use of abstract layers and virtual execution environments.

  In the area of operating systems, there are APIs that allow software that meets the specifications of these standards to run on any of these systems. The POSIX (registered trademark acronym for Portable Operating System Interface for Unix), for example, is implemented by some Unix (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark), partially by Windows (registered trademark) and OS / 2 (registered trademark); thus, by providing codes for the use of these standards, they are made compatible with existing platforms complying with said standard.

  The operating system used is, for example, POSIX compatible. This highly compatible environment can be replaced by a desktop operating system (Windows or Linux, registered trademarks).

  For example, on the signal decoder 157, there is provided a portable server independent of the operating system of the signal decoder and which manages the virtual database of the aggregated list of available media.

  During a step 305, the user makes a selection of directories in each device or by default, all the directories are selected. To make this selection, the user performs simple operations of taking and dropped (in English "drag 'n drop") to inform the media server directories where it should search the media.

  During a step 310, the virtual server is called from the control point, by request to one of the devices in question.

  During a step 315, the apparatus in question sends a request, on the local network, to the other apparatuses capable of implementing the present invention and receives, in return, information on the types of media that the other devices are capable of processing, for example by implementing the UPnP standard.

  During a step 320, each device that receives the request performs a search for at least one type of media representative of at least one physical entity, directly accessible by said device.

  During this search, the device sorts according to the remote access rights associated with each media. The rights of access (in English DRM for Digital Rights Management) may comprise refusals of media aggregation (for example for all the media coming from the signal decoder 157 or by rights on the files kept by the terminal 100), to which case the server media module does not take into account media whose distribution is not allowed.

  During this search step, the server media module scans (in English "parse") all the media, data files representative of physical entities, for example sound and / or image, available in the selected directories of the device. .

  Preferentially, for at least one medium implementing hypertext links, during the search step, pages accessible by the searching device, step 325, are searched and, during the transmission step, a representative list of these pages is transmitted.

  As a variant, for at least one medium implementing hypertext links, during the search step, links accessible on a page accessible by these links are searched for.

  During a step 330, each device constitutes a list or a database indexing each available media. In this list or a virtual database, the media are indexed automatically and organized by physical entity, for example as follows: - audiovisual media, - still image media, - sound media and - pages available on the computer network , for example internet and selected as favorites by the user (in English "bookmark").

  Selected media sources are referenced and indexed in a media database. This content and related information is made available to the outside world by each device in the network through UPnP requests. Any UPnP compatible application can connect to the media server and request any content from this media server.

  The media server provides a default database manager, although it can implement other pre-existing database managers.

  During a step 335, for each type of media in the list thus constituted, each device transmits to the other devices capable of processing said type of media, a representative list of media found on said device during the search step . In this case, the media are sorted by the device that transmits the list.

  In a step 340, each apparatus receives lists from other apparatus embodying the present invention.

  During a step 345, each device performs an aggregation step, lists of media found and / or received independently of the device where said media are located, this aggregated list being organized in a tree structure as follows: first by physical entities represented by said media; - then by type of media; - then by center of interest, by genre, by date, by artist, in alphabetical order, by media most often selected or by most recently selected media,. ..

  In the aggregated list, for each medium, a pointer represents the location of said media on the network and each media is associated an interface capable of processing said media. For example, the signal decoder 157 then associates, with each medium of the aggregated list, an interface application between the format of the medium and the format of the broadcaster with which it is associated, here the television. For example, the following interfaces are associated with the media: players (in English "players") of MP3, Divix, Microsoft Codec, Codec mpeg 2 (registered trademarks). The signal decoder 157 then displays the first node level of the tree of the aggregated list on the television 130.

  As part of the aggregation of media lists, applications are responsible for presenting to the user in a unified form services that are actually delocalized and physically separate.

  It is observed that, thanks to these characteristics, each device has the location of available media and authorized access, without these media have been moved.

  Alternatively, devices performing the aggregation of virtual databases or lists aggregate only the media they can broadcast. For example, a camera does not aggregate text files. Thus, each media only displays an aggregated list of media to which it can give access. In this case, it is the device that receives a list that sorts the media it can process.

  During a step 350, the user selects, for at least one media broadcasting device, a medium represented in the aggregated list, by implementing the control point.

  It is observed that since the media sources are referenced and indexed in a media database, this content and related information is made available to the outside world by each device in the network via UPnP requests. Any UPnP compatible application can connect to the media server and request any content from this media server.

  For example, during step 350 of selecting a media, the user makes the selection by operating a manual remote control, step 351.

  For example, the manual remote control emits light signals and radio signals, step 352, in order to control devices having receivers suitable for these two types of signals, for example infrared for a television on which the media is to be broadcast and radio for a computer that provides the media.

  For example, during step 352, the remote control sends a request for each device within range of the remote control to provide a response identifying it.

  Then, the manual remote control displays, on the remote control, three-dimensional images representative of the responding devices, step 353.

  To select a media in the aggregated list, the user implements arrow keys and a validation key on the remote control, step 354.

  To select the media broadcast device, the remote control 170 first sends a request to all devices that can communicate with it, in accordance with the UPnP standard. In response, all the devices that can communicate with the remote control 170 emit a response that identifies them, that is, which indicates the functions of these devices.

  Upon receipt of these responses, the remote control 170 displays a three-dimensional shape representative of each responding device, such as a three-dimensional image of a CRT television, a three-dimensional image of a flat-screen television, a desktop computer, a laptop, a signal decoder, a lamp, shutters, ... As seen in Figure 2A, these images are organized in a virtual room resembling to a home or apartment interior.

  This human-machine interface adapts to its environment either by configuration by the user or automatically.

  In addition, this man-machine interface performs an automatic customization according to the person who implements it: an autoconfiguration takes place according to the identification of the user. This identification is, for example, given by secret code or by the use of a biometric sensor, which makes it possible to assign access bans to resources reserved for certain potential users (for example children).

  If, with the remote control 170, the user selects the media accessible via the Internet, by using the right arrow of the keyboard of his remote control in the list of available physical entity types, he observes, either on the broadcasting device, by example the TV 130, or on the screen of its remote control 170, if it has, a list of pages of sites directly accessible.

  By using the arrow keys on the remote control, the user selects the page from the list of pages and validates his choice with the validation key.

  Once the user has selected an email address in the aggregated list, the page corresponding to said address is displayed and the software application automatically identifies all the hypertext links available on the page as well as their position in the page (in abscissa and on the ordinate).

  By using the arrow keys on the remote control, the user can choose and select a link from the page.

  Thus, in some embodiments of the present invention, the user is provided with an embedded internet browser for environments that do not have one. A definition of a "browser" is used here to refer to an application that uses the Internet and presents data from it in a graphical form, as described above.

  During a step 360, the user selects a device for broadcasting a media. During a step 365, the device that gives the most direct or fastest access to the selected media transmits said media to the selected device to broadcast said media. During a step 370, the device selected to broadcast the selected media receives said media and broadcasts it.

  The renderer media interface between the media files and the final broadcast device.

  The module Renderer uses the principles of peer-to-peer exchanges in English "peerto-peer" for exchange of media files. Recall that in the classical architectures, it is a server that manages the exchanges between two clients for the duration of the communication. In the "peer-to-peer" principle, each of the extremities knows the other, either by prior request on a server, which only has this use at the beginning of the session, or because the users have set themselves up. agreement. Each of the two machines is client and server and they do not need any outside help to communicate.

  It can be observed that: the "media server" or "media server" module, which enables several devices to display, each, an aggregated list of media available on the network and with authorized access, performs steps 315 to 345, the module "renderer" or "diffuser" which implements the main drivers and standards of compression and / or data transmission of the media available on the network, for example MP3 and divix is implemented during the step 370 and - the module "control point" or "control point" that allows, either by using the remote control, or by using the user interfaces of the devices implemented, to select a media, in an aggregated list and a device to broadcast said media, among the devices connected to the network, performs steps 310 and 350 to 360.

  The control point module thus makes it possible to select, remotely, on the one hand an information broadcasting device represented by a medium and, on the other hand, a medium to be broadcast by said broadcasting device. According to the implementations, the user interface of this module, if it has one can be a keyboard, a pointing device, a remote control. In other embodiments, without a user interface, this module is controlled by a background task automatically launching a media at a given time, for example.

Claims (24)

  1 - Method for exchanging data between devices connected to a network, characterized in that it comprises: - a search step (320), by each of at least two devices, of at least one type of media representative of at least one physical entity, directly accessible by said apparatus, - a transmission step (335), by each device having carried out said search step with at least one other apparatus capable of processing said type of media, of a representative list of media found on said apparatus during the search step and an aggregation step (345), by each apparatus having performed said search, lists of media found and / or received independently of the apparatus where find said media.   2 - Process according to claim 1, characterized in that during the aggregation step (345), the aggregated lists are arranged by physical entity.   3 - Process according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that, during the aggregation step (345), the aggregated lists are arranged by type of media.   4 - Process according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, during the search step (320), the media affected by a prohibition or limitation of broadcast, are not taken into account.   - Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, during the aggregation step (345), the aggregated list comprises, for each medium, a pointer which represents the location of said media on the network.   6 - Process according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, during the aggregation step (345), the aggregated list comprises, for each medium, an interface capable of processing said media.   7 - Process according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises a step of selecting (360) a media diffusion apparatus.   8 - Process according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises a selection step (350), for at least one media broadcasting device, a media represented in the aggregated list .   9 - Process according to claim 8, characterized in that said step of selecting a medium (350) comprises a selection step (351) by a manual remote control (170).   - Method according to claim 9, characterized in that, during the step of selection by a manual remote control (351), is sent out light signals and radio signals to said remote control.   11 - Process according to any one of claims 9 or 10, characterized in that, during the step of selection by a manual remote control (351), is displayed on said remote control, three-dimensional images representative of the devices likely to broadcast at least one type of media.   12 - Process according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that, during the step of selection by a manual remote control (351), a request is made for each device within range of the remote control to provide a answer the identifier.   13 - Process according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that, during the step of selection by a manual remote control (351), it implements arrow keys and a validation key.   14 - Method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that, following the media selection step (350), the device that gives the most direct or fastest access to selected media transmits said media to the selected apparatus for broadcasting said media.   15 - Device for exchanging data between devices connected to a network, characterized in that it comprises, in at least two of said devices: - a search means of at least one type of media representative of at least one physical entity, directly accessible by said apparatus; means for transmitting, to at least one other apparatus capable of processing said type of medium, a representative list of media found on said apparatus by the search means and a means for aggregating the lists of found media and or received independently of the apparatus in which the media is located.   16 - Device according to claim 15, characterized in that the aggregation means is adapted so that the aggregated list is arranged by physical entity.   17 - Device according to any one of claims 15 or 16, characterized in that the aggregation means is adapted so that the aggregated list is arranged by type of media.   18 - Device according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that the search means is adapted to not take into account the media affected by a broadcast ban.   19 - Device according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that the aggregation means is adapted so that the aggregated list comprises, for each medium, a pointer which represents the location of said media on the network.   - Device according to any one of claims 15 to 19, characterized in that the aggregation means is adapted so that the aggregated list comprises, for each medium, an interface capable of processing said media.   21 - Device according to any one of claims 15 to 20, characterized in that it comprises a means for selecting the device for broadcasting a media.   22 - Device according to any one of claims 15 to 21, characterized in that it comprises means for selecting a media represented in the aggregated list.   23 - Device according to claim 22, characterized in that said means for selecting a medium comprises a manual remote control.   24 - Device according to claim 23, characterized in that said manual remote control comprises a transmitter of light signals and a transmitter of radio signals.   - Device according to any one of claims 23 or 24, characterized in that the manual remote control is adapted to display three-dimensional images representative of the devices capable of broadcasting at least one type of media.   26 - Device according to any one of claims 23 to 25, characterized in that the manual remote control is adapted to issue a request for each device within range of the remote control to provide a response identifier.   27 - Device according to any one of claims 23 to 26, characterized in that at least one device is adapted so that the selection of a media implements the arrow keys and a validation key.   28 - Device according to any one of claims 15 to 27, characterized in that, when the selection of a media concerns a medium for which the device gives the most direct or fastest access to said selected media, the transmission means is adapted to transmit said media to the selected apparatus for broadcasting said media.