Exploring DRM: What is DRM-Protected Content and How It Works

Ensuring the security of media content is paramount for content creators and distributors, particularly in a landscape marked by technological advancements facilitating unauthorized access and usage. Safeguarding both your content and revenue streams is of utmost importance for the media and entertainment industry. To effectively address these challenges, Digital Rights Management (DRM) is the solution to guarantee secure digital content distribution.

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What is DRM?

Digital Rights Management, or DRM, uses a range of technologies and practices designed to protect digital content from unauthorized access, copying, sharing, and distribution. DRM safeguards copyrighted material across various digital domains, including music, videos, ebooks, software, and more.

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The primary objectives of DRM

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1. ‍Protecting Intellectual Property: DRM safeguards digital assets from piracy and unauthorized distribution, empowering content creators and rights holders.

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2. Controlled Access: DRM allows content owners to manage who can access and view their content, ensuring that only authorized users enjoy it.

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3. Monetization: DRM facilitates various business models like pay-per-view, subscription services, and digital downloads, enabling content creators to monetize their work.

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4. Usage Analytics: DRM systems offer usage insights, aiding content providers in understanding consumption patterns and making informed decisions. 

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DRM Components

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• Encryption and decryption: DRM relies on encryption to secure digital content, encoding it to make it accessible only to authorized users. Players can decrypt the content by requesting a license key from the DRM system through a DRM client integrated with the viewer’s device platform. 

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• License Management: DRM systems grant or deny access based on licenses, letting content owners define usage terms such as device limits and access duration .

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• Digital Watermarking: Some DRM systems use digital watermarking to embed invisible marks within content for traceability.

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• Access Control / Geoblocking: DRM enables content owners to restrict content access to specific regions or devices in compliance with licensing agreements.

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• Blackout Management using SCTI (Session Control and TelemetryIntegration): A sophisticated approach to handling content blackouts during live streaming or broadcast events. SCTI seamlessly integrates session control and telemetry data to enable real-time monitoring and management of blackout periods. This innovative solution provides broadcasters and streaming platforms with the ability to efficiently and precisely control which regions or users have access to specific content at any given time. By leveraging SCTI, content providers can ensure compliance with licensing agreements, regional restrictions, and blackout rules, delivering a more customized and secure viewing experience to their audiences while maintaining full control over content access.

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How Vimond supports DRM

Vimond Media Solutions leverages its strategic integrations with trusted partners to deliver best-in-class DRM solutions. Our commitment to excellence extends to our partner ecosystem, allowing us to provide a comprehensive suite of DRM services that cater to the unique needs of content creators and distributors. To explore and discover the perfect DRM partners for your specific requirements, you can utilize our Solution Builder, a powerful tool designed to match you with the ideal OTT solution providers. Furthermore, within Vimond VIA, our video Content Management System (CMS), we empower you with the easiest and most effective means to manage your assets. Vimond VIA streamlines the entire process, ensuring your content remains secure and accessible to your desired audience.

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As there is no common DRM technology that can serve all platforms, The VIA platform of course has multi-DRM support for all the major DRM technologies. We support Google Widevine for protected playback on such platforms as Android, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, as well as Microsoft PlayReady commonly used on Windows, Edge, and console devices / smart TVs. Naturally we also support Apple FairPlay DRM, allowing protected playback on Apple devices such as the iPhone, Apple TV and the Safari browser on Mac. Exactly which restrictions you refer to, which content is also configurable based on profiles, and of course VIA also supports a content catalog which mixes both DRM-protected and clear content. Based on your requirements and chosen provider in the Solution Builder, Vimond VIA can also support multi-key DRM where different variants and stream types are encrypted with separate keys.

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In Conclusion

In the digital era, protecting digital content is non-negotiable. DRM, with its multi-faceted approach to content protection, is a must for content creators and distributors. By partnering with Vimond Media Solutions, you can secure your content and protect your intellectual property.