NexGuard, a Kudelski Group company and the leading provider of forensic watermarking technology and solutions, today announced the integration of its forensic watermarking into the secure video path of Marvell’s family of ARMADA Ultra HD (UHD) set-top box (STB) solutions for service providers. Marvell Technology Group Ltd. is a leader in storage, networking, and connectivity semiconductor solutions.
This collaboration supports the latest MovieLabs Enhanced Content protection requirements and safeguards high-value content with forensic watermarking in addition to Conditional Access and Digital Rights Management systems.
NexGuard forensic watermarking enables Pay TV operators using Marvell’s multimedia solutions to embed a unique identifier into each piece of content, providing the operators with a robust and effective way to identify weakened links in their content distribution chain.
The ability to trace illicit redistribution to the original source of piracy makes it an effective tool for content owners and distributors to fight illegal content sharing. NexGuard’s forensic watermarking technology is imperceptible for all types of content – including High Dynamic Range (HDR) – and remains engrained regardless of transcoding, resizing, downscaling or other alterations throughout the production lifecycle.
“As consumers increasingly demand enriched entertainment experiences that include access to high-quality video content, the value of these feature-rich video assets increases tremendously, making them more susceptible to illicit access and re-distribution,” said Harrie Tholen, Managing Director of NexGuard. “It is imperative that content owners put the right protection measures, like forensic watermarking, in place to reinforce security throughout the content’s entire consumption path and in particular against illegal content redistribution.”
This integration builds upon the relationship between Marvell and the Kudelski Group over the last few years. “Marvell’s multimedia solutions underscore the company’s technology leadership in moving and accessing data at high speeds, enabling rich multimedia, seamless connectivity and customized experiences for today’s home entertainment devices.
Embedding forensic watermarking into STB chipsets is a necessary ingredient to ensure compliance with the enhanced, stringent content protection measures of today, whether coming from the movie studios or from premium sports right holders,” said Gaurav Shah, Vice President of Marketing of Multimedia Solutions Business Unit at Marvell.