HbbTV has announced a new DRM integration specification.
Approved by the HbbTV Steering Group at its latest meeting, the specification aims to formalise the predictable and reliable use of Digital Rights Management (DRM) in HbbTV implementations and services. The specification is particularly applicable for applications approaching the complexity and protection requirements of VoD platforms.
Building on the experience of HbbTV’s DASH-DRM Reference Application, the specification formalises the network integration of widely-used DRM systems, notably Microsoft PlayReady and Google Widevine.
HbbTV/DRM integration has previously been used on an ad-hoc basis. With increasing importance of premium content and requirements for content to be secured, a fully specified, interoperable DRM integration at the heart of the HbbTV standard has become necessary, said the organisation. The new specification enables a harmonised approach across the whole ecosystem.
Vincent Grivet, chair of the HbbTV Association, commented, “Over the past few years, we have observed that advanced HbbTV services often ran into technical challenges due to incomplete integration between HbbTV and DRM, even though most connected TVs already supported DRM at the device level. This new specification provides predictability and reliability for the proper functioning of HbbTV applications in association with DRM, enabling our ecosystem to meet growing usage and more sophisticated HbbTV applications delivering advanced TV services.”
The specification is expected to be adopted by broadcasters, platform operators and manufacturers in future product cycles. It can be found on the HbbTV website.
