Getting Microsoft PlayReady server to output to Windows Media DRM 10 PD (Portable Devices)

Question

Is it possible to get Microsoft PlayReady Server to output DRM'd streams that are playable by Windows Media DRM 10-PD compatible devices?

If so, where could I find any relevant documentation?

Answer 1

It is possible. You need to use so-called "cocktail licenses" and encrypt ASF (i.e. WMV) streams. The relevant documentation is part of the PlayReady Server documentation set, which unfortunately requires you to be a PlayReady Server licensee from Microsoft (you can become a licensee here, but it does cost quite a bit of money).

Answer 2

PlayReady server will only deliver licenses to PlayReady clients. unfortunately any of the PD clients will not be able to talk to PlayReady Server.

Answer 3

There are multiple aspects to consider here. I am not sure which one exactly the question is about, so I will cover all of them. First, some background information.

There are two types of DRM-protected WMV files:

1. WMV files protected with Windows Media DRM
2. WMV files protected with PlayReady

There are also two types of media players:

1. Using the Windows Media DRM engine
2. Using the Playready engine

And finally, there are also two types of license servers:

1. Windows Media DRM
2. PlayReady.

The compatibility relationships between these are the following:

• Windows Media DRM files can be played in both types of media player.
• PlayReady files can be played only in media players using the PlayReady engine.
• What sort of licensing server you need depends on the media player, not the file.
• Windows Media DRM licensing servers can only create licenses for Windows Media DRM players.
• PlayReady licensing servers can only create licenses for media players using the PlayReady engine.

Note: I am not familiar with the differences between the different types of Windows Media DRM licenses (Portable VS Network), so there might be additional considerations