Widevine offers support for levels L2 and L3 in the case that hardware or licencing difficulties prevent original equipment manufacturers from offering security at level 1.
The TEE is in charge of all of the cryptography work at the same time that the visual processing is taking on outside. This level, L2, is one step down from the level before it, which is denoted by the letter L1.
The processing of cryptography and video can take place either outside of the TEE or while the TEE is unreachable at the L3 level.
On the other hand, CDMs typically operate at the L3 level, but Android smartphones frequently only operate at the L1 level.
The Trusted Execution Environment, also known as TEE, is frequently built with the assistance of the Arm TrustZone technology, which is also utilised for the construction of the L1 layer.
Keep in mind that Widevine has the capability to decrypt any encrypted video content that has been relocated to the trusted zone of the central processing unit. This is an essential feature of Widevine that should not be overlooked (CPU).
Playback is handled with the assistance of a video driver while operating within the limits of a private session that was started by Android.
Because content providers want digital rights management systems (DRMs), which are an anti-piracy tool, to only deliver sub-HD resolutions, the L3 level is not suited for premium content. This results in a significant decrease in the quality of the experience that the user receives and is for that reason undesirable.
If a user’s device is L1 compliant, then the only types of video content that can be optimally supplied to that device are high-definition and ultra-high-definition versions of the content.
Widevine Technologies was acquired by Google in the year 2010, and Google is the buyer.
Over-the-top (OTT) platforms started to gather momentum at the same time because internet access was getting more affordable, smartphones were becoming more affordable, and there was an associated surge in popularity of the Android operating system. All of these factors occurred simultaneously.
Up until this point in time, Widevine Classic was only compatible with Samsung and LG smart TVs that ran Android 5.1 or a later version.
There was just one video format that could be played, and that was WMV.
Widevine Modular is a more contemporary and enhanced version of the software that was built specifically for modern devices, as well as for Android and web browsers with higher version numbers. Widevine Modular was first introduced in 2017.
The MPEG-DASH, HLS, and CMAF file formats, in addition to adaptive bitrates, are all supported by this implementation. Adaptive bitrates are also supported.
Widevine’s browser compatibility has been known to cause a few issues, however the overall safety of the platform is always being strengthened.
Their most recent endeavour makes use of the VMP technology in an effort to stop leaks that are brought on by browsers. This is their primary focus as of late.
Virtual Machine Platform makes it feasible for Widevine to examine the validity of the browser framework and decide whether or not it is playing content that has been approved. This ability allows Widevine to determine whether or not a browser is playing content that has been approved (VMP).
Virtually every web browser that is compatible with Widevine CDM also comes outfitted with the ability to stream video using VMP.
Video.js is the name of a video player written in HTML5 that satisfies all of these standards and is appropriate for usage on platforms that stream video content. This open-source video player is one of the most often used players on the internet since it can play the great majority of video formats that are now available. It also provides a lot of wiggle room when it comes to design and functionality because there is such a wide community of developers all around the world. This is because the community is spread all over the globe. This plugin offers support for the requirements of the Encrypted Media Extensions and enables the Video.js players to communicate with the content decryption module (CDM) of web browsers. Before the CDM begins decoding the video component, the user is given the opportunity to pass the DRM licencing URI by using the plugin. This takes place before the CDM begins decoding the video component. This happens prior to the CDM beginning the decoding process for the video section. In addition, if the developer so chooses, they can provide distinguishing techniques that are unique to a source in addition to the combination of that source’s key system and codec. This option is available to the developer only if the developer so chooses.
