Method of playing back digital content, and an appliance and a server for implementing such a method

A computer system comprising:

• an appliance for playing back digital content, the appliance not being provided with a complete alphanumeric keyboard, and being capable of accessing a network;
• and
• a server accessible via the network, the server being arranged:
• to enable a terminal to be connected to the server, in particular a terminal that is distinct from the playback appliance;
• to enable a user account defining at least one user profile associated with the playback appliance to be created;
• to search, as a function of the user profile, for at least one address on a content supplier site accessible via the network;
• and
• to cause the playback appliance to download content from the content supplier site from the address as searched-for in this way.

A digital content playback appliance comprising:

• sound and/or visual playback means;
• and
• a digital processor unit arranged to enable the appliance:
• to connect automatically to a computer network server other than a messaging server;
• to identify itself with the server;
• to recover automatically from the server at least one address pointing to at least one content supplier site distinct from the server, said address(es) being a function of a user profile defined by the server;
• and
• to connect automatically to the addresses received from the server to recover the content for playback.

A method of playing back digital content by means of a content playback appliance, the method comprising the following steps:

• enabling at least one user profile associated with a user account to be defined on a server of a computer network giving access to at least one content supplier site;
• as a function of the user profile, sending from the server to the playback appliance connected to the network, at least one address of digital content present on a content supplier site in order to enable the playback appliance to recover the digital content and play it back via sound and/or visual playback means;
• enabling the server to send to the playback appliance a list of user profiles associated with a user account;
• enabling the user to select a user profile by acting on a user network of the playback appliance;
• and
• as a function of the new user profile as selected in this way, sending to the playback appliance at least one address of corresponding digital content.

A method of playing back digital content by means of a content playback appliance, the method comprising the following steps:

• periodically using the playback appliance to interrogate a server arranged to notify the availability of new digital content;
• using the server to interrogate at least one supplier site in order to detect the presence on said supplier site of new digital content, and in the affirmative, to notify the presence of said new digital content to the playback appliance;
• using the server to send a notification to the playback appliance relating to the presence of new digital content, said notification comprising at least the address enabling the new content to be recovered from the supplier site;
• and
• in response to an action of the user on a user interface, enabling the playback appliance to recover the digital content at the address as communicated in this way by the server.