Digital Transmission Content Protection
Encyclopedia
Digital Transmission Content Protection, or DTCP, is a digital rights management
(DRM) technology that aims to restrict "digital home" technologies including DVD
players and television
s by encrypting interconnections between devices. In theory this allows the content to be distributed through other devices such as personal computers or portable media player
s, if they also implement the DTCP standards. DTCP has also been referred to as "5C" content protection, a reference to the five companies who created DTCP; Hitachi
, Intel, Matsushita, Sony
, and Toshiba
.
The standard was originally proposed in February 1998 when the 5C presented the system to the Copy Protection Technical Working Group (CPTWG), an ad-hoc body organized to evaluate DRM technologies. The five companies subsequently established the Digital Transmission Licensing Administrator (DTLA) in June 1998 to simplify licensing procedures and promote acceptance of the DTCP method by content providers, electronics manufacturers, and broadcast service providers. They also released the 5C Digital Transmission Content Protection White Paper describing the system. The paper specifies Hitachi's M6
cipher
as the baseline encryption system, which was already in widespread use in the Japanese cable industry.
At the time, FireWire was widely regarded as the up-and-coming standard for interconnecting media devices, although this has not been widely adopted in the decade following. More recently there appears to be a move to using TCP/IP carried on high-speed ethernet
and WiFi
connections to replace FireWire and similar systems, a move epitomized by the Apple TV. The 5C standard has branched out to cover a variety of media types to respond to these industry changes, and now supports USB
, IP
, WiFi
, Bluetooth
and MOST (a media standard for automotive platforms) in addition to FireWire.
DTCP specification is proprietary and is only disseminated to members, who agree to the DTLA agreements (some fees need to be paid to even get the specification). An "informational version" of the specification, omitting some critical details of the implementation, is freely available.
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
(DRM) technology that aims to restrict "digital home" technologies including DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
players and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
s by encrypting interconnections between devices. In theory this allows the content to be distributed through other devices such as personal computers or portable media player
Portable media player
A portable media player or digital audio player, is a consumer electronics device that is capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, video, documents, etc. the data is typically stored on a hard drive, microdrive, or flash memory. In contrast, analog portable audio...
s, if they also implement the DTCP standards. DTCP has also been referred to as "5C" content protection, a reference to the five companies who created DTCP; Hitachi
Hitachi, Ltd.
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
, Intel, Matsushita, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, and Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
.
The standard was originally proposed in February 1998 when the 5C presented the system to the Copy Protection Technical Working Group (CPTWG), an ad-hoc body organized to evaluate DRM technologies. The five companies subsequently established the Digital Transmission Licensing Administrator (DTLA) in June 1998 to simplify licensing procedures and promote acceptance of the DTCP method by content providers, electronics manufacturers, and broadcast service providers. They also released the 5C Digital Transmission Content Protection White Paper describing the system. The paper specifies Hitachi's M6
M6 (cipher)
In cryptography, M6 is a block cipher proposed by Hitachi in 1997 for use in the IEEE 1394 FireWire standard. The design allows some freedom in choosing a few of the cipher's operations, so M6 is considered a family of ciphers....
cipher
Cipher
In cryptography, a cipher is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption — a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is encipherment. In non-technical usage, a “cipher” is the same thing as a “code”; however, the concepts...
as the baseline encryption system, which was already in widespread use in the Japanese cable industry.
At the time, FireWire was widely regarded as the up-and-coming standard for interconnecting media devices, although this has not been widely adopted in the decade following. More recently there appears to be a move to using TCP/IP carried on high-speed ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
and WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
connections to replace FireWire and similar systems, a move epitomized by the Apple TV. The 5C standard has branched out to cover a variety of media types to respond to these industry changes, and now supports USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
, IP
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
, WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
, Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
and MOST (a media standard for automotive platforms) in addition to FireWire.
DTCP specification is proprietary and is only disseminated to members, who agree to the DTLA agreements (some fees need to be paid to even get the specification). An "informational version" of the specification, omitting some critical details of the implementation, is freely available.
DTCP+
In November 2010 the Digital Transmission Licensing Administrator proposed enhancements to DTCP known as DTCP+. This enhanced specification is due to be completed in January 2011. DTCP+ adds the following capabilities:- Digital Only Token
- “Media agnostic” way to carry Content Management Information (CMI)
- Copy Count CMI
- Remote Access capability