To provide a packet transmitting apparatus which transmits a content protected with a content protection technique such as DTCP in the form of packets which are widely used, such as IP packets, and which is capable of providing diverse EPG information. Metadata of an A/V stream is utilized to control the output mode, encryption mode, and/or addition of an encryption information header of contents such as video, audio, and data contained in the stream (407). This secures interconnection compatibility between a packet transmitting apparatus and a packet receiving apparatus while maintaining secrecy (414). When a content received through digital television broadcasting is used as an A/V stream, a channel is selected from a full transport stream which is received through broadcasting (409) so as to extract and form a partial transport stream for use (410). EPG information can be selected not only from SI information contained in a digital broadcasting signal but from a plurality of information sources, such as EPG-dedicated channels and the Internet (412).