猖獗的盗版是直播室里的大象

There’s no doubt that live streaming is one of the next frontiers in the online video landscape—right behind artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain. OK, 我有点讽刺了, but it’s true that everyone is talking about offering live linear events over the internet. 不幸的是, 最近, the industry discussion of the live-streaming experience has really been about latency and how live-streaming providers can ensure that their online viewers get as close to a traditional broadcast as possible. And while minimizing the “time behind live” (that’s the difference between a live stream and the linear broadcast) is important so that social media users next door don’t spoil the big goal or touchdown, 这跟房间里的大象比起来根本不算什么.

这是正确的, 流盗版.

In a conversation I had with a North American operator earlier this year, they estimated that between 8 percent and 12 percent of their broadband subscribers were getting their television through illegal means. 算算吧. If that operator had 15 million subscribers and 8 percent–12 percent them were opting out of a $75/month TV subscription (in favor of illegal streams), 这相当于每月损失约1.13亿美元. 这是疯狂的. 伦敦数字电视研究公司预测，到2022年, 流媒体盗版造成的总损失将达到520亿美元. Right now, a broadcaster’s or distributor’s only recourse is to go after the pirate services. 给他们发勒令停止函. Coordinate with local authorities (which can be very problematic and time-consuming) to shut them down. 但当你终止一个时，似乎又会弹出一打. 我的一个同事, 在试探海盗的水域, purchased a Kodi box from a provider who offered to come to his house and configure it for him. 直播中的盗版不是什么值得嘲笑的事情. 这是一个主要的经济问题, 最终, 以费用和费率上涨的方式传递给合法用户.

部分问题在于缺乏意义, 流提供商可以采取的实时安全措施. 是的，您可以标记源url. 您可以使用取证水印. 您可以对流进行DRM. But nothing really prevents a stream pirate from just putting an HD camera in front of a screen and rebroadcasting the transmission. No, the solution isn’t ideal for the viewer, but you’d be surprised—the quality is not terrible. I’ve even heard of some startups (and skunk works in major operators) exploring the application of blockchain and AI technology to verify viewer identity and content rights. 这可能是未来的发展方向, once the scalability issues of blockchain have been overcome and AI is better, 但现在还不是解决办法. And, honestly, it doesn’t stop the scenario I outlined above with a camera in front of a screen.

别误会我的意思. There are lots of smart people who are trying lots of different things—combinations of technologies and approaches (both manually and automated) to thwart illegal re-streaming of their content. 今年早些时候, I spoke to someone entrenched in a major sports broadcaster who described its process for preventing stream theft, and it involved manually culling through logs for patterns that might indicate illegal activity. That’s not a tenable, long-term solution as the scale of streaming continues to grow.

The problem with preventing stream theft is just that—it’s a best effort. There’s no configuration setting that makes a stream safe from theft. Stream piracy is going to continue to be a major industry problem for the foreseeable future. Even as distributors layer security technologies on top of one another, 最终减少盗窃的数量, 盗版将继续增长，因为对它有需求. Perhaps, though, the solution isn’t trying to prevent the pirates from stealing the content at all. Maybe the answer is for the distributors and content owners to figure out something to offer their viewers, 这是海盗无法复制的体验? 更好的内容发现? 某种奖励计划? 交互性? 我不确定是什么, but the endless whack-a-mole of trying to stop pirates with technology solutions that they 最终 work around isn’t doing the job.

[本文发表于2018年11月/ 12月号。 流媒体杂志 被称为“直播室里的大象”."]