Todays media industry uses DRM not only for preventing illegal copying but also for bundling services with networks (e.g. TV channels can be received only on cable networks) or bundling services with devices (e.g. TV channels can only be received on certain set-top boxes or mobile devices). By controlling consumer devices, content providers can exert market power along the value chain. Innovative media usages like sharing content amongst different devices or different users are impossible.

Open standards for interoperable DRM (like e.g. DMP) could eventually lead to a situation where many independent producers can offer their content on television - employing business-models and licensing schemes of their choice. Since such an open market place contradicts the interests of some of the current major players, it is a moot point whether interoperable DRM will succeed in the near future.

Many consumers find that DRM takes away the advantages of owning content stored on physical media (independence of location, independence of time, security of continued access, cost control) while it imposes new constraints (dependence on delivery systems, no cost control, dependence on devices, insecurity of continued access, loss of privacy). Still it seems that - if they want to receive the content of the media industry - in the very near future consumers will be tied to non-interoperable DRM systems

With the proliferation of VCRs in the early 1980ies, television viewers started to make private copies of television programming. The US Supreme Court's verdict in the 1984 case between Sony and Universal was that it is legal to make copies of TV shows on your VCR and view them later, even fast-forwarding through commercials. Copying over-the-air TV shows represents "fair use" and not a copyright violation.

Consumer rights organizations and organizations of rights holders have engaged lawyers in a debate on the question which actions consumers should be legally allowed to execute on digital content. Recent copyright amendments indicate that rights holders have succeeded to introduce DRM into copyright legislation and criminalize the circumvention of copy protection measures.

But even though the media industry tends to employ DRM to lock consumers into particular DRM schemes and particular business models it looks as if consumers still have the right to timeshift (record and watch it at a different time) TV and to watch TV on the devices of their choice (e.g. TV on a mobile device).

MyVids is an interactive service delivery platform that enables consumers to receive and watch TV in the form of DRM protected digital video on the devices of their choice (e.g. IP set-top boxes, PC, mobile devices with an internet connection). The MyVids platform provides several TV related services (such as a Virtual VCR, an electronic programme guide (EPG), video annotation and search tools) to consumers. The subscription based business model saves cost on End-User devices and reduces the risk that users cannot use services on the devices of their choice, because they are are incompatible with existing content protection technologies deployed by broadcasters.

MyVids users can not only watch live broadcasts, but also control the playback (pause, rewind, fast forward) of the live feed, up to the current point in time. The "Virtual VCR" enables the capturing and storing of digital television programmes on the video server for a later play-back. The choice of specific channels and programs is controlled by a scheduling mechanism that is linked to the electronic program guide (EPG) and is under the control of the consumer. An EPG on the End-User's device enables the viewer to locate and specify a program that will be casted in the future for recording. The video recorder functionality can be implemented by users allocating "personal" hard disk space on the storage array of the MyVids video server.

System Architecture

The diagram describes the system architecture of the MyVids service:

End-User

The End-User can use a range of devices providing an EPG to schedule recordings.

• EPG on the Display of the TV with IP Set-Top Box
• EPG on a home computer
• EPG on a mobile phone

Content Manager

The Content Manager is a service that provides the User-Interface of the MyVids service and is responsibe for scheduling and managing the content

• user management (database, access, privacy)
• control recording of digital TV programmes (allocation of memory)
• indexing of programmes in the database (segmentation, timecode, generating metadata)
• provide metadata about available and recorded programmes to the End-User
• schedule play-back of programmes
• control streaming server (pause, rewind, fast forward)

Receiver

The Receiver demultiplexes the Digital TV (DVB) signal and stores the corresponding programme streams on the Storage Array

Storage Array

The Storage Array provides provides memory for storing the Digital TV programmes

Streaming Server

The Streaming Server copes with the play-back of the Digital TV programmes over the network to the End-User

Value-chain

The diagram indicates where MyVids adds value in the content distribution value-chain:

Silvio is a Formula 1 racing enthusiast. He has subscribed to a Satellite Pay-TV provider in Italy who has the exclusive broadcast rights to Formula 1 in Italy. Since the Pay-TV provider protects his assets by a proprietary conditional access (CA) system, the programmes can only be received on specially certified set-top boxes.

Because of his job, Silvio often needs to spend several weeks abroad. Although he has a Pay-TV subscription for watching the Formula 1 he can never be sure whether he will find a place to watch the coverage of the race, let alone listen to the comments of his favorite Italian anchorman.

MyVids offers the solution. For a monthly subscription fee MyVids enables Silvio to access his Pay-TV channel using any broadband Internet connection and his notebook or videophone. Technically this is possible by transcoding the high-resolution HDTV programme of the Pay-TV channel into a DRM protected standard resolution SDTV stream and multicasting it on the Internet. MyVids also offers personal disk space and an EPG allwoing Silvio to schedule recordings of his favorite TV programmes.