NDS, STMicroelectronics and Thomson will develop new encryption technology designed to foil video piracy. The secure video processor (SVP) platform is targeted to media companies as a way to protect their content from unauthorized copying and redistribution.
The new technology will allow media companies to encrypt content with their own digital rights management (DRM) specifications and have it unscrambled for viewing solely by devices embedded with SVP-enabled chips.
The companies hope enough SVP-enabled video playback devices and TV set-top boxes will hit the market in coming years so as to allow consumers to transport the encrypted content to specially equipped SVP devices for playback.
NDS has developed the anti-piracy software component for SVP, which it will use for a series of interactive TV services over its Sky satellite network beginning next year. Starting in the spring, Thomson will embed SVP-enabled chips developed by STMicroelectronics into its video playback devices and set-top boxes.
DIRECTV is the first to use the new technology.
The SVP alliance was introduced in Amsterdam at the IBC2004.
