Patent ID: 7856650

Claim:
A method of controlling, at an intermediate television transmission station, a transmission of television programming to a subscriber station, said intermediate television transmission station having a computer for controlling the storage and communication of said television programming, said method comprising the steps of: receiving units of said television programming on different channels, by said intermediate television transmission station, from a remote television programming source; selectively receiving signals transmitted repeatedly from said remote television programming source at specified predetermined time intervals, each of said signals identifying one of said received units or a source of said one of said received units; inputting said signals to said computer; prior to receiving units of said television programming, receiving at said computer a programming schedule from a source separate from said remote television programming source, said programming schedule designating for at least one of said received units: (a) an output channel to be used in communicating said at least one of said received units; and (b) a time for transmitting said at least one of said received units; automatically selecting and storing at least one of said received units at a predetermined storage device based on said signals and said programming schedule; assembling at said intermediate television station, said received units based on said signals; and automatically transmitting said at least one of said received units from said intermediate television transmission station to said subscriber station at said time and said output channel according to said programming schedule based on said step of storing.