Chromecast receiver application cannot play widevine drm protected content from Android sender application

Question

I'm using receiver application from Expressplay's site for chromecast. https://www.expressplay.com/developer/test-apps/#ccplayer.

I've tested it from the browser by passing license URL along with the widevine stream path. It played the video, means that the receiver is working fine.

The problem appears when I try to play content from an android sender application. I'm passing the license URL in a json object.

My android sender code is as follows.

private MediaInfo buildMediaInfo() {
    MediaMetadata movieMetadata = new MediaMetadata(MediaMetadata.MEDIA_TYPE_MOVIE);
    movieMetadata.putString(MediaMetadata.KEY_SUBTITLE, "Subtitle");
    movieMetadata.putString(MediaMetadata.KEY_TITLE, "Title");
    jsonObj = new JSONObject();
    try{
       jsonObj.put("licenseUrl","https://wv.test.expressplay.com/hms/wv/rights/?ExpressPlatToken=****");
    }catch (JSONException e){
        Log.e(null,"Failed to add description to the json object", e);
    }
    return new MediaInfo.Builder("stream path.mpd")
            .setStreamType(MediaInfo.STREAM_TYPE_BUFFERED)
            .setContentType("video/mp4")
            .setMetadata(movieMetadata)
            .setCustomData(jsonObj)
            //.setStreamDuration(player.getDuration())
            .build();
}

I'm guessing that the problem maybe with recevier's code for the case of playing from android in setting the licenseUrl.

My receiver code setting license URL is as following.

if (event.data.customData && event.data.customData.licenseUrl) {
                    console.log('setting license URL');
                    host.licenseUrl = event.data.customData.licenseUrl;
                }

event.data.customData.licenseUrl license URL is not getting set in case of android.

• Result while playing from android sender is Black screen.

• When playing from browser sender is plays the video.

• CORS is enabled on the S3 server which is hosting the video contents.

Can Anyone tell what am I doing wrong?

Does the JSON object passed from android not setting license URL ? If yes then how to resolve it?

Thank you in advance for your kind interest and worthy time to my problem. :)

Demona

Answer 1

I figured out that in my Receiver app event.data.customData was undefined while connecting from android sender application.

So I used event.data.media.customData

And accessed the key as follow:

if(event.data.media.customData['licenseUrl'] !== null){
                    console.log('setting license URL from mobile');
                    host.licenseUrl = event.data.media.customData.licenseUrl;
                }

That was it! :)

Demona

Answer 2

If you haven't done so, check DRM support wherein it was stated that,

To fully support content protected with Digital Rights Management (DRM), you need to implement a Custom Receiver. With a Custom Receiver, you can set up authentication and tailor your application according to your DRM requirements.

Note that, your receiver app accesses the Receiver API with the following reference:

//www.gstatic.com/cast/sdk/libs/receiver/2.0.0/cast_receiver.js

Also, to develop a custom receiver application, you will need to register your app with the Google Cast SDK Developer Console.

Then, for the Android Sender App, check the following:

• prerequisites
• ensure that the correct Google Play services APK is installed on a user's device since updates might not reach all users immediately.
• add the basic Cast features to your app, go to Integrate Cast v3 into your Android App.

Deutoplasm

Thank you for a response to my problem sir. I've done everything they've told to do in documentations. I've been reading and implementing them for over more than a week. I guess everything is set e.g; dependencies, sdk etc. – Demona

the receiver I'm using is working fine when the request is from a browser sender. The problem occurs when I try to play from android sender. – Demona

Can you please provide me code that is setting customData of widevine content. Or any other way to set license url and token in android? – Demona