Microsoft and Nokia get ready to play

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At first glance you might not immediately connect the Symbian loving Nokia with Microsoft in any way, shape or form. However, Nokia does know its market and so has already been collaborating with Microsoft on the Windows Media entertainment side of the fence. That collaboration is now to be boosted following the announcement today that support for Microsoft PlayReady technology will be built into the Nokia S60 and Series 40 mobile device platforms.

This new content access technology from Microsoft makes it relatively easy for both content owners and service providers to deliver virtually any type of digital content in whatever way they want. By supporting PlayReady, Nokia will make it easier for premium digital content to be offered to a radically increased installed base. It will also open the door to more flexible business models like renting content or accessing it offline. The technology supports a range of business models that can be applied to almost any type of digital content (music, video, games, ringtones, images and more) and a wide range of audio and video formats (including Windows Media Audio (WMA), Windows Media Video (WMV), AAC, AAC+, AMR and H.264). Microsoft released the PlayReady Porting Kit for mobile devices in early August 2007, and expects the first services using Microsoft PlayReady technology to appear in 2008. In addition, Microsoft has designed PlayReady to be fully backward-compatible with Windows Media DRM 10, which means that devices supporting PlayReady can access existing Windows Media DRM-based content as well as new PlayReady content services.

As far as the consumer is concerned this should, Nokia insist, lead to more flexible ways to manage their digital content between online, home and mobile devices. So, for example, they could purchase content directly from their Nokia device and then transfer the content to watch on their PC if so desired.

"People are increasingly using their mobile devices for enjoying digital content, such as music, games, videos and photos," Ilkka Raiskinen, senior vice president of Multimedia Experiences at Nokia told DaniWeb, continuing "by adding support for Microsoft PlayReady technology, we are enabling service providers to offer a wide range of content and create truly compelling experiences across mobile devices, personal computers and online services. We plan to support PlayReady across a range of S60 and Series 40 devices starting in 2008."

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Short, practical follow-ups to the announcement posted by for implementers and content owners — this skips the press-release details and focuses on what to plan, test and watch for if you’re preparing services or devices for PlayReady-capable handsets.

Start with packaging and license flow: plan your packager to emit standard MP4/CMAF with common-encryption (CENC/CBCS) and a PlayReady header (KIDs + default license URL). Keep keys in a KMS or use the KeySeed mechanism, and treat the packager as separate from your license-policy engine (the packager embeds KIDs; the license server issues per-device policies). For step-by-step packaging guidance see Microsoft’s PlayReady packaging docs and the MP4/CMAF recommendations. (learn.microsoft.com)

If you’re producing multi-DRM bundles (PlayReady + Widevine + FairPlay) use a single CMAF/CENC workflow so one encoded asset can be protected for multiple systems; tools like Shaka Packager can generate PlayReady + Widevine PSSH boxes in one run. Don’t ship real keys in command lines or repos — use a keyserver in production. Example (replace KIDs/keys before using):

shaka-packager \
  in=video.mp4,stream=video,output=video_enc.mp4,drm_label=HD \
  in=audio.mp4,stream=audio,output=audio_enc.mp4,drm_label=AUDIO \
  --enable_raw_key_encryption \
  --keys label=HD:key_id=<KID>:key=<KEY>,label=AUDIO:key_id=<KID>:key=<KEY> \
  --protection_systems Widevine,PlayReady \
  --mpd_output manifest.mpd

See the Shaka Packager PlayReady tutorial for production options and key-server integration. (shaka-project.github.io)

Device and service checklist: use the PlayReady Device Porting Kit if you’re building a client/OEM implementation (it’s ANSI C and includes sample code, test certs and tools), test against Microsoft’s public PlayReady test server and published test content, and be sure your license server supports the server SDK and feature-set your clients require (secure clock, domain/join, license persistence, multi-key assets). Finally, plan for consumer friction: disclose device and license limits (offline windows, device counts, renewals) and consider multi-DRM or DRM-free options for the least friction. Relevant technical and policy references are Microsoft’s PlayReady porting/licensing pages and the PlayReady test server; independent commentary on DRM user-impact is worth reading before locking UX into restrictive policies. (learn.microsoft.com)

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