The ongoing digitization of Pay-TV networks in Latin America presents service operators with new opportunities for revenue and subscriber growth, as well as presenting challenges in the security technology to be used for new content.
By Bo Ferm*
Pay-TV operators need to carefully consider their digitization and multi-screen strategies in a context of content and revenue security. Therefore, protecting content in a multi-network world is key to taking care of the income associated with subscribers.
One of the main components of Pay-TV is the set-top box. Today, modern set-top boxes possess a powerful processor that can rival personal computers. Some have IP connectivity and operators can add Video on Demand (VOD) and interactive services using broadband networks.
In fact, modern set-top boxes are perfectly capable of supporting security features using a combination of software and security features built into their processors. While smart cards remain a viable technology for one-way networks, cardless security offers financial and technological benefits that must be thoroughly explored before choosing the technology to use.
The cardless security of modern set-top boxes can consist of a low-cost box with highly obfuscated software-based security, or it can be made up of a sophisticated system-on-a-chip (SOC) with built-in security features that enable the strongest and most impenetrable Pay-TV security possible today. The result is a highly secure environment that cannot be penetrated by the tools traditionally used by smart card pirates.
Advantages of cardless security
First of all, a secure SOC solution, such as the one offered by Verimatrix, solves "word control" hacking. In traditional conditional access (CA) systems, Word Control (encoding key content) transits in the clear between the smart card and the video decoder in the box.
Hackers can intercept the key and share it with other subscribers (without paying) over the internet. Thus, a hacked set-top box can act as a "server" for many users to steal Pay-TV services. In the secure environment of the SOC, the key is never exposed outside the protected area and therefore this threat of hacking is overcome.
The renewal of security subsystems is a clear advantage in a landscape where threats and business opportunities change rapidly, making cardless security an attractive option. Content security is an arms race against pirates, so security must be renewable.
Cardless security, in combination with SOC security technology, offers flexible renewal options, allowing pay-TV operators to stay one step ahead. Threats can be countered by over-the-air updates.
Cardless security also has the advantage of having lower CAPEX and OPEX costs, resulting in a more favorable total cost of ownership profile. In addition, the cardless security strategy supports the transition from analog to digital while laying the groundwork for future delivery to PC/Mac, game consoles, smart phones and connected tablets and TVs.
Adding IP-based distribution
Early representations of multi-network architectures referred to the combination of IP networks managed with DVB cable and satellite delivery. Today, there is a shift in content distribution in which distribution over managed DVB and IPTV networks are combined with the distribution of OTT services.
This evolution has been driven by the introduction of adaptive bitrate streaming (ABS) protocols, which provide quality OTT video services. The ABS delivery method takes advantage of what the Web does best – the massive delivery of data in an efficient and scalable way, in this case video – using the HTTP protocol. ABS is also particularly suitable for mobile content distribution, as it replaces the quality of service (QoS) concept of managed fixed networks in favour of an improved consumer experience.
The focus on quality of experience (QoE) is particularly important given that a pleasant TV experience has traditionally been supported on a controlled network. The ABS HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, originally defined by Apple, is well positioned to respond to quality of experience challenges.
HYBRID DVB+OTT distribution
Leveraging HLS enables new hybrid video service architectures and new business models, and offers a fast and cost-effective route to adding OTT and interactive services on pay-TV networks that were once one-way only. Therefore, a new generation of multi-network architectures is born: DVB+OTT Hybrid.
For cable and satellite operators this means deploying DVB services in combination with HLS video delivery, which requires neither an agreement with broadband internet service providers (ISPs), nor a large investment in infrastructure. Operators can take advantage of the DVB base by adding OTT video distribution over consumers' broadband links, with "meet and match" services on a hybrid DVB+OTT set-top box with a unified navigation program.
Of course, cable operators with two-way infrastructure can act as video broadcasters and ISPs, providing them with a technical and commercial competitive advantage in consumer relations.
HLS is particularly attractive to DVB operators serving as a generalized support provider for both standards, simplifying the implementation process while also facilitating the development of new business models and increasing revenue security. Standardization is making great progress within the DVB Project and the MPEG-DASH Industry Forum.
Protecting hybrid DVB+OTT video services
When the goal is hybrid DVB+OTT distribution, developing a comprehensive content security strategy is of paramount importance. In addition to providing state-of-the-art DVB cardless security, Verimatrix also provides secure HLS key management and other security techniques, such as ipTV solution in order to protect both content and service revenue.
This includes device authentication and secure rights management, to ensure that client devices belong to paying customers, i.e. only bona fide subscribers are able to view the protected content. After a specific content is chosen by the consumer, a simultaneous operation occurs to obtain the keys needed to decrypt the video.
Using a combination of DVB and HLS provides operators with an ideal environment to deploy hybrid set-top boxes with a unified security regime. The resulting hybrid service provision is fully protected.
Looking to the future
Aspiring pay-TV operators should ultimately strive to adopt a CA/DRM system that can serve as a unified security platform for revenue from services intended to reach multiple screens across multiple networks.
They want a solution that can leverage the best of encryption, conditional access, digital rights management, and watermark video techniques to dynamically apply the appropriate security for each service, regardless of what the distribution network is, and no matter what type of device is used to access it. In fact, rights management and subscriber management for different DRM systems from a unified security is the ultimate goal.
A unified digital TV security system is a vital ingredient for Pay-TV operators looking to expand their service profiles to meet contractual protection and service obligations. A single security authority, offering multi-layered protection, enables the creation and development of new business models.
*Bo Ferm is the Director of Product Marketing for Verimatrix.
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