Texas Instruments became the first partner to achieve the Netflix Silicon Reference Implementation (SRI) certification for the Netflix HD application on Android. TI’s OMAP 4 platform, complete with M-Shield security technology and TI’s quad-radio WiLink 7.0 connectivity combo solution, met the Netflix requirements for mobile content streaming, including the ability to run up to full high-definition (HD) 1080p video within strict security measures. This milestone reflects the strength of TI’s M-Shield technology on the OMAP 4 platform and marks the first time Netflix has certified its 1080p streaming application with end-to-end protection on a mobile device.

With its dual ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore foundation featuring TrustZone, TI’s OMAP 4 platform sets the bar for multimedia-rich Netflix experiences on today’s mobile devices. It employs parallel processing for higher performance and better power efficiency, and includes engines that drive consumer-demanded capabilities such as full HD 1080p 30fps multi-standard video and more. Part of the OMAP 4 platform, TI’s M-Shield security technology protects premium content and mobile devices from attacks while streaming with the Netflix application. The M-Shield solution implements a hardware-protected, trusted execution environment (TEE), which runs on the OMAP processor, yet does not require a dedicated chip or extra CPU cycles. This allows M-Shield and OMAP architecture to provide optimal playback time, while maintaining low CPU loading so it is free to run other applications.

Additional streaming security was achieved through the use of Wi-Fi-based WEP, WPA and WPA2 protocols, part of TI’s WiLink 7.0 solution—the industry’s only single chip to include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and FM technologies.

Smartphones and tablets running the Netflix application on the OMAP 4 platform can also connect to larger, HDMI-supported televisions as the OMAP platform’s security includes HDCP encryption over the HDMI connection itself.

TI worked with Trusted Logic to develop the secure middleware component (SMC), which is the OMAP version of Trusted Logic Trusted Foundations. The SMC executes Trusted Logic TrustedShow and an OMAP-optimized implementation of the Netflix-required Microsoft PlayReady DRM scheme.

The OMAP 4 platform’s Netflix certification supports Android 2.3 (“Gingerbread”) today, with support for additional Android versions planned for this year. Devices with the OMAP 4 processor-driven Netflix application pre-installed will be launched in the near future.