Patent ID: 8464309

Claim:
A method for scheduling a recording of a program, the method comprising: receiving, over a network, at a server, from a first digital video recorder, first information that identifies a first set of two or more programs that a user of the first digital video recorder has instructed the first digital video recorder to record; based on the first information, determining, at the server, a first schedule for recording at least two programs in the first set of two or more programs; merging the first recording schedule with a first overall recording schedule for the first digital video recorder stored on at least one storage device at the server, a plurality of overall recording schedules for a plurality of digital video recorders stored on the at least one storage device; and sending the first recording schedule from the server to the first digital video recorder over the network, the first set of two or more programs includes at least one of: (a) a program that is to be broadcasted via television signals or (b) a program that is to be downloaded or streamed over a network.