Patent ID: 8139924

Claim:
A method for retrieval of content of a given video program from a network storage device, comprising: rewinding program content stored at a digital video recorder in response to a user initiated command; identifying that the digital video recorder is approaching a threshold indicator, the threshold indicator associated with the beginning of the given video program content stored at the digital video recorder as a result of rewinding the content stored at the digital video recorder; requesting additional content of the given video program from the network storage device in response to the threshold indicator, the additional content temporally preceding the given video program content stored at the digital video recorder and wherein the additional content is not presently stored at the digital video recorder, the request occurring over a data network; receiving the additional content at the digital video recorder from the network storage device in response to the request for additional content, the additional content having been transmitted from the network storage device to the digital video recorder over the data network, while at least a portion of the temporally later content is being received from a content source separate from the network storage device and stored at the digital video recorder; storing the additional content from the network storage device at the digital video recorder; and rewinding the additional content received from the network storage device once the digital video recorder arrives at the beginning of the given video program content initially stored at the digital video recorder.