Dr. Dobb's | Two OEMs Embed Copyright Protection in Set-Top Boxes

Two OEMs Embed Copyright Protection in Set-Top Boxes

Pace Microelectronics and Samsung will embed copyright protection for content into their set-top box hardware.

September 20, 2006
URL:http://www.drdobbs.com/security/two-oems-embed-copyright-protection-in-s/193004305

Pace Microelectronics and Samsung said Wednesday they would embed copyright protection for content into their set-top box hardware. They said cable operators' equipment could have the technology later this year.

The content protection system sits on the semiconductor chip inside the device, relying on hardware, rather than software, to stop piracy and protect content distribution. Both Broadcom and STMicroelectronics will begin shipping production quantities of the chip this year.

Broadcom, Conexant, Humax, Pace, Samsung, and Thomson say they have licensed specs from the SVP Alliance, which promotes content protection technologies. "The technology is being embedded into graphics or video processor chips, basically because the digital content will flow that route through the device," said Jas Saini, vice president of consumer devices at NDS France, and SVP Alliance chairman.

Samsung director John Kang said cellular phones, televisions and other consumer devices will have the chips beginning in 2007. Broadcom has the technology in seven types of chips today, and expects the migration will continue to others, said Brian Sprague, Broadcom vice president of marketing.

SVP Alliance secretary Howard Silverman said the technology on the chip will enforce digital content rights defined by the owner. The group hopes the technology curtails piracy.

Saini said to create a secure system, consumer device manufacturers need a solid content protection system, along with a digital rights management system. "It could be envisioned that SVP works with DReaM (Sun's digital rights management initiative)," he said. "That is a scenario we are working on."

Sun Microsystems Inc. established DReaM, which is released under the open-source Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL), to develop a digital rights management system.

Without bringing music piracy into the equation, DVD and Internet piracy cost movie studios $6.1 billion last year, according to the Motion Picture Association of America Inc. (MPAA).

And as digital media explodes into the home, so has a philosophical debate over content protection, and whether to accomplish it through software or hardware. Microsoft Corp. and other software vendors believe software protects best, while semiconductor companies say hardware is the answer.

Some independent industry analysts suggest the best solution relies on both hardware and software. "The software and hardware solutions in the past have been as robust as the industry would like," said Bill M. Murray, president of William Murray & Associates, a Los Angeles media consultant. "Is this an important step? Yes, because it will make encryption and digital rights management systems more difficult to hack."

The technology embedded in chips might work for digital content coming into the home via set-top boxes, televisions, computers and mobile phones, but Murray said the most stolen movie content today comes from people taking digital cameras into theaters. SVP Alliance and DReaM fail to stop piracy there.

From left to right, SVP Alliance Secretary Howard Silverman, Broadcom Vice President Brian Sprague, NDS Vice President Jas Saini, and Samsung Director of Business Development John Kang.