Abstract: Scheduling functionality is described for resolving conflicts in the schedules of respective client devices, where the schedules are used to govern the recordation of media programs by the respective client devices. The client devices use virtual tuner functionality to receive media programs over respective communication channels, each channel having a prescribed amount of available bandwidth in which to receive media information. The scheduling functionality includes a conflict identification module for identifying conflicts in the schedules, a solution enumeration module for enumerating solutions to the conflicts, and a conflict resolution module for resolving the conflicts based on the output of the solution enumeration module. In one case, the schedules can be partitioned into a plurality of time segments, and solutions can be enumerated for each time segment in turn.

Abstract: Scheduling functionality is employed at a head-end site to update schedules used by a plurality of respective client devices to define the recording of media presentation events. The scheduling functionality operates by: compiling a master list of unique entries culled from the plurality of schedules; determining whether any entries in the master list require updating; and updating, based on the determining, at least one of the plurality of schedules. The scheduling functionality helps reduce the amount of redundant processing operations involved in updating the plurality of schedules, and therefore provides an efficient technique for updating the schedules.