A method executable by a placeshifting device located in a user's home and a media device that is associated with a user and that remotely communicates with the placeshifting device via a network, the method comprising: receiving a first user input at the media device that selects a primary content available from the placeshifting device for viewing on a display associated with the media device; sending a command from the media device to the placeshifting device via the network to obtain the selected primary content; predicting, by the media device or the placeshifting device, a secondary content available from the placeshifting device that is different from the primary content, wherein when the prediction is made by the media device, the command sent from the media device to the placeshifting device also obtains the secondary content; receiving at the placeshifting device the primary and secondary contents from a television broadcast network by one or more program sources (131, 132) in the placeshifting device in response to the first user input and the prediction; encoding at the placeshifting device the primary and secondary contents to generate a selected media stream and a second media stream, respectively, for simultaneous transmission over the network to the media device, wherein the second media stream is encoded with a lower quality than the selected media stream so that the second media stream consumes less bandwidth on the network than the selected media stream when the selected media stream and the second media stream are simultaneously transmitted on the network; transmitting the encoded selected media stream and the second media stream simultaneously on the network to the media device; outputting the selected media stream to the display while continuing to receive the second media stream; and in response to a subsequent second user input that selects the second media stream, switching from the selected media stream to output the lower quality second media stream to the display. receiving a first user input at the media device that selects a primary content available from the placeshifting device for viewing on a display associated with the media device; sending a command from the media device to the placeshifting device via the network to obtain the selected primary content; predicting, by the media device or the placeshifting device, a secondary content available from the placeshifting device that is different from the primary content, wherein when the prediction is made by the media device, the command sent from the media device to the placeshifting device also obtains the secondary content; receiving at the placeshifting device the primary and secondary contents from a television broadcast network by one or more program sources (131, 132) in the placeshifting device in response to the first user input and the prediction; encoding at the placeshifting device the primary and secondary contents to generate a selected media stream and a second media stream, respectively, for simultaneous transmission over the network to the media device, wherein the second media stream is encoded with a lower quality than the selected media stream so that the second media stream consumes less bandwidth on the network than the selected media stream when the selected media stream and the second media stream are simultaneously transmitted on the network; transmitting the encoded selected media stream and the second media stream simultaneously on the network to the media device; outputting the selected media stream to the display while continuing to receive the second media stream; and in response to a subsequent second user input that selects the second media stream, switching from the selected media stream to output the lower quality second media stream to the display.