Patent ID: 8607297

Claim:
A method of remotely commanding a user's DVR device to record a television program, the method comprising: selecting, by a server associated with a television distributor, a program to be recorded for a user who is a subscriber to a television service provided by the television distributor, the program not having been previously selected by the user for recording; identifying a DVR device associated with the user, the DVR device operable to record the program selected by the television distributor, the DVR device-not connected to communicate directly with the server; transmitting, to a headend, information identifying the program to be recorded and at least one of information identifying the DVR device and information identifying the user; translating, at the headend, at least one of the information identifying the user and the DVR device into a unique identification code associated with the DVR device; generating, at the headend, a recording command based on the unique identification code and information identifying the program; and broadcasting the recording command from the headend to the DVR device and to a plurality of other DVR devices, the DVR device matching the unique identification code to a stored code to thereby store the recording command and execute the recording command at a time associated with the program to store content associated with the program, the other DVR devices not matching the unique identification code to a stored code and taking no action responsive to the recording command.