Patent ID: 7590999
Filing Date: 2009-09-15
Classification: H04B,H04N

Abstract:
1. In a home entertainment system including a display device, a recording system containing a recording medium, a central device connected to the recording system and the display device in a hub and spoke configuration so that any signal that reaches the recording system must be transmitted from a central device to the recording system, a computer program product in the form of physical computer-readable media containing computer-executable instructions for implementing a method of operating the recording system to record and track the location on a recording medium of a program carried by a signal, the method comprising steps for: receiving and storing an electronic programming guide at the central device; inputting recording instructions to the central device to record specified programming identified in the programming guide at the recording system; in response to the recording instructions, and prior to sending the specified programming to the recording system to be recorded, the central device automatically sending a first set of programming information from the stored electronic programming guide to the recording system which is then recorded on the recording medium of the recording system and which is used to identify the specified programming that is to be recorded; thereafter, and in accordance with the input recording instructions, the central device transmitting the specified programming when received at the central device to the recording system so that the programming is recorded on the recording medium; the central device also transmitting a second set of programming information comprising indexing information that is included in the stored electronic programming guide from the central device to the recording system, so that the recording system records the indexing information to the recording medium after recording the programming, the indexing information identifying the location on the recording medium where the recorded programming begins; and thereafter, the central device reading the indexing information when a new recording instruction is received for new programming to be recorded, in order to automatically determine the location on the recording medium where the new programming is to be recorded.