US20110229107A1 - System, method and apparatus for controlling the dissemination of digital works - Google Patents

Abstract

A system, business methodology and apparatus for facilitating controlled dissemination of digital works is disclosed. An audio and video organizer, entertainment, and communication unit that plays back audio and video media content received from a central storage server. The unit relies on a smartcard, which has a personalized key that unlocks encrypted content. Using the unit, a user can purchase music or other types of media using a appropriate ordering method. The central storage server then transmits a double-encrypted, compressed audio file to the unit, where it is decrypted based on the smartcard key, and available for listening.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
• This patent application is related to and claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/240,534, filed Oct. 3, 2005, now U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,925,897, and 09/810,957, filed Mar. 16, 2001, abandoned, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/190,268, filed Mar. 17, 2000.
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
• 1. Field of the Invention
• The present invention is directed to improvements in home entertainment systems, particularly, to a system, method and apparatus for facilitating the usage of digital works.
• 2. Description of the Related Art
• The growth of the Internet as a communication tool has been phenomenal. With the increasing usage of the Internet as a platform for business, staid industries are having to reinvent themselves to keep ahead of or keep pace with this technological wave.
• The music industry has had to cope with advances in technology impinging upon artists' royalties and controlled dissemination. Prior to the invention of the Internet and its rise in massive popularity, digital music was distributed in fairly traditional ways. Music was recorded and then mastered and pressed to compact disc, which then acted as the physical medium that consumers purchased. Compact discs, by their nature, are limited to reproducing original mastered music at 44.1 kHz, but this reproduction offered the closest digital copy of the master that had ever been previously possible. To copy this music to another format for use on another unit besides a compact disc player, such as a cassette player, a person would have to make an analog recording of the music, usually on a cassette recorder that is physically attached to the audio out ports on the compact disc player. Digital Analog Tape and the MiniDisc faced similar limitations, namely the digital audio from the source had to be converted, at some point, to an analog signal for transfer to these mechanisms.
• Personal computers offered a solution to this archival problem. Computers are able to read the music off a compact disc and then, using various software, can extract or “rip” the audio content from the CD for storage on the computer's hard drive. The majority of this these ripping techniques still transferred the audio through a digital to analog to digital method, but some extractors kept the digital signal from beginning of extract to the end of archiving. This meant that a computer could save a large amount of compact disc content on a storage unit that allowed almost instantaneous access to individual songs from separate compact discs. Unfortunately, the file sizes of these songs were very large; a single song could easily require 50 megabytes of hard drive space. An entire CD could occupy 650 megabytes.
• To ease this storage problem, several compression mechanisms and formulations were quickly introduced, the most popular being MPEG II layer III, commonly known as MP3. Audio content compressed using the mp3 format could shrink in size to a tenth of its original with arguably little or no loss in quality from the compact disc master. At the same time, the Internet's progression and connection to millions of personal computers enabled people to share their music files with each other, although this was at first a difficult exercise since one computer would need the physical address of another computer to transfer files. Services such as public anonymous File Transfer Protocol (FTP) sites, digital bulletin board services, and client-based server programs such as Hotline, acted as conduits and repositories for this compressed music, but most of these services were underground and difficult for the average user to find, much less operate.
• The advent of peer-to-peer file sharing made transferring digital music files between disparate computers on the Internet a trivial matter. Peer-to-peer technology allows one computer to broadcast its list of music files to either a centralized computer that maintains an index of files or broadcast its ability to share files, which other computers on the network, or node of the network, recognize and then build their own index. Peer-to-peer file sharing avoids placing the physical media on one central server or bank of computer servers, but rather allows each computer on the file sharing network to act as its own server, limited by its own connection to the Internet and its own computer processing power. Since peer-to-peer file sharing basically allows for an anonymous transfer of files from one computer to another with no layer in between and, regardless of the software facilitating the service and creating the index, makes it a very simple matter to find and exchange files, the technology by its very existence aids copyright infringement by its population of users, which in turn undermines the financial incentive for artists to continue creating original works of art.
• The Internet and file sharing, however, are now technologies embraced by millions and millions of users and the thought of reverting to a closed technological system of recording compact discs to analog recordings is most certainly unacceptable. Conflicting with this methodology of sharing files are the artists and music labels who have a great interest in protecting their work from illegal copying and distribution. At the same time sharing video content, which is still in its infancy because of compression techniques, requires a method that will protect the original content yet retain the simplicity of peer-to-peer sharing.
• The ease of copying digital works has resulted in a dilemma to copyright owners in a work, such as music encoded per MP3, i.e., how to utilize this new digital medium but maintain control over the work? In other words, the music industry and the artists are trying to prevent unlicensed dissemination of the work.
• There is, therefore, a need for a system, method and apparatus that facilitates the dissemination of a protected digital work while at the same time maintaining control over its dissemination.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• Embodiments of the present invention overcome shortcomings of prior systems and satisfy a need for providing a method and system for distributing digital audio and video content to users that supersede the aforementioned peer-to-peer file sharing technique and also ensures that each distributed digital file is protected from rampant copying or illicit distribution.
• The present invention is directed to a system, business methodology and apparatus for facilitating controlled dissemination of digital works. An audio and video unit (hereinafter “unit”) plays back audio and video media content received from a central storage server. The unit includes a storage unit for storing downloaded digital media files, and a media processing element for generating only analog versions of selected media files of the stored digital media files and outputting only the analog versions. In this way, exact duplicates of downloaded media files stored in the unit are not available for widespread distribution.
• The unit further includes a card reader for retrieving an electronic value from a card, such as a smartcard, inserted in the card reader. The electronic value is used to generate the analog versions of the digital media files, such as by decrypting the digital files based upon the electronic value. As a result, only units having the appropriate card inserted therein are able to output analog versions of the digital media
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• A more complete understanding of the system, method and apparatus of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the following Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein:
• FIG. 1 illustrates a presently preferred configuration of the system and apparatus of the present invention;
• FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the player unit (console version) of the present invention;
• FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the player unit (portable version) of the present invention;
• FIG. 4 illustrates an operation for browsing and ordering media through a web server according to embodiments of the present invention;
• FIG. 5 illustrates an operation browsing and ordering media through the player's remote control according to embodiments of the present invention;
• FIG. 6 illustrates an operation for browsing and ordering media through the on-screen catalog according to embodiments of the present invention;
• FIG. 7 illustrates an encryption/decryption operation of the media according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
• FIG. 8 illustrates the connection of the console version of the player unit with system components;
• FIG. 9 illustrates the connection of the portable player unit with system components;
• FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate the connection of a digital camera to the player unit according to a preferred connection of the present invention;
• FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate an operation for sending video by the player unit; and
• FIG. 12 illustrates an operation for the delivery of the video according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
• The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
• The unit according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention contains digital media in a local, closed system that can receive a digital file and then playback the file through analog connections. The unit, sometimes referred to as player unit, is controlled by a central microprocessor and has networking connections. It also has an audio and video output connections and an interface for digital cameras. All media is stored in the unit on an internal hard drive.
• With reference now toFIG. 1 of the Drawings, there is illustrated a presently preferred system, generally designated by thereference numeral100, that implements the principles of the present invention. As shown, aplayer unit105, for playing the digital music (as well as non-digital music or any digital work) may represent a tabletop unit for the home or a handheld unit. In order to control improper dissemination of protected works,player unit105 has no digital output ports or connections, thereby preventing or at least hindering the copying of any digital downloaded copyrighted digital works.Player unit105 does, however, have an audio analog output, such as to aspeaker110, which may be a separate component or integral withplayer unit105, by which to play a previously downloaded digital work.
• Preferably, the sole source of digital communication withplayer unit105 is via amodem115, which may also be a separate component or integral to theplayer unit105. As shown inFIG. 1,modem115 connects theplayer unit105 to anetwork120 via TCP/IP or other communications protocols. Theplayer unit105 may also have a video output to suitably connect to a television or computer monitor125 for reviewing the musical contents stored within theplayer unit105.
• With the growing convergence of appliances and computers, it should be apparent thatplayer unit105 need not connect to a computer to access thenetwork120 and a consumer may instead connect to thenetwork120 directly fromunit105. For example, the consumer may download digital files stored on thenetwork120 directly into theplayer unit105 via themodem115. In particular, the consumer may useplayer unit105 to access a music website or other Internet repository to obtain copyrighted digital works, e.g., from an Internet music club. It is understood that even thoughunit105 is not a conventional web browser used by a general purpose computer to access the Internet, it is nonetheless capable of navigating a web site and downloading media therefrom. The consumer could control the downloading via akeypad130 attached or integral with theplayer unit105 or a remote135, e.g., typing or keying-in an identifier corresponding to a desired selection, which could be identified in a club booklet of available titles. The desired music/audio files would then be downloaded from the music seller to theplayer unit105.
• Player unit105 preferably has enough memory storage therein to hold a considerable amount of audio and/or media files, e.g., five hundred CD's worth. By way of the video link to thetelevision125, the consumer may catalog and navigate through the one or more databases and/or libraries of music and/or audio files stored within the user'splayer unit105, i.e., on a memory therein. Since no digital copies can be made from the downloaded file, e.g., backup memory storage within theplayer unit105 is fixed, meaning that deletion of stored songs may be needed to store a current selection, thereby making music a commodity rather than a collectible.
• As should be understood, hard drive space is finite, which necessities a user to delete music or video files from their personal catalog. This does not mean that the media is no longer available. It simply is a way to clear up more space on their local unit. The user does not need to re-purchase the songs, since the entire catalog of purchased music is always stored safely at the central media server.
• Unit105 gives a user the ability to download audio and video content from a central server innetwork120 to a unit. The media is protected from relatively simple mass duplication by a double-encryption methodology on the player unit that is keyed to the media, as will be explained in detail hereinafter.
• Theplayer unit105, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, may include a processing element, such as a microprocessor, that runs a media-centric operating system whose function is to decode and play back audio and video content, which is stored on an internal hard drive withinunit105.
• FIG. 2 illustrates a console version of the player unit, generally designated by the reference numeral200. The user accesses and controls the stored content using either a remote control that communicates to the player unit200 through the infraredremote receiver port205 or using the navigation andcontrol buttons210 on the front of the unit. Thesebuttons210 allow the user to navigate entirely through one or more libraries of content (media files) on the unit, select a particular media file, begin playing the media file, suspend play of the media file, stop playback and other functionalities such as setting an equalizer, controlling the volume, adjusting the balance, etc. Adisplay215, which can be a variation of liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting diode (LED), or a stimulated plasma display, shows the name of the music track of the media file selected, the time remaining in the track, the artist of the track, and any ancillary information that may be relevant to the user.
• The unit has several interfaces to connect to other equipment. The unit, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention has both a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet connection220 and amodem connection225 to link to thenetwork120 and download files therefrom. Audio is played back through RCA audio outport230 or aheadphone jack235. Video, which is either video content or menu navigation screens, is played back through the RCA video outconnection240. An IEEE-1394 (245) interface allows the connection of digital video cameras to the unit200. Asmartcard interface250 reads the smartcard that will unlock the encrypted music and video content for the particular user and unit.
• FIG. 3 illustrates a portable version of the player unit, generally designated by thereference numeral300. Similar to the console version described with reference toFIG. 2, this version contains an RCA audio outport330, an RCA video outport340, an IEEE-1394interface345, asmartcard interface350, andnavigation buttons310. This version of the unit also contains an ⅛ inch mini audio outconnection335 for headphones. The screen is touch-sensitive355, so the user merely has to touch the screen to navigate the catalog and/or database of media files stored in the unit. This version of the unit containsantennae360 hidden within the sides of the unit, arechargeable battery365 for power, and a new message light370 to warn of new video content or messages on the unit.
• The portable unit communicates to the server in the network by using adocking station375. When the user wishes the unit to download new media, the unit is inserted intodocking station375 by pushing the unit therein so that thedocking station interface380 of the unit attaches solidly to the docking station. Thedocking station375 may include both a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet connection385 and amodem connection390 as well as an A/C power supply395 to recharge thebattery365 in the portable unit.
• The user can navigate audio and video content using a television attached to the video out connection. Here users can search their own catalogs, make play lists, read biographical information, view artwork, and customize their jukeboxes according to their preference. The television is the control hub for the unit, although a user can easily navigate their music and video collection without it. The television, however, provides a more entertaining and easy navigating experience.
• The unit also allows an easily accessible catalog of media on a server that the user can access and download simply and quickly. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention a user has three alternative ways to find and retrieve media from a server: by using a web browser on a personal computer to search through a web-based media, find and then order the media using the same environment, by using a physical catalog mailed to the user, and by navigating the central media server library from the unit.
• FIG. 4 illustrates an operation for downloading a media file using a web browser to find media for the unit. The user initially accesses the main media database on the desired web server using astandard web browser405 and searches the desired databases using a variety of queries. For example, users can search for their favorite artist, favorite song, songs or recordings performed within a certain time frame, songs or artists that are similar to other songs or artists. The central web server responds with a list of results that match the user's queries. If the user finds something desirable, the user can order the desired digital work, but the user first needs to be identified by the central ordering server as a subscriber for billing purposes and to know which unit to send the media. The user can be identified by the user entering a unique identification number at410 received at registration of the unit, entering a unique username and password at415 or entering the unit's identification number and password at420. Once the user logs on to the web ordering server, the user may requests a desired media file to be downloaded to the unit at425. There will be times that a user will desire to download media to a different unit than usual, so the system will be flexible enough to embrace these requests. Every unit, if necessary, has a unique identification number, much like every house has a unique physical address.
• Once the centralmedia web server430 receives the user's request, the media web server pulls the necessary media from a media library at435 and sends the files through a real-time encoding andcompression system440. The encoding and compression specifications are flexible. A variety of encoding and compression techniques may be supported. Once the media is encoded, it is sent to a staging server at445 to connect directly to the specified unit for downloading or to wait for a request from the unit for downloading. If the unit is attached to a high-speed, broadband line to the Internet attached to the unit's Ethernet connection, the unit will have its own Internet Protocol address (IP address). The staging server can then immediately associate the unit's IP address with that same unit's unique ID number and begin transferring the media files at450. However, if the unit uses its modem connection at460, the unit will then automatically dial into the local, proprietary connection at a later time, such as at night (or, if forced by the user, it will dial up when commanded) and pull the files from the stagingserver445.
• For example, if a user is in another city and uses the web to make an order for some digital music, the staging server will know if the user's unit has its own IP address or if it uses a modem (the unit will be inaccessible by the staging server if the unit uses a modem). If the unit has an IP address, the staging server will send the media files directly to the unit. If the unit uses the modem, the staging server knows to wait for the unit's call. Later, the unit will automatically connect to the staging server and see whether any new media files are available for downloading. Since there is in this example, the unit will begin downloading the previously ordered, presently available media files.
• FIG. 5 illustrates another method for downloading digital media files to the unit by using a physical catalog hardcopy that the user can receive in the mail (or in a store or by other methods). Themedia catalog505 lists some or a majority of the media on the server in various ways. The user simply identifies an item and makes a note of that item's ID number and then, either with aremote control515 or by direct entry on the unit'sscreen520, enters the ID number into theunit525 and requests to download the media. Theunit525 contacts thecentral media server530 and requests the media based on themedia ID number535. The central media server, similar to the central media web server described with reference toFIG. 4, performs similar operations described above for accessing, compressing and delivering the media to the requesting unit.
• As should be understood, a physical catalog is limited in its breadth and depth of material, thus another method of downloading media files is illustrated toFIG. 6. This method allows the user to access and download digital files to a unit by navigating theentire media catalog615 on the central server through the unit. The unit's video output port is connected to atelevision605, so as to present a visual representation of one or more database/libraries of media files in the media catalog. When connected to the central media catalog, the user is able to navigate the media catalog by manipulating navigation buttons on the unit. The user can then browse and search through the entire media catalog using theremote control620 ortouch screen interface625 on the unit. The media may be downloaded using a similar mechanism as described hereinabove with reference toFIG. 4.
• In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, media is double-encrypted at the stagingserver445 before being transmitted to the unit. The encryption used is preferably 128 bit, although this, like compression and encoding of media assets, is flexible depending on the security level.FIG. 7 illustrates the two levels of encryption in the staging server and the two corresponding decryption levels in the unit. The first layer of encryption at720 is based on the specific unit that will receive the selectedmedia file705. The second layer of encryption at735 is based on the user's smartcard ID number. The server reconciles the user's name with the user's smartcard ID key at730 and then encrypts the media to this key at735. The server then transfers at740 the file to the specific unit making the request or queued to receive it. The unit then checks if the smartcard is in its reader at745. If there is a smartcard, it verifies that the smartcard ID can decode the encrypted file with a checksum. This ensures that only the specific smartcard that the media is keyed to can unlock the file. Other smartcards having different key values stored therein will not work. If the smartcard is successfully inserted into the unit, the unit decodes the second encrypted pass at750 and then decodes the first encrypted pass at760. The unit then audibly plays the media file at765. All decryption is done immediately prior to the time of playback time. The original media files remain encrypted on the unit and are unplayable if the smartcard is removed. If the unit cannot find the smartcard, it will prompt the user for one.
• The music or video content that someone owns is not necessarily tied to their specific unit but rather is tied to the user's smartcard. For example, a user who has a library of 500 songs on one particular unit can remove the smartcard and then attach that smartcard to another unit. The new unit, consequently, has privileges and decryption abilities to play all 500 songs in the library. This will, of course, probably demand downloading the files from the central server for this new machine. In this example, the old machine, without the smartcard, is unable to play any of the 500 songs.
• Once the media is downloaded to the unit, the user can listen, view, and control it in various ways.FIG. 8 illustrates the operation and interworking of the console version of the player unit, described with reference toFIG. 2. Theunit810 receives the media from theMaster Data Servers815 on either a broadband connection to theInternet820 ormodem825. The smartcard, inserted within the unit, unlocks the audio decryption so that the user can play back the selected audio file throughstereo components830, that are hooked up to the RCA analog audio port on the unit or throughheadphones835. The user can view the currently playing music using the television/monitor840 which provides a visual display of unit's library of media files. Using theremote control845, the user can navigate through the unit's media file library. Here the user has the flexibility of searching for any artist, track, CD name, song title, date, and genre of media on the unit. The user can also sort song tracks into unique playlists, for example, a playlist of Jazz, Classical, or Blues music. These playlists are automatically indexed to the smartcard so that the user can attach the smartcard to another, different unit and pull up the playlists he has already created.
• A digital video camera or other video source that supports IEEE-1394 (850) connects to the IEEE-1394 connection on the media player to supply video signals and compress digital video, as will be explained with respect to the embodiments ofFIGS. 10-13.
• FIG. 9 illustrates in greater detail the portable, wireless unit according to the preferred embodiment ofFIG. 3. Theportable player unit910 connects to adocking station960 to download media from theMaster Data Servers915. Thedocking station960 is a cradle that theunit910 rests in which connects to the server using either the broadband 10/100 Base-T Ethernet connection920 or amodem connection925. The docking station has RCA audio out and video out as well as an A/C connection for power. While the unit is on the docking stations cradle, the user can listen or view media as it is transferred through these analog connections to thetelevision940 or to thestereo system930. The docking station also supplies power to recharge the battery on the portable unit.
• If the portable unit is removed from the docking station, it uses a wireless network- to broadcast its content tovarious receivers990. Thereceivers990 are modular attachments that connect to the analog audio inputs on a variety of units, mainlytelevision940,stereo components930, portableminiature audio units970, andcar stereos980. For example, when a user is listening to his portable unit throughheadphones935 and he walks within range of a receiver attached to his stereo system and unplugs his headphones. The portable unit immediately senses themodular wireless receiver990 attached to thestereo930 and begins transmitting the media to that receiver. The wireless attachment receives the signal and sends the analog audio in to the stereo system where the user begins to hear the music over the external speakers in the room. If the user moves from his stereo to his car, and if the car has awireless receiver990 attached to itscar stereo system980, the car speakers will begin to play the music as soon as the user enters the range of that car's wireless receiver.
• As is described hereinabove, the unit's main functionality is for audio. However, as will be shown hereinafter with reference toFIGS. 10-12, the unit has a substantial communicative ability with video messages, which may use the same technology and encryption as music.
• FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrates adigital camera1030 being connected to the unit according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Using, an IEEE-1394 compliant digital video camera, a user can have the unit acquire video content for compression and delivery to other users. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the digital camera can be connected using a IEEE-1394cable1010 between thedigital camera1030 and theunit1040, as illustrated inFIG. 10A. Theunit1040 immediately sense that thecamera1030 is attached, and the user can control the camera, both searching the tape and capturing content, from the unit's interface. Alternatively, the camera may have amodular attachment1020 that connects physically to theunit1040 through the IEEE-1394port1115. In this case, the camera may be nothing more than a simple camera and network attachment. The unit itself may digitize the footage and controls the lens. The unit itself will, as suggested hereinabove with reference to the audio feature of the unit, holds a finite amount of video footage due to the limited capacity of the hard drive and the compression technology utilized.
• When the video is on the unit, the user is asked for the video'sdestination1115, as shown inFIG. 11A. The user can watch another preview of thevideo1120, this time in a small window on the unit'sdisplay1110 and select a name from the unit'saddress book1125. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the window size for previewing the video on the display unit can be configurable by the user according to his/her preference. The video may be sent to another user in the address book of the unit. The address book is initially empty; so the user needs to inputnames1130 andunit ID numbers1135 into the book in order for the unit knows where to send content, as illustrated inFIG. 11B. The user does this by enteringnames1130 andunique unit IDs1135 using the on-screen keyboard1140. This feature, as well as other features, as suggested hereinabove may work in both the console and portable unit configurations.
• FIG. 12 illustrates the video transfer between the units. The user can send the video immediately or delay the transmission until late that night to avoid trying up the phone line. This depends on the network connection and bandwidth speed. This choice is preferably done to reduce bandwidth consumption during peak hours. For example, if the user has a video file that is 10 megabytes in size, that file might take a substantial amount of time to transfer over the unit's 56k modem, tying up the user's phone line for that extended period. This feature gives the user the choice to send the file late at night or very early in the morning when the risk of the user needing the phone line for a voice call is much smaller. Once theunit1210 sends the video, it is temporarily stored on theMaster Central Server1220 where it waits to be downloaded by thedestination unit1230. Theunit1210 with the original video content compresses and encodes the video and then either sends the video immediately on thebroadband connection1215 or delays sending until later to use themodem connection1225. Once the video content arrives at theCentral Master Server1220, it is stored in atemporary area1235. If the user who originally made the video has requested the video to be sent to a web page, the Central Master transfers the content to aweb server1240 and then sends an e-mail from ane-mail server1245 to the destination user's address. The destination user then can access the web page through apersonal computer1250 at any time.
• If the original video creator has requested that the video be delivered to another unit instead of a web page, theCentral Master Server1220 either waits for a summons from the destination unit (this will happen during the nightly dial-up1265) or, if the destination unit has a unique IP address and is on abroadband line1275, the server will send the file immediately to thereceiving unit1230. The destination unit now has a video waiting on the Central Server, the server then sends a message to the unit informing it of the awaiting video. As soon as the destination unit receives the message, an alert light glows on the receiving unit, indicating to the user that a new video message is waiting. The user can then request the video message to be downloaded to their unit immediately or wait to download the message later, as described above. The user can then watch the video message on the unit's screen or, as will most certainly be the case with console units, watch the video message directly on the television through the video out connection. The user then has the option, much like e-mail, to respond to the video message with a new message, to delete the message from the unit, or catalog the message, depending on hard drive space.
• As should be clear, video message content is temporal and transitory and requires server-side hard drive space for a limited amount of time. Users can easily save these video messages to a video tape or other archival system.
• According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the unit may be flexible in its development and operation and have the capability for upgrades. Moreover, the user interface such as the television navigation screens and the on-screen look and feel should also be flexible. For instance, semi-customizable user interfaces “Skins” can be implemented in the player unit.
• It should be understood that although the MP3 standard has been illustrated, the present invention offers a methodology applicable to other digital standards.
• The unit enables secure and simple digital distribution of media and relieves the control of these types of digital assets from personal computers, thus as described hereinabove controlling the reproduction of digital copyrighted works. The unit can be seen as a dedicated entertainment, digital delivery consumer unit. The unit is flexible in construction and simple in use.
• The unit, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, is flexible to read various types of audio and video which allows the compressed files sent from the central server to be in different formats. The unit is able to play the music or video using a variety of techniques.
• The unit may, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, include a CD-player for audio playback from regular CDs or from custom MP3 CDs that are recorded and encrypted according to the techniques set forth in the present invention. Thus, the custom MP3 CD can be played only using a unit containing the user's smartcard.
• It is understood that cards other than smartcards may be used by the unit for storing the personalized key used in performing the encryption and decryption operations. A smartcard may be a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) card, Japan Electronic Industry Development Association (JEIDA), etc.
• As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, the innovative concepts described in the present application can be modified and varied over a wide range of applications. Accordingly, the scope of patented subject matter should not be limited to any of the specific exemplary teachings discussed, but is instead defined by the following claims.

Claims (27)

1. A player unit for facilitating digital media files playback, said player unit comprising:

a storage unit for storing downloaded digital media files;

at least one analog output port, said player unit not having digital output ports;

a media processing element for generating only analog versions of selected media files of the stored digital media files and outputting only said analog versions; and

a card reader for retrieving an electronic value from a card inserted in said card reader, said electronic value being used to generate said analog versions of said digital media files.

2. The player unit according toclaim 1, further comprising:

navigation means for navigating through said digital media files on said storage unit; and

user-manipulated control devices for controlling said navigation means by a user.

3. The player unit according toclaim 1, further comprising a video output port for outputting a video signal representative of a navigation operation of said player unit.

4. The player unit according toclaim 1, further comprising an interface for interfacing said player unit with a digital camera and receiving digital video signals therefrom.

5. The player unit according toclaim 1, wherein said player unit is a desktop player unit.

6. The player unit according toclaim 1, further comprising a network connection means for downloading digital media files from a network.

7. The player unit according toclaim 1, further comprising a remote transceiver for transceiving optical signals between said player unit and a remote control, said optical signals controlling said player unit.

8. The player unit according toclaim 1, further comprising a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen for visually displaying an operation performed by said player unit.

9. The player unit according toclaim 1, wherein said player unit is a portable player unit.

10. The player unit according toclaim 9, further comprising a transmitter for transmitting said analog versions of said selected digital media files over a wireless channel.

11. The player unit according toclaim 9, further comprising an interface for interfacing with a docking station for downloading said digital media files.

12. The player unit according toclaim 1, further comprising a touch screen for visually displaying information relating to the operation of said player unit and selecting functions performed by said player unit.

13. A player unit for facilitating digital media files playback, said player unit comprising:

a storage unit, said storage unit storing downloaded digital media files;

a media processing element, said media processing element generating only analog versions of said downloaded digital media files; and

an output port, said output port outputting only said analog versions of said downloaded digital media files,

said output port being an analog-only port, said player unit having no digital output ports.

14. The player unit according toclaim 13, further comprising:

a display, said display providing a visual indication of files on the player unit.

15. The player unit according toclaim 14, further comprising:

a navigator, said navigator providing a user a way to navigate on the display through the files on the player unit.

16. The player unit according toclaim 14, wherein said display is a touch screen device, whereby a user can touch navigate through the files stored on the player unit or elsewhere through a network connection.

17. The player unit according toclaim 13, wherein media output from said output port are selected from the group consisting of: audio, video, data and combinations thereof.

18. The player unit according toclaim 13, wherein said analog versions are stored on said storage unit.

19. The player unit according toclaim 13, further comprising:

a decryptor for decrypting said downloaded digital media files.

20. The player unit according toclaim 19, wherein said decryptor employs at least two decryption keys.

21. The player unit according toclaim 20, wherein one of said decryption keys corresponds to the user of said player unit and the other said decryption key corresponds to the player unit.

22. The player unit according toclaim 13, further comprising:

a connector, said connector connecting said player unit to a content provider.

23. The player unit according toclaim 22, wherein said connector is selected from the group consisting of: the Internet, Ethernet, a modem, a wireless transceiver, docketing station, computer and television.

24. The player unit according toclaim 13, wherein said player unit is selected from the group consisting of: a portable player unit, a desktop player unit, and a car player unit.

25. A player unit for facilitating digital media files playback, said player unit comprising:

a storage unit for storing downloaded digital media files therein;

a conversion means for converting a digital media file stored on said storage unit to an analog version thereof and outputting only said analog version; and

said player unit having only analog outputs and no digital outputs.

26. A player device comprising:

a memory, said memory containing at least one digital file thereon;

at least one output port, said at least one output port being analog only, said player device having no digital output ports; and

a connection device, said connection device connecting said player device to a network,

whereby a user of said player device can download said at least one digital file to the player device and play said at least one digital file through said at least one output port in analog, said user able to play an analog version of said at least one digital file but unable to make a digital copy of said at least one digital file from said player device.

27. A player device accordingly toclaim 26, further comprising:

conversion means for converting said at least one digital file to an analog representation for playing through said at least one output port in analog.

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