Copy Protecting Video : Copysafe Video Protection
- File vs Image Protection
- DRM & Copy Protection Features
- Video Preparation
- Delivering Copy Protected Video
- Embedding Protected Video on Web Pages
- Return to the INDEX
📖 File Protection vs Image Protection
The two (2) main areas to defend are:
- File Protection - is prevention of file copy by locking its contents so that it cannot be opened except when an author's conditions are met.
- Image Protection - is prevention of copy of the contents of the video file while it is open and on display.
Video File Protection
Preventing video files from being opened is the only way to prevent file duplication because any such file copy will only create another file that still cannot be opened. Until such time that the file can be opened, its contents will remain secure, ie: they cannot be opened so that anything can be copied.
To prevent video files from being opened it needs to be encrypted, and remain encrypted until such time as the author's conditions are met.
The methods of file protection used for locking video are:
- Password Protection - requires entering the correct password before the video file will open to display its contents.
- DRM - digital rights management (DRM) provides access rights control by requiring the author to validate their permission to open the video file. Such validation can be provided by refering to a token file that has been saved to the same location as the video, or call-to-home checks where the video player checks online records of an author's approved list of computer fingerprints or computer identitities.
Copysafe Video Protection software provides the option of using either Password Protection or DRM. The Password Protection is much more secure because the Copysafe Video Player is not a generic player and being such, cannot be easily decompiled to extract passwords. The DRM provided by the Copysafe Video Player is second to none, enabling author's total control over who and when a video can be opened and for how long it will remain accessible. ArtistScope pioneered call-to-home validation for video instead of using token files that could be duplicated and shared.
Preventing a video file from being opened is the first frontier. Next comes the prevention of copy of its contents when it is open and on display.
Video Image Protection
Without image protection, once a video file is open and on display, its contents can be screen captured and recorded. The methods to that control are:
- Save & Download - video players usually provide options for Save and Download which enable the user to save the file to their computer.
- Screenshots - by using PrintScreen and screen capture software, photos of the video's image vcan be taken.
- Screen recording - by using screen recording software to record the video as it plays, a new instance can be created as a reproduction.
- Remote recording - by using a virtual computer (desktop sharing) the protected desktopcan be viewed from another computer that is not copy limited.
Working Scenarios
Whether managing subscriptions for online courses or keeping corporate data safe within a inhouse network, the two main working scenarios are:
- Desktop Viewing - videos can downloaded or sent by email, saved to the user's computer and then viewed on the desktop using the Copysafe Video Player.
- Online Viewing - where a user is provided a hyperlink to view the video online.
With Copysafe Video software both scenarios can be copy protected most securely. However for File Protection, DRM can only be applied for desktop reading because for online reading, any access controls that may be required are best provided by the web site user management (login) system (avoiding double standards and conflicts).
📖 DRM & Copy Protection Features
Video Encryption
Copysafe Video uses military grade encryption specially designed to not increase the video's file size. Copysafe Video files are decrypted in memeory so that viedeo files stored on the user's computer or in browser cache remain encrypted and not readable by direct or otherwise unathorized means.
Domain Lock for Video
Copysafe Video files displayed on web pages are domain locked to the web site that owns them. This means that even if someone can download the actual .class file, it cannot be opened directly or displayed on another web site.
Copy Protection for Video
Copysafe Video files are copy protected from all exploits including:
- PrintScreen and screen capture.
- Copy-n-paste and Drag-n-drop to the desktop.
- Password and data extraction.
- Media downloaders and website scrapers.
- Optional watermark cannot be removed.
Access Rights (DRM) for Video
The digital rights management (DRM) available as an option for Copysafe Video files is second to none. Protected videos distributed by download for desktop viewing can be protected by DRM to prevent file copy and image copy. File copy will be useless because anyone else trying to open the file will fail. When DRM is applied to Copysafe Video files only those users who have the express authorization of the author can open them and view their contents.
DRM options available authors:
- Expration by calendar date.
- Expiration by number of views.
- Expiration by number of days.
- Print limitation - off/number of printer visits.
- DRM priveleges assigned to users by ComputerID, group or DRM token.
- User and group management for class level/department assignment.
- Group sharing and whitelist for cross-level assignment.
- Total control over any changes made to video and DRM settings.
- DRM changes take immediate effect, even to documents already saved to a user's computer.
User Identification
For the purpose of managing the access rights of each individual user to open and view protected video, each user is identified by a unique computer signature (fingerprint). Once a user's device is registered in the Copysafe DRM portal their access is granted automatically thereafter for any and all entitlements. A user should only ever be prompted the first time that they open a Copysafe Video file.
However limitations may be in place for how many computers/devices each user can use. Those limits are applied by the Author (owner) of the Group that the User or Video belongs to. Users needing to exceed their allowance or change existing device records will need Author assistance - our support is extended to Authors who in turn need to take repsonsibility for their own Users.
Group Permissions
Group management is one method of providing access rights to a Collection of videos. Users are assigned to Groups and users are assigned to Groups, which means that any user of a group has the right to open any video assigned to the same Group.
A typical example would be having all lessons for Year One Maths in one Group and the lessons for Year Two Maths in another Group.
Group Whitelisting
Whitelisting can be used to enable a user who is a member of one Group to access the videos that belong to another Group.
DRM Tokens for Videos
DRM Tokens can be assigned giving individual users the access rights to use an individual video. DRM Tokens function independent of Group permissions.
DRM Tokens can be assigned manually from the author's dashboard, upon which an email with the DRM Token attached, login details and instructions can be sent to the new or existing user.
Selling From Online Stores
Videos managed by the Copysafe Video portal can be promoted, sold and distributed via any online store. The only limitation is that the file provided from their site for download may not meet their requirement if they only allow unencrypted video.
However that requirement can be satisfied by uploading a placemarker to provide a notice about waiting for an email from the Author with further instructions.
After receiving a successful sale notice from that store, authors can then create a DRM Token that will be sent from the Copysafe server.
Custom Templates
Authors can create custom templates that will be used for standard messages when sending out newsletters, delivery from online sales, and new DRM tokens.
📖 Video Preparation
Video Formats for Encryption
The Copysafe Video Encoder software encrypts MP4 video (MPEG-4) so that they can only be viewed by Copysafe applications, whether that be for desktop viewing or online viewing (from a web page).
Video Optimization
There is no limit in size for what can be encrypted by the Copysafe Video Encoder but common sense is strongly recommended to save users from the inconvenince that can be experienced by long download times and how long it might take for slow computers to decrypt large files.
Overall size and video quality is a key issue. For example a video with dimensions like 3840 x 2160 pixels can be overkill on a 4000 pixel wide monitor and an absolute waste of resources on computer screens that may be no more than 1600 pixels wide. For mobile phones an even smaller video size is recommended. Sacrificing a little in image quality can save file size dramatically.
The largest size for computers should only be 1280 x 720 pixels.
Download times can be critical. For example, as a user downloading a full lnghth movie, would you prefer to download 300 MB or more than 1-2 GB?
📖 Delivery Methods for Copy Protected Video
Copysafe Video files are encrypted, and as such, cannot be confused with normal videos because people will try to open them using a generic PDF reader that will result in errors. So Copysafe Video utilizes two (2) distinct file types, one for each type of distribution.
Desktop Viewing
Copysafe Video files for desktop viewinging can be made available for download or sent by email. The user can save these files to anywhere on their computer for later viewing.
Copysafe Video files for desktop viewinging use the .ENC file format that the Copysafe Video Player can decrypt and open. However care needs to be taken when providing downloads or sending as an attached file because some mail services may reject the unfamiliar file type. To avoid that from happening it is always best to send compressed files (ZIP).
Another point to watch, and your users should be forewarned, is that some mail services like GMail try to be clever and open compressed files and run them without first uncompressing the ZIP. Users should unpack a ZIP file and then open the video file directly.
Online Viewing
Copysafe Video for online reading are not distributed to users. Instead they are downloaded and displayed by the web pages created for them. They cannot be saved, and even if they could, they cannot be opened except for display on the web page that they were encrypted for, ie: Copysafe Video files as .class are domain locked.
File Types
The different types of Copysafe Video files can be identified by their file extension.
- .class - for example myVideo.class will be a copy protected video that can be displayed on web pages viewed while using the ArtisBrowser.
- .ENC - for example myVideo.ENC will be a copy protected video that can be downloaded and viewed using the Copysafe Video Player.
These file types are not interchangeable.
These file types are used because they are most compatible all round, ie: web servers should not need to have their MimeTypes configuration modified to be able to identify and know how to handle these files. Nor should anti-virus software be alarmed.
Limitations
The only difference between publishing for desktop reading and online reading, is that DRM can be applied for desktop reading (.ENC) but not for online reading (.class). That is because the Copysafe Video Player can call home to check the user's access rights, while protected video for online reading can rely on the website's user management system for access rights.
📖 Embedding Protected Video on Web Pages
To display Copysafe Video files on web pages, special object code (HTML) is required to provide parameters and settings.
Hard Coding for Static Web Pages
An example of the object code for adding a Copysafe Video .class file to a web page is as follows:
Dynamic Coding Using CMS Plugins
CMS plugins are available for DNN, WordPress, Moodle, Drupal and Joomla websites. From the CMS's web page editor one can upload/nominate the video file and add it to a web page at the current cursor position. The classic editor for WordPress is shown here:
Note how a Shortcode is used as a placemarker.
Distributing To Other Pages
Once you have a template or Shortcode, it can be easily added to other pages by using copy-n-paste. Then you may only need to change the video file name.
