Secure distribution of video on-demand

• US 8,973,027 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2013
• Issued: 03/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Son, Yong Ho, Goode, Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Pendleton, Brian T
• Assistant Examiner(s): Saint Cyr, Jean D
• Application Number:
  US13/757,959
• Publication Number:
  US 20130152122A1
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2347 involving video stream encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23473 by pre-encrypting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23476 by partially encrypting, e.g. encrypting the ending portion of a movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

An interactive information distribution system for providing secure distribution of video-on-demand content. The interactive information distribution system includes at least one programming source for storing at least one partially encrypted video program, and a distribution center including a remote server. The remote server stores the at least one partially encrypted video program received from the at least one programming source. The remote server also processes the partially encrypted video program corresponding to a subscriber requested video program to produce a fully encrypted video program. A subscriber-side distribution network, coupled to the distribution center, causes transmission of the fully encrypted video program to the requesting subscriber.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

at least partially decrypting, by a computing device, a video program encrypted in a first encrypted form received from at least one programming source to produce a modified version of the video program;

at least partially encrypting, by the computing device, the modified version of the video program to produce a video program in a second encrypted form;

receiving, by the computing device, a request for the video program; and

as a response to the request, transmitting, from the computing device and via at least a portion of a distribution network, the video program in the second encrypted form to a device located remote from the computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the video program encrypted in the first encrypted form is a video-on demand program encrypted in the first encrypted form, the request is requesting the video on-demand program, and the distribution network is a secondary distribution network of the content source.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a decryption key to the device, the decryption key being necessary to decrypt the video program in the second encrypted form.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the decryption key and the video program in the second encrypted form are transmitted to the device separately.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one programming source comprises one or more of the following:

a broadcast source, a premium broadcast source, or a video on-demand source.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting comprises transmitting the video program in the second encrypted form to the device uses a first communications channel of the distribution network;

and the method further comprises;

transmitting a decryption key to the user device using a second communications channel of the distribution network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the video program in the second encrypted form is encrypted according to a Data Encryption Standard (DES).

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the video program in the second encrypted form is multiplexed with other signals to create a multiplexed signal for transmission to the device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating encrypted content from the content source to a plurality of subscriber station premises using the distribution network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the device is located at one of the subscriber station premises.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the modified version of the video program comprises a fully decrypted version of the video program.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least partially decrypting the video program encrypted in the first encrypted form uses a first key;

and

wherein the at least partially encrypting the modified version of the video program uses a second key different from the first key.

13. An apparatus, configured to:

at least partially decrypt a video program encrypted in a first encrypted form received from at least one programming source to produce a modified version of the video program;

at least partially encrypt the modified version of the video program to produce a video program in a second encrypted form;

receive a request for the video program; and

as a response to the request, transmit, via at least a portion of a distribution network, the video program in the second encrypted form to a device located remote from the apparatus.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the video program encrypted in the first encrypted form is a video on-demand program encrypted in the first encrypted form, the request is requesting the video on-demand program, and the distribution network is a secondary distribution network of a content source.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, further configured to:

transmit the video program in the second encrypted form to the device via a first communications channel of the distribution network; and

transmit a decryption key to the device via a second communications channel of the distribution network.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the modified version of the video program comprises a fully decrypted version of the video program.

17. A method, comprising:

receiving video program data encrypted in a first encrypted form;

at least partially decrypting the video program data, to produce a modified version of the video program data;

receiving, by a computing device, a video program request;

at least partially encrypting, by the computing device, the modified version of the video program data to produce video program data in a second encrypted form; and

transmitting the video program data in the second encrypted form to a device located remote from the computing device over a distribution network.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the video program data encrypted in the first encrypted form is a video on-demand program encrypted in the first encrypted form, the video program request is requesting the video on-demand program, and the distribution network is a secondary distribution network of a content source.

19. A method, comprising:

transforming, by a computing device, video program data from a first encrypted form to a second encrypted form by at least partially decrypting and then at least partially re-encrypting the video program data, to produce the video program data in the second encrypted form;

receiving a video program request; and

transmitting the video program in the second encrypted form over a distribution network.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the video program data is a video on-demand program, the video program request is requesting the video on-demand program, and the distribution network is a secondary distribution network of a content source.