Patent ID: 8320742

Claim:
A method of recording and reproducing external device data in a broadcast receiver, the method comprising: a connection checking step of checking a state of a physical connection between an external device and the broadcast receiver; a certification key registration deciding step of deciding whether a reserved certification key is registered; a certification key generating step of, if a certification key is not registered, generating a new certification key; a registering and storing step of registering the new certification key by generating a first key and a second key by dividing data of the generated new certification key, wherein the first key and second key are divided to be recognizable as originating from the same new certification key when later compared, and storing the generated first key and the generated second key in the broadcast receiver and the external device, respectively; an access allowance deciding step of if the certification key is registered, deciding whether to allow an access to the connected external device by verifying the certification key; an access allowing step of if the access is allowed, recording and reproducing corresponding data by accessing the connected external device; and a recording and reproducing determining step of determining whether data stored on the broadcast receiver is to be recorded onto the external device, or whether data from the external device is to be reproduced by the receiver.