Crossbar/hub arrangement for multimedia network

Abstract From the Canadian patent

A home network architecture has an internal digital network interconnecting devices in the home. Entertainment services are introduced into the network through network interface units that are coupled to an external network and to the internal network. The network interface units are selectively directly connected by a direct circuit crossbar to set-top electronics so that video data, for example, may be directly provided from a network interface unit to the set-top electronics without jitter. A passive hub which does not have , packet routing capability is then used to provide signal regeneration and retransmission of other data over the network.