Key Server Media Access Control via Business Rules
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for controlling access to media content over the Internet are inefficient and can be easily circumvented, particularly in managing different quality levels, which hinders content owners' ability to offer tiered subscription services and restrict high-quality content access.
Innovation Solution
A key server system that receives requests from client devices and applies business rules to determine authorized quality levels of media content, providing access information such as encryption keys to allow playback of authorized subsets while restricting unauthorized copies, thereby controlling access effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If content owners encode media content at high-quality levels, then the quality of media content is improved, but the cost to encode, store, and deliver the media content increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments media content into multiple quality versions (e.g., high quality, medium quality, low quality) and stores them separately. This allows the system to provide different quality levels to different users based on their subscription tier, enabling content owners to offer high-quality content to paying customers while reducing overall storage and delivery costs by not providing high-quality versions to all users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the quality parameter of media content by creating multiple encoded versions with different bit rates and resolutions. This allows the system to optimize delivery costs by providing appropriate quality levels to different user groups, reducing the total bandwidth and storage requirements while maintaining high-quality service for premium subscribers.
2Reliability
If content owners restrict access to high-quality media content, then access control is improved, but the complexity of managing different quality levels increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary between the media content storage and client devices. This server manages the complexity of handling multiple quality versions by automatically selecting and delivering the appropriate quality level to each client based on their authorization. This intermediary approach simplifies the overall system architecture while maintaining reliable access control, as the server handles all quality management logic centrally rather than requiring complex client-side or content-owner-side management.
3Reliability
If conventional access control mechanisms are implemented in the media player, then access control is provided, but the control can be easily circumvented by users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements access control through a server intermediary that authenticates users and delivers appropriate quality versions of media content. Instead of relying on client-side controls that users can circumvent, the server validates user authorization and only provides access to authorized quality levels. This server-mediated approach significantly reduces the risk of circumvention, as the control logic resides on the secure server side rather than on potentially compromised client devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs access control validation in advance before delivering media content. The server authenticates user credentials and determines the appropriate quality level before initiating content delivery. This preliminary action ensures that only authorized users receive authorized content versions, preventing circumvention attempts by establishing control boundaries before the content reaches the client device.
4Reliability
If manual processes are used to copy and delete high-quality media content, then access restriction is achieved, but the process is tedious and eliminates tiered subscription services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an automated server intermediary that manages the copying, storage, and delivery of multiple quality versions of media content. This server automatically handles the complex tasks of maintaining different quality levels and restricting access based on user authorization, eliminating the need for manual copying and deletion processes. The automated system enables efficient tiered subscription services while maintaining reliable access restriction, as the server performs all content management operations programmatically rather than manually.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a self-service system where the server automatically manages content delivery and access control without requiring manual intervention. The system autonomously authenticates users, selects appropriate quality versions, and delivers content based on predefined authorization rules. This self-service approach dramatically improves productivity by eliminating tedious manual processes while maintaining secure access restriction through automated authorization checks.
Data Source
AI summary
A key server for controlling access of a client device to a subset of different quality copies of media content to be delivered over a network to the client device. In one embodiment, a key server receives a request for playback permission of media content by a client device, and applies a set of one or more business rules to determine which copies of the media content, if any, can be played by the client device, and allows access to a subset of the copies that can be played back by the client device and restricts access to the copies that are not part of the subset.