verimatrix_v 03/10/2014 03:04 Page 1
The Future of Pay TV
Steve Christian, VP
of marketing,
Verimatrix,
recommends six
steps to navigating
the future of pay-TV
revenue security.
he marketplace has now clearly
established that cardless
security solutions based on
software and IP technologies
represent the new state-of-the-art for
pay-TV operator deployments.
Progressive pay-TV operators are
taking full advantage of this
development as they work to launch
new premium service delivery
options, including UHD/4K content.
At any such point of inflection in the
industry, it is a logical time for operators to
revisit the priorities and future options of
their video security strategies. The
introduction of UHD services, combined
with more dynamic IP and hybrid network
services, provide a commercial incentive to
optimise revenue security while reducing
operational costs. Taking a comprehensive
multi-network revenue security approach
today, as advocated in the six areas below,
can provide flexibility and scalability for
next-generation video operators to meet
their future growth goals, while also
providing greater agility and efficiency
within the existing pay-TV delivery
infrastructure.
The introduction of UHD video formats
presents unique revenue security
challenges. Addressing these challenges,
MovieLabs’ Specifications for Next
Generation Video and Enhanced Content
Protection offer a framework for properly
protecting higher value services, including
UHD content.
The requirements of this approach
outline some key security strategies,
including authenticating and verifying each
client device, and a capability to revoke
devices when necessary. The combination of
T
14 ContentSecurity
a secure system-on-aChip (SoC) with an
embedded immutable
identity and
cryptographic subsystem
mechanisms is
particularly attractive as
a foundation for such
features.
Perhaps the most
significant addition to
the range of expected security mechanisms
is the application of forensic watermarking.
A watermark offers a valuable tool for
identifying not only the demographics of
redistribution attacks, but also any possible
security perimeter weaknesses.
The main benefit of watermarking is its
ability to track a piece of content’s origins,
and where it is consumed. Furthermore, if
the content is used beyond the licensed use
case, such as illegally uploaded to the
Internet, detecting the forensic mark in the
video can identify the source of the content
such as the distributor, H \Hو \