Enhanced home entertainment system with removable long-term storage
View Patent ↗A method and apparatus for set top box (STB) receiving a single selection or actuation, and in response to a single selection from a user, transferring a program and auxiliary data related to the program from a first storage device of the STB to a removable storage device.
1. A method comprising:
receiving, by a content rendering system, a command to record a program;
determining whether a second storage device is available, wherein the second storage device is separate from the content rendering system;
in response to determining that the second storage device is unavailable, automatically recording the program to a first storage device:
displaying an electronic programming guide comprising a listing of one or more programs including the recorded program;
receiving, by the content rendering system, input corresponding to an actuation of a command selecting the recorded program from the listing of one or more programs, the actuation including a single pressing of a selected portion of a control device; and
automatically transferring the recorded program from the first storage device in the content rendering system to the second storage device in response to the selection of the recorded program from the listing of one or more programs in the electronic programming guide, wherein the second storage device is removable.
2. The method of claim 1 , further including, in response to a second input corresponding to a second actuation of a second command, transferring the program from the second storage device to the first storage device of the content rendering system, wherein the second actuation corresponds to a pressing of a second portion of at least one of: a control panel of the content rendering system, a remote control device associated with the content rendering system, and a web phone.
3. The method of claim 2 , further including maintaining an index of programs and related auxiliary data transferred from the first storage device to the second storage device.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the method further includes, in response to the selection of the recorded program, the content rendering system prompting for the insertion of the removable storage device into the content rendering system.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the removable storage device is a DVD-RAM.
6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second actuation corresponds to a single pressing of a transfer function button on at least one of the control panel of the content rendering system and the remote control device.
7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first portion and the second portion are the same portion.
8. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions, which when executed causes a content rendering system to:
receive a command to record a program;
determine whether a second storage device is available, wherein the second storage device is separate from the content rendering system:
in response to determining that the second storage device is unavailable, automatically record the program to a first storage device;
display an electronic programming guide comprising a listing of one or more programs including the recorded program;
receive, by the content rendering system, input corresponding to an actuation of a command selecting the recorded program from the listing of one or more programs, the actuation including a single pressing of a selected portion of a control device; and
automatically transfer the recorded program from the first storage device in the content rendering system to the second storage device in response to the selection of the recorded program from the listing of one or more programs in the electronic programming guide, wherein the second storage device is removable.
9. The computer readable medium of claim 8 , further including, in response to a second actuation of a second command, transferring the program from the second storage device to the first storage device of the content rendering system, wherein the second actuation corresponds to a pressing of a second portion of at least one of: a control panel of the content rendering system, a remote control device associated with the content rendering system, and a web phone.
10. The computer readable medium of claim 9 , further including maintaining an index of programs and related auxiliary data transferred from the first storage device to the second storage device.
11. The computer readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the method further includes, in response to the selection of the program, the content rendering system prompting for insertion of the removable storage device into the content rendering system.
12. The computer readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the removable storage device is a DVD-RAM.
13. An apparatus comprising:
a processor; and
memory operatively coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatus to:
receive, by a content rendering system, a command to record a program;
determine whether a second storage device is available, wherein the second storage device is separate from the content rendering system;
in response to determining that the second storage device is unavailable, automatically recording the program to a first storage device;
display an electronic programming guide comprising a listing of one or more programs including the recorded program:
receive, by the content rendering system, input corresponding to an actuation of a command selecting the recorded program from the listing of one or more programs, the actuation including a single pressing of a selected portion of a control device; and
automatically transfer the recorded program from the first storage device in the content rendering system to the second storage device in response to the selection of the recorded program from the listing of one or more programs in the electronic programming guide, wherein the second storage device is removable.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to transfer the program from the second storage device to the first storage device of the content rendering system in response to a second actuation of a second command, wherein the second actuation corresponds to a pressing of a second portion of at least one of: a control panel of the content rendering system, a remote control device associated with the content rendering system, and a web phone.
15. The apparatus of claim 14 , further including an index unit configured to maintain an index of programs and related auxiliary data transferred from the first storage device to the second storage device.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising a unit configured to prompt for an insertion of the removable storage device into the content rendering system in response to the selection of the program.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the removable storage device is a DVD-RAM.
18. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the content rendering system includes:
a tuner;
a signal input;
a storage medium;
a processor;
a digital video encoder and decoder; and
a digital output port.