TECH CORNER

Introducing the NAGRA Media PLAYER

There’s no doubt that over-the-top (OTT) or internet-delivered content is here to stay. To remain in the game, broadcasters must compete with pure OTT providers by making their set-top boxes ’hybrid’. This means that by plugging in an Ethernet line, or connecting to Wi-Fi, the set-top box can receive video-on-demand (VOD), catch-up and other offerings alongside standard broadcast content.

When broadcasters consider OTT offerings they also want to deliver these services to traditional OTT devices, such as the PC, mobile devices and game consoles. These devices do not have a smart card slot, nor a secure embedded root of trust. This is the reason why we’re introducing the NAGRA Media PLAYER.

We already have all the necessary components to provide hybrid solutions to set-top boxes. These include:

• Content Management Systems (CMS) for defining and managing assets
• A Service Delivery Platform (SDP) to deliver a catalogue of content, manage transactions and everything else needed for an interactive experience across multiple devices
• Persistent Rights Management (PRM) for the client and server security components to generate unique licences for each set-top box (STB), drawing on the Nagravision On-Chip Security (NOCS) hardware root of trust
• Middleware that abstracts the OS and chipset, integrates the security and provides a runtime environment for operator-specific client applications
• Client application with a range of styles to match the STB’s range of power

The NAGRA Media PLAYER is a virtual STB which is an extension of our existing hybrid VOD solution offering. The key advantages of NAGRA Media PLAYER are:

• One federated head-end (HE) to meet both broadcast and OTT requirements to deliver content to multiple devices – STB, conditional access module (CAM) and now the PC. The same interfaces and metadata are shared between all devices
• The same content that is managed and packaged by the CMS can flow to multiple devices, reducing current OTT operational complexity of managing multiple formats, containers and DRM (digital rights management)
• A consistent user experience – with NAGRA Media PLAYER the operator is control of the interactive user interface (UI), meaning it can have the same look, feel and branding as the STB (or not).

NAGRA Media PLAYER also adds a few key components:

• NAGRA Media PLAYER Client – a virtual STB for the PC
• UI Client Application – a reference application in HTML that can be customised
• NAGRA Media PLAYER Services – additional services for the SDP that manage security, authentication and software updates

Do existing media players already exist?

There are many media players, but few that are capable of providing truly premium content. Existing ones providing an alternative are offered by the four big OTT players, namely Apple, Adobe, Sony and Microsoft.

• Apple is providing is own closed vertically integrated solution which means it doesn’t provide any options for operators. Nagravision will support Apple’s adaptive streaming methods so we can extend operators’ offerings to Apple devices.
• Adobe’s strengths don’t lie in security but in Flash for the UI. Being mostly PC-focused, Adobe isn’t a viable hybrid strategy. For the NAGRA Media PLAYER we have chosen the open standard HTML5 (backed by Google and Apple) as we believe this will succeed in the long term over Flash.
• Sony offers more of a vertical solution like Apple, but has better video with the PlayStation game console and TV brands that are ready for the internet. While they do promote some interoperability, they don’t have an offering that operators can make the most of.
• Microsoft has the most viable hybrid offering because it has PC Players, an IPTV offering (Mediaroom), UI technology (Silverlight), DRM technologies (Playready, WMDRM), game consoles (Xbox) and is a technology provider to pure OTT service providers and device manufacturers. However, Microsoft also competes by running its own offerings with stores and devices.

The key difference with Nagravision is that we attack the problem from the operator’s perspective. Our technology is designed to support their business, not destroy it. We don’t compete with our customers, but strive to make them even more successful.

Hybrid application vs browser plug-in

NAGRA Media PLAYER is known as a ‘hybrid application’. It’s a download application with an embedded browser that combines the best of the web (interactivity and dynamic user interface) with the best of an application (persistent content and off-line functionality). It’s the same ‘model’ as the iTunes application from Apple. For example the web pages only communicate with the operator site, just as iTunes only communicates with the iTunes store. Note that NAGRA Media PLAYER is used for premium video content only – the iTunes analogy is limited – and doesn’t aggregate music and video in the home.

We believe this approach provides a much simpler controlled user experience that is closer to a TV experience with a guaranteed superb UI. This allows the operator to address their whole user population, not just the kids or geeks, while ensuring their brand and customer relationship is maintained.

With an embedded browser we can also see and make the most of next-generation HTML5. Currently only a few browsers support HTML5, so using a browser plug-in approach requires using the lowest common denominator UI.

There are other problems with a browser plug-in approach, the key one being security and persistence of downloaded data. Adobe and Microsoft support both a browser plug-in and downloaded application (eg Adobe AIR) to overcome these limitations. Browser plug-in approaches are also typically associated with web surfing and free content, not premium pay-TV and VOD.

A hybrid application with the support of HTML5 is the best long-term solution for paid content. Recently our strategy to use Webkit and HTML5 was confirmed by Steve Jobs in his piece titled “Thoughts on Flash”. Jobs has opted for open web standards of HTML5 and Javascript on the iPhone and iPad, citing Adobe Flash as proprietary, performance draining and the source of crashes.

How secure is it?

NAGRA Media PLAYER uses state-of-the-art technology and software renewability to ensure the keys, rules and content stay safe. We’ve developed our own white-box cryptography techniques to address the threat of finding and lifting keys from memory in an open device such as a PC. NAGRA Media PLAYER uses the same content encryption and processes as NAGRA Media PRM, except that it uses a soft-PRM instead of the STB version, which draws on Nagra On-Chips Security (NOCS) built into the hardware of all major chipsets.

NAGRA Media PLAYER also uses asymmetric keys and certificates to ensure all devices can be uniquely identified and authenticated by the server, allowing for server-side monitoring and counter measures to be taken. Since VOD and OTT offerings are two-way interactive solutions, some of the security is moved to the server. This isn’t possible in broadcast systems which clearly need a smart card. To manage the software security, authentication and monitoring, a new component called Nagra Media Player Services runs on the SDP.

Nagravision works closely with the studios who have indicated they will release premium content to the NAGRA Media PLAYER, similar to other PC solutions. This typically means 720p HD content, which is good enough depending on broadband speeds. Full 1080p HD content such as Blu-Ray has additional hardware requirements, including HDCP on the digital output, which is still not available on most PCs currently in use. We need a solution that is easy to use, not one that requires a new computer.

Summing up

NAGRA Media PLAYER is an extension to the Nagravision hybrid solution offering. NAGRA Media PLAYER allows premium content to securely flow to open devices such as the PC initially, with other devices being added in future.

The hybrid client application draws on HTML5 technologies and APIs to provide a leading edge and future proof approach. The server API used for NAGRA Media PLAYER to access the Nagra Media SDP is common across STBs and PCs and is in the process of moving to Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) standards.

While it’s initially a software-only solution which focuses on OTT pull VOD, the solution will also support broadcast content via a dongle in future.

NAGRA Media PLAYER is key enabler for operators to extend their brand and service offerings to OTT content and multiple devices, including the PC.

 

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NAGRA Media PLAYER