Extending blackout control
View Patent ↗Systems and methods for blackout management in media distribution systems may include a central data center in a service provider's domain. The central data server may coordinate with a blackout manager that implements control features for blackout. In contrast to (or to supplement) blackout control solutions that require integrated receiver decoders (IRD)s to be physically installed at each of the regional headends in the service provider network, the blackout manager may provide three functions: 1) a Virtual IRD (VIRD) function 2) access control functions via access control component, and 3) VIRD-to-EndPoint mapping function in the linkage manager.
1. A method for managing blackout control, the method comprising:
maintaining a plurality of virtual integrated receiver decoders (VIRDs) in a central data server in a service provider's domain, wherein each VIRD is associated with a blackout region serviced by a service provider, and each VIRD has an address registered with a content programmer;
receiving transport streams via an uplink path from the content programmer, wherein the transport streams are included in encrypted content received via the uplink path and the encrypted content is decrypted;
receiving a retune message corresponding to at least one transport stream, the retune message identifying a VIRD address and at least one service in a transport stream designated for blackout to the region corresponding to the identified VIRD address; and
in the central data server, encrypting content including the at least one service for delivery to decryptors in a plurality of regions serviced by the service provider, wherein encrypting content includes re-encrypting the decrypted transport streams using an encryption key, the retune message is embedded in the decrypted content, and the encrypting blacks out at least one service in the region corresponding to the identified VIRD address,
wherein the encryption key is selected to exclude decryption by a decryptor in the region corresponding to the identified VIRD address.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising delivering the encrypted content to the decryptors in the plurality of regions serviced by the service provider.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein included in the encrypted content delivered to the decryptors is metadata that identifies the appropriate encryption key that a decryptor in the region corresponding to the identified VIRD address does not have.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the decryptors are located in regional headends with unique blackout regions which are serviced by the service provider.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
extracting the retune message and service information from the decrypted content; and
identifying the region corresponding to the identified VIRD address from a VIRD address-to-endpoint mapping.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing encryption rules a priori to an encryptor for re-encrypting the content and to the decryptors in the plurality of regions serviced by the service provider.
7. A multiplexer in a central data server for delivering encrypted content to regional headends, the multiplexer including:
a receiver for receiving decrypted content from a plurality of receivers, the decrypted content including transport streams transmitted via an uplink path from a content programmer and decrypted;
an extractor for extracting a retune message from the decrypted content, wherein the retune message identifies a VIRD address and at least one service in a transport stream designated for blackout to a region corresponding to the identified VIRD address;
an encryptor encrypting at least one service in the decrypted content for delivery to decryptors in a plurality of regions serviced by a service provider, wherein encrypting content includes re-encrypting the decrypted transport streams using an encryption key, and the encrypting blacks out the at least one service in the region corresponding to the identified VIRD address,
wherein the encryption key is selected to exclude decryption by a decryptor in the region corresponding to the identified VIRD address; and
a transmitter for delivering the encrypted content to the decryptors in the plurality of regions serviced by the service provider.
8. The multiplexer of claim 7 , wherein included in the encrypted content delivered to the decryptors is an encryption key that a decryptor in the region corresponding to the identified VIRD address cannot decrypt.
9. The multiplexer of claim 7 , wherein the decryptors are located in the regional headends associated with each respective region serviced by the service provider.
10. The multiplexer of claim 7 , further comprising a receiver for receiving an encryption key a priori encryption rules a priori to the receipt of the decrypted content.
11. The multiplexer of claim 7 , further comprising a receiver receiving an encryption key responsive to the VIRD address identified in the retune message.
12. A system in a service provider's domain for managing blackout control, the system comprising:
a receiver for receiving and decrypting encrypted content via an uplink path from a content programmer, the encrypted content including transport streams;
a multiplexer for extracting at least one retune message corresponding to at least one of the transport streams from the decrypted content and providing a retune message to a blackout manager,
wherein the blackout manager:
maintains a plurality of virtual integrated receiver decoders (VIRDs), wherein each VIRD is associated with a region serviced by a service provider, and each VIRD has an address registered with the content programmer,
identifies from the retune message a VIRD address and at least one service in a transport stream designated for blackout to the region corresponding to the identified VIRD address,
selects an encryption scheme for re-encrypting the transport streams based on capabilities of decryptors in regional headends in the service provider's domain,
provides an encryption key to an encryptor that corresponds to the selected encryption scheme, wherein the encryption key is selected to exclude decryption by a decryptor in the region corresponding to the identified VIRD address; and
the encryptor for encrypting the at least one service in the transport streams for delivery to the decryptors in the regional headends, wherein encrypting content includes re-encrypting the decrypted transport streams using an encryption key, the retune message is embedded in the decrypted content
wherein the encryption blacks out the at least one service in the region corresponding to the identified VIRD address.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the encryptor delivers the encrypted content to the decryptors in a plurality of regions serviced by the service provider.
14. The system of claim 12 , wherein included in the encrypted content delivered to the decryptors is the encryption key that a decryptor in the region corresponding to the identified VIRD address cannot decrypt.
15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the decryptors are located in the regional headends associated with each respective region serviced by the service provider.
16. The system of claim 12 , the blackout manager identifying the region corresponding to the identified VIRD address from a VIRD address-to-endpoint mapping.