A switchable DRM structure for embedded device

Abstract

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a concept for controlling the distribution and consumption of digital media. As embedded multimedia devices are becoming popular, there are strong demands for the light-weight DRM systems that can run smoothly in a resource-limited environment. Due to the variety of embedded devices, an ideal DRM system should be platform independent and inter-operable. These requirements, however, often increase the software complexity, which is undesirable to an embedded device. In this paper, a switchable DRM system is thus proposed. It integrates the concept of downloadable tools and the OMA architecture to provide a balance between flexibility and complexity. We also implement the scheme on an embedded evaluation board to demonstrate its feasibility.