Patent ID: 8209382

Claim:
A system supporting concurrent consumption of media from multiple sources, the system comprising: at least one processor operably coupled to a first television in a first home and to a first storage in the first home that stores a first media, the first storage having a first network protocol address, the at least one processor communicatively coupled, via a communication network, to a second television in a second home and a second storage in the second home, the second storage having a second network protocol address, the at least one processor communicatively coupled, via the communication network, to at least one server for storing and distributing 3rd party media, the at least one processor operable to, at least: communicate with first software that maintains a user defined association of the first and second network protocol addresses, that receives a request that identifies one of the associated first and second network protocol addresses and responds by identifying the other of the associated first and second network protocol addresses to support delivery via the communication network of the 3rd party media from the at least one server, and the first media from the first storage, to the second home, and the 3rd party media from the at least one server, to the first home, for concurrent consumption of the 3rd party media by the first television, and the 3rd party media and the first media by the second television; and communicate with second software configured to enable a user at the first home to construct, at the first home, at least one user defined media channel, the second software also configured to enable closed and secure communication of the at least one user defined media channel to others within a user defined group that are at separate and distinct locations from the first home, in a peer-to-peer manner, from the first home.