Method, apparatus and computer program for processing multimedia data signals

• US 7,836,514 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2004
• Issued: 11/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Jung-Sook, Noh, Mi-Jung, Kim, Seo-Kyu, Kim, Hyun-Min, Kim, Tae-Su
• Primary Examiner(s): Orgad; Edan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Baum; Ronald
• Application Number:
  US10/921,818
• Publication Number:
  US 20050047404A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,279 Days
• Field of Search: 726/30
• US Class Current: 726/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/28 Arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/18 on copying information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/23 using cryptography, e.g. encryption, authentication, key distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4181 for conditional access
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43632 involving a wired protocol, e.g. IEEE 1394 high-speed IEEE 1394 serial bus H04L12/40052
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• 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 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

An apparatus, method and a computer program for processing multimedia data is described, where the apparatus may include an input switch which may receive a plurality of transport stream packets corresponding to a plurality of digital multimedia data signals input thereto, and a packet identification (PID) filter unit which may selectively output a given set of TS packets to be demultiplexed from the received plurality of TS packets. A buffer and/or an external memory device may store at least some of the TS packets of the output given set. A conditional access/content protection (CA/CP) unit may read and decrypt the TS packets stored in the buffer, and may encrypt at least some of the decrypted TS packets for storage in the external memory device if the buffer becomes full, to prevent the TS packets to be stored in the external memory device from being copied.

Claims

1. An apparatus for processing multimedia data, comprising:

a transport stream (TS) input switch unit configured to receive a plurality of encrypted TS packets corresponding to a plurality of digital multimedia data signals;

a packet identification (PID) filter unit configured to receive the plurality of TS packets from the TS input switch, and to output TS packets with PID and Service Channel Identification (SCID) values set in registers of PID filters of the PID filter unit;

a first TS buffer configured to sequentially store the output TS packets;

an external memory device configured to store at least some of the output TS packet; and

a conditional access/content protection (CA/CP) unit configured to read and to decrypt the encrypted TS packets stored in the first TS buffer, and to encrypt at least some of the decrypted TS packets for storage in the external memory device if the first TS buffer becomes full, so as to prevent the decrypted TS packets to be stored in the external memory device from being copied.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a second TS buffer configured to sequentially store TS packets received from the CA/CP unit; and

a micro-processing unit (MPU) configured to sequentially read the TS packets stored in the second TS buffer, and to demultiplex the stored TS packets.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a memory interface unit operatively connected to the external memory device via an external system bus, wherein when the first TS buffer is full, a portion of the TS packets selected for output from the PID filter unit is stored, after encryption by the CA/CP unit, in the external memory device via the memory interface unit and the external system bus, in preparation for a read back process.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:

a program stream (PS) sector parser configured to abstract a sector header from a PS of a digital versatile disk (DVD) input through the memory interface, and to output the sector header to the CA/CP unit.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:

a personal video recording (PVR) write interface unit configured to receive a TS packet for PVR scrambled by the CA/CP unit, to pack the TS packet with a time stamp, and to output the packed TS packet via the memory interface unit;

a program specific information (PSI) buffer configured to insert PSI of a single program into the TS packet for PVR when writing PVR; and

a PVR read interface unit configured to receive the TS packet for PVR via the memory interface unit, and to control a reading speed using the time stamp information packed with the TS packet.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the memory interface unit includes a plurality of write direct memory accesses (DMAs) and a plurality of read DMAs.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a program clock reference (PCR) recovery unit configured to store PCR data abstracted from the PID filter unit and to control a system timer clock (STC) with the PCR data.

8. A method for processing multimedia data in an apparatus configured for receiving and recording a plurality of multimedia data signal, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of encrypted TS packets corresponding to a plurality of digital multimedia data signals;

filtering the received plurality of TS packet and outputting TS packets having set values of a packet identification (PID) and a service channel identification (SCID);

sequentially storing the output TS packets in a first buffer of the apparatus;

simultaneously reading and decrypting the TS packets stored in the first buffer; and

encrypting at least some of the decrypted TS packets in preparation for storing the encrypted packets in an external memory in communication with the apparatus, if the first buffer becomes full, so as to prevent the decrypted TS packets to be stored in the external memory from being copied.

11. An apparatus for processing multimedia data, the apparatus configured for processing multimedia data in accordance with the method of claim 8.

9. A method for preventing copying of multimedia data signals that are to be recorded in an external recording medium in operative communication with an apparatus for processing multimedia data, comprising:

decrypting a received plurality of encrypted transport stream (TS) packets representing one or more input multimedia data signals for storage in a buffer until the buffer is full, the received TS packets having set values of a packet identification (PID) and a service channel identification (SCID);

encrypting at least some of the decrypted TS packets that cannot be stored in the buffer, and storing the encrypted TS packets in an external memory for recording in the external recording medium.

10. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable non-transitory medium having computer program logic stored thereon for enabling a processor to process multimedia data in an apparatus configured to receive and record the multimedia data, the computer program logic causing the processor to perform the functions of:

receiving a plurality of encrypted TS packets corresponding to a plurality of digital multimedia data signals input to the apparatus;

filtering the received plurality of TS packet and outputting TS packets having set values of a packet identification (PID) and a service channel identification (SCID);

sequentially storing output TS packets in a first buffer of the apparatus;

simultaneously reading and decrypting the TS packets stored in the first buffer; and

encrypting at least some of the decrypted TS packets in preparation for storing the encrypted packets in an external memory in communication with the apparatus, if the first buffer becomes full, so as to prevent the decrypted TS packets to be stored in the external memory from being copied.