An apparatus and method for integrating the delivery of data from a multiplicity
of sources to a set of user electronic devices that present audio, video and digital
information to the user is implemented. These devices may include conventional
television displays, personal computers, and other conventional audio and video
equipment. Information may be received from a multiplicity of sources which may
include may include digital television via terrestrial or satellite broadcast,
terrestrial analog radio, and digital data exchanged via a public network, such
as the Internet. The mechanism of the present invention receives the multiplicity
of data streams, processes them in accordance with each stream's formatting protocols
(whether an analog stream, an MPEG Transport Stream, or TCP/IP stream, for example),
including any conditional access protocols, and streams the processed data, in
multiplexed transport stream to the user's presentation devices via a "fat" pipe,
such as a FireWire bus. A thin client interface decodes the streamed data
addressed to its corresponding presentation device.