PlayReady Product Versions
The following table shows the feature availability for each version of the PlayReady products.
| Release date | Version | What's new | PlayReady Server SDK (.NET Legacy) | PlayReady Server SDK (.NET Core) | PlayReady Device Porting Kit | PlayReady Certificate Generation Kit | PlayReady PC SDK for Windows 7 Desktop Apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun'08 | 1.0 | Initial version | 1.0.1105 | — | 1.0.1130 | 1.0.1130 | 1.1 |
| Oct'08 | 1.2 | Embedded Licenses | 1.2.1404 | — | 1.2.1404 | 1.2.1404 | 1.2 |
| May'09 | 1.3 | Specifications section | — | — | — | — | 1.3 |
| Apr'10 | 1.5 | Common Encryption Smooth Streaming | 1.5.4018 | — | — | 1.5 | No further enhancements |
| Sep'10 | 1.5.2 | Security improvements | 1.5.4094 | — | — | — | — |
| Sep'11 | 2.0 | - Live TV with Key Rotation through Scalable Embedded Licenses - Silverlight Client Verification |
2.0.1402 | — | 2.0.1402 | 2.0.1402 | — |
| Apr'12 | 2.1 | - PlayEnablers for additional policies - License Template Handler |
2.1.1444 | — | — | — | — |
| Dec'12 | 2.5 | - PlayReady-Network Device (PlayReady-ND) | — | — | 2.5.1789 | 2.5.1778 | — |
| Nov'13 | 2.9 | - LicenseTemplateHandlerChaining sample - Support for iOS and Android |
2.9.1995 | — | — | — | — |
| May'14 | 2.11 | - MPEG-DASH - Updated PlayReady-ND test transmitter - Updates to PlayReady Client SDK for iOS - Updates to PlayReady Client SDK for Android |
— | — | 2.11.2155 | — | — |
| Mar'15 | 3.0 | - SL3000 - Multiple Keys - Secure Stop - Improvements for non-persistent licenses |
3.0 | — | 3.0.4019 | 3.0.2726 | — |
| Sep'16 | 3.2 | Secure Time (Secure Clock Service in the TEE) | — | — | 3.2.4242 | 3.2.4242 | Deprecated |
| Apr'17 | 3.3 | - New CDMi module - Fix for vulnerabilities in the PK header parser |
— | — | 3.3.4474 | 3.3.4475 | — |
| Oct'17 | 4.0 | - Expanded support for multiple Common Encryption Modes, 'cbcs' supported in addition to 'cenc'. - Secure Delete support |
4.0.5117 | — | 4.0.5102 | 4.0.5102 | No longer distributed (see PlayReady on Windows) |
| Feb'19 | 4.2 | - See What's New in PlayReady Version 4.2 | 4.2.5545 | — | 4.2.5545 | — | — |
| Aug'19 | 4.3 | - See What's New in PlayReady Version 4.3 | 4.3.5841 | 4.3.5841 | — | — | — |
| May'20 | 4.4 | - See What's New in PlayReady Version 4.4 | 4.4.6621 | 4.4.6621 | 4.4.6621 | — | — |
| Oct'21 | 4.5 | - See What's New in PlayReady Version 4.5 | 4.5.7218 | 4.5.7218 | 4.5.7220 | — | — |
| Dec'22 | 4.6 | - See What's New in PlayReady Version 4.6 | 4.6.7668 | 4.6.7604 | 4.6.7673 | — | — |
Porting Kit Version Compatibility with Server SDK Versions
PlayReady license services maintain backward compatibility for legacy PlayReady devices. For example, a new license service developed with the PlayReady Server SDK 4.0 can deliver licenses to a legacy device thatwas developed using the PlayReady Device Porting Kit (PK) 1.2 from its initial release (2008).
There are, however, some nuances in compatibility as services and devices move into the PlayReady 3.0 and higher releases. PlayReady Clients developed with the 3.0 and higher Device Porting Kit cannot obtain licenses from a license service built prior to the 2011 release of the Server SDK 2.0. Services running earlier versions of the Server SDK will need to upgrade to be compatible with PlayReady 3.0 and higher.
PlayReady Compatibility Matrix
Most versions of PlayReady on the client can work with the different versions of the PlayReady Server SDK. There are some subtleties as noted below as well as a change with PlayReady clients developed on the 4.0 Device Porting Kit.
The following table lists the compatibility between the various PlayReady Device Porting Kit and PlayReady Server SDK versions:
| * | Some PK 1.2 clients did not support revocation which is required in Server SDK 2.x+. This is not common. |
| ** | PK 3.0 and higher clients cannot use a Server SDK prior to version 2.0 to get a media playback license. |
| *** | PK 3.0 and higher clients can use license servers using a 2.X SDK, but can only obtain a license with a SL2000 security level. In addition, new features, such as support for version 4.2 headers (multiple keys) and policies such as Secure Stop and MaxResDecode, are not available when creating a license. There have been issues with chained licenses (root/leaf) on some PK 3.0 clients with Server SDK 2.0. Services will need to test clients to validate compatibility. There are a set of scenarios at the end of this document that can assist in testing. |
Even though PlayReady v3.X/4.X based clients work with a server running Server SDK v2.0, v2.1, or v2.9, Microsoft recommends that customers running Server SDK v1.5.2 upgrade to the latest version of the Server SDK instead of upgrading to Server SDK v2.0, v2.1, or v2.9. This will ensure that you are on a much more supportable path.