SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AVOIDING MISSING TELEVISION PROGRAMMING WHEN CHANGING BETWEEN TELEVISION CHANNELS

摘要

A buffering and playback manager of a receiving device facilitates a user avoiding missing television programming on a television (TV) channel when the user is changes to another TV channel. When a user returns to a previously visited TV channel, the TV channel buffering and playback manager 100 is configured to continue the television programming from a point the TV program was at when the user had de-selected that TV channel. The TV programming of the previously visited TV channel starts or continues to be stored in a buffer when the receiving device de-selects that TV channel. Upon returning to that TV channel, the TV program data stored in the buffer is played on the TV channel instead of the live broadcast being played on that TV channel.

主权项

1. A method in a television (TV) channel buffering and playback manager system, the method comprising:
playing TV program content on a first TV channel by at least one computer processor that is in control of the system; switching, by the at least one computer processor, to at least one TV channel different from the first TV channel in response to user input; switching, by the at least one computer processor, back to the first TV channel in response to user input; and in response to the switching back to the first TV channel, playing, by the at least one computer processor, the TV program content on the first TV channel from a point at which the TV program content being played on the first TV channel approximately was when the switching to the at least one different TV channel began.