by Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen
April 18, 2005
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Macromedia has long boasted that its Flash Video is the perfect combination of easy content creation and reliable delivery with the oft-touted figure of 98% penetration of all desktop computers. What’s been missing, however, has been a way to protect and monetize that content without engaging in complicated digital rights management strategies.
Rather than simply simplifying DRM, Macromedia has taken a different approach, indicated in today’s announcement that the company is partnering with Speedera Networks, Inc. to offer secure delivery via the Flash Video Streaming Service, a service the two companies have been offering since June 2004.
“The service can now be used for content that is either revenue-generating or needs to be branded and protected, or both,” says Speedera marketing VP Gordon Smith. The secure service is built on Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX and integrated into the Speedera SpeedSuite platform. According to Smith, the content is protected at the delivery level, rather than the file level. “There’s a rising tide of branded and paid content,” he says, “but the ways of protecting it have been complex. We feel this approach is much better adapted to the needs of the market.”
Users will go to a provider’s site and get authenticated via a password; a hash key is then generated and the user will be re-directed to the Speedera server after verification. (All of this goes is transparent to the user, of course.) With the secure Flash Video delivery, content can be played only on the intended Web site and not posted to other sites. “Part of the problem has been that if someone steals your content, you still pay the delivery costs,” Smith says.
The service is available immediately and works for both on-demand and live content, says Chris Hock, director of product management for Macromedia.
