[vlc-devel] Video encryption/decryption using VLC

[Edward Wong]

Hi,

First off, let me just say that I am new to VLC and to streaming media 
technologies in general so I apologize if some of what I say below seems 
illogical.

I am trying to create a system whereby I have a server that broadcasts 
encrypted videos to a number of clients. The clients will have their own 
personal keys for decryption.

This is how I envision the system to look like.

Server:

The server will take the video file and encrypt it using some publicly 
available cipher and with a pre-generated cryptographic key. It would then 
stream it just like any other video file.

The problem I see here is that if I simply do the encryption on the entire 
video file, it would result in an invalid format. Would it still be possible 
to stream it?

Question:
Is it feasible to just encrypt the contents of the video file such that the 
overall structure is still preserved and the file will still be valid?

If there is such a way, can it be applied generically to any type of 
container format? (e.g. AVI, MOV etc).

Client:

The client would receive the encrypted stream. Before playing it, the client 
will decrypt it using a key previously provided (perhaps as a file stored in 
the hard drive). Once the stream has been decrypted, playback will proceed 
as usual.


I am trying to implement this system by modifying the VLC player to perform 
encryption/decryption at the necessary points.

To do that, I would first need to have a thorough understanding of the flow 
of control of the program in order to know where to insert the 
encryption/decrypt modules. Any pointers in that direction would be greatly 
appreciated.

Regards,
Mark

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