MStar, Intertrust and Rambus to show security for 4K UHD TV at IBC 2015

MStar, Intertrust and Rambus to Showcase an Integrated, End-to-End Security Solution for 4K UHD TVs at IBC 2015

AMSTERDAM and SUNNYVALE, Calif. — MStar Semiconductor, Inc., a leading provider of display and digital home solutions, today announced it has started production of a secure chipset for connected TVs that integrates the Rambus Cryptography Research CryptoFirewall™ security core with Intertrust’s ExpressPlay™ cloud service for Digital Rights Management (DRM). The new chipset – the MStar G6F – is designed to meet consumer demand for easy access to 4K UHD programs while also providing unparalleled security for content owners.

The G6F is designed to integrate easily into 4K smart TVs and supports a full function HEVC decoder, multi-region demodulator, and motion judder cancellation with MStar’s proprietary MACE –Pro3UC /MFC technology.

“By integrating the CryptoFirewall core into MStar’s security hardware, the G6F chip meets MovieLabs’ Hardware Root of Trust guidelines,” said Wayne Tsai, marketing director of MStar. “In addition, the seamless integration with ExpressPlay accelerates our time-to-market. We are very proud that MStar is contributing to the 4K UHD content delivery ecosystem.”

The CryptoFirewall core provides a secure, hardware-based foundation that delivers unprecedented security to connected TVs. This allows content distributors, including over-the-top (OTT) operators, to deliver 4K UHD premium programming, while satisfying the security requirements of studios and other content owners.

“By working with our partners Intertrust and MStar, content distributors can now deploy an end-to-end security solution for TVs,” said Paul Kocher, president and chief scientist of the Rambus Cryptography Research division. “The CryptoFirewall security core helps realize the full potential of OTT content, giving consumers the ability to get access to early release and premium 4K UHD programming directly on their TVs.”

In addition to hardware protection, the MStar connected TV chipset includes ExpressPlay, an end-to-end security service that provides a ready-to-go Marlin DRM system to manage content protection. Marlin DRM is a simple, open and elegant DRM that supports many video formats including MPEG-DASH HLS, and MP4.

“By collaborating with MStar and Cryptography Research, we have been able to deliver a solution that provides a hardware root-of-trust on an SoC platform to deliver post-activation capability for all devices in the field,” said David Maher, Executive VP and CTO, Intertrust Technologies. “By making the DRM system carry unique hardware-protected, super-encrypted content keys, we can ensure that content keys are only accessible within the CryptoFirewall core and security hardware of the chip.”

Product Availability

The production of 4K UHD TVs, including the MStar G6F, is expected to start in Q4 2015.