Patent Application
20080280677
A game cartridge designed to transform a state-of-the-art game player device into a platform for numerous pay television-related services and offerings. In one aspect the systems and methods described herein include the leveraging of emerging state-of-the-art and highly secure game players to create applications targeted toward Pay Television subscribers. This secure platform can add benefits that will not be available on other common and well-known CE platforms for many years to come.
In the past, game players were as vulnerable to security breaches as current-day personal computers. The popular game players manufactured up until the year 2006 could be hacked by sophisticated pirate groups and individuals allowing for pirate copies of almost any game. Beginning in 2006, the large game manufacturing companies will begin a campaign to build game players that are fundamentally secure. As long as the software designers implement state-of-the-art policies and procedures in an effort to create a secure environment for the software code, these “Next Generation” game players can be considered secure enough to offer valuable rich media content in addition to games. Some of this rich media content can be provided by Pay-TV operators around the world.
Since the major Hollywood studios are very concerned about the security of the valuable content running on Consumer Electronic (CE) devices, using game players designed to be highly secure will provide new market opportunities to anyone embracing these platforms for the delivery of high-value content.
Most of the world's pay television is controlled and operated by large media companies including (but limited to) NBC/Universal, Newscorp, Comcast, Time Warner, and others. These large media companies control the distribution of television-based signals (analog or digital). These media companies are well positioned to create new business models that offer numerous television channels including triple-pay and even quadruple-play experiences. These new pay television based models are considered to be huge growth opportunities around the world.
With the increasing capacity of broadband around the world coupled with the increased speed and capacity of personal computers, many people are looking to monetize opportunities by delivering content over the web. To date, the efforts to obtain valuable television product (movies & TV) for web delivery have been limited. The primary reason for this limited access to content is the vulnerability of the current day PCs. PCs and other CE products are simply not robust enough to survive attacks from hackers and powerful viruses. Therefore, the owners of the world's most valuable content are not awarding high-value (early release-window) license deals to web-centric operators looking to leverage the emerging broadband market.
As the incumbents within the world of personal computing fight over philosophies relating to the content owners rights vs. the rights of private individuals, the game player manufacturers have decided to build game player devices that are secure enough to guarantee their valuable games will not be stolen quickly or easily. These efforts represent an early “win” for the gaming industry with regard to their efforts to protect their own valuable content (games). This “win” can furthermore be leveraged by other opportunities within the realm of content delivery.
The systems and methods described herein represent a highly secure method for obtaining audio-video content from multiple sources for the purpose of ultimate “play-back” on “Next Generation” game machines. Such an offering can be considered quite compelling as it represents an opportunity to prove that high-value content will always find its most secure path.
In the end, the consumer may be able to purchase game players and even the service offerings (packaged on a DVD or other long-term storage mechanism) from a retail facility and then go home to install Pay-Television services with relative ease.
The system and methods described herein can be implemented as modules running on the game player and the servers or computers and other hardware such as head ends of the described service providers
Market Differentiators
High-value content such as movies produced from Hollywood represents only a small fraction of the total content available in the world. It is well known that India, Korea, Japan, China, and other countries produce a great many more titles than those offered from Hollywood. The difference being the size of the budget and the magnitude of the overall production of these movies. To date, only Hollywood-produces movies and television have been able to satisfy consumer's desires for state-of-he-art special effects and dramatic sequences. Therefore, these large-budget movies are extremely valuable in almost all industrialized countries around the world.
In many cases, consumers are satisfied with lower-budget content as long as they feel they can gain access to the higher-budget content should they decide to pay for it. If these same subscribers feel they are being discriminated against by not being provided a facility to gain access to higher value content (even though such content is not currently being requested), then they may have a valid complaint against the Pay-TV service operator. Therefore, a Pay-TV operator who has the ability to provide a high-value Pay-TV service by way of “Next Generation” game players may be able to mitigate potential problems with subscribers who may feel compelled to complain. Such a solution can certainly be a key differentiator as new Pay-TV services proliferate.
It's only in cases where popular consumer devices become truly secure that such an attractive content offering makes good sense in the marketplace. We describe herein the other technologies, systems, methods, services, components, and solutions that are required to take a secure consumer device and turn it into a viable platform for today's pay television operators.
Specifically, it is the combination of architecturally secure and publicly available, networked consumer electronics devices (including “Next Generation” game players) coupled with International Pay-TV services that create the opportunity for high-value content delivery services that cater to the masses.
Such a system as described in this patent application can be fully digital (rather than analog) with a reasonably high-speed back channel. Such a digital network, although not novel in itself, is fundamentally more secure than an analog network, and would have fewer limitations in terms of its potential service offerings. Also, since digital delivery systems can offer a seemingly endless list of title selections, consumers in the near future can enjoy “search and play” experiences that they may have never envisioned. In contrast to legacy satellite or cable networks that are based on channels that can be tuned-in based on frequency spectrum, such a full digital network can be leveraged to provide a vastly improved service in terms of quality, capability, and selection.
Basic Operation
In the past, game players employed the use of game cartridges as the mechanism to “play” each discrete game. It is very common to see these game cartridges on the shelves of retail stores and present in other venues. In the future, these game cartridges will be replaced with high-capacity optical disc technologies such as the well known Blu-Ray and HD-DVD technologies. These high-capacity optical discs are much smaller (thinner) than the popular game cartridges, however, they contain far more capacity and are fundamentally much more secure. The preferred embodiment for this patent application uses the high-capacity optical disc technology that is now being considered for the “Next Generation” game players. This optical disc technology may deploy the use of blue or red laser technology. In fact, this patent application is agnostic of the color of the laser.
At the time of this writing, the “Next Generation” game players that will soon be available will be provided by manufacturers such as Sony with their “Playstation”, Microsoft with their Xbox series, and Nintendo. The current generation number for these game players is considered to be the third.
The consumer, after purchasing the game player, will look to see which types of games and other content offerings are readily available from the retail shelves. The technology defined within this patent application will be available and on the market shelves at some point within in the near future. Therefore, the consumer will realize that it is possible to use the game player as a platform for their own Pay Television service. This Pay Television service may be able to compliment their current television service, or it may be intended to supersede the current Pay Television services consumers may be using at the time.
By placing the optical disc containing the game player module into the game player, the consumer will be guided through an industry standard set-up menu. Once this set-up function is complete, the game player will be able to access and play television-centric content from numerous sources locally and from around the world.
The Television Service Operator
It is important to note that a Television Service Operator is required for the services defined within this patent application. In order to obtain the world's most valuable content, a robust infrastructure must be built that offers the major studios the guarantees they need to be comfortable that their content is being adequately protected and they are being paid according to the terms and conditions of all license agreements. The important thing to note is, the service operator may or may not be one of the incumbent Pay-Television service operators that exist today. In fact, the service operator may be more of a web-centric entity that is providing high-capacity bandwidth over copper wire, fiber optics, or wireless technologies. It is important to note that a service operator is required for such a service to take place and this service operator must be able to negotiate license deals with the various content owners and make this content available to the consumers of these game devices.
Note: Some Pay-TV operators offer a managed network. Such a managed network implies the service quality can be maintained at a certain performance level. Other Pay-TV operators may offer a “best efforts” network solution. This means they have no absolute control over the network's performance, however, they will try their best to maintain a high quality experience for the consumer. The preferred embodiment for this patent application is the Pay-TV operator who offers a managed network.
Methods to Consume Content
Given such a game player and its ability to secure high-value content, it is possible for the following methods to consume the content:
At the time of this writing, the preferred compressed formats are primarily VC1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4. It is possible for other compression formats to be used as well.
Overview of the Service Offering
Since such an offering serves to protect the valuable content while providing consumers with the widest range of service offerings, very large scale applications can be developed (around this game player paradigm) such as:
Description of
In operation, the game player 202 may be used to play games or to receive video content via instructions 228. Instructions 228 are shown as residing on the optical disc 226 although this is not necessary. Instructions 228 may reside anywhere that is accessible to the game player 202. For example, a conventional web browser may be used to access the instructions on a remote server or at an FTP site. Similarly, the game player 202 may include an internal or external memory such as a random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory, a hard drive, and the like.
The results and/or output are presented on television 200 for viewing by a user. Files 216 maybe for example movie files and/or game files. The files 216 may be delivered to the game player 202 via the pre-processor 214, which may use the watermarking block 210 and may also encrypt the files 216. Thereafter, the encrypted movie and/or game files 212 are delivered to the VOD/game server 208 which transfers the encrypted files 212 either along the encrypted file route 204 or to the middleware layer 206. After passing along the encrypted file route 204 or through the middleware layer 206, the encrypted files 212 arrive at the game player 202 for use by the user, either to play a game or watch video content, for example.
VCAS server 220 may use the encryption key 218, the decryption key 222, and/or the key store 224 to generate the encrypted files 212. The EPG 230 may reside in the middleware layer 206 and may be used for example, by a user of the game player 202 to request more information about one or more of the files 216 or to browse through the files 216 to determine which file the user wants to access.
How It Works—The Initial Set-Up Menu
After connecting the game player 202 to the television 200, the consumer will be able to insert the optical disc 226 to set-up the pay television service. The instructions 228 or software on the optical disc 226 cause the game player 202 to perform the functions described herein. An example of the basic information required for the initial set-up function is as follows:
Once this information is entered into the game player 202, the game player 202 will attempt to connect to the consumer's choice of Pay-TV services. If a connection cannot be established, the Set-up menu will continue to assist the consumer as necessary.
Set-Up Procedure Initiated by the Selected Pay-TV Service Operator
Once the selected Pay-TV Service Operator gains control (after the initial set-up routines are completed), the Pay-TV Service Operator will query for two primary pieces of information as follows:
Method of Billing
The method of billing may be one or more of the options listed below:
Apportionment
A critical counter-part to the billing function is the apportionment function. The apportionment function should separate the monies owed to all individuals involved in the content distribution supply chain. It is envisioned that such a service as defined in this patent application will be carried-out by the service operator, however, other scenarios can exist as well.
Verification of Identity
The Pay-TV service operator will need to verify the identity of the new subscriber. As it is relatively easy to provide a false identity on-line, the service operator should use state-of-the art means to link the new subscriber to a known individual. The preferred embodiment for such identity verification is called “Federated Authentication” which is a patent pending technology created by Verimatrix, Inc., of San Diego, Calif. Federated Authentication links the new subscriber to the physical address of the home or building where he (or she) is currently residing. This “liking” function can be facilitated by the local telephone company that can offer this form of authentication as a utility to the consumer. More information about Federated Authentication can be learned by reading the provisional patent applications filed by Verimatrix, Inc.
Other forms of authentication or identity verification can be used as well. Some of the acceptable forms may be (but are not limited to):
Verification of Entitlements
After the billing arrangements have been verified and the consumer has been authenticated, then it will be important to verify the consumer's entitlements for the service. Entitlements meaning which assets are available to the consumer. Assets can be (but are not limited to) the following:
The Middleware
A Middleware layer 206 is important to help guide the new subscriber through the various offerings including walled-garden applications. This Middleware function can either be provided on the optical disc 226, or it can alternatively be provided by way of a code download to the game box from the service operator.
Security
Campbell, Richard E. It is certainly comforting for content owners to know that a consumer electronic device such as the game player 202 is fundamentally secure by way of its architecture. This fact could be meaningless, however, if the entire network environment is not equally secure. It's only when the player device and the network are both highly secure that the high-profile content owners will agree to supply their content to these devices and service offerings. Below is a list of security technologies that will be deployed in a preferred embodiment:
The Headend
The headend equipment will include mechanisms to either pre-encrypt the content or, in the case of real-time broadcast feeds, encrypt the content in real-time. In a preferred embodiment, the encryption algorithms being deployed will be based on standards such as AES-128. Upon encryption, the headend equipment will communicate with a Key-Server 220 that will be used to securely pass the necessary encryption keys (in-band or out-of-band) to the approved devices.
The Network
The network itself should be configured in such a way that a virtual private network (VPN) or similar can be established. It is important that an unauthorized device not be able to log on or establish communication in any way.
The Environment
The server-side environment should be fundamentally secure and should include polices and procedures for personnel associated with the service to follow. For example, personnel should know the following and more:
Digital Rights Management
A Digital Rights Management (DRM) system should be employed that will manage the encrypted data along with the encryption keys that are used to encrypt and decrypt the data. In addition, the DRM system will take steps to:
Note: A DRM system can provide a number of other security functions and services as well.
Server-Side Watermarking
Such a network that offers valuable content to game player devices should have the ability to place a robust and survivable video (and/or audio) watermark into the content before it is transmitted to the target device, for example in watermarking block 210. Such a watermark indicates where the content originated. For an example, such a server-side watermark in watermarking block 210 can indicate the source of the content and the date and time when it was received by the service operator. This server-side watermark coupled with the session-based watermark (described below) both provide a reasonable history of the movement of the content information from the time it was transported from the source until the time it was received by the service operator.
Session-Based Watermarking
The session-based watermark is also a robust and survivable video (and/or audio) watermark, however, it is applied to the content in real-time as it is being exhibited to the consumer. Such a session-based watermark serves the purpose of determining the identity of the consumer should the consumer decide to become involved in acts of digital looting or piracy. Such session-based watermarks are particularly useful in the following scenarios:
Broadcast Flag
The Broadcast Flag is a small flag that can be placed in either an analog television signal or within the broadcast of digital information. The purpose of the Broadcast Flag is to indicate that the content is not allowed to be “re-broadcast” anywhere else.
In the case of an analog television signal, the Broadcast Flag is placed within the Line 21 data. Within a Digital Broadcast, the Broadcast Flag is placed either in the Program Management Table (PMT) or the Master Guide Table (MGT).
In the case of a consumer that wishes to “re-broadcast” to one of his (or her) own localized device, the content should be encrypted before it can be “re-broadcast”.
In a preferred embodiment, the game player devices as described in this patent application will respect the Broadcast Flag and obey its rules.
Sequence Trees
Sequence Trees are used to add, renew, and revoke devices that can be used externally to the game player. Sequence Trees, similar to binary trees, are files of data used to locate devices that are found to be engaged in acts of digital looting and/or piracy. When a device is found to be a tool used to pirate the content from such a system as described above, the Tree is updated with the information about the specific device found to be the culprit. Once this updated tree is loaded into the game player device, the external device will no longer be available to the game player. Only when the manufacturer of the device can prove that the threats of piracy have been mitigated can the Sequence Trees be updated in such a way to allow the use of such an external device once again.
Likewise, Sequence Trees can be used to approve devices and even renew devices that have been modified (even the game player itself) so these devices can no longer engage in acts of digital looting and piracy.
Transcoding
In a preferred embodiment, either the server-side of the network or the game player itself will be able to transcode the content coming in for proper encoding and for the optimized “fit” on the screen.
Game Player as a Home Media Center
In an alternative embodiment, the game player 202 can be used as a Home Media Center. This capability will allow the Game Player 202 to connect to multiple input sources thereby allowing the consumer to select the desired “play back” experience. These “play back” experiences may be through the following means:
Game Player as a Digital Media Adapter
In an alternative embodiment, the game player 202 can also be used as a Digital Media Adapter (DMA). The DMA enables remote devices to connect to the game player 202 (or other Home Media Center) remotely.
Multi-Rights
In a preferred embodiment, either the server-side of the network or the game player 202 itself will be able to employ a digital rights management (DRM) scheme that is appropriate for the ultimate client device. In some cases this means the system will need to decrypt the content and then again re-encrypt the content adding the appropriate DRM parameters. In other cases, the system may only need to encrypt and add the appropriate DRM parameters once.
Re-Flashing Game Box
Another tool to reduce acts of piracy is to allow some or all of the game device's operating system to be updated byway of “re-flashing” its long-term memory. This is typically a function that is managed carefully by the Game Box manufacturer.
Content Registry
A Content Registry can also be used as an effective counter-measure for revoking devices that are known to be engaged in acts of digital looting and/or piracy. Such a Content Registry may have fields such as:
Once content is found in an unauthorized location, it is possible to check the Content Registry in order to determine how the content was released from its secured environment. If it determined that an external device was used to pirate the content, then such an external device will be added to the Sequence Trees (described above) so such device will no longer be effective in acts of digital piracy.
Note: Other determinations can also be made with regard to how best protect the content from further attacks.
Other Security Means and Mechanisms
It is possible that additional security technologies can be deployed in addition to the technologies described above. Some of these additional security technologies may involve one or more of the following:
International Television Searching
Once such a system exists as is described in this patent application, it will be possible for the Service Operator to allow a subscriber to view all types of content from around the world. Given a robust middleware layer 206 and an EPG 230, the subscriber will be able to see a virtual number of content selections. It is envisioned that the middleware layer 206 and Electronic Program Guides will be designed in such a way as to allow for a user-friendly Television searching experience.
International Television Aggregation
Given the nature of both the secure game player and the Pay-TV service as described in this patent application, it is possible for the service operator to aggregate, edit, and appropriately redistribute the content in such a way as to make it a rewarding experience for subscribers and content owners alike. Noted in the patent application is the reference to a patent application owned by Verimatrix, Inc. named International Television Aggregation. This patent application anticipates the availability and use of the International Television Aggregation patent application for use with next generation game machines.
Web Television Aggregation
In addition to the specifications and figure provided within this patent application regarding International Television Aggregation, it is also possible to aggregate audio-video content from web-based sources as well.
Multi-Level Electronic Program Guide
Within a Pay-Television service with a virtually unlimited number of content selections, a multi-level EPG 230 is highly recommended. Such an EPG 230 will need to allow a subscriber to navigate to virtually any single piece of content with a minimum amount of effort. An example of such a Multi-level EPG 230 is one that provides the subscriber with a list of major categories. After the subscriber makes an initial selection, more sub-categories are presented. Finally, a list of individual content selections is made available to the subscriber.
Profiling Subscriber for Content Recommendations
As subscribers use such a system as described in this patent application, it will be possible to log the various activities of the subscriber in an effort to identify certain tendencies. In some cases, it may be possible to determine a certain user-profile. Once these tendencies are determined, it will be possible to make appropriate recommendations for content that's available from the service operator.
Profiling Subscriber for Offerings, Gifts, and Coupons
After collecting usage information and determining tendencies, it is possible to create a user profile for the purposes of providing valuable product or service offerings to the subscriber. Such an offering can serve to encourage the subscriber to continue using the service while introducing the subscriber to potentially new products, services, and offerings from vendors. Offerings can include (but are not limited to):
Profiling to Create Communities
In a preferred embodiment, the profiles created and collected from such an offering as described above can be used to create “Communities”. These “Communities” can be used to segregate groups of people based on their preferences and inclinations. Such “Communities” can be used to add further enjoyment and relevance to the consumer.
Extended Television Service Offerings
The information provided in the patent application up until this point describes how to build an environment around an architecturally secure game player to allow high-value Pay-Television services. The significant differentiators being:
Description of
Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative modules, engines, and method steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can often be implemented as electronic hardware, software, firmware or combinations of the foregoing. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative modules and method steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled persons can implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the invention. In addition, the grouping of functions within a module or step is for ease of description. Specific functions can be moved from one module or step to another without departing from the invention.
Moreover, the various illustrative modules, engines, and method steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (“DSP”), an application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), field programmable gate array (“FPGA”) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
Additionally, the steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two A software module can reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium including a network storage medium. An exemplary storage medium can be coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium can also reside in an ASIC.
The above description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles described herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is to be understood that the description and drawings presented herein represent exemplary embodiments of the invention and are therefore representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present invention. It is further understood that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly limited by nothing other than the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/735,913 filed Nov. 10, 2005.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2006/060822 | 11/13/2006 | WO | 00 | 5/6/2008 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60735913 | Nov 2005 | US |
