Gogo has partnered with castLabs to build a digital rights management solution that allows travelers to access video on-demand content without needing apps or plug-ins.
Gogo, which provides connectivity services for airlines, including United and Delta, said its new solution allows each on-demand title to be packaged for browsers like Safari and Chrome on all operating systems with a single file using Common Media Application Format or CMAF. The company said the single encrypted file format allows for Gogo's inflight entertainment (IFE) service, Gogo Vision, to store 50% more content than other solutions.
Gogo said the rollout of the new technology will be complete in the first half of 2020.
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"Gogo is the first in the industry to launch a streaming solution that uses a single encrypted file format to play video across the most popular browsers," said Blane Boynton, senior vice president of product for Gogo, in a statement. "castLabs is our technology enabler, and a well-known and trusted DRM vendor in the industry. By removing the need for an app or plug-in, Gogo provides a seamless experience to our airline partners and their passengers."
"Gogo is leveraging our updated PRESTOplay and DRMtoday solutions that utilize the latest advances in streaming technology to deliver a single version of content to all modern browsers, agnostic to the various DRM systems they support,'' said Michael Stattmann, founder of castLabs, in a statement. "Gogo is indeed the first to use the latest CMAF file format with 'cbcs' encryption to enable an app-free inflight entertainment experience on mobile devices."
CastLabs first announced the app-less playback feature for its DRMToday Onboard product back in August. The feature was developed in cooperation with Lufthansa. The company said DRMtoday Onboard solution allows just-in-time license creation for all major DRM platforms.