Abstract: A method by a television includes considering only IEEE-1394 compliant recording devices discovered by a television for selection as a default recording device; disabling a discovered IEEE-1394 compliant recording device from a recording operation when the discovered recording device is without a desired recording feature; selecting a single discovered recording device as a default recording device for recording output from the television; and selecting one of multiple discovered IEEE-1394 compliant recording devices according to a criteria, when a particular one of the multiple discovered recording devices has not been selected by a television user.

Abstract: A method for selective control of a device for recording output from a viewing apparatus includes sending output for recording from a viewing apparatus to a recording device selected automatically by the viewing apparatus, responsive to the viewing apparatus being enabled for automatically selecting the recording device; and maintaining recording the output to a recording device designated by the viewing apparatus, responsive to the viewing apparatus being disabled from automatically selecting a recording device.

Abstract: A method and apparatus enables users to specify analog connections for devices on a data bus network such as an IEEE 1394 network in a convenient, time-efficient manner. According to an exemplary embodiment, the method includes steps of enabling an on-screen display comprising a list of devices connected to the digital data bus network requiring analog connections to the apparatus, and enabling a user to specify the analog connections responsive to the on-screen display.