DRM-like Encryption in HTML5

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28. February 2012, 21:07:09

Posts: 2411

DRM-like Encryption in HTML5

HTML5 is supposed to set the web free. Free to deliver and shape online media in any web browser. However, several of the standard's greatest champions want to be able to restrict the use of audio and video tags through encrypted media extensions.

Source

So far about the new HTML5 standards and their champions.
New standards have to please big money first.
Thereafter they have to please content providers.
The consumer/user as always comes last.

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29. February 2012, 00:48:59

blackbird71

Built for speed...

Posts: 1192

...The proposed system works using a key-based content decryption system controlled by applications, thusly providing the copy protection that so many content owners desire. Naturally, the proposal specifically states that "no DRM is added to the HTML5 specification" if it's adopted, but letting apps lock up audio and video content sure sounds like digital rights management to us. ...

It seems to me that this is simply a request for a key-based decryption option to be included in the standard, to be employed (or not) by the original owner of the content. Unless one is philosophically opposed to copyright, I'm having difficulty seeing the problem here.

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29. February 2012, 01:13:05

sgunhouse

Volunteer

Posts: 65152

Currently we have video tags encoded in Ogg, WebM, H.264 and probably a few other formats - and therefore only playing in certain browsers anyway. Until they are able to agree on supported format(s) I see this as redundant - you may not be able to play it anyway, even with the key, if your browser doesn't support the format. Are you likely to pay for something that may not even work?

Really, I don't see it mattering to the browser if the stream is encrypted. It isn't the page that is encrypted, there may not even be anything within the page saying whether the video is or not. The playback engine would see the file is encrypted and ask for a key (not the browser) ... so, it's not DRM-like (it is DRM), but it's not in HTML5 either.

29. February 2012, 04:34:55

wikipedian

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Posts: 7482

YouTube html5 is using javascripts and div to hide the download video button as well as the source mp4 file.

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1. March 2012, 18:54:30 (edited)

Ngamer01

Onward!

Posts: 624

w3c won't allow DRM into the HTML 5 standard, so Hollywoood, the RIAA, and any other pro-DRMers are wasting their time and money (which they'll later blame pirates stole 'em instead of the content providers' incompetence using up their own resources). Content providers will eventually resort to other, draconian measures to "secure" their HTML 5 files from the masses or go try backdooring pro-HTML 5 DRM laws in governments worldwide again (SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, TPP, etc.).

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