Abstract: A personalized entertainment and information platform (Sphere) which provides personalized content delivery across different platforms and modes of delivery. A personal media device (e.g., PC, television, and so forth) interacts with a control server configured for accessing media content and metadata over the Internet. In response to input from the user and the history of user media selection and viewing, a prioritized recommendation list is generated and queued for downloading. The associated content is then downloaded automatically to the personal media device, without the need of user interaction. At this time the user can access the downloaded content immediately without a lengthy delay in waiting for content downloading. It will be appreciated that content such as shows and movies in HD format are of significant size (e.g., up to 50 GB) which would require significant download time, and tie up network and system resources.