Multimedia communications software with network streaming and multi-format conferencing

Abstract

Computers, particularly personal computers, have become everyday communications devices, nearly as common as telephones and televisions. A big reason for this is the expansion of computer networks, such as the internet, which allow sending and receiving information, including audio and video information, from one computer to one or more other computers. Communicating audio and video information between computers can be problematic because users have to wait for the information to be fully downloaded before viewing or hearing it and because different computers sometimes communicate using incompatible communications protocols, which prevents comprehension. Accordingly, the inventors devised new methods, software, and computer systems that support interactive data streaming (real-time exchange of multimedia data) and full-duplex communications, for example, network conferencing, using more than one communications protocol.

1 . A computer system comprising two or more receiver payload handler modules and two or more corresponding decoder modules for handling and decoding two or more types of data.  
   
   
       2 . The computer system of  claim 1  wherein one or more of the payload handler modules handles audio G.711, audio G.723.1, video H.261, or video H.263 data and one or more of the decoder modules decodes audio G.711, audio G723.1, video H.261 or video 11.263 data.  
   
   
       3 . The computer system of  claim 1  further comprising a demultiplexer operatively coupled to the two or more receiver payload handler modules for routing data to one of the receiver payload handlers based on data type.  
   
   
       4 . The computer system of  claim 1  further comprising a demultiplexer operatively coupled to the one or more decoders for routing data to one of the decoders based on data type.  
   
   
       5 . The computer system of  claim 1  further including an audio mixer operatively coupled to the two or more corresponding decoders.  
   
   
       6 . The computer system of  claim 1  further including a media rendering module operatively coupled to the one or more decoders.  
   
   
       7 . The computer system of  claim 1  wherein one or more of the payload handlers includes: means for reassembling or combining two or more data packets, means for reordering data packets, means for detecting and rejecting duplicate data packets, or means for computing and compensating delay jitter.  
   
   
       8 . The computer system of  claim 1  further including means for streaming data.  
   
   
       9 . A computer system comprising a demultiplexer operatively coupled to two or more receiver payload handler modules or to two or more decoder modules for routing data to one of the receiver payload handlers or to one of the decoder modules based on data type.  
   
   
       10 . The computer system of  claim 9  wherein one or more of the receiver payload handler modules is operatively coupled to one of the decoder modules.  
   
   
       11 . The computer system of  claim 9  wherein one or more of the payload handler modules handles audio G.711, audio G.723.1, video H.261, or video H.263 data and one or more of the decoder modules decodes audio G.711, audio G723.1, video H.261 or video H.263 data.  
   
   
       12 . The computer system of  claim 9  further including an audio mixer coupled to the two or more decoders.  
   
   
       13 . The computer system of  claim 9  further including a media rendering module coupled to the two or more decoders.  
   
   
       14 . The computer system of  claim 9  further including means for streaming data.  
   
   
       15 . A computer-readable medium comprising: 
 a first set of instructions for decoding a first type of audio or video data; and    a second set of instructions for decoding a second type of audio or video data.    
   
   
       16 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 15  further including a third set of instructions for streaming the first or second type of audio or video data.  
   
   
       17 - 21 . (canceled)