Output devices, such as televisions, output controllers, or audio output devices, that are setup to wirelessly receive digital content from a digital content service over the internet or from a wireless information apparatus that is in the same network as the output devices

An output controller that wirelessly receives digital content from a wireless information apparatus for rendering at least part of the digital content at an output device that is connected to, or associated with, the output controller, the output controller includes:

• an interface for interacting with a user;
• memory or storage for storing at least a device profile that includes at least identity information related to the output controller;
• operating system software to facilitate download and installation of application software or software components at the output controller;
• one or more processors for executing software that includes at least part of the operating system software;
• and
• one or more wireless communication units, each wireless communication unit of the one or more wireless communication units including wireless communication circuitry for wireless communication, at least one wireless communication unit of the one or more wireless communication units is compatible, at least partly, with at least a protocol within IEEE 802.11 wireless standards for wireless local area network communication, and wherein execution of the software by the one or more processors of the output controller configures the output controller for:
• (i) establishing, by the output controller and using the at least one wireless communication unit of the one or more wireless communication units of the output controller, a wireless local area network connection;
• (ii) wirelessly broadcasting or wirelessly announcing, by the output controller and using the one or more wireless communication units of the output controller, availability of the output controller for the wireless information apparatus to wirelessly discover, by wireless communication and over the wireless local area network connection established in (i), the output controller, the wireless broadcasting or the wireless announcing, by the output controller, of the availability of the output controller being related to the output controller providing services to the wireless information apparatus, the wireless information apparatus being a separate device from the output controller;
• (iii) wirelessly transmitting, from and by the output controller, using the one or more wireless communication units of the output controller, over the wireless local area network connection established in (i), and to the wireless information apparatus, at least the device profile that includes at least the identity information of the output controller for identification or selection by the user at the wireless information apparatus, the wireless transmission of the device profile, being based, at least in part, on the output controller having been wirelessly discovered by the wireless information apparatus in (ii);
• (iv) wirelessly receiving, by the output controller and using the one or more wireless communication units of the output controller, a communication request or a service request from the wireless information apparatus that has wirelessly discovered the output controller in (ii);
• (v) wirelessly establishing, by the output controller, using the at least one wireless communication unit of the one or more wireless communication units of the output controller, and over the wireless local area network connection established in (i), a wireless communication link between the output controller and the wireless information apparatus that has wirelessly discovered the output controller in (ii), the wireless establishing of the wireless communication link being subsequent to the output controller having wirelessly received the communication request or the service request from the wireless information apparatus in (iv);
• (vi) wirelessly receiving by the output controller, using the at least one wireless communication unit of the one or more wireless communication units of the output controller and over the wireless communication link wirelessly established in (v), intermediate output data from the wireless information apparatus that has wirelessly discovered the output controller in (ii), the intermediate output data being related to the digital content that is for outputting or playing at the output device, and the intermediate output data is associated, at least in part, with the device profile that is wirelessly transmitted from the output controller to the wireless information apparatus in (iii);
• and
• (vii) processing, by the output controller and using the one or more processors of the output controller, at least part of the intermediate output data that is wirelessly received in (vi) into output data, the output data is for outputting or playing at least part of the digital content at the output device, and wherein the processing, by the output controller, includes at least one of a color operation, an image processing operation, a scaling operation, a resolution operation, an interpolation operation, a decoding operation, or an encoding operation, individually or in any combination, on at least part of the intermediate output data that is wirelessly received in (vi), and
• wherein the wireless communication link wirelessly established in (v) is compatible, at least partly, with at least a protocol within IEEE 802.11 wireless standards;
• and
• wherein the wireless information apparatus is a mobile device or a client application executable at the mobile device, and the wireless information apparatus is a separate device from the output controller and from the output device.

A wireless output method associated with a wireless output controller to receive digital content from a mobile information apparatus, the wireless output controller including:

• an interface for interacting with a user;
• operating system software to facilitate download and installation of application software or software components at the wireless output controller;
• one or more processors, for executing at least part of the operating system software;
• and
• one or more wireless communication units, each wireless communication unit of the one or more wireless communication units include wireless communication circuitry for wireless communication, at least one wireless communication unit of the one or more wireless communication units is compatible, at least partly, with at least part of a protocol within IEEE 802.11 wireless standards for wireless local area network communication;
• and wherein the wireless output method, performed by the wireless output controller, comprises:
• (i) connecting the wireless output controller, by the wireless output controller and using the at least one wireless communication unit of the one or more wireless communication units of the wireless output controller, to a wireless local area network;
• (ii) downloading, by the wireless output controller, using the at least one wireless communication unit of the one or more wireless communication units of the wireless output controller, and over the wireless local area network connected in (i), the application software or the software components from one or more servers or host computers over a network to the wireless output controller, the application software or the software components being downloaded for upgrading, updating, adding, or modifying features and capabilities of the wireless output controller;
• (iii) installing, by the wireless output controller, the application software or the software components downloaded in (ii), the installation of the application software or the software components being facilitated, at least in part, by the operating system software included in the wireless output controller;
• (iv) wirelessly transmitting, by the wireless output controller and using the one or more wireless communication units of the wireless output controller, one or more device attributes related to the wireless output controller to the mobile information apparatus, over short range wireless communication, the one or more device attributes related to the wireless output controller being for identification or selection by the user at the mobile information apparatus, the mobile information apparatus being a separate device from the wireless output controller;
• (v) wirelessly establishing, by the wireless output controller, using the one or more wireless communication units of the wireless output controller and over the wireless local area network connected in (i), a wireless communication link between the wireless output controller and the mobile information apparatus, the wireless establishing of the wireless communication link being subsequent to the wireless output controller having wirelessly transmitted the one or more device attributes to the mobile information apparatus in (iv);
• (vi) wirelessly receiving, by the application software or the software components installed in (iii), over the wireless communication link wirelessly established in (v), and using the one or more wireless communication units of the wireless output controller, intermediate output data from the mobile information apparatus, the wirelessly received intermediate output data being associated, at least in part, with the one or more device attributes that are wirelessly transmitted by the wireless output controller to the mobile information apparatus in (iv), and the intermediate output data includes device dependent data that is associated with the wireless output controller, and the intermediate output data being related to the digital content;
• (vii) processing, by the wireless output controller and using the one or more processors of the wireless output controller, at least part of the intermediate output data wirelessly received in (vi) into output data, the output data includes content that is device dependent on an output device, and the output data is for outputting or playing at the output device that is connected to or associated with the wireless output controller, the processing, using the one or more processors of the wireless output controller, includes at least one of a color operation, an image processing operation, a scaling operation, a resolution operation, an interpolation operation, a decoding operation, or an encoding operation, individually or in any combination, on the at least part of the intermediate output data wirelessly received by the wireless output controller in (vi);
• and
• (viii) passing, by the wireless output controller, at least part of the output data, processed from the intermediate output data at the wireless output controller in (vii), to the output device for rendering or outputting at least part of the digital content at the output device;
• and
• wherein the wireless communication link wirelessly established in (v) is compatible, at least partly, with at least a protocol within IEEE 802.11 wireless standards.