Home Entertainment

Home entertainment has advanced rapidly, with gaming consoles, blue-ray players, digital set-top boxes (STB) and televisions, all supporting sophisticated applications and High Definition (HD) content. Embedded computing has revolutionized home entertainment with unprecedented levels of usability and convenience.

The improved resolution and superior sound quality of High Definition TV (HDTV) have redefined the television viewing experience. The penetration of HD content is growing rapidly and is readily available on a wide variety of storage and broadcast media. This high value content further escalates the threat of theft and unauthorized duplication, with disastrous consequences for content owners.

Gaming consoles offer a realistic and rich environment of interactive entertainment. With massive resources invested into the development of new titles and online communities, the gaming industry is keenly aware of the need for robust security. Security is used to protect the gaming titles from illegal copying, ensuring the use of authentic peripherals and cartridges, and protecting the hardware and software assets of device manufacture. In addition, security is used by service providers to ensure the identity of online gamers.

STBs are continuously expanding their role in home entertainment fast becoming a central media hub, capable to accessing, storing and distributing content from a variety of sources. New hybrid STBs support digital video broadcasting (DVB) and IP-based video. These devices allow subscribers to view, record and share digital cable programming as well as videos from the Internet or local IP network. As the role of STB expands so do the security requirements, moving from basic service protection to enabling a broader range of content monetization models.