Patent Document

This application is a divisional application of Ser. No. 09/513,693, filed Feb. 25, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,834,349. The contents of said application are incorporated herein. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The invention generally relates to a digital audio or video player or recorder and, more specifically, to a method of and a system for protecting the copyright of a program recorded on a storage medium such as a video tape, an optical disc, semiconductor memory, etc. in such a player or a recorder. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   A variety of copy protecting schemes for various recording media have been proposed so far. In Digital Audio Tape (DAT) recorders for-example, the Serial Copy Management System is used in which copy operation is controlled such that an-original DAT tape is permitted to be copied only once. 
   As one of such copy protecting schemes, there is also known the Copy Generation Management System (CGMS) that uses two-bit copy generation management signals or flags. In this system, if the value of the two-bit signals recorded on a recording medium is “00”, then the copying of the recording medium is permitted unlimitedly; if “10”, then the copying is permitted only once; and if “11”, then the copying is prohibited. In the above-mentioned case of “10” in the two-bit signals, the copying involves a change of the value of the two-bit signals from “10” to “11”. 
   In one copy protection scheme used in video recorders that stores, on a recording medium, a transport stream (TS) based on the MPEG-2 (Moving Picture Experts Group phase 2) standard, a digital water mark is embedded in the transport stream in recording operation. The water mark is detected in playing operation to determine whether the recording medium should be played. 
   However, if a recorded recording medium is copied by using a player and a recorder, then any of the above mentioned authentication signals, i.e., the Serial Copy Management signal, the two-bit copy generation management signals and the digital water mark will be transferred from the player to the recorder. This gives an attacker a chance to counterfeit such the transferred authentication signal(s) such that the counterfeited authentication signal(s) has a value indicative of permission to copy the recording medium, permitting the attacker to make copies of the recording medium. 
   One solution to this problem was given by U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,613, which discloses “Method and apparatus for copy protection for various recording media using a video finger print”. The method and apparatus use a combination of a Video Finger Print Signal and an Authenticating Signature to permit the player to handle either copy-protected or non-copy-protected media, in a manner that is difficult to compromise. The patent is hereby incorporated by reference. 
   However, it is preferable for the recording media player and/or recorder to have a higher copy protection capability. Though the higher the better, if the system becomes the more complicated, it won&#39;t be desirable. It is also preferable for the recording media player and/or recorder to have a high degree of flexibility in dealing with recording media of various copy conditions such as a freely copy-able type, a one-generation copyable type (or a type having a one-time copy permission and having not been copied), a play-only type, and a pirated and even-play-prohibited type. 
   It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a recording media player and a recording media recorder provided with a high-security copy protection system of less complexity. 
   It is another object of the invention to provide a recording media player and a recording media recorder provided with a copy protection system stubborn to attacks and highly flexible in dealing with recording media of various copy conditions. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The above problems are overcome by a method of and an apparatus for recording a digital data stream on a recording medium in a recording format. The data stream includes a first protection level value indicative of a protection level of the program. The recording format comprises the cycle of a user area for containing data to be recorded and a system area for containing data necessary for the format. The system area includes an area whose data can not be rewritten by a second user (hereinafter, referred to as “user-unrewritable area”). The method and apparatus comprise the steps of and means for (a) recording the data stream on the recording medium by filling one user area after another, the data stream including a program of contents data, (b) recording a second protection level value indicative of the protection level assigned to the program in a first field of the user-unrewritable area, (c) recording a flag indicative of whether a source of the data stream is original or not in the first field, (d) generating a first value arbitrarily, (e) recording the first value in a second field of the user-unrewritable area, and (f) recording a second value given as a function of the first value in a third field of the user-unrewritable area. 
   According to an aspect of the invention, a prerecorded recording medium having a recording format comprising a cycle of a user area for containing data to be recorded and a system area for containing data necessary for the format is provided. The system area includes a user-unrewritable area whose data can not be rewritten by a user. The recording medium stores a sequence of digital data recorded in the user areas on the recording medium. The digital data sequence includes a program of content data in a predetermined format. A first protection level value indicative of a protection level of the program is embedded in the digital data sequence. A second protection level value indicative of the protection level assigned to the program is recorded in a first field of the user-unrewritable area. A flag indicating that the recording medium is original is also recorded in the first field. An arbitrarily generated first value is recorded in a second field of the user-unrewritable area. A second value given as a function of the first value is recorded in a third field of the user-unrewritable area. 
   According to another aspect of the invention, a method of and an apparatus including playing means for playing a recording medium already storing a sequence of digital data are provided. The sequence of digital data includes a program of compressed contents data in which a first protection level value indicative of a protection level of the program is embedded. The recording medium further stores, in at least one user-unrewritable area, a second protection level value indicative of the protection level assigned to the program, a flag indicative of whether the recording medium is original, an arbitrarily generated first value and a second value given as a function of the first value. The method or the playing means comprises the steps of or a plurality of means for (a) extracting the compressed contents data in the digital data sequence; (b) selecting one of predetermined modes of operation according to a combination of the second protection level value and the flag; (c) changing the selected mode to a play-prohibited mode if the selected mode is a copy permitting mode and if the recording medium is determined to be pirated from the first protection level value; (d) changing the selected mode to the play-prohibited mode if the selected mode is a presentation mode in which only expanded contents data is output and if the function is not true to the first and second values; (e) expanding and decoding the contents data into an expanded decoded contents data; (f) converting the expanded decoded contents data into an analog contents data; (g) terminating the steps or means (a), (e) and (f) in case of the play-prohibited mode; (h) outputting the analog contents data in case of the a presentation mode; and (i) outputting the analog contents data and the compressed contents data in case of the copy permitting mode. 
   The data stream may be encrypted with a key assigned for the program into an encrypted data stream, which is recorded on the recording medium. In this case, the key is encrypted with a master key into an encrypted key for use as the first value, which is recorded in the second field of said user-unrewritable area. The second value given as the function of the encrypted key is recorded in the third field of the user-unrewritable area. In playback operation, the master key-encrypted key is used as the arbitrarily generated first value. The second value is a value given as the function of the master key-encrypted key. The master key-encrypted key is decrypted with a stored master key into a decrypted value. The sequence of key-encrypted digital data is decrypted with said decrypted value into the digital data sequence. 
   According to further aspect of the invention, a method of and an apparatus for recording an analog data stream on a recording medium in a recording format are provided. The recording format comprises a first cycle of a user area for containing data of the data stream and a system area for containing data necessary for the format. The system area includes a user-unrewritable area whose data can not be rewritten by a first user, the method and the apparatus comprise the steps of and means for: converting the analog data stream into a compressed digital data stream having a data format comprising a second cycle of a program data portion and a user data portion in which a second user is permitted to include user data, the entire program data portions in the data stream constituting a program of content data; generating a first value at random, the first value being other than zero; generating a sample value from the program data portion; calculating a second value by using a function of the first value, the sample value and a predetermined value; inserting a sync data indicative of an existence of the second value and the sample value, the second value and the sample value in the user data portion of the compressed digital data stream; recording the first value in the user-unrewritable area included in the system area; and recording the compressed digital data stream on the recording medium by filling one user area after another. 
   The just-described method or apparatus produces an inventive prerecorded recording medium having a recording format comprising a first cycle of a user area for containing data to be recorded and a system area for containing data necessary for the format. The system area includes a user-unrewritable area whose data can not be rewritten by a user. On the recording medium there is recorded a sequence of digital data recorded in the user areas on the recording medium, the digital data sequence including a program of content data in a predetermined format, the predetermined format comprising a second cycle of a program data portion and a user data portion in which a user is permitted to include user data. The recording medium further stores an arbitrarily generated first value in the user-unrewritable area; a sample value generated from the program data portion, the sample value being inserted in the user data portion; a second value calculated by using a function of the first value, the sample value and a predetermined value, the second value being inserted in the user data portion; and a sync data indicative of an existence of the second value and the sample value, the sync data being positioned before the sample value and the second value in the user data portion. 
   The just-described prerecorded recording medium can be played by an inventive method of or apparatus including playing means for playing a recording medium already storing a sequence of digital data including a program of compressed content data having a predetermined data format. The recording medium stores an arbitrarily generated first value in a user-unrewritable area. The recording medium further stores, in a predetermined area of the predetermined data format, a sample value generated from the program data portion, a second value calculated by using a function of the first value, the sample value and a predetermined value. The method or the apparatus including the playing means comprise the steps of or a plurality of means for: (a) extracting the compressed content data in the digital data sequence; (b) making a test to see if the function is true to the first value, the second value, the sample value and a stored value which equals the predetermined value; (c) outputting a decoded version of the compressed content data only if the test has passed. 
   According to still another aspect of the invention, a method of and an apparatus for decoding an input data stream having a digital interface format according to the IEEE1394 standard into an analog video signal is provided. The input data stream includes a first code indicative of a protection level of a source of the input data stream. The method or the apparatus comprises the steps of or a plurality of means for: converting an input data stream into an expanded decoded digital data stream in which a second code indicative of a protection level of a source of the input data stream is embedded; extracting the first and second codes; making a test based the first and second codes to see if the source invalid; and outputting an analog version of the expanded decode digital data stream as the analog video signal only if it is determined in the test that the source is valid. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     The features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention and the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a VCR according to a first illustrative embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram showing a format of each of the tracks recorded on the cassette tape  150 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram showing a format of each of the sync blocks used in the data area  27  of each track; 
       FIG. 4  is a diagram showing a format of each of the subcode sync blocks that constitute the subcode  4  in each track  20 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a diagram showing a combined format of 2-byte main headers  33  of 12 successive sync blocks  30  in the main code area  27  of each track  20 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a table showing possible values of the CGMS and OF flags and corresponding copy control conditions; 
       FIG. 7  is a diagram showing the way of recording a 5-byte second value V 2  of DCPI in DATA-AUX areas  34  of 6 successive sync blocks; 
       FIG. 8  is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a D-VHS player or a D-VHS VCR in a play mode according to the first embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 9  is a table showing the relationship between the PMF value and the control of the switches  230  and  270 ; 
       FIG. 10  is a flowchart showing the playback operation of the controller  280 ; 
       FIG. 11  is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a VCR according to a second illustrative embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 12  is a diagram showing a suitable location for inserting a piece of distributed copyright protection information (DCPI) such as the second DCPI value V 2  in the transport stream; 
       FIG. 13  is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a D-VHS player or a D-VHS VCR in a play mode according to a second illustrative embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 14  is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a VCR in a record mode according to a third embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 15  is a diagram showing a format of each of the tracks recorded on the video cassette tape  150   a  in the DV (digital video) format; 
       FIG. 16  is a diagram showing an arrangement of an MPEG-1 stream; 
       FIG. 17  is a flowchart showing a record operation of the logical format encoder  520  executed in response to the trigger signal from the timer  580 ; 
       FIG. 18  is a flowchart showing a playback operation of the logical format decoder  530 ; 
       FIG. 19  is a diagram showing an example of a disc recording medium to which the invention has been applied; 
       FIG. 20  is a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a semiconductor memory system comprising a ROM area and a RAM area; 
       FIG. 21  is, a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a business-use VCR according to a fourth illustrative embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 22  is a flowchart showing the playing operation of a player or a VCR in a playback mode according to the fourth illustrative embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 23  is a schematic block diagram showing an arrangement of a video decoder for converting the digital interface (DIF) format signal defined by the IEEE1394-1995 standard into an NTSC signal in accordance with a fifth illustrative embodiment of the invention; and 
       FIG. 24  is a flowchart showing the operation of the video decoder of  FIG. 23 . 
   

   Throughout the drawing, the same elements when shown in more than one figure are designated by the same reference numerals. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Embodiment I 
   The invention is applicable to such recording media as have a user-rewritable area and an unrewritable (or user-inaccessible) area. Such recording media include video tapes, video cassettes, various optical discs, hard discs, semiconductor memory system comprising a RAM (random access memory) area and a ROM (read only memory) area, etc as detailed later. However, this specific embodiment is described taking a D-VHS (data video home system, D-VHS is a registered trade mark) video cassette recorder (VCR) as an example. 
     FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a VCR according to a first illustrative embodiment of the invention. In  FIG. 1  the VCR  1  comprises a logical format encoder  110  having a transport stream input terminal; a computer  120  which supplies subcode data (detailed later) to the logical format encoder  110 ; a physical format encoder  130  connected to a logical format encoder  110  output, and a recording medium drive  140  connected to a physical format encoder  130  output. The logical format encoder  110  includes a buffer memory  111 , a subcode pack generator  12  and a main herder generator  13 . The computer  120  also supplies various information to the logical format encoder  110  and a controller (not shown) for controlling the elements  110 ,  130  and  140 . 
   It is assumed that a transport stream (TS) according to the MPEG-2 standard is input to the input terminal of the encoder  110 . The transport stream consists of 188-byte packets. It is also assumed that a digital water mark (WM) is imbedded in the TS in a well-known manner. The digital water mark contains two bit flags which have the same values as the above mentioned CGMS flags and indicate a copy-permission class of the TS. Hereinafter, the two-bit flags are referred to as “the CGMS bits of a WM. Specifically, if the value of the WM flags (or CGMS flags) is “00”, then the copying of the recording medium is permitted unlimitedly; if “10”, then the copying is permitted only once; and if “11”, then the copying is prohibited. The WM is removed by using an authenticated WM-removal component in a player. 
   In this embodiment, a single-bit original flag (OF) is also used to indicate whether a prerecorded recording medium is a legitimately prerecorded original medium or a pirated copy of an original medium. If a prerecorded recording medium is a copy-protected original medium, the medium has an original flag of “1”, and WM flags and CGMS flags of “11”. 
   The transport stream input to the logical format encoder  110  is converted into a digital signal in accordance with the D-VHS standard by using information from the subcode pack generator  112  and the main header generator  113  as detailed later. The digital signal from the logical format encoder  110  is physical format encoded into a signal suited for recording in a well-known manner in the encoder  130 . The signal from the encoder  130  is recorded on the recording medium  150  (a video cassette in this example) by the recording medium drive  140 . In this way, the formatted TS is recorded along tracks running obliquely with respective to the longitudinal direction of the cassette tape  150 . 
     FIG. 2  is a diagram showing a format of each of the tracks recorded on the cassette tape  150  according to the D-VHS standard. Each track  20  is a set of fixed length data blocks known as sync blocks (detailed later). Specifically, each track  20  comprises a margin  21  of 2 sync blocks; a subcode  23  of 4 sync blocks&#39; worth in length (i.e., 4×4 subcode sync blocks of 28 bytes, which are detailed later); a main code area  27  of 336 sync blocks; and a margin  29 . The subcode  23  is accompanied by a preamble  22  of 3 sync blocks and a postamble  24  of 3 sync blocks. The main code area  27  is also accompanied by a preamble  26  of one sync block and a postamble  28  of 2 sync blocks. 
   Since a rotor (not shown) with heads (not shown) mounted is so controlled as to rotate 30 rps or 29.97 rps according to a drum servomechanism in the recording medium drive  140 , the length of margin  29  is 2 sync blocks if a 1.001 flag is 0 and 2.356 sync blocks if the 1.001 flag is 1. Thus, the total length of each track  20  is 356 sync blocks or 356.356 sync blocks. In either case, each of the 188-byte packets of the transport stream is recorded in two adjacent sync blocks in the main code area  27 . 
     FIG. 3  is a diagram showing a format of each of the sync blocks used in the data area  27  of each track. Each sync block comprises a sync  31  signal of 2 bytes, an ID of 3 bytes, a main header  33  of 2 bytes, an auxiliary data area (DATA-AUX)  34  of one byte, a data field  35  of 96 bytes, and an 8-byte inner parity  36  for error correction. The 96-byte data field  35  contains user data, i.e., a half of a 188-byte TS packet. In this sense, the data field  35  is a user-rewritable area. 
   It is noted that the subcode area  23 , the main header  33  and a DATA-AUX  34  are data areas, which are exclusively used by the system and can not be rewritten by the user. For this, the subcode area  23 , the main header  33  and a DATA-AUX  34  are hereinafter referred to as the user-unrewritable areas. According to the principles of the invention, distributed copyright protection information is recorded in the user-unrewritable areas as detailed in the following. The distributed copyright protection information (hereinafter, referred to as “DCPI”) preferably comprises the above-mentioned CGMS flags, the original (OF) flag, a first value V 1  and a second value V 2  which is given as the value of a function of the first value V 1 . That is,
 
V2=ƒ(V1),  (1)
 
where ƒ(V 1 ) is any suitable function of V 1 .
 
     FIG. 4  is a diagram showing a format of each of the subcode sync blocks that constitute the subcode  4  in each track  20 . In  FIG. 4 , a subcode sync block  40  is 28 bytes in length and contains 3 pack data fields  41 - 1  through  41 - 3  of 6 bytes. A subcode  23 , which is 4×112 bytes in length, comprises  16  subcode sync blocks  40 . According to the principles of the invention, the above-mentioned first value V 1  of DCPI (or the distributed copyright protection information) is preferably recorded in at least one pack data field  41  of at least one subcode sync block  40  in the subcode area  23  of each track  20 . Specifically, in this specific embodiment, a single-byte code (0xFF) indicative of the first value V 1  of DCPI is recorded in the first byte of the first pack data  41 - 1  of, for example, the first subcode sync block  40  in the subcode area  23 . The first value V 1  is recorded in the 5 bytes following the first byte of the first pack data  41 - 1 . In this case, the length of the first value V 1  is preferably set to 5 bytes. However, the length of the first value V 1  may be set longer by using a plurality of pack data areas  41 . 
     FIG. 5  is a diagram showing a combined format of 2-byte main headers  33  of 12 successive sync blocks  30  in the main code area  27  of each track  20 . Since 12 successive sync blocks  30  constitute one sync block cycle, there are 28 sync block cycles in each main code area  27 . In  FIG. 5 , a notation “SB#” indicates the sync block number in each sync block cycle. The higher 4 bits of the first byte of each main header  33  contains format information  42 . A 12-byte area comprising the lower 4 bits of the first byte and the second byte in each main header  33  contains sync block information  43 . 
   According to this specific embodiment of the invention, the CGMS flags  44  included in DCPI is recorded in the higher two bits of the main header  33  of the eleventh sync block  33  in each sync block cycle. The original flag (OF)  45  included in DCPI is recorded in the MSB (most significant bit) of the main header  33  of the last (or 12th) sync block in each sync block cycle. In this specific embodiment, the CGMS  44  is always set to logical “11” (meaning the copy prohibition) if the OF flag  45  is logical “1”. The OF flag  45  is set to logical “0” if the CGMS  44  is either “00” or “10” (meaning the unlimited copy permission or the one-time copy permission) as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
   According to the principles of the invention, the above-mentioned second value V 2  of DCPI (or the distributed copyright protection information) is recorded dispersedly in DATA-AUX fields  34  of plural sync blocks  30  in the main code area  27  of each track  20  as shown in  FIG. 7 . Since the first value V 1  was assumed to be 5 bytes in length, the second value V 2  is also assumed to be 5 bytes long. In  FIG. 7 , a single-byte start code of 0xFF is recorded in the DATA-AUX field (or DATA-AUX pack PC 0 )  34 - 1  in the first one of 6 successive sync blocks  30 , and the second value V 1  is recorded in the 5 DATA-AUX fields (or DATA-AUX packs PC 1 –PC 5 )  34 - 2  through  34 - 6  in the 5 remaining ones of the 6 successive sync blocks  30 . That is, 
   PC 0 =0xFF, and 
   PC 1  through PC 5 =1st to 5th bytes of V 2 , respectively. 
   The DCPI first value V 1  may be set any suitable value. For example, the first value V 1  may be a random number generated periodically, say, every video frame (i.e., every 29.97 seconds), or a hash total for a predetermined part of the main code  27 . For the sake of the simplicity of the following description, the value V 1  is assumed to be a 5-byte hexadecimal number. Also, the second value V 2  is assumed to be given by the following expression, 
                       V2   =       0   ×   FFFFFFFFFF     -   V1                 =       (       0   ×     10   10       -   1     )     -   V1                   (   2   )               
where the prefix “0x” indicates that the following number is one expressed in the hexadecimal system. In other words, the values V 1  and V 2  are a 1&#39;s complement of each other. The DCPI first and second values V 1  and V 2  are recorded only when the OF flag is logical “1”.
 
   Returning now to  FIG. 1 , in recording mode or operation, the subcode pack generator  112  generates a DCPI first value V 1  and subcode packs  34  containing a DCPI second value V 2  corresponding to the value V 1  if the OF flag is 1. However, if the OF flag is logical “0”, then the subcode pack generator  112  generates an ordinary subcode pack in a usual manner. The main header generator  113  generates main headers  33  including one containing the CGMS flags  44  and one containing the OF flag  45 . The logical format encoder  110  encodes the input TS packets into track formats as shown in  FIGS. 2 through 7 . 
   The above-described D-VHS VCR  1  is a VCR for a content provider to producing prerecorded video cassettes. Here, we assume that a user makes a copy of a prerecorded video cassettes recorded by the inventive VCR  1  by using two D-VHS VCR&#39;s, i.e., a first one for playing and the second one for recording. Then, the digital water marks are transferred to the copy (or the second video cassette) as they are because the water marks are embedded in the TS output from the first VCR. However, the distributed copyright protection information except for the CGMS flags can not be copied to the second video cassette because existing consumer D-VSH VCR&#39;s are so arranged as not to include the contents of the subcode area  23 , the main header  33  and the DATA-AUX area  34  in the output stream. 
   Consumer VCR&#39;s are so arranged that CGMS flags are transferred to the destination cassette, and, if the CGMS flags have a value of “11”, then the copying operation is prohibited. If the CGMS flags have a value of “10”, then the copying operation is permitted and achieved with the CGMS flag value of the destination cassette changed from “10” to “11”. In this way, the copyright of a prerecorded recording medium with a CGMS value of “10” is also protected after this medium has been copied once. 
   As described above, the copyright of the prerecorded video cassette recorded by the inventive VCR is properly protected in the existing VCR&#39;s depending on whether the CGMS value of the prerecorded video cassette is “10” or “11”. However, more sophisticated copy protection is provided by a D-VHS player or a D-VHS VCR with a play mode according to this first embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 8  is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a D-VHS player or a D-VHS VCR in a play mode according to this first embodiment of the invention. In  FIG. 8 , the payer or VCR in a play mode,  2 , comprises the recording medium drive  140  for recovering a signal recorded on the recording medium  150 ; a physical format decoder  210  having its input connected to a recording medium drive  140  output; a logical format decoder  220  having its input connected to a physical format decoder  210  output; a switch  230  having its first terminal connected to a logical format decoder  220  output; an MPEG-2 decoder  240  having its input connected to a logical format decoder  220  output; an NTSC/PAL encoder  250  having its input connected to an MPEG-2 decoder  240  video output, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)  260  having its input connected to an MPEG-2 decoder  240  audio output; a controller  280  for controlling the playback operation of the player or VCR  2  through various play control signals and the switch  230  on the basis of the values of the water mark (WM) and DCPI values (i.e., CGMS. OF, V 1  and V 2 ); and a console  290  through which the user controls the D-VHS player (or a D-VHS VCR in a play mode)  2 . 
   The console  290  may be optionally provided with a “play for record” button  292  in addition to an ordinary “play” button  291 . Alternatively, instead of the play-for-record button  292 , the console  290  may provided with a toggle switch (not shown) for selecting one of outputting only TV signals from the NTSC/PAL encoder  250  and DAC  260  and outputting both the TV signals and the TS stream from the switch  230 . By doing this, the controller  280  can determine whether a play instruction is intended only for presentation or for recording and accordingly can control the output. 
   The elements  140 ,  210 ,  240 ,  250  and  260  are identical to conventional video cassette players, and accordingly the description of their operation will be omitted. 
   The controller  280  keeps a two-bit play mode flag PMF  281 . The value of the play mode  281  is determined by the values of the water mark (WM) and DCPI values (i.e., CGMS. OF, V 1  and V 2 ). The controller  280  controls the switch  230  in response to the value of the play mode flag PMF  281 . 
     FIG. 9  is a table showing the relationship between the PMF value and the control of the switches  230  and  270 .  FIG. 10  is a flowchart showing the operation of the controller  280 . The operation starts when the user has pressed a play button  291  of the console  290 . Step  301  reads the CGMS and OF flags from the main header  33 . Step  302  makes a test to see if the CGMS value is logical “11”. If so, then step  303  makes a test to see if the OF flag is “1”. If so, then step  304  sets the PMF to logical “10” determining the recording medium  150  to be copy-protected and play-only-permitted. Then, step  305  reads the DCPI first and second values V 1  and V 2  from the subcode  23  and the DATA-AUX packs  34 , respectively. Steps  306  and  307  make tests to see if the values V 1  and V 2  exist, respectively. If both of the values V 1  and V 2  exist, then step  308  makes a test of validity of the values V 1  and V 2  by seeing if the sum of the values V 1  and V 2  equals (0x10 10 −1). If so, then, determining that the values V 1  and V 2  are valid, step  309  replays the recording medium  150  according to the value of the PMF flag  281 . In this case, since the PMF is logical “10”, the controller  280  plays the recording medium  150  with the switch  230  opened (OFF) according to the table of  FIG. 9 . 
   If the test result is NO in any of the steps  306  through  308 , then the controller  280  sets the PMF flag to logical “11” in step  310  and terminates this operation. 
   If the CGMS value is not logical “11” in step  302 , then step  316  makes a test to see if the CGMS value is logical “10”. If so, then step  317  reads the water mark from TS output from the logical format decoder  220 . Step  318  makes a test to see if the WM value is logical “10”. If so, step  319  sets the PMF to logical “01” determining that the recording medium  150  is one-generation copyable and proceeds to the above-described step  309 . In this case, if this play operation is intended not for recording but only for presentation (i.e., the play button  291  is pressed or the not-shown toggle switch is positioned at “TV”), then the controller  280  plays the recording medium  150  with the switch  230  open. If this play operation is in tended for recording (i.e., the play-for-record button  292  is pressed or the not-shown toggle switch is positioned at “TV+TS”), then the controller  280  changes the CGMS value from logical “10” to “11” and then plays the recording medium  150  with the switch  230  closed. If the WM value is not logical “10” in step  318 , then step  320  stets the PMF to logical “11” and terminates this operation. 
   If the CGMS value is not logical “10” in step  361 , then step  321  makes a test to see if the CGMS value is logical “00”. If not, step  322  sets the PMF value to logical “11”, and terminates this operation if the CGMS value is logical “00” in step  321 , then step  323  reads the WM value from the TS. Step  324  makes a test to see if the WM value is logical “00”. If not, step  320  sets the PMF value to logical “11”, and terminates this operation. If the WM value is logical “00” in step  324 , then step  325  sets the PMF value to logical “00” and proceeds to the above-described step  309 . Step  309  plays the recording medium  150  with the switch  230  closed (ON). 
   If the OF value is not logical “1”, then step  11  reads the DCPI second value V 2  from the DATA-AUX packs  34 . If the second value V 2  exists, then step  310  sets the PMF value to logical “11”, and terminates this operation. Otherwise, step  313  reads the WM value from the TS from the logical format decoder  220 . Step  314  makes a test to see if the WM value is logical “10”. If the WM value is not logical “10”, then step  310  sets the PMF value to logical “11”, and terminates this operation. If the WM value is logical “10”, then step  315  sets the PMF value to logical “10” indicating a play only recording medium. Then, step  309  plays the recording medium with the switch  230  opened (OFF) and exits from this operation. 
   In this way, the copyright of the recording medium is protected by a D-VHS video player or a D-VHS VCR with a play mode according to the invention. 
   Embodiment II 
     FIG. 11  is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a VCR according to a second illustrative embodiment of the invention. In  FIG. 11 , the VCR  3  comprises a title key (KT) memory location  410 , a master key (KM) memory location  420 , a title key encryptor  430 , a second DCPI value V 2  adder  440 , a 1-of-2 switch  445 , a transport stream encryptor  450 , a controller  460  and the remaining portion. The remaining portion is identical to the VCR  1  of  FIG. 1  except that the subcode pack generator  112  has been replaced with a subcode pack generator  112   a.    
   In operation, the title key encryptor  430  encrypts the title key KT by using the master key KM to obtain a KM-encrypted title key (i.e., eKM(KT)) as the above-described first DCPI value V 1 . That is, V 1  is obtained as follows:
 
V1=eKM(KT)  (3)
 
   The encryptor  430  passes the first DCPI value V 1  to the subcode pack generator  112   a.  The subcode pack generator  112   a  generates a subcode pack  40  containing the value V 1  and finds V 2  according to the equation (1) to pass to the V 2  adder  440 . 
   The V 2  adder  440  inserts the second DCPI value V 2  in the transport stream. In this specific embodiment, the value V 2  is inserted in, for example, a “private_data_byte” field  53  in a optional field  52  of the “adaptation_field”  51  of each transport packet  50  of the MPEG-2 transport stream as shown in  FIG. 12 . 
   If the recording media  150  is to be copy-protected, then the controller  460  controls the switch  445  so as to couple the adder  440  output to the encryptor  450  and sets the OF flag to logical “1”. If not, then the controller  460  controls the switch  445  so as to couple the adder  440  output to the logical format encoder  110   a  and sets the OF flag to “0”. 
   Then, the encryptor  450  encrypts the transport stream from the V 2  adder  440  except for the added value V 2  by using the title key KT. The encrypted output from the encryptor  450  is supplied to the logical format encoder  110   a.  The CGMS and OF flags and the DCPI first value V 1  are inserted in each track in the manner described in the first embodiment. 
     FIG. 13  is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a D-VHS player or a D-VHS VCR in a play mode according to the second embodiment of the invention. The D-VHS player (or D-VHS VCR in a play mode)  4  of  FIG. 13  is identical to that of  FIG. 8  except that a 1-of-2 switch  459  and a decryptor  460  has been inserted between the logical format decoder  220  and the MPEG-2 decoder  240 , and the controller  280  has been replaced by a controller  280   a.    
   In this case, the controller  280   a  obtains the CGMS and OF flags, the first and second DCPI values V 1  and V 2  from the logical format decoder  220  output. If the recording media  150  is copy-protected, i.e. the OF flag is logical “1”, then the controller  280   a  controls the switch  459  so as to couple the logical format decoder  220  output to the decryptor  460 . If the recording media  150  is not copy-protected, i.e., the OF flag is “0”, then the controller  280   a  controls the switch  459  so as to couple the logical format decoder  220  output to the MPEG-2 decoder  420 . 
   In addition to the PMF flag stored in location  281 , the controller  280   a  further stores the master key (KM) in memory  282  so as to decrypt the first DCPI value V 1  with the master key as follows: 
                         dKM   ⁡     (   V1   )       =     dKM   ⁡     (     eKM   ⁡     (   KT   )       )                     =   KT     ,                 (   4   )               
where dKM(V 1 ) means V 1  decrypted with the master key KM.
 
   The controller  280   a  supplies thus obtained title key dKM(V 1 ) to the decryptor  460 . The decryptor  460  decrypts the data stream from the logical format decoder  220  with the title key dKM(V 1 ) to obtain the transport stream, which is supplied to the MPEG-2 decoder  240  and the switch  230 . Then, the controller  280   a  obtains the WM value from the transport stream. The subsequent operation is identical to that of the D-VHS player (or D-VHS VCR in a play mode)  2  of  FIG. 8 . The flowchart of  FIG. 10  and the table of  FIG. 9  are also true to this embodiment. 
   According to the second embodiment of the invention, the encrypted versions of the title key KT and the transport stream are recorded in a video cassette. This provides higher copyright protection as compared with the first embodiment. 
   Though the encrypted second DCPI value V 2  is inserted in the transport stream in this embodiment, it may be inserted in the DATA-A UX area  34  as in case of the first embodiment. 
   An arrangement may be made such that many keys are stored in memory and the addresses of the stored keys are recorded as the DCPI values. 
   By multiplying the title key by a larger value, the title key may be made longer in length. 
   A further arrangement may be made such that keys are stored in an external storage such as an IC card or a smart card, and information necessary for accessing the stored keys are recorded as the DCPI values. 
   Embodiment III 
     FIG. 14  is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a digital video cassette recorder (DVCR) in a record mode according to a third embodiment of the invention. In  FIG. 14 , the DVCR  5  comprises a MPEG-1 encoder  510 , a logical format encoder  520 , the buffer memory  111 , the physical format encoder  130 , a recording medium drive  140   a , the physical format decoder  210 , a logical format decoder  530 , an MPEG-1 decoder  540 , an ON/OFF switch  550 , changeover switches  560  for changing the operation mode between playback and record, a controller  570  and a timer  580 . The buffer memory  111 , the recording medium driver  140   a,  the changeover switches  560 , and the controller  570  are common to the playback system and the record system of the DVCR  5 . The changeover switches  560  are controlled by a playback/record control signal (P/R) supplied from the controller  570 . 
   The logical format encoder  520  includes a start code generator  521 , a first DCPI (distributed copyright protection information) value Vt generator  522 , a content data detector  523 , and a second DCPI value generator  524 . The logical format decoder  530  includes a start code generator  521 , a first DCPI value Vt detector  531 , a start code detector  532 , a second DCPI value detector  533 , and a contents data detector  534 . 
   In record operation, the controller  570  first supplies a playback/record signal to the switches  560  such that the buffer memory  111  is connected to the MPEG-1 encoder  510  and the physical format encoder  130 . Video and audio signals are input to the MPEG-1 encoder  510  and compressed into an MPEG-1 stream (MS). The MS stream is logical-format-encoded by the encoder  520  into a sequence of data tracks as shown in  FIG. 15 . In the case, various DCPI values are embedded in the track sequence as detailed later. Thereafter, the track sequence is recorded on the video cassette  150   a  in a well-known manner. 
     FIG. 15  is a diagram showing a format of each of the tracks recorded on the video cassette tape  150   a  in the DV (digital video) format. In  FIG. 15 , each track  600  comprises an ITI (insert and track information) section  601 , an audio section  603 , a video section  605 , a subcode section  607 , and gaps  602 ,  604  and  606 . 
   This embodiment uses first through third DCPI values V 1 , V 2  and Df as the distributed copyright protection information. The first DCPI value V 1  is, for example, a single-byte value calculated by the following equation:
 
V1=Rt mod 256,  (5)
 
where Rt is a random number generated every frame (i.e., every 29.97 seconds), and Rt mod  256  is the reminder when the random number Rt is divided by a constant  256 .
 
   According to this embodiment, the first CDPI value V 1  is recorded in the subcode section  607  in the same manner as described in reference with  FIG. 4 . However, The other DCPI values are recorded not in user-unrewritable areas as mentioned above but in the MPEG-1 stream from the MPEG-1 encoder  510 . 
   Generally speaking, the DCPI values can be inserted in the “user_data” field (in case of MPEG-1), the “private_data_byte” field (in case of MPEG-2), or a data packet defined as the “private_stream”. 
   For example, in an MPEG-2 transport stream, setting the transport_private_data_flag to 1 enables an explicit indication of the presence of the private_data. A private_data of the length set in the transport_private_data_length can be inserted as long as the length does not exceed the length of the transport packet. 
   Also, data may be sent by setting the private_stream in the stream_id of the packet_start_code in case of an MPEG system. 
   Since this embodiment uses an MPEG-1 stream, the user_data is used.  FIG. 16  is a diagram showing an arrangement of an MPEG-1 stream. In  FIG. 16 , the MPEG-1 stream comprises a sequence of GOP&#39;s (group of pictures)  610 . In a picture  620 , inserting a user_data_strat_code  621  enables user_data  622  to be added by a unit of 8 bits. The user_data_strat_code  621  is defined as 0x000001B2 in the MPEG standard. 
   A predetermined DCPI start code  631 , e.g., 0x0f0f0f0f2428fdaa is first inserted at a desired position in a user_data  622 . The second DCPI value V 2   632  is placed P bytes after the DCPI start code  631 . The third DCPI value Df  633  is placed Q bytes after the DCPI start code  631 , where P+L≦Q, where L is the length of the second DCPI value V 2 . It may be preferable to place the DCPI start code.  631  at the beginning of the user_data  622  field, and to place the second and third DCPI values V 2  and Df in succession. 
   The third DCPI value Df is a predetermined length of data a predetermined bytes after a predetermined sync signal in the MPEG-1 stream, e.g., a predetermined portion of the slice layer  623  following the user_data  622 . Or, the third DCPI value Df may be any suitable value given as the value of a function of such the data or predetermined portion. It is assumed that the first through third CDPI values V 1 , V 2  and Df satisfies the following relationship:
 
 V 2= C 2[ F −( Df×V 1)mod 256],  (6)
 
where C 2 [X] is an expression of X in a 2&#39;s complement, F is a single-byte authenticator in the range from 0 to 255.
 
   Assuming that the authenticator F is zero, then the equation (6) becomes: 
   
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
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   If the recording medium  150   a  does not need copy protection, then the first and second DCPI values are set to 0. 
   In recording operation, the timer  580  generates a trigger signal at intervals determined by the frequency of the authentication frequency to supply the trigger to the logical format encoder  520 . The intervals are, for example, a frame cycle, i. e., 1/29.97 seconds. 
     FIG. 17  is a flowchart showing a record operation of the logical format encoder  520  executed in response to the trigger signal from the timer  580 . In  FIG. 17 , step  650  calculates the first value V 1  by using the equation (5). The value is set to “0” only if the recording medium  150   a  is unprotected. Step  651  finds the third value Df from a predetermined portion of the current frame. Step  652  calculates the second DCPI value V 2 . In this case, the value V 2  is set to “0” if the DCPI first value V 1  is 0 or is not to be recorded. Step  653  inserts the DCPI start code, the second and third DCPI values V 2  and Df in the user_data field  622  of the current frame or picture. Step  654  insert the first DCPI value V 1  in the unrewritable track area, e.g., the subcode section  607 . 
     FIG. 18  is a flowchart showing a playback operation of the logical format decoder  530 . In  FIG. 18 , the start code detector  532  detects the DCPI start code, i.e., 0x0f0f0f0f2428fdaa in the data stream from the physical format decoder  210  in step  661 . The second and third DCPI values V 2  and Df are obtained from the user_data  622  in step  662 . A test is made to see if the value V 2  is 0 in step  663 . If not, then obtaining the first value V 1  and the authenticator F which is stored in a predetermined location in memory (not shown) in step  664 , a test is made to see if the following equation is true in step  665 .
   F =( V 1× Df )mod 256+ V 2  (8) 
   If so, then playing operation is started. If the value V 2  is 0 in step  663 , then step  667  makes attest to see if the first DCPI value V 1  is 0 or absent in the subcode section  607 . If so, then step  668  executes a play operation and thereafter terminates the operation. Otherwise, step  669  provides a copy protection warning message and terminates the operation. 
   As described above, if the recording media is copied to a destination medium, though the second and third DCPI values V 2  and Df are copied to the destination medium, the first DCPI value V 1  is not transferred to the destination medium. This is because the contents of the subcode section  607  where the V 1  is recorded are not output from the logical format decoder  530 . For this reason, the equation (8) is no longer true for such the destination recording medium. Thus, the controller  570  can prohibit the playback of a pirated recording medium. 
   Though the third illustrative embodiment did not used the CGMS and OF flags, the DV video cassette recorder  5  can use the CGMS and OF flags to provide more sophisticated copy protection functions. 
   Modification 
   Though we have described illustrative embodiments of the invention in connection with video tape recorders, the invention is applicable to such various recording media as have a user-rewritable area and an unrewritable (or user-inaccessible) area. Such recording media include video tapes, video cassettes, various optical discs, hard discs, semiconductor memory system comprising a RAM (random access memory) area and a ROM (read only memory) area, etc. 
     FIG. 19  is a diagram showing an example of a disc recording medium to which the invention has been applied. In case of disc recording medium, audio and video data are recorded on the disc in the form of packets.  FIG. 19  shows a sector of 2k bytes. The sector comprises an ID area  61 , a first DCPI value area  62 , a main data area  63 , and an error correcting code area  67 . In the main data area  63  that contains contents data, there are disposed a DCPI start code (S-CODE) area  64 , a second DCPI value (V 2 ) area  65  and a third DCPI value (Df) area  66 . The areas  51 ,  52  and  57  are user-unrewritable areas. The disc may be either a hard disc or an optical disc. 
     FIG. 20  is a diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a semiconductor memory system comprising a ROM area  71  and a RAM area  72 . An ID field  73  and a V 1  field  74  are disposed in the unrewritable ROM area  71 . The DCPI start code (S-CODE) area  75 , the second and third DCPI value areas  76  and  77  are disposed in a contents recording area  78  in the RAM area  72 . 
   Embodiment IV 
   If a prerecorded medium with an water mark value of “11” is copied to make a pirated copy by any counterfeiter recording the analog signal output from the player  2  of  FIG. 2  or the player  4  of  FIG. 13  while changing the water mark value from “11” to “10”, then the pirated copy no not include the second DCPI value (V 2 ) because the Value V 2  is not transferred to the recording recorder. If the counterfeiter tries to playback the pirated medium, then he or she can successfully playback the pirated medium because the second DCPI value V 2  is not found in step  312  and the test is passed in step  314  in  FIG. 10 . 
   In order to avoid this problem that can be caused by D-VHS recorders or DVD recorders provided with a decoder, a new copy protection scheme is required.  FIG. 21  is a schematic block diagram showing an exemplary arrangement of a VCR according to a fourth illustrative embodiment of the invention. The VCR  6  of  FIG. 6  is identical to that of  FIG. 11  except that an analog-to-digital converter  461 , a WM adder  462 , and an MPEG encoder  463  have been added and the main header generator  113  has been replaced by a main header generator  113   a  in  FIG. 21 . The only difference between the main header generators  113  and  113   a  is that the generator  113   a  only inserts the OF flag in the main header. That is, the VCR  6  does not use the CGMS data. 
   In recording operation, a video signal input is converted into a digital video signal in ADC  461 . The water mark (WM) adder  462  embeds water marks in the digital video signal in a well-known manner according to the copyright protection class of the recording media on which the video signal is to be recorded. The WM-embedded digital signal is compressed and encoded by the MPEG encoder  463  into a WM-embedded MPEG stream in a well-known manner. Thereafter, the operation is identical to that of the recorder  3  of  FIG. 11 . 
   A player or a VCR in a playback mode corresponding to this specific embodiment is identical to that of  FIG. 13  except that this embodiment does not use the CGMS data. That is, the fourth embodiment uses the CGMS bits of the water mark instead of the CGMS data which is inserted in the main header  33  in the first and second embodiments. 
     FIG. 22  is a flowchart showing the playback operation of the player or the VCR in a playback mode according to the fourth embodiment. The flowchart of  FIG. 22  is identical to that of  FIG. 10  except that steps  301   a,    302   a ,  314   a,    316   a  and  321   a  use the water mark&#39;s CGMS bits instead of the CGMS data; steps  313 ,  317 ,  318 ,  320 ,  323  and  324  has been eliminated; and the control is passed to step  306  after any of steps  315 ,  319  and  325 . 
   The Macrovision signal, the C-GMSA signal, the water marks, etc. are usually used for the protection of analog copying by a recorder with an encoder. However, recorders manufactured before the introduction of the water mark permit the recording of the recording media from which the Macrovision signals and the C-GMSA signals have been removed. On the other hand, if a copy is made by using the inventive VCR  6 , the OF flag of the copy is set to 0. This prohibits the digital copy as shown in  FIG. 22 . Even if the OF flag has been changed to 1 by any organized counterfeiter group, such pirated copies will not pass the tests  306  through  308  that uses the first and second DCPI values V 1  and V 2 . 
   Embodiment V 
   The serial interface according to the IEEE1394-1995 standard is becoming popular in transmitting video audio data. A copyright protection code known as the EMI (encryption mode indicator) in a copy protection scheme known as DTCP (Digital Transmission Content Protection) which is intended for the IEEE1394-1995 standard. A video decoder will be described which is provide with an IEEE1394 receiver and uses the EMI code for copy protection. 
     FIG. 23  is a schematic block diagram showing an arrangement of a video decoder for converting an input signal of the digital interface (DIF) format defined by the IEEE1394-1995 standard-into an NTSC signal in accordance with a fifth illustrative embodiment of the invention. In  FIG. 24  the video decoder  7  comprises an IEEE1394 receiver  501  for converting the input signal into an MPEG bit stream, an MPEG decoder  502  for converting the MPEG bit stream into an expanded decoded digital video signal, an on-off switch  503  for connecting and disconnecting the digital video signal to and from the next stage, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC)  504  for the signal from the switch  503  into an analog video signal, an EMI (encryption mode indicator) detector  505 , a WM detector  506  and a controller  507 . The detected EMI code and the WM are passed to the controller  507  for controlling the operation of the video decoder  7 . 
   The EMI code is a two-bit code defined in the following table. 
                       TABLE               EMI code   Meaning                   00   copy free       01   no more copy       10   one-generation copyable       11   copy protected                    
The EMI code is inserted in the input signal by the IEEE1394 transmitter of the device transmitting the input signal when the input signal is transmitted.
 
     FIG. 24  is a flowchart showing the operation of the video decoder, i.e., the controller  507  of  FIG. 23 . In step  510 , the controller  507  makes a test to see if the water mark exists in the MPEG decoder  502  output. If not, then the controller  507  turns the switch  503  on to output the video signal in step  513 , and receives the next EMI code and WM in step  517  to return to step  510 . If the test result is YES in step  510 , then the controller  507  makes a test in step  511  to see if the water mark CGMS bits are logical “11”. If so, then the controller  507  makes another test to see if the EMI code is logical “11” in step  512 . If so, then the controller  507  turns the switch  503  on to output the video signal in step  513 , and again proceeds to step  517  to return to step  510 . If not, the controller  507  turns the switch  503  off in step  516  to prevent the video signal from being output, and proceeds to step  517  to return step  510 . 
   If the test result is no in step  511 , then the controller  507  makes a test to see if the water mark CGMS bits are  10  in step  514 . If not, the controller  507  turns the switch  503  on and proceeds to step  517 . If the test result is YES in step  514 , the controller  507  makes a test to see if the EMI code is logical “00” in step  515 . If so, the controller  507  turns the switch  503  off in step  516  and proceed to step  517 . If not, the controller  507  proceed to the above step  513 . 
   It is preferable to display a message to the effect that the input signal is from a pirated copy. 
   It is noted that this embodiment is applicable to a TV set incorporating a video decoder as shown in  FIG. 23 . 
   The first through fourth embodiments of the invention may be incorporated in any TV sets. 
   In the above embodiments, the output control has been described as controlled by switches. However, the switches are used for conceptually or symbolically showing the permission and the prohibition of the output. Accordingly, the output may be controlled by enabling or disabling one or more elements connected in series with the shown switches. 
   Many widely different embodiments of the present invention may be constructed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described in the specification, except as defined in the appended claims.

Technology Category: h