Los Angeles – The
Digital
Entertainment Content Ecosystem
, a multi-industry group supporting the
digital entertainment business, said Monday it has reached key milestones
toward establishing the first open market for digital content distribution.
The coalition also said 21 companies have joined the group, bringing
the total to 48 members. All are from the entertainment, software, hardware,
retail, infrastructure and delivery industries.
The DECE said it has reached an agreement on a common file
format, an open specification for digital entertainment that will be used by
all participating content providers, services and device manufacturers.
It also selected Neustar as the vendor for a Digital Rights
Locker, which is described as a cloud-based authentication service and account
management hub that allows consumers rights access to their digital
entertainment.
The DECE will provide an open Application Programming Interface
(API) that allows any Web-enabled storefront, service or device to integrate
access to the Digital Rights Locker into its own consumer offering.
The group approved five digital rights management (DRM) solutions
that will be DECE-compatible, and will make full technical specifications
available for the first half of 2010, according to a statement from the
coalition.
These include: Adobe Flash Access, CMLA-OMA V2, The Marlin DRM
Open Standard, Microsoft PlayReady and Widevine. Compatibility with multiple
DRMs will ensure that content can be played back via streaming or download on a
wide variety of services and devices.
Meanwhile, the common file format is said to be an open
specification for digital entertainment, and like DVD or Blu-ray, the common file
format may be licensed by any company to create a DECE consumer offering.
Since the format will play on any service or device built to DECE
specifications – whether via Internet, mobile, cable or IPTV – it will make “buy
once, play anywhere” content utilization a reality, the coalition said.
The common file format is said to optimize the digital
entertainment supply chain, benefiting content providers, Content Delivery
Networks (CDNs) and retailers.
Content providers only need to encode and encrypt one file type
in portable, standard definition and high definition for multiple vendors.
These CDNs will not have to store different file types to
accommodate varying needs of retailers, and retailers will be able to efficiently
deliver content to devices from different manufacturers, the DECE said.
The DECE is currently made up of Adobe, Alcatel-Lucent, Ascent
Media Group, Best Buy, Blueprint Digital, Cable Labs, Catch Media, Cisco,
Comcast, Cox Communications, Deluxe Digital, DivX, Dolby Laboratories, DTS,
ExtendMedia, Fox Entertainment Group, HP, Intel, Irdeto, Liberty Global,
Lionsgate, Microsoft, MOD Systems, Motorola, Movie Labs, Nagravision, NBC
Universal, Netflix, Neustar, Nokia, Panasonic, Paramount Pictures, Philips,
RIAA, Rovi, Roxio CinemaNow, Samsung Electronics, Secure Path, Sony, SwitchNAP,
Tesco, Thomson, Toshiba, Verimatrix, VeriSign, Warner Bros. Entertainment,
Widevine Technologies and Zoran.
The body’s new digital media specification and logo program will
enable consumers to purchase digital video content from a choice of online retailers
and play it on a variety of devices and platforms from different manufacturers.
“The digital entertainment marketplace is on the cusp of a new
era of rapid growth,” stated Mitch Singer, DECE president. “The key to
unlocking this potential is giving consumers the ‘Buy Once, Play Anywhere’
experience they want. That’s the goal of DECE and one we’re making rapid
progress toward today.”
