azuki systems is now part of ericsson since february 2014 Real-Time Multi-Screen Entitlement A NEW PARADIGM FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS WHITE PAPER

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1 azuki systems is now part of ericsson since february 2014 Real-Time Multi-Screen Entitlement A NEW PARADIGM FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS WHITE PAPER

2 Controlling and Monetizing New Content Access and Authorization Across Multiple Consumer Electronic Devices THE NEED FOR A NEW BACK-OFFICE FUNCTION The new multi-screen challenge for service providers is finding a way to quickly and easily extend set-top-box (STB) centric back-office content access and authorization to cover Consumer Electronics (CE) devices while controlling dynamic real-time events (i.e., media/content consumption behavior) to enable new multi-screen services and just-intime up/cross-sell opportunities. All of it while decreasing the risk of security breaches, content piracy, infringement of contractual obligations and licensing, as well as poor content playout. FROM LEASED STB (MANAGED) TO MULTIPLE (UNMANAGED) CE DEVICES The advent of multi-screen video delivery framework is driven by the consumer s desire to receive the video they subscribe to anywhere, anytime, and on any device. The need to support any device inevitably includes CE devices such as smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, game consoles and DVD players. However, these devices pose challenges, as they are by nature unmanaged devices that are not distributed by service providers and do not conform to their specification to receive video services. Unlike IPTV or cable set-top boxes (STBs), these devices are not preregistered or preconfigured to receive certain subscribed services. Instead, service delivery to these devices must be dynamically detected, authenticated and controlled on demand based on their entitlement. Successful monetization of multi-screen content delivery builds on the basic tenets of social networking locality, mobility, sociality and personality. Content authorization must be expanded to extend the definition of a monetizable endpoint to include these aspects. With flexible entitlements, each aspect of each user and each device becomes a monetization opportunity, greatly expanding the simple bundled service models commonly used today. FROM SINGLE TO MULTIPLE VIDEO DISPLAY CAPABILITIES ON CE DEVICES Further complicating the matter is the wide range of video display capabilities on these CE devices. Smartphones and other small-screen devices usually require only SD-quality video, while smart TVs and large tablets require HD. Increasingly, content publishers also demand that the number of devices on which subscribers are entitled to view their subscribed content be limited, or that subscribers be free to view subscribed video only on particular device types. Both scenarios complicate entitlement because it implies real-time controls which must be closely related to the on-demand device sign-on and authentication process, and that entitlement is responsible for tracking and enforcing on-demand limits such as the maximum number of devices allowed. FROM STATIC STB CONDITIONAL ACCESS TO INSTANT CONTENT ACCESS TO MULTIPLE CE DEVICES It is important to remember that up until now, multichannel service providers operated in a single-screen environment the TV at home. In a single-screen environment, device and subscriber are synonymous in that they uniquely identify each other. Location is also synonymous with device and subscriber, further complicating this issue. Furthermore, because there is only one screen, there is no need to prepare video differently or to check any device-specific entitlement rules. The expansion of multiple screens into CE devices is particularly complex, as every back-office function, including analytics, digital rights management (DRM), entitlement and video codecs, must now be adapted or normalized. Traditionally, the function of entitlement is a set of static business rules and logic that reside in the back-office database and is correlated with the content management system (CMS) for content delivery. This architecture has worked great for single-screen video delivery, as 2 Real-Time Multi-Screen Entitlement White Paper

3 REAL-TIME EVENTS: CREATING NEW MONETIZATION OPPORTUNITIES UP-SELL/CROSS-SELL Basic to Premium Content Channels Basic Channels to Content Bundles Advertising-Supported to No-Advertising Content Customized Bundles and Content Packages Start Over feature with Other Remote DVR Rights Pay-Per-View Events Different Classes of Quality with Guaranteed Bandwidth More Devices per Household Premium Meta Data Additional Minutes with Metering Enforcement At Home and On-the-Go Option entitlement is nothing but an on-off switch check, known as conditional access (CA), for video services that one is entitled to watch. The advent of multiple screens, however, has changed all that. The root of the issue is that device, content, user and location are no longer synonymous with each other: A subscriber may have content rights, but only for SD devices. A household may enjoy viewing video services within the household, but not on the go. Multi-device viewing is permitted, but only up to a maximum limit. A device that can only accept SD video may be overwhelmed with HD video due to device capability. And CE devices are not preregistered, thus requiring an on-demand authentication process to register the device with a known subscriber and bringing the new challenge of CE device management and user identity management. Finally, support for off-line viewing on multiple unmanaged devices means that the content itself, and not just the connection, must be secured via DRM. FROM STATIC TO DYNAMIC PATH FOR CONTENT ACCESS AND AUTHORIZATION The need to be in the authentication data path requires that entitlement be in the device registration path. This typically implies that entitlement must work closely with or within a video session controller, a function that is traditionally considered a service delivery function in the service provider s back-office, much like the content management system. What is needed, as a result, is a multi-screen entitlement layer that participates in session setup and that will verify device registration and runtime device control functions, such as device-to-device video roaming; keep track of per device usage and states; and monitor delivery quality to them. FROM EXISTING TO NEW MULTI-SCREEN BACK-OFFICE What is described above is a new back-office function that needs to be implemented specifically for multi-screen entitlement control and enforcement. These functions cannot be incrementally added on top of existing backoffice servers because of the following: 1. The Content Management System (CMS) only provides bookkeeping of digital assets and associated business rules and service profiles. The fundamental issue with extending the CMS to support multi-screen entitlement is that it is not in the video session setup path. Therefore, it is not aware of device authentication and any runtime analytics, such as usage and actual device profile for CE devices, to effectively enforce entitlement rules. 2. Most video session controllers or video service delivery platforms are in the session setup path for video, but most have also been designed for a single TV delivery environment in which entitlement is preconfigured on the STB and remotely controlled by the CMTS switches in the head end, in a DOCSIS cable plant. In the case of Real-Time Multi-Screen Entitlement White Paper 3

4 Figure 1: Video Delivery: The Evolution from First-screen to Multi-screens FIRST-SCREEN VIDEO TECHNOLOGY ENABLER MULTI-SCREEN VIDEO HOUSEHOLD PROFILES Single Per User Sign-in Multiple DEVICES Leased STB with Security Baked-in Virtualized Client Multiple CE Devices Unsecure, Unmanaged VIEWING RIGHTS BUSINESS RULES Static Rules in Back-Office Conditional Access (CA) to STB Fine-grained Entitlement Services Dynamic Rules for Instant Entitlement Grants to Multiple CE Devices MOBILITY Fixed, Inactive Location-based Service Multiple, Active NETWORKS Fixed, Managed Managed & Optimized Delivery Network Flexible, Managed and Unmanaged CONTENT Entitlement Services Single Triple Play Bundle Multiple Content Tiers MONETIZATION Limited, Home TV Virtualized Client $ $ Entitlement Services Managed & Optimized Delivery Framework $ $ Multiple Options, Multiple CE Devices ADVERTISING Mass Advertising on Home TV Virtualized Client Analytic Services Targeted Advertising on Multiple CE Devices 4 Real-Time Multi-Screen Entitlement White Paper

5 IPTV, custom business logic and the database are put together by the service provider to perform this function. As endpoints are expanded into CE devices, users and devices must be authenticated on the fly. Back-office entitlement rules must be dynamically associated to ondemand users and devices and then enforced. 3. Back-office content license servers deal with content rights associated with a particular digital asset. In other words, they know nothing about the devices the content will be delivered to or the users rights to view the content on those devices. CE devices further complicate the matter because they are not SP devices; as such, these devices cannot be known ahead of time, so they can t be preconfigured. 4. Theoretically, a digital storefront application or portal can be used to absorb some of these changes. But even if this can be partially done, offloading the entire device, user and content correlation business logic into the application goes counter to the idea of separating the back-office details from the application and the user interface (UI). It also creates the problem of integrating a completely separate API into all versions of the client application. Not all CE device platforms are conducive to storefront interactions. Furthermore, certain application functions, such as device-to-device video roaming, require that a central authority exist to keep track of per user per device states. THE NEED FOR A NEW SOLUTION AZUKI S SOLUTION FOR REAL-TIME, DYNAMIC MULTI- SCREEN ENTITLEMENT The Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager solution is an implementation of multi-screen entitlement control and enforcement as described above. Conceptually, it is a highlevel software module that runs over Azuki Media Platform. The coupling of the Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager and Azuki Media Platform makes it possible to implement all the business logic and rules on top of a platform in the session setup path that has visibility into device, user and content states at the same time, thus making it possible for the Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager to function as an all-in-one entitlement controller that can correlate complex device, content and subscriber rules in real time. Working together with the Azuki Media Client, simple rules templates can be defined and then enforced by content access or protection mechanisms. In this context, the Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager can be thought of as an in-memory database that controls all entitlement rules governing devices, subscribers and digital assets. Architecturally, the Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager is situated between the video application or portal and a service provider s back office where the CMS, the billing and accounting subsystem, and the subscriber management system (SMS) reside. In addition to correlating media, subscriber, device and location, the Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager serves as a shim access layer to all back-office functions and maintains an in-memory copy of the information until it is no longer needed. This approach results in a greatly simplified application user interface design, as all complex back-office functions are virtualized by the Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager, freeing applications from being exposed to every back-office change. AZUKI S ENTITLEMENT SOLUTION DELIVERS SEAMLESS INTEGRATION WITH BACK-OFFICE SYSTEMS Azuki s Entitlement Simplification interfaces to existing CMS, BSS/OSS, and subscriber management systems via simple, stateless XML interfaces. An in-memory database of all states that correlate user, device and media together into a powerful runtime data store is then maintained by the AMP to enforce runtime entitlements. It leverages the Azuki Media Platform and the Azuki Media Client for video prep and device virtualization, as well as the collection of runtime usage analytics, dynamic ad insertion, etc. In a multi-screen environment where the Azuki Media Platform and Azuki Media Client have been deployed, the Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager works in concert with the Azuki Media Platform as follows: 1.Content Acquisition The installed Azuki content drop software will utilize the existing metadata interfaces on the CMS. With this interface, the content can be stored on the drop server, and the interface will provide the metadata necessary for production. The drop server is also already pre-integrated with all Azuki Media Platform APIs. Real-Time Multi-Screen Entitlement White Paper 5

6 2.Content Preparation Once ingested into the Azuki Media Manager, content is sent to the Azuki Media Platform content preparation servers for multi-screen transcoding, encryption, and segmentation. 3.Content Delivery The media, upon completion of preparation, is uploaded to the distribution servers, and content becomes available for client play. 4.Authentication Authentication is performed through a secure web portal. This provides a secure interface to verify client credentials without making the SMS public. 5.Entitlement Enforcement The SMS and billing systems are the arbiters of which subscribers have access to what content. However, since the Azuki Media Platform is responsible for actual enforcement, the appropriate rules must be verified at play start and in real time in response to changes, such as in location. By layering the Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager over the Azuki Media Platform and Azuki Media Client, all aspects of device functions such as adaptive streaming, DRM, analytics, ad insertion, as well as monetization schemes, are automatically virtualized. In other words, the Azuki Media Platform makes sure that compatibility and coexistence with a service provider s back office is maintained as new CE devices are needed. Virtualizing devices is the basis for monetizing all devices over time. Transactional VOD, PPV Freemium to premium monetization Maximum device count enforcement (per household) HD/SD per device enforcement Mobility only entitlement (MNO-centric) Download/rental/expiration enforcement and management Parental controls Geographic location-based control Network location-based control Ad insertion black-out rules control Bandwidth allocations and metering AZUKI S ENTITLEMENT SOLUTION CREATES NEW MONETIZATION OPPORTUNITIES Working with an external storefront and the Azuki Media Platform, the Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager can be used to put together additional business logic to facilitate and extend the transaction flow from entitlement enforcement to up/cross-sell opportunities. For instance, in usage-based pricing, the Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager, upon detection of a usage threshold, can generate a usage-to-be-exceeded event to the storefront for the purpose of issuing a user-system dialogue for the purpose of up-selling. AZUKI S ENTITLEMENT SOLUTION CONTROLS AND MONITORS NEW CONSUMER MEDIA/CONTENT CONSUMPTION The Azuki Media Platform and Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager are designed to accommodate construction of multi-device content rules and business logic in the multi-screen era. The system is designed to cover the following: Multi-device entitlement per household Per device usage monitoring and content bundle Broadband subscription/content subscription bundle 6 Real-Time Multi-Screen Entitlement White Paper

7 1. CONTENT ACQUISITION CMS 2. CONTENT PREPARATION Azuki Media Platform CONTROL 3. CONTENT DELIVERY Distribution Servers DATA Azuki Client 4. AUTHENTICATION Authentication Server CONTROL 5. ENTITLEMENTS ENFORCEMENT Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager Subscriber Management/ Billing System Figure 2: Azuki Multi-screen Entitlements Workflow SUMMARY In sum, the Azuki Multi-Screen Entitlement Manager is a structured module designed to insulate a service provider s backoffice function and be able to seamlessly extend its services to multiple screens while making it possible for a common application user interface to be created for all screens. It is designed to accommodate modern rules to correlate content, device and user together by taking into account the unique requirements of CE devices. Real-Time Multi-Screen Entitlement White Paper 7

8 Azuki Systems is leading the video delivery revolution to any screen over any network. Azuki s solutions deliver rich, protected content to any device over any network, allowing service providers to take the complexity out of TV Everywhere (TVE) delivery. The Azuki Media Platform enables service providers, mobile operators and brand-name media to combine the power of over-the-top delivery with the highest quality of user experience, content protection, back-office integration and reliability. Azuki is led by an executive team renowned for repeated success in launching disruptive technologies and solving difficult technology challenges to provide customers with a competitive edge. Visit for more information. Azuki Systems, Inc. 43 Nagog Park, Acton, MA info@azukisystems.com Real-Time Multi-Screen Entitlement White Paper