ACCESSING CONTENT VIA A RECEIVER COUPLED TO A TRANSMITTER
A communication system for accessing media items via a display device. A receiver is coupled to the display device and a transmitter is coupled to a computer system. Media items stored locally on the computer system and/or remotely on a remote server may be wirelessly transferred from the transmitter to the receiver for display on the display device. In addition, the transmitter and the receiver may be pre-paired prior to delivery to the user, allowing for the network to be configured without any user input. Advantageously, embodiments provide a user with the ability to conveniently view content stored on a computer or a web server without the user having to perform any wireless network setup procedures.
1 . A method for accessing content via a communications system, the method comprising:
receiving identifying information associated with a user;
examining one or more memory locations within a computer system to determine that a first set of media items accessible by the user is stored locally within the computer system, wherein the communications system includes a transmitter device coupled to the computer system that is configured to perform two-way wireless communications with a receiver device coupled to a display device;
determining a second set of media items stored on a computer system that is remote from the communications system based on the identifying information, wherein the user is recognized as a recipient of each media item in the second set of media items via one or more channels, and each of the one or more channels is associated with a set of recipients and a set of media items; and
providing, to the user, access to each media item in both the first set of media items and the second set of media items via the receiver device.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying information includes at least one of a username, a password, and an e-mail (electronic mail) address.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more channels includes a first channel created by the user, the user being the only recipient associated with the first channel.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:
receiving a user request to mark a first media item;
updating metadata associated with a local copy of the first media item stored in the memory included in the computer system to indicate that the first media item has been marked; and
updating metadata associated with a remote copy of the first media item stored on the computer system that is remote from the communications system to indicate that the first media item has been marked.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the user request to mark the first media item causes the first media item to be recognized as a favorite media item.
6 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising the step of waiting until a network connection to the computer system that is remote from the communications system is available prior to the step of updating the metadata associated with the remote copy of the first media item.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitter device is configured to perform two-way wireless communications with only the receiver device within the communications system and is configured to not perform two-way wireless communications with any other network devices within the communications system.
8 . A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, allow a user to access content via a communications system, by performing the steps of:
receiving identifying information associated with a user;
examining one or more memory locations within a computer system to determine that a first set of media items accessible by the user is stored locally within the computer system, wherein the communications system includes a transmitter device coupled to the computer system that is configured to perform two-way wireless communications with a receiver device coupled to a display device;
determining a second set of media items stored on a computer system that is remote from the communications system based on the identifying information, wherein the user is recognized as a recipient of each media item in the second set of media items via one or more channels, and each of the one or more channels is associated with a set of recipients and a set of media items; and
providing, to the user, access to each media item in both the first set of media items and the second set of media items via the receiver device.
9 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the identifying information includes at least one of a username, a password, and an e-mail (electronic mail) address.
10 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the one or more channels includes a first channel created by the user, the user being the only recipient associated with the first channel.
11 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , further comprising the steps of:
receiving a user request to mark a first media item;
updating metadata associated with a local copy of the first media item stored in the memory included in the computer system to indicate that the first media item has been marked; and
updating metadata associated with a remote copy of the first media item stored on the computer system that is remote from the communications system to indicate that the first media item has been marked.
12 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the user request to mark the first media item causes the first media item to be recognized as a favorite media item.
13 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , further comprising the step of waiting until a network connection to the computer system that is remote from the communications system is available prior to the step of updating the metadata associated with the remote copy of the first media item.
14 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the transmitter device is configured to perform two-way wireless communications with only the receiver device within the communications system and is configured to not perform two-way wireless communications with any other network devices within the communications system.
15 . A computer system for accessing content via a communications system, the computer system comprising:
a processor; and
a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, are configured to:
receive identifying information associated with a user,
examine one or more memory locations within the computer system to determine that a first set of media items accessible by the user is stored locally within the computer system, wherein the communications system includes a transmitter device coupled to the compute system that is configured to perform two-way wireless communications with a receiver device coupled to a display device,
determine a second set of media items stored on a computer system that is remote from the communications system based on the identifying information, wherein the user is recognized as a recipient of each media item in the second set of media items via one or more channels, and each of the one or more channels is associated with a set of recipients and a set of media items, and
provide, to the user, access to each media item in both the first set of media items and the second set of media items via the receiver device.
16 . The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the identifying information includes at least one of a username, a password, and an e-mail (electronic mail) address.
17 . The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more channels includes a first channel created by the user, the user being the only recipient associated with the first channel.
18 . The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions are further configured to:
receive a user request to mark a first media item;
update metadata associated with a local copy of the first media item stored in the computer system to indicate that the first media item has been marked; and
updating metadata associated with a remote copy of the first media item stored on the computer system that is remote from the communications system to indicate that the first media item has been marked.
19 . The computer system of claim 18 , wherein the user request to mark the first media item causes the first media item to be recognized as a favorite media item.
20 . The computer system of claim 18 , wherein the instructions are further configured to wait until a network connection to the computer system that is remote from the communications system is available prior to updating the metadata associated with the remote copy of the first media item.