It means that cable, satellite and IPTV operators are allowed to offer content that can only be displayed on screens with HDMI connections protected via high-bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP). Any analog or unprotected outputs from the STB device would be disabled during the viewing of that content.

The contention is that, by eliminating the “easy” piracy option of recording the signal from analog outputs of the STB, studios can now consider a new release window for their movie assets. As proposed by Time Warner Cable, it’s called “home theater on demand,” and enables operators to offer a movie for domestic consumption just 30 days after its theatrical release.

While most articles deal with the business dynamics of selling video-on-demand (VOD) movies closer to the theaters and before DVD or BluRay, let’s take a look at the security implications.

The mandatory digital watermark for digital cinema provides some forensic traceability of illegitimate recordings by identifying the theater location and screening time. This helps deter repeat offenders and inside jobs. Nonetheless, some movies are still pirated with a camcorder in cinemas. Apparently, the commercial benefits of selling that movie on illegal DVDs still outweigh the risks for professional pirates. The quality of these recordings is poor and the financial loss to studios is arguably limited in that many who accept that quality would not otherwise buy theater tickets.

It’s also unfortunate that, right after the release of any noteworthy movie on DVD or BluRay, high-quality digital movies can typically be downloaded from Internet file sharing sites in several versions and sizes. The source is of course untraceable in this situation.

This new concept of a home theater on demand window enables the delivery of movies to end user devices. Despite the restriction to HDCP protected outputs, there is no doubt that content released in this high value period will be subject to piracy of commercial and non-commercial flavor. While HDCP provides much better security then that unprotected analog output, it has vulnerabilities.

If these vulnerabilities are too difficult to exploit, pirates will be able to resort to copying content from their HD TV with an HD camcorder in the comfort of their own home – the quality of readily available equipment makes this a relatively easy option. This is where digital watermarking can be used to trace and identify piracy of either approach.

We have been working on our digital watermarking technology, VideoMark, for more than five years now, and have proven results in the field. By enhancing the efficiency, invisibility and robustness of the technology, we have added variations that enable efficient and scalable embedding on the server side of managed networks and content delivery networks (CDNs).

This new home theater on demand requirement takes watermarking into additional networks with specific infrastructure and legacy architecture, with new and interesting integration tasks. It also adds possibilities to make watermarking a standard solution to secure content revenues on this distribution channel.

The recent discussions we’ve had with content owners and distributors certainly indicate that the studios understand the potential of digital watermarking to plug the crucial security vulnerability that is opened by home theater on demand and is only closed in part by selectable output control.

The home theater on demand release window, after all, adds a consumer option, and I believe that the combination of selectable output control and traceability is a sufficient deterrent against piracy to keep this option valid and profitable for content owners.

We will be talking more about the benefits of server side watermarking, so stay tuned . .

Without dwelling on the negative impression given by statistics, Mark underscored the promise of a more comprehensive transition to digital distribution where operators across the region can recapture a significant revenue base. The potential is even more dramatic when the new opportunity for Internet distribution makes content available to those subscribers who live away from their home country.

This hits a trend that we’ve been observing– Internet video is completely changing the way expats consume pay TV. Operators see an opportunity to broadcast local programming to expats all over the world. As you can imagine, this is both a huge revenue opportunity and potentially a devastating piracy challenge.

While some of these operators are rebroadcasting signals illegally, legitimate operators have the opportunity to enhance the subscriber experience with better quality and better selections of content. Asian operators have a special opportunity to service migrant populations and communities of temporary workers.

To reinforce another point in the article, Asia represents a lucrative market for content security providers. Cost is clearly an issue in this often low ARPU region; however technology and rising awareness of service theft are changing security dynamics. Operators upgrading to digital have a more compelling desire to protect their programming assets, and more advanced layered security approaches are making revenue protection way more cost effective.

Software-based content security is catching the attention of operators that are weary of the millions of cloned smart cards in the region. Software provides the flexibility to stay ahead of the hackers with renewable security and layered techniques like watermarking or fingerprinting. Even legacy smart card vendors are getting serious about software-based security.

We are certainly excited about the opportunities in Asia as hybrid networks, enabled by IP technologies, are on the agenda of most major operators.

Read Mark’s article where he breaks out some figures on piracy type and estimated costs per country.

At the same time, we have seen many recent changes from watermarking technology companies – Dolby has quietly closed Cinea, its watermarking business unit, Philips spun out its watermarking division, now called Civolution, which acquired Thomson’s watermarking technology (Thomson had previously acquired Mediasec and Nextamp).

Based on my past experience as COO of Mediasec and what we’ve discussed with customers at Verimatrix, I firmly believe that watermarking has the most business potential as an integrated layer of an overall content security solution. More specifically, I believe watermarking is a key component in monetizing premium content for pay-TV operators that are increasingly competing with “free” and the notion from many consumers that certain content should be free.

When viewed as a revenue security tool, watermarking can enable operators to develop new business models by offering higher value, better quality content for competitive over the top (OTT) and early release pay-per-view content.

I will be speaking at IBC2009 on this topic for the panel, “Content security: Ensuring content is not mis-used.” I will be presenting watermarking techniques that encourage responsible consumer behavior, rather than restricting the consumer’s media use. And if you are looking for more information on the topic, please download our whitepaper, “Integrated Watermarking Creates More Durable Pay-TV Businesses.”

See you in Amsterdam!

-Steve Oetegenn