What is DRM?
Digital rights management is a technology that proactively controls the distribution, use and modification of copyrighted digital content such as software, videos, music albums and much more. This technology makes stealing copyrighted content harder and helps the creators to prevent digital theft and unintended usage. Online streaming services like Netflix and Spotify use DRM to control the usage of digital content.
Why Widevine is important?
You could be a singer, lyricist, artist or photographer. Would you be happy to see your content getting misused by others without your permission? You don't want to get into trouble by misusing others' content, do you? With content ruling the world, having a consistent copyright gatekeeper is unrealistic. That is where Widevine DRM comes to the rescue. Before delving into the technicalities of Widevine, you must understand how digital rights management works.
How does the DRM work?
Let's take a TV show as an example- 'Game of thrones'. Before the show starts playing, the video content will be encrypted by a DRM provider . If the user wants to playback the episode, the medium or the OTT platform will request a unique key from the licensing server. The server checks if the particular device and the user are authorised. In simpler terms, it checks if you have subscribed to the platform before sending a response to the user with a decryption key. The selected video will be decrypted and the user can enjoy the show without hassle.
Widevine DRM
One of the most popular DRM technology is Widevine. This content protection system has three levels of protection L1 (most secured), L2 and L3. Premium streaming services such as Amazon prime, YouTube and Netflix use Widevine technology to protect the content from unauthorised usage.
Your favourite song or other shows may not stream online or offline if you choose to switch off Widevine. Widevine DRM is toggled 'On' by default in Ulaa.