Microsoft Updates DRM Technology
Feb 14, 2007, 5:20 PM by (staff)
Windows released new digital rights management (DRM) technology at 3GSM in Barcelona this week. Called PlayReady, it replaces (but is backward-compatible with) the outgoing PlaysForSure DRM program. The biggest difference between the two is that PlayReady has been designed with mobile operators and over-the-air mobile content delivery systems in mind, and will allow customers to move their content from one platform to another much more easily. PlaysForSure was targeted at helping consumers find compatible hardware and content. Verizon and Cingular announced support for PlayReady, as did a handful of European operators. It appears to compete somewhat with OMA DRM 2.0, which allows for similar protection of content. Though OMA 2.0 has been in development for nearly 3 years, it has only been deployed on about a dozen handsets so far. PlayReady will be available on handsets in the first half of 2007.