1st December 2010
Nagra Media PRM: Content Protection Beyond the Set-Top Box
In a world of TV ‘anytime, anyplace and anywhere’, consumers expect to access content seamlessly across different devices, without being limited by digital rights management (DRM) issues.
Whether on a PC or TV, once a consumer has paid for content, they want to be able to view it at any time, from anywhere and on any device. As a result, a number of service providers are reviewing their set-top box (STB) strategies and moving towards a media gateway – including PCs and portable media players – within the home for more flexible viewing experiences.
To address this new dynamic, we’ve developed the NAGRA Media PRM (Persistent Rights Management) solution, a versatile content protection framework that goes beyond the STB. It enables innovative multiscreen content consumption, distribution and monetisation models for operators – all without compromising security.
For digital TV (DTV) service providers that want to enrich their offerings and increase customer retention, it creates a ‘portable’ experience by securely delivering on-demand content to PCs through the Internet (TV-to-PC). It also creates a home domain experience for sharing content across devices, enabling service providers to monetise content while honouring the rights of everyone in the content value chain.
The Nagra Media PRM’s security software is integrated with the Nagra Media Player (NMP) for open devices such as PCs, tablets and phones - a virtual STB which is an extension of our hybrid video-on-demand (VOD) solution. The combination of PRM and NMP enables a seamless user experience and consistent content delivery across multiple devices, while video can be delivered over the Internet through adaptive streaming and progressive download.
An increasing number of service providers are using the Nagra Media PRM including Canal Plus in France, Cyfra+ in Poland, HOT in Israel, Mediaset in Italy and BGCTV in China. The solution also won ‘Best Content Protection Technology’ at the 2010 Cable & Satellite International Awards.
Not just another DRM solution
Nagra Media PRM is more than just a DRM solution. It allows operators to control content consumption and distribution through a single solution which can be configured for multiple devices. The result is dynamic, multi-device content protection for a variety of services including Over-the-Top (OTT), on-demand, storage and playback on a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), and secure content propagation within a managed home domain. For example, for streamed or pull and push VOD, pre-encrypted content is delivered to the video server regardless of the type of content delivery network (CDN) in place. For DVR recording and playback, live content is re-scrambled and stored on the hard disk drive (HDD), controlled by PRM.
State-of-the-Art Security
Nagra currently secures content delivered to more than 133 million active smart cards and devices and has capitalized on more than 15 years of experience in security research, design, testing, monitoring and counter-measures to develop the Nagra Media PRM product. What’s more, the Nagra Media PRM addresses both hardware security enabled devices and open devices and its robustness rules are certified by the Nagra Advanced Security Certification program (NASC).
Advanced Functionality
While the initial deployments of PRM have been focusing on protecting VOD and DVR content, PRM recent and upcoming releases have introduced several key functionalities such as:
- Advanced DVR usage rules that enable operators to offer choice and convenience to users in the way they want to consume content
- Support for a home domain to enable users to share content across authorised devices
- DVR content updating to enable users to move content storage from one STB to another
- Support for open devices (PCs) to enable operators to securely offer and protect
content beyond the STB.
All were designed to enable operators to offer choice and convenience to their subscribers in the way they want to consume and share content, while providing the technology to securely offer and protect content beyond the STB.
With Nagra Media PRM, service providers can overcome the DRM issues of providing a true TV everywhere experience. So sit back, relax and enjoy TV - wherever you are!
For more information:
NAGRA Media PRM
