What’s in a name? Well a lot apparently. The Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, also known as the DECE, has finally chosen to move forward with a brand name and a beta program for its cloud-based “digital locker” system. The name that they have chosen? UltraViolet and the beta testing begins fall of this year. Don’t expect the specs or licensing to be ready anytime soon as those are expected to be announced at the end of this year.
DECE made it’s first public debut this year and the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) but has been under development since 2008. During it’s presentation at CES, DECE announced that their technology will set a standard for video encryption and allow users to take their content from one device to the next without jeopardizing Digital Rights Managment (DRM). In essence, the technology allows users to take their content with them on numerous devices while authenticating with a cloud-based “Digital Rights Locker” when the user wants to use their content on a new device. This obviously is a step forward in DRM technology as it would free the user from being locked into using a single device or particular piece of hardware, all the while allowing content providers a degree of control over the way the content is consumed.
The companies the DECE encompasses include some big names; Warner Bros., NBC Universal, Sony, Fox, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, Netflix, Adobe and DivX to name a few. Namely absent from the pack are Apple and Disney. While Disney is working on their own version of authentication formatting called KeyChest, Apple is off in the distance and wants nothing to do with the group or the DRM movement. The DECE crew is approximately 60 companies strong and growing. With all of these big players involved one could hope that they are all working toward an easy-to-use system that people will actually want to use. This should be interesting though with the most widely used MP3 player’s father, Apple, keeping it’s distance, UltraViolet may have a hard time becoming the “Universal DRM.” What does this mean for the music download industry and it’s user? We soon shall see.