Method and system for creating a channel map

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method that allows for the construction of a system wide channel map from channel maps for peripheral devices of a computer-based home entertainment system. The method includes identifying peripheral devices that are tunable, creating a channel map for each such peripheral device, and adding the individual channel maps to create a system wide channel map for the peripheral devices.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method for generating a channel map, the method comprising: 
 identifying peripheral devices attached to a system;    identifying available channels for at least a subset of the peripheral devices;    creating a channel map of the available channels; and    adding the channel map to a system wide channel map.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising identifying the connection type for each peripheral device and wherein the subset of peripheral devices is determined by the connection type.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the connection type comprises an off-air antenna connection type.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the connection type comprises a cable connection type.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the connection type comprises a satellite connection type.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing the channel map in a database.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving tuning information for at least one of the subset of peripheral devices.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the tuning information includes an operation to tune a peripheral device to a specific available channel.  
     
     
         9 . A system, comprising: 
 a computer;    a plurality of peripheral devices operatively connected to the computer; and    a software module residing in computer memory, the software module operable to: 
 identify the peripheral devices attached to the system;  
 identify available channels for at least a subset of the peripheral devices; and  
 propagate a channel map of available channels for the peripheral devices through the model to create a system wide channel map.  
   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the software module is further operable to identify the connection type for each peripheral device and wherein the subset of peripheral devices is determined by the connection type.  
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the connection type comprises an off-air antenna connection type.  
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the connection type comprises a cable connection type.  
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the connection type comprises a satellite connection type.  
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising a database module to store the system wide channel map.  
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 9 , further wherein the software modules receives tuning information for at least one of the subset of peripheral devices.  
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the tuning information includes an operation to tune a peripheral device to a specific available channel.  
     
     
         17 . A machine readable medium comprising machine readable instructions for performing a method comprising: 
 identifying peripheral devices attached to the system;    identifying available channels for at least a subset of the peripheral devices;    creating a channel map of the available channels; and    adding the channel map to a system wide channel map.    
     
     
         18 . The machine readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the method further comprises identifying the connection type for each peripheral device and wherein the subset of peripheral devices is determined by the connection type.  
     
     
         19 . The machine readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the connection type comprises an off-air antenna connection type.  
     
     
         20 . The machine readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the connection type comprises a cable connection type.  
     
     
         21 . The machine readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the connection type comprises a satellite connection type.  
     
     
         22 . The machine readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the method further comprises storing the channel map in a database.  
     
     
         23 . The machine readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the method further comprises receiving tuning information for at least one of the subset of peripheral devices.  
     
     
         24 . The machine readable medium of  claim 23 , wherein the tuning information includes an operation to tune a peripheral device to a specific available channel.