Patent ID: 6272283
Filing Date: 2001-08-07
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
A method for emulating copy-protection on a personal computer (PC) with a computer display for displaying in a computer-generated format that cannot be copied by a VCR recorder, the method comprising the steps of:(a) sending a copy-protection request from a video player application to a display driver;(b) determining when the PC contains a TV encoder that has advanced copy-protection features that prevent illegal copying;when the PC contains a TV encoder that does not have advanced copy-protection features:(c) determining when the TV encoder is active for converting computer-generated graphics for display on the computer display to TV-encoded graphics viewable on a TV monitor;(d) when the TV encoder is active, displaying a message on the computer display to a user of the PC, the message requesting that the TV encoder be disabled before the video player application resumes play of a copy-protected video;(e) when the TV encoder is not active, sending a status word to the video player application indicating that the TV encoder is off and the copy-protected video can be safely played to the computer display;when the PC contains a TV encoder with advanced copy-protection features:(f) determining when the TV encoder is not active for converting computer-generated graphics to TV-encoded graphics viewable on a TV monitor and signaling the video player application to continue playing the copy-protected video to the computer display;(g) when the TV encoder is active and the copy-protection request is a request to enable the advanced copy-protection features of the TV encoder, sending an encryption key from the video player application to the TV encoder to enable the advanced copy-protection features; and(h) when the TV encoder is active and the copy-protection request is a request to disable the advanced copy-protection features of the TV encoder, sending an encryption key from the video player application to the TV encoder to disable the advanced copy-protection features,whereby the display driver emulates copy protection for the TV encoder without advanced copy-protection features by disabling the TV encoder when a copy-protected video is played, but the display driver sends the encryption key to the TV encoder with advanced copy-protection features.