Case Study > Conax DRM
Meeting the changing world of DRM
with open flexible solutions
Columbus Communications is one of the leading multiservice operators in the Caribbean region, offering
triple play services to Barbados, Curaçao, Grenada,
Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Trinidad and
Tobago. Columbus Communications is part of the
Columbus group, which serves over 700K customers
with video, voice, and data services.
Columbus offers broadcast, OTT and multiscreen
services to their customers, using a Conax Xtend
Multiscreen™ implementation that includes a
Conax-hardened PlayReady client for handling
DRM. This client supports the Microsoft Silverlight
browser plugin, enabling Columbus customers to
watch premium video content on any browser.
However, there will be significant changes to the
DRM world in the very near future, making the DRM
world more fragmented and complex.
Microsoft has already announced that they will
discontinue Silverlight in 2021. Google Chrome
is the first browser to phase out the NPAPI
plugin that is required for Silverlight to work, and
by September 2015, the Google Widevine DRM will
be the only supported DRM in Chrome. This means
that Chrome users will no longer be able to view
PlayReady-encrypted content via the browser.
Considering Chrome high penetration of the PC and
mobile browser market, depending on region, the
coming changes are going to be highly problematic
in general for many operators. Columbus has a
significant size customer base that use Chrome as
their default browser.
Continued smooth running of services and
continued freedom of choice
Conax knew they had to find a solution that would
ensure Columbus customers who use Chrome would
still be able to view content “as usual” once
Silverlight is completely phased out. Columbus nor
Conax want to force customers to switch browsers.
Forcing customers to migrate from their preferred
browser to another browser violates the freedom
of choice principle, where customers can choose
any browser on any device for watching video
content. This could also lead to customer dissatisfaction and churn. So to maintain freedom of choice
of browsers while ensuring that customers could still
watch premium video content using Chrome, Conax
put together a solution to resolve the upcoming
issues.
Conax approached Columbus and explained what
was about to happen to Chrome plugins like Silverlight, and presented them with a solution that adds
Widevine DRM and MPEG DASH support to
Columbus’s existing Conax Xtend Multiscreen™
platform. The solution was developed by Conax
and the following partners:
• Arris, who supplies the CDN.
• UXP, who supplies the frontend and the portal for Columbus.
The resulting multi-DRM solution uses the new
standards MSE and EME for playback of DRMencrypted video in HTML5, the new standard for
playing video on the Web without the need for
plugins. Using the unified security headend, Conax
Contego™ enables a unified configuration with
consistent DRM rules, so that operators and end
users don’t have to think about DRM.
This configuration does the following, and applies to
all types of content and works for all kinds of devices,
including iOS, Android, Windows, connected TVs,
media gateways, and hybrid STBs.
able to view video content on the browser of their
choice without the need for a plugin in Chrome or
Internet Explorer, giving a more user-friendly
viewing experience.
• Secures content on all devices
• Handles all key management and license
issuance
• Controls which customers get access to the service
• Verifies authorized devices to protect revenue stream and prevent account sharing
• Handles business models and content usage consistently across broadcast, OTT, and all devices
• Adapts easily to new devices and technologies
• Supports all major browsers, ensuring freedom of choice for customers.
Modular, open, and flexible solutions means easy
addition of future-proof DRM support
Conax Xtend Multiscreen™ is an all-encompassing
pre-integrated solution for broadcast TV, OTT and
multiscreen services that is modular, open, flexible,
and future- proof, enabling easy adaptation to
changes in technologies, devices, operations and
the overall market. Operators have the freedom to
add, change, and remove components as needed for
their operations without having to replace the entire
platform. They are not dependent on other vendors’
roadmaps, nor are they locked in to any particular
solution or technologies.
Conax provided UXP with an HTML5 video player
that supports MPEG DASH, Widevine, Play-Ready
and integrated this player into their existing portal.
Chrome users will thus have an MPEG DASH player
in HTML5, using Widevine from Conax Contego™.
Internet Explorer users will also have an MPEG DASH
player in HTML5, but using PlayReady instead of
Widevine.
The CDN receives an encrypted mezzanine file,
transmuxes and packages this content on-the-fly
to MPEG DASH, adds CENC from Widevine and PlayReady from Conax Contego™, and then distributes
the content to the user.
This solution will benefit Columbus in many ways.
The introduction of Common Encryption and MPEG
DASH is the first step for Columbus into a true
multi-DRM solution, where the same content and
profiles can be used across devices and browsers
with different DRMs. Columbus customers will be
Because of the modular, open, and flexible nature
of Conax Xtend Multiscreen™, Conax was easily able
to add support for the changes to Chrome for
Columbus, without having to change their whole
platform. With the evolving introduction and
standardization of EMEs in browsers, Conax will
continue adding support for additional DRMs.
Conax – your multi-DRM solutions provider
Conax strongly believes that the fragmented and
complex world of DRM should not limit operators’
device reach, workflow, or end user experience.
Conax has the expertise to enable partners to work
together to create the best future-proof content
security and multi-DRM solutions for your OTT and
multiscreen business needs. To learn more about
how we can help your operation, contact Conax at
info@conax.com.
Microsoft
Smooth Streaming
Encrypted
mezzanine
Encrypted
mezzanine
MPEG DASH
Widevine
PlayReady
HLS
MPEG DASH
Encoder
Generate DRM keys
for encryption
Origin server
Retrieving
CENC CDN
keys
CDN
Using ARRIS Spectrum
Delivery Controller (SDC)
Portal
Content authorisation and License issuance
TM
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Middleware