Digital Download security to prevent file-sharing?

[Eric Hansen]

Hey Seth

All of the packages that I’ve purchased online that include downloadable videos (mostly computer and camera tutorials and the like), have been unprotected H.264 files. some of these packages include PDFs that require a password to read them, but as far as i know, there’s not a similar way to lock a video.

I think streaming from a secure site may be your best option. Although, now that I think about it, I’ve never “purchased” training that was secure streaming. it was always a monthly fee (like Lynda.com).

hope that helps

e

Eric Hansen
Production Workflow Designer / Consultant / Colorist / DIT
https://www.erichansen.tv

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

I would add to Eric’s good response that anyone who wishes to crack and distribute your video will be more than able to do so, in particularly if you’re aiming for a younger market.

In the old days of film distribution we used to super impose the end-users name onto the video so we could see who had broken ranks and distributed the copy early – this process takes deep pockets and is difficult to police.

Other alternative is to use digital finger-prints and have spiders that crawls the net to find illegally uploaded copies – Getty Images are very successful with this process. However, they target business users who can normally afford to pay.

Rather than spending a lot of time developing and managing copyright protection, you might be better off using that time and cash on marketing and developing associated materials and social interaction that will get the customer to continuously return to your site.

Do spare a thought for Adobe, who did some research in Europe that showed that for every 1 copy of software sold, there are 10 illegally being used – their model is to charge that one user enough to pay for the other 10, whilst at the same time keeping the 10 from upgrading their cracked copies…

All the Best
Mads

@madsvid, London, UK
Check out my other hangouts:
Twitter: @madsvid
https://mads-thinkingoutloud.blogspot.co.uk

[Mark Suszko]

To apply unbeatable security like complicated encryption will likely raise your costs too high, and nobody will be copying the video because nobody will buy it. Come on, it’s a sports training video, not national secrets.

Let me suggest you look at this from another angle, and beat the pirates …by giving the product away. What? Yes!

That of course means you need a different model for getting paid. What I usually suggest is finding a sponsor to underwrite the entire project and pay you the anticipated profit, up front. You add their branding and advertising to the product, and then you *encourage* sharing it around, because that gets the ads even more exposure.

Another way is to emulate Kickstarter, in that you don’t release any copies until you get x number of pre-paid orders. This is the model I suggest for school concert and recital-type videos.

Either way, the key is to make the product cheap enought hat there is no pforit margin to a pirate in taking the time to rip and distribute the product. And if the problem is a rabid fan base that wants to file-share among themselves, look at that not as a loss, but a resource.

[Seth Blaustein]

Thank you all for the very well thought out and valuable advice.

I am likely going to be using a service called fordela (fordela.com), and I will probably be going with a streaming service and hard copy DVD. Although sharing is still very possible with the streaming service, the analytics that Fordela offers on the back-end allow you to track the geographical location of where a user has logged in, and at what time. If it looks like one particular account is sharing too much, I think a simple warning would stop it. If it doesn’t, their account can always be revoked.

Thanks again!

[Seth Blaustein]

One other thing to add, just for the info–

the way to protect against file sharing is with a technology called DRM (digital rights management). This technology binds a unique key from the video to the device, allowing only 1 device to play that video. This DOES work on streaming videos, not only digital downloads. However, this service is incredibly expensive. It would have raised the costs of delivery by about 500% with the particular company I am planning on using to host my streaming.

[Mark Suszko]

LOL.

[Seth Blaustein]

lol

[Mark Suszko]

The LOL was because

https://ezinearticles.com/?Ubisofts-New-DRM-Broken-in-One-Day—Does-This-Protection-Still-Make-Sense?&id=4058095

https://www.thetechherald.com/articles/Kindle-DRM-broken/8782/

https://social.microsoft.com/forums/en-us/tabspace/thread/FE7C9A3C-B0FC-4E94-8082-D21D85C86548

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/31/vista_drm_hacked/

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/24/google_marketplace/

https://all-streaming-media.com/faq/recording-media-stream/faq-capture-non-recordable-and-DRM-protected-media-streams.htm

https://www.webmasterworld.com/webmaster/3420083.htm

https://blog.ninapaley.com/2010/04/29/whats-wrong-with-streaming-drm/

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/493996/whats-the-most-secure-streaming-video-format

You were saying….?

I have no dog in this fight. All I was saying is that you cannot rely on technology; whatever a man makes, another man can break. What you CAN depend on is human nature. And you can try to fight it, or try to use a kind of judo to flip it to your do your will.

[Seth Blaustein]

Thanks for the links.

My lol was because I already know everything you are saying. I appreciate your help and opinion, but its simply not what I am asking about on this thread. I expected someone to go off about how giving stuff away for free is better, but it’s not what I am doing at this time. I am interested in exploring security to learn more about it, because I believe it is my right and my choice to protect my product or to give it away, not someone elses.

As I mentioned in my first post, file sharing is inevitable. I’d like to minimize it–this is a choice I am making as a business owner–whether it will be successful or not is a different story.

Thanks again for your perspective.

[Mark Suszko]

I look forward with interest to your report on how this all worked out, some months from now. Perhaps you will prove my skepticism unfounded. I AM willing to be schooled. …Sometimes.

Best of luck to you.