ACCESS CONTROL FOR PROTECTED AND CLEAR AV CONTENT ON SAME STORAGE DEVICE

摘要

A method and apparatus for storing both protected and clear data on a single storage device 34. The apparatus includes storage media 34 for storing digital material such as video, sound, pictures and text. The media is partitioned into protected 94 and unprotected areas 98. The apparatus further includes circuitry 10 for accessing, decrypting and encrypting data. This circuitry includes a controller 16 with associated ROM 18 for directing the controller 16 and communication ports 20 for connecting to a source of content 12 and a sink 14 for storage. The method includes partitioning a storage device into clear 98 and protected areas 94 and directing protected data to the protected area 94 and clear data to the clear area 98. One embodiment includes an encrypted directory in the protected area 94 and a conventional directory in the clear area 98.