REGION RESTRICTIVE PLAYBACK SYSTEM

摘要

DVD-Video discs and playback apparatuses are assigned a region code indicating one of six regions into which the world is divided, for the purpose of protecting copyrights of content such as movies and music. However, playback apparatuses exist that illegally circumvent the function of checking the region code of the disc with the region code of the playback apparatus.The present invention provides a region restrictive viewing/listening system that enables regionally restricted viewing/listening, thereby preventing playback apparatuses which circumvent region code checking from playing back content correctly. A content recording apparatus encrypts content, based on an internally-stored region code, and records the encrypted content to a recording medium. A content playback apparatus decrypts the content, based on an internally-stored region code, and plays back the content.