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Subscriber-limited reception television broadcast security encoder-decoder system

  • US RE31,735 E
  • Filed: 07/26/1982
  • Issued: 11/13/1984
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/19/1977
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A subscription television system for scrambling and unscrambling of standard television signals having horizontal scan lines that include horizontal synchronizing signals, vertical synchronizing signals, and video signals, and accompanying audio signals to enable reception of the video and audio signals in an intelligible manner only by authorized subscribers, said system comprising:

  • (1) transmitting means comprising;

    (a) means for scrambling video signals by inversion of the video portion of some horizontal scan lines in a line-by-line fashion on a pseudo-random basis to produce a picture having some video signals inverted and others not inverted which produces a substantially unintelligible visual display;

    (b) means for scrambling audio signals;

    (c) means for generating a plurality of discrete pulse coded control signals serving to identify individual subscribers which are authorized to unscramble the scrambled video and audio signals and to provide decoding pulses;

    (d) means for transmitting the scrambled video and audio signals together with the control signals, said control signals being transmitted separately and simultaneously during transmission of each of the horizontal scan lines on a separate preselected frequency distinct from the video signals to determine whether or not the video portions of the next successive horizontal scan lines is are to be inverted; and

    (2) receiving means comprising;

    (a) means for receiving the transmitted scrambled video and audio signals together with the control signals;

    (b) means for storing a unique subscriber identity code;

    (c) means for comparing each of the discrete pulse coded control signals with the stored identity code(d) unscrambling means converting said control signals into decoding pulse and responsive to said comparing means when there is a code match for unscrambling of the video and audio signals by means of said decoding pulse in the same sequence as used for scrambling to provide restored video and audio signals without degradation in picture and sound qualities; and

    (3) controlling means responsive to said plurality of control signals for continuously enabling each of the individual unscrambling means at a particular subscriber'"'"'s receiving means on a selective basis so that if the comparing means fails to produce a code match for an individual subscriber identity code before a pre-selected time interval has elapsed the unscrambling means is automatically disabled.

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