Apparatus for controlling storage and playback of digital broadcasting contents

• US 7,676,039 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2003
• Issued: 03/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Hong, Jin Woo, Choi, Bum Suk, Lee, Hye Joo, Seok, Jong Won
• Primary Examiner(s): Zand; Kambiz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wyszynski; Aubrey H
• Application Number:
  US10/716,689
• Publication Number:
  US 20040103428A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,303 Days
• Field of Search: 380/203, 380/201, 725/25
• US Class Current: 380/201
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23892 involving embedding information at multiplex stream level, e.g. embedding a watermark at packet level
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23895 involving multiplex stream encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• 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 21/8355 involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467
• 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

Provided is an apparatus for controlling storage and playback of digital broadcasting contents. The apparatus can control a broadcasting content to be recorded and stored, temporarily stored, and played back while protecting and managing it securely. The apparatus of the present research includes: a control information providing unit for generating control information for recording storage, temporary storage, and playback of a broadcasting content, using the control information as watermarking information, multiplexing and scrambling the broadcasting content including the control information, and outputting a scrambled transport; and a storing and playback unit for storing the broadcasting content by using the control information, comparing the control information stored together with the broadcasting content with control information added as watermarks, and determining whether to play back the broadcasting content.

Claims

1. An apparatus for controlling storage and playback of digital broadcasting contents in a transmitter of a digital broadcasting environment, comprising:

an access control means for generating;

(a) access control information for access control service and (b) control word for scrambling;

a copy control information (CCI) generation means for generating copy control information;

a broadcasting flag (BF) generation means for generating broadcasting flag;

a retention information (RI) generation means for generating retention information;

a watermarking means for receiving the CCI, the BF and the RI and watermarking an uncompressed media signal with the CCI, the BF and the RI to thereby generate a watermarked media signal;

a media encoding means for compressing the watermarked media signal;

a multiplexing means for receiving and multiplexing the watermarked and compressed media signal, the access control information, the CCI, the BF, and the RI to thereby generate multiplexed transport stream; and

a scrambling means for scrambling the multiplexed transport stream based on the control word and transmitting the scrambled transport stream.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the CCI is information for determining whether a broadcasting content can be copied.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the BF is information for determining whether a content is a broadcasting content.

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the RI indicates retention time of a broadcasting content when the broadcasting content is stored in a hard disk.

5. An apparatus for controlling storage and playback of digital broadcasting contents in a receiver of a digital broadcasting environment, comprising:

a personal information providing means for providing personal information to decode a scrambled transport stream;

a descrambling means for descrambling the scrambled transport stream based on the personal information;

a control information processing means for processing a copy control information (CCI), a broadcasting flag (BF), a retention information (RI), which are storage and playback control information included in the descrambled transport stream, and storing and playing back the broadcasting content;

an encrypting means for encrypting the broadcasting content to be stored;

a storing means for storing the encrypted broadcasting content;

a decrypting means for decrypting the stored broadcasting content;

a decoding means for decoding the descrambled and compressed transport stream; and

a playback allowing means for abstracting the CCI, the BF and the RI, which are watermarks, from the decoded transport stream, comparing the abstracted watermark information with the storage and playback control information, and determining whether to allow playback of the broadcasting content.

6. The apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein the control information processing means changes the CCI included in the transport stream based on the kind of a broadcasting content, when the broadcasting content is stored.

7. The apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein the control information processing means checks the BF included in the transport stream based on the kind of a broadcasting content, and stores and plays back the broadcasting content.

8. The apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein the control information processing means checks whether the retention period is valid by checking the RI included in the transport stream based on the kind and service of a broadcasting content, and plays back the broadcasting content.

9. The apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein the CCI indicates whether a broadcasting content can be copied and the BF indicates whether the content is an authentic broadcasting content, while the RI indicates retention time of a broadcasting content stored in the hard disk of the receiver.

10. The apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein the playback allowing means abstracts the watermarked CCI, the watermarked BF, and the watermarked RI, compares the CCI, BF and RI which are abstracted as watermarks with the CCI, BE and RI included in the transport stream, and determines whether to allow the broadcasting content to be played back.

11. The apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein a broadcasting content to be stored temporarily is not processed in the control information processing means, not encrypted in the encrypting means, and stored in the storing means directly and, when the broadcasting content is played back to an end, the broadcasting content which is delayed as much as temporarily stored in the storage means is deleted automatically.

12. An apparatus for storing and playing back digital broadcasting contents, comprising:

a control information providing means for generating control information for recording storage, temporary storage, and playback of a broadcasting content, using the control information as watermarking information, multiplexing and scrambling the broadcasting content including the control information, and outputting a scrambled transport; and

a storing and playback means for storing the broadcasting content by using the control information, comparing the control information stored together with the broadcasting content with control information added as watermarks, and determining whether to play back the broadcasting content;

wherein the control information providing means includes;

an access controlling means for generating access control information for access control service and a control word;

a CCI generation means for generating the CCI;

a BF generation means for generating the BF;

a RI generation means for generating the RI;

a watermarking means for receiving the CCI, the BF, and the RI, and watermarking an

uncompressed media signal by using the CCI, the BF, and the RI as watermarks;

an encoding means for compressing the watermarked media signal;

a multiplexing means for receiving and multiplexing the watermarked and compressed media signal, the access control information, the CCI, the BF, and the RI; and

a scrambling means for scrambling a multiplexed transport stream based on the control word and transmitting the scrambled transport stream.

13. The apparatus as recited in claim 12, wherein the control information includes CCI information for determining whether the broadcasting content can be copied, BF information for determining whether the broadcasting content is an authentic broadcasting content, and RI information for indicating retention time of the broadcasting content stored in a hard disk of the storing and playback means.

14. The apparatus as recited in claim 12, wherein the storing and playback means includes:

a personal information providing means for providing personal information for decoding the scrambled transport stream;

a descrambling means for descrambling the scrambled transport stream based on the personal information;

a control information processing means for processing the CCI, the BF and the RI, which are the storage and playback control information included in the descrambled transport stream, and storing and playing back the broadcasting content;

an encrypting means for encrypting the broadcasting content to be stored;

a storing means for storing the encrypted broadcasting content;

a decrypting means for decrypting the stored broadcasting content;

a decoding means for decoding the descrambled and compressed transport stream; and

a playback allowing means for abstracting the CCI, the BF and the RI, which are watermarks, from the decoded transport streams compares the abstracted watermark information with the storage and playback information, and determining whether to allow playback of the broadcasting content.