Abstract: One or more components of a video display device such as a television set can be powered down in response to a determination that a video input source has been paused. The video signal provided by the video input source can be analyzed to determine whether the video source is paused. When the video input source is no longer paused, the powered down components can be restored to fill power operation.

Abstract: To receive new services including audio or video content for presentation by a cable-compatible digital television or other digital audio/video receiver, a module may be connected to the HOST-POD interface of the digital television. The module has a receiver for receiving audio or video content in a first compression format, a transcoder for converting said audio or video content from the first compression format into a second, different compression format, and a controller for transmitting the audio or visual content in the second compression format to the digital television over a HOST-POD interface. By using such a module, front-end components of the digital television may be bypassed while back-end components may be utilized to decompress and present the content. The module may be a PC card or smart card for example.

Abstract: When a stream of packets (e.g. MPEG-2 transport stream) includes certain packets representing unscrambled digital television program content and certain other packets representing the content of a scrambled digital television program that is currently tuned by a receiver, interception of the unscrambled digital television program at an output of the receiver may be prevented by determining whether packets representing program content have an ascertained characteristic (e.g. have a packet ID matching one of a set of packet IDs) that uniquely identifies the packets as representing content of the scrambled program. For packets not having the characteristic, delivery to the output of the digital television receiver in an unscrambled state may be prevented, e.g., by discarding the packet or by overwriting its payload.

Abstract: One or more components of a video display device such as a television set can be powered down in response to a determination that a video input source has been paused. The video signal provided by the video input source can be analyzed to determine whether the video source is paused. When the video input source is no longer paused, the powered down components can be restored to fill power operation.

Abstract: To detect at least one of a copy protection indicator and a redistribution control indicator in an analog video signal, the video format of the analog video signal is determined, e.g., by detecting the horizontal frequency and vertical frequency of the signal. Based at least on the determined video format, a region of the analog video signal that may contain the indicator is identified. The region may for example be one or more video lines in a vertical blanking interval. The region is examined until the indicator is detected. The indicator is confirmed, e.g., by re-detecting one or more occurrences of the same indicator value(s) later in the video signal. Once confirmed, the indicated copy protection and/or redistribution control may be effected by limiting either or both of copying and redistribution of the analog video signal. The indicator may for example be Copy Generation Management System Analog plus Redistribution Control (CGMS-A+RC) information.

Abstract: A copy protection (CP) key used by a sending source, such as a POD, to encrypt content such as audio and/or video information is derived by a first key generator associated with a first processor and is locally encrypted by the first processor using a locally generated bus encryption key to produce a bus encrypted CP key that is sent over a local unsecure bus to a second processor, such as a graphics processor. The second processor decrypts the bus encrypted copy key using a decryption engine to obtain the CP key. The second processor receives the encrypted content and in one embodiment, also uses the same decryption engine to decrypt the encrypted content. The first and second processors locally exchange public keys to each locally derive a bus encryption key used to encrypt the CP key before it is sent over the unsecure bus and decrypt the encrypted CP key after it is sent over the bus.

Abstract: A copy protection (CP) key used by a sending source, such as a POD, to encrypt content such as audio and/or video information is derived by a first key generator associated with a first processor and is locally encrypted by the first processor using a locally generated bus encryption key to produce a bus encrypted CP key that is sent over a local unsecure bus to a second processor, such as a graphics processor. The second processor decrypts the bus encrypted copy key using a decryption engine to obtain the CP key. The second processor receives the encrypted content and in one embodiment, also uses the same decryption engine to decrypt the encrypted content. The first and second processors locally exchange public keys to each locally derive a bus encryption key used to encrypt the CP key before it is sent over the unsecure bus and decrypt the encrypted CP key after it is sent over the bus.

Abstract: A system and methods are shown for improved processing of motion compensated video. A software driver handles image data related to motion compensated video. The image data includes IDCT coefficients and motion compensation vector data. A unique identifier is attached to the image data, preserving the relationship between the IDCT coefficients and motion compensated vector data related to an image block. The software driver sends the IDCT coefficients to an IDCT component. The IDCT coefficients are processed and an interrupt is sent to the software driver including the unique identifier of the processed IDCT coefficients. The software driver sends the motion compensation vector data related to the unique identifier in the interrupt. A 3D pipe receives the motion compensation vector data and reads the corresponding processed IDCT data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for decompressing compressed data, which includes video data that has been compressed in accordance with the MPEG 2 standard, wherein the processing begins by retrieving components from a non-local memory at a rate that is independent of the rate in which the components were written into the non-local memory. The components include motion vectors and run/level data. As the components are retrieved from memory, the run/level data is used to produce representations of the uncompressed data. As the representations of the uncompressed data are generated, they are processed based on the motion vector data to recapture the uncompressed data. The uncompressed data is then stored in a frame buffer for subsequent display.

Abstract: A system and methods are shown for protecting registers among data processors. Sets of protected registers on data processors are used for enabling security features related to the protection of multimedia content. The security features relate to techniques used to prevent the multimedia content from being successfully copied. The data processors also include general registers used for general processor features and settings. Commands to control the general and security features are placed on a non-secure data bus. The commands related to the general settings are passed directly to the data processors' registers, allowing direct access and control. The commands related to the security settings are addressed to a secure processor. The secure processor processes the commands to determine whether the source application that generated the commands is authorized to make such changes.

Abstract: A system and methods are provided for maintaining a timing relationship among data packets associated with a single program of a multiple program transport stream. Select data relating to a single multimedia program is selected from the multiple program transport stream. Timestamps, used to represent the time on a system time clock when particular packets are received, are attached to data packets from the single program. The time-stamped packets are stored in memory. When accessed back from memory, the timestamps are used to determine when to present the data of the packets. The data can then be used to construct a transport stream made up of only the data related to the selected single program.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for decoding a stream of data blocks begins by determining an encoding type of a received data block of the stream of data blocks. When the encoding type of the received data block is of a first encoding type, portions of a reference data block are transferred from non-local memory to a reference section of local memory. As the portions of the reference block are transferred, a first section of local memory is utilized to decode the received data block based on the portions of the reference data block contained in the reference section and a relational data decoding convention. The resulting decoded data block is transferred from the first section of local memory to a second section of local memory.

Abstract: A copy protection (CP) key used by a sending source, such as a POD, to encrypt content such as audio and/or video information is derived by a first key generator associated with a first processor and is locally encrypted by the first processor using a locally generated bus encryption key to produce a bus encrypted CP key that is sent over a local unsecure bus to a second processor, such as a graphics processor. The second processor decrypts the bus encrypted copy key using a decryption engine to obtain the CP key. The second processor receives the encrypted content and in one embodiment, also uses the same decryption engine to decrypt the encrypted content. The first and second processors locally exchange public keys to each locally derive a bus encryption key used to encrypt the CP key before it is sent over the unsecure bus and decrypt the encrypted CP key after it is sent over the bus.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for video decoding of compressed video data begins by generating a plurality of coefficients based on run level data of two-dimensional frequency components corresponding to the compressed video data. As the coefficients are generated, they are stored in a coefficient section of memory. Once the coefficients have been stored, they are utilized to generate intermediate results. As the intermediate results are being generated, they are stored in an intermediate section of the memory. Next, representations of the video data are generated based on the intermediate results and stored in an output section of the memory. The storing and retrieving of the coefficients, intermediate results, and representations of the video data are done in a time multiplexed manner.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for encoding a stream of data blocks begins when a stream of data blocks is received. The stream of data blocks may include a plurality of sequences of data blocks. The encoding process then continues by storing a first grouping of data blocks of a first sequence in non-local memory. Having stored the first grouping in non-local memory, one of the data blocks is retrieved from the non-local memory. The retrieved data block is then encoded utilizing a working section of local memory based on a relational data encoding convention. Next, the encoding process retrieves a second data block of the first grouping of data blocks from the non-local memory. In addition, portions of the first data block will be retrieved from the non-local memory and provided to a reference section of local memory. The second data block is then encoded in a working section of local memory based on the portions of the first data block and the relational data encoding convention.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for video decoding of compressed video data begins by generating a plurality of coefficients based on run level data of two-dimensional frequency components corresponding to the compressed video data. As the coefficients are generated, they are stored in a coefficient section of memory. Once the coefficients have been stored, they are utilized to generate intermediate results. As the intermediate results are being generated, they are stored in an intermediate section of the memory. Next, representations of the video data are generated based on the intermediate results and stored in an output section of the memory. The storing and retrieving of the coefficients, intermediate results, and representations of the video data are done in a time multiplexed manner.