Microsoft PlayReady Client SDK for Windows 8.1 Phone Apps

Only valid on Windows 8.1 using Visual Studio 2013 Update 2

The Microsoft PlayReady Client SDK for Windows Phone 8.1 apps allows Windows Phone 8.1 application developers to utilize Microsoft PlayReady content access technology for protecting digital content from unauthorized usage. This benefits consumers by enabling them to consume higher value content from media studios, such as recent release movies and streaming music. PlayReady enables the secure distribution of multimedia content by enforcing the content access rights based on rules chosen by the content provider.

PlayReady support can be integrated into a variety of business scenarios that include:

Online Scenarios: These scenarios require users to be online while they play back the media content:

Streaming: Streaming sends content directly to the phone without saving the file to a hard disk.
Progressive Download: Progressive download lets users play back the media while it is downloading. The main difference between progressive download and live streaming—from a user's point of view—is that progressively downloaded content is stored on the user's device, at least temporarily.

Offline Scenarios: These scenarios allow users to be offline while they play the content. They require the user to be online—at least intermittently—in order to initially download the content and renew subscriptions.

Download to Own (one time purchase): The user downloads the content from the Internet and later plays it in their Windows Phone 8.1 store application. For example, an online video store charges customers to download a video file. Subsequently, users can play back that purchased content in their Windows Phone 8.1 store player application whenever they want.
Rental: Content owners can specify time limits in PlayReady licenses in order to limit playback of content. For example, an online video store might offer their videos for rent. Once the rental is purchased and the license downloaded, the license will expire 30 days after it is issued or 24 hours after content is first played, whichever occurs first.

Subscription: Customers are enabled to playback content based on a subscription model. For example, customers of the online video store pay a monthly fee to watch up to 100 hours of television content online and download up to 20 episodes. In order to renew their subscription, they need to pay the monthly fee and connect to the service at least once a month because the subscription license expires every 45 days.

Documentation: The Microsoft PlayReady Client SDK for Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 Store apps documentation can be found in the Windows Development Center here. Note that Encrypted Media Extensions are not currently supported on Windows Phone 8.1.

Code samples: Microsoft PlayReady sample app for Windows Phone 8.1 can be found here.