Broadcast program recording overrun and underrun scheduling system

Abstract

A broadcast program recording overrun and underrun scheduling system provides a system for adjusting the start and end times of a broadcast program's recording schedule that has a start and end broadcast time. The viewer selects a particular broadcast program to record from the program guide using a remote input device. The system schedules the broadcast program to be recorded by inserting the program's information such as program identifier, start and end times, and storage duration into a recording schedule database. The system allows the viewer to adjust the scheduled start and/or end recording times for a broadcast program by specifying the time increment to add or subtract from the start and/or end recording times of a specific program or series of programs.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 receiving user input indicating a particular program series to record multiple episodes of, each episode of the program series has a start availability time and an end availability time;   displaying at least one input screen that contains an entry field that allows a user to specify a relative amount of time in the entry field to adjust start availability times for all episodes of the program series to be recorded, the relative amount of time is displayed in the entry field in response to user input specifying the relative amount of time to adjust the start availability times for all episodes of the program series to be recorded;   scheduling a start recording time and end recording time for an episode of the program series using the episode's start availability time and end availability time, the scheduling step adjusting the scheduled start recording time for the program using the relative amount of time specified by user input in the entry field;   recording the episode of the program series on at least one storage device in a digital format.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying a program guide;   wherein the program guide lists scheduled availability times of a plurality of programs; and   wherein the program series is selected for recording from the program guide.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, while the episode of the program series is being recorded, user input specifying a desired amount of time to be added to or subtracted from the end recording time;   adjusting the end recording time of the episode by adding or subtracting the desired amount of time from the end recording time.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 retaining the episode of the program series on the at least one storage device for at least a user specified a length of time.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 playing the episode of the program series stored on the at least one storage device.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 creating a recording schedule for programs scheduled to be recorded;   wherein the recording schedule contains program identifiers and start and end times of programs to be recorded; and   wherein the episode recording step records programs on the at least one storage device according to the recording schedule.   
     
     
         7 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that receives user input indicating a particular program series to record multiple episodes of, each episode of the program series has a start availability time and an end availability time;   a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that displays at least one input screen that contains an entry field that allows a user to specify a relative amount of time in the entry field to adjust start availability times for all episodes of the program series to be recorded, the relative amount of time is displayed in the entry field in response to user input specifying the relative amount of time to adjust the start availability times for all episodes of the program series to be recorded;   a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that schedules a start recording time and end recording time for an episode of the program series using the episode's start availability time and end availability time, the scheduling step adjusting the scheduled start recording time for the program using the relative amount of time specified by user input in the entry field;   a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that records the episode of the program series on at least one storage device in a digital format.   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a program guide;   wherein the program guide lists scheduled availability times of a plurality of programs; and   wherein the program series is selected for recording from the program guide.   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that receives, while the episode of the program series is being recorded, user input specifying a desired amount of time to be added to or subtracted from the end recording time;   a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that adjusts the end recording time of the episode by adding or subtracting the desired amount of time from the end recording time.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that retains the episode of the program series on the at least one storage device for at least a user specified a length of time.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that plays the episode of the program series stored on the at least one storage device.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a recording schedule for programs scheduled to be recorded;   wherein the recording schedule contains program identifiers and start and end times of programs to be recorded; and   wherein the episode recording subsystem records programs on the at least one storage device according to the recording schedule.   
     
     
         13 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more devices, cause performance of:
 receiving user input indicating a particular program series to record multiple episodes of, each episode of the program series has a start availability time and an end availability time;   displaying at least one input screen that contains an entry field that allows a user to specify a relative amount of time in the entry field to adjust start availability times for all episodes of the program series to be recorded, the relative amount of time is displayed in the entry field in response to user input specifying the relative amount of time to adjust the start availability times for all episodes of the program series to be recorded;   scheduling a start recording time and end recording time for an episode of the program series using the episode's start availability time and end availability time, the scheduling step adjusting the scheduled start recording time for the program using the relative amount of time specified by user input in the entry field;   recording the episode of the program series on at least one storage device in a digital format.   
     
     
         14 . The computer readable medium of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 displaying a program guide to the user;   wherein the program guide lists scheduled availability times of a plurality of programs; and   wherein the program series is selected for recording from the program guide.   
     
     
         15 . The computer readable medium of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 receiving, while the episode of the program series is being recorded, user input specifying a desired amount of time to be added to or subtracted from the end recording time;   adjusting the end recording time of the episode by adding or subtracting the desired amount of time from the end recording time.   
     
     
         16 . The computer readable medium of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 retaining the episode of the program series on the at least one storage device for at least a user specified a length of time.   
     
     
         17 . The computer readable medium of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 playing the episode of the program series stored on the at least one storage device.   
     
     
         18 . The computer readable medium of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 creating a recording schedule for programs scheduled to be recorded;   wherein the recording schedule contains program identifiers and start and end times of programs to be recorded; and   wherein the episode recording step records programs on the at least one storage device according to the recording schedule.   
     
     
         19 . A method, comprising:
 receiving user input indicating a particular program series to record multiple episodes of, each episode of the program series has a start availability time and an end availability time;   displaying at least one input screen to the user that contains an entry field that allows a user to specify a relative amount of time in the entry field to adjust end availability times for all episodes of the program series to be recorded, the relative amount of time is displayed in the entry field in response to user input specifying the relative amount of time to adjust the end availability times for all episodes of the program series to be recorded;   scheduling a start recording time and end recording time for an episode of the program series using the episode's start availability time and end availability time, the scheduling step adjusting the scheduled end recording time for the program using the relative amount of time specified by user input in the entry field;   recording the episode of the program series on at least one storage device in a digital format.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 displaying a program guide;   wherein the program guide lists scheduled availability times of a plurality of programs; and   wherein the program series is selected for recording from the program guide.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 receiving, while the episode of the program series is being recorded, user input specifying a desired amount of time to be added to or subtracted from the end recording time;   adjusting the end recording time of the episode by adding or subtracting the desired amount of time from the end recording time.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 retaining the episode of the program series on the at least one storage device for at least a user specified a length of time.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 playing the episode of the program series stored on the at least one storage device.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising:
 creating a recording schedule for programs scheduled to be recorded;   wherein the recording schedule contains program identifiers and start and end times of programs to be recorded; and   wherein the episode recording step records programs on the at least one storage device according to the recording schedule.   
     
     
         25 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that receives user input indicating a particular program series to record multiple episodes of, each episode of the program series has a start availability time and an end availability time;   a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that displays at least one input screen to the user that contains an entry field that allows a user to specify a relative amount of time in the entry field to adjust end availability times for all episodes of the program series to be recorded, the relative amount of time is displayed in the entry field in response to user input specifying the relative amount of time to adjust the end availability times for all episodes of the program series to be recorded;   a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that schedules a start recording time and end recording time for an episode of the program series using the episode's start availability time and end availability time, the scheduling step adjusting the scheduled end recording time for the program using the relative amount of time specified by user input in the entry field;   a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that records the episode of the program series on at least one storage device in a digital format.   
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , further comprising:
 a program guide;   wherein the program guide lists scheduled availability times of a plurality of programs; and   wherein the program series is selected for recording from the program guide.   
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , further comprising:
 a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that receives, while the episode of the program series is being recorded, user input specifying a desired amount of time to be added to or subtracted from the end recording time;   a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that adjusts the end recording time of the episode by adding or subtracting the desired amount of time from the end recording time.   
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , further comprising:
 a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that retains the episode of the program series on the at least one storage device for at least a user specified a length of time.   
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , further comprising:
 a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that plays the episode of the program series stored on the at least one storage device.   
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , further comprising:
 a recording schedule for programs scheduled to be recorded;   wherein the recording schedule contains program identifiers and start and end times of programs to be recorded; and   wherein the episode recording subsystem records programs on the at least one storage device according to the recording schedule.   
     
     
         31 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more devices, cause performance of:
 receiving user input indicating a particular program series to record multiple episodes of, each episode of the program series has a start availability time and an end availability time;   displaying at least one input screen to the user that contains an entry field that allows a user to specify a relative amount of time in the entry field to adjust end availability times for all episodes of the program series to be recorded, the relative amount of time is displayed in the entry field in response to user input specifying the relative amount of time to adjust the end availability times for all episodes of the program series to be recorded;   scheduling a start recording time and end recording time for an episode of the program series using the episode's start availability time and end availability time, the scheduling step adjusting the scheduled end recording time for the program using the relative amount of time specified by user input in the entry field;   recording the episode of the program series on at least one storage device in a digital format.   
     
     
         32 . The computer readable medium of  claim 31 , further comprising:
 displaying a program guide;   wherein the program guide lists scheduled availability times of a plurality of programs; and   wherein the program series is selected for recording from the program guide.   
     
     
         33 . The computer readable medium of  claim 31 , further comprising:
 receiving, while the episode of the program series is being recorded, user input specifying a desired amount of time to be added to or subtracted from the end recording time;   adjusting the end recording time of the episode by adding or subtracting the desired amount of time from the end recording time.   
     
     
         34 . The computer readable medium of  claim 31 , further comprising:
 retaining the episode of the program series on the at least one storage device for at least a user specified a length of time.   
     
     
         35 . The computer readable medium of  claim 31 , further comprising:
 playing the episode of the program series stored on the at least one storage device.   
     
     
         36 . The computer readable medium of  claim 31 , further comprising:
 creating a recording schedule for programs scheduled to be recorded;   wherein the recording schedule contains program identifiers and start and end times of programs to be recorded; and   wherein the episode recording step records programs on the at least one storage device according to the recording schedule.