Nighthawk Systems has debuted its Verimatrix VideoMark forensic watermarking technology, designed to limit pirating of video content at the HITEC Show in Austin.
VideoMark is the industry's first secure and invisible content tracking solution that enables forensic, user-specific marking of video within each set-top box client in a pay-TV system, Nighthawk said.
As part of the layered security approach offered with the VCAS for IPTV, VideoMark is implemented in a highly efficient manner on the Sigma Design-based Nighthawk set-top box.
The VideoMark payload is robust against a wide range of video content manipulations, with recovery of the unique client identification possible from all unauthorised analog and digital distribution formats.
Because any pirated copies can be traced to a unique user, and not just a system operator, content owners are assured of protection that extends beyond the digital network.
Unlike encryption, which creates an envelope around content that can effectively secure delivery from point to point, a watermark is embedded in the content itself and remains even if it has been decrypted, decoded and possibly re-encoded to another file.
Guest-Tek's Oneview Media platform, utilising Nighthawk’s IP3000 high definition set-top box, is expected to be the first hospitality platform to incorporate this technology.
By Elizabeth Clifford-Marsh
