COMPUTER NETWORK AUDIO SYSTEM AND METHOD

摘要

The invention is directed to a LAN IP device, such as a speaker (30) or headphone (30), that may be connected to a typical computer network (22). The device may automatically establish an IP address in order to communicate with the server (26) and may play music downloaded over the computer network. The device may select between one or more different music channels. As an example, the device may be used to play a particular music station within a particular office of a company. The downloaded data may or may not be encrypted. If the data is encrypted, then the device must decrypt the data prior to playing it.