LodgeNet Entertainment, a major supplier of interactive TV and broadband systems for hotels in North America, and Panasonic Broadcast and Television Systems have outlined joint plans to integrate Panasonic plasma HD displays with LodgeNet's HD platform, free-to-guest (FTG), and VOD services.
According to both firms, Panasonic will adopt Pro:Idiom's pay content copy protection technology to enable LodgeNet clients equipped with Panasonic plasma screens to display HD satellite and VOD content licensed by DBS programmers and movie studios that have accepted the Pro:Idiom security standard.
The Pro:Idiom standard was created by LG Electronics and uses a DRM (digital rights management) system that blocks access to all unencrypted content until it's actually prompted (and thus, paid for) by the end user in the hotel room.
Pro:Idiom uses the 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and supports ATSC-approved digital video and data formats. When integrated with the Secure Conditional Access (SCA) system from LodgeNet, the firm said Pro:Idiom will protect HD, VOD and other content against piracy at all points in the distribution chain.
