How can multi-DRM enable live streaming across different devices, browsers, and platforms?

Live streaming is a popular and engaging way to reach your audience, but it also comes with some challenges. One of them is how to protect your content from unauthorized access and piracy, while ensuring a smooth and consistent viewing experience across different devices, browsers, and platforms. This is where multi-DRM (digital rights management) can help. In this article, you will learn what multi-DRM is, how it works, and what benefits it can bring to your live streaming strategy.

1 What is multi-DRM?

DRM is a technology that encrypts your video content and allows only authorized users to access it. It prevents copying, sharing, or modifying your content without your permission. However, not all devices, browsers, and platforms support the same DRM system. For example, Apple devices use FairPlay Streaming, Android devices use Widevine, and Windows devices use PlayReady. If you want to reach a diverse and global audience, you need to use multiple DRM systems to cover all the possible scenarios. This is what multi-DRM does: it enables you to deliver your encrypted content to different devices, browsers, and platforms with the appropriate DRM system.

Add your perspective

Akash Kandari

Data-Driven Marketer | SEO | Product Marketing
Report contribution
Multi-DRM provides a cohesive strategy that integrates several DRM technologies, including Google Widevine, Apple FairPlay, and Microsoft PlayReady. It's like having a master key; though the locks (devices and platforms) differ, your key opens them all. This means your audience, regardless of their device of choice, gets seamless access to your content, all the while keeping it secure from unauthorized use or piracy.

Like

2 How does multi-DRM work?

To use multi-DRM, you need a multi-DRM service provider that can handle the encryption, licensing, and delivery of your content, as well as a multi-DRM compatible player that can request and receive the license keys from the service provider and decrypt the content for playback. The workflow of multi-DRM consists of uploading your video content to the service provider and specifying the DRM systems you want to use. The service provider then encrypts your content with a common encryption (CENC) scheme and generates multiple license keys for each DRM system. Your encrypted content is delivered to a CDN (content delivery network) that distributes it to your viewers. When they access your content through a multi-DRM compatible player on their devices, browsers, or platforms, the player detects the DRM system supported by that device, browser, or platform and requests the corresponding license key from the service provider. After verifying the request, the service provider sends back the license key to the player so it can decrypt and play it on the device, browser, or platform.

Add your perspective

3 What are the benefits of multi-DRM?

Using multi-DRM can bring several advantages to your live streaming strategy, such as enhanced security, improved compatibility, increased scalability, and reduced costs. By encrypting your content with multiple DRM systems, you can protect it from unauthorized access and piracy. You can also control the playback parameters, such as expiration time, offline access, and output restrictions. Additionally, supporting multiple DRM systems ensures that your content can be played on any device, browser, or platform. Furthermore, using a multi-DRM service provider and a CDN simplifies the encryption and delivery process of your content and leverages the cloud infrastructure and the global network of the service provider and the CDN to handle high traffic and demand for your live stream. Lastly, using multi-DRM saves time and money on developing and maintaining different DRM systems for different devices, browsers, and platforms as well as reduces bandwidth and storage costs by using a common encryption scheme and a CDN.

Add your perspective

4 How to choose a multi-DRM service provider?

When selecting a multi-DRM service provider, it’s important to consider several factors, such as coverage, integration, performance, and pricing. The service provider should be compatible with all major DRM systems, like FairPlay Streaming and Widevine, as well as different video formats like HLS and DASH. Additionally, they should offer easy and flexible integration with your existing video workflow and tools. Furthermore, the service provider should deliver fast and reliable encryption, licensing, and delivery of content with high availability, scalability, and redundancy for your live stream. Lastly, the pricing model should be transparent and competitive for your budget and usage. It’s also beneficial if the service provider provides value-added features like analytics, support, and security.

Add your perspective

Akash Kandari

Data-Driven Marketer | SEO | Product Marketing
Report contribution
One can look into following key features while making this choice: 1. Compatibility Across Devices and Browsers 2. Robust Security Features 3. Ease of Integration 4. Scalability 5. Reliability and Performance 6. Customer Support and Service A provider like VdoCipher, which ticks these boxes, can be a lighthouse guiding you through the murky waters of digital content protection. By focusing on compatibility, security, ease of integration, scalability, reliability, customer support, and pricing, you're setting yourself up for success in the vast and ever-evolving ocean of digital media.

Like

5 How to get started with multi-DRM?

If you are aiming to take your live streaming to the next level with multi-DRM, there are some steps you can take. First, evaluate your live streaming goals and requirements to determine the DRM systems you need. Then, research and compare different multi-DRM service providers to find the one that best fits your needs. After signing up for a plan and uploading your video content, configure your encryption and licensing settings. Generate license keys for each DRM system and test your encrypted content on different devices, browsers, and platforms using the multi-DRM compatible player provided by the service provider. Finally, launch your live stream and monitor its performance and feedback.

Add your perspective

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Add your perspective

How can multi-DRM enable live streaming across different devices, browsers, and platforms?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 What is multi-DRM?

2 How does multi-DRM work?

3 What are the benefits of multi-DRM?

4 How to choose a multi-DRM service provider?

5 How to get started with multi-DRM?

6 Here’s what else to consider

Live Video Streaming

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

More articles on Live Video Streaming

More relevant reading