The spread of OTT platforms in the world has been made possible by the spread of the internet and mobile devices. Android is a clear leader in mobile devices and smart TVs. The Business of Apps website claims that “Android is the most popular operating system in the world, with over 2.5 billion active users spanning over 190 countries.” The popularity of this operating system automatically makes it the top choice of OTT companies and Hollywood production houses.
The OTT industry is deeply concerned about piracy of its premium content and the revenue leakage thereof. Google, which owns the Android operating system, has found a solution for this problem, though it is not the only company to offer this solution. Its Widevine digital rights management (DRM) technology protects Android devices and most common PC web browsers, like Firefox, Chrome, and Edge, against piracy through proprietary encryption standards which are difficult to break when DRM protected content is played on mobile devices or PCs.
Google acquired Widevine Technologies in 2010 just as video streaming was beginning to take shape and its competitors were also developing their own DRM technologies, like Apple developed FairPlay and Windows developed PlayReady. The DRM tool developed by Widevine Technologies was meant to create an alternative to smart cards which offered security in set-top boxes.
Widevine DRM tool is offered in two versions: Classic and modular. Classic is the older version and is required to authenticate content in legacy devices that cannot be upgraded to a higher version of Android. It supports content only in the WVM format, which is a limitation as more efficient and secure formats like MPEG-DASH are not secure.
Widevine Modular is the newer version of Google’s DRM tool, which supports all modern formats and is used in the latest devices. It supports the use of video watermarking technology as well, which allows content producers to track leaked content in the piracy world. Modular DRM protects video streams in Chromium-based browsers and Android devices and supports advanced formats like MPEG-DASH, HLS, CMAF, CENC, and HTML5.
