Conax teams up with Civolution for watermarking

Kudelski Group-owned content security provider Conax has teamed up with Civolution to demonstrate the use of forensic watermarking for protecting premium content revenues.

The solution provides the combined capabilities of a SmarDTV UHD Gateway, integrated with Civolution’s NexGuard forensic watermarking technology and featuring watermark detection services integrated with the anti-piracy services of Kudelski Security’s team of over 150.

All elements of the complete watermark architecture are secured in the device and controlled by Conax Contego content protection, to provide protection of premium content for OTT and broadcast content in addition to premiere tools for tracking, identifying and preventing illicit distribution of content at its origin. The security provider will add support for additional watermarking technologies and devices in the future based on market demands.

The solution is targeting pay TV operators heavily investing in premium content rights. By endorsing Ultra HD content licensing prerequisites, the solution enables operators to meet the MovieLabs Enhanced Content Protection requirements sanctioning access to high value 4K and Ultra HD content from Hollywood studios. The partnership provides operators with tools for forensic monitoring and tracking the sources of illicit distribution of next generation video content combined with a content security solution for preventing content redistribution, according to Conax.

“We are working closely with our customers to provide the best overall framework for protecting the varied elements of their platform revenues and we are aware that the market has shown interest in forensic watermarking for some time. Conax  sees increasing demand from pay-TV operators for watermarking solutions for procuring high-value Ultra HD content from the major Hollywood studios. In a holistic security scenario, forensic watermarking is becoming an important component in the overall solution we offer to pay-TV operators,” said Tor Helge Kristiansen, EVP Principal Architect in Conax.

“Working with the forensic watermarking specialists at NexGuard and anti-piracy experts from the cyber security team at sister company Kudelski Security to create this enhanced security architecture has been a thrilling experience. The combined expertise of these industry-leading companies, and the integration with SmarDTV’s latest 4k UHD set-top-box, enables Conax to further enhance its security solutions portfolio with additional services for fighting premium content piracy with a best-in-class solution that we are proud to offer our customers.”

Jean-Philippe Plantevin, senior vice-president products and solutions, NexGuard, said: “For premium live and VoD content delivered to operator-controlled devices, forensic watermarking is the only proven means of tracking illicit re-distribution back to its source. We are pleased to be working with leading technology providers Conax, Kudelski Security and SmarDTV to leverage a complete security ecosystem from A-Z for operators to track and identify illegal re-distribution and, in turn, protect their premium content revenues.”

Christophe Nicolas, senior vice-president of Kudelski Security said: “It’s been an exciting endeavour to participate in this first cross-group cooperation together with sister company Conax. Through the integration and new joint offering, Conax customers can now benefit from the forensic and anti-piracy services required to track down the source of watermark-protected content and pursue the necessary actions required to limit further damage to service provider businesses.”

Conax will exhibit on Stand 1.C81 at IBC