HDCP Solution: Discretix High Bandwidth Content Protection (DxHDCP)

Hardware-assisted link protection for media streams over wired and wireless interfaces, optimzed for mobile devices

The Changing Home Entertainment Market

The multitude of innovative connected devices capable of vivid and clear HD content has had a major impact on today's home entertainment market. Smartphones, tablets, connected TVs, hybrid set-top boxes (STB) and game consoles are driving the need for easy-to-use, cross-device and secured premium content sharing solutions. In particular, consumers would like to display mobile device content on large TV screens and/or view STB content on their mobile devices.

High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP)

To meet this demand, high-bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP) – a link protection scheme developed by Digital Content Protection LLC (DCP) – is designed to prevent the replication of content in motion. HDCP allows a transmitting device (source) to authenticate and authorize the receiving device (sink), ensuring that digital audio and video content cannot be copied as it moves across devices.

HDCP is used in various standards that require protected transmission of audiovisual content, among which are: DiiVA™, WirelessHD™, WiGig™, WHDI™, 802.11ac/d and WFD™. HDCP is adopted widely by both home CE appliances (sinks) as well as mobile devices (sources). HDCP is designed to protect the transmission of audiovisual content between an HDCP transmitter and one or more HDCP receivers as well as optional repeaters. HDCP allows up to four levels of HDCP repeaters and as many as 32 total HDCP devices in a single setup.

Discretix HDCP System Overview

Discretix' HDCP2.x incorporates the DCP's strict robustness requirements, while meeting the power and performance attributes of embedded environments. The Discretix HDCP2.x solution is available for open environments (e.g. Android based machines) as well as "closed" environments based on real-time operating systems.

Both environments require high security know-how and expertise. In addition, in order to follow strict robustness requirements and prevent possible security breaches, open environments also require the HDCP2.x solution to be partitioned between the TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) and the HLOS (High Level OS). By utilizing Discretix' seamless communications mechanism, the user is free to practice intuitive application development in a rich HLOS user-space environment without compromising the security and robustness requirements.

The Discretix HDCP2.x solution utilizes the local platform's available TEE and security peripherals: secure storage, cryptographic engines, secure boot and secure content / control path.

The Discretix HDCP2.x system is proficiently built to utilize services offered by local platforms while accommodating any platform deficiencies. It is able to accomplish this by utilizing Discretix' optional hardware and firmware building blocks to boost performance and security. A dedicated HDCP hardware co-processor can be deployed in open systems without a TEE.

The Discretix HDCP2.x system was designed by top security experts and industry veterans. In addition to covering security breaches which are out of the HDCP2.x standard scope, the system also handles key production-level use cases to assure hassle-free deployment.

Block Diagram

Core Components of the HDCP Solution

The HDCP link protection system is comprised of three elements:

• The authentication protocol, through which the HDCP transmitter verifies that a given HDCP device is authorized to receive HDCP content.
• The encryption scheme, whereby encrypted HDCP content is transmitted between the two devices based on shared secrets established during the authentication protocol. This prevents eavesdropping mechanisms from utilizing the content.
• The renewability mechanism which enables an HDCP transmitter to identify compromised devices and prevents the transmission of HDCP content in such events.