ABSTRACT
For many years there has been a vision of the future television where users can “watch what they want, when they want.” This vision first emerged through the concept of video-on-demand (VOD), where users could get streaming TV programs and movies on demand. While this approach was expected to be available today, it can currently only be found in hotels and to a limited degree as Pay-Per-View movies available on cable and satellite. Recently, however, a second approach has been in the form of hard disk recorders (HDR) available today from TiVo and ReplayTV. The current models of these devices record 30140 hours of programs, allowing users to truly watch what they want when they want. Users navigate electronic program guides where they select programs to be recorded. In addition, TiVo "personalizes" the TV experience. Users rate shows and then the TiVo recorders automatically record TV programs that they infer the users will like. Hard disk recorders offer users tremendous flexibility to time-shift and they have pushed the idea of personalization into the living room. However, they are limited because they have no tools for personalizing information at a sub-program level.
