Panasonic, Samsung Electronics, SanDisk, Sony and Toshiba have collaborated to develop a new content protection technology for flash memory cards such as SD Cards and various storage devices, temporarily named the ‘Next Generation Secure Memory Initiative’.
Under the "Next Generation Secure Memory Initiative," the five companies will start preparing for licensing and promotion of HD (high-definition)-capable security for SD Cards and embedded memory for use in consumer applications such as tablets and smartphones.
The content protection offering will protect the HD content and a high level of content security will be enabled through the use of the initiative’s technologies, including unique ID technology for flash memory and robust copy protection based on public key infrastructure (PKI).
The new technology is expected to enable various HD content applications such as HD network download, broadcast content to go and HD Digital Copy/Managed Copy from Blu-ray Disc media. With these applications, users can enjoy HD content on a wide range of devices, including Android-based smartphones and tablets, TVs and Blu-ray products.
Panasonic Corporate CTO Yoshiyuki Miyabe said Panasonic has always been an innovator in providing the best possible content viewing experience in the living room through development of Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D technologies and products.
"With our new secure memory solution, we are excited to create a strong link between the living room experience and the mobile experience. Now consumers can enjoy watching premier content, such as movies, on the go with their smartphones and tablets," said Miyabe.
Samsung Electronics Memory Business executive vice-president Young-Hyun Jun said Samsung believes that the time is ripe for an advanced security offering and welcomes the opportunity to deliver a highly viable solution using flash memory chips.
"Samsung’s ongoing commitment to technology excellence will now further extend to early market availability of high-performance NAND technologies implementing the new advanced security solution," said Young-Hyun Jun.
SanDisk senior vice-president and chief strategy officer Sumit Sadana said consumers are ready for an offering that enables the effortless consumption of online and offline content across multiple device platforms.
"SanDisk looks forward to building on its history of innovation in the Flash industry by delivering optimized memory solutions to enable this new usage model with robust security technologies that can protect premium content," said Sumit.
