Introduction
When selecting a Chromebook device for your scholar to use for their Great Hearts Online schoolwork, there are many things to consider. We recommend families review the Technology Requirements for Scholars article for guidance on this topic. One important factor to consider is a device's Google Widevine licensing to ensure the device can play GHO videos.
What is Google Widevine?
Wildvine is a DRM (digital rights management) technology made by Google. Google's own products such as Chrome Browser, any Chromium-based browser, Mozilla Firefox Browser, Android devices, and other consumer electronics devices use Widevine. Widevine is also enabled on all Microsoft Windows systems by default and is built into many chipsets and other major desktop and mobile operating systems.
Simply put, Widevine uses software and hardware technologies to block media content to control access and restrict consumers' ability to distribute video content in ways that violate a company's Terms of Service. One example of an access control scenario is digitally renting a movie on Amazon Prime Video. The movie stays in your library for up to 30 days but is only watchable for 48 hours from when the movie is first played, even if disconnected from the internet. Google Widevine DRM is what controls these parameters on your devices.
This technology has been widely accepted as a replacement for other DRM solutions such as Adobe Primetime and the use of physical Smart Cards in the 2010s and before. Below is a list of some content distributors that require Widevine to be enabled on your device to use their services:
|
|
|
How does Google Widevine Work?
Certification Levels
Google Widevine has three levels of security that devices can be certified for, each dictating the device's capabilities.
| Level 1 Security | Level 2 Security | Level 3 Security |
No resolution restrictions. |
Limited to 540p resolution and lower. |
Limited to 480p resolution and lower. |
In some instances and when available, a content provider may adjust the playback resolution to the highest available based on the Widevine security license. For example, a device with Level 3 Security can play content from YouTube that is available in 4K quality but will only display in 480p resolution on that device.
In other cases, no version of the video in any resolution is available to be played. This typically results in an error message or may just appear as a frozen video player.
GHO Scholar Impact
At Great Hearts Online, all educators and scholars meet for Live Learning on the Zoom telephony platform. These Live Learning sessions are recorded daily for student records, as a learning reference for both Live Learning and Flexible Model students, and as per GHO policy.
Teachers utilize Zoom cloud recording to accomplish daily recordings. Due to the specific format of Zoom cloud recordings, videos produced often have irregular/larger resolutions that Google Widevine detects as non-playable. This is especially impactful in videos where a screen share, document camera, and/or gallery view is used as cloud recordings adjust video resolutions based on the features being used.
An example of this
Check Widevine Certification Level
Chromebooks on shelves often come preloaded with ChromeOS several versions out of date. It is always best to check your ChromeOS version and update if a newer version is available.
Device Selection by GHO Families
For reasons not commonly addressed in the consumer electronics market, Widevine certification is not often listed as a specification and revealing what level of certification a Chromebook device has can be very difficult.
Check Widevine Security Level
One method of checking the security level is to get a DRM-checking app on the ChromeOS device. Several different third-party apps will check Widevine security. To find one, go to the GooglePlay store on your device and search for "DRM." One example of a well-known app is "DRM Info." Download and install any DRM-checking app, then open the app. Find the reported Widevine security level to determine what resolution of video your device is able to view.
Known Devices without Level 1 Widevine Certification
The list below includes Chromebook devices that is known to GHO not to have Level 1 certification, the necessary level to view GHO content. This list is updated as the Technology & Systems Team learns of devices, but is not a complete list of all Chromebook devices on the market.
- Chromebook Lenovo Duet
- Acer Chromebook Spin 311, 713
- HP