Granted Patent B1

US 9,569,229 · App. 14/028,295 · Granted Feb 14, 2017

Abstract

Claims (62)

1. A media player appliance, comprising:

a controller configured to:

receive an indication from a remote control device that designates a selected application to automatically start when the media player appliance is starting up;

update a configuration file of a plurality of configuration files to designate the selected application for automatic start, wherein the configuration file is associated with a first user of a plurality of users of the media player appliance and wherein each configuration file of the plurality of configuration files is associated with a user of the plurality of users;

cause an icon to be displayed on a user interface comprising a set of shortcuts for a set of applications, wherein the icon indicates that the selected application has been designated to automatically start when the media player appliance is starting up and wherein the icon is positioned over at least a portion of a first shortcut for the selected application; and

responsive to the media player appliance starting up and the first user being logged in, automatically start the selected application designated in the configuration file.

2. The media player appliance of claim 1 , wherein the remote control device includes a first button for starting an application and a second button for generating a selection interface through which a user designates the selected application to automatically start.

3. The media player appliance of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine whether a second application is already designated in the configuration file; and

responsive to the second application being already designated in the configuration file, prevent the configuration file from being updated to designate the selected application for automatic start.

4. The media player appliance of claim 3 , further comprising a video output configured to connect to a display unit, wherein the controller is further configured to cause a warning to be displayed indicating that the configuration file has not been updated responsive to the second application being already designated in the configuration file.

5. The media player appliance of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

receive an indication from a remote control device that the selected application is not designated to automatically start when the media player appliance is starting up; and

update the configuration file to remove the selected application from the configuration file.

6. The media player appliance of claim 1 , further comprising a communications interface configured to:

connect to an application provider; and

provide access to the application provider for the controller, wherein the selected application is located on the application provider.

7. The media player appliance of claim 6 , wherein the communications interface is further configured to connect to a network, and wherein the application provider is connected to the network.

8. The media player appliance of claim 1 , wherein the configuration file corresponds to a user account information.

9. The media player appliance of claim 8 , wherein the controller is further configured to receive the user account information from a remote location.

10. The media player appliance of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

receive an indication that the selected application is assigned to an assigned button on the remote control device;

receive an indication from the remote control device that the assigned button has been activated; and

responsive to receiving the indication that the assigned button has been activated, start the selected application.

11. The media player appliance of claim 1 , wherein the remote control device comprises a limited-input control device comprising:

a power button configured to indicate to the media player appliance to start up or shut down; and

one or more media buttons separate from the power button and configured to indicate to the media player appliance how to play a media.

12. The media player appliance of claim 1 , wherein the media player appliance comprises a streaming media player configured to:

stream media from an external source, and

display the streamed media on a display unit.

13. The media player appliance of claim 1 , wherein the configuration file comprises a startup file that is automatically loaded during a startup of the media player appliance.

14. A method for automatically starting an application in a media player appliance, the method comprising:

receiving an indication from a remote control device that designates a selected application to automatically start when the media player appliance is starting up;

updating a configuration file of a plurality of configuration files to designate the selected application for automatic start, wherein the configuration file is associated with a first user of a plurality of users of the media player appliance and wherein each configuration file of the plurality of configuration files is associated with a user of the plurality of users;

causing an icon to be displayed on a user interface comprising a set of shortcuts for a set of applications, wherein the icon indicates that the selected application has been designated to automatically start when the media player appliance is starting up and wherein the icon is positioned over at least a portion of a first shortcut for the selected application; and

responsive to the media player appliance starting up and the first user being logged in, automatically starting the selected application designated in the configuration file.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

determining whether a second application is already designated in the configuration file; and

responsive to the second application being already designated in the configuration file, preventing the configuration file from being updated to designate the selected application for automatic start.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising causing a warning to be displayed indicating that the configuration file has not been updated responsive to the second application being already designated in the configuration file using a video output configured to connect to a display unit.

17. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

receiving an indication from a remote control device that the selected application is not designated to automatically start when the media player appliance is starting up; and

updating the configuration file to remove the selected application from the configuration file.

18. The method of claim 14 , further comprising accessing an application provider using a communications interface in the media player appliance, wherein the selected application is located on the application provider.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising connecting to a network using the communications interface, wherein the application provider is connected to the network.

20. The method of claim 14 , wherein the configuration file corresponds to a user account information.

21. The method of claim 20 , further comprising receiving the user account information from a remote location.

22. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

receiving an indication that the selected application is assigned to an assigned button on the remote control device;

receiving an indication from the remote control device that the assigned button has been activated; and

responsive to receiving the indication that the assigned button has been activated, starting the selected application.

23. The method of claim 14 , wherein the media player appliance comprises a streaming media player configured to stream media from an external source and to display the streamed media on a display unit.

24. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause a media player appliance to automatically start an application by at least:

receiving an indication from a remote control device that designates a selected application to automatically start when the media player appliance is starting up;

updating a configuration file of a plurality of configuration files to designate the selected application for automatic start, wherein the configuration file is associated with a first user of a plurality of users of the media player appliance and wherein each configuration file of the plurality of configuration files is associated with a user of the plurality of users;

causing an icon to be displayed on a user interface comprising a set of shortcuts for a set of applications, wherein the icon indicates that the selected application has been designated to automatically start when the media player appliance is starting up and wherein the icon is positioned over at least a portion of a first shortcut for the selected application; and

responsive to the media player appliance starting up and the first user being logged in, automatically starting the selected application designated in the configuration file.

25. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 24 , wherein the configuration file corresponds to a user account information.

26. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 24 , wherein the instructions further cause the media player appliance to automatically start the application by at least:

receiving an indication that the selected application is assigned to an assigned button on the remote control device;

receiving an indication from the remote control device that the assigned button has been activated; and

responsive to receiving the indication that the assigned button has been activated, starting the selected application.

Assignments (10)