Digital Content Scrambling Block Reordering Compression Efficiency

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing digital content scrambling techniques are inefficient due to their vulnerability to brute force reverse engineering and compatibility issues with compression and decompression processes, leading to residual errors and reduced compression efficiency.

Innovation Solution

A content transformation process that subdivides digital content into blocks, reorders them according to a mapping scheme, and applies overlap areas to reduce edge artifacts, allowing for efficient compression and decompression while maintaining security through a separate descrambling module.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If content distortion techniques are applied before compression, then security against brute force attacks is improved, but compression efficiency deteriorates due to loss of spatial and temporal correlations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesecurity against brute force attacksVSAvoidcompression efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the content into smaller blocks or tiles that are independently scrambled and compressed. This segmentation allows the compression algorithm to process smaller units with preserved local correlations, improving compression efficiency while maintaining security through the scrambling operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies scrambling as a preliminary action before compression, but designs it to be compatible with subsequent compression operations. The scrambling is performed in a way that preserves the structural information needed for efficient compression, allowing the compression step to proceed effectively after the preliminary scrambling.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If content is scrambled using traditional techniques, then security is improved, but residual errors occur during decompression due to lossy compression operating on different data

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesecurityVSAvoidcompression accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where control parameters generated during the distortion process are used to guide the restore module. This feedback loop ensures that the decompression process accurately reverses the scrambling operations, eliminating residual errors while maintaining security.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses control parameters that are modified during the scrambling process and subsequently used to guide the restore module. These parameter changes ensure that the decompression operation precisely reverses the scrambling, eliminating residual errors while maintaining security against brute force attacks.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Productivity

If tight integration with encoder and decoder is implemented, then compression efficiency is improved, but device complexity and deployment difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecompression efficiencyVSAvoidintegration complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent designs the scrambling and unscrambling operations to be universally applicable with standard encoders and decoders. The control parameters and block-based approach enable compatibility with existing compression technologies, eliminating the need for tight integration while maintaining compression efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces control parameters as an intermediary between the scrambling operation and the compression/decoding process. These parameters mediate the interaction between the scrambling module and the compression algorithm, enabling efficient compression without requiring tight integration or modification of existing encoder/decoder hardware.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Productivity

If blocks are reordered according to a mapping scheme, then compression efficiency is improved, but the complexity of the descrambling process increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecompression efficiencyVSAvoiddescrambling complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses control parameters that copy the mapping scheme information from the scrambling process to the descrambling process. This copying mechanism enables the descrambling module to efficiently reverse the block reordering without requiring complex analysis or computation, maintaining compression efficiency while simplifying the descrambling complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP2885911B1Processing digital content
Publication Date: 2021.03.10 IRDETO BV
  • EP2885911B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2885911B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2B
  • EP2885911B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

There are described methods and apparatus for scrambling digital content, such as video or audio content, by dividing the digital content into blocks set out in an original arrangement, and reordering the blocks from the original arrangement to a scrambled arrangement. Additional manipulation transforms such as rotations and reflections may be applied to individual blocks. A subsequent compression step may then be carried out. Methods and apparatus for carrying out corresponding descrambling of digital content are also described.