VCAS for Internet TV

Proliferation of video services over the Internet and mobile networks presents both threats and opportunities, pushing pay-TV operators to improve service offerings and operations to meet rapidly rising subscriber expectations. The Verimatrix VCAS architecture offers security convergence that addresses this new marketplace with a proactive revenue security and enhancement approach targeted at digital TV operators with IPTV, Hybrid, DVB or Mobile network architectures. VCAS integrates protection techniques for these managed networks with standards-based security for Internet TV delivery, using adaptive bitrate streaming protocols, to PCs and Macs, smart phones and tablets, and smart TVs/STBs.

VCAS for Internet TV, powered by the multi-network VCAS platform, provides a complete multi-screen security solution for OTT services over networks implementing the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, including both live (broadcast) and video-on-demand content delivery. HLS, a form of adaptive rate streaming, provides automatic bit-rate adaptation to allow a common video stream URL to be shared between devices that have different screen resolutions, processing power and available network bandwidth. This ensures the best possible viewing experience for any given combination of these parameters, even when devices roam between networks.

VCAS for Internet TV enhances the basic HLS security model with capabilities that support subscription and transaction based pay-TV services. In particular, VCAS ensures that decryption keys are kept safe and distributed to authorized clients only. The software-based solution is built on proven cryptographic and secure electronic transaction concepts used in e-commerce applications, providing the same high level of digital TV security that Verimatrix is recognized for in 400+ IPTV deployments.

The Verimatrix ViewRight Web client supports mass-market CE devices enabled for HLS:

• ViewRight Web for PC and Mac
• ViewRight Web for iPhone OS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch)
• ViewRight Web for Android OS
• ViewRight Web for STB (incl. Smart TVs)

HLS is ideally suited to the challenges of mobile video and Internet TV:

• Open standard allowing tight integration of the technology into VCAS head-end and client devices
• Use of H.264 codecs and MPEG-2 Transport Stream format enables straightforward integration into existing pay-TV head-ends
• Adaptation to local bandwidth and screen types for optimized user experience
• Highly scalable with multiple network support: broadband, 3G/4G, Wi-Fi, etc.

Verimatrix offers a rapidly growing ecosystem including pre-integrations with leading encoding and streaming server vendors, and CE platforms.

VCAS for Internet TV can be deployed either as a standalone solution for dedicated OTT services, or as part of a multi-network solution including IPTV, DVB, Hybrid, and other network topologies under a unified VCAS security head-end. Furthermore, the VCAS MultiRights™ framework enables secure content distribution to off-the-shelf CE and mobile devices with native media players and non-Verimatrix DRM clients (e.g. Silverlight/PlayReady).

Uniquely, VCAS features domain-based entitlement management across VCAS and third-party DRMs (VCAS Super Domains), enforcing domain size or explicit device membership rules. Specifically, when content is entitled to a domain (as opposed to a device), it is automatically available to all the super domain’s devices, whether IPTV, DVB, HLS or third-party DRM clients managed under the MultiRights framework.