Importance

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Abstract

A central controller remotely controls and configures sets of receivers to receive programs in a broadcast signal and recast selected sets of programs to selected sets of media devices over a computer network. Each receiver has an input module that receives programs from the broadcast signal, a control module that receives a control stream from the central controller, and a recasting module that reformats and transmits selects programs over the computer network. The receivers use the control stream to configure the selected sets of programs and the selected sets of media devices. The recasting module is uncoupled from the control module so that the receiver's recasting of selected program content can be different for different sets of receivers, thereby allowing any combination of broadcast programs to be recast by any set of receivers to any set of media devices. The receiver also has a storage module and interrupts the live recasting of the broadcast signal to spool out a locally stored file.

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First Claim