Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. is launching a series of improvements across Southwest Airlines’ Inflight Entertainment Portal which will allow customers to stream inflight content direct to their smartphone, laptop or tablet without having to download an app before they board.

Hollywood movies and TV series protected under Digital Rights Management (DRM) can now be played on Southwest’s Inflight Entertainment Portal via selected iOS, Android or Windows operating systems on selected browsers. Global Eagle utilizes the latest media encryption standard – Common Media Application Format (CMAF) – to reduce encoding requirements so that multiple DRM technologies can be used on a single video file.

Per Norén, President, Global Eagle, says: “At Global Eagle, we are passionate about providing airlines and their customers with seamless access to inflight entertainment. This release enhances the customer experience, helping to drive engagement and consumption of onboard content and connectivity.”

As part of the series of updates, Global Eagle is introducing Cinemagraphs to the Southwest Inflight Entertainment Portal, displaying an animated movie poster to further engage customers.

About Global Eagle

Global Eagle is the only international connectivity and media content experience organization. The company serves consumers beyond the reach of normal telecom and cable providers, bringing a digital world of connected entertainment to the aviation, maritime, enterprise and government markets. Through its intelligent leadership, investment in innovation and comprehensive product suite, it commands an envious position as an open platform single-source provider and blended solution partner.

Global Eagle connects thousands of aircraft, ships and enterprise sites across the globe, combining a complete entertainment streaming solution. The company actively engages with humanitarian projects to support a better world bringing instant connectivity solutions to disaster incidents and areas of poverty.