[FFmpeg-devel] support for reading / writing encrypted MP4 files

[Eran Kornblau]

> are these encrypted mp4 files some kind of standard encryption?
> 
Yes, these files conform to the common encryption specification ISO/IEC 23001-7

> rephrased... will encrypted files created by ffmpeg be able to be
> decrypted/decoded and played by quicktime? or any other player?
> (assuming other player has the keys of course). 
> 
These files can be encrypted/decrypted by MP4Box:
https://gpac.wp.mines-telecom.fr/mp4box/encryption/common-encryption/

I'm not familiar with any player that can play it as is, but it can be played once repackaged to MPEG-DASH.
In this form, it can be played by Chrome with Widevine / Edge with PlayReady etc.
The nginx module we maintain (https://github.com/kaltura/nginx-vod-module/) can perform this repackaging
on the fly. If the file is encrypted on disk with the same key that should be used for playback, it will skip the
encryption / decryption and serve the data as is (if the keys are different, it has to decrypt + re-encrypt)

> thanks!
> 
> -compn

Thanks !

Eran