Protecting Video Content

[Straydog]

Good day all

This is my first thread so go easy on me please.

I have an idea for a website with multimedia and video clips which would be very specific to a niche market (not porn!).

Users would basically subscribe to the site and pay an amount each month to access the content.

My question is this :

How could I protect against hackers? My biggest concern would be that the content could be downloaded and re-distributed or posted elsewhere which would render my website useless.

I have asked a few techy types at work about protection, but the answer always comes down to the same thing: if it can be played on your monitor, it can be captured.

Can anyone offer any other advice or solutions ?

Many thanks !

 

[James1980]

Some content is more of interest to 'hackers' than others. Contrast the number of people who downloaded The Matrix over filesharing networks... vs the number of people who downloaded Genevieve. Your videos might not appeal to people technically competent enough (or ethically inclined) to redistribute your videos.

You can't stop people from downloading your content and hosting it elsewhere, but you can ensure people know where it came from using a discrete watermark or occasional references to your business name/website address. These can be removed but it will deter the casual plagiarist.

Another strategy is to regard your videos as an advert (of your skills as a teacher/advisor/expert etc) rather than a product. That way, people sharing your content (in the form of YouTube URLs, most likely) will be to your advantage.



James

 

[PMSToys]

I'm afraid I concur. Even if you added DRM (copy protection) to the video files which were to be downloaded, it's not beyond most competent users to obtain tools to strip this protection off.

Additionally, streaming the media (like You Tube) is also subject to recording as software will enable a user to record what is being played on the screen.


One idea however, offer a very low res & shortened version of the video online (for free). Then if people want to subscribe, you could perhaps sell the content on a DVD instead? That way, genuine customers get a DVD of high quality content as opposed to hackers etc who would just get the low res samples.

That said, it doesn't stop customers uploading the HQ content via torrents etc but that's the challenges that come with any media selling.

Without understanding the niche market you're targetting, it's the best alternative I can think of!