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UltraViolet’s Digital Locker Is Built

Neustar Media has turned in the final version of the digital rights management system developed for the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), which will be used in the consumer launch of the DECE’s UltraViolet video service expected later this year.

UltraViolet is a content locker and management system that, in theory, allows users to purchase content in one location and then have it linked to all of their devices that support the DECE’s initiative. The DECE aims to use retail partners for physical and digital distribution. For example, if consumers purchase Blu-ray movies or TV shows at Best Buy, the movies and TV shows would be linked to their account, and digital versions of the movies or TV shows will become instantly available as streams or downloads to smartphones, tablets, TVs, PCs and STBs.

The ultimate goal is to have physical and digital retailers provide users with codes at checkout that allow users to instantly sync their content, or to provide retailers a way to scan a smartphone at the register and instantly access and approve the content in the locker at that point, taking the hassle out of the consumer’s hands.

The Neustar Media Cloud Service will handle content management, authentication, DRM and device management for UltraViolet.

Neustar Media VP and general manager Tim Dodd said that the service will “be in a position as soon as August 1 to go out to consumers, but safe to say by Q4 we’ll be ready for a consumer launch.”

In a TV-Everywhere World
UltraViolet was first evangelized by Mitch Singer, CTO of Sony Pictures Entertainment and president of the DECE, who said that the goal was to bring back some of the video power to the studios as DVD sales leveled off and piracy problems continued to rise.

The initiative now faces a new concept that wasn’t present during its inception: the TV-Everywhere model that’s pushed by pay-TV companies that often includes VOD services with films owned by many DECE partners.

While the DECE’s main technological goal remains the same, it can push its UltraViolet to become a VOD-Everywhere offering that could actually boost what the pay-TV companies are trying to do. Comcast and Cox are already on board, meaning that the consortium could allow these cablecos to offer purchases from their VOD platform that are linked to these UltraViolet accounts.

The purchase would be a strong offering to both boost the popularity of TV Everywhere and to compete against services like iTunes, Amazon VOD and even Hulu Plus. Consumers would instantly be able to see their purchases available on their TV, which would be a major hurdle to overcome at launch.

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