We’re excited to announce Azure Media Services now offers Google Widevine license delivery service in the cloud. Today, in order to deliver Digital Rights Management(DRM) protected content across full range of browsers and devices via HTML5 Encrypted Media Extensions (EME), you will need to support more than one DRM. For instance, IE 11 and Microsoft Edge implemented PlayReady Content Decryption Module (CDM) but Google Chrome implemented Widevine CDM. You may end up encrypt your videos multiple times for each technology. However, with Azure Media services, you now have an end-to-end solution allows you to encrypt your media files only once with ISO MPEG Common Encryption (CENC) and generate multiple DRM header such as Widevine and PlayReady to be streamed to multiple browsers.

Google Widevine License delivery

Google Widevine modular is Google’s DRM technology works on MPEG-DASH streaming with common encryption. Google Widevine Modular can be played on Android devices (4.3+), Chrome browser via Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) and Chromecast/Android TV. Azure Media Services now provides pay-as-you-go Widevine license delivery services. It is free at public preview and will be charged at $0.2/100 license when our service hits GA. Additionally, effective January 1 2016, PlayReady License Delivery will be reduced to $.20 per 100 licenses as well!

The below diagram shows how you can use Google Widevine license services with the rest of Azure Media Services workflow.

Steps involved when configuring an end-to-end multi-DRM DASH stream

• Encode your media asset once into H.264 multiple bitrate MP4.
• Azure Media Services will dynamically encrypt your content using Common encryption (CENC) and package it with PlayReady and/or Widevine license header based on your configuration.
• Azure Media Services delivers MPEG-DASH stream with PlayReady and/or Widevine.
• Use Azure Media Player to deliver the stream to your web viewers and it will detect your browser and request the allowed license type, such as Widevine for Chrome.
• Azure Media Services provides out-of-box Token authentication on your license delivery if you want to restrict the audiences based on your specific business logic.
• Azure Media Services supports both live and video-on-demands stream with Widevine.

How can I get started?

• Sign up with Azure.com and create an Azure Media Services account.
• To configure this service using .NET SDK, this MSDN tutorial and sample code project will help you prepare a Widevine license service and configure your asset to be dynamically encrypted with Widevine. You can also check out Widevine’s policy details on MSDN.
• Don’t want to code? Azure Explorer Tool just had a new update 3.33.0.0 to support Widevine license delivery configuration. Please refer to this guide for more information.
• Configure Azure Media Player for your Widevine streams. Azure Media Player v1.4.0 supports playback of Azure Media Services content that is dynamically packaged with both PlayReady and Widevine DRM. To get started, check out the documentation, or see working samples for how to update the player for this configuration through JavaScript and directly through the DOM. You can also check out Azure Media Player demo page to see how multi-DRM working yourself!