Systems and methods for retrofitting electronic appliances to accept different content formats
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for managing the use of electronic content, the system including:
- an electronic appliance for (a) receiving encoded content and encoded control information, the encoded control information specifying, at least in part, how a decoded version of the encoded content may be used, and (b) rendering the encoded content and the encoded control information through an output of the electronic appliance, the output of the electronic appliance being designed to be coupled to an output device for presenting content to a user of the electronic appliance;
a retrofitting appliance including an input electrically connected to the output of the electronic appliance, the retrofitting appliance being operable to (a) accepting the encoded content and the encoded control information from the output of the electronic appliance, (b) decoding, at least in part, the encoded control information to obtain a decoded version of the encoded control information, and (c) using the decoded control information to at least in part govern the use of decoded content corresponding to the encoded content; and
an output device electrically coupled to an output of the retrofitting appliance for presenting decoded audio/or visual content to a user of the electronic appliance.
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Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed for using an arbitrary fixed channel to carry third-party information. In one embodiment, the present invention provides systems and methods for enabling existing content rendering devices to accept content encoded in a proprietary format, such as an encoding format used by a digital rights management system. The encoded content is rendered by the device in the normal manner, and decoded by a retrofitting appliance connected to the device'"'"'s output. The retrofitting appliance may apply decoded rules and controls to the decoded content, thereby managing use of the content.
96 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for managing the use of electronic content, the system including:
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an electronic appliance for (a) receiving encoded content and encoded control information, the encoded control information specifying, at least in part, how a decoded version of the encoded content may be used, and (b) rendering the encoded content and the encoded control information through an output of the electronic appliance, the output of the electronic appliance being designed to be coupled to an output device for presenting content to a user of the electronic appliance; a retrofitting appliance including an input electrically connected to the output of the electronic appliance, the retrofitting appliance being operable to (a) accepting the encoded content and the encoded control information from the output of the electronic appliance, (b) decoding, at least in part, the encoded control information to obtain a decoded version of the encoded control information, and (c) using the decoded control information to at least in part govern the use of decoded content corresponding to the encoded content; and an output device electrically coupled to an output of the retrofitting appliance for presenting decoded audio/or visual content to a user of the electronic appliance. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A system for managing the use of electronic content comprising:
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a fixed content delivery channel having an input and an output, the fixed content delivery channel being operable to accept an input signal at said input and to process the input signal to obtain an audio and/or video output signal renderable by a rendering device capable of being connected to the output; a rendering device configured to be connected to the output of the fixed content delivery channel and to render audio and/or video signals received from the fixed content delivery channel to users of the fixed content delivery channel; and a retrofitting appliance connected to the output of the fixed content delivery channel and configured to intercept an audio and/or video signal communication between the fixed content delivery channel and the rendering device, the communication comprising encoded content and at least one rule, the retrofitting appliance being operable to decode the encoded content, and, in accordance with the at least one rule, selectively transmit the decoded content to the rendering device for presentation to a user. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for rendering electronic content, the system comprising:
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a DVD player, the DVD player being operable to receive a DVD containing electronic content, read the electronic content from the DVD, and send the electronic content to an output port, the output port being designed to be connected to a video display to facilitate viewing of the electronic content; a retrofitting appliance attached to the output port of the DVD player, the retrofitting appliance being operable to receive electronic content from the output port of the DVD player, retrieve control information from the electronic content, and use the control information to govern the transmission of a video signal embedded in the electronic content to an output of the retrofitting appliance, the output of the retrofitting appliance being designed to be connected to a video display to facilitate viewing of the video signal; a video display having an input designed to be connected to the output port of the DVD player, the input being attached to the output of the retrofitting appliance, the video display being operable to accept the video signal from the retrofitting appliance and render the video signal to a user of the system; wherein the retrofitting appliance is a separate physical device from the DVD player and the video display, and is located externally to the DVD player and the video display. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A method for rendering electronic content, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a DVD player, a DVD containing electronic data; retrieving the electronic data from the DVD; sending the electronic data to an external output port of the DVD player; at a retrofitting appliance physically separate from, but coupled to, the external output port of the DVD player, receiving the electronic data from the external output port of the DVD player, retrieving control information embedded in the electronic data, retrieving a video signal from the electronic data, using the control information to determine whether to permit use of the video signal, and sending the video signal to an output port of the retrofitting appliance; and receiving the video signal at a video display system coupled to the output port of the retrofitting appliance, and displaying the video signal to a user. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification