MXPA97008326A - Vi media tracking and safety system - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for providing tracking and security data for rental video media, including digital video discs and digital video cassettes. The new formats of video and media players allow the inclusion of security features that allow the tracking of the income of those media and, at the same time, avoid the unauthorized rental of them. Each player includes a decision circuit that reproduces a particular disc (or tape) only if the identification number of the player, which is recorded on a special, separate, authorization memory card, is identical to the identification number of the recorded player in it, and if a film identification number that is read-off from the disc matches the film identification number recorded on the special card. A corresponding device is provided in the video rental establishment with which, at the time of renting the video, the identification number and the number of the particular disc player are recorded in the authorization card, in encrypted form, for which rent is destined. The encryption uses a special key of a public system of keys, the public key and the module are previously recorded in the optical portion of the system.

Description

TRACKING AND SECURITY SYSTEM OF VIDEO MEDIA BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION r-am c. OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to security systems for video media, more preferably, to a system for allowing a proprietor of registered property video material to control, in relation to each user, the observation or presentation of that video. material provided on a prerecorded medium, such as a video disc or video tape cassette.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As is well known, typically video tape cassettes or video discs containing pre-recorded material such as films, are marketed as follows.

The owner of the property material registered in the cassette or video disc, that is, the movie studio ("owner of the rights"), arranges for the duplication of the film in a large number of videotape cassettes or video discs. Video tape cassettes and video discs are then sold by the movie studio to the owners of video stores or rental facilities, who then rent each cassette of video tape or video disc as many P1536 / 97MX times as they can, depending on the demand. However, the owner of the video rental store only pays once for each cassette of videotape or video disc, because he has purchased it openly from the movie studio. In this way, the volume of earnings due to the rental of this material is accumulated to the owner of the video rental store instead of the movie studio. This is because the so-called "first sale doctrine" prevents the seller (the movie studio) from videotape cassettes or video discs from exercising some degree of control over the subsequent commercialization (eg, rent) of their products. This is the case even if the material is registered property. It has been frustrating for rights owners (movie studios, etc.) who may not be able to control and / or take better advantage of the rental market for their films and other program material. Several methods have been proposed to allow rights owners to overcome the doctrine of first sale and acquire some degree of control over the income of, for example, videotape cassettes in VHS format. One proposed method uses a "non-rewindable" cassette. Once reproduced by the consumer (lessee), the cassette must be returned to the warehouse P1536 / 97MX sale for rewinding. The rewinding machine is such that it automatically records each rewind transaction and the film studio (or its agent) can then periodically check the rewinding machine, either on-site or by telecommunications, for a transaction-by-transaction record. This of course requires some commercial arrangement between the owner of the video store and the movie studio, to pay for the cassette on a per-use basis. These arrangements are contractual matters beyond the scope of this patent disclosure. The non-rewind cassette has the obvious disadvantage that each tenant can only watch each movie once per rental. This is frustrating for the tenant who may want to watch the movie more than once. There is also obviously a temptation on the part of the owner of the video store to alter the rewinding machine and, therefore, end up paying less for the rental of the cassette than what he is required to pay for this. A second purpose that is now being tested involves the installation of a special integrated circuit in each individual video tape cassette. This circuit turns on by itself at a predetermined time after being armed and radiates a radio interference signal to the electronic system of the VCR P1536 / 97MX (player), thus effectively prohibiting further reproduction of that videotape cassette until it is returned to the rental store to reprogram the circuit. Again, the reprogramming machine automatically records the reprogramming transaction. So far this proposition has limited support due to the cost of the circuit in the video tape cassette, possible consumer inconvenience if the circuit does not work well, and the ease with which it could be cheated by the video store operator or the so-called "Intruders" (The term "intruder" here refers to anyone who tries to undo the security system by technical means). The same deficiencies apply to the non-rewind cassette approach. The circuit inside the video cassette also requires the provision of a battery to power this circuit, with the accompanying practical complications. Other proposals include mechanical or electronic counters installed in each video cassette cassette to count the reproduction number. Again, this is problematic if a particular tenant may wish to play the videotape cassette more than once, and is also easily overcome by the alteration. It is going to be understood that the interests of P1536 / 97MX Owners of video stores in this respect are to a large degree, the same as those of the rights owners. If a reliable system could be found to share the rental income between the owners of the rights and the owners of the video stores, then the owners of the rights would provide much more copies of each film for rent to each store, increasing from this mode the gains for both parties. None of the above security systems are feasible for use with, for example, video discs, which are expected to soon become very popular in the new digital formats. Additionally, it will be understood that the deficiencies of the previous systems are a consequence of the constraints imposed by the requirement that any security system must be compatible with the large installed base of VCR (video cassette players). In this way, the proposed solutions to this problem are essentially unsatisfactory and none has been widely implemented.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present inventors have recognized that it is advantageous if a security system, instead of being forced to operate with the constraints of the present base P1536 / 97MX VCR installed, instead uses a reproducer compatible with the new specification (s) of the recording media and includes a low-cost, dedicated rent control subsystem. This security system is especially suitable in anticipation of the introduction of new formats for video media such as digital video discs (DVD, Digital Video Disc) and digital video cassette (DVC). , of its acronym in English, Digital Video Cassette). The implementation of the present security system requires that a significant portion of the owners of the rights are in accordance with the characteristic of being able to better control the commercial use of their registered property materials for the new formats, and as a consequence that the manufacturers of the breeders would be receptive to the production of compatible breeders while waiting for the increased support of their formats. In accordance with the present invention, the present inventors have identified several important attributes of the security system. One is the functionality, that the system tracks and reports each rental transaction both by program title (movie) and by time duration (days or hours) P1536 / 97MX rented Additionally, the system must be able to separate transactions for example by studying movies, and download this information on a periodic basis, by telephone lines to a transaction service center or to the particular owners of the copyright. The next attribute is a high level of system security, - the present system is believed to be impossible (or prohibitively expensive on a practical basis) to be defrauded or compromised with unscrupulous owners of video rental stores (or intruders) in collusion with the owners of video rental stores). In this way, and in accordance with the invention, the owners of the rights can be trusted to be properly rewarded for the rental activity. In the case of any security breach, according to the invention, it is possible to recover quickly and inexpensively from the violation and minimize the resulting losses. Also, according to the invention, the security of the system is tracked, since the particular owners of the rights ensure that they are not accessible by other transaction data that relate to their particular video material (video titles). Another attribute is that the present system is P1536 / 97MX simple in the form of operation, providing minimum operational load to employees of the video rental warehouse. In a similar way, the users (tenants) enjoy the operational simplicity, so that the system is essentially transparent to the tenant of the video material and does not interfere with their enjoyment of the rented material. As a last attribute, the present system adds minimal cost to both the breeders and the media. In addition, the costs of the equipment for inspection and reporting of transactions in the warehouse are believed to be quickly recoverable. An embodiment according to the present invention is directed to the digital video disc format medium. However, it will be appreciated that the present invention is also applicable to systems using analog or digital video cassette tapes or analog video disks or other media using magnetic, optical or magneto-optical recording or other types. This system is also applicable to other video material such as audio material. (However, audio media are generally sold openly and are not rented). Additionally, while a modality described herein comprises digital video disc media, it is to be understood that the invention is not particular P1536 / 97MX to digital material but also applies to analog recordings. According to the invention, there is a "TTRD" (Transaction Tracking and Reporting Device), which is an apparatus for use in a video store, and a method to use the TTRD to record, in a separate authorization card, in encrypted form, an identification of the program (film) for the material pre-recorded on the disc or tape and also in encrypted form, the identification of a particular player. The authorization card is a reusable memory card that has a capacity of approximately 100 bytes and that is of semiconductor memory technology, magnetic or other suitable memory technology. In addition, according to the invention, a modified reproducer (a DVD player or video cassette player) is provided which, in addition to the conventional system or circuit assembly, includes a dedicated system of sales control circuits and / or programming elements for the reading, from the material pre-recorded in the medium, of the data of authorization of rent / sale, a public key of deciphering, and the identification of the program. Also provided in the player is a slot for P1 36 / 97MX accept the authorization card to read the authorization card and connect via a data decoder and an error correction circuitry still deciphering. The decryptor also receives the decryption public key that was optically recorded from the disk, and deciphers in this way from the data in the authorization card, the program identification and the identification of the player. A special decision circuit in each player compares the identification of the player from the authorization card to that stored in a read memory only in the player, and also compares the ID of the program from the decryptor to the ID of the program provided from the pre-recorded material . Only if the two identifications of the reproducer are authenticated (matched) and the two identifications of the program are authenticated (matched), the reproducer is able to reproduce the pre-recorded material. Of course, the authorization data indicating that this is a direct sales disc (not rent) is present on the disc, that is, there is an indication of authorization to reproduce, so even if the identifications are not equalized of the program or player, the player is able to produce the pre-recorded material of the program.

P1536 / 97MX Therefore, also according to the invention is a method to operate the reproducer to authorize its operation to reproduce the pre-recorded material. In an alternative embodiment, the authorization card is not used and instead a writing memory (eg, magnetic) is placed on the disk itself, by providing a narrow circular magnetic track near the center of the disk, to be read by a special magnetic head on each DVD player. This last element is the pre-recorded media.

In the case of the DVD disc, this is a video disc that includes (in the alternative mode) the localized magnetic track of a convenient location, such as near the center of the disc. The magnetic track on the disc as it arrives from the factory and is shipped to the video rental store is typically blank but has enough space to record in it the encrypted program identification and the encrypted identification of the player. It will be understood that later in the present when reference is made to the authorization card, in the alternative modality this refers to the magnetic track of the disc or an equivalent for a cassette of video tape. In the case of a video tape cassette suitable for use in accordance with the present invention, P1536 / 97MX recorded on the videotape at a convenient location (s) is the key to deciphering data and identifying the program. Recorded in another location only in the alternate mode (for convenience of reading by the TTRD without the rewinding of the video tape itself) is a second separate magnetic track that is of sufficient size to include the space for recording the encrypted identification of the program and the encrypted identification of the breeding. The location of the second magnetic track may be, for example, on the outside of the housing of the cassette. In this way, when the video tape cassette is inserted into the TTRD (or the VCR), the insertion and corresponding movement of the cassette in the TTRD (or VCR) passes this track beyond a fixed magnetic head and so both allows easy reading of it. In another version of the alternative mode, the second magnetic track is located at the end of one of the video cassette cassette pins, and therefore the rotation of these pins moves the magnetic track beyond a small magnetic head, properly located. In any case, there is no need to search the encrypted data on the video tape itself.

P1536 / 97MX BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 shows a transaction tracking and recording device according to the present invention. Figure 2 shows a reproducer according to the present invention. Figure 3 shows a video disc according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 shows a video cassette tape according to the alternative embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES In one embodiment of the digital video disc (DVD), each DVD player, which is otherwise of a conventional type recently announced, for example, by Toshiba or Sony or any other type, includes integrated in an internal memory an identification stored. This identification (for example, a number) does not necessarily need to be the same as the serial number of the player. This identification is for example, at least 6 or 8 decimal digits for better security. Breeder identification can have significantly fewer digits than the breeding series number, for example, that has as few as P1.S36 / 97MX two decimal digits in a reduced security penalty. In this way, the identification of breeding stock does not need to be unique to each digital video player, but it is a sufficiently large number, so that it is probably not easily duplicated between the number of individual DVD players that an intruder can find. Each corresponding digital video disc proposed for the rental market includes, in addition to the pre-recorded, optical, normal track, in only the alternative mode, a magnetic, circular, narrow recording track located for example near the center of the disc (this location it is illustrative and not limiting). This track needs to retain approximately 100 bytes of data. The magnetic track is read by a magnetic reading head provided in each DVD player according to the present invention. It is to be understood that the DVD players suggested by the industry do not include the slot to accept the authorization card (or in the alternative mode the magnetic head) and the associated system of circuits, and the addition of these elements is a required modification to DVD players in order to practice the present invention. Each DVD disc proposed for rent will also contain an extra number of bytes of recorded information Pl "? 36 / 97MX optically during the conventional process to transfer the final disk data, as part of the disk initialization information. For example, on conventional CDs and also on DVD discs, there is a scan region that is read by the player in the disk initialization cycle. The initialization information conventionally includes data such as the execution time, number of tracks and perhaps the location of particular portions of the recorded material. According to the invention, each rental disk will include, in addition to the information conventionally provided in the initialization region, a number corresponding to, for example, the particular title of the film recorded on the optical portion of the disc (a film identification). or program) and additionally an instruction that sends the player to read the magnetic track of that particular disc to obtain authorization to play the disc. The discs proposed for the direct sales market, that is to say that they are going to be sold at retail to consumers, will not include this instruction to seek authorization. To put this another way, the discs proposed for the direct sales market will include an instruction that does not require the player to read the authorization card to play the disc, but authorize the player to P1 536 / 97MX Play the disc without consulting the authorization card. The information recorded on the authorization card includes the identification (s) of the film and the identification of the player for a particular player or reproducers authorized to play that record. This information on the authorization card is encrypted and recorded at the time of the rental transaction by the tracking and transaction reporting device (TTRD), provided to each rental store according to the present invention. The "TTRD" is the nomenclature used herein for convenience, to refer to a device as described in detail below. It will be understood that this device does not necessarily need to be an independent device, but can be incorporated for example in another transaction reporting equipment already present in the video rental stores, with the appropriate characteristics as described below. A conventional electronic clock in each TTRD records, for each rental transaction, the time and date of authorization and later records when the particular disk was returned to the rental warehouse after the rent was completed. Each DVD player, which is otherwise P1536 / 97MX conventionally, it also includes a decision circuit that allows a particular player to play a particular disc only if its player identification matches the authorized player identification read from the authorization card, and also if the identification of the film read optically from the disc matches the identification of the movie read from the authorization card). When a rental consumer first becomes a consumer in a particular rental income or rental chain, the consumer provides the employee of the rental store with the identification of the player of the consumer's own DVD player. This identification, together with for example the name and / or telephone number of the consumer, are entered into the TTRD via, for example, a normal keyboard interface or a bar code reader. In this way, for example, a particular client can become a member, as now, in any number of rental stores and subsequently only needs to provide conventional information, ie, name or telephone number or the rent identification card, to rent a record. When a private disk is rented, it is inserted by the employee of the rental warehouse in the TTRD who then optically reads from the disk the identification of P1536 / 97MX movie of the disk initialization region and record it, together with the identification of the client's player, on the authorization card. This operation is automatic and only takes a few seconds. The authorization card is provided by the rental warehouse at the time of each rental; A card can include information for several rental discs. The cards will have a manufacturing cost of approximately $ l each and will be reusable. The approach of the authorization card is less convenient to the rental store and the tenant of what is the magnetic track on the disk, since it is comprised of an extra physical article. The card can be adjusted to a size to fit inside the "jewel box" of the disc to minimize the risk of loss. However, the approach of the authorization card is less expensive in terms of the cost of manufacturing the breeding stock. The security and functionality of the system are independent of the employee authorization means. After the customer has finished using the disk and returns it to the rental warehouse, the employee of the rental warehouse briefly inserts the disk into the TTRD that reads both the magnetic and optical data and records the data in the memory of the TTRD. the time of return. The TTRD then has a complete record of the transaction.

P1536 / 97MX This system provides the advantages described above. In terms of functionality, for the tracking information of the transaction, the electronic clock in the TTRD indicates each time and date of authorization of the disk and when it is returned to the rental warehouse. Combined with the title of the film and if the identification of the lessee's breeder is desired, this is sufficient information to track the rental activity. It is to be noted, however, that in certain embodiments of the invention the sales tracking features are not necessary and only the security features described below are included. In this way, in certain applications where the owner of the rights can not require for example the information of the transaction but only needs security, the functionality of the transaction tracking and the accompanying structures can be excluded. An added advantage of the present system is that it prohibits a private tenant from lending his rented disc (or tape) to a friend or someone related, since only the DVD player of the particular tenant has been authorized to play any particular disc. This feature can advantageously generate extra income transactions. If a particular client owns more than one DVD player, the P1536 / 97MX The system fixes this by allowing the recording of more than one breeding ID on the authorization card (or on the magnetic track of the disk). The system that forbids the loan to a friend can then be fooled by a client who lists his friend's player as his own. (This would of course be found if the friend were to rent a disk by himself from the same rental store or chain of rental stores). A main advantage according to the invention is that the security of the system is maintained even if an intruder acquires full knowledge of the security principles used and is also fully capable of examining the complete details of operation of the authorization circuits in a particular reproducer of DVD. That is, the DVD player itself does not keep secrets and the system will still be safe. The security system has two aspects. The first is the prevention of illicit transactions. The second is the restriction of access to transaction data according to the transaction reporting system. Of these, the first is probably the most important. In order to prevent illicit transactions, which is to prevent an intruder from designing a "black box" device to illicitly record authorization data on an authorization card, this data (the P1536 / 97MX breeder and film identification) are concatenated and encrypted and written on the authorization card (or on each disk) by the TTRD, using a public key encryption system. These systems are well known. The following is a brief review of the relevant methods of encryption. The most common form of data encryption and the best known for the common man, is called private key or symmetric encryption and is the method used theoretically for encryption. These methods use the same key to encrypt and decrypt the data. To protect against attempts at trial and error in the guessing of the encryption key, the key is usually a large number, that is, a number of 18 decimal digits. The DES (Data Encryption System) algorithm is an example of a private key system in which the data, arranged in 64-bit blocks, is encrypted using a 56-bit key . (The fifty-six bits are equivalent to approximately 17 decimal digits). In private key encryption systems, as is well known, the key chosen must be kept secret from intruders (or anyone with a contrary interest) to ensure security. However at the same time the key must be provided to a group P1536 / 97MX potentially large of legitimate users. In a typical (military) context, there is a relatively small number of legitimate users and therefore these systems have historically been used in a somewhat successful way. However, for the present purpose each DVD player must include the encryption key in order to read the authorization means. In this way, intruders, who easily buy a DVD player, would at least in some way have access to the key, thereby substantially reducing the security of the system. That is to say, it is unreal to believe that the encryption key used in this reproducer would be protected against the effort determined by an intruder to read it, given the low cost and omnipresence of the reproducers. Therefore, it is believed that a private key encryption system is more likely to be penetrated, but can nevertheless be used in accordance with the present invention where the disadvantages described above may be of less importance. The other type of data encryption uses a public key and is also referred to as asymmetric encryption. In this way, there are two different keys in this system. The first is the private key, known only to authorized users as in the private key system, described above; the second key is the public key that is P1536 / 97MX widely known without risk of system penetration, ie intrusion. A key (any key) is used for data encryption and the other key is used for decryption. An essential characteristic of all public key systems is that knowledge of the decryption key does not allow the intruder to encrypt a message and vice versa. The safest public key system commercially available is from a company called RSA Data of Redwood City, CA. The security of this system is based on the difficulty of factoring very large numbers, which contain more than one hundred decimal digits. The fastest factoring algorithm that runs on the fastest computers typically takes decades to factor these numbers. The larger the key, the more difficult the factorization becomes. In practice, the size of the key is chosen to reduce the cost effectiveness of a factoring effort to unacceptable levels for a future intruder, throughout the expected life of the product and with appropriate allocations for anticipated increases. in the power of computation. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the private key of the public-key system is used for encryption. In this way, this key is stored securely in each TTRD in such a way P1536 / 97MX any attempt to extract the private key from the TTRD causes the key to be erased. This is relatively easy to achieve since there is a limited number of TTRD devices (typically one per rental store) each of which is recorded from time to time for ordinary transaction purposes. Therefore, any security breach is likely to be easily detected. The technical means to protect these keys included in an integrated circuit in the TTRD are well known. A simple method is one in which an attempt to open the TTRD housing immediately results in the erasure of the private key. Similarly, since the key is likely to be included in a volatile memory, any attempt to electrically contact the memory conductors results in the erasure of their contents. Other types of security interlocks are well known, and multiple interlocks can be provided. Of course, additionally, any successful attempt to obtain the data of a particular TTRD would signal the custodian of that TTRD as a probable conspirator. The mere existence of this knowledge is believed to reduce penetration attempts. The corresponding public key required for deciphering the DVD player is recorded P1536 / 97MX optically on the disc together with the identification of the film mentioned above and the authorization instruction (rental / sale), as part of the optically recorded, ordinary content of the disc. When the disc is to be played, this key is read by the DVD player and used to decrypt the data on the authorization card, in order to allow playback. The public key is recorded optically on each disc instead of being stored on each DVD player in order to allow faster recovery from a security breach. In the unlikely event that the current private key becomes known, thereby threatening the security of the system, a new key pair could be rapidly generated. The new private key would be downloaded (that is, via telecommunications) to each TTRD and the new corresponding public key would then be used in all the new discs that will be manufactured from that day. In this way, revenue losses would be restricted to video rental stores that obtain an illicit authorization device from an intruder, which could now be used only to authorize the reproduction of released movies before the date of change of the keys Additionally, any abnormal reduction in the reporting of rental transactions of particular movies released before the occurrence of the P1536 / 97MX Security breach, from a particular rental warehouse, would indicate that the warehouse was a possible illicit operator. In order to allow TTRDs to continue authorizing older movies after a new key pair is distributed, each TTRD would store the complete history of the keys used, organize them by serial number, and automatically encrypt the data that is going to record on the authorization card with the appropriate private key. This is achieved by adding the serial number of the key to the public key recorded in the optical track of the disk. The TTRD reads the serial number first and then selects the appropriate private key to perform the encryption from the set of private keys stored in the TTRD in its memory. The ID of the movie is recorded both optically on the disc and is encrypted (together with the authorized player ID) on the authorization card for two reasons. The first reason is to allow TTRDs to track which of the particular movies is being rented. The second reason applies to system security; if the data recorded on the authorization card was only an encrypted instruction that would authorize any disc to be played by a DVD player that has a particular identification, then that stream of encrypted data could be obtained by an intruder and would be returned to P1536 / 97MX use later. This would be done using an intruder device to record the data stream on the authorization card. This would unlawfully authorize the reproduction of other films by the same DVD player (that is, for the same client). A vital characteristic of a public-key encryption system is that it is not possible to deduce which of the encrypted data would be for a block of data that differs by as little as one bit of a block of data whose known value is already known. In other words, knowledge of the encrypted data for an instruction that allows for example, that the movie number 566 to be played on a reproducer with the breeder ID 1289, would not allow an intruder to deduce which encrypted data would correspond to an instruction for allow the movie number 567 to be played on the identical player. This way, most intruders could notice the encoding sequence that authorizes the reproduction of a particular movie for a particular player and later would use the same encoding sequence with the same client that wants to rent the same movie in a later time. In this way, in most intrusions the unscrupulous owner of the rental store would obtain an additional rent without having to pay the owner P1536 / 97MX of the rights for that particular income. The effort required to do this seems to weigh vastly more than likely any financial gain and therefore would not be made. In terms of restricting access to transaction data, the system also uses in one mode, a public key encryption system (it is not the same as before in terms of the keys themselves) to report transactions. In this way, each owner of the rights (for example, movie studio) is assigned to a single pair of private key / public key. Each TTRD stores the public key of each study. The transaction data that relate to a particular study is encrypted within the TTRD before storage and transaction, using the public key of the study. Only the study (or its agent) is provided with the corresponding private key necessary to decrypt the transaction data. The rest of the system provides simplicity of operation because at the time of rental, the employee of the video rental store must enter the name and telephone number of the tenant as is conventionally done using either a keyboard interface or a browser. barcode from an identification card that includes the identification number, P1536 / 97MX and then the employee additionally in accordance with the invention inserts the tenant's authorization card and the private rental disk in the TTRD. In the first mode the authorization card is used, the TTRD includes a plug in the socket to electrically connect to the authorization card. In the second mode that uses a magnetic track on the disc, the TTRD includes a special recording head to record on the special magnetic track on the disc (or tape cassette). The TTRD in any mode includes a port and load mechanism such as those of a DVD player. The authorization card and the disk are ejected in a few seconds and the first part of the transaction is recorded automatically. When the tenant returns the disk later (or later, later) the employee inserts the disk again in the TTRD and indicates the return transaction in its keyboard interface. The final part of the transaction, that is, the return time of the disk, is now recorded and the disk is ejected again and placed on the warehouse shelves. The authorization card is returned only for subsequent reuse. The report of the transaction to the owner of the rights or his agent is done automatically, for example, via modem and telephone lines, at a convenient time. The report of the transaction can also be made by another P1536 / 97MX well-known medium. In this way, the required effort of the employees of the video rental store is only slightly higher than that required in the existing rental stores that use instead of the sales terminals to store customer information and bar code readers. to check the output and check the input of video tape cassettes or video discs. Additionally, customer convenience is provided in accordance with the present invention. The additional effort required by the client is that when he signs first (becomes a member) in a private rental store or chain of rental warehouses, the client provides the warehouse employee with the identification of his breeder (or the identifications if he has several breeders). In this way, each DVD player for convenience would be sold together with several printed cards with the player identification in the type and for example bar code or a magnetic strip. The player identification is also stamped on the back panel of each DVD player along with the serial number. In this way, the extra effort of providing an identification of the breeding stock is a one-time effort, achieved when a member of the video rental store becomes first.

P1536 / 97MX It is believed that the cost of implementing this system is low. The cost of including in the alternative modality a magnetic reading head and the associated authorization circuit system in each reproducer is estimated to be $ 1, the majority of this cost is the magnetic reading head and its associated amplifier. In this way, the cost is significantly lower for the modality of the authorization card. The rest of the necessary circuitry is typically in the integrated circuit system already included in the player at an additional very low cost. It will be noted that much of the circuit system may be programming elements, of being the logical circuit system, real, in the microprocessor that operates the DVD player. It is estimated that for the alternative mode, the cost of providing the circular magnetic track in mass-produced discs is $ .01 to $ .05 per disc. This magnetic track would be narrow and would not need to be high density, since the actual amount of data recorded on the track is small. While the cost of each TTRD would be substantial, only one device needs to be provided by the video rental store and these devices could be mass produced due to the large number of warehouses P1536 / 97MX of video rental. Figure 1 shows in a block diagram a modality of the TTRD that is located in the rental warehouse. This device includes a conventional video disc optical reader 12 of the type conventionally found in the disc player and in this case typically the type used in a DVD player. It is to be understood that the references herein to DVD players are because it is anticipated that the present invention is likely to be further adapted to these new normal video media. However, the present invention is compatible with other formats of discs and videotapes.

(Of course, the disc and videotape players, present do not include the circuit system necessary to implement the present invention). It is to be understood that the optical disk reader 12 includes conventional mechanical elements (not shown for simplicity) to rotate the disk 14. In the conventional operation of a DVD player, after inserting the disk into the player, the player it explores a region of the disk located near the center, called the initialization region, in order to obtain information about the recorded contents of the disk that is typically present on a screen of the disc player.

P1536 / 97MX According to the invention, this initialization region has recorded in it, in addition to the conventional information, the identification of the program (movie), the indication of rent / sale and the decryption key that conventionally includes the serial number of the key public, and the key module. Typically, the identification of the program does not need to be in alpha-numeric form but it can be only a coding number, that is, a 6 or 8 decimal digit code. It could be as little as 4 decimal digits to uniquely identify, for example, each movie released over a period of several years. The optical disk reader 12 reads from the optically recorded portion of the disk 14 via a conventional laser reading mechanism 18, two pieces of data; these are (1) the serial number of the key, the public decryption key, and the module and (2) a program identification number. These data are located as described above in the initialization region of the disk that already contains the information of the format that corresponds to the contents of the disk. The optical disk reader 12 extracts this data from the data stream read from the disk by the laser reading mechanism 18. The serial number of the key is then provided (in one mode) to a memory P1536 / 97MX 22 of key which stores, in a secure manner as described above, a list of private encryption keys for an encryption public key system. In this way, the key number is in effect an address indicating which particular key stored in the key memory 22 is the one to be used as the private encryption key. This private encryption key is then provided to an encryption 26 of a commercially available type of for example RSA Data as described above. Typically, this cipher is really a set of routines of programming elements (software) (a computer program) that will be conventionally executed by a microprocessor. The data encrypted by the cipher 26 is the identification of the provided program of the optical disc reader 12 concatenated (in a data block) with a particular player identification. This breeding identification is provided as described above from a memory 30 that is part of the TTRD, or is entered for example by keyboard or barcode reader at the time of the transaction. The identification of breeding stock is that of the particular breeding that corresponds to the sale customer. The identification of the program in addition to being used to track also increases the safety of the P1536 / 97MX system. That is, if there is no program identification, the only information recorded on the magnetic track of the disk would be the encrypted number of the player. In this way, an intruder could violate the security of the system by reading the authorization letter to obtain the code to authorize the reproduction, would be able to use a particular player, when reading only and record the encrypted data corresponding to that number of breeding . There is no need in this case for the intruder to decipher this number but only need to record the appropriate encrypted data on the magnetic track of the disk without using the TTRD, that is, by deriving the TTRD, and thus defrauding the owner of the rights by not recording the particular rental transaction. In this way, by providing a piece of information that is unique to each rental transaction (a program identification number) and given the use of a public key system, it becomes possible for an intruder to determine what encoded data would be for a different film for the same player, due to the nature of public key encryption systems. In this way, it will be understood that information different from the identification of the program could be used for this purpose. That is, when each particular optical disc is reproduced, instead of P1536 / 97MX providing a program coding number (movie) in the optical track, instead a random number is provided. Then, the TTRD would read this random number, decrypt it and record the random number encrypted in the authorization medium. Thus, the term "program identification" used herein does not necessarily refer to a number universally used for all discs having a particular film, but instead to any number or information that corresponds or belongs to a disc or disc. particular video tape. In this way, the identification of the program does not need to be unique to each film, possibly a limited field with few numbers, for example, from 0 to 100 would be adequate to provide security, although in this way several films could have identical identifications of the program. In this way, for security purposes only, the identification of the program does not need to be a film identification (title). However, to maximize the movie, each movie must have a unique identification number. The cipher 26 then encrypts this data and provides it to a data encoder 34 that formats and encodes the data in a conventional modulation scheme, particularly as desired. The authorization card 35 is connected to the data encoder 34 by the P1536 / 97MX connector 33 of the slot, for recording the data encoded on the card 35. In the alternative embodiment, also shown for simplicity in Figure 1, the encoded data is then provided to a conventional amplifier 38 which drives or drives a recording head 42 magnetic of the commercially available type. The head 42 then records the data in the magnetic track provided on the disk 14. As described above, typically this track is near the center of the disk but this location is not limiting. It will be understood that typically both modalities would not be used in any TTRD. Having an income type disk, then recorded in the optical track is an instruction (perhaps only an individual bit in a predetermined location) that indicates that this is actually a rental disk. In the absence of this instruction, this disc is understood by the player (as described below) as being a disc that has been sold to the user. If a "sale" disc is accidentally subjected to the TTRD process as described above, it will have no effect on the use of the disc for the reasons described above. After the encrypted identification of the program and the identification of the player are recorded on the card 35, the card 35 and the disk 14 are ejected from the P1536 / 97MX TTRD and both are given to the rental customer for their use. Also a part of the TTRD of Figure 1, but not necessary for security reasons, is the tracking and reporting portion 51 that includes a data encoder and the format originator 46 that receives the program identification from the optical reader 12 of the scanner. discs. Also provided via an electronic clock (not shown) is an indication of the date and time of the sales transaction. These two data points are conventionally encoded and formatted appropriately and are provided, for example, to a modem 50 which then transmits this transaction data to a central tracking computer, for example for each movie studio, via the lines telephone It is to be understood that the tracking and recording portion 52 is not necessary for security reasons but is provided for commercial reasons to allow each movie studio to determine the rental number of its films. In this system, the particular player number is not intentionally provided to the data coder and the format originator 46. This could be done, but is not believed to be necessary for commercial tracking purposes. By not providing this information, a greater degree of privacy is provided to the rental customer.

P1536 / 97MX It is to be understood that with minor modifications, the TTRD of Figure 1 is suitable for use with a video cassette tape. In this case, the laser system 18 is replaced with a VCR (magnetic) reading head. Additional details of the video cassette mode are subsequently provided. While Figure 1 is a block diagram, each of the blocks represents a conventional, commercially available element and furthermore, the interconnections between the blocks are well within the skill of one skilled in the art. The rental customer then takes the rental disk 14 and the card 35 to his home and inserts both in his reproducer shown in the block form in Figure 2. The reproducer in Figure 2 includes several main elements common to all the video disc players. These include a unit (not shown for simplicity) for disk 14, and an optical reading device which in this diagram is a laser system 60 (similar to element 18 of Figure 1), and a similar optical disc reader 62. to the optical reader 12 that drives the conventional electronic system 66 of the reproducer. In this way, elements 62 and 66 are conventional and of the type that would be provided in any reproductive of P1536 / 97MX video discs not yet in accordance with the present invention. The data stream from the laser system 60 is provided to the optical disc reader 60 which then provides the demodulated and decoded data to the conventional electronic system 66 of the player, which is typically connected to a television set or monitor for viewing. The other elements shown in Figure 2 are added in accordance with the present invention to achieve the desired security. In the form of the authorization card, these include a slot connector 37 that connects to the authorization card 35. In the alternative embodiment, also shown in Figure 2 for simplicity, these additional elements include a magnetic reading head 70 having a structure similar to that of the writing head 42 in Figure 1 and which is adapted to read the magnetic track on the disk 14. The signals from the magnetic reading head 70 are provided to a conventional analog amplifier 74. The performance of the magnetic reading head 70 in the reproductive does not need to be high, since the total amount of information recorded is approximately 100 bytes, the signal frequency is in the order of 10 kHz and therefore a head would be adequate P1536 / 97MX magnetic reading and amplifier, low cost and simple. It will be understood that typically both modalities would be presented in any breeding stock. The signals from the amplifier 74 (or connector 73) are provided to a conventional data decoder 76 that is the complement of the data encoder 34 in Figure 1. The information recorded in the magnetic track of the disk in the alternative mode would typically be recorded. using the same form of modulation for the purpose of equalizing the recorded signal to the capabilities of the media. This modulation is typically called channel coding. Various methods of channel coding are well known. In this way in the reproducer, the magnetic reading circuit system includes the data decoder 76 for decoding (demodulating) this data in the alternative mode. A typical method for coding suitable with the present invention would be frequency change manipulation. Another suitable method is the manipulation of quadrature phase change. The decoder 76 thus provides a conventional digital signal from the analog reading signal from the head and the amplifier. In the mode of the authorization card, the decoder 76 would be a simpler digital circuit or it can be excluded.

P1536 / 97MX The decoded data (in digital form) is provided to the conventional error correction circuitry 78 to find and correct any of the errors in the data. The corrected data is then provided to a decipher 80 which is the device complementary to the cipher 26 of Figure 1. It is to be understood, however, that in the public key / private key system described above, the cipher and decryptor are not simple complements to each other, in order to provide a high security. The structure of the decrypter 80 is that of the commercially available type of for example RSA Data for its public key system. The demodulated and decoded (but not encrypted) data of the optical disc reader 62 is provided to an income control circuit 84. The function of the circuit 84 is to select the relevant data. This is relatively simple since the relevant data are known to be in particular locations of the initialization region of the disk 14. The rent control circuit 84 selects three data points of the demodulated and decoded data stream. The data of the first point is the identification of the program ("program ID"). The second is the decryption key (which includes the module). The third is the indication ofP1536 / 97MX authorization that provides an indication of the disk that is a rental or sale disk. In this mode, the authorization indication is an individual bit; if the value of the bit is 0, this is a rental disk. If the value is 1, this is a disk for sale. The authorization bit does not need to be encrypted. The key (which includes the module) (this is preferably the public key) is provided to the decipher 80 for decryption or decryption purposes. The identification of the program is provided to a first comparator 90 as a first entry thereof. The second input to the comparator 90 is the decrypted identification of the program, provided by the decrypter 80 from the data read from the authorization means. A second comparator 94 has as a first input the identification of breeding from a read only memory 98 (ROM, for its acronym in English Read Only Memory) included in the breeding, which provides a breeding identification number that can be for example a number as small as two decimal digits but preferably it will be somewhat larger. The second input to the comparator 94 is the decrypted identification of the player from the decrypter 80 from the data in the authorization means. The comparison function to compare the identification of P1536 / 97MX program and breeder identification can be for example logic circuit comparators that compare two sets of parallel bits. Alternatively, the comparison (of other functions described herein) can be carried out by equivalents such as a control program executed by the microprocessor typically present in the disc players. In this case, the microprocessor control program will take the two streams in series and perform a conventional bit-by-bit comparison. Each of the comparators 90 and 94 provides, for example, a high output if the comparison is an equalization, that is, the input data in the two inputs are identical. Similarly, each comparator 90 and 94 provides a low output signal if the inputs fail to equalize. The output signals of the comparators 90 and 94 are then provided to an AND gate 102. In this way, only if the output signals from both the comparator 90 and the comparator 94 are high the AND gate 102 provides a high output signal. The output signal of the AND gate 102 is the first input to an OR gate 106. The second entry to OR gate 106 is the authorization bit. In this way, if there is a disk for sale, OR gate 106 receives P1536 / 97MX a high entry from the authorization bit. If the disk 14 is a rental disk, the authorization bit is 0 and the output of the OR gate 106 is controlled by the output of the AND gate 102. The OR gate 106 then provides a reproduction permission signal to for example, the electronic system 66 of the breeding ground (or any other operation portion of the breeding stock) to allow operation of the same. In this way, only if the output signal of the OR gate 106 is high the reproducer will be trained for the operation, i.e., the playing of the portion of the program of the disc 14. This permission function can take any of a number of forms in terms of which the breeding portions are allowed. In this way, it will be understood that for a rental disk, only if the identification of the program recorded in the disc authorization means equals the identification of the program in the optical portion of the disc, and additionally only if the identification of the reproducer equals the identification of the reproducer recorded in the authorization means, the reproducer is operative to reproduce the disc. In this way, the reproduction permission signal, which is the output signal of the OR gate 106, is necessary to allow reading of any of the portions of the disk other than the region of P1536 / 97MX initialization. Digital video disc players are sophisticated devices that provide high-speed digital signal processing, that is, they have substantial computing power included. In this way, it would be relatively inexpensive to include a small amount of additional program code to execute in the programming elements the functions illustrated in Figure 2 in the form of the logic circuit system. In this way, it will be understood that while Figure 2 shows a modality of the logic circuit system (computer hardware), the conversion of these functions to a computer program is relatively simple and is well within the skill. of the person skilled in the art in view of this description. Figure 3 shows a view of the upper part of a video disk 14 according to the alternative embodiment of the invention. The video disk 14 includes a center region 12 which is conventionally used to mechanically retain the disk when it is played. The optically recorded portion of the disk is the outer, complete region 114 that contains optical tracks (not shown for clarity). The element added to this disc according to the present invention is the magnetic track 118, narrow that in this P1536 / 97MX case immediately circles the center region. Track 118 has a magnetic coating similar to that of for example magnetic tape or a flexible disk, for conventional magnetic recording and reading. The magnetic track 118 hosts only about 100 bytes of data and can therefore be recorded at low density. While the means referred to herein are digital video discs and video tapes, it is to be understood that this is not limiting. Other types of media are suitable, such as a magneto-optic disc. The main requirement is that the medium used according to the invention has at least a small area suitable for recording (and subsequent re-recording) therein by the TTRD. Figure 4 shows a videotape cassette in VHS format according to a second version of the alternative embodiment of the present invention. This cassette of video tape is conventional in all respects except that a magnetic track 124 is located on an exterior of the housing. In this case, the magnetic track 124 is shown on a side surface. However, it can also be on the other side surface or on the surface of the top or bottom. In any case, the magnetic track is on a surface that, when the cassette is inserted into a VCR, moves P1536 / 97MX beyond a magnetic reading head located within the VCR for purposes of reading the data recorded on track 124. A similar magnetic head mechanism is used to write track 124 on the TTRD. The track 124 may be relatively short and is recorded at a relatively low data density since it again only comprises approximately 100 bytes of data. In this video tape cassette version, the information that in the version of the video disc is recorded in the optical portion of the disc, is recorded instead in the video tape itself. This would be recorded for example, in each frame or perhaps alternate frame in a convenient location, so that the player can easily find this information without having to go in search of any particular location on the tape. Also in the cassette tape version there is a problem that the content of the program is easily altered by the appropriate equipment. In this way, it would be possible for an intruder to alter the income control bit, that is, to alter a rent control bit of the rental indication to indicate that this particular videotape cassette is being proposed for sale (no for rent) . This is undesirable since it defeats the entire income security system. To prevent this, the rent control bit, instead of P1536 / 97MX being alone, it is the first bit in a block of data all of which are encrypted using a private key and can be decrypted by the use of a public key stored in the particular VCR player. The rest of the data in the block is important image or other data. This would prevent the alteration of the sales control bit. Another version of the present invention for videotape cassette tapes does not require the provision of a magnetic recording area in the cassette housing or at the ends of the gear teeth. Instead, a predetermined region of the video tape is used to record the encrypted identification of the program and the encrypted identification of the player. This is less desirable since it would require rewinding the tape by the TTRD to find this particular, predetermined area of the tape. In the case that this system of income control is adopted by the persons of adjustment of the DVD standards, a problem arises with respect to the universal complacency of the manufacturers. Since there is some added cost to each DVD player to implement this system, there is an incentive for any particular manufacturer not to add the necessary circuit system and interface in order to gain an advantage in the price. The system as described herein does not require any subsystem P1536 / 97MX Special in a DVD player to allow the rental discs (or tape) to be reproduced in it. If universal complacency can not be obtained for any reason through contractual arrangements between all manufacturers, a technical method according to the invention will ensure compliance by each manufacturer. One method, compatible with the system described here, is to encrypt a small, but important segment of the data programmed into each disk with a special encryption key dependent on the movie in a range for the matching decryption key that is going to distribute to the breeder from the TTRD, via the authorization card. Any decryption-encryption system can be used in the present. Therefore, in order to be able to reproduce the sales discs, the non-compliant DVD players would need to contain all the subsystems as described herein, which are needed by the reproducing players and in this way the owners of the reproducing they would not have to have the rental transactions of discs processed by legitimate TTRDs. This should remove any of the manufacturers' incentives for non-compliance. In another version of the system with reduced security, but with improved "user friendliness", no P1536 / 97MX breeder identification is provided. That is, all the breeders are identical (generic) in terms of security. Instead, each player includes an electronic clock that tracks the time and date, for example at the closest time, during the life of the product. In this way when the tenant rents a disk, the TTRD in the store of sale writes on the authorization card the film identification and a window of the rental date, for example 48 or 72 from the time of rental. Then, when the tenant brings home the disk and the authorization card and puts both in his player to play the disk, the control circuit system in the player compares the film identification from the disk to that in the authorization card , and also compare in the date window on the authorization card to the current date and time according to your internal clock. This disc will only be played later if the data matches the current data and the time, and the player ID is matched. It is to be understood that the security in this version is less than that in the modalities described above, since an intruder would be able to deduce the date window in the encrypted form when providing P1536 / 97MX this date window together with the film identification in the encrypted form without the use of the authorized (legitimate) TTRD and write both of these pieces of information on the authorization card. However, this intrusive type authorization would only be good for the particular date window that the intruder has obtained in the encrypted form, that is, some 48 or 72 specific hours. This description is illustrative and not limiting, additional modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the present disclosure and it is proposed that they fall within the scope of the appended claims.

P1536 / 97MX

Claims (37)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the present invention, it is considered as a novelty and, therefore, the content of the following CLAIMS is claimed as property 1. A method for authenticating a pre-recorded video medium for its reproduction, comprising the steps of: pre-recording in the video medium an identification of the program, associated with the contents of the video medium; provide an authentication device; provide a breeding identification of a particular reproduction device; providing a means of authentication, - authenticating the pre-recorded identification of the program and the identification of a reproductive device of a particular reproduction device; and recording the authentication and identification of the player in the authorization means, thereby authorizing the pre-recorded video medium to be reproduced in the particular reproduction device. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of authenticating includes encrypting with a private key of a public-key encryption system. P1536 / 97MX 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the authorization means is a memory card adapted for connection to a connection in the particular player. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pre-recorded medium is an optically recorded video disc, and wherein the authorization means is a magnetic recording area located near the center of the disc. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pre-recorded medium is a video cassette cassette, and the authorization means is a magnetic recording area located in the cassette housing of the video cassette. The method according to claim 1, wherein the recording step includes magnetic recording, and wherein the authorization means is a magnetic tape in the pre-recorded medium and separated from the pre-recorded contents of the pre-recorded medium. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting the identification of the program, accompanied by a time indication, to a distant location. The method according to claim 2, further comprising, before the encryption step, reading the program identification of the pre-recorded medium. 9. The method according to claim 1, in P1536 / 97MX where the pre-recorded step includes the pre-recording of an authorization indication on the pre-recorded video medium. The method according to claim 9, wherein the authorization indication is concatenated with other data and is encrypted. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pre-recording step includes pre-recording a key encryption number for the authentication step in the pre-recorded medium. 12. An apparatus for authorizing a pre-recorded video medium to be reproduced on a particular player, the particular player includes an authorization portion having a player identification number stored therein, and the pre-recorded medium has a portion of the contents of the player. video that includes pre-recorded material of the program and that includes a program identification, the apparatus comprises: a reading portion of the medium for reading from the video content portion of the pre-recorded medium; an encryptor operatively connected to the reading portion of the medium, thereby receiving the identification of the program from the media reader; an input terminal to receive a particular breeding ID from a source P1536 / 97MX external, the input terminal is also operatively connected to the cipher, - a memory that stores an encryption key, the memory is connected to the cipher; and a writing circuit adapted to write in an authorization means, the writing circuit that receives from the cipher a concatenated identification of the program and the identification of the player in the encrypted form and that writes both in the authorization means, wherein the apparatus is a device separate from the particular player. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the memory stores a plurality of encryption keys, each one being a private key of a public-key encryption system. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein each encryption key has a unique address in the memory, and further comprises a means for receiving a memory address of the reading portion of the medium and selecting from the memory an encryption key that corresponds to the received memory address. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the writing circuit writes to a memory card adapted for connection to the writing circuit. 16. The apparatus according to claim 12, in Pl c? 36 / 97MX wherein the reading portion of the medium is a video optical disc reader, and wherein the writing circuit records in an authorization area located near the center of the optical video disk. The apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a transaction reporting portion connected to the reading portion of the medium, and the transaction reporting portion receiving the program identification of the reading portion of the medium. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the read circuit includes: a coding portion connected to the cipher, - an amplifier connected to the coding portion; and a magnetic recording head connected to the encoder and placed adjacent to the authorization area of the pre-recorded medium. 19. A method for authorizing the reproduction of a pre-recorded medium on a particular player, the pre-recorded medium having a portion of contents that includes the pre-recorded contents of the program, an identification of the medium program, and an encryption key, the method that includes the steps of: reading from the content portion the identification of the program of the medium and the password of P1536 / 97MX encryption; read from an authorization means an encrypted concatenation of the identification of the program and an identification of the reproducer recorded in the authorization means; use the decryption key to decipher the identification of the program and the identification of the reproducer read from the authorization means; comparing the decrypted identification of the program and the deciphered identification of the breeding stock respectively to an identification of breeding stock stored in the particular breeding stock and to the identification of the program of the medium read from the content portion; and if both comparisons indicate an equalization, allow the operation of the reproducer to reproduce the pre-recorded medium. The method according to claim 19, wherein the authorization means is a memory card adapted for connection to the player. 21. The method according to claim 19, the content portion of the pre-recorded medium including an authorization indication, the method further comprising the step of allowing the operation of the breeding stock if so indicated by the authorization indication. P1536 / 97MX 22. The method according to claim 19, wherein the indication of use is encrypted together with other information, the method further comprising the step of deciphering the authorization indication. The method according to claim 19, wherein the pre-recorded medium is an optical video disk, and the step of reading from the authorization means includes magnetically reading from an authorization area near the center of the video optical disc. The method according to claim 19, wherein the pre-recorded medium is a video tape cassette, and the reading step of the authorization means includes reading from an authorization area in the tape cassette housing as the cassette is inserted. in the breeding 25. A reproducer for reproducing recorded media, each medium having a portion of contents that includes the pre-recorded contents of the program, an identification of the program of the medium, and a deciphering key, the player comprising: a reading portion of the pre-recorded medium; a control portion connected to the reader of the means for receiving therefrom the decryption key and the program identification of the medium, - a reading circuit adapted to read an encrypted identification of the program and the identification P1536 / 97MX encryption of the breeding stock from an authorization means; a decoder, connected to the reading circuit and to the control portion, uses the decryption key to decipher the encrypted identification of the program and the encrypted identification of the breeding stock to provide the control portion with a program identification and a breeding identification, read from the means of authorization in the deciphered form; a first comparator connected to the decoder and to the control portion, thereby comparing the decoded identification of the program to the identification of the media program from the media content portion, - a memory that stores the breeder identification; a second comparator connected to the decryptor and the memory, thus comparing the decrypted identification of the reproducer to the identification of the reproducer stored in the memory, and a logic circuit connected to the first and second comparators, which provides a signal allowing the reproduction of the contents of the medium program if both comparators indicate an equalization. 26. The reproducer according to claim 25, wherein the decryption key is a public key of P1536 / 97MX a public key encryption system. The reproducer according to claim 25, wherein the content portion of the pre-recorded medium includes an authorization indication, and wherein the control portion includes a validation element that provides a signal that allows the reproduction of the program contents of the half pre-recorded in response to the authorization indication. The reproducer according to claim 27, wherein the authorization indication is also encrypted, and further comprises, in the control circuit, a means for deciphering the authorization indication. The reproducer according to claim 25, wherein the authorization means is a memory card, and the reading circuit is adapted for connection to the memory card. The reproducer according to claim 25, wherein the pre-recorded medium is an optical video disk, and the reading circuit includes a magnetic head positioned adjacent the center of the video disc, when the video disc is in the reproducer, the means of authorization that is in the center of the video disc. The reproducer according to claim 25, wherein the pre-recorded medium is a video tape cassette and the authorization means is on an outer surface P1536 / 97MX of the video cassette cassette, and wherein the reading circuit includes a magnetic reading head positioned to read the authorization means as the cassette of video tape is inserted into the player. 32. The reproducer according to claim 25, the read circuit is included: a magnetic head, - an amplifier connected to the magnetic head, - a data decoder connected to the amplifier; and an error correction portion connected to the data decoder. 33. A method for authorizing the reproduction of a pre-recorded media in a player, the pre-recorded media having a portion of contents that includes the pre-recorded contents of the program, an identification of the program and a deciphering key, the method comprising the steps of: read from the content portion the program identification and the decryption key; read from an authorization means an encrypted identification of the program and a date and time window, - decrypt, using the decryption key, the identification of the program and the date and time window P1536 / 97MX of the means of authorization, - compare the decrypted identification of the program and the time window with respectively the identification of the program read from the content portion and a time maintained by the player; and if both comparisons indicate an equalization, allow the operation of the reproducer to reproduce the pre-recorded medium. 34. A player to play pre-recorded video media, each medium that has recorded in it the identification of the program in the encrypted form, a portion of contents that includes the pre-recorded contents of the video program, and a decryption key, the player comprising: a reading portion of the pre-recorded medium; a control portion connected to the reader of the means for receiving therefrom the decryption key and the program identification of the medium, a reading circuit adapted to read an authorization means having the identification of the program and a date window and time written on it in the encrypted form, - a decoder connected to the reading circuit and to the control portion, uses the decryption key to decrypt the encrypted identification of the program and the P1536 / 97MX date and time window to provide the identification of the program and the time window in the deciphered form; a first comparator connected to the decoder and to the control portion, which thus compares the decoded identification of the program to the program identification of the content portion, - a clock, - a second comparator connected to the decryptor and the clock, which compares in this way the deciphered date and the time window at a time indicated by the clock; and a logic circuit connected to the first and second comparators, which provides a signal that allows the reproduction of the program contents of the pre-recorded medium if both comparators indicate an equalization. 35. A video disc, comprising: a portion of contents, optically recorded that includes pre-recorded video material and an initialization region, the initialization region that includes a data decryption key, a program identification that identifies the material pre-recorded video, and an indication of reproduction authorization; and a magnetic track, the magnetic track which is in a predetermined location on the disk in relation to the portion of optically recorded contents, the magnetic track which includes sufficient area to cover a P1536 / 97MX recording of the identification of the program and a number of the particular player. 36. A pre-recorded video disc, previously authenticated, comprising: an optically recorded content portion including a region of pre-recorded video material and an initialization region, the initialization region including a data decryption key, an identification of the program that identifies the pre-recorded video material, and an indication of reproduction authorization; and a magnetic track region, the magnetic track which is at a predetermined location on the disk in relation to the portion of optically recorded contents, the magnetic track includes sufficient area to encompass a recorded identification of the program and a number of the particular player. 37. A cassette of video tape, comprising: a cassette housing, - a length of video tape mounted on two pins inside the housing, - where recorded on the tape, in addition to the pre-recorded video material, is a data decryption key and a program identification of the pre-recorded video material; and fixed to one of the two locations, selected P1536 / 97MX of a group consisting of an exterior of the housing and one end of one of the bolts, is a magnetic recording track of sufficient area to encompass a recording of the identification of the program and a number of the particular player. P1536 / 97MX