Entone, Verimatrix team up on secured VOD

Video-on-demand platform vendor Entone Technologies and security provider Verimatrix today announced they have integrated their two products to create a secured VOD platform.

Combining Entone’s StreamLiner network video recorder (NVR) with Verimatrix Content Authority System (VCAS), carriers will have a digital rights management (DRM) and VOD solution that should streamline the process for getting VOD assets. What makes the combination slightly different than other integration deals is where the security is performed.

Under most existing systems, VOD content such as a pay-per-view movie is stored at the operator’s site on a stand-alone system. It is then manually copied to another server where encryption technology is applied, and then copied again to an on-site VOD server. With the integration, where VCAS is running on the NVR, encryption is immediately applied without the additional copying.

For Entone, Verimatrix is the second security vendor to integrate into its platform. The company announced a similar deal with Latens in November 2004.

For Verimatrix, the deal gets it further into the telco video market and provides another channel for its watermarking technology. Similar to watermarking in the printed world, the technology embeds digital bits into every piece of content that goes through the DRM system, making it easier to trace.

“If the content shows up on a peer-to-peer network or on a pirated DVD, we can trace it right back to the end set-top,” said Steve Oetegenn, executive vice president of global sales and marketing for Verimatrix.