Partial encryption and PID mapping

• US 20060153379A1
• Filed: 11/18/2005
• Published: 07/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brant L. Candelore, Leo M. Pedlow Jr, Robert Allan Unger
• Original Assignee: Brant L. Candelore, Leo M. Pedlow Jr, Robert Allan Unger
• Inventors: Candelore, Brant L., Unger, Robert Allan, Pedlow, Leo M. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,310,422 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 380/216
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23476 by partially encrypting, e.g. encrypting the ending portion of a movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23608 Remultiplexing multiplex streams, e.g. involving modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2362 Generation or processing of Service Information [SI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23897 by partially encrypting, e.g. encrypting only the ending portion of a movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25875 involving end-user authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; arrangements for secret or secure communication including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26606 for generating or managing entitlement messages, e.g. Entitlement Control Message [ECM] or Entitlement Management Message [EMM] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4181 for conditional access
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42615 involving specific demultiplexing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4344 Remultiplexing of multiplex streams, e.g. by modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43607 Interfacing a plurality of external cards, e.g. through a DVB Common Interface [DVB-CI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43853 involving multiplex stream decryption arrangements using cryptography for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/23
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43856 by partial decryption, e.g. decrypting a multiplex stream that has been partially encrypted
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44055 by partially decrypting, e.g. decrypting a video stream that has been partially encrypted
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4516 involving client characteristics, e.g. Set-Top-Box type, software version or amount of memory available
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4623 : Processing of entitlement messages, e.g. ECM [Entitlement Control Message] or EMM [Entitlement Management Message] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/835 : Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 : Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/167 : Systems rendering the television signal unintelligible and subsequently intelligible
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 : Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58

Abstract

A method consistent with certain embodiments carried out at a television provider headend involves receiving a feed of scrambled television content in the form of a stream of packets; descrambling the scrambled television content to produce a stream of clear packets; selecting a packet for multiple encryption; duplicating the packet to provide first and second packets; re-mapping the first and second packets to first and second packet identifiers; encrypting the first packet under a first encryption algorithm to produce a first encrypted packet; encrypting the second packet under a second encryption algorithm to produce a second encrypted packet; and re-mapping clear packets to the first packet identifier. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.

Claims

1. A packet identifier remapping apparatus, comprising:

a demodulator that demodulates a stream of modulated packets, the stream of packets comprising clear packets with a first packet identifier, encrypted packets with a second packet identifier and packets with a third packet identifier; and

a remapper that changes the packet identifiers so that the clear packets with the first packet identifier and the encrypted packets with the second packet identifier have the same packet identifier.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the packets with the third packet identifier comprise clear packets and further comprising an encrypter for encrypting the packets having the third packet identifier under a different algorithm than that used to encrypt packets having the second packet identifier.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the packets with the third packet identifier comprise encrypted packets, and wherein the packets with the third packet identifier are encrypted under a different algorithm than that used to encrypt packets having the second packet identifier.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stream of modulated packets are quadrature amplitude modulated;

and wherein the demodulator comprises a quadrature amplitude modulation demodulator.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a multiplexer that combines the remapped packets with the packets with the third packet identifier to produce an output data stream.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a quadrature amplitude modulator that modulates the output data stream.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stream of modulated packets further comprises packets containing system information;

and further comprising means for modifying the system information to identify the encryption used to encrypt the packets having the third packet identifier.

8. A method carried out at a television provider headend, comprising:

receiving a feed of scrambled television content in the form of a stream of packets;

descrambling the scrambled television content to produce a stream of clear packets;

selecting a packet for multiple encryption;

duplicating the packet to provide first and second packets;

re-mapping the first and second packets to first and second packet identifiers;

encrypting the first packet under a first encryption algorithm to produce a first encrypted packet;

encrypting the second packet under a second encryption algorithm to produce a second encrypted packet; and

re-mapping clear packets to the first packet identifier.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising assembling a partially multiple encrypted stream of packets by combining clear packets with the first encrypted packets and the second encrypted packets.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the first and second encrypted packets are inserted adjacent one another in the partially encrypted stream of packets.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the packets are selected for multiple encryption based upon contents of the packet.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein the packets are selected for multiple encryption based upon a timing sequence for sampling the stream of clear packets.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein the stream of packets has an audio portion, a video portion and a system information portion.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein packets are selected for multiple encryption by selecting system information for encrypting.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein packets are selected for multiple encryption by selecting the audio portion for encrypting.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein packets are selected for multiple encryption by selecting the video portion for encrypting.

17. The method according to claim 8, wherein the stream of packets is comprised of multiple programs and wherein packets are selected for multiple encryption by sequentially selecting each program for a period of time for encryption.

18. The method according to claim 8, wherein the stream of packets is comprised of multiple programs and wherein packets are selected for multiple encryption by selecting fewer than 100% of the programs for a period of time for encryption.

19. The method according to claim 8, wherein the stream of packets is comprised of blocks of data and wherein packets are selected for multiple encryption by selecting N blocks for every M^th block of content for encryption, where N is less than M.

20. The method according to claim 8, wherein the stream of packets is comprised of data structures and wherein packets are selected for multiple encryption by selecting a fraction of the data structures for encrypting.

21. The method according to claim 8, wherein the stream of packets is comprised of compressed data, wherein packets are selected for multiple encryption by selection of data needed for decompressing the content for encrypting.

22. The method according to claim 8, wherein the stream of packets is comprised of a plurality of packetized elementary streams with the packets containing header information, and wherein packets are selected for multiple encryption by selecting header information for encrypting.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the header information comprises at least one of packetized elementary stream (PES) header, sequence header, sequence header extension, and group of pictures (GOP) header.

24. The method according to claim 9, further comprising distributing the assembled partially multiple encrypted stream of packets.

25. A computer readable medium storing instructions which, when carried out on a programmed processor, carry out a process according to claim 8.

26. A method carried out at a television provider headend, comprising:

receiving a feed of scrambled television content in the form of a stream of packets with at least a portion of the packets containing compressed data, wherein the stream of packets has an audio portion, a video portion and a system information portion;

descrambling the scrambled television content to produce a stream of clear packets;

selecting a packet for multiple encryption;

duplicating the packet to provide first and second packets;

re-mapping the first and second packets to first and second packet identifiers;

encrypting the first packet under a first encryption algorithm to produce a first encrypted packet;

encrypting the second packet under a second encryption algorithm to produce a second encrypted packet;

re-mapping clear packets to the first packet identifier;

assembling a partially multiple encrypted stream of packets by combining clear packets with the first encrypted packets and the second encrypted packets, wherein the first and second encrypted packets are inserted adjacent one another in the partially encrypted stream of packets; and

distributing the assembled partially multiple encrypted stream of packets.