Set-Top Box Secure Link Offloads Unsupported Content Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional set-top-boxes (STBs) often lack the processing capabilities to handle certain web page content, leading to latency issues and an inferior user experience when accessing the Internet, especially when trying to render multimedia or plug-in content.
Innovation Solution
An Internet-capable STB establishes a secure link with an application server to offload unsupported content processing, using cryptography for secure communication, allowing the application server to process and render multimedia or plug-in content not supported by the STB, thereby enhancing the browsing experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If content processing is performed on the STB, then the user can access web pages, but the STB lacks processing capabilities for certain content types and experiences latency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a remote application server as an intermediary between the STB and the content source. The server receives content processing requests from the STB, processes complex content types (video, audio, plug-ins), and returns processed content to the STB. This mediator approach allows the STB to access sophisticated content without requiring the STB itself to have the processing capabilities, thereby resolving the contradiction between adaptability and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the content processing function by separating it from the STB and placing it on a remote application server. The STB handles only basic client-side tasks like receiving and displaying processed content, while the server handles complex processing operations. This functional segmentation enables the STB to maintain simplicity while the system as a whole achieves high adaptability through the server's processing power.
2Productivity
If the STB processes web page content locally, then the browsing experience is faster, but the STB cannot handle certain unsupported content types
Solution Approach 1:
The remote application server acts as an intermediary that receives content processing requests from the STB, processes unsupported content types (video, audio, complex plug-ins), and returns the processed content to the STB for display. This mediator approach allows the STB to maintain fast local display while the server handles complex processing, resolving the contradiction between browsing speed and content support capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves the content processing operation from the STB's local processing dimension to a remote server dimension. By using a secure communication channel between the STB and the remote server, the system extends the processing capability across network dimensions, allowing the STB to access sophisticated content types without compromising local browsing performance.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the STB has enhanced processing capabilities, then it can handle more content types, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a remote application server as an intermediary that handles complex content processing tasks. The STB simply sends processing requests to the server and displays the returned processed content. This mediator approach enables the STB to access sophisticated content processing capabilities without actually implementing the complex processing functions within the STB itself, thereby maintaining device simplicity while achieving high adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of copying complex processing capabilities into the STB, the patent uses a remote server to provide processing services on demand. The STB maintains a simplified architecture and only copies the necessary display and communication functions, while the server provides the complex processing logic. This approach achieves adaptability without the complexity burden of embedding all processing capabilities in the STB.
4Reliability
If secure communication is established between STB and application server, then data security is improved, but the communication overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a secure communication channel as an intermediary mechanism between the STB and the remote application server. This secure channel establishes trusted communication for transmitting processing requests and received content, ensuring data security without requiring complex security protocols to be implemented within the STB itself. The security layer is provided by the communication infrastructure rather than the STB's processing logic.
Data Source
AI summary
An Internet capable set-top-box (STB) may be operable to extend a security boundary from the Internet capable STB to an application server to allow support of web browsing operations from the application server. A secure link between the Internet capable STB and the application server may be established. The Internet capable STB may communicate a request for web page information from a secure web server along with cryptographic credentials to the application server, via the secure link. The application server may be allowed to receive the web page information directly from the secure web server and process at least the unsupported portion of the received web page information. The Internet capable STB may then receive the web page information with at least the unsupported portion processed from the application server, via the secure link, for further processing and rendering.