Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and computer program

• US 8,300,817 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2008
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ogawa, Akimichi, Miyama, Seiji, Onoe, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): ABYANEH, ALI S
• Application Number:
  US12/030,329
• Publication Number:
  US 20080199010A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,721 Days
• Field of Search: 380/200, 380/201, 380/210, 380/216, 380/218, 382/216, 713/187, 713/178, 726/27
• US Class Current: 380/200
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23406 involving management of server-side video buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2347 involving video stream encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25816 involving client authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4367 Establishing a secure communication between the client and a peripheral device or smart card
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP

Abstract

An information processing apparatus for receiving broadcast data and outputting the received data to a client connected to a network includes a broadcast receiving unit that receives broadcast data; an encryption processor that performs encryption processing on the broadcast data received by the broadcast receiving unit; a data accumulation unit that accumulates encrypted data generated by the encryption processor; a data transmission unit that generates a communication packet in which encrypted data accumulated in the data accumulation unit is stored and outputs the generated communication packet; and a transmission data controller that monitors a retained state of the encrypted data in the data accumulation unit and removes, if a state different from a predetermined allowable retained state is detected, at least part of the encrypted data accumulated in the data accumulation unit from transmission data.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus for receiving broadcast data and outputting the received broadcast data to a client connected to a network, the information processing apparatus comprising:

a broadcast receiving unit that receives the broadcast data;

an encryption processor that performs encryption on the broadcast data received by the broadcast receiving unit to generate encrypted data, wherein the encrypted data comprises a protected content packet, wherein the protected content packet includes a plurality of timestamped transport stream packets formed by adding a timestamp to a transport stream packet, and wherein the protected content packet has a size that is an integral multiple of the size of one of the plurality of the timestamped transport stream packets;

a data accumulation unit that accumulates the encrypted data generated by the encryption processor;

a data retention period monitoring unit that associates an input time at which the protected content packet was input from the encryption processor to the data accumulation unit, records the input time associated with the protected content packet, and calculates a retention period for the protected content packet in the data accumulation unit;

a data transmission unit that generates a communication packet, wherein the communication packet stores the encrypted data accumulated in the data accumulation unit, and outputs the generated communication packet to a network; and

a transmission data controller configured to monitor a retention period of the protected content packet accumulated in the data accumulation unit and remove, from transmission data, a protected content packet retained in the data accumulation unit for a period of time exceeding a predetermined allowable retention period.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data transmission unit is configured to generate, as transmission data, a transmission control protocol packet from one or more protected content packets accumulated in the data accumulation unit, the one or more protected content packet being retained in the data accumulation unit for a period of time less than or equal to a predetermined allowable retention period, and output the generated transmission control protocol packet to the network.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission data controller is configured to monitor the amount of the encrypted data retained in the data accumulation unit and remove, if the amount of the encrypted data retained in the data accumulation unit exceeds a predetermined allowable value, at least part of the encrypted data accumulated in the data accumulation unit from transmission data.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a user interface generating unit that generates user interface information to be provided to the client,

wherein the user interface generating unit is configured to generate user interface information in response to a request from the client and output the generated user interface information to the encryption processor;

and

the data transmission unit is configured to generate a transmission control protocol packet including the user interface information and output the generated transmission control protocol packet to the client.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the user interface generating unit is configured to generate the user interface information on the basis of an input from a remote control or from an operation unit.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a program-information management unit that inputs, via the broadcast receiving unit, program information corresponding to a broadcast program input via the broadcast receiving unit and manages the input program information; and

a program-information-update monitoring unit that monitors whether program information managed by the program-information management unit has been updated,

wherein the program-information management unit has a flag indicating whether a client connected to the network has performed browse processing on program information; and

when detection information indicating that an update of program information has been detected is received from the program-information-update monitoring unit, if the flag is set to a value indicating that browse processing has been performed, the program-information management unit sends, to the client, an information update notification indicating that the program information has been updated.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the program-information management unit is configured to have a flag for each Container serving as a higher-level object than an item corresponding to each program information, the flag indicating whether a client connected to the network has performed browse processing on program information, and control the information update notification with respect to each Container.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the program-information management unit is configured to have a flag for each client, the flag indicating whether a client connected to the network has performed browse processing on program information, and control the information update notification with respect to each client.

9. An information processing method executed in an information processing apparatus for receiving broadcast data and outputting the received broadcast data to a client connected to a network, the information processing method comprising the steps of:

receiving the broadcast data at a broadcast receiving unit;

performing, with an encryption processor, encryption on the broadcast data received by the broadcast receiving unit to generate encrypted data, wherein the encrypted data is a protected content packet, and wherein the protected content packet includes a plurality of timestamped transport stream packets formed by adding a timestamp to a transport stream packet, and wherein the protected content packet has a size that is an integral multiple of the size of one of the plurality of the timestamped transport stream packets;

accumulating, with a data accumulation unit, the encrypted data generated by the encryption processor;

associating an input time at which the protected content packet was input from the encryption processor to the data accumulation unit, recording the input time associated with the protected content packet, and calculating a retention period for the protected content packet in the data accumulation unit;

transmitting data with a data transmission unit that generates a communication packet, wherein the communication packet stores the encrypted data accumulated in the data accumulation unit, and outputting the generated communication packet to a network; and

monitoring, with a transmission data controller, a retained state of the protected content packet accumulated in the data accumulation unit and removing the protected content packet if a period of time exceeding a predetermined allowable retention period is exceeded.

10. The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein in the step of transmitting data, a transmission control protocol packet is generated, as transmission data, from one or more protected content packets accumulated in the data accumulation unit, the one or more protected content packet being retained in the data accumulation unit for a period of time less than or equal to a predetermined allowable retention period, and the generated transmission control protocol packet is output to the network.

11. The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein in the step of controlling transmission data, the amount of the encrypted data retained in the data accumulation unit is monitored and if the amount of the encrypted data retained in the data accumulation unit exceeds a predetermined allowable value, at least part of the encrypted data accumulated in the data accumulation unit is removed from transmission data.

12. The information processing method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of generating a user interface, wherein a user interface generating unit generates user interface information to be provided to the client;

in the step of generating the user interface, the user interface information is generated in response to a request from the client and the generated user interface information is output to the encryption processor; and

in the step of transmitting data, a transmission control protocol packet including the user interface information is generated and output to the client.

13. The information processing method according to claim 12, wherein in the step of generating a user interface, the user interface information is generated on the basis of an input from a remote control or from an operation unit.

14. The information processing method according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

managing program information, wherein a program-information management unit inputs, via the broadcast receiving unit, program information corresponding to a broadcast program input via the broadcast receiving unit and manages the input program information;

monitoring a program information update, wherein a program-information-update monitoring unit monitors whether program information managed by the program-information management unit has been updated; and

controlling an information update notification, wherein the program-information management unit sets a flag indicating whether a client connected to the network has performed browse processing on program information, and when detection information indicating that an update of program information has been detected is received from the program-information-update monitoring unit, if the flag is set to a value indicating that browse processing has been performed, an information update notification indicating that the program information has been updated is sent to the client.

15. The information processing method according to claim 14, wherein in the step of controlling an information update notification, a flag indicating whether a client connected to the network has performed browse processing on program information is set for each Container which serves as a higher-level object than an item corresponding to each program information, and the information update notification is controlled with respect to each Container.

16. The information processing method according to claim 14, wherein in the step of controlling an information update notification, a flag indicating whether a client connected to the network has performed browse processing on program information is set for each client, and the information update notification is controlled with respect to each client.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with a computer program for causing information processing to be executed in an information processing apparatus that receives broadcast data and outputs the received broadcast data to a client connected to a network, the information processing comprising the steps of:

receiving the broadcast data at a broadcast receiving unit;

performing, with an encryption processor, encryption on the broadcast data received by the broadcast receiving unit to generate encrypted data, wherein the encrypted data is a protected content packet, wherein the protected content packet includes a plurality of timestamped transport stream packets, formed by adding a timestamp to a transport stream packet, and wherein the protected content packet has a size that is an integral multiple of the size of one of the plurality of the timestamped transport stream packets;

accumulating, with a data accumulation unit, the encrypted data generated by the encryption processor;

associating an input time at which the protected content packet was input from the encryption processor to the data accumulation unit, recording the input time associated with the protected content patent, and calculating a retention period for the protected content packet in the data accumulation unit;

transmitting data with a data transmission unit that generates a communication packet, wherein the communication packet stores the encrypted data accumulated in the data accumulation unit, and outputting the generated communication packet to a network; and

monitoring, with a transmission data controller, a retained state of the protected content packet accumulated in the data accumulation unit and removing the protected content packet if a period of time exceeding a predetermined allowable retention period is exceeded.