Patent ID: 8594481

Claim:
A machine implemented method comprising: providing a user interface for scheduling recording of digital media on a first device and for inputting synchronization rules that define which digital media that were requested to be recorded on the first device should be synchronized from the first device to a second device, the user interface simultaneously displays a selection of digital media for recording on the first device and a selection of a portion of the digital media that was selected for recording on the first device for synchronization to the second device; receiving, via the user interface, a user request to schedule recording of digital media on the first device; receiving, via the user interface, synchronization rules for synchronizing digital media that a user requested to be recorded on the first device from the first device to the second device; recording, on the first device, the digital media that the user requested to be recorded on the first device; determining whether to pre-transcode digital media that was requested to be recorded on the first device based on the synchronization rules for synchronizing digital media, including determining whether the digital media meets the synchronization rules; automatically pre-transcoding the digital media that meets the synchronization rules on the first device so that it is suitable to present on the second device, the pre-transcoding is performed prior to the second device being available for synchronization; and synchronizing at least some of the pre-transcoded digital media from the first device to the second device.