DRM and Flow Capture

Flow Capture defaults to having DRM enabled at the Company level on the platform. This provides a strong, base-level of protection in addition to our many other security features, but it can also interfere with playback in some specific scenarios. The two types of DRM that you'll encounter are FairPlay in the Apple ecosystem and WideVine in Chrome. 

Please note that DRM only blocks video playback. We will continue to work towards implementing DRM on other formats such as audio and stills.

General Playback

You won't notice DRM most of the time you're using Flow Capture. It provides a secure experience quietly in the background while you're viewing clips and won't interfere with your work. There are some ways it can be activated, which will turn the playback of the video you're trying to watch black. You'll still hear audio, but it will look at thought the video itself never started playing. 

There are two common ways this can happen, each with their own easy fix:

• Screen sharing apps - If you've used Zoom, Slack or another app to share your screen, your computer may still think that you're sharing your screen. To get playback working, close any of those apps them, log out of Flow Capture and then back in to test playback before reopening those apps. 
• An external monitor - Connecting your computer up to a monitor means that you're unintentionally sharing its screen. In order to start watching assets, you'll need to disconnect the display.

If you're still having playback trouble after trying those out, please contact support@moxion.io!

Airplay/Mirroring

There are some considerations to keep in mind about DRM to successfully make use of Airplay when viewing within the Apple ecosystem. 

Browsers

As mentioned above, each browser utilizes its own type of DRM; Safari uses FairPlay while Chrome has WideVine, with different impacts on playback. 

• Safari - Airplay does not work with DRM enabled. 
• Chrome - Airplay is compatible with DRM. 

Devices

Casting from an iPhone or iPad also needs to take into account the type of streaming you're utilizing. 

• Watermarked Streaming - Playback with a watermark that's burnt-in to the point of play. Airplay is compatible with this type of playback while DRM is enabled.
• Non-Watermarked Streaming - This type of playback is more common and utilizes an overlaid visual watermark. Playing directly to a TV via Airplay will only work with either DRM or a watermark enabled, but you cannot have both on and successfully stream from a device.

DRM-Related Error Messages

Sometimes DRM playback doesn't work and returns a specific error message. Here are some information and solutions related to the most common of those situations. 

Error Code 6 (DRM Key Error)

This generally means that you are watching on an Apple platform (Safari, etc.) and that their FairPlay DRM protection has been activated. It can also be caused by connecting your computer to an Apple TV via AirPlay. FairPlay is pretty sensitive and can easily be set off by any app that has screen-sharing or screen capture capabilities. 

Sorry Flow Capture DRM settings prevent this asset from being displayed externally.

This means that you're attempting to watch assets which have DRM protection enabled on an external display. This typically occurs in the following scenarios:

• Mirroring the screen of an iPhone or iPad to an Apple TV.
• Connecting a mobile device to a TV or external monitor via a series of cables (e.g HDMI ) and adapters.

Unfortunately, this is expected behavior due to the nature of DRM protection.

Video Playback in Chrome or Edge Requires a Device That is Capable of Hardware Decoding

If hardware acceleration is disabled or hasn't been enabled in the browser, video will not play back. You can find more details about this in our article on Enabling Hardware Decoding.