The Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA) has released a codec-agnostic version of its content protection scheme, ISMACryp 2.0, designed to work with any codec on any IP network or device, including mobile handsets.
Previous versions of ISMACryp only addressed MPEG-4 codecs, such as H.264/AVC and AAC. The new release is compatible with any codec that can be stored in files of the MP4 family, including H.263 video and AMR audio, both widely used in mobile networks. In developing a codec-agnostic version of ISMACryp, the ISMA was looking to increase the power and longevity of the technology, and thus sought to decouple the protection layer from the coding later, said Nikolaus Farber, technical chairman of the ISMA, in a statement.
Formally known as ISMA Encryption and Authentication Version 2.0, ISMACryp 2.0 has undergone extensive interoperability testing within ISMA. More than 100 reference files are available for implementers. The ISMACryp 2.0 specification can be requested at no charge from ISMA at www.isma.tv by selecting Approved Specs under the Technology heading.
