Method and apparatus for customized provisioning of on-line application channels

A computer system for providing feeds to a client streaming player comprising:

• a memory configured to store associations between client streaming player indicators and one or more attributes, a plurality of channels comprising a first channel and a second channel;
• and
• a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is programmed to receive an identifier associated with a client streaming player, wherein the client streaming player is a device dedicated to receive on-demand services for display on an attached video display, wherein the processor is programmed to determine one or more attributes associated with the identifier from the memory, wherein the attributes characterize the physical characteristics of the client streaming player and the identifier is selected from a hardware revision identifier, a firmware revision identifier and an application software identifier, wherein the processor is programmed to determine a first channel that is available to the client streaming player and a second channel that is not available to the client steaming player in response to the one or more attributes, wherein the processor is programmed to determine a first plurality of metadata including an indicator of a graphical icon associated with the first channel, wherein the processor is programmed to provide the first plurality of metadata including the indicator of the graphical icon to the client streaming player, wherein the processor is programmed to receive a user selection of the graphical icon from the client streaming player, and wherein the processor is programmed to provide an indicator of a source associated with the first channel to the client streaming player, in response to the user selection of the graphical icon.

A method for a client streaming player comprising a processor and a memory dedicated to receive on-demand services for display on an attached video display, comprising:

• providing, with the client streaming player, an identifier associated with the client streaming player to an application server, wherein one or more attributes are associated with the identifier within the application server, wherein the attributes characterize the physical characteristics of the client streaming player and the identifier is selected from a hardware revision identifier, a firmware revision identifier and an application software identifier;
• receiving, with the client streaming player, a first plurality of metadata associated with available channels, including a first graphical identifier from the application server, wherein the available channels are determined from a plurality of channels in response to the one or more attributes, and wherein the available channels include a first channel, but not a second channel, and wherein the first channel is associated with the first graphical identifier;
• displaying, with the client streaming player, a graphical user interface to the attached video display comprising the first graphical identifier;
• receiving, with the client streaming player, a user selection of the first graphical identifier displayed on the attached video display indicating a user request to associate the computer system with the first channel;
• providing, with the client streaming player, the user selection of the first graphical identifier to the application server;
• and
• receiving, with the client streaming player, an indicator of a server network address associated with the first channel from the application server.