Display inserts, overlays, and graphical user interfaces for multimedia systems

1. A gateway device for operation at a user premises to provide and manage services for one or more endpoint devices associated with the gateway device, the gateway device comprising:

a first interface for enabling bi-directional communications within the premises, with one or more of the endpoint devices including at least one television;

a second interface for enabling bi-directional communications, via a wide area network, between the one or more endpoint devices and a remotely located application service management center external to the premises;

a processor coupled to the first and second interfaces; and

storage, coupled to the processor and logically positioned at the user premises, storing programming related to a plurality of application services, wherein, for at least one application service, execution of the programming by the processor causes the gateway device to provide functions in relation to a respective service for the one or more endpoint devices, said functions including:

(1) communication, via the second interface, providing client functionality, between the one or more endpoint devices and an application server, for the respective service;

(2) one or more of: authorization, authentication, configuration, use of the respective service, or any combination thereof, in relation to the one or more endpoint devices;

(3) management of the application service based upon the communications with the remotely located application service management center via the wide area network; and

(4) management of resources for an application to implement a request such that consistent performance is provided by gateway services accessed by the one or more endpoint devices via a local area network;

wherein a media service of the plurality of application services:

is managed by the remotely location application service management center;

provides a first display on the television including media streamed from a remote media provider separate from the application service management center via the second interface;

provides a second display on the television including media accessed, via the first interface, from a first of the endpoint devices at the premises other than the television;

provides a third display on the television including a composite of content provided by the remote media provider integrated with content locally available at the premises; and

provides a fourth display on the television including options for configuring home automation settings for at least two of the one or more of the endpoint devices;

wherein both selection between the first, second, third, and fourth displays and interactions within each of the first, second, third, and fourth displays are implemented through interaction with a second of the endpoint devices at the premises other than the television and first of the endpoint devices.

2. The gateway device of claim 1 ,

wherein the communications between the one or more endpoint devices and the remotely located application service management center comprise a signaling channel through the wide area network between the processor and the remotely located application service management center; and

wherein the signaling channel is activated when the gateway device is authenticated with the remotely located application service management center.

3. The gateway device of claim 1 , wherein the resources for the application include network bandwidth.

4. The gateway device of claim 3 , wherein the management of the resources for the application to implement the request include utilizing a message queue or buffer.

5. The gateway device of claim 1 , wherein execution of the programming by the processor further causes the gateway device to support a plurality of different user interfaces for different endpoint devices, with respect to one or more services provided via the gateway device.

6. The gateway device of claim 1 ,

wherein execution of the programming by the processor further causes the gateway device to support a plurality of different user interfaces; and

wherein one of the different user interfaces is a user interface for use with a personal computer type endpoint device and another of the different user interfaces is a user interface for delivery of television services.

7. The gateway device of claim 1 , wherein the first interface comprises:

a component video interface,

an S-video interface,

an HDMI interface, or

a composite video interface.

8. The gateway device of claim 1 , wherein the management of the resources for the application to implement the request is based on a resource allocation instruction from the remotely located application service management center.

9. The gateway device of claim 1 , wherein the storage further stores additional programming that, when executed by the processor, implements platform management logic comprising two or more of:

a platform manager for implementing rules based notification services on operational failure;

a scheduler for managing scheduled device maintenance and scheduled services;

a resource manager for managing device resources and/or contention for access to the device resources;

a display manager for managing at least one display; and

a logger for tracking gateway log-in activity of users and/or applications.

10. The gateway device of claim 1 ,

wherein the content provided by the remote media provider in the composite comprises one or more of: weather information, video information, audio information, information about an incoming communication from another user, a notification, or a list of icons, and

wherein the content locally available at the premises in the composite comprises one or more of: video information, audio information, a list of icons, or an identification of one or more media or service applications.

11. The gateway device of claim 1 , wherein the gateway device is configured for peer to peer type communications between the gateway device and another gateway device, with respect to at least one of the application services.

12. The gateway device of claim 11 , wherein the other gateway device is a device that is in communication with the remotely located application service management center.

13. The gateway device of claim 12 , wherein the gateway device is configured to establish the peer to peer type communications with the other gateway device by signaling through the remotely located application service management center.

14. The gateway device of claim 12 , wherein the gateway device establishes the peer to peer type communications with the other gateway device without communicating via the remotely located application service management center.

15. A method for operating a device, located at a user premises, comprising a first interface for enabling bi-directional communications within the premises, with one or more endpoint devices including at least one visual display device and a second interface for enabling bi-directional communications, via a wide area network, between the one or more endpoint devices and a remotely located application service management center external to the premises, the method comprising:

causing the device to provide functions in relation to a respective service for the one or more endpoint devices, said functions including:

(1) communication, via the second interface, providing client functionality, between the one or more endpoint devices and an application server, for the respective service;

(2) one or more of: authorization, authentication, configuration, use of the respective service, or any combination thereof, in relation to the one or more endpoint devices;

(3) management of the application service based upon the communications with the remotely located application service management center via the wide area network; and

(4) management of resources for an application such that consistent performance is provided by services accessible, via the first interface, by at least some of the one or more endpoint devices;

causing the device to provide functions in relation to a media service, wherein the media service:

provides a first display for the visual display device including media streamed from a remote media provider separate from the application service management center via the second interface;

provides a second display for the visual display device including media accessed, via the first interface, from a first of the endpoint devices at the premises other than the visual display device; and

provides a third display for the visual display device including a listing for at least two GUIs including content provided by the remote media provider and content locally available at the premises;

wherein, for multiple displays of the first, second, and third displays, selection between the multiple displays and interactions within the multiple displays are implemented through interaction with a second of the endpoint devices, at the user premises, other than the visual display device and first of the endpoint devices; and

causing the device to provide a control interface for receiving options for configuring home automation settings for at least two of the one or more of the endpoint devices.

16. The method claim 15 ,

wherein the resources for the application include network bandwidth for a media application;

wherein the management of the resources for the application are used, at least in part, to implement a request by utilizing a message queue or buffer to manage the network bandwidth for the media application; and

wherein the message queue or buffer stores media data for inclusion in the first display.

17. The method claim 15 , wherein the media service is managed by the remotely location application service management center.

18. The method claim 15 ,

wherein the content provided in a first of the at least two GUIs includes one or more of: weather information, video information, audio information, information about an incoming communication from another user, a notification, or a list of icons, or

wherein the content provided in a second of the at least two GUIs includes one or more of: video information, audio information, a list of icons, or an identification of one or more media or service application.

19. The method claim 15 , wherein the functions further include providing an auditory interface for controlling at least some interactions with each of the first, second, and third displays.

20. The method claim 15 , wherein the control interface is implemented as an auditory interface for receiving voice commands.

21. The method claim 15 , wherein the control interface is implemented as a fourth display for the visual display device.

22. The method claim 15 , wherein the control interface further provides an indication of a room in which the at least two of the one or more of the endpoint devices is located.

23. A device comprising:

two or more interfaces for enabling:

bi-directional communications with one or more endpoint devices, including at least one visual display device located at a user premises, and

bi-directional communications, via a wide area network, with a remotely located application service management center;

one or more processors coupled to the two or more interfaces; and

storage, coupled to the one or more processors, storing programming that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the device to perform operations for at least one application service related to at least one of the one or more endpoint devices, the operations comprising:

enabling communication, using at least one of the two or more interfaces, between the one or more endpoint devices and an application server;

one or more of: authorizing, authenticating, configuring, or any combination thereof, in relation to the one or more endpoint devices;

managing the at least one application service based upon communications with the remotely located application service management center;

managing resources for an application such that consistent performance is provided by services accessible, via at least one of the two or more interfaces, by at least some of the one or more endpoint devices;

providing a first display for the visual display device including media streamed, via at least one of the two or more interfaces, from a remote media provider separate from the application service management center;

providing a second display for the visual display device including media accessed, via at least one of the two or more interfaces, from a first of the endpoint devices, at the user premises, other than the visual display device;

providing a third display, for the visual display device, operable to show at least two GUIs including:

a listing of content provided by the remote media provider, and content locally available at the premises from another device;

wherein, for multiple displays of the first, second, and third displays, both selection between the multiple displays and interactions within each of the multiple displays are implemented through interaction with a second of the endpoint devices, at the user premises, other than the visual display device and first of the endpoint devices; and

providing a control interface for receiving options for configuring home automation settings for at least two of the one or more of the endpoint devices.

24. The device of claim 23 , wherein the operations further include providing an auditory interface for controlling at least some interactions with each of the first, second, and third displays.

25. The device of claim 23 , wherein the control interface is implemented as an auditory interface for receiving voice commands.

26. The device of claim 23 , wherein the control interface further provides an indication of a room in which the at least two of the one or more of the endpoint devices is located.

27. The device of claim 23 , wherein at least the third display comprises a set of multiple menus associated with the multiple GUIs, and wherein at least two subsets of the menus are associated with different services provided via the device.