PLEASE SHARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS FROM THE CONFERENCE AND WHAT WERE THE MAIN TOPICS OF THIS YEAR'S STREAMING MEDIA NYC.
A a leading regional IT development center it was our pleasure to be among the world's leading companies in the streaming industry and exchange knowledge and experiences on current topics. This year's conference was focused on artificial intelligence, sustainability, and the discussion on whether to buy or develop proprietary solutions. The panel on content protection, in which I participated, was directly related to this topic. Being among the streaming leaders at the epicenter of multimedia innovations in New York at a conference like this means not only following but also creating trends in the streaming industry, which for us at United Cloud is a confirmation of the high quality of our work in this field.
WHAT WERE THE KEY MESSAGES YOU HIGHLIGHTED DURING THE PANEL?
Being part of an innovative and developmental center that is one of the few in the region with a complete product cycle, independently developing products from start to finish, I emphasized the advantages of our end-to-end development. When you independently develop a complex TV content distribution cycle, as we do at United Cloud for our TV 2.0 platform, known as EON TV, one of the significant advantages is the control over streaming quality and content protection. Regarding content protection, it is often assumed that protection is the only thing that needs to be done and that it represents the end of the battle with pirates. On the contrary, the battle with the most advanced pirates starts then. In this sense, I highlighted two more important steps: detection and response, as examples of good practice that we apply daily at United Cloud. Also, it is of essential importance for content providers to maximize the protection of all distribution systems, regardless of the technology used. If even one method of distribution to the end user is not protected, pirates will exploit it.
WHAT IS THE PERSPECTIVE OF UNITED CLOUD, AND HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM SYNAMEDIA’S, VINDRAL’S, AND EZDRM’S?
United Cloud's perspective is different to some extent in comparison to other participants, as they focus on developing anti-piracy solutions and specialized technologies for distribution, while United Cloud develops and integrates the entire system. In terms of encryption, United Cloud integrates vendor solutions, but our seriousness in implementing our own solutions is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that we are one of the few companies - pioneers in implementing Google Widevine CAS for our hybrid STB solution. We have also developed our own anti-piracy platform called Gladiator, which relies on our other platforms, streaming and AI. Olga and Robin, as representatives of companies whose main focus is content protection, highlighted the advantages and requirements of advanced protection systems. Robin also emphasized multi-layered watermarking technologies that can be even more robust and efficient. Daniel pointed out that in addition to content protection, the protection of the user experience should be emphasized, as Vindral primarily deals with solutions for low-latency live content.
WHAT DOES VIDEO STREAMING SECURITY MEAN FOR AVERAGE VIEWERS?
For the average viewer, the service protection means a seamless user experience and exclusivity, as being the first to access exclusive content consumers have chosen. However, the security of video streaming is essential for service providers and especially for content providers. Advanced pirates manage to use the infrastructure of the original operator for their service (known as CDN leeching), which can jeopardize the stability of the streaming provider's system and, consequently, impact the viewer's user experience.
WHAT ARE THE PREDICTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS OF THE PANELISTS REGARDING NEXT-GENERATION STRATEGIES AND TECHNOLOGIES TO MAINTAIN STREAMING SECURITY IN THE FUTURE? WHAT ARE YOUR PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF VIDEO STREAMING PROTECTION IN THE ERA OF INCREASINGLY SOPHISTICATED PIRACY SOLUTIONS?
For content providers who produce exclusive and original premium content, e.g. Paramount, Amazon Prime, Disney, Netflix, and others, it is crucial to have content protection to keep it "untouchable" from copying and distribution through pirate channels. On the other hand, viewers who subscribe to streaming services are motivated by the opportunity to be among the first to watch exclusive content that interests them. Existing content encryption technologies have been around for several decades, so it makes perfect sense to think about improving this segment. In the coming years, the industry needs to continue enhancing efforts in the detection, localization, and termination of piracy activities. A noticeable trend is that the application of machine learning, AI, and monitoring of user habits and behaviors can be the foundation for further improvements in streaming protection, as streaming technology fully enables this. Utilizing all the advantages that streaming technology offers can be a key factor in differentiating streaming from traditional systems for distributing TV and other media content to end users.
