In the run-up to IBC, Adobe has announced a number of improvements in the digital rights management capabilities of their Adobe Primetime platform.
The company noted that its Primetime Digital Rights Management (DRM) offering is now available across apps on connected devices, including set top boxes, and via HTML5 on major web browsers.
It is also working with Intel, Broadcom and AMD to enable hardware-based DRM.
Hardware-based DRM is increasingly important as content creators make more HD and 4K content available on tablets, smartphones and desktops because the theft of those high resolution files could become the basis of widespread, very high quality pirated content.
Using a hardware based DRM system provides a much higher level of protection for content.
“Our technology collaboration with Adobe enables us to offer a hardware DRM solution that delivers a high level of content protection while preserving device performance,” said Christos Georgiopoulos, VP of Intel Corporation's Software and Services Group in a statement. “Content providers from broadcasters to Hollywood Studios are able to take advantage of Primetime DRM on hundreds of millions of Android and Windows-based devices that run on the latest Intel processors.”
Adobe also noted that it is the only non-browser vendor that offers a cross-platform DRM solution and that the Adobe Primetime DRM supports emerging HTML 5 standards.
In terms of new clients, Adobe announced that Netflix is the latest company to adopt their content protection technologies, which is used by over 100 major content providers worldwide.
“Ensuring the right balance of privacy and user control while letting our customers access their favorite content without hassle is an essential part of Netflix's success,” Anthony Park, VP of engineering at Netflix explained in a statement. “Adobe Primetime DRM in Firefox adds to the suite of DRM products we use which allow us to deliver great movies and TV shows to the PC and Mac.”
Those other clients include BBC Broadcasting, Comcast, HBO, Hulu, M6 France, NBC, Time Warner, Turner Broadcasting, Walmart (Vudu), Yahoo and others.
Finally Adobe noted that Adobe Primetime DRM has become a core component of the pay-TV industry’s Reference Design Kit (RDK) for online TV, a development that should open up new business.
The RDK is a pre-integrated software bundle that provides a framework for powering set-top boxes, gateways and other devices. It enables pay-TV service providers to standardize the deployment of content protection.
