Patent ID: 7653212

Claim:
A method for configuring a universal controlling device to enable the universal controlling device to communicate commands to a plurality of target appliances, comprising: receiving at an Internet server system having an associated database of images that have been cross-referenced to identifier data for a plurality of appliances and configuration information for the plurality of appliances a single image and a user provided designation of the plurality of target appliances within the single image; using the Internet server system to discern a plurality of images from the associated database as being a match for each of the plurality of target appliances designated by the user within the single image; and using at least a subset of the configuration information that has been cross-referenced to the matched images to enable the universal controlling device to communicate commands to the plurality of target appliances wherein the configuration information comprises a macro command sequence whereby the universal controlling device is usable to transmit commands for commanding multiple operations of at least one of the plurality of target appliances in response to activation of a single input element of the universal controlling device.