improved methods and arrangements are provided for use in : selecting candidate television and multimedia programs for recording ; recording the candidate programs ; viewing the recorded programs ; and archiving the recorded programs . at the center of this capability is a time - dependent content buffering arrangement that allows candidate programs to be selected by an intelligent content agent , with the assistance of a bubbling agent , an electronic program guide , a select library listing , and / or a personal profile associated with a particular user . according to one feature , a rate at which a viewer consumes programs determines a degree of selectivity by which candidate programs are selected .