SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPERATION OF RECORDING DEVICES SUCH AS DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDERS (DVRs)

Abstract

A method, according to one approach, includes receiving, at a local recording system, a representation of a first portion of a television program from a remote system, the local recording system being located remotely from the remote system. The representation of the first portion is temporally shorter than a contiguous length of the television program. The representation of the first portion is stored by the local recording system. The representation of the first portion is output by the local recording system. A representation of a second portion of the television program is received from the remote system after output of the representation of the first portion by the local recording system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 receiving a request to transfer a representation of a television program from a remote system to a local recording system located remotely from the remote system;   transferring a representation of a first portion of the television program from the remote system to the local recording system,   wherein the representation of the first portion is temporally shorter than a contiguous length of the television program,   wherein the representation of the first portion is stored by the local recording system and made available for output by the local recording system; and   transferring a representation of a second portion of the television program from the remote system to the local recording system after output of the representation of the first portion by the local recording system.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the local recording system is a handheld device with integrated display. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the representation is transferred, at least in part, via a wireless telephone system. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the representation of the second portion is converted to a format compatible with the local recording system. 
     
     
         5 . A system, comprising:
 at least one processor; and   logic integrated with and/or executable by the processor to cause the processor to:   receive a request to transfer a representation of a television program to a local recording system;   transfer a representation of a first portion of the television program to the local recording system,   wherein the representation of the first portion is temporally shorter than a contiguous length of the television program,   after transferring the first portion of the television program to the local recording system, receive a request to transfer a representation of a second portion of the television program to the local recording system,   wherein the representation of the second portion is temporally shorter than the contiguous length of the television program; and   transferring the representation of the second portion of the television program to the local recording system in response to the request to transfer the representation of the second portion.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , comprising converting the representation of the second portion to a format compatible with the local recording system. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the local recording system is a handheld device with integrated display. 
     
     
         8 . A method, comprising:
 receiving, at a local recording system, a representation of a first portion of a television program from a remote system, the local recording system being located remotely from the remote system;   wherein the representation of the first portion is temporally shorter than a contiguous length of the television program,   storing, by the local recording system, the representation of the first portion;   outputting, by the local recording system, the representation of the first portion; and   receiving, at the local recording system, a representation of a second portion of the television program from the remote system after output of the representation of the first portion by the local recording system.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the local recording system is a handheld device with integrated display. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first portion of the representation is received, at least in part, via a wireless telephone system. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the representation of the second portion is converted to a format compatible with the local recording system. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , comprising storing the representation of the second portion by the local recording system for later output. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , comprising deleting the first and second portions in response to receiving a user request to delete the television program. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the representation of the second portion is output by the local recording system as the representation of the second portion is received by the local recording system via streaming from the remote system. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the representation of the second portion is received in response to a user request to download the second portion. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 8 , comprising outputting a thumbnail picture representative of the television program. 
     
     
         17 . A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer program code embodied therewith, wherein the computer program code is readable and/or executable by a local recording system to cause the local recording system to:
 receive, at the local recording system, a representation of a first portion of a television program from a remote system, the local recording system being located remotely from the remote system;   wherein the representation of the first portion is temporally shorter than a contiguous length of the television program,   store, by the local recording system, the representation of the first portion;   output, by the local recording system, the representation of the first portion; and   receive, by the local recording system, a representation of a second portion of the television program from the remote system after output of the representation of the first portion by the local recording system.   
     
     
         18 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein the local recording system is a handheld device with integrated display. 
     
     
         19 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein the first portion of the representation is transferred, at least in part, via a wireless telephone system. 
     
     
         20 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein the representation of the second portion is converted to a format compatible with the local recording system. 
     
     
         21 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , comprising computer program code for storing the representation of the second portion by the local recording system for later output. 
     
     
         22 . The computer program product of  claim 21 , comprising computer program code for deleting the first and second portions in response to receiving a user request to delete the television program. 
     
     
         23 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein the representation of the second portion is output by the local recording system as the representation of the second portion is received by the local recording system via streaming from the remote system. 
     
     
         24 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein the representation of the second portion is received in response to a user request to download the second portion. 
     
     
         25 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , comprising computer program code for outputting a thumbnail picture representative of the television program.