Automatic and adaptive process and system for analyzing and scrambling digital video streams

1 . A process for automatically and adaptively scrambling digital video streams comprising:

analyzing structure and visual content of the digital video stream, and

scrambling the digital video stream under regulation of an inference or decisional engine that selects a scrambling tool or tools to be applied to the digital video stream from a library of possible scrambling tools as a function of the analysis, of digital information relative to characteristics of a user, and from transport conditions of digital data in conformance with a base of predefined scrambling rules.

2 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the inference engine is self-adaptive and self-decisional.

3 . The process according to claim 2 , wherein the inference engine has the ability to teach itself and determine new decision rules from rules previously established.

4 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the analysis has several levels of scalability.

5 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the scrambling tools have several levels of scalability.

6 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the scrambling has several levels of granular scalability.

7 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the inference engine has the ability to make scrambling decisions in such a manner as to respect constraints of telecommunication networks via which complementary information is transmitted to the user for which the scrambled stream is intended.

8 . The process according to claim 1 , having the ability to make scrambling decisions from an analysis of the video stream in real time.

9 . The process according to claim 8 , having the ability to adapt a quantity of complementary information in real time as a function of immediate resources in an output/throughput and transport conditions of the telecommunication networks.

10 . The process according to claim 1 , having the ability to carry out the analysis and scrambling prior to transmission to the user.

11 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the inference engine has the ability to make scrambling decisions in such a manner as to respect constraints, features and performances of a decoder box of the user for which the scrambled stream is intended.

12 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the inference engine has the ability to make scrambling decisions as a function of scrambling decisions which it previously made.

13 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein scrambling tools used to process a part of the stream are parameterized by original characteristics of previously scrambled parts, which characteristics are stored in complementary information.

14 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein random values used by scrambling tools are generated by a generator of random variables and are passed in parameters to these scrambling tools.

15 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein a decision concerning scrambling to be performed on the video stream is automatic and auto-adaptive as a function of a user profile.

16 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein a decision concerning scrambling to be performed on the video stream is automatic and auto-adaptive as a function of transport conditions.

17 . The process according to claim 1 , applied to structured digital video streams stemming from a digital video norm or standard.

18 . A system for automatically and adaptively scrambling digital video streams comprising a module for analysis of structure and visual content of the digital video stream, a library module of scrambling tools, a module that scrambles the digital video stream and an inference or decisional engine module capable of making a synthesis of analysis information and available scrambling tools and generating scrambling instructions as a function of results of the analysis, available scrambling tools, user profile and the transport conditions in conformity with a rule base that it contains.