MS debuts DRM format

Microsoft today at 3GSM introduced its third copy protection format after Windows Media and the Zune's proprietary standard, titled 'PlayReady.' The scheme is intended for cellular phones as well as other handhelds, extending playback options past earlier formats. Microsoft says PlayFirst enables content owners to distribute titles as permanent copies, subscriptions, rental, pay-per-view, or "super-distribution." The company revealed that PlayReady is its first DRM implementation to be independent of its own file types, according to Electronista. While Windows Media music and video are still guarded, the same protection can apply to multiple AAC formats, H.264 video, and rarely protected mobile content such as wallpapers or games. Every PlayReady device will still support Windows Media 10 protection for other stores.

Several carriers are already planning to introduce the standard across their phones, including AT&T and Verizon as well as major international firms such as O2 and Telefonica. No specific plans were revealed at the 3GSM show in Barcelona but will likely surface in the first half of 2007, when the technology will be passed on to phone hardware and service creators.

The move represents simultaneous steps forward and backward for Microsoft. The Redmond developer drew fire last year for applying DRM even to unprotected tracks shared between its Zune players as well as seemingly abandoning its PlaysForSure standard in favor of a proprietary scheme that would only work with its own hardware. In creating PlayReady, however, the company appears to have made a partial concession to chairman Bill Gates' complaints about DRM by encouraging more interoperability between devices and formats.

by MacNN Staff