Multimedia Content Protection via Stream Segmentation and Watermarking

Solution Overview

Problem

Current digital content protection technologies, such as DTCP and CPCM, are inadequate in preventing illegal sharing and hacking attempts, as they require complex and costly devices, and lack the ability to identify successful hacking attempts.

Innovation Solution

A method and system for secure multimedia content distribution using scrambling and watermarking techniques, where a protected audiovisual stream is generated and modified with unique marks for each device, allowing identification of hacking attempts and simplifying content protection by applying it only once on the server side.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If DTCP or CPCM technologies are used for content protection, then content security is improved, but device complexity and cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent securityVSAvoiddevice complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The content protection system is segmented into two independent components: a protected stream containing scrambled content and a complementary stream containing decryption information. This segmentation allows the protection mechanism to be applied only once on the server side, reducing device complexity while maintaining security. The complementary stream can be freely shared without compromising content protection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

A watermarking mechanism is introduced as an intermediary to track and identify devices or users accessing the content. The watermark is embedded in the complementary stream or during playback, enabling identification of hacking attempts without increasing the complexity of content decryption. This intermediary layer provides security tracking independent of the decryption process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If DTCP authentication scheme is used to designate trusted devices, then content sharing security is improved, but the ability to identify hacking attempts is lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent sharing securityVSAvoidhacking attempt identification

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

A watermarking mechanism is introduced as an intermediary to track and identify devices or users accessing the content. The watermark is embedded in the complementary stream or during playback, enabling identification of hacking attempts without increasing the complexity of content decryption. This intermediary layer provides security tracking independent of the decryption process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The watermarking mechanism acts as a thin, flexible layer that can be applied to the complementary stream without affecting the core content protection. This thin film approach allows for easy implementation of tracking and identification capabilities while maintaining the simplicity of the overall system.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

3Reliability

If content encryption is applied to protect transmitted content, then content protection is improved, but deployment cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent protectionVSAvoiddeployment cost

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The content protection system is segmented into two independent components: a protected stream containing scrambled content and a complementary stream containing decryption information. This segmentation allows the protection mechanism to be applied only once on the server side, reducing device complexity while maintaining security. The complementary stream can be freely shared without compromising content protection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The complementary stream can be freely copied and shared among multiple devices without compromising content protection. Each device receives the same protected stream but can generate or obtain a complementary stream independently. This copying capability reduces deployment costs by allowing widespread distribution of the decryption information without increasing protection overhead.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS10269086B2Method and system for secure sharing of recorded copies of a multicast audiovisual program using scrambling and watermarking techniques

Publication Date: 2019.04.23 NAGRA FRANCE SAS

AI summary

A thin high strength steel sheet having excellent formability has a composition which includes, by mass %, 0.08 to 0.15% of C, 0.5 to 1.5% of Si, 0.5 to 1.5% of Mn, 0.01 to 0.1% of Al, and 0.005% or less of N.