Motion Picture Association

Asia pacificTechnology Initiatives 2:
THE FUTURE OF DIGITALR

MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION

the future of digital2prefaceToday only 16% of movie revenues come from the cinema. The remaining whopping
84% stems from the home environment – via DVD and VCD, pay-TV and free-toair TV.
In Asia, as in other parts of the world, consumers are actively exploring digital andInternet platforms to watch TV and movies. Consumers want content delivery to be
fast, secure and reliable. They want quality content they can control and some ability
to network it within their homes, to their cars, mobile phones, or portable devices.
Content providers have an opportunity to deliver what consumers want. As such theeffective distribution of digital content in Asia is critical for the entire industry. MPA
and our member companies have been at the forefront promoting new standards,
devices and platforms.
The MPA has historically been pro-active in technology, starting with the conversionof still to moving pictures. Now, we transform ourselves again with fast and secure
digital Internet delivery. We participate in standards organizations worldwide to
improve digital platforms. Many would argue that our movies drive technologicalchange.
However, we must at the same time realize this is only possible when content is
protected. Piracy is a significant factor which impacts our industry. The industry
segments affected include producers, distributors, theaters, video stores and pay-perview providers in the US and around the world.
Content protection is about delivering content safely, securely and according to
the needs of the consumer. It is about the ability to bridge the interests of content
producers and consumers with new and innovative usage models. For example, somepeople might like to watch content only once, others might wish to download it andburn into a disk, while another would prefer to watch periodically over the course ofa month. Content protection facilitates this.
We hope this publication will be helpful to you as we continue to map out the
progress of the digital transition in Asia-Pacific.
Thank you.

Mike Ellis

President and Regional Director, Asia-PacificMotion Picture Associationicontents
2009 TECHNOLOGY Q&A
Q1. What is DRM AND WHY IS IS HELPFUL?
Q2. What is the treatment of drm IN MOVIES AND IN
OTHER INDUSTRIES?
Q3. What is “Format Shifting” And why it
doesn’t work?
Q4. What is gRaduated response programme (GRP)?
Q5. why is the term filtering sometimes used?
Q6. How will we IMPROVE CONSUMER TAKE-UP OF
DIGITAL TV?
Q7. Why CAN’T CONSUMERS DO WHAT THEY LIKE WITH FTADIGITAL TV?
ILLUSTRATION: The DVB-CPCM Authorised Domain
Q8. WHAT IS DVB CPCM AND WHY IS THAT HELPFUL TO
CONSUMERS?
Q9. WHAT CAN GOVERNMENTS DO TO PROTECT FTA TV?
Q10. What is the Status of Blu-ray and HD DVD?
Ubiquitous Deployment of TechnologicalProtection Measures (TPMs)
Content Recognition: Watermarking andFingerprinting	
ANNEX I: CONTENT RECOGNITION DEVELOPMENTS
Glossary	
contributors

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2009 tECHNOLOGY q&a

It is important that consumers
and content owners realize asustainable digital businessmodel into the future.
1

2009 Q&A
Q1. what is DRM and why is IT helpful?
DRM refers to Digital Rights Management. It is a system which protects content so that
only authorized users may access and view the content. It also enforces rules that help
consumers view content when they want, how they want and on whichever device.
The reality is we need to enable consumers to view movies and TV according to their needs.
This is only possible with DRM systems that manage access and copyright of content. For
example, DRM systems would manage Internet Protocol (IP) offers such as pay-per-view,per-hour, or per-day. DRM enables these business offers so that consumers may watch
content according to their personal preferences. Consumers appreciate low-cost and piecemeal purchases. Why not allow them basic consumer conveniences like customised viewing
models? On the other end of the spectrum, content can never be free.
It is important that consumers and content owners realize a balanced and sustainable digitalbusiness model into the future. This can be better enabled with DRMs.

Q2. What is the treatment of drm IN MOVIES ANDIN OTHER INDUSTRIES?
The business models of each content
industry differ. On the average, eachmotion picture, inclusive of advertising,costs US$100 million-$150 million
to produce, while a one-hour TV
program may cost up to a $1 million
to produce. Music, however, may be
produced and promoted for much lesscapital investment. This goes to show thedifference in capital requirements of thetwo largely disparate industries.

DRM is very much alive in the music industry.
One excellent example of a DRM at work isApple’s iTunes online music store, which is quite
successful in a number of countries, despite itsvery strict DRM implementation.

When a movie is released illegally on theInternet, it immediately loses the ability
to sell in markets beyond its own. If content pirates have their way, producers will sell one
digital copy while everyone else will get it for free. Hence, each digital movie may only sell
one digital copy! How will this work for content owners?
Pirates quickly pick up digital source files, produce DVDs and make illegal profit. Thisaffects entire legitimate industries, populations employed, and the perception of qualityof valuable content. Movies will also have problems being sold as Free-to-Air (FTA) TV
content.

2

DRM enables new and interesting business offers so that consumers may watch content
according to their needs and preferences.

technology Q&A

Finally, it is not that “music can forego DRM”. DRM is very much alive in the musicindustry, whether being used by specific distributors or as part of other technology
platforms.

Q3. What is “Format Shifting” And why it doesn’t
work?
Governments should not promote exceptions to copyright and technological measures on
account of serving consumer needs.
“Format shifting” is a misnomer because, first, media formats are subject to market forcesthat drive innovation. If the consumer needs it in certain formats, movie companies will
inevitably want to provide these conveniences to consumers.
Moreover, and importantly, formats are already being made interoperable to one anothertoday. This work is being done in many international forums such as CORAL Consortium,
Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) andthe Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA).

The DLNA is working to make various content
formats interoperable.
Broadband

Entertainment,
E-Business Services

Mobile Multimedia
Entertainment,
Personal Media andVideo Services

Media

Pre-Recorded Content,
Personal Media

Broadcast

Video and Movie Services,Entertainment

Interoperability of devices is a significant issue for rights to be protected at all junctures of the
distribution chain.

3Much is being done to ensure formats and devices areinteroperable and according to consumer needs. The point is there
is no need for governments to create laws
specifically to allow “format shifting” withall these new developments.
Today, we find many legitimate consumer
conveniences in the market that allow
consumers to copy content onto theirportable devices, such as Apple’s iPodand PSP (PlayStation Portable). These
commercially available conveniences
provide “format shifting” capability for theaudio-visual content.

More portable devices like Apple’s iPod player
can copy content and provide “format-shifting”
capability to the audio-visual content.

Content owners have been actively pursuingnew, technological, legal and interesting ways
for devices to be interoperable. As for DVDs,
the industry is working on solutions thatallow the “managed copy” of DVD content.
Similarly, such conveniences are alreadyavailable for Blu-ray and HD DVD devices.
More and more consumers have the ability topurchase a “second session” of a DVD, whichis meant for a mobile or PC device. This
“second copy” is saved onto a CD ROM anddistributed along with the DVD copy. Thisis an example of the industry responding toformat requirements.
Technological Protection Measures (TPMs)
are central to the provision of flexible ways
which consumers may enjoy quality content.
There is no need for governments to legislate
to allow consumers to “break technologicalprotection measures” in order to allow copying. For more information, please see chapter
on the Ubiquitious Deployment of TPM.
Consumers can now purchase a “second
session” of a DVD, which is meant for amobile or PC device. This “second copy” issaved onto a CD ROM and distributed alongwith the DVD copy.

Q4. what is gRaduated response programme (GRP)?
Content owners are never suggesting the “blocking” of content from the mass public.
Content owners ideally want as much as possible content to be distributed to consumers
around the globe – except that legal content should be distributed.
4

technology Q&A

A Graduated Response Program (GRP) incorporates a warning system to a potential
copyright infringer. It is a phased program to warn consumers, Online Service Providers(OSPs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) about potentially illegal or infringing activity.
It gradually warns repeat offenders that they are uploading or downloading infringing
content.
Some cost is involved in the deployment of technology and the solutions to adopt the GRP.
There is no “standard” cost structure out there. However, primarily, costs of protracted legalrisks can be alleviated for operators. Other “costs savings” may include decreasing laborcosts from take-down and put-up notices.
National Internet capacity may be improved and made available for legitimate uses.
For the consumer, this method alleviates risk of falling into criminal activity.

Peer-to-Peer networks are used to sharecontent like audio, PICTURES OR data, in digitalformat.

5

Q5. why is the term filtering sometimes used?
At the most basic level, content recognition is a process by which content is automatically
identified online. Content Recognition Technology (CRT) refers to the use of cues suchas the title, size of file, sources of data and visual information to identify the content. Thisis usually augmented with a policy-based response model, where suitable action regarding
copyright infringement is taken based on the identity of the content and other factors.
“Filtering” does not curtail ones’ views or free speech. There is a distinction between
communicating one’s political views and the communication of copyrighted entertainment
products. When the term “filtering” is used, some content owners are referring to waysby which websites may weed out illegal content and the prevention of copyright theft ofentertainment content.
There is also no particular application to intrude on individual privacy. The key objective isto ensure content is protected and people do not break the law.

Q6. How do we improve consumer take-up ofdigital TV?
Digital take-up is vastly improved when high-value content such as high-definition (HD)is available on free-to-air (FTA) TV. HD improves the quality and take-up of digital
TV. Increased adoption is possible when content is not pirated or redistributed without
permission. Moreover, it is not uncommon that redirected content has its advertisements
stripped out. Quality may also be significantly discernable from the original. The digital TV
transition depends on the availability of high-value content, particularly HD.

Q7. WHY CAN’T CONSUMERS DO
WHAT THEY LIKE WITH FTA DIGITALTV?
FTA TV is also known as Over-the-Air TV. It is not “free” asadvertisers pay for the content. When content is abundantly
pirated, FTA TV runs a risk of moving to more securechannels such as pay-TV. Ultimately, consumers lose out
when high-value content moves away from broadcast TV. For
more information, see Technology Initiatives Booklet 2007.
More information on FTA
and digital TV can be foundin MPAA’s Technology
Initiatives Booklet 2007.

6

technology Q&A

The DVB-CPCM Authorised Domain

Local
Delivery

Second Home

Content
Delivery

MobileDeliveryBroadcast
7

Broadband,
On-Demand

Handheld Portable
Devices

MobileDelivery

PackagedMedia
Main Home
Authorised
DomainIn-Car Devices &Network

There are many home networking technical standards. The DVB-CPCM is only one
such helpful standard among others. This standard includes technical elements that
protect free-to-air (FTA) TV.

7

Q8. WHAT IS DVB-CPCM AND WHY IS THAT HELPFUL TO
CONSUMERS?
Digital Video Broadcast-Content Protection Copy Management (DVB-CPCM) is ahome-networking standard which allows devices and content to interact in the homeenvironment. This way, one can copy or move content from one device to another in legal
ways, and consumers may do many interesting things with content in the future.
The purpose of the system is to enable consumers to manage content (and accompanying
rights). For example, the consumer may wish to set up remote access equipment to watch
TV while traveling (and to watch TV as in their own physical home set-up.)
DVB-CPCM particularly addresses new technological issues such as place shifting, spaceshifting, and other older conveniences such as time shifting. Content and accompanying
rights can be managed according to each business offer. Over time, it will be important toenable new and interesting consumer conveniences.
There are many home-networking technical standards. The DVB-CPCM is only one suchstandard among others. However, it is a ready-made model for regions such as ASEAN
that have picked up DVB as its terrestrial broadcast standard. The standard has a signaling
element which protects free-to-air (FTA) content from being illegally redistributed.
The CPCM was designed by the DVB Group, which has a membership of over 300
members from various sectors, including government, industry and academic. It is a truly
neutral standard belonging to the global community.

Q9. WHAT CAN GOVERNMENTS DO TO PROTECT Freeto-air (FTA) TV?
As a start, standards organizations for digital broadcast should incorporate basic signaling
incorporated into the Service Information (SI) for terrestrial digital broadcast. Suchsignaling (also known as a Redistribution Control Trigger) will alert set-top boxes torecognize that content may not be redistributed over the Internet1. This basic recognition
for FTA rights over the broadcast will better prepare devices to respond to rights
information and new services in future.
1 For DVB, please refer to details in the DVB Service Information specification - ETSI EN 300

8468 version 1.9.1 The FTA content management descriptor provides a means of defining thecontent management policy for an item of content delivered as part of a free-to-air (FTA) DVB
Service. The signaling conveyed by this descriptor has been designed for use in the context of the
DVB’s Content Protection Copy Management (CPCM) solution. However, the descriptor may
also be used in a non-CPCM context. The FTA flags are intended to signal to a receiving device(not limited to a DVB CPCM implementation) the configuration of internal states that affect themeans by which content might be redistributed. It reflects the broadcaster’s intention for content
usage and shall result in a similar user experience across implementations.

technology Q&A

In addition, simple solutions such as
outputs of devices can be given due
recognition. Outputs of such settop boxes should be protected at thesame time that rights information issignaled. All high-resolution content
may be served by digital outputs
with accompanying protections. For
more information, please see MPAA
Technical Recommendations (TR).
Simple solutions exist, for example:

More information of various content protection
standards is available at www.contentprotection.net.

All digital output of devices shallhave High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP).
All analog output of devices shall carry Standard Definition (SD) only.
The above may apply to set-top boxes, TVs, digital video recorders, DVD players, and soon.
For other such standards, see www.contentprotection.net website.

Q10. What is the Status of Blu-ray and HD DVD?
Recently some companies adopted Blu-ray internationally as the main packaged media
standard. This fact does not preclude the viability of HD DVD for
certain film producers, companies, markets or uses. Similarly, it
does not preclude the use of any other standard with relevant
content protection, to be adopted elsewhere. It is certainly not
the end of the format war, especially since newer formats willcontinue to arise in future.
Content owners prefer standards that have content protectionin place. In fact, in any standard, content protection and a license
document should be in place. For example, the Advanced AccessContent System (AACS) content-protection technology is accompanied by alicense document.
For organizations seeking ways to distribute content via some packaged media, the mostimportant aspect is that content protection needs to be in that mix. Often that will include
a license document governing the rights of parties.

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10

UBIQUITOUS
DEPLOYMENT OFTECHNOLOGICALPROTECTION MEASURES(TPMs)

There are a number ofmarketplace initiatives acrossthe world that aim to provide
consumers with accessto content across multiple
devices and formats — thus
the need to deploy TPMs.

11

TPM
With the arrival of the digital age, it is possible for consumers to make numerous copies of
copyrighted materials, without a discernable loss of quality, unlike analog.
Furthermore, pirated digital copies can last forever in perfect state as opposed to analog ormagnetic “tape” infringing copies.
This leads to the possibility that copyright protection could be overridden by uncontrolled
copying, especially since such illegal actions would be difficult to trace.
Technological protection measures, or TPMs, are defined as being any technology,
component or device designed to prevent or restrict acts with respect to works or othersubject matter that are not authorized by the rights holder of any copyright-related right.
TPM is the part of the law which recognises and protects DRM.
In response, technology enabling copyright owners to control access to (and copying of )copyrighted works, such as encryption software and copy-controlling mechanisms, weredeveloped and their importance have become more apparent in the digital age.
There is, however, the problem that protection measures can be circumvented (like any
technology). In order to prevent this, Art. 11 of the 1996 WIPO Copyright Treaty wasenacted, to require the contracting states to provide adequate and effective legal remedies
against the circumvention of effective technological measures.

Where and How TPMs are implemented
A DRM is recognised as “Technological Protection Measure” under the law.
TPMs may be implemented for broadcast content, packaged media content and withinelectronic devices. TPM maybe software-driven or hardware-based. Taken together, theTPMs implemented provide fairly comprehensive protection to the copyright owneras a piece of copyrighted work, for example, a movie, is often distributed and may be
reproduced at any one of the three junctures cited above.
Broadcast
TPMs may be implemented at the source of broadcast, to restrict the reproduction or
further transmission of copyrighted works. Thus, for example, a cable-TV operator may
scramble the signals sent out to its users, to prevent the unauthorized reception of its signals
by other users who are not subscribers to its services. This type of system is similar to a payTV system.

12

For free-to-air (FTA) TV a Redistribution Control Trigger is a sequence of digital bits
embedded in a TV program which signals that the program must be protected fromunauthorized reproduction. It is envisaged that the implementation of the broadcast flag

ubiquitous deployment of TPMs

will allow consumers to make personal copies of the programs, which are broadcasted,
without allowing the unauthorized retransmission of such programs over the Internet. The
Digital Video Broadcast Content Protection Copy Management (DVB CPCM) has similar
signaling to indicate to the receiver devices the copy-control information of the content.
Packaged MediaIn respect of the different storage media, TPMs protect the scrambling of the content
on the media (such as DVDs or CD ROMS) such that the byte-for-byte copying of the
copyrighted material is not possible.
When movies and TV are distributed via packaged media such as DVDs and HD DVD
optical disks, content may be protected by both the encryption and a license document.
For HD DVD and Blu-ray, the relevant license document and protective technology
are embodied in the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) agreement. AACS uses
cryptography to control the use and access to digital media by encrypting content stored on
the storage media.
Connectors
High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) restricts connections to video
displays through Digital Visual Interface (DVI) (including High-Definition Multimedia
Interface, or HDMI) digital outputs, while Digital Transmission Content Protection(DTCP) restricts sending over FireWire or USB connections.
TPMs may also be implemented as software or hardware protection for Internet-based
distribution of content.
Interoperability
A particular problem cited by many observers is the importance of interoperability between
different devices and between platforms of delivery (such as IPTV, broadcast and satellite).
There are significant developments in this area.

Legalizing ‘format shifting’Today, we find many consumer conveniences available in the market that allows consumers
to copy content onto their portable devices such as iPods. These commercially available
conveniences provide “format shifting” capability for the content. Content owners havebeen actively pursuing new, technological, and legal and interesting ways for devices to beinteroperable.

13

There are a number ofmarketplace initiatives acrossthe world that aim to provide
consumers with access tocontent across multiple
devices and formats.
These initiatives use multiple
approaches and businessmodels (such as copies
bundled with product orservice purchase and paid
copies) to provide consumers
with access to content indifferent formats.

Studios such as Warner Bros and Fox allow consumers whobuy select DVDs from the studio to transfer a free digital copyof the film from the disc to PCs and portable media players
such as Microsoft’s WMDRM PlaysForSure-certified devices.

Deployed commercial approaches include, but are not limited to:
Digital copies from DVDs
• Second Session digital versions of titles present on the DVD, usually protected				 using a Digital Rights Management (DRM) such as Windows Media DRM or				 Fairplay• Potential for managed copy services authorized by the DVD Copy Control				 Association (CCA)Managed copies from AACS-protected Blu-ray discs• Authorized managed copy mechanism that allows consumers to acquire digital				 copies of high-definition physical media
Digital download stores that support multiple formats• Consumers rent, subscribe or purchase content that can be copied onto multiple				 devices in multiple formats
Download to burn• Technologies that allow consumers or professional retailers to download digital				 copies and then burn them onto physical media
Downloaded digital copies with physical DVDs
• Consumers buy the physical DVD, and receive a coupon to download a free				 digital copy from an affiliated service
Pay-TV broadcast and digital downloads• Consumers have a pay-TV subscription, and get digital copies of the content on				 their PCs and other devices
The following section provides deployed examples for each of the approaches listed above.

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Digital copies from DVDs
There are two possible approaches to delivering digital copies directly from DVDs. The
first approach is by including a Second Session with DRM protected digital copies on
the DVD. The second potential approach, which is not currently enabled, is contingent
on the approval of managed copy services by the DVD CCA.

ubiquitous deployment of TPMs

Second Session
A few studios, such as Warner Bros and Fox, allow consumers who buy select DVDsfrom the studio to transfer a free digital copy of the film from the disc to PCs andportable media players such as video iPods, iPhones, Apple TVs and Microsoft
WMDRM PlaysForSure-certified devices. Consumers who buy these DVDs can follow
a simple process on their PCs to transfer the digital copy from the DVD to the portabledevice of their choice. The physical DVD package includes a unique code that allows
the studio to control the number of digital copies that are made from a single physicalDVD.
Potential for Managed Copy
It has been widely reported in the media that the DVD CCA is discussing amendments
to the Content Scrambling System (CSS) specifications and license that would authorize
managed copy services. If these amendments are approved, they would pave the way
for applications and services that allow consumers to create digital copies of the content
from their DVDs as an alternative to the Second Session approach.
Managed copies from AACS-protected Blu-ray discs
Managed copy is a mandatory part of the final AACS specification for next-generation
Blu-ray discs. This will allow consumers to make digital copies of purchased Blu-ray discs
for viewing on a home-media center, streaming throughout the house, or even transferring
to a portable player. Note that “mandatory” refers to the content owners having to offer thiscapability (for free or as a paid-for feature); each hardware manufacturer can decide if theywant to support this feature.
Digital Download Stores
There are a number of digital download services, including Apple iTunes Video, Microsoft’sXbox Live marketplace, CinemaNow, Movielink, Guba and Amazon Unbox, which allow
consumers to rent, subscribe or purchase content digitally. Most of these services allow
the consumer to access their content on multiple devices such as PCs and portable media
players, and some of these services also support multiple formats.
• Apple iTunes — Consumers can rent or purchase television episodes and movies fromthe Apple’s iTunes store. Apple’s Steve Jobs announced at Macworld that by the endof February 2008 iTunes Video in the US would offer films for rent from all Motion
Picture Association of America (MPAA) studios 30 days after the DVD release. Once
rented, a consumer will have up to 30 days to start watching it and 24 hours to finish it.
• Amazon Unbox — Consumers are allowed to watch content rented or purchased fromthe service on their PCs as well as their TiVo DVRs. Consumers can also access theservice directly from their TiVo and rent or purchase content without using a PC.
15• Microsoft Xbox — Its film-download service has been rolled out to the US, France,
Germany and the UK. Owners of Xbox 360 systems in these countries can now rent orpurchase films online to watch on their game system. Content is provided in both SD
and HD quality.
In France, TF1VISION, an online video-on-demand (VoD) site provided by the country’s
largest private television network (TF1), is providing original, subtitled episodes of thecurrent season of Lost (Disney-ABC) as VoD, for streaming or download-to-rent, 24 hours
after each episode’s initial US broadcast. This follows a successful similar service begun lastSeptember for episodes from season two of Heroes (NBC Universal), and is part of an effort
to bring television episodes to international viewers more quickly (a la day-and-date) and in
more flexible ways, particularly transactional and on-demand, due in part to availability ofpirate versions of shows online.

Download to Burn
In 2007, the DVD Copy Control Association (CCA) approved “CSS Managed Recording”
which allows users to burn copy-protected content to a special type of DVD-R disc foruse in DVD players. Sonic Solutions, which owns the Roxio DVD creation products andhigh-end DVD authoring systems, has announced Qflix, a certification and licensing
program, which will enable users to burn downloaded, Hollywood studio video to DVDs
protected with Content Scrambling System (CSS) encryption. Qflix is made up of four key
components: Qflix-enabled DVD recorders; Qflix-enabled DVD recordable media; Qflixenabled software for PC or CE devices; and Qflix secure key servers.
Each of these works together to enable premium content to be written to secure CSSencrypted DVD media on demand.

Microsoft Xbox has rolled out its film download service
to select countries. Owners of Xbox 360 systems in thosecountries can now rent or purchase films online to watch on
their game system.

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ubiquitous deployment of TPMs

Digitised content enables these providers
to offer content to be deployed in various
platforms like DTV or online
SAMPLE OF SERVICES
Type of Service

ExampleStreaming On Demand(Advertising-supported)

Wowow (Japan), In2TV (US),Movieflix (US), Joost (US), Veoh (US)Subscription

Starz! Vongo (US), SkyByBroadband (UK)

Download-to-Own & Rental

Reel Time Media, Telstra BigPond (Australia),
Free Record Shop (Benelux), Glowria, TF1
Vision (France), Film2Home (Nordic countries),
Telefonica Pixbox (Spain), Vizumi, LoveFilm(UK), AOL Video, CinemaNow, iTunes – Videos,Movielink, Wal-Mart (US)

Additional Technologies
P2P-based

In2Movies (Germany), Peer Impact(Wurldmedia) (US)Participatory sites

YouTube, MySpace, Guba (US)* This is not a complete list.

17US-based pharmacy Walgreen’s launched a burn-on-demand kiosk at some of its retaillocations. Consumers can choose from a large catalog of titles; CSS-protected files are
digitally downloaded to the kiosk and burned to a DVD while the consumer waits. This
frees up valuable shelf space at the store.
CinemaNow, on ther other hand, offers a digital download service where users canpurchase, subscribe or rent television episodes and movies that are protected using
Microsoft’s WMDRM.
In addition, consumers can also create physical copies of their purchases using
CinemaNow’s free software application and standard DVD-R or DVD+R discs which areplayable in a majority of existing DVD players.
The first copy is free; consumers have to pay for additional copies. CinemaNow also
provides cover art and DVD labels for free with the download. This allows consumers toburn downloaded video to DVD with the same protection and ubiquitous playability of
packaged DVDs.
Downloaded Digital Copies with Physical DVDs
Wal-Mart, a US-based retail chain store giant, which also orovides a music downloads
service, provides a service where customers who purchase physical DVDs can also downloada digital copy for a small additional fee.
Online entertainment subscription service provider Netflix offers a popular DVD
subscription service, where consumers pay a monthly fee to rent movies.
Pay-TV Broadcast and Digital Downloads
Cablevision, a large cable-TV network in the US, has launched Popcorn DVDs-onDemand, a service where consumers can purchase a physical DVD through their set-topbox (STB) to receive in the mail, as well as receive the right to watch it over their cablesystem immediately.
HBO has launched a service called HBO on Broadband, which allows consumers who
subscribe to its pay service HBO-on-Demand and to broadband services from the same
company to view HBO streamed online, and to download films and television shows to PC
for free. Downloaded content will be available for a certain period of time (four-12 weeks)
and then automatically be deleted from the PC.
Cable-TV company Comcast, which also provides Internet services, has launched a site
called Fancast where Internet users — not just Comcast subscribers — can stream full
episodes from CBS, Fox, NBC and others. Comcast intends to evolve Fancast into a catchall entertainment site where viewers manage all their entertainment choices, including their18

ubiquitous deployment of TPMs

DVRs. Comcast is also predicting a “wide-band” Internet video-on-demand service by theend of the year.
Korean telecom leaders Korea Telecom (KT) and HANARO each has IPTV services thatrecently added MPAA studio content. KT has also launched MegaTV for the PlayStation 3(an IPTV service), which uses the Playstation3 gaming console as an IPTV STB.

As you can see in the above, there are numerous examples to cite interms of real-world examples of “format shifting”. To “legalize format
shifting” would mean curbing on new services and possibilities. More
importantly, it would render the worldwide content-protection system
unworkable if laws allowed the “breaking” of TPMs.

US retail chain Wal-Mart provides a service allowing
customers who purchase physical DVDs to also
download a digital copy for a small fee.

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20

CONTENT RECOGNITION
AND FILTERING:
WATERMARKING AND
FINGERPRINTING

Digital fingerprinting andwatermarking are particularly
relevant technical methods
for content recognition as
they can robustly identify
content.

21

content recognition
Content Recognition Technology (CRT) can be used in various deployment scenarios
to combat piracy. CRT also enables the proliferation of legitimate channels that provide
consumers with better choices and options to consume content.
Content recognition uses cues such as the title, size of file, sources of data and visual
information for content owners to identify the content being transmitted over digital orInternet platforms. Cues such as textual metadata, hashes, fingerprints and watermarks are
typical automated ways to identify content online. Typically, content recognition is thenaugmented with a policy-based response model where content owners, Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) or Online Service Providers (OSPs) can choose their method of response toonline copyright infringement.
There are many issues in relation to the deployment of CRT such as those that aretechnology- and policy-related, and deployment scenarios. We explore some of them andhighlight developments in Asia and around the world.

Fingerprinting and Watermarking
Digital fingerprinting and watermarking are particularly relevant technical methods forcontent recognition as they can robustly identify content even if characteristics havechanged (for example, if the content has been transformed into a lower-resolution file in adifferent format). These methodologies can be used to identify digital information of TV or
movie content being transmitted over Internet or broadcast.
Watermarking has existed for thousands of years in cases where humans needed to identify
authentic works on paper. With modern digital watermarking, a signal is embedded directly
into the content; it is imperceptible to humans but detectable by machines. Common
applications of watermarking even exist in the Blu-ray standard and most movie content.
Fingerprinting, on the other hand, often involves a methodology that extracts the audiovisual data so that information can be referenced. Fingerprinting may be described as using
a mathematical imprint or “understanding” of the audiovisual data. This information isthen compared with known databases to confirm if the copy is legitimate.
Content fingerprinting technologies, in particular, represent a nascent but rapidly
advancing technology with many applications. It is an extremely exciting field with many
new applications and potential deployment in the Asia-Pacific region. It is currently
deployed most rapidly for online content.
By these methods, content owners can efficiently and accurately identify their content.

22

The impact of fingerprinting and watermarking technology is exciting because it points
towards the monetization of content over the Internet. It would also curb users fromillegally uploading copyrighted material to websites. ISPs and OSPs can make an effort toprevent illegal content from being uploaded and downloaded. Where applied effectively,

Content recognition

content recognition may help to decrease the instances of infringement and prevent
inexperienced users from breaking the law.
Follow-on Policy Actions from Recognition Process
Where content identification or recognition has completed successfully and infringing
works found, content owners can then decide on a policy action. One method increasingly
used in the industry is the “graduated response programme” which educates users andaddresses repeat infringers.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FINGERPRINTING AND WATERMARKINGDIGITAL WATERMARKSDIGITAL FINGERPRINTING

Watermarks are inserted into thecontent.

Fingerprints are extracted from thecontent.

Can identify specific copies ofdigital content. For example adifferent serial number can be put
into each copy.

Cannot usually differentiate between
two digital copies of the sameaudiovisual file (as no information isembedded).

Updating is necessary if technology
advances.

No updating necessary as extraction
depends on sound or images alreadythere.

May be identified and attacked/
erased by pirates with varying
levels of success depending on therobustness of the watermark.

Less likely to be attacked.

23

CONCLUSION
Content recognition technologies show great promise as commerce-enabling tools.
Only two forms are discussed briefly above. These technologies can be used in various
deployment scenarios to combat piracy and enable the proliferation of legitimate
channels that provide consumers with better choices and options to consume content.
This technology is nascent but when it is fully deployed could be impactful for content
distribution worldwide.

24

Content
recognition
Content recognition and filtering: watermarking
and fingerprinting

ANNEX I: CONTENT RECOGNITION DEVELOPMENTS in
the world
Australia

While the primary effort is really to combat online porn, Australian Federal Government hasembarked on the next step of its Internet filtering strategy declared in 2008. Senator Stephen
Conroy already released the findings of a recently concluded ISP-level Internet filtering trial
conducted in Tasmania.

South Korea

Following the changes to the Korean Copyright Act implemented via the Presidential Decree on
29 June 2007, rights holders are now better empowered to enforce their rights, particularly withrespect to online infringements. Relevant changes to the law include:• Requirements for Special Online Service Providers (SOSPs), that is, not ISPs but networks whose
primary purpose is to enable file sharing of copyright works (such as web disk sites and cyberlockers), to send warning messages to users of their services demanding takedown of infringing
files; and• Requirements for SOSPs to “take preventive measures” to ensure infringing material is not madeavailable on their networks, when requested by rights holders.
Shortly thereafter, the South Korean Government advised SOSPs that they must now take thefollowing five filtering steps to comply with their new responsibilities under the Act:
• Keyword filtering on actual titles;• Keyword filtering for folder names and variations of titles;• Extension filtering; hash code filtering; and• Content filtering.

Belgium

In June 2004, the country’s royalty collections agency SABAM asked for an injunction against
Scarlet, a small Belgian ISP, requiring it to prevent infringement by subscribers who were using P2P
systems such as KaZaA. In November 2004, the Belgian Court granted SABAM’s claim in principle
and appointed an expert to determine the practicality and cost of preventing such infringements
using technical means. On 28 June 2007, the Belgian Court ordered Scarlet to implement within
six months a filtering solution to address peer-to-peer piracy, or pay a penalty of €2,500 per day ofdefault. The case is currently under appeal.

Denmark

In January 2006, an injunction by the Danish Supreme Court required ISP Tele-Denmark
Communiclations (TDC) to take steps to prevent copyright infringement on servers hosted on its
networks.

EuropeThe European Union telecommunications package includes draft language that would require ISP
cooperation.

FranceUnder French President Nicolas Sarkozy, an agreement was signed on 23 November 2007 between
French ISPs and the music and movie representatives in order to act directly against the big illegal
file-sharers.

25

The Netherlands

A series of decisions in 2007 hold that hosting providers have an obligation to address the piracy
taking place on their network and must disclose the operators of infringing sites.

United Kingdom

The UK government wants the industry to adopt a voluntary solution. However, it has stated on
numerous occasions that it is prepared to legislate if such an agreement cannot be reached.

United States

Between November 2007 and February 2008, submissions were made to the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) from National Cable & Telecommunications Association(NCTA), P2P network operator Vuze (November 2007), P2P industry association Distributed
Computing Industry Association (DCIA) (February 2008), and the MPAA (February 2008)
regarding the use of tools to manage networks.

countries where SIGNIFICANT content
recognition developments are occurring

26

glossary
ADVANCED ACCESS CONTENT SYSTEM (AACS)

The Advanced Access Content System (AACS) is the accompanying license and digital rights management
which will allow access to and copying of next generation High Density Digital Versatile Disk (HD DVD)and Blu-ray systems. AACS includes the following key attributes that makes it a reliable system:• AES-128 content scrambling• Media Key Block based revocation• Software renewability• Enhanced authentication for PC-based implementations• Support for managed copying and download-to-burn usage models

ANALOG HOLE

The gap in digital content protection technology afforded by digital-to-analog-to-digital conversion. Protecteddigital content can be limited to devices that respect copy protection controls, but if the digital content isconverted to an analog form by a compliant device, another device can be used to convert that analog signal
back into a digital form that lacks the copy protections of the original digital material. This creates an analog
hole where all copy protections disappear.

BLU-RAYA next-generation DVD standard, principally developed by Sony, that supports high definition (HD) video andthe larger storage capacity that HD material requires. BD uses a 405-nanometer wavelength blue-violet laser
instead of the traditional DVD 650-nanometer red laser. The smaller laser wavelength allows the disc to use
smaller pits and tighter tracks. It also uses a thinner cover layer (0.1 mm) than a standard DVD. This moves
the data closer to the reading lens. All of these factors combine to fit more data on the same size disc. Blu-ray
supports 25 GB in a single-layer configuration or 50 GB in a double-layer. Four-layer and eight-layer disc indevelopment can store 100 GB and 200 GB, respectively. This capacity is sufficient for two to four hours of
HDTV content on single- and double-layer discs. BD also support MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVC, and VC-1
format video.

Broadcast Flag

A signal embedded in a terrestrial (as opposed to satellite) digital television broadcast that identifies whether
the surrounding content can be copied or redistributed by the receiving party. Broadcast flag-compliant digital
television equipment would recognize and respect the broadcast flag, preventing any unauthorized actions.

Content Scramble System (CSS)

Content Scramble System (CSS) is the accompanying license and digital rights management which will allow
access and copying of traditional Digital Versatile Disks (DVD). CSS prevents movies from being illegally
duplicated, protecting the intellectual property of content owners, producers and writers from theft. While the
CSS keys and secrets have been exposed for some time, the license is sound and able to support the continued
importance of DVDs as a key distribution mechanism. The CSS is undergoing supplementary changes and willallow improved functions for consumers in future.

Digital Rights Management (DRM)

A system that protects content so that only authorized users may access or view it; a technology that enables the
secure distribution, promotion, and sale of digital content, especially on the Internet. A DRM usually encrypts
a file to prevent unauthorized use and enforces usage parameters such as the period of time the file is viewable
and whether or not it may be copied or streamed to another device.

Digital Television

Television broadcasts and supporting equipment (including television receivers) that use a digital signal rather
than the traditional analog form common to NTSC, PAL, and SECAM. Digital television provides better
image and sound fidelity than analog television and generally has higher image resolution and multi-channel
stereo sound.

Digital Versatile Disk (DVD)A 4¾” (12 cm) high-capacity optical disc standard, introduced in April 1997 as a video delivery format to
replace the ubiquitous VHS tape. DVDs commonly carry digital video compressed with the MPEG-2 codec.
Even with the occasional digital compression artifact taken into account, a DVD provides a better motion
picture recording format than its predecessors: a DVD can hold far more material than a CD or VCD (from
4.7 GB to 17 GB); DVD movies are recorded with more lines of image resolution (480) than videodiscs (˜425)

27

or VHS tapes (˜250); and DVD audio (sampled at 96 kHz with 24-bits of data per sample) is superior to CD
audio (44.1 kHz/16-bits).
• DVD-5: A single-sided, single-layer (SS/SL) DVD capable of holding 4.7 GB. The mostcommon type of DVD.
• DVD-9: A single-sided, dual-layer (SS/DL) DVD capable of holding 8.5 GB.
• DVD-10: A double-sided, single-layer (DS/SL) DVD capable of holding 8.4 GB. The second
most common type of DVD. (One must generally flip the DVD over to read the second side.)• DVD-18: A double-sided, dual-layer (DS/DL) DVD capable of holding 17 GB.

Digital Video Broadcast (DVB)

Digital Video Broadcast(ing), a European standard for digital television technology and the body that regulates
the standard. The DVB Web site is www.dvb.org.

High-Definition Television (HDTV)

The high definition portion of the DTV (digital television) standard, including 1080i and 720p formats witha 16:9 aspect ratio and multi-channel CD-quality sound. The lower DTV resolutions (480i and 480p) are partof SDTV (standard definition television). Compared to standard NTSC television, the HDTV image has twice
the luminance definition – both vertically and horizontally – and is twenty-five percent wider. All told, an
HDTV picture contains five times more information than does the standard television picture.

High Density Digital Versatile Disc (HD DVD)

HD-DVD (for High-Density Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical media format which is being developed
as one standard for high-definition DVD. HD-DVD is similar to the competing Blu-ray Disc, which also uses
the same CD sized (120 mm diameter) optical data storage media and 405 nm wavelength blue laser. HDDVD is promoted by Toshiba, NEC, and Sanyo, and backed by four major film studios. (Wikipedia).

P2P (Peer-to-peer)

A decentralized system of interconnected computers where each participant can act as a client by downloadingmaterial from other systems and act as a server by allowing others to download material stored on the local
machine. This contrasts with the traditional client/server architecture, such as is used with FTP, where theclient and server roles are separated and each computer generally performs only one of them at a time. P2P isthe primary source of Internet-based piracy and copyright infringement. The most famous example was theoriginal version of Napster, which closed down after the courts ruled it contributed to widespread music piracy.
Other networks have arisen, sometimes with multiple client programs that allow users to view, find and swap
files being shared on the network by others, and to make their own offerings available. Common P2P systems
include eDonkey (running on the Overnet peer-to-peer network); Kazaa, Grokster, and iMesh (running on the
FastTrack peer-to-peer network); Gnucleus, LimeWire, Mutella, and Phex (running on the Gnutella peer-topeer network); and Morpheus (running on multiple peer-to-peer networks).

Set-top Box

A television receiver (often with an integrated decoder/descrambler and more recently with an integrated digitalto-analog converter) provided as a self-contained unit. Cable and satellite television systems often use set-top
boxes to convert the provided signal into a form that can be viewed on the customer’s television, VCR, etc.

Unauthorized Redistribution“Unauthorized Redistribution” is re-broadcast or retransmission of content without permission of the content
owner or broadcaster. Traditionally, this has been through large or moderate scale unauthorized transmission
sites that can be addressed through business-to-business negotiations or manageable law enforcement efforts.
With the advent of advanced digital technologies, high-speed Internet access and digital broadcast TV, more
and more consumers have the ability to become a broadcaster with the touch of a button.

28

Kroon, Richard. (2006). “Hollywords” See also http://www.hollyword.org and Williams, Jim C. (2005). “Preserving theViability of Broadcast TV” Asia Pacific Technical Review Journal. Jul-Aug. Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU).

notes29

notesCONTRIBUTORS

30

Isa Seow
Krishnan RajagopalanThomas Nogues
Jim Williams
AMY GOHADVERTISEMENT

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