Method and apparatus for providing plug-in media decoders
US6654765B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 9, 2001 |
| Grant date | Nov 25, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 2, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99944
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for providing plug-in media decoders. Embodiments provide a “plug-in” decoder architecture that allows software decoders to be transparently downloaded, along with media data. User applications are able to support new media types as long as the corresponding plug-in decoder is available with the media data. Persistent storage requirements are decreased because the downloaded decoder is transient, existing in application memory for the duration of execution of the user application. The architecture also supports use of plug-in decoders already installed in the user computer. One embodiment is implemented with object-based class files executed in a virtual machine to form a media application. A media data type is determined from incoming media data, and used to generate a class name for a corresponding codec (coder-decoder) object. A class path vector is searched, including the source location of the incoming media data, to determine the location of the codec class file for the given class name. When the desired codec class file is located, the virtual machine's class loader loads the class file for integration into the media application. If the cod…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.