NAB 2009: Harmonic Works With Google
Incorporates fingerprinting into Rhozet product
By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/24/2009 8:00:49 AM
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Las Vegas -- The big NAB news from Rhozet, the transcoding business of Harmonic, was a new relationship with Google's YouTube video portal to integrate YouTube's fingerprinting technology into Rhozet's Carbon Coder product. The agreement means that programmers will be able to avoid the unauthorized use of their content and more efficiently monetize it when it is displayed on the Web.
"YouTube is allowing this fingerprinting to be built into Rhozet Carbon Coder," explains Rhozet VP David Trescot. "So during the trancode process, fingerprinting becomes part of the standard workflow. YouTube will check the fingerprint before displaying the video, and YouTube will block it [if it's unauthorized]. So content will never be leaked."
The deal allows Carbon Coder users to automatically generate an ID file, or "fingerprint", of the video content during the transcode process that can be read by YouTube's Content ID System. They can then use YouTube's Content ID System to upload the tiny ID files to YouTube, where they will be used to automatically identify their content in user-uploaded videos on YouTube and apply "usage policies" they specify, such as blocking content, tracking usage statistics or monetizing it through advertising. That process can be automated through a content management system.
Rhozet believes the integration of fingerprinting into the transcoding process results in a faster, more simplified approach for automatically tracking and protecting content. With this process, programmers don't have to deliver their actual content file to YouTube in order to be protected, because only the fingerprint, or ID file, is delivered.
"If I have to send my dailies up to Google, I may not necessarily be happy about that," says Trescot. "But you just send the fingerprint, which is thousands of times smaller, just a binary chunk."
Television or movie producers could fingerprint content, such as dailies, while in production and assign usage rules that block the content from being uploaded to YouTube until its release date. After the release date, they could continue to block it, or allow it to be shown on YouTube and share in the advertising revenue sold against it.
In addition to fingerprinting, YouTube has also integrated YouTube-specific format presets into Carbon Coder to ensure that content being delivered meets the site's quality and consistency standards.
Movie studios are particularly sensitive to content leaks, notes Trescot. A consumer who views a high-quality clip of long duration that is leaked might not feel they have to pay to see the whole movie in the theater. On the other hand, a short leaked clip of unfinished content that is poor quality might turn off a consumer from an upcoming release. So, content producers are increasingly looking to fingerprinting as a form of protection.
"Disney wants to start fingerprinting everything," he says.
Currently, the fingerprint technology is only available on files, not streams, but fingerprinting streaming content will eventually be supported by Rhozet as well.
"Google is now doing deals for real content, and that real content is the path to revenue for YouTube," notes Trescot. "The path to profitability is content partnerships, and the way to get there is to make content owners happy about YouTube as a content partner."
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