Encryption and content control in a digital broadcast system

• US 7,218,738 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2002
• Issued: 05/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/02/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Pedlow, JR., Leo M., Candelore, Brant L., Derovanessian, Henry
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Jr., Gilberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cervetti, David Garcia
• Application Number:
  US10/273,875
• Publication Number:
  US 20030123664A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,670 Days
• Field of Search: 380/218
• US Class Current: 380/218
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2221 being a cable television head-end CATV in broadcast systems H04H20/78
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2362 Generation or processing of Service Information [SI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23895 involving multiplex stream encryption
• 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 7/162 Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58

Abstract

A selective encryption encoder has a packet identifier that identifies packets of a specified packet type forming a part of a program. A packet duplicator duplicates the identified packets to produce first and second sets of the identified packets. A PMT (program map table) inserter generates temporary identifying information that identifies the first and second sets of identified packets inserts the temporary identifying information as user private data in a program map table (PMT) forming a part of the transport program specific information (PSI). The data are then sent to and received from a primary encryption encoder to encrypt the first set of identified packets under a first encryption method. A secondary encrypter encrypts the second set of identified packets under a second encryption method. The PSI is then modified at a PSI modifier to remove the temporary identifying information and to correctly associate the first and second sets of identified packets and the unencrypted packets with the program.

Claims

1. A selective encryption method, comprising:

examining unencrypted packets of data in a digital video signal to identify a specified packet type;

duplicating the packets of the specified packet type to produce duplicate packets;

identifying the duplicate packets by a first packet identifier (PID);

identifying remaining unencrypted packets by a second packet identifier (PID);

replacing the packets of the specified packet type with the first duplicate packets;

generating identifying information that identifies the first duplicate packets, and the unencrypted packets;

storing the identifying information as transport program specific information (PSI);

creating a data stream comprising the PSI, the first duplicate packets, and the unencrypted packets into the data stream; and

sending the data stream to a primary encryption encoder.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identifying information is stored as user private data in a program map table (PMT) in the transport PSI.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a data stream back from the primary encryption encoder;

reading a program map table (PMT), a program association table (PAT) and the identifying information from the transport PSI; and

mapping the PIDs associated with at least one of the first duplicate packets and the unencrypted packets to values stored in the identifying information.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising deleting the identifying information from the PSI.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a data stream back from the primary encryption encoder;

reading a program map table (PMT), a program association table (PAT) and the identifying information from the transport PSI; and

modifying the PSI to reflect any remapping of the PIDs in the primary encryption encoder.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising deleting the identifying information from the PSI.

7. A tangible computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed on a programmed processor, carry out the selective encryption method according to claim 1.

8. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the storage medium comprises an electronic storage medium.

9. A selective encryption method, comprising:

examining unencrypted packets of data in a digital video signal to identify a specified packet type;

duplicating the packets of the specified packet type to produce first and second duplicate packets;

identifying the first duplicate packets by a first packet identifier (PID);

identifying the second duplicate packets by a second packet identifier (PID);

identifying unencrypted packets by a third packet identifier (PID);

replacing the packets of the specified packet type with the first duplicate packets and the second duplicate packets;

generating identifying information that identifies the first duplicate packets, the second duplicate packets and the unencrypted packets;

storing the identifying information as transport program specific information (PSI);

creating a data stream comprising the PSI, the first duplicate packets, the second duplicate packets and the unencrypted packets into the data stream; and

sending the data stream to a primary encryption encoder.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the identifying information is stored as user private data in a program map table (PMT) in the transport PSI.

11. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a data stream back from the primary encryption encoder;

reading a program map table (PMT), a program association table (PAT) and the identifying information from the transport PSI; and

mapping the PIDs associated with at least one of the first duplicate packets, the second duplicate packets and the unencrypted packets to values stored in the identifying information.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising deleting the identifying information from the PSI.

13. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a data stream back from the primary encryption encoder;

reading a program map table (PMT), a program association table (PAT) and the identifying information from the transport PSI; and

modifying the PSI to reflect any remapping of the PIDs in the primary encryption encoder.

14. The method according to claim 9, further comprising deleting the identifying information from the PSI.

15. A tangible computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed on a programmed processor, carry out the selective encryption method according to claim 9.

16. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the storage medium comprises an electronic storage medium.

17. A selective encryption encoder, comprising:

a packet identifier that identifies packets of a specified packet type forming a pan of a program;

a packet duplicator, receiving an output from the packet identifier, that duplicates the identified packets to produce fast and second sets of the identified packets;

means far generating temporary identifying information that identifies the first and second sets of identified packets and for inserting the temporary identifying information as transport program specific information (PSI); and

means for sending and receiving packets to and from a primary encryption encoder to encrypt the fast set of identified packets under a first encryption method.

18. The selective encryption encoder of claim 17, wherein the temporary identifying information is stored as user private data in a program map table.

19. The selective encryption encoder of claim 17, further comprising:

a secondary encrypter for encrypting the second set of identified packets under a second encryption method; and

means for modifying the PSI to remove the temporary identifying information and to correctly associate the first and second sets of identified packets with the program.

20. The selective encryption encoder of claim 19, wherein the means for modifying the PSI further modifies the PSI to correctly associated unencrypted packets with the program.

21. The selective encryption encoder of claim 17, further comprising:

a secondary encrypter for encrypting the second set of identified packets under a second encryption method;

means for modifying the PSI to remove the temporary identifying information; and

a PID remapper that remaps the PIDs associated with the first and second identified packets to correctly associate the first and second sets of identified packets with the program.

22. The selective encryption encoder of claim 21, wherein the PID remapper further remaps PIDs associated with unencrypted packets to correctly associate the unencrypted packets with the program.

23. A selective encryption encoder, comprising:

means for receiving a demodulated clear data stream of unencrypted packets carrying a program;

a PID remapper that remaps packet identifiers PIDs associated with the program;

a packet identifier, receiving an output from the PID remapper, that identifies packets of a specified packet type forming a part of the program;

a packet duplicator, receiving an output of the packet identifier, that duplicates the identified packets to produce first and second sets of the identified packets;

means for generating temporary identifying information that identifies the first and second sets of identified packets and for inserting the temporary identifying information as user private data in a program map table (PMT) forming a part of transport program specific information (PSI);

means for sending and receiving packets comprising the PSI, the first and second sets of identified packets and the unencrypted packets to and from a primary encryption encoder to encrypt the first set of identified packets under a first encryption method;

a secondary encrypter for encrypting the second set of identified packets under a second encryption method;

means for modifying the PSI to remove the temporary identifying information and to correctly associate the first and second sets of identified packets and unencrypted packets with the program; and

a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulator that QAM modulates a data stream associated with the program and comprising PSI, first and second identified packets and the unencrypted packets.

24. A tangible computer readable storage medium that carries instructions that when executed on a programmed processor to facilitate operation of a selective encryption encoder wherein the instructions comprise:

a code segment that examines unencrypted packets of data in a digital video signal to identify a specified packet type;

a code segment that duplicates the packets of the specified packet type to produce first and second duplicate packets;

a code segment that identifies the first duplicate packets by a first packet identifier PID;

a code segment that identifies the second duplicate packets by a second packet identifier PID;

a code segment that identifies unencrypted packets by a third packet identifier (PID);

a code segment that replaces the packets of the specified packet type with the first duplicate packets and the second duplicate packets;

a code segment that generates identifying information that identifies the first duplicate packets, the second duplicate packets and the unencrypted packets;

a code segment that stores the identifying information as transport program specific information (PSI); and

a code segment that creates a data stream comprising the PSI, the first duplicate packets, the second duplicate packets and the unencrypted packets into the data stream.

25. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 24, wherein the storage medium comprises an electronic storage medium.

26. A tangible computer readable storage medium carrying instructions that, when executed, carry out a selective encryption method, comprising:

examining unencrypted packets of data in a digital video signal to identify a specified packet type;

duplicating the packets of the specified packet type to produce first and second duplicate packets;

identifying the first duplicate packets by a first packet identifier (PID);

identifying the second duplicate packets by a second packet identifier (PID);

identifying unencrypted packets by a third packet identifier (PID);

replacing the packets of the specified packet type with the first duplicate packets and the second duplicate packets;

generating identifying information that identifies the first duplicate packets, the second duplicate packets and the unencrypted packets;

storing the identifying information as transport program specific information (PSI); and

creating a data stream comprising the PSI, the first duplicate packets, the second duplicate packets and the unencrypted packets into the data stream.

27. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the storage medium comprises an electronic storage medium.