System and method for configuring the remote control functionality of a portable device

摘要

A system and method used to configure a smart device to command functional operations of a target appliance. The smart device retrieves from a controllable appliance, such as a settop box, data indicative of a codeset identity of the target appliance wherein the codeset identity was determined during a process used to configure a conventional universal remote control to command functional operations of the target appliance and wherein the process used to configure the conventional universal remote control is performed in cooperation with the controllable appliance. A remote control application resident on the smart device then uses the data indicative of the codeset identity retrieved from the controllable appliance to also configure the smart device to command functional operations of the target appliance.

主权项

1. A method for retrieving and using an app serviced by a content service provider to view media content and is related to an appliance of a home entertainment system, comprising:
receiving, by a smart device from the appliance or an intermediate appliance, a communication having Infoframe data that functions to identify the appliance, wherein the InfoFrame data is associated with a logical address for the appliance established in the home entertainment system; using the InfoFrame data to automatically initiate a retrieval by the smart device from a server device having an associated repository of apps, the app that is related to the appliance; receiving by the smart device from the server device the app that is related to the appliance; causing the received app that is related to the appliance to be installed on the smart device; subsequently receiving by the smart device from the appliance metadata that was previously received by the appliance from the content service provider; and using, by the app that is related to the appliance installed on the smart device, the metadata received from the appliance to cause the app that is related to the appliance to be synchronized with the appliance whereupon the app that is related to the appliance installed on the smart device is used in connection with an operation of the appliance for viewing media content.