Remote video recorder programming apparatus operating over telephone lines

Claim 1

Apparatus for programming a video recorder comprising: a programming unit locatable at a position remote from the video recorder, said programming unit including a keyboard for entering programming instructions, said instructions including a start time, a stop time and station whose program content is to be recorded by the video recorder, a visual display for prompting a user to enter said keyboard instructions and for displaying said instructions as they are entered, a memory device for storing digital signals corresponding to said instructions as they are input through said keyboard, a communications device for converting said digital signals corresponding to said instructions into serial signals suitable for telephone transmission, a transmit control for causing instructions stored in the memory means to be converted into said serial signals, and speaker means for converting said serial signals into audible tones suitable for transmission by a telephone system; and a receiver unit, said receiver unit having means couplable to the telephone system for receiving said, audible tones, means for converting said audible tones into formated signals suitable for storage, means for storing said formated signals, processor means coupled to said means for storing and having means for interpreting said formated signals and converting them into video recording control signals, and interface means responsive to the processor means and couplable to a video recorder for controlling said recorder in accordance with said instructions by turning on said video recorder at the start time, turning off said video recorder at the stop time and tuning the recorder to an appropriate station.