Patent ID: 8813122
Filing Date: 2014-08-19
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for reproducing programs, comprising: a receiver operable to receive broadcast programs from a plurality of channels; a selector operable to select a subset of said received broadcast programs, wherein said broadcast programs are assigned a priority when an overlap in time of said broadcast programs is determined; a digital video recorder or video cassette recorder for storing a plurality of stored programs, the digital video recorder or video cassette recorder being operable to simultaneously record one of the broadcast programs and reproduce a stored program; a scheduler operable to select a subset of the plurality of stored programs and a subset of the plurality of broadcast programs and to compose and organize a reproduction schedule of the subsets in accordance with a user profile, said profile comprising at least one temporal duration, the scheduler being operable to avoid an overlap between a broadcast program of the reproduction schedule and a stored program of the reproduction schedule by time-shifting the broadcast program in conjunction with the digital video recorder or video cassette recorder by: a presentation apparatus configured to present the subset of the plurality of stored programs and the subset of the plurality of broadcast programs in accordance with the reproduction schedule and create a virtual channel that is accessible through a preset number and visible in an EPG among a plurality of channels, the presentation apparatus operating in conjunction with the digital video recorder or video cassette recorder to time-shift the presentation of at least one broadcast program to comport with the at least one temporal duration.