Studies have shown that the presence of technology in the home is on the rise. The common household is becoming more technological equipped to satisfy our wants and needs. These wants and needs being our digital movies, digital music, the digital picture we took at our friends wedding, and our want to access these different media when and where we want. Today, in order to watch our favorite DVD, listen to our favorite music album, or view the family photo album, there has to be a device to play the DVD, VCR, CD, or a computer to simply view our digital pictures. A simple solution to this is to buy three DVD's, four or five CD Players, and just keep those wedding photos at the family personal computer. Tomorrow we will not need the three DVD players to be able to watch a DVD movie in the den and the bedrooms, or the excess stereo's only to play a music album. Tomorrow the Integrated Media System (IMS) will be able to eliminate unneeded DVD and VCR players, provide long term savings, and allow the user to access their media, when and where they want.

IMS seeks to provide homes and eventually business an efficient, organized, and cost-effective media access solution. IMS will allow quick and easy access to private and public system media resources. IMS will allow multiple users to customize and personalize resources based on their specific requirements. IMS will eliminate the need for multiple media devices and computer systems serving solely as media access devices, thus reducing redundant cost of extra media devices and providing long-term savings. Because IMS is essentially a software solution, the IMS system is platform independent and can be incorporated into a business's existing resources and capabilities.

The IMS media request and receiving station, the IMS Box, is operated by remote, where the user is provided an interface displayed on the output source, providing easy access to the media available to that user. When making a media request, the IMS Box makes a request to the server for a specific media file at the server or associated external media device. This data is quickly accessed, processed, and then streamed back to the IMS Box to be displayed on the output source. But before this process even begins, the user can customize the media content and program a personal media list by using IMS's uncomplicated software application. IMS also provides security features so users can access only their personal list and any public media resources. The IMS Box also provides keyboard and mouse input for file modification, such that the IMS box serves a cheap replacement for a local P.C. The overall impact of the IMS system is a more affordable and efficient integrated media system.