Systems and methods for acquiring media assets
View Patent ↗In one aspect, the invention provides a device for facilitating the acquisition of media assets. In some embodiments, the device includes: a housing; a USB connector projecting outwardly from an end of the housing; a card reader housed in the housing; non-volatile memory housed in the housing and coupled to the USB connector and the card reader; and a barcode disposed on a major surface of the housing, said barcode encoding an identifier that is associated with customer information.
1. A device for facilitating the acquisition of media assets, the device comprising:
a housing;
a USB connector projecting outwardly from an end of the housing;
a card reader housed in the housing;
non-volatile memory housed in the housing and coupled to the USB connector and the card reader so that data received via said USB connector can be stored in said non-volatile memory and data stored in said non-volatile memory can be transferred to a card inserted into said card reader; and
a barcode disposed on a major surface of the housing, said barcode encoding an identifier that is associated with customer information.
2. A method of using a device to acquire media assets, wherein the device comprises a housing, a USB connector projecting outwardly from an end of the housing, a card reader housed in the housing, non-volatile memory housed in the housing and coupled to the USB connector and the card reader so that data received via said USB connector can be stored in said non-volatile memory and data stored in said non-volatile memory can be transferred to a card inserted into said card reader, and a barcode disposed on a major surface of the housing, said barcode encoding an identifier that is associated with the user of the device, the method comprising:
positioning the device relative to the kiosk so that a barcode scanner connected to the kiosk can scan the barcode;
using a kiosk to select at least one media asset;
inserting the device's USB connector into a compatible USB slot provided by the kiosk;
using the kiosk to authorize or provide payment for the at least one media asset;
after authorizing or providing the payment, receiving from the kiosk the at least one media asset and storing the at least one media asset on a card inserted into the card reader;
removing the card from the card reader; and
inserting the card into a media player device.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of positioning the device is performed before the step of selecting the at least one media asset.
4. A method of using a device to acquire media assets, wherein the device comprises a housing, a USB connector projecting outwardly from an end of the housing, a card reader housed in the housing, non-volatile memory housed in the housing and coupled to the USB connector and the card reader, and a barcode disposed on a major surface of the housing, said barcode encoding an identifier that is associated with the user of the device, the method comprising:
using a kiosk to select media assets;
activating a user interface element displayed on a display device of the kiosk to indicate that a media asset selection process is complete;
receiving a prompt from the kiosk to position the device so that the barcode can be read;
positioning the device relative to the kiosk so that a barcode scanner connected to the kiosk can scan the barcode;
after the scanner scans the barcode, taking the device to point-of-sale system, which uses the barcode to determine the selected media assets;
inserting the device's USB connector into a compatible USB slot provided by the point-of-sale system;
authorizing or providing payment for the selected media assets;
after authorizing or providing the payment, receiving from the point-of-sale system the selected media assets and storing the media assets in the memory or on a card inserted into the card reader.