A process is provided for identifying and managing support service
applications associated with consumer electronic devices. The process is
executed by a gateway device communicatively coupled with each of the
electronic devices via a home network, the gateway device being operative
to access the Internet and being communicatively coupled with a display
unit. The process includes the steps of: determining device ID
information associated with a selected one of the electronic devices for
which a support service application is required; providing the device ID
information to a selected server computing system via the Internet;
downloading a support service application associated with the selected
device from the selected server computing system; and executing the
downloaded support service application at the gateway device to provide a
remote interactive support service process for the selected device. The
support service may include a remote interactive manual service providing
educational instructions to a user of the home network system regarding
operation of a selected device, a remote interactive
maintenance/diagnostic service for instructing a home network system user
in solving maintenance problems associated with a selected device, or a
combination remote interactive manual/maintenance/diagnostic service.