Method and apparatus for accessing content protected media streams

A method for a content access device to access protected content in a protected media stream, the method comprising:

• receiving the protected media stream;
• identifying a digital right management (DRM) system of the protected content in the protected media stream dependent upon information carried in the protected media stream;
• determining if the identified DRM system is supported by the content access device;
• and
• recovering the protected content from the protected media stream dependent upon the identified DRM system if the identified DRM system is supported by the content access device.

A method for a content access device to access protected content in a protected media stream, the method comprising:

• for each selected content source of a plurality of content sources:
• receiving a protected media stream from the selected content source;
• identifying a digital rights management (DRM) system of the protected content in the protected media stream dependent upon information carried in the protected media stream;
• determining if the identified DRM system is supported by the content access device;
• and
• presenting, to a user of the content access device, a reference to the selected content source in a list of references, if the identified DRM system is supported by the content access device.

A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions that, when executed on a programmable processor of a content access device, provide a user with access to protected content in a protected media stream by:

• receiving the protected media stream;
• identifying a digital rights management (DRM) system of the protected content in the protected media stream dependent upon information carried in the protected media stream;
• determining if the identified DRM system is supported by the content access device;
• and
• recovering the protected content from the protected media stream dependent upon the identified DRM system if the identified DRM system is supported by the content access device.