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.