Method and apparatus for delivering encrypted on-demand content without use of an application defined protocol

• US 8,885,823 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2007
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Instrument Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Poli, Christopher, Mack, Robert, Vince, Lawrence D., Amorese, Joseph M., Zimmerman, Charles A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dada, Beemnet
• Assistant Examiner(s): BEHESHTI SHIRAZI, SAYED ARESH
• Application Number:
  US11/859,862
• Publication Number:
  US 20080075285A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,605 Days
• Field of Search: 380/211, 380/212, 380/217, 380/252, 380/255, 380/37, 725/87, 725/23, 725/31, 725/91, 725/95, 725/151, 713/153, 713/154, 713/160, 713/168, 726/4, 705/51
• US Class Current: 380/211
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23895 involving multiplex stream encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting
• 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 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method for delivering encrypted content to a subscriber terminal on-demand through a communication network is provided. The method begins when SRM receives a request for content from the subscriber terminal. In response to the request, the SRM directs a video server to transmit the content as an unencrypted transport stream to an encryptor. The packets in the unencrypted transport stream include a header with a destination address associated with the subscriber terminal. The encryptor encrypts the content in the unencrypted transport stream to generate an encrypted transport stream. The encryptor also inserts in the packet headers of the packets in the encrypted transport stream the destination address associated with the subscriber terminal obtained from the packet headers in the unencrypted transport stream. Finally, the encrypted transport stream is transmitted to the subscriber terminal over the communication network.

Claims

1. A method for delivering encrypted video on-demand content to a subscriber terminal in a cable television (CATV) network, the method comprising:

in response to a request received at a headend or distribution hub in the CATV network where video-on-demand content is loaded on to a video on-demand server as unencrypted content, the request for video on-demand content generated by a subscriber terminal, providing a communication path for transmitting unencrypted content from the video on-demand server to a load balancer and at least one encryptor transparently overlaid to an existing video on-demand management system having a video on-demand resource manager and its own encryptor, the communication path bypassing an existing communication path between the video on-demand resource manager and corresponding encryptor for reducing a degree of protocol-dependent communication for encryption by the existing video on-demand management system;

receiving unencrypted transport packets of the unencrypted content stored in the on-demand server and routed over the communication path that bypasses the existing communication path between the video on-demand resource manager and encryptor;

receiving a destination address associated with the requesting subscriber terminal routed by the on-demand server bypassing a communication of the destination address to the existing encryptor in the video on-demand management system, wherein the overlaid load balancer instead of the video on-demand management system manages encryption of the unencrypted content loaded in to the video-on-demand server by;

selecting an encryptor from the at least one overlaid encryptor for encrypting the unencrypted transport stream;

transmitting the unencrypted transport packets of the unencrypted content to the selected overlaid encryptor, the overlaid encryptor maintaining a packet order of the unencrypted transport packets from reception to distribution;

encrypting the unencrypted content to generate an encrypted transport stream; and

transmitting, independently from the existing video on-demand resource manager and encryptor communication path, the encrypted transport packets based on the destination address routed by the on-demand server in the same order as received to the requesting subscriber terminal associated with the destination address over the CATV network.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the content is encrypted using common tier encryption.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the destination address is an IP address of the subscriber terminal.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the destination address is an IP address of a network element in the CATV network which forwards the encrypted transport stream to the subscriber terminal.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising maintaining in the encrypted transport stream a packet order existing in the unencrypted transport stream.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the encryptor comprises a plurality of transport encryptors and further wherein the unencrypted transport stream is transmitted to a selected one of the transport encryptors based on the subscriber terminal to which the encrypted transport stream is to be transmitted.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the packet order existing in the unencrypted transport stream is determined on a per stream basis.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the packet order existing in the unencrypted transport stream is determined on a destination address basis.

9. A video on-demand system, comprising:

one or more hardware processor, comprising;

a session resource manager for coordinating a video on-demand session in which content is requested by a subscriber terminal, wherein, in response to a request received at a headend or distribution hub in a cable television (CATV) network where video-on-demand content is loaded on to a video on-demand server as unencrypted content, the session resource manager provides a communication path for transmitting unencrypted content from the video on-demand server to a load balancer and at least one of a plurality of encryptors transparently overlaid to an existing video on-demand management system having a video on-demand resource manager and its own encryptor,

wherein the communication path bypasses an existing communication path between the video on-demand server and the existing video on-demand management system for reducing a degree of protocol-dependent communication for encryption by the existing video on-demand management system;

the overlaid load balancer;

receives unencrypted transport packets of the unencrypted content stored in the video on-demand server and routed over the communication path that bypasses the existing communication path to the video on-demand resource manager and encryptor,

receives a destination address associated with the requesting subscriber terminal routed by the on-demand server bypassing a communication of the destination address to the existing encryptor in the video on-demand management system, and

operatively couples the video on-demand server to the plurality of overlaid transport encryptors for selectively distributing unencrypted transport streams among the transport encryptors,

wherein the overlaid load balancer instead of the video on-demand management system manages encryption of the unencrypted content loaded in to the video-on-demand server by;

selecting an encryptor from the at least one overlaid encryptor for encrypting the unencrypted transport stream;

transmitting the unencrypted transport packets of the unencrypted content to the selected overlaid encryptor, the overlaid encryptor maintaining a packet order of the unencrypted transport packets from reception to distribution;

encrypting the unencrypted content to generate an encrypted transport stream; and

transmitting, independently from the existing video on-demand resource manager and encryptor communication path, the encrypted transport packets based on the destination address routed by the on-demand server in the same order as received to the requesting subscriber terminal associated with the destination address over the CATV network.

10. The video on-demand system of claim 9 wherein the transport encryptor is further configured to maintain packet order in each transport stream.

11. The video on-demand system of claim 9 further comprising a conditional access system for providing a key to the subscriber terminal to access the encrypted transport stream, wherein the conditional access system employs common tier encryption.

12. The video on-demand system of claim 9 wherein unencrypted transport streams designated for a given subscriber terminal are distributed to a common transport encryptor.

13. The video on-demand system of claim 9 wherein the load balancer limits distribution of the unencrypted transport stream based on resource capabilities of the video on-demand server.

14. The video on-demand system of claim 9, wherein the video on-demand system is a switched digital video (SDV) system, wherein the session manager is a SDV manager for coordinating a SDV session in which an SDV channel is requested by a subscriber terminal, wherein the encrypted content from the load balancer is broadcast over the SDV channel to one or more subscriber terminals.

15. The switched digital video system of claim 14 wherein unencrypted transport streams designated for a SDV channel are distributed to a common transport encryptor.

16. The switched digital video system of claim 14 wherein the load balancer limits distribution of the unencrypted transport stream based on resource capabilities of a content source.