How Does it Work?

The Microsoft PlayReady platform is implemented with a device porting kit and source code for hardware partners. It also has a license server component to integrate easily into a service provider’s existing infrastructure. Microsoft PlayReady DRM technology can be deployed on mobile devices, set top boxes, CE hardware and software platforms. PlayReady Devices and PC Clients that playback content can acquire protected content, interpret a license, and enforce the rules contained in that license.

Microsoft PlayReady Servers include:

• Content Packaging Server: Takes unprotected content and packages it for distribution. When the content is packaged, the protected content is copied to a Distribution Server and the license information is transferred to a License Server.
• License Server: Stores the content protection information and rights for using the content. Before a client can play back protected content they must acquire a license, typically from a license server (or the license may already be embedded in the content file).
• Domain Controller: Implements the rules that define a domain such as the identity of a single user or family. The Domain Controller also enforces the policy defining how many devices or PCs may join the domain.
• Metering Servers: With metering, the device maintains a count of how many times a file is played. When the portable device connects to a computer or the Internet, the count is uploaded to the content provider. Metering does not alter or affect any behavior on the user’s system and does not identify the user. Metering allows the content provider to accurately assess royalties. Because metering can be more cost-effective, service providers can provide much larger music catalogs for customers to download.

In order to distribute content to the network or the end users, licensees are requested to have distribution servers, which are NOT part of the PlayReady technology. Distribution servers are used to store and distribute content. They are usually web servers but Microsoft PlayReady technology does not require a specialized web server for content storage and distribution. Encoding.com can act as a distribution server.

Key Features

Some of the key features of Microsoft PlayReady include:

• Domains
• Embedded license
• Extended format support
• Microsoft Silverlight support
• WMDRM Content support
• Industry standard cryptography AES and ECC (NIST P-256)
• Unified device porting kit
• Adopted by major standards at World Wide levels: DECE (UVVU), DASH.

In addition, Microsoft PlayReady:

• Supports natively a wide range of audio and video codecs, including WMA, WMV, Dolby Digital +, AAC, AAC+, enhanced AAC+, and H.264.
• Is able to protect essentially any type of digital content — music, video, games, ringtones, images, and more.
• Has a tight integration with Microsoft platforms including Windows 8, Xbox, Windows Phone, Mediaroom, and Microsoft Silverlight for Windows and Mac.
• Implements user domains and embedded licenses to facilitate legal distribution of content among devices.
• Is capable of Over-The-Air (OTA) delivery of content and licenses.
• Allows side-loading of content from Windows PCs.

The next version of PlayReady, which Microsoft announced at this year’s IBC, will support industry standards including HTML5, Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) and the MPEG-DASH streaming format as well as provide software development kits (SDKs) for iOS and Android. It was announced at 2014 NAB, that the PlayReady team, working in conjunction with the Media Services team will introduce Microsoft Smooth Streaming Client 2.5 with MPEG-DASH support. This release adds the ability to parse and play MPEG DASH manifests in the Smooth Streaming Media Engine (SSME) to provide a Windows7/Windows8 and MacOS solution using MPEG DASH for on-demand streaming scenarios. Developers that wish to move content libraries to MPEG-DASH now have the option of using DASH in places where Silverlight is supported.

PlayReady Use Case Scenarios

There are several use cases for the Microsoft PlayReady DRM. As with all DRM platforms, it can help you deliver audio and video content that is more secure and better protected from unauthorized capture and redistribution. It can be particularly useful for:

• Live Streaming: Live streaming (also known as “true streaming”) sends content directly to the computer or device without saving the file to a hard disk.
• Progressive Downloads: Progressive download lets users play back the media while it is downloading. The main difference between progressive download and live streaming—from a user’s point of view—is that progressively downloaded content is stored on the user’s computer or device, at least temporarily.
• Downloading Files Offline (onetime purchase): The user downloads the content from the Internet and later plays it by using an offline Silverlight player. For example, an online video store charges customers to download a video file, which users can play back in an offline Silverlight player whenever they want. The DRM software can restrict redistribution of the video file to one or more devices (see Domains on the Microsoft site).
• Rentals: You can specify time limits in your Microsoft DRM licenses in order to limit playback of content. For example, an online video store might offer their videos for rent. Once the rental is purchased and the license downloaded, the license will expire 30 days after it is issued or 24 hours after content is first played, whichever occurs first.
• Subscriptions: You can enable customers to playback content based on a subscription model. For example, customers of the online video store pay a monthly fee to watch up to 100 hours of television content online and download up to 20 episodes. In order to renew their subscription, they need to pay the monthly fee and connect to the service at least once a month because the subscription license expires every 45 days.

PlayReady and Silverlight

PlayReady is utilized best with Microsoft Silverlight. How this process works is visualized below:

Integrating DRM in Microsoft Silverlight

For streaming or progressive download, the following steps are needed to integrate DRM into Silverlight:

• Set up the necessary server infrastructure to serve up DRM-protected content.
• Point to this protected content from your Silverlight application using MediaElement.
• Handle expected errors (for example, when the user does not allow DRM content).
• If needed, subclass the LicenseAcquirer or DomainAcquirer class to gain custom business logic.

BuyDRM and PlayReady

BuyDRM, and their KeyOS product, is the license server that works with PlayReady. In 2012, Microsoft chose BuyDRM to act as their license encryption delivery service to support large scale enterprise and entertainment deployments on the Windows Azure platform.

BuyDRM will provide you with the KeyOS Licensing API documents that are required to enable playback of encrypted content.