Audio-visual entertainment system and docking systems associated therewith

A universal docking system, comprising:

• a plurality of swappable media players, each of the plurality of swappable media players being configured for use as a stand-alone device;
• a plurality of docking stations, wherein each of said plurality of docking station is configured to receive any one of said plurality of swappable media players for use of the plurality of swappable media players as embedded devices;
• and
• a structure having an interior portion in which said plurality of docking stations are installed at a plurality of docking station locations,
• wherein at least some of said plurality of docking stations comprise a first ducting surface configured to form a plenum with a second ducting surface of said plurality of swappable media players, wherein said plenum provides for a passive airflow to cool said plurality of swappable media players when only one surface of said plurality of swappable media players is exposed.

A universal docking system, comprising:

• a plurality of media player docking stations each configured to receive any one media player from a plurality of swappable media players, the plurality of swappable media players being configured for both stand-alone and embedded use;
• and
• a structure having an interior portion, said plurality of media player docking stations being installed at a plurality of docking station locations within said interior portion of the structure,
• wherein at least some of said plurality of media player docking stations are configured to mate with a corresponding one media player via a cable-less connector configured to float within a constrained region provided by at least one of said docking station or said media player.