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solution from different parties,
making it impossible for any
one party to take full liability.
3. Legacy STBs that contain no
HWRoT or an inaccessible
HWRoT, which can still be
secured using a software-only
security client, which is
inherently less secure.
4. Open CE devices, which must
implement secure player
technologies that include
security features like
individualisation, obfuscation,
anti-tampering and device
revocation.
It is therefore critical that service
providers choose flexible, capable
technology partners that can provide
the highest level of security available
on any device in order to protect
their revenues and ensure content
provider requirements are met.
3. ‘Enhanced Content’ (Ultra
HD, HDR) Is Coming and It’s
Driving Increased Security
Requirements
New levels of security tied to
licensing of high-value content will
have a major impact on future payTV service provider technology
choices. Hollywood studios are
imposing higher security
requirements for the licensing of
Enhanced Content movies,
meaning those delivered in Ultra
HD, HD HDR and/or very early
release windows.
MovieLabs, the research and
development joint venture started
by the six major motion picture
studios, has published new content
security ECP requirements (1) that
include some of the factors set out
in Figure 1 and other measures;
some of which have not
traditionally been part of the typical
multiscreen pay TV paradigm.
The need to accommodate the
ECP security requirements is
imminent, as evidenced by the pace
of preparations for expanded Ultra
HD services across the pay TV and
OTT sectors. While considerable
uncertainty remains as to what the
standards will be for ECP services,
including the extent to which High
Dynamic Range (HDR)
technologies will become part of the
equation, a higher-than-anticipated
pace of penetration of Ultra HD TV
sets has triggered Ultra HD service
rollouts on the part of Netflix,
Amazon and other OTT suppliers
as well as a handful of pay-TV
service providers. (2)
Incorporating these
requirements along with the other
MovieLabs-recommended
measures into the next-generation
content protection systems has now
become a top priority for multinetwork service providers, and
must be considered for both
broadcast, multicast and OTT
content. Having to ensure that
multiple content protection
schemes comply to new
requirements can represent a
significant overhead to new ECPrelated projects. On the other hand,
having a Hollywood-trusted
strategic security partner and a
unified security client that
addresses all of these requirements
at once can provide a major
reduction in complexity, cost and
time to market for service
providers.
4. Efficiently Supporting Open
CE Devices Is Critical to
Success
As consumers increasingly expect
to be able to use their own devices
to consume pay TV services,
operators are faced with both a
great opportunity as well as a
dilemma regarding security. They
are forced to either support the
built-in DRM schemes available in
some devices, or must deploy
software application-based security
in the form of secure players.
Regardless of the approach chosen,
there are still several challenges to
face:
l How to securely leverage
Connected TVs without
requiring additional hardware,
enabling new pay-TV business
models and joint promotion
with TV manufacturers.
l How to securely enable as
many use cases over as many
networks to as many devices as
possible, all using a single
security client while
remembering that broadcast –
still very relevant to consumers
– is not supported by
traditional DRM schemes.
l How to achieve maximum
device reach without giving up
control to ‘platform DRMs’ such
as PlayReady, Fairplay and
Widevine, who are not as
responsive to pay-TV service
provider needs as operatorcentric content security
solutions. An independent
secure player is therefore
preferable whenever possible in
order to ensure that the
operator stays in charge of their
own technology destiny and has
maximum control and vendor
support.
Service providers therefore need a
strategic, pay-TV-centric security
partner who will help them achieve
maximum device reach, maximum
control over their own technology
roadmap, maximum
responsiveness in case of breach,
and maximum efficiency in
operating their content security.
Conclusion
New developments impacting the
traditional pay-TV business have
generated much confusion among
pay-TV service providers over how
best to adjust to the new trends. As
(1) MovieLabs Specification for Enhanced Content Protection Version 1.1
(2) ScreenPlays, Holding Back on UHD Services Not a Good Option for MVPDs, February 2015
first-generation solutions have
become increasin