Secure data transmission via multichannel entitlement management and control

• US 20070192586A1
• Filed: 03/09/2004
• Published: 08/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: McNeely, David
• Granted Patent: US 7,929,697 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/153
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18523 Satellite systems for providing broadcast service to terrestrial stations, i.e. broadcast satellite service arrangements specially adapted for satellite broadcast receiving H04H40/90; picture transmission via satellite H04N1/00103; television transmission via satellite H04N7/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2347 involving video stream encryption
• 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 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6143 involving transmission via a satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/631 Multimode Transmission, e.g. transmitting basic layers and enhancement layers of the content over different transmission paths or transmitting with different error corrections, different keys or with different transmission protocols
• 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 for communicating data, such as audio/video (AV) data, over plural channels involves selecting data and encryption information, and encrypting the data with the encryption information to thereby produce encrypted data. The encryption information is broken into portions. The encrypted data is communicated by way of at least one of the plural channels, and at least some portions of the encryption information are communicated over at least one channel other than that one over which the encrypted data is communicated. In a more general case, the encrypted data is sent over one channel, and the encryption information is divided and sent over several other channels.

Claims

1. A method for communicating a program signal, comprising the steps of:

encrypting the program signal using encryption information to produce an encrypted program signal;

dividing the encryption information into a plurality of encryption information portions;

communicating the encrypted program signal via a first communications channel; and

communicating the plurality of encryption information portions via a second communications channel that is independent of the first communications channel.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of communicating the plurality of encryption information portions comprises communicating the plurality of encryption information portions via a plurality of communications channels that are independent of the first communications channel.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of encryption information portions is transmitted over a respective unique one of the plurality of communications channels that is independent of the first communications channels.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the program signal is representative of a television program, and the encryption information corresponds to an entitlement control message.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of communications channels comprise satellite data paths.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the program signal is representative of a television program, and the encryption information corresponds to an entitlement control message.

7. A method of receiving and processing a program signal, comprising:

simultaneously receiving data via a plurality of communications channels, including receiving an encrypted program signal via a first communications channel, and receiving a plurality of encryption information portions via a second communications channel that is independent of the first communications channel;

assembling the plurality of encryption information portions to recover encryption information; and

decrypting the encrypted program signal using the recovered encryption information to generate the program signal.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of receiving the plurality of encryption information portions comprises receiving the plurality of encryption information portions via a plurality of communications channels that are independent of the first communications channel.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein each one of plurality of encryption information portions is received via a respective unique communications channel of the plurality of communications channels.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the program signal corresponds to a television program signal and the encryption information comprises an entitlement control message.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the program signal corresponds to a television program signal and the encryption information comprises an entitlement control message.

12. A method of receiving a television program signal via a satellite path, comprising:

receiving a user command selecting a program associated with a first channel;

simultaneously tuning to a plurality of channels to receive data via the plurality of channels, including receiving an encrypted program signal associated with the selected program via the first channel, and receiving a plurality of encryption information portions via a second channel that is independent of the first channel;

assembling the plurality of encryption information portions to recover encryption information;

decrypting the encrypted program signal using the recovered encryption information to generate a program signal;

processing the program signal to generate a display signal.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the step of receiving the plurality of encryption information portions comprises receiving the plurality of encryption information portions via a plurality of channels that are independent of the first channel.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein each one of plurality of encryption information portions is received via a respective unique channel of the plurality of channels.

15. An apparatus, comprising:

means for simultaneously receiving data from a plurality of communications channels;

control means, coupled to the receiving means, for selecting channels received by the receiving means;

processing means, coupled to the receiving means, for processing data received via the plurality of communications channels;

user input means for receiving user commands including selection of a program associated with a first communications channel, wherein

the control means causes the receiving means to receive program signals associated with the selected program via the first communications channel in response to a user command, and receive a plurality of encryption information portions via a second communications channel that is independent of the first communications channel, the processing means assembling the encryption information portions to generate encryption information and decrypting the program signal using the assembled encryption information.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the receiving means receives the plurality of encryption information portions via a plurality of communications channels that are independent of the first communications channel.

17. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the receiving means receives each of the plurality of encryption information portions via a respective unique communications channels that is independent of the first communications channel.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the program comprises a television program and the encryption information comprises an entitlement control message.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the communications channels correspond to satellite transmission channels.