US 7,761,892 · Granted 2010-07-20

The Patent That Let You Record TV Shows on Someone Else's Server

Imagine a TV guide that didn't just tell you what was on—it let you tell a faraway computer to record shows for you, and even gift recordings to your friends. That's what this 2010 patent covers: a system where your TV remote talks to a server miles away that does the actual recording work.

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The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a client-server architecture where a user interface (your TV guide) communicates with remote media servers to request and store television program recordings. What's protected here is the specific combination of: a local client displaying an interactive guide, the ability to select programs remotely for recording on a distant server, VCR-style playback controls for both live and recorded content, and a system allowing users to designate other people as gift recipients for recorded programs. Someone copying this exact setup—interactive guide plus remote server recording plus the gifting feature—would infringe.

Why it matters

This patent captures the core architecture of what became the cloud-based DVR and streaming-on-demand ecosystem. Filed in 2003 and granted in 2010, it predates modern streaming services by years and protected United Video Properties' early vision of centralized, server-based video storage controlled through interactive guides. Rather than storing video locally on your DVR box, this system moved recording logic to the cloud—a foundational idea that helped define how cable and streaming companies eventually delivered flexible, multi-device access to recorded content.

Real-world use

When you use a cable company's on-demand app to request a show be recorded to your account from anywhere on your phone, you're using technology that traces back to this architectural pattern of remote-server recording.

Original USPTO abstract

An interactive television program guide system is provided. An interactive television program guide provides users with an opportunity to select programs for recording on a remote media server. Programs may also be recorded on a local media server. The program guide provides users with VCR-like control over programs that are played back from the media servers and over real-time cached copies of the programs. The program guide also provides users with an opportunity to designate gift recipients for whom programs may be recorded.

Patent details

Publication number: US 7,761,892
Filing date: 2003-02-06
Grant date: 2010-07-20
Assignee: United Video Properties, Inc.
Inventor(s): ELLIS MICHAEL D, THOMAS WILLIAM L, LEMMONS THOMAS R
CPC class: H04N21/2143

View original record on Google Patents →

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