US20060200573A1

US20060200573A1 - Multimedia Computer System and Method

Info

Publication number: US20060200573A1
Application number: US11/164,406
Authority: US
Inventors: Li-Cheng Lin
Original assignee: Via Technologies Inc
Current assignee: Via Technologies Inc
Priority date: 2004-11-22
Filing date: 2005-11-22
Publication date: 2006-09-07
Also published as: GB2420434B; US8194692B2; DE102005055645A1; CN100371860C; CN1841267A; CN1816118A; US20060109861A1; DE102005055645B4; TW200617771A; GB0523776D0; GB2420434A; CN100397370C

Abstract

A multimedia computer system and method is disclosed. A medium device of the computer system, like an optical disc loader, has a built-in function of multimedia decoding for supporting the computer system to work under a normal mode and a playback mode. In the normal mode, the medium device does not decode, and north/south bridges of the computer arrange data exchange and access between the medium device, a CPU, and a memory of the computer system. In the playback mode, the medium device performs multimedia decoding itself for obtaining video data from the medium, and the video data are sent to a display of the computer system by the north bridge. Therefore, in this playback mode, other circuits like the south bridge, CPU and memory can be powered down to an idle status, and a low power consumption multimedia broadcast is realized.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/630,533, filed Nov. 22, 2004, and included herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multimedia computer system and method, and more particularly, to a multimedia computer system and method capable of supporting a low power consumption multimedia playback mode.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In this modern information age, all documents, figures, data and video information can be transmitted, processed and stored in a format of electronic signals. It is especially popular for use with multi-media data of images and sounds, which can be recorded in a vivid manner, or transmitted as a dynamic message. This application is now very popular and being commonly used by the public. In generally, a user electronically manages static documents, figures and data via the computer system; thus in order to satisfy the general public's need for multimedia, an important issue for manufacturers to consider how to combine dynamic multimedia broadcast functions more effectively with the computer system.
In general, whereas the data capacity of a dynamic multimedia video message is considerably large, the video message is coded and compressed in a fashion compliant to a multimedia format to become multimedia data so that this is more convenient for the user to store, transmit and process. After coding, the multimedia data is usually stored in a non-volatile storage medium such as a compact disc. The compact disc offers the consumer a low cost medium that stores a large amount of data. Therefore, when the video of the multimedia data is being broadcast, the multimedia data of the storage medium is first being accessed and then decoded to obtain image and audio data of the multimedia data. In doing so, the image data is being broadcast through a display unit, and the audio data is being broadcast through a loudspeaker such that the user can experience the dynamic visual and sound information of the multimedia data. Modern technology affords many multimedia formats, such as: Motion Picture Experts Group's (MPEG) MPEG1, MPEG2 and MPEG4 being utilized for performing code and compression of video data, and a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) utilized as it has a large high density storage volume for storing multimedia data.
As known to those skilled in the art, a common computer system includes a central processing unit (CPU), and a chipset with a north bridge and a south bridge and is utilized for supporting a memory of the CPU. In order to support multimedia broadcast, the computer system also includes a display unit and a loudspeaker 68 where the CPU can perform figure calculations and data processes, The south bridge is utilized to manage data access of each input and output peripheral device (i.e., including the medium device), the north bridge is coupled with the CPU, the south bridge and the memory for managing data transmission among the circuits, and the image data is transmitted to the display unit to be displayed. The chipset also includes an audio codec circuit (for example, an AC97 codec, an audio coding circuit that is AC97 compliant) coupled to the south bridge that is able to execute a modulation on the audio signal to signal for broadcasting the corresponding sound on the loudspeaker.
When the multimedia broadcast function is combined with the computer system, the conventional technology utilizes the medium device installed within the computer system to access multimedia data of the storage medium, and then utilizes the CPU to perform decode of the multimedia data to recover the video information of the multimedia data. The medium device, utilized for accessing a storage medium, does not have a decoding function. It is only capable of accessing decoded (i.e., compressed) multimedia video data, and the CPU is required to perform multimedia decoding. For the CPU to perform decoding, the CPU has to access the medium device, and this requires the south bridge and the north bridge of the chipset to perform bridging; furthermore, when the CPU is performing decoding, the CPU also requires support from the memory, thus the north bridge of the chipset must perform bridging in between the CPU and the memory. Image data decoded from the multimedia data by the CPU is stored within the memory, and the image data is then transmitted to the display unit of the computer system by the north bridge to be displayed on the display unit; and the decoded audio data is then transmitted from the memory, the north bridge and the south bridge to the audio codec of the chipset, lastly the audio data is then broadcast through the loudspeaker 68 of the computer system.
In another words, when the conventional technology performs a multimedia broadcast, the CPU, the memory, the south bridge and the north bridge must be fully functional in order to realize multimedia broadcast. In this way, the power consumption is high. When a notebook computer system is utilized to realize the conventional multimedia broadcast technology, the high power consumption on the battery of the computer system will greatly reduce the operation time for the computer system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The claimed invention provides a modified multimedia broadcast technology to realize a low power consumption multimedia broadcast in a computer system.
The claimed invention discloses a computer system capable of broadcasting multimedia data, the computer system comprises a medium device having a front-end and a back-end, wherein the front-end is utilized for accessing multimedia data from a storage medium, and the back-end is utilized for decoding a corresponding image data from the multimedia data if the multimedia data from the storage medium accessed by the front-end is compliant with a preset multimedia format, and a chipset coupled to the medium device for transmitting the image data obtained from decoding by the back-end to a display unit for displaying when the computer system operates in a default playback mode.
The claimed invention discloses a medium device capable of connecting to a computer system, the medium device comprises a medium module for loading a storage medium, a front-end for controlling the medium module and accessing a multimedia data of the storage medium, and a back-end for decoding the multimedia data to obtain a corresponding image data when the medium device is operating in a default playback mode, a primary bridge of the computer system for displaying the image data within the computer system.
The claimed invention discloses a computer system capable of performing multimedia broadcast and coupled to a medium device, the computer system comprises a display unit for broadcasting an image data decoded by a back-end within the medium device, and a primary bridge coupled to the display unit for transmitting the image data decoded by the back-end of the medium device to the display unit.
The claimed invention discloses a computer system capable of broadcasting multimedia data and coupled to a medium device, the computer system comprises a display unit for displaying an image data; a primary bridge coupled to the medium device and the display unit for transmitting the image data decoded by a back-end of the medium device to the display unit to be displayed when the computer system is operating in a default playback mode; a secondary bridge coupled to the medium device and the primary bridge for transmitting the image data decoded by a front-end of the medium device to the primary bridge when the computer system is not operating in the default playback mode; the primary bridge transmits the image data to the display unit; and a CPU coupled to the primary circuit for controlling operations of the computer system, when the computer system is operating in the default playback mode, the CPU stops operating, and when the computer system is not operating in the default playback mode, the CPU operates.
The claimed invention discloses a method of broadcasting multimedia data on a computer system, the computer system comprises a medium device and a computer, the medium device is coupled to the computer through a connecting port, wherein the medium device comprises a back-end and a front-end, and the computer comprises a primary bridge, a secondary bridge, a CPU and a display unit, the method comprises determining whether the computer system is operating in a default playback mode; the back-end within the medium device decoding the multimedia data if the computer system is operating in the default playback mode, and the primary bridge of the computer transmitting the decoded multimedia data to the display unit of the computer to be displayed; and the front-end within the medium device transmitting the multimedia data from the secondary bridge of the computer to the primary bridge if the computer system is not operating in the default playback mode, and the front-end transmitting the multimedia data to the display unit of the computer via the CPU to be displayed.
The claimed invention discloses a method of broadcasting multimedia data on a computer system, the computer system comprises a medium device and a computer, the medium device is coupled to the computer through a connecting port, wherein the medium device comprises a back-end and a front-end, and the computer comprises a primary bridge and a display unit, the method comprises the back-end of the medium device decoding the multimedia data; and the primary bridge of the computer transmitting the decoded multimedia data to the display unit of the computer to be displayed.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of a conventional computer system.
FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of the computer system 10 of FIG. 1 executing a conventional boot sequence.
FIG. 3 illustrates a functional block diagram of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 illustrates a diagram of the computer system of FIG. 3 operating in a normal mode.
FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram of the computer system of FIG. 3 operating in a playback mode.
FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of the computer system of FIG. 3 executing a boot sequence.
FIG. 7 illustrates a diagram of the computer system of FIG. 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 illustrates a diagram of the bus of FIG. 7 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 illustrates a diagram of the medium device of FIG. 3 becoming an independent broadcasting device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of a conventional computer system 10. The computer system 10 includes a computer 20 and a medium device 30 for accessing storage medium. The computer 20 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 12, a memory 14, a display unit 32, a chipset 40, loudspeaker 28 and a control interface 26. The CPU 12 is capable of executing programs and algorithmic calculations, processing data, and controlling the main operation of the computer system 10; the memory 14 is utilized for temporarily storing program codes, data, and figures required by the CPU 12 during operation. The display unit 32 is utilized for displaying graphic pictures, and the loudspeaker 28 broadcasts sound. The control interface 26 is then utilized for receiving control operations of a user such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch pad, or other indicating devices. The medium device 30 acts as a peripheral of the computer system 10 and is coupled to the chipset 40. The chipset is located among the medium device 30 (or other peripheral devices), the memory 14 and the CPU for bridging data transmission of these circuits.
In a more detailed explanation, the chipset 40 can include a north bridge 16, a south bridge 18, an audio codec circuit 22, and a micro-controller 24. The south bridge 18 is coupled with each peripheral device (e.g., the medium device 30) and the north bridge to manage data transmission between each peripheral device and the north bridge 16. The north bridge 16 is coupled with the CPU 12, the memory 14 and the sound bridge 18 among which the north bridge 16 manages data transmission among the three components. The peripheral device (e.g., the medium device 30) is capable of exchanging data with the CPU 12 and the memory 14 via the south bridge 18 and the north bridge 16. Furthermore, the north bridge 16 itself can also be integrated with graphic processing functions (e.g., the 2-D or 3-D graphic processing) to control the graphic picture displayed on the display unit 32. The micro-controller 24 is coupled to the control interface 26 to provide the corresponding operation signal according to the control operation of the user to be transmitted to the CPU 12 via the south bridge 18 and the north bridge 16 so that the CPU 12 can control the operation of the computer system 10 according to the control operation of the user. When the computer system 10 according to an electronic audio signal broadcasts a corresponding sound, the audio signal is transmitted to the audio codec circuit 22 via the south bridge 18, and the audio codec circuit 22 (e.g., an AC97 codec, an audio coding circuit that is AC97 compliant) is able to execute a suitable modulate code on the audio signal and the corresponding sound is broadcast through the loudspeaker 28.
In the prior art, a medium module 36 and a server circuit 38 are installed within a medium device 30 for accessing storage medium. The medium module 36 is utilized for containing a storage medium and all hardware for accessing storage medium, the server circuit 38 then is able to control the operations of the medium module 36 to access data on the storage medium via the medium module 36. For example, the medium device 30 can be a CD player and the storage medium accessed is the compact disc; the medium module 38 can include rotating motor, laser head, etc. for accessing the compact disc, and the server circuit 38 can control the medium module 38 to access data from the compact disc. The data accessed by the server circuit 38 is transmitted to the computer 20 via the south bridge 18. When the conventional computer system 10 of FIG. 1 broadcasts multimedia data in the storage medium to realize a video multi-media broadcast function, the situation is described as follows. Firstly, the server circuit 38 of the medium device 30 can read the coded, or yet to be decoded, multimedia data from the storage medium; but as the conventional medium device 30 does not have a decoding function, the calculation function of the computer 20 is required for decoding. Hence the medium device 30 temporarily stores the multimedia data to be decoded to the memory 14 via the south bridge 18 and the north bridge 16 so that the CPU 12 (or the image processing function of the north bridge) can decode the coded multimedia data into corresponding image data and audio data. The decoded image data is transmitted to the display unit via the north bridge 16 to be displayed; the audio data is then transmitted to the audio codec circuit 22 via the south bridge 18 and the corresponding sound is broadcast through the loudspeaker 28.
In the above-mentioned, when the conventional computer system 10 is performing a multimedia broadcast, other than the medium device 30, the conventional computer system 10 still requires the CPU 12, the memory 14, the south bridge 18 and the north bridge 16 to realize the multimedia broadcast, therefore the conventional computer system 10 requires high power consumption. As known to those skilled in the art, the south bridge 18 also includes sub-circuits such as an interrupt controller, a direct memory access (DMA) controller and other types of bus controller (e.g., the medium device 30 and the south bridge are coupled through a bus, and a controller of the bus is installed on the south bridge). The north bridge 16 also includes a bridging control circuit (e.g., controlling data transmission among the CPU 12, the memory 14 and the south bridge 18) and sub-circuit like image processing circuit. However, from the above-mentioned, when the conventional computer system 10 is utilized to perform the multimedia broadcast, the sub-circuits of the south bridge 18 and the north bridge 16 are also required to operate so that the CPU 12, and the memory 14 can complete the multimedia decoding calculation together. Although full operation of each circuit can maximize the full potential of the whole operation function, but in some applications, the user may only want to demonstrate multimedia data and multimedia broadcast, therefore there is no requirement to utilize all the functions of the computer system; it is only a waste of power and resource if the computer system operates at normal.
FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart 100 of the computer system 10 of FIG. 1 executing a convention boot sequence. The flow 100 includes the following steps:
Step 102: a computer system usually has a switch for power on; when a user presses the switch, the computer system triggers power and activates the flow 100;
Step 104: the computer system 10 performs a power-on self test (POST); if the test is not completed, then terminate the flow 100; if the test is successful, then proceed to step 106;
Step 106: search and execute basic I/O system (BIOS) of each assistance circuit, for example, search and execute the BIOS of the image processing circuit, furthermore, for other assistance circuits such as an Internet interface circuit that may have a BIOS, the BIOSs can also be executed in this step;
Step 108: execute memory test to test the memory; if the test fails, display an error message and terminate the flow 100; if the test is successful, then proceed to step 110;
Step 110: set operation parameter of each device in the computer system;
Step 112: detect and set plug and play device
Step 114: search for a boot disk, which is a storage medium that stores an operating system program code; if the boot disk is not available (the operating system for booting cannot be found on each storage medium), then display an error message and terminate the flow 100; if search is successful, proceed to step 116;
Step 116: load the operating system through the boot disk so that the user can control the computer to perform operations.
From the conventional boot sequence 100, the conventional computer system 10 consumes more power when supporting multimedia broadcast; also before performing the multimedia broadcast, more time is actually required to execute the long boot sequence 100. The boot sequence 100 ensures the computer system can maximize its full operation functions, however, when the user requires only multimedia broadcast, the computer system 10 is still required to carry out time consuming steps like loading the operating system before supporting the multimedia broadcast, which causes inconvenience for the user.
In order to overcome inconvenience of the convention computer system 10 of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 during the multimedia broadcast, the present invention provides a preferred computer system architecture so that the computer system of the present invention can realize a low power consumption multimedia broadcast. In the present invention, the medium device itself has a multimedia data decoding function, and the medium device can combine with the chipset of the computer system to realize a mode switching mechanism thereby providing the computer system with the capable of operating at a normal mode and also at a low power consumption multimedia playback mode; at the playback mode, the medium device itself is capable of decoding the coded multimedia data into image and audio data, and the medium device utilizes the display unit and the loudspeaker of the computer system directly to realize the multimedia broadcast. Therefore in the playback mode, the computer system of the present invention is not required to perform decoding calculations, and the functions of the CPU, the memory, the south bridge and the north bridge can be idle (not operating) which the power consumption is effectively lowered during multimedia broadcast. Please refer to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 illustrates a functional block diagram of a computer system 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The computer system 50 includes a computer 60 (e.g., a mainframe) and a medium device 70 (or a plurality of medium devices) acting as a peripheral device. A central processing unit 52, a memory 54, a display unit 72 capable of displaying graphic images, a loudspeaker 68 capable of broadcasting sound are installed in the computer system 50, a control interface 66 for receiving control operation of a user, and a chipset 80 coupled to each circuit of the above-mentioned.
In the computer 60, the CPU 52 is capable of executing programs and algorithmic calculations, processing data, and controlling the main operations of the computer system 50; the memory 54 is utilized for temporarily storing program codes, data and figures required by the CPU 52 during operation. The display unit can be an LCD display or a CRT display. The control interface 66 can include input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touchpad, or even a remote control interface. For example, a wireless receiver can be installed on the control interface 66 so that the user can utilize the wireless remote controller to transmit wireless remote control signal to the control interface 66. When the user is operating on the control interface 66, the chipset can provide corresponding control signals according to the control operation of the user.
On the other hand, a medium module 74, a front-end 76 and a back-end 78 are installed within the medium device 70. The medium module 74 is utilized for loading a storage medium and including all hardware for accessing a storage medium. The front-end is a server circuit for controlling the operation of the medium module 76 and accessing data stored on the storage medium via the medium module 74. In order to realize the present invention, the medium device 70 of the present invention further installs a back-end 78 having a multimedia data decoding function. The back-end 78 can perform multimedia data decoding in a preset multimedia format to obtain corresponding video and audio data. For example, if there is coded multimedia data stored in the storage medium in the medium module 74, the front-end 76 then can control the medium module 76 and access the coded multimedia data; if the multimedia format of the multimedia data is compliant to the decoding format of the back-end 78, then when the back-end 78 operates, the back-end 78 then decodes the multimedia data into corresponding video and audio data. In this embodiment of the present invention, the medium device 70 can be a disc player for accessing an optic storage medium (e.g., a compact disc); the medium module 74 can also include rotating motor, laser, etc for accessing the optic storage medium hardware, and the front-end 76 then can control the medium module 74 to access data from the optic storage medium. The back-end 78 can be a MPEG1, MPEG2 or/and MPEG4 multimedia decoding circuit to decode MPEG1, MPEG2 and/or MPEG4 multimedia data.
The medium device 70 acts as a peripheral device of the computer device 50 and is coupled to the chipset 80 so that the chipset 80 can perform bridging with the medium device 70 (and other peripheral devices and storage devices), the memory 54, the CPU 52, the display unit 72, the loudspeaker 68 and the control interface 66. In the present invention, the chipset 80 can combine with the medium device 70 to realize a switching mode mechanism so that the computer system is capable of switching operation to a normal mode and a playback mode.
When the computer system 50 of the present invention operates at the normal mode, the CPU 52 and the memory 54 will operate normally, the chipset then performs bridging with the CPU 52, the memory 54 and the medium device 70 and manages data transmission among the circuits and devices. The back-end 78 of the medium device 70 remains idle (no decoding to be performed) so that the medium device 70 only accesses the original data of the storage medium via the front-end 76. In another words, the chipset 80 can access the storage medium in the medium device via the front-end 76 according to the control of the CPU 52. Furthermore, when the user is operating on the control interface 66, the chipset 80 can provide corresponding control signals so that the CPU 52 is under the control of the control signal. Hence under the normal mode, the computer system 50 can complete its operation function normally.
When the computer system 50 of the present invention operates in the playback mode to perform multimedia broadcast, the front-end 76 of the medium device 70 accesses multi-media data from the storage medium, and the back-end 78 operates and decodes the multimedia data into corresponding image data and audio data; the chipset 80 then transmits the image data decoded by the back-end 78 to the display unit to be displayed, and the audio data is broadcast through the loudspeaker 68 as sound. As the back-end 78 is in charged of decoding the multimedia, hence in the playback mode, the CPU 52 is capable of operating at a low power consumption mode in an idle status. Similarly, the memory 54 can also stop operating; the chipset 80 itself is not required to support a full bridging function (for example, it is not required to bridge the CPU 52 and the memory 54). Therefore, in the playback mode of the present invention, the power consumption of the computer 60 is greatly reduced and yet the multimedia broadcast function is realized. Alternately, in the playback mode, the control of the control interface 66 by the user is converted to control signal by the chipset 80, and the control signal is then transmitted to the medium device 70 such that the front-end 76 and the back-end 78 of the medium device 70 can be controlled by the control signal, therefore the user can control the multimedia broadcast.
To further describe the application of the present invention, please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5; a continuation from the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 illustrate situations of the computer system 50 operating in a normal mode and a playback mode. As shown in FIG. 3 through FIG. 5, a north bridge 56 (which is a primary bridge), a south bridge 58 (a secondary bridge), an audio codec circuit 62, and a micro-controller 64 can be installed on the chipset 80. The north bridge 56 is coupled with the CPU 52, the display unit 72 and the memory 54; the south bridge 58 is then coupled to the north bridge 56 and the medium device 70 (and other peripheral devices). The north bridge 56 can be integrated with a 2D/3D image processing function, and can include a video port 82 (which can be a VIP video port) for receiving image data (e.g., image data that is compliant to CCIR656 format), and the image processing function of the north bridge 56 allows the video port 82 to receive the image data to be displayed on the display unit 72. The micro-controller 64 is coupled to the control interface 66 for providing a corresponding control signal according to the control operation received by the control interface 66. The audio codec circuit 62 (for example an AC97 codec, an audio coding circuit that is AC97 compliant) is able to execute a modulation on the electronic audio signal to signal for broadcasting on the loudspeaker 68 so that the loudspeaker 68 can broadcast the corresponding sound according to the electronic audio signal.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the computer system 50 is operating in the normal mode, the back-end 78 of the medium device 70 can stop operating (represented in the dotted line), and only the front-end 76 and the south bridge 58 maintains a data path (represented to realize the data path), and the south bridge 58 can perform bridging with the north bridge 56 and the front-end 76. In other words, when the computer 60 accesses the storage medium, the south bridge 58 transmits the data accessed by the front-end 76 to the north bridge 56, and the north bridge 56 performs bridging with the CPU 52, the memory 54 and the south bridge 58 to control the data transmission among the circuits. Thus the data of the south bridge 58 is transmitted to the memory 54 and/or the CPU 52. If a graphic image is required to be displayed or sound is required to be broadcast during the period when the CPU 52 is operating, the north bridge 56 performs the image processing according to the request of the CPU 52 such that the graphic image is displayed on the display unit 72; for example, the display unit 72 can include a signal transmitter (e.g., a low-voltage differential signal (LVDS)) and a liquid crystal panel, and the north bridge 56 transmits the image data to the signal transmitter, and the signal transmitter controls the liquid crystal panel to display the corresponding image. Otherwise, the audio signal is transmitted to the audio codec 62 via the south bridge 58 and broadcast through the loudspeaker 68. Furthermore, in the normal mode, the control of the user is feed back to the micro-controller 64 via the control interface 66, and the micro-controller 64 transmits the corresponding control signal to the south bridge 58 so that the south bridge 58 via the north bridge puts the CPU 52 under the control of the control signal. In the normal mode, each circuit device of the computer system 50 can be fully functional to support all the computer functions; and the medium device 70 can support each medium access function via the front-end 76, such as programmed I/O of the CPU 52, or direct memory access (DMA) function of the south bridge 58.
When the computer system 50 of the present invention operates in the playback mode, the situation is as illustrated in FIG. 5. When the computer system 50 operates in the playback mode and broadcasts multimedia data from the storage medium, the back-end 78 of the medium device 70 can be activated for multimedia decoding functions. The front-end 76 reads multimedia data from the storage medium, and the back-end 78 then can decode the multimedia data into corresponding image data and audio data. The mode switching mechanism of the medium device 70 and the chipset 80 allows the image data to be directly transmitted to the video port 82 of the north bridge 56, and the image processing function of the north bridge 56 transmits the image data to the display unit 72 to be displayed. Otherwise, the image processing function of the north bridge 56 can also perform a basic image processing (e.g., scaling, deinterlacing) on the image data first, and then display the image data on the display unit 72. Similarly, the mode switching mechanism of the medium device 70 and the chipset 80 allows the audio signal decoded by the back-end 78 to be transmitted to the audio codec 62 to be broadcast through the loudspeaker 68. Furthermore, after the micro-controller 64 feeds back the user's control and generates a control signal, the mode switching mechanism allows the control signal to be transmitted to the medium device 70 so that the front-end 76 and the back-end 78 of the medium device 70 can be controlled by the control signal, therefore the user can control the multimedia broadcast.
In other words, in the playback mode, the back-end 78 controls the multimedia broadcast of the computer system 50, and the user can still control the multimedia broadcast utilizing the original control interface 66 of the computer system 50 (including start, stop, pause, forward, rewind, previous/next chapter, etc). The back-end 78 itself has an on-screen display (OSD) function for reflecting the status of the multimedia broadcast via the display unit 72 (such as the broadcasting progress). Other than utilizing the control interface 66 of the computer 60 to control the multimedia broadcast, the medium device 70 itself can also have a specialized control interface for the user to directly control the back-end 78.
In FIG. 5, when the computer system 50 of the present invention is operating in the playback mode, the back-end 78 performs the multimedia decoding function, thus the calculation function of the computer 60 is not required to perform the multimedia decoding. Hence in the playback mode, the CPU 52 can be idle or stop operating; the related memory 54 can also stop operation, and the north bridge 56 can also terminate its bridging function for transmitting data among the CPU 52, the memory 54 and the south bridge 58. The south bridge 58 can further terminate each function: the south bridge 58 can terminate each bus control function; the south bridge 58 can terminate the bridging with the medium device 70 and the north bridge 58 (as shown in FIG. 5, the image data/audio data of the medium device 70 is directly transmitted to the north bridge 56/audio codec 62 and the bridging of the south bridge 58 is not required), functions like interrupt control and DMA can also terminate. As the bridging function of each of the CPU 52, the memory 54, the south bridge 58 and the north bridge 56 stops operating (or enters into a low power consumption idle status), therefore during the multimedia broadcast, the power consumption of the computer system 50 of the present invention can be greatly reduced to realize a low power consumption multimedia broadcast function.
In order to control the switch between the normal mode and the low power consumption playback mode of the computer system, the present invention can prompt the user during the boot sequence to perform a mode selection. Continuing with the example from FIG. 3 through FIG. 5, please refer to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart 200 of the computer system 50 of the present invention executing a boot sequence. The flow 200 includes the following steps:
Step 202: power on, the computer system 50 draws power and activates the flow 200;
Step 204: the computer system 50 performs a power-on self test (POST); if the test is not completed, then terminate the flow 200; if the test is successful, then proceed to step 206;
Step 206: search and execute basic I/O system (BIOS) of each assistance circuit, for example, search and execute the BIOS of the image processing circuit, furthermore, for other assistance circuits such as an Internet interface circuit that may have a BIOS, the BIOSs can also be executed in this step;
Step 208: execute memory test to test the memory; if the test fails, display error message and terminate the flow 200; if the test is successful, then proceed to step 209;
Step 209: determine a mode of operation for the computer system; if a normal mode is selected, proceed to step 210, if a playback mode is selected, proceed to step 218; in this step the present invention prompts a user on the display unit 72 to proceed with the mode selection (FIG. 3) to determine which mode the computer system is entering according the user's control on the control interface 66, for example the prompts on the display unit 72 can be: pressing the F key on the control interface 66 to enter into the normal mode, or press the P key on the control interface 66 to enter into the playback mode, then proceed to step 210 or step 208 after the key is pressed by the user; furthermore the present invention can also preset a mode which the computer system will enter after a predetermined period of time while waiting for the user to decide whether to enter into a specific mode, if user input is not forthcoming within the predetermined period of time then the computer system 50 enters the preset mode; for example in executing this step, the computer system 50 can be preset to enter into the normal mode, and the user will be prompted; if the user wants to enter into the playback mode, the user can press a DEL key, and there is a 10 second countdown, if within this 10 seconds the DEL key is not pressed, the computer system 50 enters into the preset normal mode and proceeds to step 210; otherwise, if the user presses the DEL key within the countdown time, the computer system enters into the playback mode and proceeds to step 218.
If the user decides to let the computer system 50 to enter into the normal mode, the computer system 50 executes the steps 202, 204, 206 and 208 accordingly and performs a normal boot sequence, the normal boot sequence includes the following steps:
Step 210: set operation parameter of each device in the computer system;
Step 212: detect and set plug and play device;
Step 214: search for a boot disk, which is a storage medium/medium device that stores an operating system program code; if the boot disk is not available (the operating system for booting cannot be found on each storage medium), then display an error message and terminate the flow 200; if search is successful, proceed to step 216;
Step 216: load the operating system through the boot disk so that the user can control the computer to perform operation.
On the other hand, if the user decides to perform multimedia broadcast and allows the computer system 50 to enter into the playback mode, the computer system 50 continues to execute the following steps after step 209:
Step 218: the CPU 52 sets the configuration of the north bridge 56 (FIG. 5) to shut down unnecessary functions, as known from FIG. 5 and other related discussions, in the playback mode, the medium device 70 of the present invention can perform multimedia decoding, hence the computer 60 is not required to assist in the multimedia decoding calculation, thus part of the north bridge 56 functions can be suspended or shut down; for example, the north bridge 56 can suspended the bridging function among the south bridge 58, the CPU 52 and the memory 54, the north bridge can also suspended managing the memory 54, yet only the image processing function is required to transmit the image data of the video port 82 to the display unit 72 and to be displayed on the display unit 72;
Step 220: the CPU 52 sets the configuration of the south bridge 58 to shut down unnecessary functions, as known from FIG. 5 and other related discussions, in the playback mode, the south bridge 58 can actually shut down all its functions such as interrupt control, direct memory access (DMA) and other types of bus controls;
Step 222: the CPU 52 sets the mode of the micro-controller 64 such that the micro-controller 64 can convert the user's control on the control interface 66 into the control signal readable by the medium device 70; for example, a page-up key and a page-down key can be installed on the control interface 66; when the computer system 50 operates in the normal mode, the two keys can act as a previous page and a next page keys for a document processing program; but in the playback mode, after the setting of the micro-controller 64, the two keys can be converted into control commands of a previous chapter and a next chapter so that the user can utilize the two keys to control the chapters of the multimedia broadcast;
Step 224: the CPU 52 sets the back-end 78 of the medium device 70 so that the back-end 78 begins operation;
Step 226: after setting for each related circuit and device is completed, the CPU 52 enters into a low power consumption idle status, or even stops operating; the back-end 78 of the medium device 70 begins to perform the multimedia broadcast to manage the operations of the computer system 50 in the playback mode;
Step 228: start the playback mode to realize a low power consumption multimedia broadcast function.
As from the flow 200, when the computer system 50 of the present invention enters into the playback mode, the present invention not only shuts down part or all of the functions of the related circuit to low power consumption, but also it is not required to load the operating system and its corresponding time-consuming steps, thus the playback mode can be loaded quickly to provide a multimedia broadcast service to the user. From the steps 218 to 228 of the playback mode, the steps to realizing the playback mode are mainly hardware settings steps which does not require loading of the operating system, thus a more efficient multimedia broadcast service can be prepared.
In determining the operation mode of the computer system of the present invention, other than the method of prompting selections for the user in the flow 200, other methods can also be utilized. For example, the computer system 50 of the present invention can set different mode of boot initializing mechanism on the control interface 66, such as the normal mode has a corresponding normal mode switch, and the playback mode also has a corresponding playback mode switch. If the normal mode switch is pressed, the computer system 50 can directly perform the boot sequence of the normal mode (which is the steps 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214 and 216 of the flow 200); in contrary, if the playback mode switch is pressed, the computer system can directly perform the boot sequence of the playback mode (which is the steps 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 218, 220, 222, 224, 226, and 228 of the flow 200).
From the discussion of FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, in a different mode, the computer 60 and the medium device 70 of the computer system 50 exchange data through different paths. In the normal mode of FIG. 4, the front-end 76 of the medium device 70 exchanges data with the south bridge 58 so that the CPU 52 accesses the storage medium in the medium device 70 via the south bridge 58, the north bridge 56 and the front-end 76. In the playback mode of FIG. 5, the back-end 78 of the medium device 70 directly transmits the decoded image data and the audio data to the north bridge 56 and the audio codec 62 and the control signal is directly received by the micro-controller 64, therefore the bridging of the south bridge 58 is not required. To realize the above-mentioned mechanism of the present invention, the present invention utilizes a single bus coupling to the computer 60 and the medium device 70 to realize the different data paths of the two modes; whether it is the normal mode or the playback mode, the medium device 70 transmits the related data and signal via the same bus. Please refer to FIG. 7, for a continuation of the example from FIG. 3 through FIG. 5. FIG. 7 illustrates an architecture of the computer system 50 utilizing a single bus to realize a different data path at a different mode. As shown in FIG. 7, the computer 60 and the medium device 70 utilize and are coupled to a bus with a plurality of wires, for example, a bus that is IDE compliant. A bus 90 is coupled to the south bridge 58 and an interface circuit 92 of the medium device 70, the interface circuit 92 is utilized for managing the accessing of the front-end 92 and the back-end 78 on the bus 90. Furthermore, the front-end 76 and the back-end 78 can also utilize and are coupled to a bus that is compliant to the bus 90.
In order to support the different data path at the different mode, the bus 90 is coupled to the south bridge, and a set of wires G1 (which includes a plurality of wires) within the bus 90 is coupled to the video port 82 of the north bridge 56 for becoming a data path for the image data during the playback mode. Similarly, another set of wires G2 (which also includes a plurality of wires) is coupled to the audio codec circuit 62 via a switch circuit 94 for supporting the transmission of audio signals during the playback mode; in the normal mode, the switch circuit 94 switches such that the audio codec circuit 62 couples to the south bridge 58. Furthermore, the bus 90 also includes a set of wires G3 that is coupled to the micro-controller 64 via another switch circuit 96 for transmitting the control signal of the micro-controller 64 to the medium device 70 in the playback mode; in the normal mode, the switch circuit 96 switches such that the micro-controller 64 is coupled to the south bridge 58 so that the control signal of the micro-controller 64 can be transmitted to the south bridge 58.
When the computer system 50 of FIG. 7 is operating in the normal mode, the back-end 78 of the medium device 70 is not required to operate, and the interface circuit 92 allows the front-end 76 to be coupled to the bus 90; the bus control function of the south bridge 58 manages the operation of the bus 90 so that the computer 60 can access the storage medium via the bus 90 and the front-end 76. At this time, the north bridge 56 can stop receiving signals from the video port 82, the switch circuit 94 controls the audio codec circuit 62 to receive the information data via the south bridge 58 (and not via the set of wires G2), the switch circuit 96 then controls the micro-controller 64 to transmit the control signals to the south bridge 58 (and not via the set of wires G3) to function as a normal computer.
In contrary, when the computer system 50 is operating in the playback mode, the back-end 78 of the medium device 70 decodes multimedia data to obtain image data and audio data. The interface circuit 92 allows the back-end 78 to access the sets of wires G1 to G3 on the bus 90. At this time, the north bridge 56 activates the video port 82, and the image data of the back-end 78 is transmitted to the north bridge 56 via the set of wires G1 of the bus 90 so that the north bridge 56 can receive and display the image data from the video port 82 on the display unit 72. Similarly, the switch circuit 94 allows the audio codec circuit 62 to access the set of wires G2 so that the audio data can be transmitted to the audio codec circuit 62 via the set of wires G2 and to be broadcast through the loudspeaker 68. Otherwise, the switch circuit 98 allows the micro-controller 64 to access the set of wires G3 so that the micro-controller 64 can directly transmit the control signal to the medium device 70 via the set of wires G3.
As known from FIG. 7 and other related discussions, even though a common bus is utilized, the present invention can still form different data paths at different modes. A continuation from the example from FIG. 7, please refer to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is based on a IDE compliant bus as an example to explain situations of the present invention utilizing a single IDE bus 90 to realize different path at different mode. As shown in FIG. 8, an IDE bus interface (that is IDE compliant to notebook/laptop computers) has 50 pins labeled from 1 to 50, 50 wires are utilized to transmit each signal that is IDE compliant. In the normal mode, the function of the bus 90 is to realize an IDE bus, thus the function of each wire/pin is IDE compliant. For example in FIG. 8, in the normal mode, the pin of label 1 is utilized for transmitting audio data of L-channel, pin of label 2 is utilized for transmitting audio data of R-channel, each pin of label 6 to 21 is utilized for transmitting data (e.g., signal Dnn, n=0, . . . n=15), other pins can be utilized to transmit related command of the IDE bus control or offset voltages (+5V, ground).
In the playback mode, the present invention can utilize each pin on the IDE bus to realize data paths of image data, audio data and a control signals. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the present invention utilizes 8 pins (wires) labeled 24, 25, 29, 32-36 to transmit image data (which is signal VDn, n=0, . . . ,7), the pin of label 37 is then utilized for transmitting image data clock; in another words, the wires corresponding to the pins form the set of wires G1 of FIG. 7. As pins (pins that are labeled 1-3) under the IDE standard are originally utilized for transmitting audio data, thus the present invention can directly utilize the pins to transmit the audio signals hence the set of wires G2 of FIG. 7 is formed. As for the control signal, the present invention can utilize the undefined pins 49 and 50 of the IDE bus. Under the IDE standard, the two pins are left unutilized for the manufacturers to define. Thus the present invention can utilize the wires corresponding to the two pins to form the set of wires G3 of FIG. 7 so that the control signal of the micro-controller is being transmitted to the medium device 70. In actual fact, as the two pins 49, and 50 are not utilized under IDE standard, thus in the embodiment of FIG. 7, the micro-controller 64 then does not require to set the corresponding switch circuit 96, the micro-controller 64 itself is capable of directly transmitting the control signal to the south bridge 58 and the set of wires G3 simultaneously; in the normal mode, although the bus 90 requires to the IDE bus function, but as the pins 49 and 50 are not defined under the IDE standard, it does not affect the bus 90 being the IDE bus function. In the playback mode, the south bridge 58 can stop operating and ignore the control signal transmitted from the micro-controller 64 to the south bridge 58.
In the playback mode, as the pins (e.g., number of wires) required by the image data, the audio data and the control signal are less, thus there are some pins (i.e., wires) in the bus 90 which is not utilized (as the blank in the form of FIG. 8 represents an unutilized pin).
Please note that the discussion in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 is just one embodiment of the present invention. The bus 90 of FIG. 7 can also be a bus of other standard that is not limited to the IDE standard bus of FIG. 8, and the definition of each pin (i.e., wire) in the playback mode is not limited by what is defined in FIG. 8. In actual fact, the present invention can apply different mode to different specific bus to distinguish different data path formed, and therefore there is no requirement to utilize a common bus like in FIG. 7.
As the medium device of the present invention itself has multimedia decoding functions, if the medium device is coupled to the computer (i.e., mainframe) in a insertion and extraction manner, not only can the medium device support the computer system to perform a low power consumption multimedia broadcast when coupled to the computer, and the medium device can also be an independent multimedia broadcasting device when the medium device is pull out of the computer system. Please refer to FIG. 9, with the example continued from FIG. 3. FIG. 9 illustrates a diagram of the medium device 70 becoming an independent broadcasting device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the medium device 70 is coupled to the computer 60 through a connecting slot 84, and an additional broadcast port 86 is installed to directly output the image data and the audio data decoded by the back-end 78. An independent control interface 98 can also be installed on the medium device 70, the control interface 98 can include buttons, or even a remote control mechanism.
As shown in FIG. 9, when the medium device 70 of the present invention is coupled to the computer 60 to form a computer system 50, the medium device 70 can support the computer system 50 to operate in the normal mode and the playback mode (as described in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5). If the medium device 70 is pulled out of the computer 60, the back-end 78 of the medium device 70 can activate its multimedia decoding function and output the decoded image data and audio data via the broadcast port 86. The user can externally connect to a display unit 302 and a loudspeaker 308 (e.g., a consumer TV or sound system), thus the medium device 70 becomes an independent broadcast device for performing multimedia broadcast. In actual application, the user can control the operation of the medium device 70 via the control interface 98.
Also in the example of FIG. 9, the medium device 70 of the present invention can be applied in three kinds of situations. The first situation, the medium device 70 is coupled to the computer 60 for supporting the computer system 50 to perform operations of the normal mode. In this situation, the back-end 78 can stop operating, the medium device 70 is only utilized for supporting the accessing of the storage medium; therefore the medium device 70 operates in a data mode only for accessing the original data on the storage medium and not for performing data decoding; the data is accessed by the front-end 76 and is outputted by the medium device 70. The second situation is when the medium device 70 is coupled to the computer 60, and the medium device 70 supports the computer system 50 to operate in a low power consumption multimedia playback mode. In this situation, the back-end is activated for utilizing the display unit 72 and the loudspeaker 68 of the computer system 50 to perform multimedia broadcast; the computer 60 itself is not required to perform multi-media decoding calculation. In another words, the image data and the audio data decoded by the back-end 78 are outputted by the medium device 70. In the third situation, the medium device 70 is an independent broadcasting device and is not coupled to the computer 60. The back-end 78 is activated to perform multimedia decoding so that the user can directly operate consumer electronic products such as a display unit and a loudspeaker to perform multimedia broadcast. Even so, the medium device 70 can include a display unit and a loudspeaker which in the third situation the medium device 70 itself can perform multimedia broadcast.
In conclusion, in comparison to the conventional high power consumption multimedia broadcast computer system, the medium device of the computer system of the present invention itself includes the multimedia decoding function, a normal mode with maximum functions and a low power consumption playback mode can be realized by combining with the chipset of the present invention to suit the different requirements of the user in processing data and performing multimedia broadcast. Furthermore, the medium device itself can also be an independent multimedia broadcasting device to support different application situations by utilizing only the same hardware architecture. Each circuit and device of the computer system of the present invention can be realized by utilizing equivalent circuits and devices; for example, the computer system of the present invention can be a notebook/laptop computer system or a desktop computer system, the medium device can be a disc player for accessing an optic storage medium, or a hard disk for magnetic storage medium, and the medium device can be a read-only device such as an electronic non-volatile storage medium (such as a flash memory or memory card).
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A computer system capable of broadcasting multimedia data, the computer system comprising:

a medium device comprises a front-end and a back-end, wherein the front-end is utilized for accessing multimedia data from a storage medium, and the back-end is utilized for decoding a corresponding image data from the multimedia data if the multimedia data from the storage medium accessed by the front-end is compliant to a preset multimedia format; and

a chipset coupled to the medium device for transmitting the image data obtained from decoding by the back-end to a display unit for displaying when the computer system operates in a default playback mode.

2. The computer system of claim 1 further comprising:

a central processing unit (CPU) for controlling operations of the computer, when the computer operates in the default playback mode, the CPU stops operating.

3. The computer system of claim 1 wherein if the computer is not operating in the default playback mode, the back-end stops operating and stops decoding the multimedia data.

4. The computer system of claim 1 further comprising:

a loudspeaker coupled to the chipset for broadcasting a corresponding audio data decoded from the multimedia data by the back-end, when the computer system is operating in the default playback mode, the back-end decodes the multimedia data into the corresponding audio data, and the chipset transmits the audio data to the loudspeaker to be broadcast.

5. The computer system of claim 1 further comprising:

a primary bridge coupled with the display unit, a CPU and a memory; and

a secondary bridge coupled to the primary bridge and the medium device;

wherein when the computer system is operating in the default playback mode, the primary bridge receives and transmits the image data decoded by the back-end to the loudspeaker to be broadcast.

6. The computer system of claim 5 further comprising:

a control interface for receiving control operation of a user; and

a micro-controller coupled to the control interface for providing a corresponding control signal according to the control operation received by the control interface, wherein when the computer system is operating in the default playback mode, the micro-controller transmits the control signal to the medium device so that the front-end and the back-end of the medium device are being controlled by the control signal.

7. The computer system of claim 5 wherein the computer system further comprises the medium device coupled the chipset through an IDE bus, wherein when the computer system is operating in the default playback mode, the primary bridge receives the image data decoded by the back-end via the IDE bus.

8. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the computer system further comprises a connecting port coupled with the medium device and the chipset, when the medium device is not operating in the default playback mode, the connecting port outputs the multimedia data accessed by the front-end, and when the medium device is operating in the default playback mode, the back-end decodes to obtain the image data.

9. A medium device capable of connecting to a computer system, the medium device comprising:

a medium module for loading a storage medium;

a front-end for controlling the medium module and accessing a multimedia data of the storage medium; and

a back-end for decoding the multimedia data to obtain a corresponding image data when the medium device is operating in a default playback mode, a primary bridge of the computer system for displaying the image data within the computer system.

10. The medium device of claim 9 wherein the medium device further comprises a connecting port coupled with the medium device and the primary bridge, when the medium device is not operating in the default playback mode, the connecting port outputs the multimedia data accesses by the front-end, and when the medium device is operating in the default playback mode, the back-end decodes to obtain the image data.

11. The medium device of claim 9 wherein the medium device is capable of coupling to a loudspeaker, when the medium device is operating in the preset multimedia mode, an audio data obtained after decoding by the back-end is transmitted to the loudspeaker.

12. The medium device of claim 9 wherein the medium device is not operating in the default playback mode, the back-end is capable of stopping operation to stop decoding the multimedia data.

13. The medium device of claim 9 wherein the medium device is a compact disc, a flash memory or a hard disk.

14. The medium device of claim 9 wherein the preset multimedia format is an MPEG1, MPEG2 or MPEG4 format.

15. The medium device of claim 9 wherein the computer system is a laptop computer.

16. A computer system capable of performing multimedia broadcast, coupled to a medium device, the computer system comprising:

a display unit for broadcasting an image data decoded by a back-end within the medium device; and

a primary bridge coupled to the display unit for transmitting the image data decoded by the back-end of the medium device to the display unit.

17. The computer system of claim 16 wherein the computer system further comprises a connecting port coupled with the back-end of the medium device and the primary bridge, the connecting port outputs the image data decoded by the back-end to the primary circuit.

18. The computer system of claim 16 wherein the primary bridge transmits a sound data decoded by the back-end of the medium device to a loudspeaker for broadcasting sound.

19. A computer system capable of broadcasting multimedia data, coupled to a medium device, the computer system comprising:

a display unit for displaying an image data;

a primary bridge coupled to the medium device and the display unit for transmitting the image data decoded by a back-end of the medium device to the display unit to be displayed when the computer system is operating in a default playback mode;

a secondary bridge coupled to the medium device and the primary bridge for transmitting the image data decoded by a front-end of the medium device to the primary bridge when the computer system is not operating in the default playback mode, and the primary bridge transmits the image data to the display unit; and

a CPU coupled to the primary circuit for controlling operations of the computer system, when the computer system is operating in the default playback mode, the CPU stops operating, and when the computer system is not operating in the default playback mode, the CPU operates.

20. The computer system of claim 19 wherein when the computer system is not operating in the default playback mode, the back-end stops operating and stops decoding the multimedia data.

21. The computer system of claim 19 further comprising:

a loudspeaker coupled to the secondary bridge and the primary bridge for broadcasting a corresponding audio data decoded by the back-end, when the computer system is operating in the default playback mode, the back-end decodes the multimedia data to obtain the corresponding sound data and the audio data is transmitted to the loudspeaker to be broadcast.

22. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the computer system further comprises a memory coupled to the primary bridge for temporarily storing the image data.

23. The computer system of claim 19 further comprising:

a control interface for receiving control operation of a user; and

24. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the computer system further comprises the medium device coupled to the primary bridge through an IDE bus, wherein when the computer system is not operating in the preset multimedia mode, the secondary bridge transmits the image data accessed by the front-end via the IDE bus, and when the computer system is operating in the default playback mode, the primary bridge receives the image data decoded by the back-end via the IDE bus.

25. The computer system of claim 19 wherein the computer system further comprises a connecting port coupled with the medium device, the primary bridge and the secondary bridge, when the medium device is not operating in the default playback mode, the connecting port outputs the multimedia data accessed by the front-end, and when the medium device is operating in the default playback mode, the back-end decodes to obtains the image data.

26. A method of broadcasting multimedia data on a computer system, the computer system comprising a medium device and a computer, the medium device being coupled to the computer through a connecting port, wherein the medium device comprises a back-end and a front-end, and the computer comprises a primary bridge, a secondary bridge, a CPU and a display unit, the method comprising:

determining whether the computer system is operating in a default playback mode;

the back-end within the medium device decoding the multimedia data if the computer system is operating in the default playback mode, and the primary bridge of the computer transmitting the decoded multimedia data to the display unit of the computer to be displayed; and

the front-end within the medium device transmitting the multimedia data from the secondary bridge of the computer to the primary bridge if the computer system is not operating in the default playback mode, and the front-end transmitting the multimedia data to the display unit of the computer via the CPU to be displayed.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the computer system is not operating in the default playback mode, the back-end stops operating and stops decoding the multimedia data.

28. The method of claim 26 further comprising:

decoding the multimedia data corresponding to an audio data and outputting the audio data to a loudspeaker to be broadcast if the computer system is operating in the default playback mode.

29. The method of claim 26 wherein the secondary bridge transmits the multimedia data accessed by the front-end to the primary bridge when the computer system is not operating in the default playback mode, and the primary bridge is a transmission medium among the CPU, the memory and the secondary bridge for transmitting the multimedia data to the memory or the CPU.

30. The method of claim 26 wherein the primary bridge is not a transmission medium among the CPU, the memory and the secondary bridge when the computer system is operating in the default playback mode, and the primary bridge receives and transmits the image data decoded by the back-end to the display unit to be displayed.

31. The method of claim 26 further comprising:

the secondary bridge receiving the multimedia data accessed by the front-end through an IDE bus when the computer system is not operating in the default playback mode; and

the primary bridge receiving the image data decoded by the back-end through the IDE bus when the computer system is operating in the default playback mode.

32. A method of broadcasting multimedia data on a computer system, the computer system comprising a medium device and a computer, the medium device being coupled to the computer through a connecting port, wherein the medium device comprises a back-end and a front-end, and the computer comprises a primary bridge and a display unit, the method comprising:

the back-end of the medium device decoding the multimedia data; and

the primary bridge of the computer transmitting the decoded multimedia data to the display unit of the computer to be displayed.

33. The method of claim 32 further comprising:

34. The method of claim 32 further comprising:

the primary bridge receiving an image data decoded by the back-end through an IDE bus.