Irdeto has purchased the BD+ technology used to secure content on Blu-ray from the Rovi Corporation. The technology will be integrated into the company’s Irdeto ActiveCloak for Media portfolio.
Irdeto says the deal marks the next phase of a dedicated effort by Irdeto to combat entertainment piracy across online, broadcast and physical media distribution channels.
Greg McKesey, vice president of consumer products for Irdeto, told Broadband TV News the merger of BD+ into Active Cloak would help plug some of the security flaws in the Blu-ray system. “The way it stands today BD+ has not fulfilled the security promise that studios had hoped for. By the time a Blu-ray disc is released to consumers the security has already been hacked so the studios do not get the release window they had hoped for”. Studios have effectively been relying on the honesty of consumers not to search for illegal content online and continue to purchase their packaged media.
BD+ works on a title by title basis with additional security likely to be gradually introduced until a final upgrade has been completed.
McKesey said Irdeto already had an understanding of the issues and had a roadmap for the product’s development. “We can solve some short-term problems almost immediately, and we have a clear roadmap for the next 9-12 months to fully integrate BD+ with our ActiveCloak for Media solution. That will provide the studios with the dynamic approach to security they require to more effectively extend their return on investment in all the great content they produce.”
Irdeto plans to enhance the effectiveness of BD+ by creating a hybrid BD+/ActiveCloak content security system that will monitor and address threats throughout each Blu-ray disc’s economic life.
