A system and methodology for distributed delivery of online content in
response to client selections from an online catalog is described. In one
embodiment, for example, a system of the present invention is described
for receiving and playing movies, the system comprises: a personal
computer with Internet connectivity and having a browser for selecting
movies from an online catalog; a set-top box with Internet connectivity,
the set-top box having a hard disk for storing encrypted copies of the
selected movies that the set-top box receives in response to user
selections from the online catalog; and a television device, connected to
the set-top box, for playing back decrypted copies of the selected movies
that have been purchased for playback.
