A secure transcoder assembly features a secure data path where the related crypting and coding functions are secured in the secure data path. More specifically, during transcoding the ingress (received) encrypted video data is decrypted and copied from application memory (that is accessible to the application processor) to secure memory (that is inaccessible to the application processor) by security processor(s). Once in the secured memory, this video data is transcoded. The video data, now in its transcoded form, is re-encrypted by the security processor(s) during the transfer back to application memory for egress (continued transmission). The mode for the re-encrypting may be managed by the application processor via a crypto API, and the application processor may further feature an opaque handle on the data when it is passed to the secure region.