Smart television system having methods or means for accessing paid or subscribed digital content from the internet

A digital content rendering method associated with an output system device that includes a television for rendering digital content, the output system device including:

• an information apparatus with access to one or more servers over a network that includes the Internet,
• an output device that includes a television for rendering the digital content, the information apparatus being structurally and directly wired and connected to the output device, the television including:
• a display screen,
• a user interface displayed on the display screen for providing user interface components or functionalities,
• a wireless communication unit for enabling wireless connections to wireless local area networks, the wireless communication unit being compatible, at least partly, with at least part of a protocol within IEEE 802.11 standards,
• a rendering engine, included in the output device, that outputs at least part of the digital content onto the display screen in accordance with an output data received at the rendering engine, and
• a memory or storage unit that stores data for rendering, the output system device implemented method comprising:
• providing, from the output system device, security or authentication information restricted to a user to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, the security or authentication information including at least one of a password, an ID number, a signature, or biometric information, individually or in any combination, that is restricted to said user;
• obtaining, at the output system device from the one or more servers over the Internet and subsequent to having provided the security or authentication information restricted to said user, a pointer or a reference to digital content stored at the one or more servers over the Internet;
• providing, from the output system device, a content object to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, the content object includes at least the reference or the pointer to the digital content, and the content object being in accordance to an object or software component model suitable for sending to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet;
• providing, from the output system device, information related to payment or subscription information of said user to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, the payment or the subscription information of said user being related to accessing the digital content by said user;
• receiving, via the wireless communication unit of the output system device, at least part of the digital content from the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, the digital content corresponding to the pointer or the reference to digital content included in the content object sent from the output system device to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, and the receiving of the digital content being in dependence, at least in part, to having provided the payment or the subscription information of said user sent by said user from the output system device to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet;
• storing, queuing, or spooling at least part of the received digital content at the output system device for rendering;
• and
• rendering, by the rendering engine at the output system device, at least part of the digital content at the display screen of the television.

A digital content service method associated with an output system device that includes a television for rendering digital content received from one or more servers over the Internet, the output system device including,

• an information apparatus with access to a network that includes the Internet,
• an operating system,
• one or more software applications that is installed or installable at the output system and managed at least partly by the operating system, the one or more software applications device for facilitating, at least in part, access of at least part of the digital content from the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet,
• an output device that includes a television for rendering the digital content, the information apparatus being structurally and directly wired and connected to the output device, the television including:
• a display screen,
• a user interface displayed on the display screen for providing user interface components or functionalities,
• a wireless communication unit for enabling wireless connections to wireless local area networks, the wireless communication unit being compatible at least partly with at least part of a protocol within IEEE 802.11 standards,
• an output controller, included in the output device, for image processing at least part of the digital content for rendering, the image processing including color management operations on at least part of the digital content,
• a rendering engine, included in the output device, for rendering at least part of the image processed digital content,
• the data output method comprising:
• opening, at the output system device and with the one or more software applications, a communication channel with the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet;
• providing, with the one or more software applications and from the output system device to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, security or authentication information restricted to said user, the security or authentication information restricted to said user related to accessing the digital content by said user;
• providing, with the one or more software applications and from the output system device to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, information associated with payment or subscription information of said user for accessing the digital content by said user;
• selecting, with the one or more software applications at the output system device and with the user interface displayed on the display screen provided by the television, a pointer or a reference to the digital content from among a list of one or more pointers or references to one of more digital content stored at the one or more servers over the Internet;
• providing, from the output system device, a content object to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, the content object including at least the selected reference or pointer to the digital content;
• receiving, via the wireless communication unit of the output device and in dependence of having provided information associated with payment or subscription information of said user for accessing the digital content by said user, at least part of the digital content from the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, the at least part of the digital content corresponding to the selected pointer or reference to the digital content included in the content object sent from the output system device to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, and the receiving of the at least part of the digital content from the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet being dependent on the security or the authentication information restricted to said user provided from the output system device to the one or more servers over the Internet;
• processing, with the output controller, at least part of the digital content for rendering by the rendering engine, the processing includes color management operations on at least part of the digital content;
• and
• rendering, by the rendering engine at the output system device, the at least part of the processed digital content onto the display screen of the television.

An output system device that includes a television for rendering digital content received from one or more servers over the Internet, the output system device including,

• an information apparatus with access to a network that includes the Internet,
• an operating system,
• one or more software applications that is installed or installable at the output system and managed at least partly by the operating system, the one or more software applications device for facilitating, at least in part, access of at least part of the digital content from the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet,
• an output device that includes a television for rendering the digital content, the information apparatus being structurally and directly wired and connected to the output device, the television including:
• a display screen,
• a user interface displayed on the display screen for providing user interface components or functionalities,
• a wireless communication unit for enabling wireless connections to wireless local area networks, the wireless communication unit being compatible, at least partly, with at least part of a protocol within IEEE 802.11 standards,
• an output controller, included in the output device, for processing at least part of the digital content that includes scaling operations;
• a rendering engine, included in the output device, for rendering at least part of the processed digital content,
• wherein, the output system device is operable to:
• provide, with the one or more software applications and from the output system device to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, security or authentication information restricted to said user, the security or authentication information restricted to said user related to accessing the digital content by said user;
• and
• provide, with the one or more software applications and from the output system device to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, information associated with payment or subscription information of said user for accessing the digital content by said user;
• and
• wherein, subsequent to having provided the payment or subscription information of said user for accessing the digital content by said user, the output system device is further operable to:
• select, with the one or more software applications at the output system device and with the user interface displayed on the display screen provided by the television, a pointer or a reference to the digital content from among a list of one or more pointers or references to one of more digital content stored at the one or more servers over the Internet;
• provide, from the output system device, a content object to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, the content object including at least the selected reference or pointer to the digital content;
• receive, via the wireless communication unit of the output system device and from the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet, at least part of the digital content, the at least part of the digital content corresponding to the selected pointer or reference to the digital content included in the content object sent from the output system device to the one or more servers over the network that includes the Internet
• process, with the output controller, the at least part of the digital content for rendering by the rendering engine, the processing includes scaling operations on at least part of the digital content;
• and
• render, by the rendering engine at the output system device, the at least part of the processed digital content onto the display screen of the television.