RTMPE Spells Flash Video Protection

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RTMPE Spells Flash Video Protection by Troy Dreier

If you've ever found a Flash video online that you wanted to save to your hard drive, you've probably found that Flash is a tricky format for downloading. It's no accident. Even unencrypted Flash video, such as most content on YouTube, is difficult to save since you can't simply right-click to save it, as you can with an image file. Video-on-demand sites with premium content (meaning Hollywood major studio content) encrypt their Flash streams, making them even harder to grab.

To encrypt their Flash streams, content owners often rely on Adobe Protected Streaming, which uses either the RTMPE or RTMPS protocols. This article will explain what that means.

Adobe Encryption

Adobe Flash is the most common format for online video, and Protected Steaming is Adobe's solution for content owners who want to safeguard the video they put online.

Adobe's system takes two forms: encryption and access control. Encryption means that the data sent—the video itself—is garbled so that an unauthorized user can't grab the stream and save the video. Videos protected by Microsoft's Windows Media DRM are stored in an encrypted state, but Adobe Protected Streaming videos are encrypted as they're sent, and then de-encrypted by the player.

Access control is an optional part of Protected Streaming, and it means that only allowed players can play the video. This prevents a third-party application from grabbing the stream and playing it.

For encryption, Adobe first created the RTMPS protocol, which uses SSL-encryption. "RTMP" stands for "real-time messaging protocol" and the "S" is for SSL (secure sockets layer). SSL is used to create a secure connection for the video.

RTMPE Takes Over

Starting with the Flash Media Server 3.0 and the Flash Player 9.0.115, Adobe introduced the RTMPE protocol. This replaced RTMPS because it's simpler and faster. Content sent with it doesn't require an SSL certificate. This protocol is also less taxing on the computer's processor.

RTMPE is now the dominant form of Flash encryption, but you're not going to notice which system a Web site is using when you stream a video. All the end user notices is that the video plays quickly and smoothly. If you have trouble playing protected Flash content, make sure you have the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player. Your computer should prompt you to download a newer version if it's required for the site you're on.

You might encounter the term RTMPTE, which is similar to RTMPE but with tunneling added. Tunneling is a system for hiding data sent over public lines, so this adds one more level of security.

Sites that Use RTMPE/RTMPS

• Hulu (hulu.com): One of the fastest-growing online video sites, Hulu offers new TV shows from a variety of top-shelf Hollywood studios. The site holds strict exclusive arrangements on much of its content, preventing you from seeing it anywhere else online.

• Vevo (vevo.com): This recently launched music video site is co-owned by Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group.

• YouTube (youtube.com): While most video on the online video giant is unencrypted, some major studio content is RTMPE encrypted.

When people can't save encrypted videos to their hard drive using easier methods, they often turn to screen capture programs, which avoid the whole encryption issue by simply recording the images that show on a computer screen.


Troy Dreier is a well-known technology writer specializing in audio and video hardware and software. He contributes to Laptop, Computer Shopper, Streaming Media, and other Web sites. Troy was previously a staff editor at PC Magazine.

Originally Posted by Troy Dreier

If you've ever found a Flash video online that you wanted to save to your hard drive, you've probably found that Flash is a tricky format for downloading. It's no accident. Even unencrypted Flash video, such as most content on YouTube, is difficult to save since you can't simply right-click to save it, as you can with an image file.

It is really hard to copy a youtube link and paste it into a box on a web-site like http://download-youtube-videos.org/?

It is really hard to install a Firefox extension like Fast Video Download that allows to save flash videos with a couple of clicks?

Is it really hard to install software like Freecorder 4 or Jaksta Free Media Recorder that will automatically save flash videos?

Or may be it is hard to hit the Record button in Replay Media Catcher, Jaksta, WM Recorder,...?

Originally Posted by Troy Dreier

Video-on-demand sites with premium content (meaning Hollywood major studio content) encrypt their Flash streams, making them even harder to grab.

To encrypt their Flash streams, content owners often rely on Adobe Protected Streaming, which uses either the RTMPE or RTMPS protocols.

I'm really sorry that it is hard for "a well-known technology writer specializing in audio and video hardware and software" to use rtmpdump and rtmpsuck. But nowadays it is possible to use other GUI RTMPE stream recording software like StreamTransport.

Originally Posted by Troy Dreier

Adobe Flash is the most common format for online video, and Protected Steaming is Adobe's solution for content owners who want to safeguard the video they put online.

If you're a happy consumer of such safeguarding, see software above.

Originally Posted by Troy Dreier

Adobe's system takes two forms: encryption and access control. Encryption means that the data sent—the video itself—is garbled so that an unauthorized user can't grab the stream and save the video. Videos protected by Microsoft's Windows Media DRM are stored in an encrypted state, but Adobe Protected Streaming videos are encrypted as they're sent, and then de-encrypted by the player.

Have you ever heard about Microsoft Silverlight?

Originally Posted by Troy Dreier

Access control is an optional part of Protected Streaming, and it means that only allowed players can play the video. This prevents a third-party application from grabbing the stream and playing it.

See software mentioned above.

Originally Posted by Troy Dreier

RTMPE is now the dominant form of Flash encryption, but you're not going to notice which system a Web site is using when you stream a video. All the end user notices is that the video plays quickly and smoothly. If you have trouble playing protected Flash content, make sure you have the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player. Your computer should prompt you to download a newer version if it's required for the site you're on.

Oh, so Apple doesn't want to support Flash in its iPad and other hardware because flash videos play "quickly and smoothly"?
The author should learn more about flash support at least on Windows 64bit, not to mention Linux and Mac OS.

[hyc]

Not to mention...

Originally Posted by Troy Dreier

You might encounter the term RTMPTE, which is similar to RTMPE but with tunneling added. Tunneling is a system for hiding data sent over public lines, so this adds one more level of security.

No, tunneling is just a system for wrapping RTMP traffic in HTTP. It doesn't add any security, it just sometimes allows connecting through a firewall when the regular RTMP port is blocked. It doesn't add security, and it adds a tremendous amount of overhead. In RTMPTE the only "security" is due to the "E" (RTMP encryption), not from the tunneling mechanism. (And note the existence of RTMPT - tunneled, unencrypted RTMP - obviously there is no security added here, it is merely tunneled in the clear.)

By the way, RTMPS is also tunneled, but using an https session. The https session is what gives it security, (real security with SSL in this case, not the fake security Adobe that claims for RTMPE), not the tunneling.