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Consortium Targets DRM Interoperability

Business - NewsFactor
NewsFactor

Jay Wrolstad, www.newsfactor.com

Seeking hardware and digital content that play well together, some top media and technology firms have established the Coral Consortium.

If all goes according to plan, the group will create a common framework for multimedia content delivery that supports an array of DRM (digital rights management) technologies.

Founding members include Hewlett-Packard, Intertrust Technologies, Koninklijke Philips Electronics, Matsushita Electric (Panasonic), Samsung, Sony (NYSE: SNE - news) and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.

Notably absent are Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL - news) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news), two major players in digital-media delivery.

Confusion Among Consumers

While consumers have a plethora of channels to acquire music and video, proprietary technologies are common among providers, who closely guard their content. Consequently, content protected by one DRM technology often cannot be played on a device that supports a different standard.

"Interoperability was not an issue as these channels were introduced, because each content provider trusted its own DRM technology. But consumers are confused because they download music from one source that they can't use," Jack Lacey, president of Coral, told NewsFactor.

A single DRM standard is impractical, he said, because each technology allows providers to create a separate, safe business model. Coral's response is to isolate content interoperability from DRM technology through a set of specifications that establishes common ground among different DRM offerings.

Building Trust

"We want to bring together all of the participants in the value chain and, ultimately, provide a unified experience for consumers," said Lacy. That, in turn, will spur sales of hardware, music and video, and multimedia services.

In effect, the group will develop digital-media interfaces that provide "trusted communities" for content providers, device manufacturers and service providers, Lacy said. Coral will provide interoperability for secure content distribution over both Web and home network-based devices and services.

As for Apple and Microsoft, Lacy said those companies are encouraged to participate and will be offered Coral's specifications when they are introduced.

Apple, Microsoft Not on Board

Apple has shown no sign of cooperation thus far regarding the company's iTunes music service and FairPlay DRM code that limits iPod users to iTunes content. When RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK - news) recently introduced its Harmony digital-music software, which lets consumers play songs from Real on the iPod, Real was accused of hacking technology from the iPod's DRM application.

And Microsoft recently rolled out a new version of its Windows Media digital-rights management (DRM) software. Early adopters of the platform comprise a veritable Who's Who in the entertainment and online media world, including America Online, Disney, CinemaNow, MovieLink, MusicNow, Napster (news - web sites) and VirginMega France.

Other users include consumer electronics device manufacturers Dell (Nasdaq: DELL - news) and Samsung and chip-makers Motorola (NYSE: MOT - news) and SigmaTel.

The first step for Coral, Lacy said, is to analyze various digital-media usage scenarios, such as an individual downloading content from a mobile phone and then trying to play it on a PC, to determine the best way to offer interoperability.



The first specifications from the Coral Consortium are expected next year.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nf/20041004/bs_nf/27327