After launching its licensing program this summer, this autumn consumers in USA will be able to buy select movies and TV shows with UltraViolet rights.
According to the consortium Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, UltraViolet combines cloud access with multiple content services for devices. If successful, UltraViolet will carry over into AV integrator’s use of content for certain corporate situations, product demos, cinema, staging, and in some specific cases in digital signage.
This unified set of standards for the digital distribution of premium content, branded under UltraViolet is supported by Sony, Intel, Cisco, HP, Microsoft, Adobe, Comcast, Fox, NBC Universal, Netflix, Warner Bros. and more.
Who’s against it? Apple, of course. And Disney (who has its own propriety system).
The Advanced Television Systems Committee (proposed ATSC standard for delivery of non-live content to both fixed and mobile broadcast receivers) says receivers will now be built to support different codecs, compression, and container file formats that define how video, audio and subtitles may be stored (and played back in sync) via compliant files like AVC, MP3 and DTS-HD audio— and now UltraViolet’s Common File Format (CFF)
The UltraViolet CFF may look like just another format (like MPEG, AVI, Quicktime) but it carries encryption for use with multiple DRM systems: from the device, it can manage and protect rights, control content usage, and authentic/authorize devices.
Companies like DTS (multi-channel cinema system) and Digital Rapids (software-downloads industry) will start providing Ultraviolet-compatible content development tools.
Does Ultraviolet have the industry support and technology to change how content is protected? We are close to finding out…less than a year, in our opinion.
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation (wavelength shorter than visible light, but longer than X-rays) with frequencies higher than those that humans can identify as the color violet. Presumably the brand Ultraviolet should imply the technology is embedded and invisible to the user (unless content rights are “ultraviol-ated.”)
Ultraviolet radiation is invisible to the human eye, so most people don’t know the benefits and are only aware of UV from sunburn. DRM works in kind of the same way as UV spectrum: content users don’t often see the benefits (but there are many) and are only aware when they themselves get burned.
