White Paper: DRM/CA Conflicts Could Burn Digital Entertainment Industry

By David Thomas

iSuppli Vice President of Multimedia Content and Services Mark Kirstein recently released a white paper entitled, “Digital Rights Management and Conditional Access: Keys to the Digital Content Kingdom.” In it, he explains how conflict over Digital Rights Management (DRM) and Conditional Access (CA) could cripple the progress of the digital entertainment industry, with hundreds of billions of dollars at stake.

According to the paper, the future of broadband video, digital music, next-generation DVD, home networking, mobile TV and IPTV all hinge on the decisions made now about CA and DRM, which concern access to the content involved (CA) and what the consumer can do with that content once they have it (DRM). Unfortunately, each arm of the business, from content providers to service carriers, have divided interests when it comes to these topics.

Kirstein explains, “Each industry has its own standards associations and trade groups, which have spurred an array of various incompatible standards and DRM-related proposals. The diversity of interests in DRM has resulted in a competitive deadlock regarding interoperability.” The apparent trajectory of digital entertainment, with all media available from all locations at all times (for a price) can never be reached if the devices and media in question are incompatible.

To continue reading, tell us a little about yourself.

Don't worry! As long as you use the same browser and don't delete your cookies for the next six months, you won’t need to fill it out again.

Work Email*
First Name*
Last Name*
Title*
Company*
Zip/Postal Code*
Primary Business*
Job Function*
Sales Volume*

1 2 All Next »

0 Comments

View Comments

Companies:
Apple

David Thomas Author's page

David Thomas, CEO at Evident, is an accomplished cybersecurity entrepreneur. He has a history of introducing innovative technologies, establishing them in the market, and driving growth – with each early-stage company emerging as the market leader.