Home
July 08, 2011
Content security company Irdeto has taken over the licensing portfolio for BD+ from metadata and middleware provider Rovi, as of 7 July 2011. BD+ is the provisioned encryption system for Blu-ray Disc (BD), which is deployed in all BD players and on discs as determined by the content provider.
While BD+ is the major encryption and security layer on BD, it has nonetheless been hacked in every release to date. In doing so, BD content becomes open to piracy direct from disc, endangering the revenue stream for the studios. A key part of Irdeto's proposal is to reinforce BD+ by adding its proprietary key hiding software, ActiveCloak, to the BD+ specification. This could be made available to all BD players in the field via direct IP upload, or more likely by placing a firmware upgrade on to BD titles which are using the ActiveCloak/BD+ combined security.
The sale of one of Rovi's core licensing units sees it take a further step away from its previous role as global proprietary licensor of security protocols, and in doing so pushes it further into its new specialization dealing with metadata and user experiences. By contrast, Irdeto add a further licensing portfolio to their existing proprietary pay TV and broadcast security. However, BD+ makes a lot of sense in the context of recent product focuses on Cloakware and ActiveCloak, both additional security layers to DRM for IP distribution inside or to the home across different device types.
And BD+ introduces a very significant installed base of devices to Irdeto's reach. Including PS3, there are currently more than 100m BD players installed worldwide, each having contributed a license for technologies such as BD+. As well as future licenses which may pertain to disc prints, Irdeto can expect to see sales volumes of around 20m standalone BD players for the rest of 2011, and almost 60m units in 2012. This represents a significant market opportunity compared to the pay TV industry, where Irdeto ships around 2.5m middleware licenses per year and a further 20m smartcards for conditional access.
Tags:
