GPS TV set top box with regional restrictions

A video signal access control system comprising a customer access control operable at a customer location and having:

• a signal input to recieve at least one video signal from a remote source;
• a video signal processor operably connected to receive video signals from the signal input;
• a conditional accesser operably connected to the video signal processor;
• a signal output operably connected to the video signal processor and providing a useable video output signal only upon the conditional accesser authorzing access to one or more video signals from the remote source;
• a GPS signal receiver operable at the customer location to receive position information from remote sources and operably connected to the conditional accesser, the conditional accesser authorizing access only if the GPS signal receiver receives signals consistent with the customer access control being at an authorized location;
• and
• a region comparer to compare a region code received with the at least one video signal from the remote source with a region index stored at the customer location and operable to output a region comparer output, the region code being representative of a geographic region authorized to receive a signal and the region index being representative of a geographic region of the customer access control, there being different region codes for different geographic regions, at least some of the region codes excluding access outside of their corresponding geographic region that is authorized to receive a signal;
• and
• wherein the conditional accesser receives the region comparer output and conditions access to a given one(s) of the video signals from the remote source upon the region comparer output indicating that those given one(s) of the video signals are authorized for an access region of the customer access control;
• and wherein the access region of the customer access control is an access region in which the customer access control is actually located as sensed by use of the GPS signal receiver and the region index represents the region in which the customer access control is actually located.

A video signal access control system comprising a customer access control operable at a customer location at which one or more customers may be located and having:

• a signal input to receive at least one video signal from a remote source;
• a video signal processor operably connected to receive video signals from the signal input;
• a conditional accesser operably connected to the video signal processor;
• a signal output operably connected to the video signal processor and providing a useable video output signal only upon the conditional accesser authorizing access to one or more video signals from the remote source;
• a GPS signal receiver operable at the customer location to receive position information from remote sources and operably connected to the conditional accesser, the conditional accesser authorizing access only if the GPS signal receiver receives signals consistent with the customer access control being at an authorized location;
• and
• a region comparer to compare a region code received with the at least one video signal from the remote source with a region index stored at the customer location and operable to out put a region comparer output, the region code being representative of a geographic region authorized to receive a signal and the region index being representative of a geographic region of the customer access control, there being different region codes for different geographic regions, at least some of the region codes excluding access outside of their corresponding geographic region that is authorized to receive a signal;
• and
• wherein the conditional accesser receives the region comparer output and conditions access to a given one(s) of the video signals from the remote source upon the region comparer output indicating that those given one(s) of the video signals are authorized for an access region of the customer access control;
• wherein the conditional accesser authorizes access to signals known as regional signals provided that the region comparer output indicates that the video signals are authorized for the access region of the customer access control;
• and wherein the conditional accessor is operable to prevent customers at the customer location from accessing video signals having region codes that exclude access in the access region in which the customer access control is located.