As more and more video is distributed via mobile TV, content security is becoming an important factor for operators and content providers deploying a mobile video headend.
In response to this growing demand, Envivio has implemented ISMACryp as an option for our 4Caster™ M2 encoder for mobile TV. ISMACryp is the industry standard content protection system and part of both the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) BCAST specification and the DVB-H standard. The M2 encrypts streams after they are encoded and before they leave the appliance. Using a DVB Simulcrypt interface, the encryption keys are passed between the M2 and a DRM system that manages user authentication and key exchange to verified clients which then decrypt the streams to provide an end-to-end conditional access solution. This approach to encryption provides operators and content owners maximum security for their valuable assets. From the point of encode to the customer device the content is encrypted 100% of the time. In addition, by including encryption within the encoder, the 4Caster M2 removes the need for a hardware stream encryption appliance, offering immediate cost savings and freeing up valuable rack space in the headend.
Since the M2 does not provide the complete DRM solution and just the encryption of the streams, Envivio partners with all of the major DRM vendors to handle key management and decryption. After encrypting the streams in the encoder, the 4Caster M2 hands this protected content to a DRM partner’s Key Management System which provides the key management servers, the user authentication system and the decryption clients that are installed on the client devices.
Mobile operators around the globe are already taking advantage of the encryption module in the M2. Recently, Dream Satellite TV, a brand of Philippine Multimedia Systems Incorporated (PMSI), selected 4Caster M2 encoders for the first commercial deployment of DVB-H mobile TV services in the Philippines. PMSI plans to use both ISMACryp and SimulCrypt to secure content and provide subscriber access to its new mobile TV services. The M2’s ability to support both of these protocols was a key requirement for purchase. In the future, PMSI plans to offer pay-per-view channels in which these protocols will play a critical role in protecting revenues.
The encryption module option for the Envivio encoders also supports the 18Crypt SRTP standard as an alternative to ISMACryp and can export keys to multiple DRM solutions simultaneously for deployments that are using more than one DRM vendor. Find out more about the 4Caster M2 here.
