Thomson tracks content copying with DRM watermarks

 

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By Simon Aughton

Posted on 22 Mar 2007 at 10:41

Thomson, the French-owned electronics company, has announced two new implementations of its NexGuard DRM technology that will encode digital content with the specific identity of the device to which it is downloaded.

The process, known as watermarking or fingerprinting, ties the downloaded content to a specific device. One advantage of this to the provider is that if the content is copied for unauthorised use, it is possible to identify the device, and thereby the person, that made the copy.

NexGuard's first new implementation is in STMicroelectronics's STx7100 series of system-on-chips for set-top boxes (STBs). The technology embeds data into video streams at output time, with the resultant watermark containing both the identity of the source of the content and the serial number of the STB involved.

As DRM Watch notes, the problem with transactional watermarking has been the cost of integrating technology with devices. However, 'the economics of the STB market make it the most likely current consumer electronics platform for supporting transactional watermarking', it notes, adding that Thomson is the third company to have recently announced STB-based systems.

The second implementation of NexGuard, however, is a first: integration of the DRM technology with Microsoft's Windows Media Video (WMV) 9 codec. This will enable providers of download services based on WMV to build player applications that support NexGuard watermarking. Whether providers will want to pay extra when WMV already includes strong DRM is debatable.

'However, NexGuard may be attractive to content owners who are looking for an alternative to WM DRM that is more user-friendly but still has some ability to deter piracy,' DRM Watch suggests.

Thomson believes that NexGuard's appeal to providers lies in its ability to track content after delivery.

'With this addition to the NexGuard suite of tools, our clients have an easy and effective solution for forensic tracking of content,' said Jean-Luc Moullet, VP of Thomson Technology's Software & Technology Solutions unit, explaining that NexGuard's detection and recovery system extracts the embedded watermark information from 'illicitly redistributed materials' to pinpoint the source of the leak.

'Thomson is dedicated to developing anti-piracy solutions that enable content owners and distributors to further embrace digital delivery,' he added.