Why Your Business Needs DRM Video
Protection: A Strategic Overview

by Aram Marno

30 October 2024

14 min read

In today's digital landscape, video content is a vital asset for many businesses, whether for subscription services, pay-per-view events, or exclusive media offerings. However, ensuring the security and integrity of this content can be challenging. While some streaming protocols offer encryption, such as HLSe, relying on encryption alone isn't sufficient for comprehensive protection. This is where Digital Rights Management (DRM) steps in, offering a more robust solution by combining encryption with secret encryption keys.

Why do I need DRM Video Protection ?

Revenue Protection: Video piracy remains a significant threat, particularly for subscription-based services and pay-per-view models. DRM can be a powerful tool to safeguard your revenue by preventing unauthorized access and distribution of your content. This not only protects existing revenue streams but also encourages businesses to explore new monetization models without the fear of piracy.

Compliance Assurance: For businesses dealing with over-the-top (OTT) video assets, DRM can be a critical component of compliance with content licensing agreements. Many content licenses mandate DRM streaming capabilities to protect intellectual property and adhere to legal standards. Without DRM, you risk limiting your content offerings or, worse, breaching copyright laws.

Enhanced Control: DRM provides media companies with the ability to control how and where their content is accessed. This includes limiting the number of devices that can view the content to prevent account sharing and offering exclusive content to increase perceived value. Such control helps in maintaining a premium experience for legitimate users and preserving the integrity of your content.

A DRM server is responsible for distributing DRM encryption keys to authorized parties

Implementing DRM: Key Components

Integrating DRM into your video streaming workflow involves updates across three primary components:

  • Content: Your video assets need to be transcoded, encrypted, and packaged in formats that are compatible with the DRM technologies you plan to implement. This ensures that your content is protected from unauthorized access.
  • Player: The video player must be capable of communicating with a license server to request and receive decryption keys. Depending on the platforms you support, this might require different players or configurations.
  • License Server: This server is crucial for managing decryption requests. Every time content is accessed, the player will request a key from the license server, which authenticates and provides the necessary decryption information.

Popular DRM Systems

Potential Challenges with DRM

Before implementing DRM, it's important to consider potential challenges:

  • Viewer Experience: The addition of DRM can introduce additional steps in the playback process, potentially leading to longer license requests, increased latency, or even video playback issues.
  • Compatibility: DRM doesn't follow a universal schema, meaning videos must be transcoded for various DRM systems. Although major systems cover a wide range of devices, some lower-resolution devices might still face playback issues.

Additional Security Measures

In addition to DRM, consider these extra layers of protection:

  • Encryption : At Cadjin, your content is secured via strict encryption using various protocols including HLS, to ensure seamless viewing experiences in a protected environment.
  • License Key Protection (LKP): Safeguards decryption keys from unauthorized access.
  • Dynamic Delivery Rules: Customize content quality based on device capabilities, ensuring optimal delivery and protection.
  • Fallback HDCP: Allows devices to play content at a quality level they support, protecting higher-quality renditions from being accessed on incompatible devices.
  • Forensic Watermarking: Embeds invisible watermarks in your videos to trace and identify the source of leaks, providing an additional layer of security and accountability. For example, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences utilizes Cadjin forensic watermarking to enhance security measures and protect intellectual property, as noted by Bev Kite, their Chief Information Officer.

By incorporating DRM and these additional security measures, businesses can better protect their video content, ensure compliance, and enhance their revenue protection strategies.

The Cadjin Universal Player provides a single HTML5-based runtime that wraps multiple, underlining Chrome-less player engines. This enables a single player to deliver DRM playback with different underlining playback technologies. Cadjin is always committed towards video security and its customers can be assured that we're taking every precaution to support their growth and success. plays a major role in the market. It supports all types of music streaming, whether it is royalty-free, copyright-oriented or even live music.

Go for a 14-day Free Trial to know more about the secure and smooth video streaming at Cadjin.