DECE's 'digital locker' take-anywhere DRM dubbed UltraViolet, launches later this year
By Richard Lawler 
posted July 20th 2010 1:41AM
posted July 20th 2010 1:41AM
Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem Unveils UltraViolet™ Brand
UltraViolet to Give Consumers Greater Choice and Freedom to Purchase, Manage and Watch Digital Movies, TV Shows and Other Entertainment
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem LLC (DECE LLC), a cross-industry consortium dedicated to driving a new, open market for digital content distribution, today announced its consumer brand – UltraViolet™ – and logo (www.uvvu.com). UltraViolet represents a new way for consumers to have greater choice, confidence and freedom in how, when and where they enjoy digital movies, TV shows and other entertainment. In addition, the consortium announced three additional new members bringing the total to nearly 60 member companies.
"Our goal is to firmly establish UltraViolet as the symbol for digital entertainment – one that gives consumers the freedom of access wherever they are, the confidence of knowing how it will work and the broadest choice of content, stores and devices."
Complementing the physical DVD and Blu-ray home entertainment markets, UltraViolet will allow consumers to watch their digital entertainment across multiple platforms, such as connected TVs, PCs, game consoles, smartphones and tablet PCs, in an easy, consistent way. Since all UltraViolet offerings will work together, consumers will be able to select which products and devices they prefer from a spectrum of familiar companies – ranging from major studios to consumer electronics companies to cable, web and other service providers. In addition, the UltraViolet name and logo will help identify entertainment products and services designed to work together seamlessly.
"The introduction of the UltraViolet brand is another important step towards the consumer launch of UltraViolet products and services," said Mitch Singer, DECE president and CTO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. "Our goal is to firmly establish UltraViolet as the symbol for digital entertainment – one that gives consumers the freedom of access wherever they are, the confidence of knowing how it will work and the broadest choice of content, stores and devices."
The UltraViolet experience will be powered by a cloud-based UltraViolet Account, which will include a Digital Rights Locker and account management functionality. Consumers will be able to create an UltraViolet Account, free of charge, via one of the many participating UltraViolet service providers or through the UltraViolet website. Once created, this Account will allow consumers to easily access and manage all of their UltraViolet entertainment, regardless of where it was purchased.
Technical specifications and licensing details for companies who wish to offer UltraViolet content, services and devices, are expected this year.
DECE also announced the addition of LG Electronics, LOVEFiLM and Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. to the consortium. These companies join DECE's already strong group which include world leaders across a wide range of industries.
About Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) LLC
The Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) LLC is a cross-industry initiative developing the next generation digital media experience based on open, licensable specifications and designed to create a viable, global digital marketplace. The DECE is currently made up of Adobe, Alcatel-Lucent, Ascent Media Group, Best Buy, Blueprint Digital, BT, CableLabs, Catch Media, Cineplex Entertainment, Cisco, Comcast, Cox Communications, CSG Systems' Content Direct, Deluxe Digital, DivX, Dolby Laboratories, DTS, ExtendMedia, Fox Entertainment Group, HP, Huawei, IBM, Intel, Irdeto, LG Electronics, Liberty Global, Lionsgate, LOVEFiLM, Marvell Semiconductor, Inc., Microsoft, MOD Systems, Motorola, Movie Labs, Nagravision, NBC Universal, NDS, Netflix, Neustar, Nokia, Panasonic, Paramount Pictures, Philips, Red Bee Media, RIAA, Rovi, Roxio CinemaNow, Samsung Electronics, Secure Path, Sony, SwitchNAP, Tesco, Thomson, Toshiba, Verimatrix, VeriSign, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Widevine Technologies Inc. and Zoran. DECE's new digital media specifications, logo program and interoperable digital rights locker will enable consumers to purchase digital video content from a choice of online retailers and play it on a variety of devices and platforms from different manufacturers.
What DECE member companies are saying about UltraViolet:
ADOBE
"Adobe is pleased to participate in the introduction of the UltraViolet brand and support the creation of a seamless consumer experience around premium digital content. DECE's adoption of Adobe Flash Access ensures that content providers can rely on the Flash Platform for secure distribution and playback of UltraViolet content. While this enables new revenue streams for all participants, the ultimate winner is the consumer who gains access to a seamless entertainment experience." – Florian Pestoni, principal product manager for Rich Media Solutions at Adobe
BEST BUY
"We are proud to be a founding member of DECE and are committed to educating consumers about the ever-changing world of digital entertainment. By bringing forward the Ultraviolet brand, we will continue to advocate choice in how and where consumers choose to view their content in addition to instilling confidence in an easy-to-access system compatible across a wide array of devices." – Chris Homeister, senior vice president and general manager, home entertainment group for Best Buy
COMCAST
"We believe UltraViolet will provide a tremendous opportunity for even more choice and control by giving consumers the ability to view content from anywhere on many devices," said Mark Coblitz, senior vice president of Strategic Development for Comcast Corporation. "There is no other offering that affords such an open platform to deliver the wealth of digital entertainment choices."
INTEL
"Intel is pleased to contribute to the development of the exciting new UltraViolet ™ digital media experience. UltraViolet will bring consumers a new level of choice and confidence with the freedom to enjoy their media on all of their family's devices, including PCs, smart phones, netbooks, tablets, game consoles, and connected TVs, regardless of where it was purchased," noted Jeff Lawrence, Intel director of Global Content Policy.
MICROSOFT
"Microsoft is committed to working towards digital entertainment solutions that delight consumers. As a founding member of DECE, Microsoft is furthering that goal by enabling consumer choice and confidence in digital entertainment," said Blair Westlake, corporate vice president of the Media & Entertainment Group of Microsoft Corporation. "UltraViolet is designed to provide consumers with greater options and ease-of-use for digital entertainment, which it delivers by bringing innovation and efficiency to the entertainment industry."
NEUSTAR
"UltraViolet's™ 'Digital Locker' will be intuitive and incredibly easy-to-use, and Neustar is delighted – and well-suited – to be developing the UltraViolet digital media experience," said Tim Dodd, vice president of Media and Entertainment for Neustar. "There is a great deal of complexity that underlies the brand's revolutionary promise of openness and interoperability, and Neustar is fully committed to bringing this promise to fruition for the benefit of all digital media consumers."
SONIC SOLUTIONS
"Sonic's extensive involvement in DECE and our contributions in helping bring UltraViolet to market are a vital component of supporting our retail partners' digital businesses," said Dave Habiger, President and CEO, Sonic Solutions. "We will continue to align our RoxioNow platform with DECE and prepare for early implementation of UltraViolet specifications to help take digital delivery mainstream and meet consumers' expectations for convenience, ease, and flexibility."
SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT
"UltraViolet marks the beginning of a new era for consumers to access and engage with their entertainment across a variety of devices. Through the advent of a digital locker, UltraViolet provides a new perspective on the value of collecting both physical and digital media." – David Bishop, president, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
WARNER BROS.
"We believe that UltraViolet will provide consumers with an easy-to-use way to buy and watch digital entertainment across multiple devices," said Thomas Gewecke, president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. "Making interoperability possible meets a key consumer need, and fundamentally improves the digital video experience. With UltraViolet, consumers will be able to purchase a title once, and enjoy it anywhere and anytime they wish."
really...
Yay! DRM! How exciting! Us customers sure love that, don't we folks? How gracious they are for letting us use the content we purchase on devices of our choosing. It's sort of like how Verizon's latest Fios ads talk about how they're waving the term contract temporarily, and act all proud of it. Oh, thank you gracious ones, for making me not have to pay you to stop using your product... Gotta love the world of digital content.
@JWest08 LOL
@JWest08 Actually, there is one really good example of DRM that has been very well-recieved: Valve's Steam platform. If the tracking and checking done by DRM is also used to provide valuable cloud-based services and benefits, it becomes far more palpable to the consumers. I think similar compromises are the future of DRM on the PC platform, and if the promises of this DRM platform are accurate(doubtful, but you can hope), it will provide a marvelously portable license allowing for easy and convenient use by consumers in multiple formats.
Keep your 'greatest freedom...' I'll stick with no DRM thanks.
fuck DRM i hate it totally unacceptable
@DroidCLH You hate all DRM and a concept? Do you not think the rights of copyright holders should be managed digitally? Would you prefer it to only be through the courts? Or do you oppose copyright?
I hate the inconvenience that DRM has traditionally imposed. I understand the need for it though. Without any form of DRM piracy will continue to be rampant. While DRM prevents us using our content the way we want, it'll keep getting circumvented.
@jonaford copyright, DRM and owner's rights sounds like bullshit to me. If you don't want your content to be illegally copied then release it on some public license or not release at all.
World is not perfect place. But it's normal for human nature to share. So we should share but we shouldn't make profit from it.
@Win7GT That is about the dumbest thing I have heard in a while. Don't make profit. Movies and music are expensive to make. Some actors can get hundreds of millions for one movie and you want them to give away the video. Great thinking. Hey do you want to tell me your banking info since you are in a sharing mood?
@Junyor Mynt
i'll let the rich millionaires buy dvds, ebooks, netflix accounts etc. but i aint gonna stop consuming. bit torrent gets me everything i want in HD format in minutes. i will never buy a product with DRM on it, because it is bullshit. what sense does it make to punish paying customers when pirates like myself can get it free with freedom?
@Junyor Mynt Movies and music can be profitable without DRM. There are bands that distribute their albums in plain, non-protected MP3 format on the internet, in addition to pressing (also non-copy protected) CDs and doing live shows, and they do well. Movies can still make money in theaters, and I'd argue that it'd be better for DVD sales if you weren't punished for buying them. Compare: On a DVD, you're likely to see an unskippable video reminding you what a horrible crime movie piracy is, while on an actual pirated video, you'd never see anything like that.
@jonaford
People who get their primary content via pirating are still a very large minority. Most of the non-tech (and even techie) people I talk to are now scared to even think about downloading something without paying for it.
Even otherwise, most people use iTunes, and go see movies, as well as buy them to watch at home.
As the market becomes freer and the standard of living rises in developing countries, the rate of piracy will go down there too.
This is a non-issue.
@paul34
ugh, meant "very small."
@Win7GT And how do you price it if there is no scarcity?
@Win7GT
Owners rights should mean the people that own the COPIES, not the people that own the original copyrights. This is not "owner" rights, this is PUBLISHER rights. This is all about expanding the rights of publishers at the expense of individual property rights.
It's high time that we started turning around the bad rhetoric and the big lie.
Authors are not owners. Anyone that buys a copy is the owners.
ipad + iphone4 = EPIC FAIL
Huh? Wait? Wha?
@Avaviel
Seemingly random, totally off-topic comment + fanboy-ish sentiments = epic fail!
Thanks to SecuROM, I just assume all DRM software will somehow ail me during casual use.
@Frostblade10
I freaking hate SecuROM. There are games I payed good money for that I don't hardly play simply because I don't want to have to go get the disc. I'm lazy, I know, but my excuse is that I have a laptop that isn't always near my discs :P.
@JWest08 Just download a good noCD crack, you bought the game anyway...
I expect it to be as enjoyable as the movie of the same name
@Joeyjoejoe Shabadoo Funny usually when I think of DRM it reminds of a movie with a bit of the Ultra Violence.
DRM makes me want to chop my sack off, they need to get rid of that BS and just leave it all DRM free, seems the more use of DRM just...increases people pirating their music, do these idiots not realize that by now, after all these years!?
@TickLe MY eLMo
u want to chop your sack off cuz of drm?
I think it looks like a step in the right direction. They appear to be acknowledging that in the digital environment a physical file and a license to use a piece of copyright protected content are two separate (but obviously related) issues.
If I end up with a system which allows me to buy once, use on any device I choose I'll be happy. Particularly if it 'just works'.
@jonaford
When has DRM ever "just worked?"
@jonaford
Why should I have to be online to use something I already bought? What if I own a player that doesn't support this DRM scheme? Then am I SOL? I will stick with buying DVDs and ripping them for my music players, thank you.
@Teerim
In short, No.
@Teerim
It hasn't... yet. It may never, but one day it might.
@maxxorz
DRM does not conceptually require you to be online. The whole point of DECE is that you can re-download your content in a format that your device DOES support (ie. you dont need to transcode, they will do it for you, but with appropriate watermarks or rights management enforced). If ripping DVDs works for you then keep doing it. Not everyone likes ripping and converting their media though. Does your mum rip her own DVDs too?
(I HOPE that "The whole point of DECE is that you can re-download your content in a format that your device DOES support". I can't imagine DRM a system ever working without such a feature.)
Press releases are soooo much easier to make that any real product. This is guaranteed to be train wreck. It'll have the typical story: People dumb enough to buy in will be frustrated when the stuff they paid for doesn't work, while the rest of us waiting for DRM-free content are still forced to use "alternatives".
DECE Shoes.
In two words like in a thousand : F*CK OFF!
This has FAIL written all over it.
First off, it is cloud-based, so does that mean that now we need EVERY device we own to be internet-based? It's one thing to have access to the internets from your desktop and laptop, but now your MP3-player, TV, phone and everything else needs to access the cloud?
What happens if we lose internet connection? On a plane? In the woods? Or simply technical problems? So we lose internet, but apparently the perfectly good DVD player we have now won't work either?
Also being a new standard, that means that probably nothing out there right now is compatible. So every device that we would like to watch some crappy movie on has to either be updated or we have to buy a new one?
Last but not least is the fact that this is not the ONLY standard, so of course there are going to still be issues if I buy a Disney movie on DVD it won't be compatible with this UV standard.
Either way, I fully expect for this standard-to-rule-all-standards to eventually get hacked which will then get these companies to scramble and come up with another non-compatible format.
Engadget, you disappoint me. For the picture, I was hoping you would come up with some witty chop involving Milla Jovovich in a leather outfit, instead you went for the company logo.
down with drm!
Check out cartris blog, awesome anti drm activist/Mac bios god:
Cartri.net/blog
Doesn't matter what they do. Some hacker will find a way to disable all DRM "protection" like has already happened with DVD & Blu-Ray copy protection.
I don't get why everyone is bitching about the DRM on this one. Sure, I think DRM sucks just like everybody else, but this seems to be just about the best solution.
The problem with DRM in the past was it tried to lock you into either one or a couple machines per purchase. If I'm understanding this correctly, this system allows you to purchase a movie once and watch it on any device. Sure there's DRM, in that you have to have an account and log in, but other than that you're free to watch it on as many devices as many times as you want.
The world is going to shift to a could based, streaming system anyways. This model sounds pretty fair.
"buy a piece of content once in physical or digital format, and gain access across all formats and devices via a cloud based account"
IF I'm getting this right, you buy a blu-ray. Maybe that blu-ray has a code, I don't know. So you type this code into your account and the system now knows you purchased the movie. You can now watch it from the cloud anywhere you'd like, on any device that supports it. You also have your blu-ray for the best possible (as of now) picture and audio at home. This is 1000000000x better than that piece of shit digital copy they do now. Maybe this isn't exactly how it works, but it's the impression I got.
@Jordan
How is having to download something everytime you want to watch it a "better alternative". Yeah. The Digital Copy the give you sucks too. Best option. Rip the movie yourself, and encode it in a format you can watch on a personal media player. Problem solved.
@maxxorz:
Very true, which is one of the reasons I love optical media above all else. But I know eventually everything will go to streaming/downloading so to me, this sounds like a good option
I don't know if I'm crazy for doing this but I'm sick of giving money directly to the movie industry.. I'm only buying used Blu rays now. I know it's not as good as a full-on boycott, but I feel better about it.
Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD was nothing... Keychest vs. Ultraviolet is really going to ignite the flames of debate. AVS Forum better beef up their forum servers.
watch your purchased content across multiple platforms from multiple NSPs in multiple formats? these guys are getting somwhere.