System, device and method for remotely providing, accessing and using personal entertainment media
First Claim
1. A system for accessing remotely stored entertainment content, comprising:
- a central server connected to memory containing a plurality of entertainment content stored therein;
at least one portable subscriber terminal;
a telecommunications link adapted to connect the at least one portable subscriber terminal to the central server with a purpose of permitting communication between the server and the terminal and permitting retrieval of content requested by the subscriber;
means for permitting the subscriber to input commands to the terminal to be communicated by the telecommunications link to the server;
means associated with the server for receiving the subscriber commands and retrieving entertainment content from the memory storage and transmitting content to the terminal; and
means for modulating a flow of data representative of the content selected by the subscriber from the memory to the terminal in response to available data space within at least one transient data storage buffer.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for permitting consumers to securely purchase, access, download and/or stream entertainment content such as musical and audio visual works, including a remote terminal or terminals. Consumers subscribe to the system and obtain a terminal or terminals. The terminals permit the subscribers to access the system to obtain content, either by downloading same to the terminal or by directly perceiving the content while streaming the content to the terminal. The invention prevents unauthorized copying, distribution and/or performance of protected works while at the same time eliminating the need for consumers to possess the tangible objects, e.g. CDS and DVDs, upon which detectable works normally reside. The software associated with the system regulates the transmission of content from the database(s) upon which it is stored, through a central server associated with the system, to the subscriber terminals for storage or immediate, i.e., “streaming”, playback.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A system for accessing remotely stored entertainment content, comprising:
-
a central server connected to memory containing a plurality of entertainment content stored therein;
at least one portable subscriber terminal;
a telecommunications link adapted to connect the at least one portable subscriber terminal to the central server with a purpose of permitting communication between the server and the terminal and permitting retrieval of content requested by the subscriber;
means for permitting the subscriber to input commands to the terminal to be communicated by the telecommunications link to the server;
means associated with the server for receiving the subscriber commands and retrieving entertainment content from the memory storage and transmitting content to the terminal; and
means for modulating a flow of data representative of the content selected by the subscriber from the memory to the terminal in response to available data space within at least one transient data storage buffer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A method for electronically distributing entertainment content, comprising the steps of:
-
distributing at least one subscriber terminal to a consumer;
permitting the consumer to establish a subscription account to purchase entertainment content through the terminal, the step of permitting the subscriber to establish a subscriber account including receiving payment means from the subscriber;
permitting the subscriber to select from a menu of available entertainment content to be purchased;
permitting the subscriber to select and purchase desired entertainment content from the menu;
storing the selection(s) of the subscriber on a selection list on the central server dedicated to the subscriber;
permitting the subscriber to access and download to the terminal any purchased entertainment content on the subscriber'"'"'s content list at any time; and
whereby the subscriber can purchase rights to and access purchased entertainment content at any time without physically possessing a tangible article upon which the entertainment content resides. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A system for accessing remotely stored entertainment content, comprising:
-
a central server connected to memory containing a plurality of entertainment content stored therein;
at least one portable subscriber terminal;
a telecommunications link adapted to connect the at least one portable subscriber terminal to the central server with a purpose of permitting communication between the server and the terminal and permitting retrieval of content requested by the subscriber;
means for permitting the subscriber to input commands to the terminal to be communicated by the telecommunications link to the server;
means associated with the server for receiving the subscriber commands and retrieving entertainment content from the memory storage and transmitting content to the terminal;
means for modulating a flow of data representative of the content selected by the subscriber from the memory to the terminal in response to available data space within at least one transient data storage buffer; and
wherein the means for permitting includes a human/machine interface selected from the group consisting of graphical user interfaces, touch sensitive screens, voice recognition means, biometric scanners, and tough sensitive displays. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
-
Specification