Nds Corporation

News Datacom Limited

Yossef Tsuria

Yishai Sered

Doron Handelman

Jonathan Maissel

Yonatan Silver

David Zviel

Ilan Bauminger

Amir Eilat

Yaron Sella

Reuven Wachtfogel

Shlomo Kipnis

Shabtai Atlow

Moshe Kranc

David Richardson

Gershon Bar-On

Gene Itkis

Jacob B Nachman

A digital television recording method comprising: broadcasting a television program associated with a broadcaster set of parameters enabling access to a first set of predetermined portions of the program; operating an agent for determining whether to record the program and for associating with the program, upon recording of the program, an agent set of parameters enabling access to a second set of predetermined portions of the program; storing the program together with the broadcaster set of parameters and the agent set of parameters to generate an addressable program; retrieving at least a portion of the addressable program; displaying the at least a portion of the addressable program to a user; receiving from the user a user set of parameters enabling access to a third set of predetermined portions of the addressable program; editing the addressable program to include the user set of parameters enabling access to the third set of predetermined portions of the addressable program thereby generating an edited addressable program; and storing the edited addressable program.

Advanced television system

A method for examining an electronic representation of an item for a watermark, the method including examining at least a first electronic representation of an item for a watermark in accordance with a first watermark definition, receiving a signal indicating that a second watermark definition is to be used for examining electronic representations, and examining at least a second electronic representation of an item for a watermark in accordance with the second watermark definition. Related apparatus and methods are also provided.

Watermark system

A viewer response method for use with an interactive telecommunications system. The viewer response method includes accumulating a user interaction history of a user of the system, the user interaction history including user interaction information associated with a plurality of user interaction events and providing user-sensible feedback, based at least in part on the user interaction history.

User interaction feedback system

This invention discloses an entertainment system for providing entertainment to a user thereof, the system including an entertainment source for providing entertainment in a distributable form, entertainment distribution apparatus for distributing the entertainment and a plurality of entertainment delivery units, each entertainment delivery unit including receiving apparatus for receiving the entertainment from the entertainment source via the entertainment distribution apparatus, wherein at least one of the plurality of entertainment delivery units includes personalization apparatus adapted to receive a removable personalization element including personalization information, and the at least one of the plurality of entertainment units personalizes the entertainment based on the personalization information, and the personalization information includes at least one of the following: entertainment preference information; gaming information; and telecommunications information.

Entertainment system

Viewer interaction feedback method and system for use with an interactive telecommunication system

A subscriber unit for use in a television system including a television network and transmitting apparatus for transmitting program schedule information, the subscriber unit including a receiving unit for receiving the program schedule information, a profile storage unit for storing at least one viewer preference profile of at least one television viewer, an intelligent agent for customizing the program schedule information based, at least in part, on the viewer preference profile, to produce a program guide including customized program schedule information, and display apparatus for displaying the program guide.

Intelligent electronic program guide

This invention discloses a symbol-display subscriber unit for use with a broadcast system, the broadcast system including a headend and a network operative to transmit a composite signal from the headend to a multiplicity of subscriber units, the composite sigincluding an encoded broadcast signal encoded in accordance with a plurality of control words (CWs) and a plurality of encryption control messages (ECMs), each of the plurality of ECMs being associated respectively with one of the plurality of CWs and including CW generating information, the multiplicity of subscriber units including at least one said symbol-display subscriber unit, said symbol-display subscriber unit including: a receiver receiving the composite signal from the network, security apparatus in operative engagement with the receiver, the security apparatus receiving each of the plurality of ECMs from the receiver and generating the associated CW from the CW generating information comprised within each said ECM. and a decoder for decoding the encoded broadcast signal for display on a display device, the decoder receiving the encoded broadcast signal from the receiver and receiving the CW from the security apparatus, wherein the security apparatus supplies symbol display information to the decoder, and the decoder provides a symbol to the display device for display thereon, the symbol being based, at least in part, on the symbol display information. A method for producing a symbol is also disclosed.

Symbol-display system

This invention discloses an anti-piracy system including video representation signature apparatus for computing a forbidden signature of a forbidden video representation, communication apparatus for communicating the forbidden signature to a playing device, and a playing device adapted to receive and play back a recorded video representation, the playing device including reception apparatus for receiving the forbidden signature communicated by the communication apparatus, recorded video representation signature apparatus for computing a signature of the recorded video representation, and playback control apparatus operative to prevent playback of the recorded video representation if the computed signature of the recorded video representation matches the forbidden signature communicated to the playing device

System for preventing playback of unauthorized digital video recordings

A subscriber unit in a television system including an integrated receiver and decoder (IRD) including a first smart card reader which is operative to accept a first smart card, and a remote control including a second smart card reader which is operative to accept a second smart card. The first smart card and the second smart card, when inserted in the corresponding first and second smart card readers respectively, are operative to communicate with each other in wireless communication over a wireless communication link to control access to services.

Distributed IRD system

A pay television system including a pay television network and a subscriber unit which receives pay television transmissions via the pay television network and displays the pay television transmissions on televisions coupled thereto. The subscriber unit includes at least two pay television decoders, wherein a first decoder includes a first card reader and a second decoder includes a second card reader. The system also includes a first smart card which is operative, upon insertion in a first slot in the first card reader, to activate decoding of the pay television transmissions in the first decoder and a second smart card which is operative, upon insertion in a second slot in the second card reader, to activate decoding of the pay television transmissions in the second decoder. The second smart card deactivates in accordance with predetermined criteria and reactivates upon insertion in the first slot in the first card reader after removal of the first smart card from the first card reader.

Smart card chaining in pay television systems

A system for producing an output scrambled digital data stream from an input scrambled digital data stream. The input scrambled digital data stream includes a plurality of control messages (ECMs), each ECM including coded information for generating a control word (CW) associated with the ECM and being encoded using an ECM key. The input scrambled digital data stream also includes a plurality of segments of scrambled digital data, each segment of scrambled digital data being associated with one of the plurality of ECMs and being scrambled using the CW associated with the ECM. A method for producing the output scrambled digital data stream includes replacing each of the plurality of ECMs with a corresponding transformed ECM (TECM), each corresponding TECM comprising coded information for generating the CW associated with the corresponding ECM and being encoded using a TECM key, thus producing the output scrambled digital data stream, wherein the ECM key is replaced with a new ECM key at an ECM key change time, and the TECM key is not replaced at the ECM key change time.

Digital recording protection system

This invention discloses a vehicle theft prevention system which is operative to communicate with a central control station that transmits control signals to the vehicle, the system including an antenna, a receiving unit coupled to the antenna and operative to receive, via the antenna, the control signals transmitted by the central control station, and a processor which is operative to apply interference to operation of at least one critical engine component in the vehicle after an interruption in reception of the control signals at the receiving unit. A method of preventing a theft of a vehicle is also disclosed.

Theft prevention system and method

A hacking prevention system and method wherein the descrambler receives a data stream including a series of authorization packets and a series of corresponding offset values. A random number is generated in the descrambler. Using this random number, a key is calculated, which corresponds to the authorization packet corresponding to the generated random number. This generated key and the offset value, which corresponds to the generated random number, are used to calculate the descrambling key.

Growing community of inventors

Shoham, Israel

Yossef Tsuria