How to create a test stream (how to create a CPIX)

Overview

A CPIX (Content Protection Information eXchange) file contains the DRM keys and metadata required to encrypt and package video for DRMtoday. This demo provides a guided CPIX Packager screen that walks through authentication, ticket retrieval, CPIX generation, and mp4split packaging.

Before you start, prepare:

• DRMtoday API username and password (CAS credentials)
• Merchant ID (Organization ID)
• Key Ingest Config ID (created in the CastLab GUI)
• Asset ID (identifier for the content you want to protect, e.g. CPIX-test)
• One or more source video files or URLs
• mp4split (Unified Streaming) installed on the packaging server

CPIX Packager workflow

The packager is a four-step wizard. Each step unlocks the next only after a successful API response. Progress and API results are logged in the Process History panel on the right.

High-level flow:

[Step 1] Login to DRMtoday CAS
    ↓
[Step 2] Request service ticket for CPIX ingest URL
    ↓
[Step 3] GET CPIX ingest endpoint → save drm.cpix
    ↓
[Step 4] Run mp4split with --hls.cpix / --mpd.cpix → packaged .ism

Step 1 — API Authentication

UI: Enter API Username and API Password, then click Authenticate Credentials.

What happens:

• The backend posts credentials to DRMtoday CAS (/cas/v1/tickets).
• On success, the response Location header is saved as the next API endpoint.
• Step 2 becomes visible; the form is disabled to prevent duplicate authentication.

On failure: Check username/password format and that the API user is active in the CastLab GUI.

Step 2 — Get Service Ticket

UI: Fill in:

• Merchant ID — your organization UUID
• Key Ingest Config ID — CPIX ingest configuration from DRMtoday
• Asset ID — unique content identifier (e.g. CPIX-test)

Click Get Authenticated Ticket.

What happens:

• The backend requests a service ticket for the CPIX ingest URL:

  https://fe.staging.drmtoday.com/frontend/cpix/v1/{merchantId}/ingest/{keyIngestConfigId}/{assetId}

• The full CPIX endpoint (with ticket) is displayed:

  ...?ticket={ticket}&x-signaling-alg=cbcs

• Step 3 is unlocked.

Step 3 — Generate CPIX

UI: Two buttons are available:

• Generate CPIX File — creates the CPIX if it does not already exist
• Force Generate New CPIX — deletes any existing file and generates a fresh CPIX (new keys)

What happens:

• The backend calls the CPIX ingest endpoint and saves drm.cpix on the server.
• File path pattern: generated_cpix/{merchantId}-{keyIngestConfigId}-{assetId}/drm.cpix
• An mp4split command preview appears in Step 4.

Step 4 — Package videos

UI:

• Output Name — base name for the output ISM (e.g. packaged-video)
• Video Sources — one or more local paths or URLs. Use Add Video Source for multiple inputs.

Click Package Videos.

What happens:

• The backend runs mp4split with the generated CPIX file attached to HLS, DASH, and Smooth Streaming outputs:

  mp4split -o "/packaged/{outputName}.ism" \
    --hls.fmp4 \
    --hls.cpix="{cpixPath}" \
    --mpd.cpix="{cpixPath}" \
    --iss.cpix="{cpixPath}" \
    --cpix="{cpixPath}" \
    {videoSource1} {videoSource2} ...

• On success, the HLS playback URL is shown in the feedback message.

Use Reset All at any time to clear all steps and start a new packaging run from Step 1.

Use the packaged stream in the player

1. Copy the HLS URL from Step 4 feedback (or Process History).
2. Open the VideoJS Demo and paste the URL into Video/Audio Source URL.
3. Enable Enable DRM and set Asset ID to the same value used in Step 2.
4. Click Load Video.

Alternative: command-line script

The same workflow can be automated with the drmtoday-cpix-command.sh shell script in the backend project. Example:

./drmtoday-cpix-command.sh \
  --asset-id CPIX-test \
  --output packaged-video \
  https://example.com/source-video.mp4

Options:

• -a, --asset-id — Asset ID (required)
• -o, --output — Output ISM filename without extension (required)
• -k, --key-ingest-config — Override default Key Ingest Config ID
• -f, --force — Force regenerate CPIX even if it already exists