METHOD FOR SIMPLIFYING HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM CONFIGURATION THAT EMPLOYS BIDIRECTIONAL DIGITAL AUDIO/VIDEO INTERCONNECTIONS

1 . A method, comprising:

selecting a profile for a user of a home entertainment network that includes a display device connected to at least one audio/video source device, wherein the connection to each audio/video source device is a bidirectional audio/video connection, and wherein the display device comprises a preferences manager;

determining audio/video preferences for the user of the home entertainment network, wherein the audio/video preferences are based on a user-selected configuration of the preferences manager; and

sending the audio/video preferences to one of the audio/video source devices for configuring the one of the audio/video source devices based on the audio/video preferences for the user of the home entertainment network.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the bidirectional audio/video connection comprises an interface for at least one of high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), digital visual interface (DVI), and DisplayPort.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the display device comprises a high-definition television (HDTV).

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining of the audio/video preferences further comprises:

providing to the user an on-screen user interface for the preferences manager;

receiving from the user, through the on-screen user interface, the configuration of the preferences manager; and

storing the configuration of the preferences manager as the audio/video preferences for the user of the home entertainment network.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining of the audio/video preferences further comprises:

retrieving a stored configuration of the preferences manager, the stored configuration corresponding to the audio/video preferences for the user of the home entertainment network.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the retrieving of the audio/video preferences is from the display device.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the audio/video preferences comprise at least one of extended display identification data (EDID), Enhanced EDID (E-EDID), and DisplayID for the preferences manager.

8 . A display device, comprising:

a memory device resident in the display device; and

a processor disposed in communication with the memory device, the processor configured to:

select a profile for a user of a home entertainment network that includes the display device connected to at least one audio/video source device, wherein the connection to each audio/video source device is a bidirectional audio/video connection, and wherein the display device comprises a preferences manager;

determine audio/video preferences for the user of the home entertainment network, wherein the audio/video preferences are based on a user-selected configuration of the preferences manager; and

send the audio/video preferences to one of the audio/video source devices for configuring the one of the audio/video source devices based on the audio/video preferences for the user of the home entertainment network.

9 . The display device of claim 8 , wherein the bidirectional audio/video connection comprises an interface for at least one of high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), digital visual interface (DVI), and DisplayPort.

10 . The display device of claim 8 , wherein the display device comprises a high-definition television (HDTV).

11 . The display device of claim 8 , wherein to determine the audio/video preferences, the processor is further configured to:

provide to the user an on-screen user interface for the preferences manager;

receive from the user, through the on-screen user interface, the configuration of the preferences manager; and

store the configuration of the preferences manager as the audio/video preferences for the user of the home entertainment network.

12 . The display device of claim 8 , wherein to determine the audio/video preferences, the processor is further configured to:

retrieve a stored configuration of the preferences manager, the stored configuration corresponding to the audio/video preferences for the user of the home entertainment network.

13 . The display device of claim 12 , wherein the retrieving of the audio/video preferences is from the display device.

14 . The display device of claim 8 , wherein the audio/video preferences comprise at least one of extended display identification data (EDID), Enhanced EDID (E-EDID), and DisplayID for the preferences manager.

15 . An audio/video source device, comprising:

a bidirectional audio/video interface for connecting the audio/video source device to a display device, wherein a home entertainment network comprises the display device and the audio/video source device, and wherein the display device comprises a preferences manager;

a memory device resident in the audio/video source device;

a processor disposed in communication with the memory device, the processor configured to:

receive audio/video preferences for a user of the home entertainment network, wherein the audio/video preferences are based on a user-selected configuration of the preferences manager; and

configure the audio/video source device based on the audio/video preferences for the user of the home entertainment network.

16 . The audio/video source device of claim 15 , wherein the bidirectional audio/video interface comprises at least one of high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), digital video interface (DVI), and DisplayPort.

17 . The audio/video source device of claim 15 , wherein the preferences manager determines the audio/video preferences for the user of the home entertainment network.

18 . The audio/video source device of claim 15 , wherein the display device comprises a high-definition television (HDTV).

19 . The audio/video source device of claim 15 , wherein the user-selected configuration of the preferences manager is through an on-screen user interface.

20 . The audio/video source device of claim 15 , wherein the audio/video preferences comprise at least one of extended display identification data (EDID), Enhanced EDID (E-EDID), and DisplayID for the preferences manager.