Through a partnership with Accedo, Nreal is supporting digital rights management (DRM) content on Nreal’s SDK (NRSDK), which the company says will allow them to be “the first in the world to enable content providers to stream DRM video content on augmented reality (AR) glasses.”

As consumer AR glasses are projected to reach millions of install base by 2024, video consumption is thought to be one of the first mainstream use cases for AR glasses. The unlimited virtual space and multi-dimensional display enabled by AR glasses allows content and service providers to re-imagine the video watching experience. And now content providers can use NRSDK to bring DRM-protected content onto Nreal’s brand of AR glasses securely and without triggering additional DRM restrictions. Streaming services and content providers can port their DRM content to Nreal Light and Nreal Air by contacting business@nreal.ai. 

To give the industry a glimpse of the potential that AR offers, Nreal is partnering with Accedo to release FutureTV, an interactive design reference built on ExoPlayer, the open-source media player from Google commonly used to validate DRM compliance. In addition to displaying different levels of DRM control, FutureTV showcases three design ideas for interactive documentary with embedded 3D objects, multi-game display, and sports with integrated ecommerce.

Content providers can either use NRSDK to develop their own AR apps for the Nreal glasses, or, for a simpler alternative that won’t require development resources, can instead stream DRM content through Nreal’s proprietary media player. For those looking for a quick solution to fit existing video streams to an AR layout, Accedo XR can help achieve that.

“NRSDK introduces an industry-first framework that makes it easy and secure for streaming services and content providers to offer DRM-enabled content in a completely innovative and dynamic format,” said PJ, co-founder at Nreal. “AR will open up a world of opportunities for creative service offering and monetization to content and service providers. With the industry-best display quality and ease of use, the Nreal glasses will be a desirable platform to unleash the future of AR.”

“As consumers are embracing new content platforms to consume entertainment, we’re excited to partner with Nreal Light, to support the streaming services that seek to make their platforms or content available to all devices from Nreal in a format that we believe heralds the future of online video consumption,” added Michael Lantz, CEO, Accedo.