The Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, the coalition with support from every sector of digital entertainment, announced at the Consumer Electronics Show it has reached key milestones toward establishing the first open market for digital content distribution.

In 2009, 21 companies joined DECE, including: Adobe, Ascent Media Group, Cable Labs, Catch Media, Cox Communications, DivX, DTS, Extend Media, Irdeto, Liberty Global, Motorola, Nagravision, Netflix, Neustar, Nokia, Rovi, Secure Path, SwitchNAP, Tesco, Thomson and Zoran.

The milestones include: 

-Agreement on a Common File Format, an open specification for digital entertainment, that will be used by all participating content providers, services and device manufacturers 

-Vendor selection for and role of the Digital Rights Locker, a cloud-based authentication service and account management hub that allows consumers rights access to their digital entertainment 

-Approval of five Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions that will be DECE-compatible 

- Full technical specifications will be available in the first half of 2010.

DECE has agreed on a Common File Format, an industry first in digital distribution. An open specification for digital entertainment, like DVD or Blu-ray, the Common File Format may be licensed by any company to create a DECE consumer offering.

DECE has selected Neustar as the vendor for the Digital Rights Locker, a cloud-based authentication service and account management hub that allows consumers rights access to their digital entertainment. It will authenticate rights to view content from multiple services, with multiple devices as well as manage content and registration of devices in consumer accounts. DECE will provide an open Application Programming Interface (API) that allows any Web-enabled storefront, service or device to integrate access to the Digital Rights Locker into its own consumer offering.

DECE has approved five DRMs that will be compatible with the Common File Format – Adobe Flash Access, CMLA-OMA V2, The Marlin DRM Open Standard, Microsoft PlayReady and Widvine. Compatibility with multiple DRMs will ensure that content can be played back via streaming or download on a wide variety of services and devices.

Tesco Category Director for Entertainment Rob Salter said, “We’ve joined DECE and have been encouraging other major retailers on both sides of the Atlantic to do likewise. I think it is important that all parts of the industry work together to create a global business that makes sense to customers. The fundamental ethos is to own the title, not the format, with the latter being a customer choice that will come at a premium but also evolve over time. Customers may want DVD and or Blu-ray but increasingly they might migrate to digital.”

Tesco’s ‘Virtual DV’ was introduced in in December to give customers the experience of a full virtual version of a DVD using a disc sale to invite them to try out the digital format, Salter said.

However, not everyone is on board DECE, Disney is advocating a similar plan called KeyChest, which analysts say it may introduce working with Apple. A Disney spokesman said the company would give an early look at the rival technology at CES.

Story filed 09.01.10