The present invention relates generally to multimedia, and more specifically, to a system and method of improved television viewing using automatic parallel recording of television channels. The invention continuously captures and records multimedia content for a set of "channels" in a central location, buffering all available channels for a number of days or weeks on a continuous basis. The buffered programming may then be streamed over a network such as the Internet on request, to the viewer's premises where it can be viewed on request via an appropriate display device such as a television equipped with an IP-enabled set top box or on a personal computer.