Server-based program recording scheduling

摘要

A DVR sends, over the Internet, to a server, information that indicates a set of programs. The information also may indicate a ranking of the programs in the set relative to each other. In response to receiving the information from the DVR, the server determines a “to do” list of programs that the DVR should record as those programs are broadcasted in the future. The “to do” list indicates recording times and channels for each program. The server sends the “to do” list back to the DVR over the Internet. The DVR receives the “to do” list over the Internet and stores the “to do” list. As the programs on the “to do” list are broadcasted, the DVR automatically records those programs at the list-specified times and on the list-specified channels. The DVR stores those programs on the DVR's hard disk drive for later viewing by the DVR user.

主权项

1. A method, comprising:
sending, by a media recorder, over a network to a server, a list that identifies two or more programs that have been requested to be recorded; receiving, over the network, from the server, an updated program recording schedule that the server generated based on a server generated program recording schedule for the list merged with an overall program recording schedule for the media recorder maintained by the server; replacing, by the media recorder, an existing program recording schedule with the received updated program recording schedule; and automatically recording programs identified in the received updated program recording schedule.