Channel buffering and display management system for multi-tuner set-top box

• US 20020168178A1
• Filed: 05/10/2002
• Published: 11/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synamedia Limited
• Original Assignee: Scientific-Atlanta LLC (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Nallur, Ramesh, Rodriguez, Arturo A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,409,140 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/92
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate

Abstract

A system is provided that resources media content of multiple display channels. The system includes a memory with logic, tuning resources to receive media content of a plurality of display channels, buffering resources for buffering the media content, display resources for displaying the media content from at least one of the display channels, and a processor configured with the logic to determine when the resources are unavailable to receive media content of a newly requested display channel. The processor is further configured with the logic to, responsive to a determination of insufficient resources, determine the lowest priority display channel using at least one user configurable rule, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect discontinuing the receipt of media content of a display channel designated as having the lowest priority among a plurality of received display channels.

Claims

1. A method for resourcing media content of multiple display channels, the method including the steps of:

determining when resources are insufficient to receive media content of a newly requested display channel;

responsive to a determination of insufficient resources, determining the lowest priority display channel using at least one user configurable rule; and

discontinuing the receipt of media content of a display channel designated as having the lowest priority among a plurality of received display channels.

2. The method of claim 1, further including the step of employing the resources previously used to receive the discontinued media content to receive the media content of the newly requested display channel, wherein the step of employing the resources to receive the media content includes using tuning, buffering, and display resources to tune, buffer, and display media content of the newly requested display channel, further including the step of deleting the media content associated with the display channel designated as having the lowest priority, wherein the step of deleting includes at least one of configuring storage space as writeable and writing over the storage space.

3. The method of claim 1, further including the step of determining priority using a plurality of user configurable rules.

4. The method of claim 1, further including the steps of inputting at least one input variable among a plurality of input variables into the user configurable rule and providing a priority determination as an outcome, wherein the input variables are assigned values that are used in the priority determination, wherein the input variables are assigned values depending on the relationship of the input variables to at least one threshold of a plurality of thresholds.

5. A method for managing the use of media client device resources when a user request for a new display channel occurs while the resources are fully utilized for resourcing other display channels, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving an input signal indicating a user request for a new display channel while tuning and buffering media content downloaded in response to the user previously selecting a first display channel and while tuning, buffering, and displaying media content downloaded in response to the user previously selecting a second display channel;

characterizing the media content downloads of the first and second display channels with input variables;

assigning values to the input variables;

inputting the input variables and the corresponding assigned values into a set of rules that determine a priority between the first and second display channels; and

tuning, buffering, and displaying media content downloaded from the new display channel using the resources associated with the display channel having the lowest determined priority.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of receiving an input signal includes the step of receiving a key press signal responsive to a user selecting a button on a remote control device, wherein the button is associated with the selection of a display channel.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of characterizing the media content downloads includes the step of characterizing the media content downloads as an input variable representing a length of contiguous time of buffering media content of at least one of the first and second display channels.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of characterizing the media content downloads includes the step of characterizing the media content downloads as an input variable representing a length of total time of buffering a media content instance of at least one of the first and second display channels.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of characterizing the media content downloads includes the step of characterizing the media content downloads as an input variable representing a length of time that the buffered media content of at least one of the first and second display channels is displayed on a display device, wherein the set of rules dynamically adjusts a multiplicative coefficient of the input variable associated with the time the buffered media content is displayed on the display device according to the viewing patterns of the user, such that different viewing patterns are weighted differently in the set of rules.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of characterizing the media content downloads includes the step of characterizing the media content downloads as an input variable representing a relationship between a length of time of buffering media content of the first display channel with a length of time of buffering media content of the second display channel.

11. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of characterizing the media content downloads includes the step of characterizing the media content downloads as an input variable representing a relationship between a length of time of buffering media content of at least one of the first and second display channel with a length of time of displaying the associated display channel media content on a display device.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of characterizing the media content downloads includes the step of characterizing the media content downloads as an input variable representing whether at least one of the first and second display channels buffering media content is included in a favorites channel list, further including the step of enabling the user to configure whether the favorites channel list will influence a rule set, further including the step of using a different set of rules when the favorites channel list is employed as an input variable such that the assigned value of the input variable is weighted in a manner that favors continued buffering of the media content associated with the favorites channel list.

13. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of relating the input variables to a first threshold and a second threshold to effect a buffering behavior of the media content associated with the first and second display channels.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first and second thresholds include at least one of default values that are user configurable and fixed values.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein first threshold is a fixed value and the second threshold is a default value that is user configurable, further comprising the step of assigning alternate values to the first threshold and the second threshold when inputting in the set of rules an input variable representing whether at least one of the first and second display channels buffering media content is included in a favorites channel list, such that the associated values of the thresholds are weighted in a favorites channel list.

16. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of causing the input variables to exhibit a non-linear range of values when the input variables are input into the set of rules.

17. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of relating a first threshold to a first input variable value, wherein if the first input variable value is below the first threshold, the first input variable value is assigned a value of no significance.

18. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of relating a first threshold and a second threshold to a second input variable value, wherein if the second input variable value is at least equal to the first threshold but below the second threshold, the second input variable value is assigned its original value.

19. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of relating a first threshold and a second threshold to a third input variable value, wherein if the third input variable value is greater than the first and the second threshold, the third input variable value is assigned a maximum value.

20. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of assigning a fourth input variable value a value of no significance based on input of the user.

21. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of assigning a fifth input variable value a value of no significance based on input of the user to configure at least one of a desired buffering, tuning and display behavior during a user configuration session.

22. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of assigning a sixth input variable value a maximum value based on input of the user.

23. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of assigning a seventh input variable value a maximum value based on input of the user to configure at least one of a desired buffering, tuning and display behavior during a user configuration session.

24. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of relating at least one of the input variable values to a non-linear range of assigned values.

25. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of weighting each of the assigned values of the input variables multiplicatively with a respective coefficient that relates to the priority of the respective input variables, further comprising the steps of weighting a first input variable value with a first multiplicative coefficient for a first rule and weighting the first input variable value with a second multiplicative coefficient for a second rule.

26. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of pre-processing the input variables in a pre-processing module, wherein the step of pre-processing includes the steps of receiving at least one of the input variables from memory, comparing the input variable value to at least one of a pre-determined set of thresholds, assigning a new value to the input variable from a range of desired values, and multiplying the value by its respective weight coefficient for input to the set of controlling rules, wherein the step of inputting the weighted value of the one of the input variables to the set of the controlling rules includes the step of providing an outcome that effects a change to at least some of the resources used for the media content of the first and the second display channel to resource the media content of the new display channel.

27. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of inputting further comprises the step of inputting precedences configured by the user.

28. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of using the set of rules to determine the resources to be used.

29. The method of claim 5, wherein the set of rules are programmable.

30. A method for managing the use of media client device resources when a user request for a new display channel occurs while the resources are fully utilized for resourcing other display channels, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving an input signal indicating a user request for a new display channel while tuning and buffering media content downloaded in response to the user previously selecting a first display channel and while tuning, buffering, and displaying media content downloaded in response to the user previously selecting a second display channel;

characterizing the media content downloads of the first and second display channels with input variables;

assigning values to the input variables, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of relating the an input variables to a first threshold and a second threshold to effect a buffering behavior of the media content associated with the first and second display channels, wherein the first and second thresholds include default values that are user configurable, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of causing the input variables to exhibit a non-linear range of values when the input variables are input into the set of rules, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of relating a first threshold to a first input variable value, wherein if the first input variable value is below the first threshold, the first input variable value is assigned a value of no significance, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of relating a first threshold and a second threshold to a second input variable value, wherein if the second input variable value is at least equal to the first threshold but below the second threshold, the second input variable value is assigned its original value, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of relating a first threshold and a second threshold to a third input variable value, wherein if the third input variable value is greater than the first and the second threshold, the third input variable value is assigned a maximum value, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of assigning a fourth input variable value a value of no significance based on input of the user, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of assigning a fifth input variable value a value of no significance based on input of the user to configure at least one of a desired buffering, tuning and display behavior during a user configuration session, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of assigning a sixth input variable value a maximum value based on input of the user, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of assigning a seventh input variable value a maximum value based on input of the user to configure at least one of a desired buffering, tuning and display behavior during a user configuration session, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of relating at least one of the input variable values to a non-linear range of assigned values, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of weighting each of the assigned values of the input variables multiplicatively with a respective coefficient that relates to the priority of the respective input variables, wherein the step of assigning includes the step of pre-processing the input variables in a pre-processing module, wherein the step of pre-processing includes the steps of receiving at least one of the input variables from memory, comparing the input variable value to at least one of a pre-determined set of thresholds, assigning a new value to the input variable from a range of desired values, and multiplying the value by its respective weight coefficient for input to the set of controlling rules, wherein the step of inputting the weighted value of the one of the input variables to the set of the controlling rules includes the step of providing an outcome that effects a change to at least some of the resources used for the media content of the first and the second display channel to resource the media content of the new display channel, wherein the set of rules are programmable;

inputting the input variables and the corresponding assigned values into a set of rules that determine a priority between the first and second display channels, wherein the set of rules dynamically adjusts a multiplicative coefficient of the input variable associated with the time the buffered media content is displayed on the display device according to the viewing patterns of the user, such that different viewing patterns are weighted differently in the set of rules;

tuning, buffering, and displaying media content downloaded from the new display channel using the resources associated with the display channel having the lowest determined priority;

wherein the step of characterizing the media content downloads includes the step of characterizing the media content downloads as an input variable representing a length of contiguous time of buffering media content of at least one of the first and second display channels;

wherein the step of characterizing the media content downloads includes the step of characterizing the media content downloads as an input variable representing a length of total time of buffering a media content instance of at least one of the first and second display channels;

wherein the step of characterizing the media content downloads includes the step of characterizing the media content downloads as an input variable representing a length of time that the buffered media content of at least one of the first and second display channels is displayed on a display device;

wherein the step of characterizing the media content downloads includes the step of characterizing the media content downloads as an input variable representing a relationship between a length of time of buffering media content of the first display channel with a length of time of buffering media content of the second display channel;

wherein the step of characterizing the media content downloads includes the step of characterizing the media content downloads as an input variable representing a relationship between a length of time of buffering media content of at least one of the first and second display channel with a length of time of displaying the associated display channel media content on a display device; and

wherein the step of characterizing the media content downloads includes the step of characterizing the media content downloads as an input variable representing whether at least one of the first and second display channels buffering media content is included in a favorites channel list, further including the step of enabling the user to configure whether the favorites channel list will influence a rule set, further including the step of using a different set of rules when the favorites channel list is employed as an input variable such that the assigned value of the input variable is weighted in a manner that favors continued buffering of the media content associated with the favorites channel list.

31. A method for buffering media content of multiple display channels, the method including the steps of:

receiving media content of a plurality of display channels using a plurality of tuners; and

buffering the media content to a plurality of buffers, wherein each tuner has an associated buffer.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the steps of receiving and buffering the media content of a plurality of display channels include the steps of buffering the media content of a first display channel to a first buffer associated with a first tuner, and buffering the media content of a second display channel to a second buffer associated with a second tuner of at least a two tuner system that includes at least two buffers associated with the two tuners, further including the step of associating the first buffer with a first filename and the second buffer with a second filename.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the first buffer and the second buffer are located in separate storage devices.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the first buffer and the second buffer are located in one storage device, wherein the first buffer and the second buffer are partitioned to function as two storage devices.

35. The method of claim 31, further including the steps of receiving media content from an external device that is coupled to a communication port and buffering to a third buffer associated with the communication port.

36. The method of claim 31, further including the steps of recording the point in time in memory when one of the display channels is tuned, caching the media content of the tuned display channel up to a first buffering threshold duration, and then copying the point in time to a data structure associated with an associated buffer space when the first buffering threshold duration has substantially elapsed, wherein the buffering threshold duration is at least one of a programmable default value and user configurable.

39. The method of claim 38, further including the step of receiving a user request for a currently displayed channel causes the currently displayed channel to have priority over a preceding displayed channel, wherein the priority determination becomes effective at least one of immediately and after receiving a subsequent user request for displaying a subsequent display channel within a specific amount of elapsed time corresponding to less than a second buffering threshold duration.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the step of prioritizing includes the step of designating the display channels with buffering durations that fail to meet a minimum threshold buffering duration as the lowest priority display channels.

41. The method of claim 38, further including the step of randomly deleting the buffered media content from the buffering resources associated with either of the display channels that have the lowest priority duration, further including the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of a new display channel using tuning resources, buffering resources, and display resources associated with buffers from which the media content was deleted.

42. The method of claim 38, further including the step of providing a decision barker for a user to determine which display channel of the plurality of display channels designated as having the lowest priority should have the media content deleted, further including the step of receiving, buffering, and displaying media content of a new display channel using tuning resources, buffering resources, and display resources associated with buffers from which the media content was deleted.

43. The method of claim 38, further including the step of favoring the retention of media content associated with a favorites display channel when the favorites display channel is included among the display channels designated as having the lowest priority duration.

44. The method of claim 38, further including the step of providing a decision barker to enable a user to determine priority if the buffering duration to each of the buffers at least meet a minimum threshold buffering duration and the buffering duration to each of the buffers are of equal duration.

45. The method of claim 38, further including the step of favoring retention of media content associated with a favorites display channel when the favorites display channel is included among display channels that have buffering durations that at least meet the minimum threshold buffering duration and the buffering duration to each of the buffers are of equal duration.

46. The method of claim 38, further including the step of deleting the buffered media content having the shortest buffering duration if the buffering duration to each of the buffers at least meet the minimum threshold buffering duration.

47. The method of claim 38, further including the step of deleting the buffered media content having the shortest buffering duration if the buffering duration to each of the buffers at least meets a minimum threshold and the buffered media content with the shortest buffering duration has a buffering duration of less than a defined percentage of the buffering duration of the buffered media content having the longest buffering duration, wherein the defined percentage includes at least one of a default value and a user configurable value, further including the step of providing a decision barker to enable a user to determine priority when the lowest buffering duration is a defined value in relation to the defined percentage, further including the step of providing a user configuration screen to enable the user to determine when to provide the decision barker, further including the step of providing a user configuration screen to enable the user to determine the defined value.

48. The method of claim 38, further including the step of providing a decision barker if the buffering duration to each of the buffers at least meets a minimum threshold and the buffered media content with the lowest buffering duration has a buffering duration of at least equal to a defined percentage of the buffering duration of the buffered media content having the highest buffering duration, wherein the defined percentage includes at least one of a default value and a user configurable value, further including the step of providing a user configuration screen to enable the user to determine when to provide the decision barker.

49. The method of claim 38, further including the step of providing a decision barker for a user to determine priority when the buffering durations are substantially similar, wherein the decision barker includes a description of the buffering resource conflict, suggestions as to how to resolve the conflict, titles of each media content instance buffered, the buffering duration for each buffered media content instance, the times each media content instance was buffered, the ability to permanently record buffered media content, and the ability to delete buffered media content.

50. The method of claim 38, wherein the step of prioritizing includes the step of providing a decision barker for a user to determine priority when the buffering durations are within a defined percentage of a minimum threshold, further including the step of providing at least one of a default minimum threshold buffering duration and a user configurable minimum threshold buffering duration, further including the step of providing a user interface to a user to prioritize the display channels by prioritizing buffering durations.

51. The method of claim 38, wherein the step of prioritizing includes the step of designating the display channel having a buffering duration that consumes the least amount of storage space as the lowest priority display channel.

52. The method of claim 38, wherein the step of prioritizing includes the step of designating the display channel that included media content that was currently displayed as the lowest priority display channel.

53. The method of claim 38, wherein the step of prioritizing includes the step of designating the display channel that included media content that was the second to the last displayed as the lowest priority display channel.

37. A method for buffering media content of multiple display channels, the method including the steps of:

receiving media content of a plurality of display channels using a plurality of tuners; and

buffering the media content to a plurality of buffers, wherein each tuner has an associated buffer, wherein the steps of receiving and buffering the media content of a plurality of display channels include the steps of buffering the media content of a first display channel to a first buffer associated with a first tuner, and buffering the media content of a second display channel to a second buffer associated with a second tuner, further including the step of associating the first buffer with a first filename and the second buffer with a second filename, wherein the first buffer and the second buffer are located in separate storage devices, further including the steps of recording the point in time in memory when one of the display channels is tuned and then copying the point in time to a data structure associated with an associated buffer space when a first buffering threshold duration has substantially elapsed, wherein the buffering threshold duration is user configurable, wherein the buffering resources include at least one of a storage device, a communications interface, a compression engine, compression engine memory, and system memory, further including the steps of receiving media content from an external device that is coupled to a communication port and buffering to a third buffer associated with the communication port.

38. A method for prioritizing multiple display channels, the method including the steps of:

determining the buffering durations for buffered media content of associated display channels;

prioritizing the buffering durations of a plurality of buffers; and

designating at least one display channel as having the lowest priority based on the prioritized buffering durations.

54. A method for prioritizing multiple display channels, the method including the steps of:

receiving media content of a plurality of display channels using tuning resources, wherein the tuning resources include at least a tuner system, an analog decoder, a demodulator, and a demultiplexer;

buffering the media content using buffering resources, wherein the buffering resources include at least one of a storage device, a communications interface, a compression engine, compression engine memory, and system memory;

receiving a request for a new display channel when all of the tuning resources and the buffering resources are unavailable to fulfill the request;

prioritizing the plurality of display channels;

discontinuing the receiving and buffering of the lowest priority display channel;

deleting the media content associated with the lowest priority display channel;

receiving the media content of the new display channel using the tuning resources associated with the lowest priority display channel;

buffering the media content of the new display channel using the buffering resources of the lowest priority display channel;

wherein the step of prioritizing includes the step of designating the display channels with buffering durations that fail to meet a minimum threshold buffering duration as the lowest priority display channels;

wherein the step of deleting includes the step of randomly deleting the buffered media content from the buffering resources associated with either of the display channels that have the lowest priority duration, and wherein the steps of receiving and buffering include receiving and buffering the media content of the new display channel using the tuning resources and the buffering resources associated with the buffering resources from which the media content was deleted;

wherein the step of deleting includes the step of providing a decision barker for a user to determine which display channel of the plurality of display channels designated as having the lowest priority should have the media content deleted, and wherein the steps of receiving and buffering include receiving and buffering the media content of the new display channel using the tuning resources and the buffering resources associated with the buffering resources from which the media content was deleted;

wherein the step of deleting includes the step of favoring the retention of media content associated with a favorites display channel when the favorites display channel is included among the display channels designated as having the lowest priority duration;

further comprising the step of providing a decision barker to enable a user to determine priority if the buffering duration to each of the buffers at least meet a minimum threshold buffering duration and the buffering duration to each of the buffers are of equal duration;

further comprising the step of favoring retention of media content associated with a favorites display channel when the favorites display channel is included among display channels that have buffering durations that at least meet the minimum threshold buffering duration and the buffering duration to each of the buffers are of equal duration;

further comprising the step of deleting the buffered media content having the shortest buffering duration if the buffering duration to each of the buffers at least meet the minimum threshold buffering duration;

further comprising the step of deleting the buffered media content having the shortest buffering duration if the buffering duration to each of the buffers at least meets a minimum threshold and the buffered media content with the shortest buffering duration has a buffering duration of less than a defined percentage of the buffering duration of the buffered media content having the longest buffering duration, wherein the defined percentage includes at least one of a default value and a user configurable value;

further including the step of providing a decision barker to enable a user to determine priority when the lowest buffering duration is a defined value in relation to the defined percentage;

further including the step of providing a user configuration screen to enable the user to determine when to provide the decision barker;

further including the step of providing a user configuration screen to enable the user to determine the defined value;

further including the step of providing a decision barker if the buffering duration to each of the buffers at least meets a minimum threshold and the buffered media content with the lowest buffering duration has a buffering duration of at least equal to a defined percentage of the buffering duration of the buffered media content having the highest buffering duration, wherein the defined percentage includes at least one of a default value and a user configurable value;

further including the step of providing a user configuration screen to enable the user to determine when to provide the decision barker;

wherein the step of prioritizing includes the step of providing a decision barker for a user to determine priority when the buffering durations that are compared are substantially similar, wherein the decision barker includes a description of the buffering resource conflict, suggestions as to how to resolve the conflict, titles of each media content instance buffered, the buffering duration for each buffered media content instance, the times each media content instance was buffered, the ability to permanently record buffered media content, and the ability to delete buffered media content; and

wherein the step of prioritizing includes the step of providing a decision barker for a user to determine priority when the buffering durations are within a defined percentage of a minimum threshold, further including the step of providing a user configurable minimum threshold buffering duration.

55. A method for resourcing media content of multiple display channels, the method including the steps of:

receiving media content of a plurality of display channels using tuning resources;

buffering the media content using buffering resources;

displaying the media content from at least one of the display channels using display resources;

receiving a request for a new display channel when all of the tuning resources, the buffering resources, and the display resources are unavailable to fulfill the request;

discontinuing the display of the media content from at least one of the display resources;

prioritizing the plurality of display channels;

discontinuing the receiving and buffering of the lowest priority display channel;

deleting the media content associated with the lowest priority display channel;

receiving the media content of the new display channel using the tuning resources associated with the lowest priority display channel;

buffering the media content of the new display channel using the buffering resources of the lowest priority display channel; and

displaying the media content of the new display channel using the previously discontinued display resources.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein the steps of discontinuing includes discontinuing the receiving, buffering, and displaying of the media content associated with one of the display channels sourced from a digital transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying include receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content associated with the new display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal.

57. The method of claim 55, wherein the steps of discontinuing includes discontinuing the receiving, buffering, and displaying of media content associated with one of the display channels sourced from a digital transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying include receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content associated with the new display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal.

58. The method of claim 55, wherein the steps of discontinuing includes discontinuing the receiving, buffering, and displaying of the media content associated with one of the display channels sourced from an analog transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying include receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content associated with the new display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal.

59. The method of claim 55, wherein the steps of discontinuing includes discontinuing the receiving, buffering, and displaying of the media content associated with one of the display channels sourced from an analog transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying include receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content associated with the new display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal.

60. The method of claim 55, wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal.

61. The method of claim 55, wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal.

62. The method of claim 55, wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal.

63. The method of claim 55, wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal.

64. The method of claim 55, wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal.

65. The method of claim 55, wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal.

66. The method of claim 55, wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal.

67. The method of claim 55, wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal.

68. The method of claim 55, wherein the step of deleting includes writing over the media content associated with the lowest priority display channel with the media content of the new display channel.

69. The method of claim 55, wherein the step of deleting includes configuring at least a portion of a buffer space associated with the deleted media content as writeable and writing the media content of the new display channel in any writeable area of the buffer space.

70. The method of claim 55, wherein the display resources include at least one of a display device, a media memory, and a media engine.

71. The method of claim 55, wherein the buffering resources include at least one of a storage device, a communications interface, a compression engine, compression engine memory, and system memory.

72. The method of claim 55, wherein the tuning resources include at least a tuner system, an analog decoder, a demodulator, and a demultiplexer.

73. The method of claim 55, further including the step of receiving media content of a second display channel using a first tuner, the second display channel transmitted over the same center RF frequency as a first display channel, and receiving the media content of the second display channel using the first tuner, and buffering the media content of the first display channel to a first buffer and buffering the media content of the second display channel to a second buffer.

74. A method for resourcing media content of multiple display channels, the method including the steps of:

receiving media content of a plurality of display channels using tuning resources;

buffering the media content using buffering resources;

displaying the media content from at least one of the display channels using display resources;

receiving a request for a new display channel when all of the tuning resources, the buffering resources, and the display resources are unavailable to fulfill the request;

discontinuing the display of the media content from at least one of the display resources;

prioritizing the plurality of display channels;

discontinuing the receiving and buffering of the lowest priority display channel;

deleting the media content associated with the lowest priority display channel;

receiving the media content of the new display channel using the tuning resources associated with the lowest priority display channel;

buffering the media content of the new display channel using the buffering resources of the lowest priority display channel;

displaying the media content of the new display channel using the previously discontinued display resources;

wherein the steps of discontinuing includes discontinuing the receiving, buffering, and displaying of the media content associated with one of the display channels sourced from a digital transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying include receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content associated with the new display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal;

wherein the steps of discontinuing includes discontinuing the receiving, buffering, and displaying of media content associated with one of the display channels sourced from a digital transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying include receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content associated with the new display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal;

wherein the steps of discontinuing includes discontinuing the receiving, buffering, and displaying of the media content associated with one of the display channels sourced from an analog transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying include receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content associated with the new display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal;

wherein the steps of discontinuing includes discontinuing the receiving, buffering, and displaying of the media content associated with one of the display channels sourced from an analog transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying include receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content associated with the new display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal;

wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal;

wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal;

wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal;

wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal;

wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal;

wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal;

wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal; and

wherein the step of discontinuing the display includes discontinuing the display of media content associated with a first display channel sourced from an analog transmission signal while retaining the buffering of the media content associated with the first display channel, wherein the step of discontinuing the receiving and buffering includes discontinuing the receiving and buffering of media content associated with a second display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal, wherein the steps of receiving, buffering, and displaying includes receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of the new display channel sourced from a digital transmission signal.

75. A method for of staging the resources used for resourcing media content of multiple display channels, the method including the steps of:

receiving a request for a new display channel;

then determining the availability of unemployed resources to receive, buffer, and display the media content of the new display channel, wherein the resources include tuners to receive the transmitted media content, a display device to display the media content of the new display channel, storage device capacity to buffer the media content of the new display channel, interface access capability for buffering and retrieving media content to and from the storage device, compression engines, and decompression engines, and memory;

then determining whether to discontinue a display channel that is currently receiving and buffering media content in order to repossess a resource that is to be used for the new display channel media content;

then upon determining whether to discontinue a display channel, selecting a display channel that is currently buffering to discontinue;

then upon determining the unavailability of a display device to display the media content of the new display channel, discontinuing the display of the media content of the selected display channel;

then discontinuing the buffering of the media content of the selected display channel while continuing the buffering of non-selected display channel media content;

then deleting the media content of the selected display channel;

then upon determining the unavailability of a tuner to receive the media content of the new display channel, discontinuing the receipt of the media content of the selected display channel at a tuner of the selected display channel,

then receiving the media content of the new display channel using the tuner previously associated with the selected display channel;

buffering media content of the new display channel into a buffer previously associated with the selected display channel; and

displaying the media content of the new display channel using the display device previously associated with the selected display channel.

76. A system for resourcing media content of multiple display channels, the system comprising:

a memory with logic;

tuning resources to receive media content of a plurality of display channels;

buffering resources for buffering the media content;

display resources for displaying the media content from at least one of the display channels; and

a processor configured with the logic to determine when the resources are unavailable to receive media content of a newly requested display channel, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to, responsive to a determination of insufficient resources, determine the lowest priority display channel using at least one user configurable rule, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect discontinuing the receipt of media content of a display channel designated as having the lowest priority among a plurality of received display channels, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to employ the resources previously used to receive the discontinued media content to receive the media content of the newly requested display channel, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect using tuning, buffering, and display resources to tune, buffer, and display media content of the newly requested display channel, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect deleting the media content associated with the display channel designated as having the lowest priority, wherein deleting includes at least one of configuring storage space as writeable and writing over the storage space, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to determine priority using a plurality of user configurable rules, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to input at least one input variable among a plurality of input variables into the user configurable rule and provide a priority determination as an outcome.

77. A system for managing the use of media client device resources when a user request for a new display channel occurs while the resources are fully utilized for resourcing other display channels, the system comprising:

a memory with logic;

tuning resources to receive media content of a plurality of display channels;

buffering resources for buffering the media content;

display resources for displaying the media content from at least one of the display channels; and

a processor configured with the logic to receive an input signal indicating a user request for a new display channel while effecting the tuning and buffering of media content downloaded in response to the user previously selecting a first display channel and while effecting the tuning, buffering, and displaying of media content downloaded in response to the user previously selecting a second display channel, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to characterize the media content downloads of the first and second display channels with input variables, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to assign values to the input variables, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to input the input variables and the corresponding assigned values into a set of rules that determine a priority between the first and second display channels, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to then effect the tuning, buffering, and displaying of media content downloaded from the new display channel using the resources associated with the display channel having the lowest determined priority.

78. The system of claim 77, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to relate at least one of the input variable values to a non-linear range of assigned values.

79. The system of claim 77, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to weight each of the assigned values of the input variables multiplicatively with a respective coefficient that relates to the priority of the respective input variables, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to weight a first input variable value with a first multiplicative coefficient for a first rule and weight the first input variable value with a second multiplicative coefficient for a second rule.

80. The system of claim 77, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to pre-process the input variables in a pre-processing module, wherein the pre-processing module is configured to receive at least one of the input variables from memory, compare the input variable value to at least one of a pre-determined set of thresholds, assign a new value to the input variable from a range of desired values, and multiply the value by its respective weight coefficient for input to the set of controlling rules, wherein the pre-processing module is further configured to provide an outcome that effects a change to at least some of the resources used for the media content of the first and the second display channel to resource the media content of the new display channel.

81. The system of claim 77, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to receive precedences configured by the user.

82. The system of claim 77, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to use the set of rules to determine the resources to be used.

83. The system of claim 77, wherein the set of rules are programmable.

84. A system for buffering media content of multiple display channels, the system comprising:

a plurality of tuners for receiving media content of a plurality of display channels;

a plurality of buffers for buffering the media content;

a memory with logic; and

a processor configured with the logic to effect the tuning and buffering, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to associate each of the buffers with an associated tuner, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect buffering the media content to a plurality of buffers, wherein each tuner has an associated buffer, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect buffering the media content of a first display channel to a first buffer associated with a first tuner, and effect buffering the media content of a second display channel to a second buffer associated with a second tuner, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to associate the first buffer with a first filename and the second buffer with a second filename, wherein the first buffer and the second buffer are located in separate storage devices, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to record the point in time in memory when one of the display channels is tuned and then effect copying the point in time to a data structure associated with an associated buffer space when a first buffering threshold duration has substantially elapsed, wherein the buffering threshold duration is user configurable, further including a communications interface, a compression engine, compression engine memory, and system memory, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect receiving media content from an external device that is coupled to a communication port and buffering to a third buffer associated with the communication port.

85. A system for prioritizing multiple display channels, the system comprising:

a plurality of buffers for storing buffered media content;

a memory with logic; and

a processor configured with the logic to determine the buffering durations for buffered media content of associated display channels, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to prioritize the buffering durations of the plurality of buffers, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to designate at least one display channel as having the lowest priority based on the prioritized buffering durations.

86. The system of claim 85, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to designate the display channels with buffering durations that fail to meet a minimum threshold buffering duration as the lowest priority display channels, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to randomly delete the buffered media content from the buffers associated with either of the display channels that have the lowest priority duration, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect receiving, buffering, and displaying the media content of a new display channel using tuning resources, buffering resources, and display resources associated with the buffers from which the media content was deleted, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to provide a decision barker for a user to determine which display channel of the plurality of display channels designated as having the lowest priority should have the media content deleted, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect receiving, buffering, and displaying media content of a new display channel using tuning resources, buffering resources, and display resources associated with the buffers from which the media content was deleted, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to favor the retention of media content associated with a favorites display channel when the favorites display channel is included among the display channels designated as having the lowest priority duration, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to provide a decision barker to enable a user to determine priority if the buffering duration to each of the buffers at least meet a minimum threshold buffering duration and the buffering duration to each of the buffers are of equal duration, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to favor retention of media content associated with a favorites display channel when the favorites display channel is included among display channels that have buffering durations that at least meet the minimum threshold buffering duration and the buffering duration to each of the buffers are of equal duration, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect the deletion of the buffered media content having the shortest buffering duration if the buffering duration to each of the buffers at least meet the minimum threshold buffering duration, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to delete the buffered media content having the shortest buffering duration if the buffering duration to each of the buffers at least meets a minimum threshold and the buffered media content with the shortest buffering duration has a buffering duration of less than a defined percentage of the buffering duration of the buffered media content having the longest buffering duration, wherein the defined percentage includes at least one of a default value and a user configurable value, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to provide a decision barker to enable a user to determine priority when the lowest buffering duration is a defined value in relation to the defined percentage, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to provide a user configuration screen to enable the user to determine when to provide the decision barker, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to provide a user configuration screen to enable the user to determine the defined value, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to provide a decision barker if the buffering duration to each of the buffers at least meets a minimum threshold and the buffered media content with the lowest buffering duration has a buffering duration of at least equal to a defined percentage of the buffering duration of the buffered media content having the highest buffering duration, wherein the defined percentage includes at least one of a default value and a user configurable value, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to provide a user configuration screen to enable the user to determine when to provide the decision barker, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to provide a decision barker for a user to determine priority when the buffering durations are substantially similar, wherein the decision barker includes a description of the buffering resource conflict, suggestions as to how to resolve the conflict, titles of each media content instance buffered, the buffering duration for each buffered media content instance, the times each media content instance was buffered, the ability to permanently record buffered media content, and the ability to delete buffered media content, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to provide a decision barker for a user to determine priority when the buffering durations are within a defined percentage of a minimum threshold, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to provide a default minimum threshold buffering duration, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to provide a user configurable minimum threshold buffering duration.

87. The system of claim 85, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to provide a user interface to a user to prioritize the display channels by prioritizing buffering durations.

88. A system for resourcing media content of multiple display channels, the system comprising:

a memory with logic;

tuning resources to receive media content of a plurality of display channels;

buffering resources for buffering the media content;

display resources for displaying the media content from at least one of the display channels;

a processor configured with the logic to receive a request for a new display channel when all of the tuning resources, the buffering resources, and the display resources are unavailable to fulfill the request, wherein the processor is further configured with the 11 logic to effect the discontinuance of the display of the media content from at least one of the display resources, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to prioritize the plurality of display channels, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect the discontinuance of the receiving and buffering of the lowest priority display channel, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect the deletion of the media content associated with the lowest priority display channel, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect the receipt of the media content of the new display channel using the tuning resources associated with the lowest priority display channel, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect the buffering of the media content of the new display channel using the buffering resources of the lowest priority display channel, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect the displaying of the media content of the new display channel using the previously discontinued display resources.

89. The system of claim 88, wherein the processor is further configured with the logic to effect the continuing of the tuning and the buffering of the non-deleted media content using the tuning resources and the buffering resources associated with the buffering resources in which the media content was not deleted.

90. The system of claim 88, wherein the display resources include at least one of a display device, a media memory, and a media engine.

91. The system of claim 88, wherein the buffering resources include at least one of a storage device, a communications interface, a compression engine, compression engine memory, and system memory.

92. The system of claim 88, wherein the tuning resources include at least a tuner system, an analog decoder, a demodulator, and a demultiplexer.