Method and system for distributing media data

摘要

A method of distributing multimedia data across a network comprising a server terminal 101 storing multimedia data, a server-dependent (or server-controlled) data processing device 105 and a user terminal 109 remote from the server, comprises the steps of; associating with the server-dependent device a user identifier of a user operating the user terminal; the server receiving a request 110 for multimedia data from the user terminal; encrypting or scrambling this data and communicating 104 the encrypted data to the server-dependent device; and storing the encrypted data at the server-dependent device. The server-dependent device may then decrypt the data and reproduce 108 the media for the user. The server-dependent device may be a closed, proprietary device configured for minimal user interaction and for preventing user access to its components, device file system and the encrypted media data. This method may be a form of digital rights management (DRM). The encryption and decryption step may use a unique registration key associated with the user identifier.