Patent ID: 8813108

Claim:
A media processor device, comprising: a memory to store executable instructions; and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor, responsive to executing the executable instructions, performs operations comprising: detecting a startup event; receiving, at a user interface, an input identifying a first user from a plurality of user profiles associated with the media processor device responsive to detecting the startup event; requesting, from a second media processor device, a first user profile associated with the first user from the plurality of user profiles; receiving the first user profile from the second media processor device; retrieving a startup program preference from the first user profile; determining unavailability of a preferred startup program from the startup program preference; accessing a keyword from a textual description associated with the startup program responsive to determining the unavailability of the startup program; searching an electronic programming guide for an alternative startup program according to the keyword; selecting an alternative startup channel associated with the alternative startup program according to a result of the searching; decoding an alternative media program from a media stream corresponding to the alternative startup channel; presenting the alternative media program at a media device; monitoring programs selected by the first user of the media processor device; detecting a change in behavior of the first user based on a monitoring of programs selected by the first user; generating an updated startup program preference of the first user profile according to the detected change in the behavior of the first user; detecting a new user based on another input identifying a new user of the media processor device; creating a new user profile for the new user profile in the plurality of user profiles when the new user is detected; creating a new startup program preference for the new user profile when the new user is detected; updating the second media processor device with the new user profile when the new user is detected; automatically switching from the new user to the first user based on an input identifying the first user controlling the media processor device, wherein the input includes periodically sending a user identity code at every predetermined number of commands, the predetermined number being more than one; and presenting to the first user an updated startup program according to the updated startup program preference of the first user profile previously determined from the change in the behavior of the first user.