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What is Adobe® Flash® Media Rights Management Server?

Adobe Flash Media Rights Management Server software is a content protection solution that lets content owners and distributors monetize digital media assets by controlling how, when, and where content can be distributed and played, even after it has been downloaded. Using Flash Media Rights Management Server, adopters can set usage policies and encrypt audio/video files, which can be played back on Mac OS or Windows® platforms.

What is the difference between Flash Media Rights Management Server and Flash Media Server in the area of content protection?

Flash Media Rights Management Server protects and controls playback of media content streamed or downloaded in FLV (Spark or VP6 codec) or MPEG-4 (H.264 codec) format. Currently, content can be played back using the Adobe Media Player or Adobe AIR™ clients. Flash Media Server streams media via Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP). Flash Media Server 3 provides simple protection of streamed content by using an encrypted tunnel through RTMP enhanced (RTMPe), whereas Flash Media Rights Management Server is a complete digital rights management (DRM) solution.

Who will be interested in Adobe Flash Media Rights Management Server?

There are several stakeholders for Flash Media Rights Management Server:

Content owners: film and television studios, online video content creators/producers
Content distributors: online video retailers and rental outlets, online broadcasters, companies with a significant Internet media presence such as sports and entertainment sites
Service providers that want to offer a secure hosted service for content distributors
Enterprises that want to deliver video content securely to employees and partners

What content monetization options does Flash Media Rights Management Server offer to adopters?

Content owners and publishers can use the software to generate revenue through a variety of business models:

Advertising. Flash Media Rights Management Server can bind advertising and content together so they always play together. Adobe Media Player offers additional branding opportunities with banners, in-rolls, and overlays.
Download-to-own. End users can acquire content online (typically paying a fee), download it to their computer, and play it back even if they are offline. Flash Media Rights Management Server protects content from unauthorized redistribution.
Rental/pay-per-view. Service providers may offer a rental model either as a standalone subscription or as a video-on-demand offering. Flash Media Rights Management Server enforces viewing window restrictions so that content can only be played for a period of time.

In addition, Flash Media Rights Management Server can be deployed by service providers as part of a "white label" offering to content owners.

What will potential customers need to run Flash Media Rights Management Server?

Flash Media Rights Management Server is part of the Adobe LiveCycle® ES server and runs on Microsoft® Windows Server® 2003 Enterprise Edition or Standard Edition and on Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® AS or ES 4.0 (both on 32-bit edition only) operating systems. The solution requires a BEA WebLogic or JBoss application server. A relational database is required for storing encryption keys and access control lists; currently supported are Oracle, MySQL, and Microsoft SQL server.

What is the client software for Adobe Flash Media Rights Management Server?

Currently supported clients for Adobe Flash Media Rights Management Server are Adobe Media Player and Adobe AIR.

Adobe AIR is a cross-operating system runtime. AIR can be used to deliver custom applications that incorporate video and other media. Taking advantage of application programming interfaces (APIs), developers can enable secure playback of protected content.

Adobe Media Player is a free, downloadable desktop media player and management application that runs on Windows and Mac OS. Based on the Adobe Flash Platform, it provides high-quality video playback of streamed, downloaded, or locally stored video content, such as TV shows and feature films.

How does Flash Media Rights Management Server protect downloaded media content from being tampered with?

Flash Media Rights Management Server can encrypt content and sign playlists. Adobe Media Player and custom AIR applications can detect if encrypted content has been corrupted and if so, deny access to it. In addition, Adobe Media Player and AIR clients can verify the integrity of a signed playlist and enforce playback of content included in the playlist, such as pre-roll or in-roll advertising.

How does Flash Media Rights Management Server protect content from being pirated?

In addition to encrypting content, the software associates usage permissions or "rights" with content. For instance, an end user may be given the right to view content during a 72-hour playback window, after which time the content will no longer play. Rights can be renewed or updated so that it is not necessary to re-download content. Content providers can also verify the identity of end-users, integrating with their existing user database to help control access to downloaded media content.

How does Flash Media Rights Management Server integrate with existing end-user authentication and/or order management systems?

The software supports industry-standard authorization mechanisms, including Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). In addition, developers can use a Service Provider Interface (SPI) to create authentication and authorization handlers.

Can content publishers control the look and feel of their content?

Yes. Content publishers can incorporate protected content into their own Adobe AIR applications or deliver content to the Adobe Media Player. Both Adobe Media Player and AIR support customizable interface elements and backgrounds, so content publishers can deliver content that coordinates seamlessly with their brand.

Can end users play content even if they are offline?

Yes, if the policy for the content states that the end user can be offline during content playback. Content providers have the option of configuring Flash Media Rights Management Server and the AIR application to download the license for the content together with the content, so no connection to the server is required to start the content playback.

Can content expire?

Yes. The policy associated with the content can specify a date for the content to expire, or the number of days the content is valid. Beyond that, the content will no longer play.

Can an end-user license be limited to a particular computer?

Content providers can implement authentication and authorization mechanisms at the time the end-user acquires a license. Currently, content cannot be individually bound to a particular computer. However, content that is copied to another machine will not be usable unless a valid license is acquired.

In the case of misuse, can an end-user license be revoked?

Licenses can’t be revoked, but if the policy has been revoked new licenses will not be issued.

Can end users access content anonymously?

Yes, if the policy for the content states that the end user can be anonymous. If the end user must be identified, then the policy can, for example, specify an external authorization or authentication service. The Flash Media Rights Management Server SPI lets developers create an interface between their existing end-user authorization/authentication mechanisms and the software.

What is the difference between using Flash Media Rights Management Server with Adobe AIR or Adobe Media Player?

Flash Media Rights Management Server works with both Adobe AIR and Adobe Media Player. You can create a custom AIR application that takes advantage of the content protection capabilities of Flash Media Rights Management Server. If you want an out-of-the-box solution to play downloaded video content, you can use Adobe Media Player. Certain features such as the ability to lock advertising and branding to content are features of the Adobe Media Player and are not available to Adobe AIR applications.

How can enterprises already using Adobe LiveCycle Policy Server to protect documents upgrade to protecting video content?

Flash Media Rights Management Server is integrated with LiveCycle. However, there is currently no direct migration path to enable protected video playback with protected documents.

Does Flash Media Rights Management Server support download to own and download to rent scenarios?

Yes. The software supports download to own, download to rent, and subscription scenarios. These scenarios require end-user authentication and authorization, so adopters will need to take advantage of the SPI contained in the software.

Have studios approved Flash Media Rights Management Server?

The studios do not provide blanket approval. Content protection technologies are approved in the context of content distribution deals. We are working closely with the studios to provide them all necessary information on our solution. If you are a content distributor, please tell the studios about your interest in our product. Adobe is confident that the studios will approve our solution for distribution deals, but content distributors can help drive this forward.

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What business rules does Flash Media Rights Management Server support?

Adobe supports a range of business rules or usage conditions consistent with established industry practices, including support for different business models such as advertising-supported, rental, and download-to-own. Specific rules include:

Time-limited playback — content providers can set a period of time (for example, 30 days) during which rental content is playable after being downloaded.
Time from playback — content providers can limit the amount of time end-users have to finish watching content once they have started playing it (for example, one day.)
Start date and end date
Anonymous and authenticated access
Online and offline access

Does Flash Media Rights Management Server support watermarking or fingerprinting?

The software currently does not support watermarking or fingerprinting. However, any third-party watermarks that have been applied can be preserved. In addition, content providers can choose which parts of the content are encrypted: metadata or other information can be left unencrypted to enable fingerprinting.

Does Flash Media Rights Management Server support output protection?

The current release does not support output protection technologies such as HDCP or Macrovision. Adobe is evaluating the timeline and scope for such support.

What databases or application servers does Flash Media Rights Management Server support?

The software supports the WebLogic and JBoss application servers as well as Oracle, MySQL, and Microsoft SQL Server databases.

Why does Flash Media Rights Management Server require a database? Is there a lower-level API that can be used to eliminate the need for a database, an application server, and LiveCycle so a company can use its already existing systems?

Flash Media Rights Management Server is built on the LiveCycle platform and supports the use of the SPI APIs in order to integrate with existing authentication and authorization systems. A database is required to store the following pieces of information:

Policies and licenses, including updated policies
Content keys.
Audit events
Configuration (DRM keys, admin user accounts)

Flash Media Rights Management Server supports Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and MySQL databases.

What other features does Flash Media Rights Management Server 1.5 support?

The main features added to Flash Media Rights Management Server 1.5 are:

A set of APIs that allow service providers to automate the policy creation and packaging process and integrate it into their existing content management workflow process
"Multitenant" support, which allows a hosting service provider to support multiple customers — such as online stores and broadcasters — with a single server or server cluster.
License acquisition at the time of content download. This frees end-users from having to connect to a server to start playback.
Support for end-users to "top up" or renew licenses that are about to expire.

Do I have to use Flash Media Server to deliver protected content?

Content protected with Adobe Flash Media Rights Management Server can be streamed with Flash Media Server or delivered via HTTP as part of progressive download.

What happens if the encryption on Flash Media Rights Management Server is cracked?

Adobe is committed to providing continued support for Flash Media Rights Management Server to address any possible vulnerabilities. Adobe AIR and applications built on AIR, including Adobe Media Player, support application and runtime updates. If a vulnerability is found, content providers can require that the application and content run only on the latest version of Flash Media Rights Management Server and client software.

Does Flash Media Rights Management Server support the iPhone SDK?

We intend to support a broad range of devices, but AIR is not currently supported on the iPhone.

Does Flash Media Rights Management Server protect live streaming?

The software does not currently support encrypting live streams. However, Flash Media Server provides some capabilities to improve protection of live streams, including RTMPe “encrypted tunnel” and SWF verification.

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