As the personal computer has become more sophisticated, many different types of software have been developed and distributed for playing multimedia files which include audio and/or video data. Many computer sellers now include multimedia players in computer operating systems when they are sold. Examples of these media players include Oracle video clients, Real Player, or Media Player from Microsoft, Inc.
Multimedia data may be delivered to a personal computer for playing through a number of different modes. These include CD ROMs or floppy disks which a system user may place in disk drive and then play using the multimedia software described above. Another source of multimedia information may be from downloads over the Internet. Currently a number of websites provide access to multimedia files which may be either downloaded for later viewing or viewed in real time.
If a system user wished to access multimedia files over the Internet, a connection must be first established manually with the particular website. Once the connection is established, a system user may view various HTML pages at the website to find a listing of multimedia files which may be accessed. Once a desired file is located, a hypertext link may be selected and the multimedia file either played or downloaded to memory. Depending on the type of connection the system user employs to connect to the Internet, this download may take minutes or hours and may occupy a significant amount of the computer's processing resources.