System and data management and on-demand rental and purchase of digital data products

Abstract

A system for handling data and transactions involving data through the use of a virtual transaction zone, which virtual transaction zone removes the dependency of such transaction on the delivery medium of the product. The invention may reside and operate on a variety of electronic devices such as televisions, VCRs, DVDs, personal computers, WebTV, any other known electronic recorder/player, or as a stand alone unit. The transaction zone also provides a mechanism for combining mediums, data feeds, and manipulation of those feeds. The transaction zone also provides a mechanism for controlling the content, delivery, and timing of delivery of the end consumer's product.

Description

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 087,517, filed May 29, 1998 and entitled "Data Management System" which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 873,584 filed Jun. 12, 1997 and entitled "Multi-functional Processing System"[0002] The present invention relates to a data handling system for the management of data received on one or more data feeds. More specifically, it relates to a method for management, storage and retrieval of digital information and an apparatus for accomplishing the same. Even more specifically, it relates to a method and system for selecting, receiving and manipulating data products that may be transferred to a portable storage device for use with existing playback systems. Even more specifically, it relates to a system for renting or purchasing data products for immediate, on-demand delivery, which may be formatted and transferred to a portable medium for use in any existing playback device.DESCRIPTION OF THE PR...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

This information overload has now become critical with the end users of computers and televisions.

This, in turn, creates problems relating to the management of the exponentially increasing global database of information available over data feeds to personal computers, such as the Internet and other modem and cable accessible computer data feeds.

In particular, this increasing array of data, data sources, and storage devices has resulted in numerous battles over the format in which the data is delivered and manipulated.

Another issue arises when discussing the conduit for receiving the information being provided to end-users.

Regardless of the format of delivery, manipulation processing, storage or play back, there are limitations on the devices utilized to manage the ever increasing and, now in many cases, overlapping information data feeds provided over computer-received and television/radio-received data feeds.

Previous attempts to solve the problems caused by this plethora of information, the ability to access this information through different sources, and different methods of storing the data have not solved some of the basic issues surrounding this technology such as timing, commercial transfer and licensing issues as well as security for the person transferring the information.

The creation of new methods of transferring, storing, m

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