Method and system for customized television viewing using a peer-to-peer network

A controller, comprising:

• an I/O port connectable to a network that includes a plurality of peer-topeer communication devices;
• a storage device and a processing unit coupled to said storage device;
• wherein said storage device and processing unit are configurable to implement a plurality of user-input program schedules received from a plurality of said peer-to-peer communication devices, each of said program schedules specifying at least a portion of a media broadcast to be viewed on respective receive/display devices coupled to respective peer-to-peer communication devices.

A computer-usable medium tangibly embodying computer-executable instructions, said instructions when executed implementing a process comprising:

• causing a first peer-to-peer communication device to locally record at least a portion of a media broadcast in accordance with user input, and to transmit said locally recorded portion to a second peer-to-peer communication device of said network upon request.

A computer-usable medium tangibly embodying computer-executable instructions, said instructions when executed causing a controller of a network that includes a plurality of peer-to-peer communication devices to implement a plurality of user-input program schedules received from a plurality of said peer-to-peer communication devices, each of said program schedules specifying at least a portion of a media broadcast to be viewed on respective receive/display devices coupled to respective peer-to-peer communication devices.

A system comprising:

• a plurality of peer-to-peer communication devices interconnected via a network, and each peer-to-peer communication device further connected to a receive/display device;
• a controller connected to said network, to control said plurality of peer-to-peer communication devices in accordance with user-input program schedules, said program schedules respectively specifying at least a portion of a media broadcast to be viewed on respective receive/display devices coupled to respective peer-to-peer communication devices;
• wherein said controller is configurable to cause a first peer-to-peer communication device to record at least a portion of a media broadcast specified in a program schedule entered by a user of a second peer-to-peer communication device different from said first peer-to-peer communication device.