Demanding IPVOD - Getting frustrated with Netflix [Text View]

HDTiVo

01-27-2006, 11:47 AM

After getting a taste of TiVo downloaded video, Netflix is much less appealing than it used to be.

I've become accustomed to waiting 6 months to see movies and do not care about seeing them in new release in the theater. I've been a Netflix subscriber for over 4 years, and I use the service heavily. Disks usually arrive overnight and can return overnight as well. Can't ask for better postal service.

More and more disks in my queue are wait listed - Cinderella Man is "Very Long Wait" despite already being out several weeks. Disks returned to Netflix don't seem to process all that quickly - they sometimes are recorded in the next day (I know because disks sent in the same envelop and disks sent together in seperate envelops have been received on different days.) Often Netflix takes its sweet time sending the next disk, even when available - disks logged returned later in the day often result in the next disk being sent the next day instead of same day.

These are not big complaints; I am only painting a picture of the reality. The fact is I have to decide what movie I am going to be in the mood to see several days in advance. This is in part because of the time it takes to get a disk and in part because with several disks out at a time a movie will arrive but there are 2 or 3 others ahead of it that I want to watch.

My cable internet service provides greater than 4.5mb/sec download speed. This means I can choose a movie when we start cooking dinner at 6, and it can be mostly downloaded when we sit down to watch at 8. The whole movie is downloaded long before we get to the end at 10; there's plenty of time to download some "extras" to complete the DVD experience.

Even people with 2mb/sec connections can pick a flick from work at 4pm and see it that evening. There already is an installed base in the millions of such connections, enabling a significant market.

Beyond the same evening downloads, having several downloads out on a monthly subscription like Netflix does with disks is even more convenient.

How do we download these movies securely and what do we play them with? DVD-TiVoes. Those TiVoes have 480p component video out and digital audio out. Play the movies with the same quality video and audio you get from a DVD player. Plug the TiVo into your new HDTV and see great detail from the anamorphic 16:9 mpeg. Oh, and you've got some of those disks? Well the TiVo plays those for you also.

The time has come. I know there have been proposals, near and failed deals. Everything is in place on the consumer side now - enough high speed connections, secure hardware to play the content - we don't even have to wait for the S3.

At the very least, the Vista/ViiV initiatives ought to lead content providers to open up. Integration of TiVo with this platform can lead to making IPVOD a reality.

davezatz

01-27-2006, 01:50 PM

I hear ya... I've been using Netflix since the late 90s and in the last few weeks I've had more movies unavailable than I can ever recall. Even when they're in stock, I'm also ready for broadband videos on demand.

When the new Akimbo box comes out this spring, I'll be interested in checking it out. They are partnering with Movielink (and conceivably MS DRM) to offer VOD of recent movie releases. Not sure if they will charge a monthly subscription fee (as they do now) plus a per movie "rental" - that would make it less appealing. Also, I'm wondering what sort of VOD is going to ultimately end up on the Xbox 360...

TiVo's obviously been exploring this angle, but they have an aging hardware platform and need to establish some partnerships to pull it off. But it surely seems possible, especially after checking out some of the test downloads. TiVo is well known with decent penetration, so hopefully that would help with partnering.

When I travel for work, I've used Movielink which is decent. I suppose I could connect my laptop to a TV as an interim solution (or rebuild one of my mothballed HTPCs).

PS While we're putting our suggestions out there, I'd prefer being able to watch as it downloads. :)

HDTiVo

01-27-2006, 04:12 PM

TiVo, individually, has a problem in that it doesn't have enough of an installed base to attract any attention from media providers.

Now think of content providers as OPEC, ViiV/Vista is the electric company, and TiVo makes toasters.

The electric company has the size to get OPEC to start shipping oil to it so it can produce electricity. Once TiVo knows that the mpegs are all 120V/60Hz, all it has to do is make its plug fit the outlet and make toast.

The impact of a flat monthly fee like Netflix's is enormous for adoption.

Being able to watch during download is important to retain - and expected since TiVoToCome&Go does that already. It would be great to add the ability to jump ahead of the download - and start downloading from the new point - while later filling in the "gaps" created by the jumping.

HOT OFF THE WIRE PORTFOLIO NEWS - from Lycos Finance

(NYSE:NWSA) News Corp Ltd, (NYSE:DIS) The Walt Disney Company

Movie Hits Theaters, TV, DVD on Same Day
- Jan 17, 2006 04:20 PM (AP Online)
- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=54797888

=========================================================

By GARY GENTILE AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- If you live in New Jersey, Virginia or Nevada and want to see the new Steven Soderbergh film "Bubble" in a theater, pack your bags. It won't be showing in those or more than a dozen other states.

The country's largest theater chains are snubbing the film because they object to it being sold on DVD and shown on cable TV the same day it debuts in a handful of theaters owned by the same company that produced the movie.

"Bubble" isn't the first film to be released this way. But the combination of a high-profile director and the backing of maverick billionaires Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban have studios and theater owners paying close attention this time.

"It's the biggest threat to the viability of the cinema industry today," John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, said of the so-called "day and date" release strategy.

The move comes as new technology is giving consumers faster access to music, movies, TV shows and other content via multiple devices, including laptop computers, portable video screens, even cell phones. Theater owners have faced challenges from technology before, most notably television and the VCR. But this is the first time major studios have contemplated releasing films in competing formats at the same time.

The low-budget "Bubble," a murder mystery set in a doll factory, opens Jan. 27 and is the first of six films to be produced under a partnership between Soderbergh and 2929 Entertainment. Founded by Wagner and Cuban, the company owns Magnolia Pictures, which will distribute "Bubble" in partnership with Landmark Theaters and HDNet Movies, the cable TV channel that will air it.

All six films produced by the partnership will be released simultaneously on DVD, television and in theaters. "Bubble" will appear on DVD a few days after its theater and cable release.

Currently, studios carefully control the release of major motion pictures to maximize profits. Films are first released in theaters, then on pay per view, home video, pay cable networks such as HBO, and finally on broadcast TV.

But the time between those windows has been shrinking. In 1994, the average time between a movie's opening in theaters and its debut on home video was about six months. In 2004, that span fell to four months, with some studios releasing films on DVD even sooner.

A typical film now earns about half of its revenue from home video and only about 25 percent from theaters. The remainder comes from selling the film to cable and broadcast TV and other sources.

Releasing DVDs sooner would also let studios get more mileage from the millions of dollars spent marketing new movies.

Theater owners argue that people are already staying away from theaters because they don't have to wait long for the DVD. Releasing disks the same day a movie debuts in megaplexes will shave theaters' already thin profit margins, even if consumers have to pay a premium for the simultaneously-released DVD.

Profit margins for theater chains generally run in the mid to low teens, according to Matthew Harrigan, an analyst with Janco Partners Inc. If studios began releasing films on DVD the same day as the theatrical release _ an unlikely scenario, in his opinion _ it would "completely collapse the domestic theatrical industry and you would have a spate of bankruptcies," Harrigan said.

Media companies say they have to adapt to the changing demands of consumers, who have shown a desire to download entertainment from iTunes and other online services.

Some TV shows, for instance, are now being sold online the day after they air. Some shows on the FX channel are available even before broadcast.

Two weeks ago, News Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin said his company would soon start releasing films in high-definition formats 60 days after theatrical release.

Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Chernin said News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox had not yet determined whether the high-def releases will be via cable, satellite or on a disk.

Last week, Tom Staggs, chief financial officer of The Walt Disney Co., reiterated that company's position that all options are on the table when it comes to the traditional window release strategy. But Staggs did say Disney still respects the role of theaters.

"We're not predicting 'day and date' is going to happen tomorrow for a majority of films or even pushing for that to happen," Staggs said during an appearance at an investment conference. "But what we will do is experiment with what works for consumers."

While large, event movies such as "King Kong" may work best on the big screen, simultaneous release could be beneficial for small, independent films that often struggle for an audience while blockbusters hog theater screens.

Rainbow Media, a division of Cablevision, plans to release 18 to 24 films a year via video on demand on cable TV systems at the same time they debut in theaters.

The idea, executives say, is to create a "virtual art house" at a time when the theatrical market for smaller films is shrinking.

"For us, it's not meant to make trouble," said Joshua Sapan, president and CEO of Rainbow Media. "We think (the films) will do better in the theaters if there is more buzz around it, even if it's available on television."

samo

01-27-2006, 04:32 PM

More and more disks in my queue are wait listed - Cinderella Man is "Very Long Wait" despite already being out several weeks. Disks returned to Netflix don't seem to process all that quickly - they sometimes are recorded in the next day (I know because disks sent in the same envelop and disks sent together in seperate envelops have been received on different days.) Often Netflix takes its sweet time sending the next disk, even when available - disks logged returned later in the day often result in the next disk being sent the next day instead of same day.
I don't know about rest of the movies, but Cinderella Man has been available on PPV for quite some time. Time lag between DVD releases and PPV gets shorter and shorter, so I don't understand the burning desire to be able to download movies from Internet. Of course there are special cases like old movies that are not available anywhere else, but for new movies PPV works just fine.

cynthetiq

01-27-2006, 05:04 PM

smark

01-27-2006, 07:31 PM

I certainly hope Netflix has the bandwidth to give you 4.5 sustained.

d_anders

01-27-2006, 07:47 PM

I certainly hope Netflix has the bandwidth to give you 4.5 sustained.

With just a few people together in the neighborhood doing the same thing....I even wonder if the cable company can handle a 1 - 2 Mbps sustained.

Even with the notable recent "upgrades" in cable bandwidth to homes, cable is still a shared pipe (I for one for one enjoying it myself).

I wonder how many people in a given neighborhood subnet, downloading video, it will take before all the available bandwidth for that neighborhood subnet is eaten.

Anyway, IPTV is a great idea, but I don't think it's a possiblility unless you've got MPEG4 as an absolute standard, and even more bandwidth is available.

ZeoTiVo

01-27-2006, 08:22 PM

Anyway, IPTV is a great idea, but I don't think it's a possiblility unless you've got MPEG4 as an absolute standard, and even more bandwidth is available. did someone say series 3 ;)

HDTiVo

01-27-2006, 11:43 PM

working for a media company and being involved with the VOD group for the past 6 months, there's little desire for them to do "give up the goods" directly to someone's PC without some major digital asset management tool. In doing so, then people are pissed off because they don't want it to "evaporate"

I've got access to the raw media, but I don't care for the content we create.
This is exactly the kind of revolution that has already gotten underway. The big break in the dam was iTunes' deal for video last fall. Its gaining momentum. The opportunity for security exists with a standard platform like MSFT/INTC are putting together. Any device working with that platform, be it PC, TiVo, networked digital media player, portable media player, whatever, can securely handle the content in accordance with the rules of the retailer (Netflix, DL_Flix, iTunes, Blockbuster_Online, TiVoDL, ViginMegaDL) whether that be purchase, rental (limited time out or limited number out,) or other model.

HDTiVo

01-27-2006, 11:51 PM

With just a few people together in the neighborhood doing the same thing....I even wonder if the cable company can handle a 1 - 2 Mbps sustained.

Even with the notable recent "upgrades" in cable bandwidth to homes, cable is still a shared pipe (I for one for one enjoying it myself).

I wonder how many people in a given neighborhood subnet, downloading video, it will take before all the available bandwidth for that neighborhood subnet is eaten.

Anyway, IPTV is a great idea, but I don't think it's a possiblility unless you've got MPEG4 as an absolute standard, and even more bandwidth is available.
This is a very important technical/architectual issue. In the near future, very few will be subscribers to these services and congestion in the network will be correspondingly rare. Will cable expand its ability to give multiple users per "node" a consistent 4.5+mbit/sec download speed? What about FIOS which is emerging? What about DSL which can also be pushed to the needed speeds and is a switched architecture? Those are two alternatives to cable, so cable will have competitive pressure. Reliable service and available video downloads will create greater market penetration for high speed services; with that higher penetration comes money to spend on equipment to provide more bandwidth.

I don't see mpeg4 as a major factor. Available bandwidth can expand to make the old mpeg2 do just fine. Two years ago I could only get DSL at 768kb; now that DSL is 1.5mb. The cable was probably 3mb when I got it; now it is over 4.5mb. I am already past the point where mpeg2's size over mpeg4 is a serious issue.

Now mpeg4 is great for small portable devices with 320x240 resolutions; the material is already being re-encoded to the lower resolution, so why not use mpeg4. However, why re-encode or transcode the entire library of DVD compliant mpeg2 material if not absolutely necessary? Why create the need with each new release to supply two formats to the living room: DVDs and mpeg4?

But here is another problem from TiVo's perspective. TiVo=installed base of mpeg2 players. Rest of world maybe does want to go mpeg4; PCs, XBOX360, d-Link 320's...all play mpeg4. That could leave TiVo in the dust with its legacy boxes; it will have to start from scratch in this segment with the S3. The alternative is to put a PC between the S2 and the download to transcode back to mpeg2. Doable, but not elegant.

HDTiVo

01-28-2006, 12:13 AM

I don't know about rest of the movies, but Cinderella Man has been available on PPV for quite some time. Time lag between DVD releases and PPV gets shorter and shorter, so I don't understand the burning desire to be able to download movies from Internet. Of course there are special cases like old movies that are not available anywhere else, but for new movies PPV works just fine.
Because not everyone has cable. Because in the future not everyone will have to pay for cable to get content. Because cable is a middle man with a single business model in PPV with little competition, and the content providers could go through more retailers to distribute their products through IPVOD, with the different business models creating a greater overall PPV/IPVOD market.

Just a few ideas.

smark

01-28-2006, 03:18 AM

Of course with channel bonding you can get much more than 4.5Mbps download, however you would still hope that the bandwidth on the other end is big enough for you to use that speed.

samo

01-28-2006, 04:23 AM

Because not everyone has cable. Because in the future not everyone will have to pay for cable to get content. Because cable is a middle man with a single business model in PPV with little competition, and the content providers could go through more retailers to distribute their products through IPVOD, with the different business models creating a greater overall PPV/IPVOD market.

Just a few ideas.
Of course without cable Series 3 would be mostly useless, but I would presume that 99% of TiVo users have either cable or satellite as a provider. Even if you are poor or cheap and don't want to subscribe to any package - for $5/month you can have access to Dish PPV and for $10/month you can have access to all DirecTV PPV +locals. At least at present prices for internet downloaded movies are the same as PPV (unless you are pirating, but it is completely different issue). As of today, I don't see any benefit of downloading from internet compare to cable or satellite PPV. And I don't anticipate any benefit in a near future. At least for movies.

dylanemcgregor

01-28-2006, 07:37 AM

Of course without cable Series 3 would be mostly useless, but I would presume that 99% of TiVo users have either cable or satellite as a provider. Even if you are poor or cheap and don't want to subscribe to any package - for $5/month you can have access to Dish PPV and for $10/month you can have access to all DirecTV PPV +locals. At least at present prices for internet downloaded movies are the same as PPV (unless you are pirating, but it is completely different issue). As of today, I don't see any benefit of downloading from internet compare to cable or satellite PPV. And I don't anticipate any benefit in a near future. At least for movies.

A fair number of TiVo SA subs are on analog cable, and this number should be getting bigger as a proportion of TiVo subs throughout the yeat as this is the area that TiVo has the least competition. No PPV for analog subs (at least in all the areas I've been in), and it can be a steep increase to digital. In my area it would cost me $50 a month to upgrade to digital, plus an extra $10 or so in taxes. I don't see a bunch of people clamoring to hang up a dish and pay $5-$10 a month just for the option to pay $5 a PPV movie. Again that's not even an option in the NY apartment I live in.

-Dylan

samo

01-28-2006, 06:46 PM

A fair number of TiVo SA subs are on analog cable, and this number should be getting bigger as a proportion of TiVo subs throughout the yeat as this is the area that TiVo has the least competition.
True. With all this talk about Cable Card TiVo and HDTV I completely spaced out analog cable customers that make up more than half of cable subscribers. Actually in my area digital wasn't even available till about 6 months ago. And you are right - if digital cable is available, they always move PPV and premiums to digital.

HDTiVo

01-30-2006, 01:12 PM

The momentum is building for content availability.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=industryNews&storyID=2006-01-30T133822Z_01_L30286912_RTRIDST_0_INDUSTRY-MEDIA-WARNERBROS-P2P-DC.XML

Warner Bros. to start German file-sharing service
Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:39 AM ET

By Jeffrey Goldfarb, European Media Correspondent

LONDON (Reuters) - Warner Bros. said on Monday it would soon begin selling movies and television shows in Germany, Austria and Switzerland using a peer-to-peer network, embracing the very technology that has rattled the entertainment industry.

Starting in March, the new service called In2Movies will allow paying consumers to download a limited selection of Warner Bros. films and TV programs, including "Batman Begins" and "The O.C.," from central servers and from other users who have the desired files.

Such networks, widely known as P2P, are blamed for rocking the music industry, as teenagers around the world easily swapped songs with each other using services like Napster and Kazaa.

As connection speeds have improved, other services such as BitTorrent and eDonkey have increasingly been used to illegally download copyrighted movies and TV shows, with P2P traffic using as much as 60 percent of the Internet's total bandwidth, according to some estimates.

"One of the most effective weapons for defeating online piracy is providing legal, easy-to-use alternatives," said Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.

In the first half of 2005, 1.7 million Internet users illegally downloaded 11.9 million movies in Germany, Warner Bros. said.

WIDER USE

Warner Bros., owned by New York-based media conglomerate Time Warner, said the German-language markets were only a first step and it soon plans to widen the use of P2P networks.

"Our initial efforts will focus on the German market, but in the months ahead we will leverage this technology to better serve markets around the world," Tsujihara said.

Films will be made available to registered users of the In2Movies service on the same day they are released on DVD in the German language. In addition to the studio's blockbusters, In2Movies plans to sell local programming and material supplied by third parties.

The first version of the technology will allow content to be downloaded onto computers. A later version will enable users to store movies and TV shows on portable devices

A centralized component of the technology ensures the protection of copyrights, Warner Bros. said, while file-sharing aspects help distribute the large files more efficiently.

The service is being developed with arvato mobile, a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, using its GNAB download platform.

Britain's publicly funded broadcaster, the BBC, is also testing a service called iMP, which functions as a P2P network and lets viewers watch shows such as soap opera "EastEnders" on their computers.

Most of the Hollywood studios have held talks with BitTorrent, which uses a similar technology, but is also widely used for piracy.

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

dt_dc

01-30-2006, 01:32 PM

Another p2p content distribution network:
http://www.dave.tv
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=107278

There are several.

It'll be interesting to see how far these go without IPv6. IPv6 would make the ipVOD model significantly cheaper / easier (no wonder Microsoft plans full IPv6 support in Vista).

cheezus

01-31-2006, 04:32 PM

I just dropped blockbuster online in favor of getting TiVo :) The turnaround time was a full week from the day I dropped it in the mail to the day I got the next disc in my queue. They sent things out of order. Often I would get the "received your disc" email from them on a Friday, and the next disc would not ship out until Tuesday.

If I lived in a city with a distribution center, I'd get blockbuster or netflix again, but where I am I was being limited to about 10-12 discs a month. Lame.

HDTiVo

02-15-2006, 01:49 AM

Here is a not yet well received device with a certain wackiness that got a boost today.

They say 100 movies available at a time; and up to 10 new movies per week. I gather the movies are all stored on the hard drive and replaced as new ones are received. What is even more bizarre is that apparently the content is received by an attached antennae which picks up a data feed from the local PBS TV station; considering that Disney - which incubated this thing - owns ABC, that's also quite ironic.

The wild card here is the ethernet/usb to broadband/PC connectivity, the Cisco/Linksys involvement and Intel (ViiV); it is stated there will be extended functionality/content later in the year using these features. That's where it could get exciting - folks with multi-megabit broadband connections downloading shows and movies in real time (even HD) from an almost infinite selection.

I understand why this would come from Disney; they do not own any cable assets and this is a way to distribute content without the cable middleman. An entity that provides boxes like this and can get content licenses can become a virtual cable company. To succeed, the device will have to handle content from many publishers and not just be a Disney box. With Cisco and Intel involved, this is a chance to create the standard by which all studios will encode and distribute their content. That's a long stretch, and nothing indicates that 100 other companies could not make boxes that do the same thing - indeed, that is the more likely scenario. The bigger prize, though, is laying down the standard by which studio content will be distributed over the internet; this may evolve into the forerunner of such devices

HOT OFF THE WIRE PORTFOLIO NEWS - from Lycos Finance

(NYSE:DIS) The Walt Disney Company

MovieBeam, Inc. Launches Across the Country, Movies-On-Demand
Service Dramatically Improves the Movie-Rental Experience
- Feb 14, 2006 08:02 AM (BusinessWire)
- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=55721756

============================================================ ===============

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2006--

Newly Formed Venture Backed by Disney, Cisco, and Intel Delivers
Instant Access to Movies From the Comfort of Home, With
High-Definition Capability

MovieBeam, Inc. today introduced the new MovieBeam System and
launched its movies-on-demand service in 29 major metropolitan areas
across the U.S., including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, reaching
nearly half of all U.S. households. The MovieBeam movies-on-demand
service provides instant access to an ever-changing lineup of new
releases and other popular favorites from virtually every major
Hollywood studio. There are always 100 movies immediately available,
with up to 10 new titles automatically delivered digitally each week
-- including select movies in high definition (HD) -- via MovieBeam's
exclusive, low-cost over-the-air datacasting technology. The MovieBeam
System is composed of: 1) a set-top box that stores, protects and
plays movies; 2) a small indoor antenna that receives new movies to
automatically refresh the selection; and 3) a simple remote control
that facilitates navigation of the intuitive user interface.

MovieBeam, Inc. is a newly formed venture backed by The Walt
Disney Company, Cisco Sytems, Intel Corporation (through its leading
venture capital arm, Intel Capital), Mayfield Fund, Norwest Venture
Partners and VantagePoint Venture Partners (see today's related
announcement).

"We have built MovieBeam to directly address what's most important
to our target customers: convenience, quality and choice," said Tres
Izzard, president and CEO of MovieBeam, Inc. "Our target customers are
movie lovers who want a more convenient way to rent the movies they
want to watch when they want to watch them and value the overall
quality of the experience. MovieBeam provides an attractive
alternative to other options -- bringing the sizable selection of the
back wall of the video store directly into customers' living rooms.
Movies are always available for instant viewing, with no trips to
video store, no out-of-stock titles, no damaged discs, no late return
fees and no waiting by the mailbox for DVDs."

"MovieBeam, with its easy-to-use service, breakthrough content
rights, and low-cost delivery platform, is serving a previously unmet
need in the marketplace -- providing consumers with a more convenient,
higher-quality movie-rental experience through an unmatched
combination of content, technology and relationships," said Gerry
Kaufhold, principal analyst, In-Stat. "As a stand-alone company, with
a strong investor syndicate, MovieBeam is well-positioned to become an
important player in the digital entertainment business by delivering
on the promise of on-demand movies."

Key features of the new MovieBeam offering include:

-- Every new release and select popular favorites from virtually
every major Hollywood studio, with 100 movies always instantly
available and up to 10 new titles automatically delivered each
week

-- Unprecedented access to high-definition movies -- with
specially selected titles in native HD format and an HDMI
connection that up-converts standard-definition content when
connected to an HD TV

-- Breakthrough content rights, including select titles from a
major studio day-and-date with DVD release

-- Full playback functionality, with familiar controls such as
Pause, Stop, Fast-forward and Rewind

-- Intuitive user interface that sorts movies by title, genre,
actor/director and rating

-- Free full-length theatrical trailers for every movie available
for rental

-- Pay-as-you-go model, with no subscription fees and no annual
contracts

-- Simple set-up, requiring no professional installation or
special equipment

-- Personalized spending limits and parental controls

Availability and Pricing

The MovieBeam service is now available in 29 metropolitan areas
across the U.S., reaching more than 40 million households. Included in
the initial markets are: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago,
Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Las Vegas,
Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York City, Orlando,
Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland (Oregon), Salt Lake City, San Antonio,
San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington,
D.C.

The MovieBeam System is sold by major national consumer
electronics retailers including Best Buy, CompUSA and Sears, as well
as regional and independent retailers in the markets in which the
service is available. It will also be available through several
national Internet retailers. Additionally, the MovieBeam System can
also be ordered at

www.moviebeam.com

or 1-800-MOVIEBEAM.

"Consumers are outfitting their homes today with high-end audio
and video equipment to create a theater-like experience within the
comfort of home," said Mike Mohan, vice president for home
entertainment at Best Buy. "High definition content really makes home
theater come to life with enhanced picture and sound. By offering
unprecedented access to high-definition movies and appealing to the
entire family with a broad array of entertainment options, MovieBeam
is potentially accelerating consumer interest in the high-definition
experience."

The advertised price of the MovieBeam System is $199.99 after an
introductory rebate of $50. There is a one-time service activation fee
of $29.99. Movie-rental prices are $3.99 for new release titles and
$1.99 for library titles -- with a $1 premium for HD movies. Each
rental covers a 24-hour viewing period during which customers can
watch a movie as many times as they like, with full video playback
functionality. There are no annual contracts or monthly subscription
fees.

Technology

The MovieBeam player features a 160 GB hard drive and a 200 MHz
central processing unit (CPU). The player easily connects to virtually
any television set, with video connection ports including HDMI,
component, S-video, composite and audio connection ports including
digital coaxial, SP/DIF, HDMI and left/right stereo audio. MovieBeam
supports advanced audio and video formats, including Windows Media(TM)
9/VC-1 and Dolby Digital 5.1(TM).

With this flexible platform and PC-compatible digital movie files,
the MovieBeam service can in the future be extended to other devices.
As part of Intel's investment, the two companies are collaborating to
develop a USB peripheral that will, in the future, bring the MovieBeam
service to other devices.

The player also features Ethernet and USB 2.0 ports, which will
enable broadband connectivity later this year, giving MovieBeam the
ability to add even more features and content to the service. The
player is co-branded with Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems and a
leader in home networking devices, as part of Cisco's investment in
MovieBeam. The two companies intend to explore future joint
development opportunities.

Through a long-term agreement with National Datacast (and its
nationwide network of PBS stations), MovieBeam's exclusive
over-the-air datacasting technology provides a low-cost content
distribution solution and enables the efficient, secure and
simultaneous delivery of hundreds of digital movie files to millions
of customers' homes across the country. The MovieBeam datacasting
signal rides on top of the existing PBS broadcasting infrastructure
and National Datacast's 15 years of experience provides MovieBeam with
a distribution solution including network coordination, management and
monitoring.

About MovieBeam

MovieBeam, Inc. is a leader in digital entertainment that is
changing the way people rent movies. The MovieBeam movies-on-demand
service provides instant access to an ever-changing lineup of new
releases and popular favorites from every major Hollywood studio,
including select movies in HD -- always 100 to choose from, with up to
10 new movies automatically delivered digitally each week using
over-the-air datacasting technology. The MovieBeam service is
available in 29 major metropolitan areas across the U.S., and the
MovieBeam System is sold by leading consumer electronics retailers and
e-tailers. MovieBeam, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered
in Burbank, Calif. Investors include The Walt Disney Company
(NYSE:DIS), Cisco Systems, Intel Corporation, Mayfield Fund, Norwest
Venture Partners and VantagePoint Venture Partners. More information
is available at

www.moviebeam.com

.

CONTACT: MovieBeam, Inc.
Michelle Cox, 818-840-1950

michelle.cox@moviebeam.com

or
Blanc & Otus for MovieBeam, Inc.
Erin Olsson, 415-856-5115

eolsson@blancandotus.com

SOURCE: MovieBeam, Inc.

peteypete

02-15-2006, 11:57 AM

What about this?

http://www.gigaom.com/?s=netflix

and this? (Stephen's comments on Netflix)

http://www.thomashawk.com/

I think it's definately still alive.

HDTiVo

02-21-2006, 12:52 PM

The offerings continue to come...

HOT OFF THE WIRE PORTFOLIO NEWS - from Lycos Finance

(NASDAQ:TIVO) TiVo Inc., (NYSE:TWX) Time Warner Inc,
(NYSE:VIA) Viacom Inc Cl A, (NYSE:VIA.B) Viacom Inc Cl B
New, (NYSE:DIS) The Walt Disney Company

EWAN Embeds Set-Top Boxes with Proprietary 300 Hour Digital
Recorder to Coincide with Launch of Global IPtv Service
- Feb 21, 2006 08:38 AM (BusinessWire)
- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=55971072

=========================================================

SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2006--eWAN1, Inc.
(Pink Sheets:EWAN) announced today that the Company has embedded its
proprietary 'EVO' 300 hour digital video recorder into their "Triple
Play" set-top boxes, the DMC 200 and DMC 300, to coincide with the
launch of eWAN's global Internet television (IPtv) service on April
19, 2006 and the roll-out of its "Triple Play" set-top boxes in March
2006. Recording content without videotape and bundled with features
including 'pause', 'rewind', 'slow-motion' and 'instant replay' of
live TV, eWAN's global IPtv service will initially offer consumers 75
channels of High Definition (HD) clarity "On Demand" content delivered
to their television screens via any broadband connection.

Similar to offerings by TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO), eWAN's 'EVO' allowing
users to record two shows at the same time and/or record one show as
another is being watched. It also enables users the ability to store
and play digital music and the ability to store and manage family
photos as well as other media. Because eWAN's set-top is measurably
smaller than current product offerings being supplied by cable and
satellite companies, the product can be transported from place to
place and can be used through television set as long as broadband
connection is available.

Through its recently acquired cable company, ClearWave
Broadcasting, eWAN will be the first to launch true IPtv service on a
global basis. Direct Connect, a wholly owned eWAN subsidiary, will
provide traditional broadcast television to subscribers who will be
able to select channels and networks of their choice, including such
popular networks as CNN & HBO, subsidiaries of Time Warner (NYSE:TWX),
Showtime, a subsidiary of Viacom International (NYSE:VIA)
(NYSE:VIA.B), ABC, a Walt Disney subsidiary (NYSE:DIS)) and ESPN, an
80/20 Joint venture between ABC and The Hearst Corporation, amongst a
host of others. The set-top box is pre-bundled with a monthly
subscription for the channels of content that consumers will be able
to order online and from local retail channels. The offering also
includes Internet, telephone service (VOIP), data and video
capability, and a host of other highly coveted features, at a price
point approximately one-third of that now charged by existing cable or
satellite companies. Based on initial indications of interest, eWAN
has recently revised its worldwide unit sales projections for the
first year of production upward to 250,000 set-top box units.

About eWAN1, Inc.

eWAN1 specializes in broadband network solutions including
high-speed Internet access, data, gaming, voice and video services,
utilizing the most advanced network design and architecture in the
industry, based on building its telecommunications network "on top" of
major metropolitan fiber optic interconnection points within class 'A'
carrier facilities, and by incorporating the fastest, most reliable,
redundant and scalable hardware available. At present, EWAN is the
only midsize ISP offering "wire-speed" networking in every device, at
every access point.

EWAN's wireless "Triple Play" Digital Media Center connects
directly to a television to enable viewing of broadcast and cable
television (IPtv), enables video-on-demand of movies and
documentaries, features traditional Internet access, telephone service
(VOIP) and data and video capability including video conferencing for
collaboration, corporate training and professional development. The
boxes' new IPtv cache will also feature music channels that will play
music and the corresponding video if it is available, as well as
provide "time shifted" services such as the ability to record one
program while watching another through its proprietary EVO 300 hour
digital video recorder.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements, which may constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act
of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements
include statements regarding the intent, belief or current
expectations of eWAN1, and members of its management as well as the
assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors
are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties,
and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated
by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no
obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect
changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes
to future operating results.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, go to the Company's website at:

http://www.ewan1.com

, or contact: Brass Bulls Corp. - Marc Lovito
(954) 340.2464.

CONTACT: For eWAN1, Inc., Santa Ana
Brass Bulls Corp.
Marc Lovito, 954- 340-2464

SOURCE: eWAN1, Inc.

lajohn27

02-21-2006, 02:35 PM

Surprised nobody in this thread mentioned the NetFlix Throttling "Issue"

What this amounts to is compromised service for longstanding customers in favor of new customers... almost 'pyramid scheme' like. They promised unlimited rentals... but now.. they've changed that policy.

If I was STILL a Netflix customer, I would cancel for SURE now...

Netflix typically sends about 13 movies per month to Villanueva's home in Warren, Mich. — down from the 18 to 22 DVDs he once received before the company's automated system identified him as a heavy renter and began delaying his shipments to protect its profits.

The same Netflix formula also shoves Villanueva to the back of the line for the most-wanted DVDs, so the service can send those popular flicks to new subscribers and infrequent renters.

Full story posted here...

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2006/02/10/financial/f112412S32.DTL&type=business

ZeoTiVo

02-21-2006, 02:42 PM

Surprised nobody in this thread mentioned the NetFlix Throttling "Issue"

What this amounts to is compromised service for longstanding customers in favor of new customers... almost 'pyramid scheme' like. They promised unlimited rentals... but now.. they've changed that policy.

If I was STILL a Netflix customer, I would cancel for SURE now...

Full story posted here...

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2006/02/10/financial/f112412S32.DTL&type=business

this is old news- and I have seen it go away for me. It is not so much older customers as it is heavy users - IE deep queues and doing maybe 20 to 30 movies a month. I have gotten most releases in my mailbox the same day it was released to blockbuster. so yes they have a priority formula for x number of copies to y number of people but I have not seen ill effects from it

davezatz

02-21-2006, 02:49 PM

Surprised nobody in this thread mentioned the NetFlix Throttling "Issue"

If I was STILL a Netflix customer, I would cancel for SURE now...

I read an article somewhere that Blockbuster's mail order was using the same methods. I'm not sure how I feel about this... fortunately I haven't been much impacted since most of my rentals are either obscure or older movies... or TV series which generally are in stock.

40 Year Old Virgin has been in my queue since it was released and just this week dropped down to 'Short Wait' (from very long to long and now this) which amazes me. I would have been better off ordering it from Amazon with my free two-day shipping and then ebaying it. (I will not step foot into Blockbuster.)

samo

02-21-2006, 04:25 PM

40 Year Old Virgin has been in my queue since it was released and just this week dropped down to 'Short Wait' (from very long to long and now this) which amazes me. I would have been better off ordering it from Amazon with my free two-day shipping and then ebaying it. (I will not step foot into Blockbuster.)
I think you can still get it on PPV, but your better hurry, because it will move to Starz or HBO next month. :)

HDTiVo

02-21-2006, 04:40 PM

I think you can still get it on PPV, but your better hurry, because it will move to Starz or HBO next month. :)
But what if he wants to see it at full resolution in beautiful anamorphic widescreen?

davezatz

02-21-2006, 04:57 PM

I think you can still get it on PPV, but your better hurry, because it will move to Starz or HBO next month. :)

I live in a cablebox-free zone. I hate clutter, I need less boxes in my life. That's why my bedroom TiVo is also my DVD player. :) So no PPV for me... unless I buy it through MovieLink and connect the laptop to the TV. Hmmmm.

But what if he wants to see it at full resolution in beautiful anamorphic widescreen?

Would there be any other way to watch my biography? ;)

samo

02-21-2006, 05:21 PM

But what if he wants to see it at full resolution in beautiful anamorphic widescreen?
For that he would have to order HD version for a $1 more (if he had cable or satellite HD service). But jokes aside, I think Netflix and similar services are not providing you much of the value. If you order very few movies, you would be better off just renting them at the store or ordering them on PPV. If you are heavy user, you are better off to sign up for HBO or Starz - you not getting your movies much sooner than that anyhow.

davezatz

02-21-2006, 05:30 PM

If you order very few movies, you would be better off just renting them at the store or ordering them on PPV. If you are heavy user, you are better off to sign up for HBO or Starz - you not getting your movies much sooner than that anyhow. HBO or Starz doesn't get me many older flicks or obscure flicks when I want them... it also wouldn't have gotten me the first two seasons of Battlestar Gallactica which we've been watching the last 6 weeks. (2/3 of our Netflixing is television series - don't even have to ffwd commercials.) Also, like I said I don't have a cable box (meaning no PPV) and I won't stand in line at Blockbuster.

EDIT: I've been mulling this over some more... amongst the folks I know who use Netlix, the main selling points seem to be the great convenience of having movies on hand with no trips to the store and (for some of us) stocking a large library of content to choose from. If PPV/VOD had as vast a library and an all-you-can-eat plan (mythical Netflix via TiVo?), obviously that would be preferable for being more instantaneous. Until then, Netflix is the best solution for many of us.

ZeoTiVo

02-21-2006, 06:36 PM

EDIT: I've been mulling this over some more... amongst the folks I know who use Netlix, the main selling points seem to be the great convenience of having movies on hand with no trips to the store and (for some of us) stocking a large library of content to choose from. If PPV/VOD had as vast a library and an all-you-can-eat plan (mythical Netflix via TiVo?), obviously that would be preferable for being more instantaneous. Until then, Netflix is the best solution for many of us.

that is where I stand on it. I always have some movie on hand to watch - like the deep catalog of movies and shows that would not usually be available on download or even in a blockbuster. I have turned my kids on to all the old Disney movies like "The computer who wore tennis shoes" and "the Herbie/Love Bug" ones etc.. Also I put the Original "Pink Panther" in my queue for the older ones to watch adn found out they had 3 more Pink Panther sereis movies made without Peter Sellers in them. Dropped those in my queue to check out some day.

And really any IPTV might have appeall to me - but one I would be willing to drop some serious money on is a download service that had the same depth as Netflix DVD rental does. It is the depth that has the real appeal to me - other things like convenience and instaneous download are gravy on top.

HDTiVo

02-21-2006, 10:25 PM

If PPV/VOD had as vast a library and an all-you-can-eat plan (mythical Netflix via TiVo?), obviously that would be preferable for being more instantaneous. Until then, Netflix is the best solution for many of us.
I agree with what both you and Zeo are saying - the holy grail is the extensive library to choose from. The download technology just advances the ball over what Netflix does by mail...an advance that folks will welcome IF the library is big.

Otherwise the PPV/VOD from cable is about the same choicewise. I mean there are maybe 100 movies to choose from at any given time if you are lucky. I think there are like 12 HD movies on my cable system. The pricing model is also different - if you are quick, VOD is more expensive per "disk" than Netflix and forces you to watch in one night or pay twice, which is even more expensive.

Cable VOD is also not SD anamorphic (I am not sure samo understood my meaning) but many actual DVDs are. IP VOD could also be SD anamorphic. SD anamorphic is a big jump in quality on a HD and 16:9 enhanced sets. Even our S2s play SD anamorphic mpegs.

MovieBeam (hereinafter refered to as the DISCOINTC- pronounced DISCO-in-TECH - MoonUnit or just MoonUnit) was on CNBC this afternoon and I have to admit giggling as they are exlpaining how great it is that there are always 100 movies on the box to choose from and they swap out 10 each week. But behind the giggle my brain is saying the other technology they are using (IP connection) will enable them - perhaps later this year even - to do IP VOD on an infinite library, provided they get content licenses. But then they claim "nearly every major studio" is on board now!

davezatz

02-22-2006, 06:11 AM

But behind the giggle my brain is saying the other technology they are using (IP connection) will enable them - perhaps later this year even - to do IP VOD on an infinite library, provided they get content licenses. But then they claim "nearly every major studio" is on board now!

The initial MovieBeam service uses an antenna to download those several shows a week, all push - I have no say in what shows up. The computer service model I've read about doesn't seem any different than CinemaNow or MovieLink. Am I missing something? I need the set top box to download the show, not my computer. The newer Akimbo set-top box that's coming out that utilizes MovieLink is interesting, other than the pricing model.

HDTiVo

02-22-2006, 09:04 AM

The initial MovieBeam service uses an antenna to download those several shows a week, all push - I have no say in what shows up. The computer service model I've read about doesn't seem any different than CinemaNow or MovieLink. Am I missing something? I need the set top box to download the show, not my computer. The newer Akimbo set-top box that's coming out that utilizes MovieLink is interesting, other than the pricing model.
Yes, you are not missing anything.

All the pieces are out there but no one has put the entire puzzle together yet. Everything we read about has something(s) missing.

There is Starz with the flat monthly fee. MovieBeam (and TiVo) has the set top box. MovieLink has the big library (it is big, right?)

Later in the year MovieBeam might have the big library, but is their pay per 24 hour rental model going to change?

Will anyone put it all together this year?

davezatz

02-22-2006, 11:21 AM

MovieLink has the big library (it is big, right?)

Of the services I've played with or read about, it seems to have the most variety and a decent sized selection. I haven't mucked around with Vongo yet, so I can't compare it... though the fact that they rotate movies in and (more importantly) out, they've already lost points with me. Oh yeah, Movielink has movie purchases now in beta... you can keep the movie file for indefinite playback and can burn backups. I assume Apple/iTunes will be adding feature legnth movies shortly as another outlet, but who knows what their selection will be and it's not connected directly to my TV anyway.

I hope to get a MovieBeam box in my house mid-March when they come out - I don't think the service will succeed as it stands now (200 bucks up front, PLUS the cost of each movie rental, and yet another box) but I'm very interested in getting first hand experience with it. I think the new Akimbo box is slated for April-ish which I also want to check out... but they haven't announced pricing info. I wonder if Akimbo will offer the entire Movielink library? I also wonder if you have to buy a box, subscribe to the monthly fee, AND then pay to rent a flick? Akimbo currently downloads and plays, whereas Movielink videos you can watch as they come in... I wonder how the new box will operate?

Will anyone put it all together this year?
We're getting closer, but unless a cable or satellite operator or a TiVo adds a huge library of both past and current releases I don't think we'll get there this year. All these other solutions require an additional box or are computer only. If the library is big enough and the pricing fair, I can live with another box... somehow I don't think I'm going to like Akimbo/Movielink's pricing though.

HDTiVo

02-22-2006, 04:17 PM

While this announcement is 9 months old, a WSJ article dated 2/18/06 reports that a number of libraries in Denver, Seattle and New York will be rolling this out next month.

The article reports people will be able to log on to their library's web site and download these videos to personal computers and some portable devices. Downloads can usually be accessed for from 14 to 21 days. Content available is described as older movies and classic TV shows. Oh, and Macs need not apply.

I can't find anything recent on overdrive.com about the video product.

OverDrive Announces Video on Demand for Public Libraries

Award-Winning Films and Educational Videos to Be Available 24/7 From Library Websites

CLEVELAND, OH -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 06/15/2005 -- OverDrive, the leader in download audiobooks and eBooks for libraries, announced today the addition of Video on Demand (VoD) services and materials to its Digital Library Reserve network. The new Video on Demand service will be demonstrated to the over 20,000 librarians attending the 2005 American Library Association Annual Conference at Booth #1244 McCormick Place, Chicago, June 24-28. The service is scheduled to go live for patron use later this year.

With the new VoD service, library patrons will be able to access high-quality digital video anytime of day from anywhere in the world via an Internet-connected PC. OverDrive-Digital Library Reserve currently provides the nation's leading libraries with Web access to tens of thousands of best-selling eBooks and download audio book titles. Libraries offering the OverDrive service include the New York Public Library, Greater Seattle's King County Library System, Denver Public Library, Phoenix Public Library, Cleveland Public Library, San Jose Public Library, and hundreds of others.

According to Michelle Jeske, Manager of Web Information Services for Denver Public Library, "OverDrive's Video on Demand service will allow us to build virtual video archives, saving space and resources, while providing patrons direct 24/7 access to exceptional videos." As part of its opening collection of films, TV shows, and video titles, OverDrive has entered into a distribution agreement with multimedia leader CLEARVUE & SVE of Chicago. CLEARVUE & SVE has won countless awards for its educational and self-improvement videos spanning a wide range of subjects including language, children's literature, social studies, math, science, guidance, health, art, and music.

"CLEARVUE & SVE has one of the largest collections of award-winning curriculum and educational videos in the nation," stated Steve Potash, OverDrive & Digital Library Reserve CEO. "At launch of the service, our public libraries and their communities will greatly benefit from direct access to over 1,000 CLEARVUE & SVE video titles, which include productions from the Center for Educational Resources, Churchill Media, Rabbit Ears Entertainment, and many others," he added.

OverDrive's Digital Library Reserve has been rapidly expanding its collection of both popular fiction and non-fiction materials in several digital formats. These include the addition of over 600 children's eBooks from childrenselibrary.com, thousands of hours of old time radio programs from Radio Spirits, over 800 hundred leading IT and technology titles from Pearson Education, and new unabridged audiobooks from leading publishers both in the US and abroad.

Download video programs from the library can be watched on Windows-based PCs and portable devices supporting Microsoft Windows Media Player. The software is simple and easy to use with intuitive DVD-like controls that support fast-forward, video speed, bookmarks, and other navigational features.

More information about the OverDrive VoD service is available at http://www.overdrive.com.

About OverDrive & Digital Library Reserve

OverDrive & Digital Library Reserve are leading solution providers for digital audiobooks, eBooks, and other digital content to retailers, wholesalers, and libraries in the US and abroad. Digital Library Reserve is a customized, Web-based service that enables libraries to loan best-selling digital books and other media to their patrons. Strategic technology partners include Microsoft Corporation, Adobe Systems, Inc., Sirsi, Dynix, and Mobipocket. The companies are headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio and have been producing digital document solutions since 1986. For more information on OverDrive, Inc., please visit http://www.overdrive.com.

About CLEARVUE & SVE

The 2004 merger of sister companies CLEARVUE/eav and SVE & Churchill Media created one of the largest collections of curriculum-oriented multimedia available. A leader in K-12 educational media publishing for more than 85 years, CLEARVUE & SVE has won countless awards for its programs, which include DVDs, VHS, digital videos, CD-ROMs, and the media-on-demand system PowerMediaPlus.com. With standards-based programs in all core disciplines -- language arts, social studies, math, science, guidance, health, art, and music -- CLEARVUE & SVE provides content and media delivery tailored for use in today's classroom.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MEDIA CONTACT:

Brian Wright
Public Relations Manager
OverDrive, Inc.
(216) 573-6886, ext. 207
Email Contact

SOURCE: OverDrive, Inc.

davezatz

02-22-2006, 04:27 PM

Hmm... interesting. I wonder how the licensing would work. Maybe they make deals with distributors upfront to list the shows or movies. Then the library pays out per download? I took a quick peak at the web site and didn't see any prominent mentions of video either. I imagine they had or are having a hard time partnering with the content providers. I guess they could roll out the technology for video in the public domain, but the cost versus demand might not make it worth it.

Speaking of libraries, a local jurisdiction got some sort of audio book download service and everyone was complaining it was useless since they implemented Windows DRM and didn't support iPods. My boss' boss was particularly unhappy and wondered how I could help him bypass those restrictions. ;) I told him it wasn't worth the time or trouble and to go buy an audiobook for his iPod from audible.com/iTunes.

HDTiVo

02-22-2006, 05:05 PM

Speaking of libraries, a local jurisdiction got some sort of audio book download service and everyone was complaining it was useless since they implemented Windows DRM and didn't support iPods.
They didn't think their iPods were useless?

gonzotek

02-22-2006, 05:17 PM

They didn't think their iPods were useless?You mean the iPods that they already owned and that already can play their personal music collections? Those useless iPods? ;)

The bigger view that I think you and I'll agree on is that DRM in general often either locks out or causes major headaches for many regular , non-criminal-type people seeking nothing more than fair use of the products and content they pay for, while providing just about zero actual protection for the "rights holders".

davezatz

02-22-2006, 06:18 PM

They didn't think their iPods were useless?

Yeah... interesting how that plays out, eh? Most of the world doesn't seem to realize Apple isn't playing fairly (by not licensing their DRM). An Apple monopoly is sexy and seductive unlike the much-maligned greedy juggernaut Microsoft who can do no good.

I mostly agree with gonzo... it's a problem as long as everyone has their own DRM scheme. If everyone could agree we'd have interoperability and the consumer would be better off. Not to mention they'd probably all make more money since the industry wouldn't be fragmented and the consumers wouldn't be confused. Microsoft's DRM has a lot of support and does license it (audio AND video)... however Apple is doing their own thing while controlling a huge segment of the market. I think MS is going to make a play by putting their hooks into HD-DVD based on what I saw from the Gates CES keynote webcast.

gonzotek

02-22-2006, 07:06 PM

davezatz

02-24-2006, 12:06 PM

A new service called MovieKlub is slated to launch this summer. They promise no throttling like Netflix or Blockbuster... sounds like they'll burn the movies as reuqested an send them out on media that expires after 3 plays. Other companies have tried this in the past and thrown in the towel. I guess it's good that new (or recycled) ideas are getting looked at, but this will fail and doesn't get me improved PPV/VOD. Anyhow, I wrote it up a little on my site...

HDTiVo

02-24-2006, 01:04 PM

Another significant voice is on the train.

INTERNET DAILY
'Survivor' producer offers tips to TV

By Frank Barnako, MarketWatch
Last Update: 11:56 AM ET Feb 23, 2006

The hottest programmer in television says network TV must embrace the Internet to survive.

Speaking at an industry forum in Beverly Hills, Calif., Mark Burnett said networks won't be able to exist as they are when 75 million TIVO digital video recorders are operating in homes and broadband access is available everywhere.

Traditional television is facing huge challenges finding audiences. Broadband in the office has made the workday the new prime time for television, he told the Museum of Television & Radio event. "The Internet is clearly surpassing any network and the future has to be the combination of the two," Burnett said, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"The beautiful thing about the Internet is, it's on-demand and naturally archived, and has people forging communities."

Burnett, who is hugely successful producing network TV shows including "Survivor" and "The Apprentice," said his next stage will be the Web. He's already developing a treasure hunt for America Online. Next could be news.

"I do believe there's a big opportunity there," Burnett said. "As Jon Stewart proved, if presented in the right way ... young people are interested in news. All it takes is a unique idea."

HDTiVo

02-24-2006, 01:14 PM

Yeah... interesting how that plays out, eh? Most of the world doesn't seem to realize Apple isn't playing fairly (by not licensing their DRM). An Apple monopoly is sexy and seductive unlike the much-maligned greedy juggernaut Microsoft who can do no good.

I mostly agree with gonzo... it's a problem as long as everyone has their own DRM scheme. If everyone could agree we'd have interoperability and the consumer would be better off. Not to mention they'd probably all make more money since the industry wouldn't be fragmented and the consumers wouldn't be confused. Microsoft's DRM has a lot of support and does license it (audio AND video)... however Apple is doing their own thing while controlling a huge segment of the market. I think MS is going to make a play by putting their hooks into HD-DVD based on what I saw from the Gates CES keynote webcast.
We have not really gotten into this much yet in this thread, but the emergence of a standard is critical to mass success.

Once people can purchase an IPVOD player just like they can purchase a DVD player, and expect all content from all studios and all major retail content distributors (ie. an IPNetFlix) to play on their device, the market will take off.

The Apple iPod was not that big until it adopted the ability to [edit: work with Windows PCs.] Its supremacy will again be threatend when an open standard of DRM that Apple doesn't support takes over the content world. Apple will then be forced to add support for the other standard.

Edited to fix mistake about original iPods not playing MP3.

gonzotek

02-24-2006, 02:01 PM

The Apple iPod was not that big until it adopted the ability to play MP3s. Its supremacy will again be threatend when an open standard of DRM that Apple doesn't support takes over the content world. Apple will then be forced to add support for the other standard.The iPod has always had the ability to play mp3 files, from the very first generation through the newest models. As far as an 'open' standard of DRM overtaking Apple's FairPlay in popularity, I've got to believe that Apple will be heavily involved in any industry-standardization process. But I also have to believe that's a long way off. Look at the landscape today: Microsoft has their DRM solution(s), Apple has the proprietary FairPlay(which also happens to be today's dominant DRM for digital music sales), TiVo has their own proprietary DRM system, DVDs have CSS, Sony had DRM on their discs that installed a rootkit and got them in serious trouble, and there are literally dozens of other 'solutions' that tech companies are trying to sell to content companies. Based on that degree of fragmentation, and the fact that Apple is currently the dominant player, it's hard to imagine them being 'forced' into doing anything like adopting someone else's system. More than likely, it will be the other way around, with Apple forcing the rest of the industry into whatever uncomfortable positions Steve Jobs dreams up.

davezatz

02-24-2006, 04:57 PM

We have not really gotten into this much yet in this thread, but the emergence of a standard is critical to mass success.

Once people can purchase an IPVOD player just like they can purchase a DVD player, and expect all content from all studios and all major retail content distributors (ie. an IPNetFlix) to play on their device, the market will take off.

I agree that standardization is what will lead to mass adoption. Your DVD player is a good example... both the video format and the encryption scheme are consistent amongst all - everyone is speaking the same language. The problem is, everyone wants to do their own thing - if you lock people into your model (or exclude others) the thought is you might generate more money for yourself. The bigger picture is the market as a whole will be slower to adopt so maybe you won't come out ahead in the long run moving fewer potential items. Taking the DVD example into the next generation, we see that with the two hi-def disc factions of Blu-ray versus HD-DVD.

Some sort of consortium needs to be created and Microsoft or Apple should step up and give away their DRM scheme, model, code, support, etc to the community. (I vote MS for a proven track record on multiple platforms via multiple vendors and being involved in HD-DVD.) As far as standardization of audio or video, MP3 and MPEG4 are my obvious choices.

(Nice avatar gonzo!)

davezatz

02-26-2006, 10:24 AM

It'll be a few more days before I finish messing around and formally write up my thoughts, but based on an hour or so of playing in my Vongo review account I am impressed. It still doesn't easily get movies to my television, but this is an awesome service for road warriors or maybe college kids. All-you-can-eat movies AND a live stream of Starz (who own the service) for just 9.99/mo. The movies rotate in and out and there aren't as many new releases as I'd like, but the selection is large enough I'm sure most people could find something interesting to watch. They also offer PPV at $3.99 a pop, but frankly I think that confuses the issue... (though it does offer more new releases).

Having watched 6 episodes of Battlestar Galactica on my laptop this week, I'm pretty familiar with what iTunes 320x240 encoding looks like at full screen (yuck)... The live STREAM of Starz has noticeably better quality and I believe slightly higher resolution- fewer artifacts, less pixelization, better blacks. I'm downloading Sin City at the moment and I expect the quality to be high, similar to Movielink (not iTunes). Pretty sad streaming video looks better than iTunes downloads... maybe next Tuesday Apple will announce higher resolutions. If they ever offers movies, they'll have to. If they ever make a large video iPod screen they'll also have to.

Vongo uses Microsoft DRM and framework so you can transfer to those PMC's, but I don't have one at the moment to mess around with. Also because it uses MS, obviously this won't work on anything other than a Windows PC.

HDTiVo

02-27-2006, 05:00 PM

It certainly looks like Microsoft's DRM has got a significant head start in the race to a standard. I feel - but to not yet want to say publicly - that MS victory is inevitable.

My impression is that Tom Rogers' strategy is for TiVo to work with the MS/Intel regime of home network content download/transfer/storage/purchase/rental/etc...

Under the current circumstances, this is the best strategy for TiVo and will advance its prospects greatly.

HDTiVo

02-27-2006, 05:06 PM

davezatz

02-27-2006, 06:06 PM

I have never experienced good scaling on a PC, whether its iTunes or DVD. Maybe I don't have the right hardware or codec.

Before we moved our living room TV was actually a projector and a 10' wide "screen" - so I'm here to tell you good image quality can be had. Though it can also be a pain to setup and maintain. ;) After a few HTPCs I ended up with a combo LG set-top box that acted as HD tuner and upscaling DVD player. The image quality was better with less work.

PS Vongo DOES use MS DRM (as does Movielink) so transferring to MS PMCs is already a reality (though I don't have one to test with). Integration into a Xbox 360 would open a few more doors... nd maybe motivate me to track one down. I'm still not convinced Viiv means anything. ;)

HDTiVo

03-01-2006, 09:34 AM

Yesterday IFC, which is owned by Cablevision, announced a deal with Comcast for same day release in theaters and on VOD of four or five films a month. The new releases will be $5.99 on VOD.

davezatz

03-01-2006, 09:39 AM

Yah... I caught that last night. I saved a link to write it up later today:
http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/2185/comcast_and_ifc

It's a start in breaking down those rigid distribution barriers. It seems inevitable really... the market and the way we watch films has been evolving for a generation now. They thought VHS would kill the movie industry, but home movie sales (regardless of distribution method) might just end up saving it.

HDTiVo

03-01-2006, 04:09 PM

http://www.tivo.com/5.3.6.asp

Upcomming Executive Speaking Engagements

Digital Living Room
"DVRs, VOD and the Rise of Just-in-Time Video"
5:30-6:20 PM
San Francisco, CA
Thursday March 23, 2006
Speaker: Evan Young, Director of Broadband Services, TiVo Inc.

Breakthrough 2006: Connect to the Digital Consumer
"Living Room" Case Studies.
The Integration of DVR & Broadband
10:30 AM
Las Vegas, NV
Tuesday March 28, 2006
Speaker: Edward Lichty, Vice President, Business Development, TiVo Inc.

Digital Hollywood Spring
"Television 2.0: OnDemand, PRV, DRV, Cable, Telco, Satellite & Broadband Redefine the Future of Entertainment and Communications"
9:00-10:15 AM
Santa Monica, CA
Tuesday March 28, 2006
Speaker: Vice President and General Manager of Content Services, TiVo Inc

Digital Hollywood Spring
"The DVR and VOD as a Disruptive Market Force: How Consumer Adaptation of Technology Determines the Future of Advertising and Programming"
9:00-10:15 AM
Santa Monica, CA
Wednesday March 29, 2006
Speaker: Davina Kent, Vice President National Sales, TiVo Inc.

davezatz

03-01-2006, 04:10 PM

Seeing those VOD topics in light of tomorrow's announcement makes ya wonder, don't it? ;)

Mamoth

03-02-2006, 09:07 AM

IE deep queues and doing maybe 20 to 30 movies a month.
I have been throttled badly. I do about 15 or so movies a month. So no where near the 20 - 30. I have 150 movies in my queue. New releases just do not come to me.. I have about 15+ sitting at "Very Long Wait". I don't get movies 2+ days after they are received when they used to come the same day. I'm not a huge user of the service (i.e. only 15 movies a month with the 3 out at a time plan) but I am getting throttled.

I would switch to blockbuster but I hear they do the same thing.

HDTiVo

03-03-2006, 12:32 PM

The Broadband buzz the last couple of days has been about telephone companies hijacking the internet and charging tiered prices for services.

The hysteria is that you'll be charged extra for higher bandwidth or charged per bit. But I already pay more for higher bandwidth; DSL costs $29.99 and faster cable costs $39.99. AOL just started offering service via broadband for the same price as dial-up - albeit they raised the dialup price. :down:

Who is going to pay, if anyone? Are the MovieBeam type companies going to have to pay $.03 to the phone company for each video a subscriber downloads? What might be the price?

Further lost with this development is the concept that a fixed, flat, monthly fee leads to mass adoption and usage. The pay per download IPVOD services do not understand this yet; the phone companies could be about to make it worse.

There are alot of generalities being thrown about. We'll have to see what develops.

HDTiVo

03-06-2006, 08:00 AM

Dave Zatz points out on his Blog (http://www.zatznotfunny.com/) March 5 that CBS will be offering March Madness online.

NCAA® March Madness™ on Demand (http://www.ncaasports.com/mmod) looks like a greatly expanded offering from what has been done in the past. I am not clear on if it is just live streaming, or if there is post game (or even intra-game for us TiVo-start-a-show-while-it-is-still-recording folks) streaming or download available. But it is definitely VOD, and definitely FREE.

However, it is LIMITED. I surmise CBS has a bandwidth monitor and they only let a certain number watch a game: the concept is like a virtual arena with only so many seats, although each seat is not necessarily equal, so perhaps the number of "seats" varies with the total bandwidth of all seat holders. Maybe its just simpler to say it like this: the bandwidth is probably the primary limit. No info on the technology behind it all - like multicasting, codec used, resolution(s)...

If you are nuts about Madness, sign up early, because the early birds get VIP treatment for "seats" in the arenas.

One more thing, the "local" game is blacked out. I suspect this is because of either or both restrictions in the NCAA contract and the desire not to steal viewers from the broadcast affiliate. The latter will become more and more an anachronism in the years ahead.

Let's hope next year we're seeing this on our TiVoes instead of our PCs. :up:

davezatz

03-06-2006, 08:31 AM

From what I've read it seems like just streaming, no VCR controls. But it also sounds like they'll have video highlights and features available to watch in addition to the games. I'm very excited about this and happily surprised to see it being offered free. Another reason to ebay my Minneapolis (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=290042) Sweet 16/Great 8 tickets. ;)

Based on their screenshot, it's being played back in WMP (WMP is required on both Mac and PC platforms) - so there's a technological clue. Speaking of live streaming, Vongo's Starz channel (the whole app actually) uses Microsoft's DRM and playback stuff.

(Fortunately, I already have a CBSSportsline ID since my fantasty football leauge has used them for 4 or 5 years now.)

HDTiVo

03-06-2006, 08:40 AM

We sure are seeing alot of MS based codec and DRM usage. Do I smell a standard coming?

A strict standards comparison is not fair as with DVD. DVD is a physical media, and therefore subject to more limits. IPVOD is virtual and several flavors can therefore be accomodated. However, too much range impacts hardware requirements - which are tight in the CE world - and how many flavors are studios going to want to be bothered with encoding into?

---------
Let us know how you enjoy the Thrilling Thirty Two, Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight. :D

HDTiVo

03-07-2006, 11:17 AM

Just when you think its all MS...

I am not that impressed with the content list here and wonder if using Real will limit their offering.

HOT OFF THE WIRE PORTFOLIO NEWS - from Lycos Finance

RealNetworks Helps Cingular Deliver Next Generation Video Service
- Mar 7, 2006 08:30 AM (PR Newswire)
- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=56435416

===================================================

Real's Helix Platform Provides Cingular Video Subscribers a Personalized,
Simple to Use Mobile Video Experience

SEATTLE, March 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RealNetworks(R), Inc.
(Nasdaq: RNWK), the leading creator of digital media services and software,
said Cingular will be the first wireless carrier to commercially deploy Real's
Helix(TM) OnlineTV(TM) platform. Cingular today launched its Cingular Video
on-demand streaming video service in 16 cities across the country.

Cingular Video gives its customers fast and easy access to video from
major content providers, including exclusive video clips from HBO Mobile and
HBO Family, including the Sopranos and Sex and the City. Customers can also
receive up-to-the-minute weather updates from The Weather Channel and easy-to-use access to video content such as Fox Sports and the Disney Channel, to name a few. [SNIP]

davezatz

03-07-2006, 11:27 AM

Is it worth mentioning that before Vongo existed (and used MS), they offered a Starz subscription service through Real...?

HDTiVo

03-13-2006, 12:45 PM

Now talk about Amazon Resumes...

Amazon movie downloads are coming
Retailer's entry might speed up competition in new era
By Bambi Francisco, MarketWatch
Last Update: 11:22 AM ET Mar 10, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- It's been highly anticipated that Amazon would enter the movie-download business. But the long wait may be over as such an offering might finally be coming to a personal computer near you.

Amazon is speaking with TV movie studios, including General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures, Time Warner's Warner Bros. and Viacom's Paramount, and is set to launch a service this summer, according to published reports.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has been predicting Amazon's entry into this nascent, but promising, business since 2004. Earlier this year, Variety reported that Amazon was set to launch a service this spring.

It's also not surprising that the retailer would enter the movie download business, given Amazon's significant online customer base, its increased spending on engineers to create new technologies, and the promising business opportunity that movie downloads presents.

Apple Computer sold 1 million video clips in the first 20 days of making movie and video downloads available on its iTunes Music Store. The early success of Apple's movies on iTunes underscores consumers' willingness to buy movies downloads as opposed to stealing them. Movie studios are also eager to work with partners to fend off online piracy.

But even though the technology to deliver such big files, it's unclear whether consumer demand is truly here.

Netflix has enjoyed being the leader of movie rentals through its monthly DVD subscription business. But the company shelved its plans to enter the DVD-download business itself in 2005, but it held off, due to market immaturity.

See Net Sense: E-movies coming soon to a PC near you. See Net Stocks: Amazon's innovation potential gets noticed. See Net Sense: No bundles on the Web, please. Amazon.com has already shown some modest interest in movies through its ownership of IMDB.com, whose tagline is: "Earth's Biggest Movie Database." You can click on a "buy" button and be directed to Amazon to buy DVDs of the films.

At least one analyst, Scott Devitt of Stifel Nicolaus has said it seems inevitable that Amazon would get into the business of digital downloads given that it's hiring a number of engineers to digitize its products, such as books.

Amazon's discussions with studios are still in the early stages, and could result in the retailer receiving DVDs at the same time of the movie release, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Amazon was not immediately available to comment.

If Amazon enters the market, it could compete with a host of companies that are positioned to offer movie downloads. They include Google and Yahoo which are beginning to aggregate videos online. Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon and Vodafone Group, has a library of 1 million songs available for sale to subscribers who want to pay $1.99 to download a song to their phone, or $0.99 to download a song onto a computer.

HDTiVo

03-15-2006, 09:57 AM

Today AOL launches a 'Broadband Network'

Full screen video; look out iTunes ;)
When can I see this with my TiVo?

Partial Press Release:

AOL and Warner Bros. Launch In2TV - The First Broadband
Television Network
- Mar 15, 2006 09:15 AM (BusinessWire)
- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=56692337

=========================================================

DULLES, Va. & BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15,
2006--America Online, Inc.:

Thousands of Classic TV Shows To Be Available Free and On Demand on
AOL.com, Including Welcome Back, Kotter, Chico & The Man, Alice,
Growing Pains, Sisters, Kung Fu, Lois & Clark and More

Gabe Kaplan of Welcome Back, Kotter to Host Launch Celebration at
Museum of Television & Radio in Los Angeles

Late Actor/Comedian Freddie Prinze to Be Honored with First 'In2TV
Influencer Award'

AOL and Warner Bros. are saying "Welcome Back" to thousands of
classic TV shows with the launch of In2TV, the first broadband
television network, on AOL.com. The network offers the largest
collection of free on-demand TV shows on the Web, including full
episodes of favorite Warner Bros. programs from the past 40 years such
as Welcome Back, Kotter, Chico & The Man, Alice, Growing Pains,
Sisters, Kung Fu, Lois & Clark and many others, along with interactive
features and viral videos that enable audiences to experience and
interact with television programming in an entirely new way. To
celebrate the launch, AOL and Warner Bros. will host an event tonight
at the Museum of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills, with stars
from the In2TV programming lineup scheduled to make appearances.

"In2TV breaks new ground as the first true broadband television
network. With the largest collection of full length television
programming anywhere on the Web, plus interactive features and viral
videos all free and on-demand, In2TV will appeal to existing fans as
well as introduce these shows to a whole new generation," said Kevin
Conroy, Executive Vice President, AOL Media Networks. "In2TV is
another important milestone in the evolution of video on the Web, and
is one more way that we are making AOL.com the best destination for
video online."

A list of shows available at launch is included below.

All of the episodes can also be found through the new AOL(R) Video
Search, and can be viewed full-screen with Windows Media streaming
technology as well as in the new AOL(R) Hi-Q(TM) video format, which
can deliver DVD-quality videos directly to consumers quickly and
efficiently.

Launch Celebration

To celebrate In2TV's launch, AOL and Warner Bros. will host a
star-studded party tonight at the Museum of Television and Radio in
Beverly Hills at 7 p.m. PT. With Welcome Back Kotter star Gabe Kaplan
as the evening's emcee, the event will feature appearances by stars
from In2TV shows such as Growing Pains, Perfect Strangers, Kung Fu,
Babylon 5, V, The New Adventures of Batman and others.

List of In2TV Series at Launch*

Adventures of Brisco County Junior
Alice
Babylon 5
Beetlejuice
Chico and the Man
Dark Justice
Eight is Enough
F Troop
The F.B.I.
Falcon Crest
Freakazoid
Freddy's Nightmares
The Fugitive
Growing Pains
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
Head of the Class
Histeria!
Kung Fu
La Femme Nikita
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Maverick
The New Adventures of Batman
Perfect Strangers
Pinky and the Brain
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Sisters
Spenser: For Hire
V
Welcome Back, Kotter
Wonder Woman

davezatz

03-15-2006, 10:25 AM

You notice what platform they're using... ;)

HDTiVo

03-15-2006, 10:41 AM

You notice what platform they're using... ;)
Our old friend, of course.

They're also using their own Hi-Q format for "DVD Quality." Bet that's like calling 128kbps MP3 'CD Quality.' :p

davezatz

03-15-2006, 10:47 AM

By the way, I reported the announcement back in November that this was coming. :)
http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2005-11/warner-to-offer-free-streaming-tv/

If the details are still accurate, there is no time shifting and a few minutes of commercials are inserted in exchange for being free. ;)

Still tethered to the computer though... my Slingbox gives me control of TiVo so I can watch current programming and skip those commercials. Fidelity probably isn't as good and it's not free (200-250 upront, no monthly fees), but the menu is larger and the control is finer.

By the way, iTunes offered it first full-legnth movie yesterday for ten bucks I think (I just skimmed the news). I may have been a Disney made-for-TV thing.

HDTiVo

03-15-2006, 12:36 PM

Update on March Madness:

iTunes will be selling Tournament games the day after broadcast for $1.99.

Sounds like a day late and a dollar long to me. ;)

davezatz

03-15-2006, 12:56 PM

Hmmm... maybe I misread, I thought they were selling a compilation of game highlights for $1.99? Either way, you're right... I can't imagine sports after the fact are interesting to many. The only time shifting I've ever done with sporting events is trick play to review something.

I'm ready with my Slingbox for tomorrow's broadcast... there's probably less of a bandwidth issue accessing my home than there will be with CBS Sportsline - we shall see.

rainwater

03-15-2006, 01:10 PM

I'm ready with my Slingbox for tomorrow's broadcast... there's probably less of a bandwidth issue accessing my home than there will be with CBS Sportsline - we shall see.

Since CBS Sportsline makes a big deal out of their queue system before you even signup, you can bet its going to be a nightmare the first few days.

tai-pan

03-15-2006, 01:28 PM

PPV is not always the best quality.

HDTiVo

03-16-2006, 09:02 AM

Yesterday, Zatz commented about MovieBeam being disappointing in its present form and linked to NetFlix's HD DVD page.

http://www.zatznotfunny.com/

davezatz

03-16-2006, 09:45 AM

PS I've been playing with that AOL TV stuff... no registration of any kind is required. Quality is good so far in a window, though full-screen HiQ doesn't work now - it's giving me errors. I haven't seen a commercial yet, but supposedly they will be coming. I hope to write something up in the next few days.

HDTiVo

03-16-2006, 10:20 AM

HOT OFF THE WIRE PORTFOLIO NEWS - from Lycos Finance

(NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple Computer, Inc., (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google Inc.

Group: Online Content Spending Hits $2B
- Mar 15, 2006 06:45 PM (AP Online)
- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=56715562

=====================================================

By ANICK JESDANUN AP Internet Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Music sales helped propel U.S. spending on online content to a record $2 billion last year, a 15 percent increase from 2004, the Online Publishers Association reports.

The entertainment/lifestyle category, which in 2005 surpassed personals/dating to become the leading category of paid content, will likely get an even bigger boost this year with the availability of more video online. Apple Computer Inc. opened its iTunes Music Store to video late in the year, while Google Inc. did not begin offering paid video until January 2006.

"Consumers are viewing the Web platform and going online as a major destination for entertainment," said Pam Horan, vice president of marketing and membership for the New York-based trade group of media companies.

A few categories saw declines: sports, by 3 percent; user-generated content sites, such as classmates.com and IMDB.com, by 7 percent; and general news, by 11 percent.

Horan notes that consumers have plenty of sources for free news, so publishers may ultimately find that an advertisement-based business model works best.

The study, released Tuesday, was based on tracking by comScore Networks and excludes some types of content including pornography, gambling and software.

davezatz

03-16-2006, 01:32 PM

Since CBS Sportsline makes a big deal out of their queue system before you even signup, you can bet its going to be a nightmare the first few days.

It's a nightmare alright... I'm a 'VIP' (yeah right) and I'm currently 8,198 in line for a feed. I accidentally closed my browser window before and they're obviously not using cookies since I was bumped to the back. I figure 10-15 minutes to get in if I'm lucky. What BS (you get what you pay for obviously). Good thing I have a Slingbox.

davezatz

03-16-2006, 01:44 PM

Seems like it took about 10 minutes or so to get in... I had to watch a 20 second Courtyard commercial and then I could choose from three games (audio+video or just audio). Video is takes about a minute to buffer and is delayed about a minute behind the television broadcast. Quality is not very good, looks like web streaming but it's watchable - audio is fine. In the window-ed size the Slingbox feed looks much better. Both look poor full screen, though the Sling feed is better and watchable.

EDIT: Make that two games I could choose from. One was blocked due to geographical restrictions since they think the game is being broadcast locally. (It was... but it was also half time so they had flipped to another game allowing me to compare Sling to Sportsline to television directly.)

davezatz

03-16-2006, 02:01 PM

I forgot to mention there are also commercials in conjunction with the time outs. I saw a PSP one and a movie one. The quality looks better than the action for whatever it's worth. My experitment is done. It's better than nothing, but not better than a Slingbox and probably not even better than Sirius who is broadcasting audio of all games. I'll have to ask my buddy Pete how that worked out for him today.

davezatz

03-16-2006, 02:36 PM

OK I spoke too soon. I just jumped on again and I was 55 in line and got in 1 minute later. Quality is better, perhaps fewer people are viewing it? I also switched over to EVDO and the quality comparison between the Slingplayer and Sportsline (using WMP) is very close. Of course running these simultaniously could impact performance. ;) Also fast action will always look worse, so this may not be the best venue for watching. CBS must have run out of sponsors/commercials because now they have a 'stay tuned' graphic up during a time out.

In conclusion a sports bar is probably the place to be!

HDTiVo

03-16-2006, 08:57 PM

Well Dave, at least you'll always know there's no waiting here at the Forum. :D

HDTiVo

03-18-2006, 08:40 AM

So Dave, reading your Blog, the Madness experience is a bit mixed. Certainly a nice addition to the range of possible ways to get Madness, but not going to sweep the world of Tournament viewing.

CBS has not solved some drawbacks to live action situations: capacity, fast motion, etc.

Its also hard to be your own director...especially when you could wait 10 min. to get into the hot finish with 13 seconds left to go! Do the VOD feeds not also cut away to such other action like the TV broadcast?

HDTiVo

03-18-2006, 08:48 AM

Looks like MS is offering some HD IPVOD. Any guess what DRM scheme?

It sounds like you use the Xbox to navigate to the content and download it directly into the Xbox. I'd expect you can also download to PC and use the Xbox as a Media Extender.

Microsoft and Epic Records to Offer Ongoing Exclusive
Entertainment Content on Xbox Live
- Mar 16, 2006 07:00 PM (PR Newswire)
- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=56758884

===============================================

The online entertainment network features Natasha Bedingfield as first Artist
of the Month, and offers music videos and Game with Fame sessions.

REDMOND, Wash. and NEW YORK, March 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft
Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) and music giant Epic Records today announced an agreement to make available a full year of exclusive artist content and high-definition music video downloads free for all Xbox 360(TM) gamers. Over the next year,
Xbox 360 and Epic Records will showcase 12 up-and-coming artists through the
Artist of the Month (AOM) program via the Xbox Live(R) service, the first and
only unified global online entertainment network. Through the alliance,
millions of Xbox Live members can enter a monthly sweepstakes with a prize of
gaming against some of the hottest musicians through the Xbox Live Game with
Fame(TM) program.

davezatz

03-18-2006, 08:52 AM

Yah, it is mixed... limiting capacity is inconvenient but better than crashing servers and losing feeds I guess. Maybe next year they'll be able to handle more. The ads and commercials cover costs, so that's the trade off in keeping free. The feeds stay on the specific game, so if you're a fan of a certain team you won't be cut off. My team (Maryland) is out this year, so the cutting away on TV is fine with me but it could be a problem for others. The video quality isn't perfect, but it's tolerable in the smalll window if you're a fan and this is the only option. Also the quality seemed to vary - maybe when they had fewer viewers? It's worth repeating that the audio was flawless, so even if video isn't perfect you could listen for free. I'll try to check it out again tomorrow when it should have less traffic and if there were any server-side kinks they may have been addressed.

davezatz

03-18-2006, 08:56 AM

Looks like MS is offering some HD IPVOD. Any guess what DRM scheme?

It sounds like you use the Xbox to navigate to the content and download it directly into the Xbox. I'd expect you can also download to PC and use the Xbox as a Media Extender.

They've been experimenting with movie trailers and whatnot, so this is no surprise. It'll be like the Best Buy and Nikon stuff on TiVo but obviously much higher quality, organized, and on-demand. I doubt you can get it on PC and extend it... probably 360 dashboard and hard drive access only.

By the way, how long before MovieLink and Akimbo flicks show up on 360? Probably before TiVo gets their VOD up.

gonzotek

03-18-2006, 09:03 AM

Looks like MS is offering some HD IPVOD. Any guess what DRM scheme?

It sounds like you use the Xbox to navigate to the content and download it directly into the Xbox. I'd expect you can also download to PC and use the Xbox as a Media Extender.I think Dave's on to something. I think MS is looking to get into the iTunes-sales model with anything that'll be usable on a Xbox360. Instead of IPVOD, maybe we should call it IPMOD (Media). TiVo's next box is a DMR, not DVR so I think it lends some credence to the idea.

HDTiVo

03-18-2006, 09:04 AM

I'm still most concerned about Broadband Services charging extra for video download (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=3827470&&#post3827470).

Content creators see IPVOD as a way to cut out the Video Service Provider as a middleman. Now the Broadband Service Providers want to cut themselves back in as middlemen.

Gates Backs Net Neutrality (http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleid=CA6316461)

davezatz

03-18-2006, 09:12 AM

TiVo's next box is a DMR, not DVR so I think it lends some credence to the idea.

I wouldn't read too much in to that, they've been trying to make that branding transition for awhile... my Toshiba SD-H400 TiVo calls itself a DMS - digital media server. :)

HDTiVo

03-18-2006, 09:14 AM

I think Dave's on to something. I think MS is looking to get into the iTunes-sales model with anything that'll be usable on a Xbox360. Instead of IPVOD, maybe we should call it IPMOD (Media). TiVo's next box is a DMR, not DVR so I think it lends some credence to the idea.
I've been 'evangelizing' the premise of the S3 being a DMR working in the Vista/ViiV defined world for a long time now. This is the strategic position that is left to TiVo. They can make the S3 the premium DMR/DVR on the market.

This reminds me of an idea for one of my other threads...

HDTiVo

03-18-2006, 11:01 AM

Review of NCAA On Line (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2006-03-16-ncaa-webcast_x.htm)

Wow! Watch 3 NCAA games at once!
By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
SAN MATEO, Calif. — Sitting in front of the dull glow of my home PC and watching three NCAA tournament games simultaneously, the thought hits me like a slam dunk: This truly is March Madness.

A screen shot shows action from the UCLA-Belmont game.
www.CBSSportsline.com

For more than six hours, I viewed CBS SportsLine.com's free video broadcast of the men's basketball bacchanalia. CBS said Internet capacity allowed about 268,000 people to view games at the same time. Most were consumers like me with the digital pipes at home to indulge, as well as workers with high-speed Internet access. (Related item: Advertisers place $500M bet on NCAA)

Aside from being a godsend for basketball junkies, CBS' marathon coverage might be a watershed of sorts for the Internet. The success of the bold experiment (it's streaming 56 games free through March 24) could usher in more free sports events live, says Tom Adams, president of Adams Media Research.

"It's like the natural extension of the digital living room or workplace," Adams says. With so much going on in the tournament — 64 teams playing over 18 days — it is a "perfect vehicle for niche broadcasts supported by advertising," he says.

Subscribers to the CBS package can view up to 37 games, because locally televised games are blacked out. On Thursday, 12 games were available online. In all, millions might watch.

CBS' NCAA March Madness on Demand tipped off at 9:20 a.m. with Wichita State and Seton Hall. The first ad, from Marriott International, ran at 9:18.

Logging in

More than a week ago, a friend told me CBS was webcasting the tourney. I signed up online and received an e-mail on Wednesday telling me that as an early registrant, I had qualified as a VIP, giving me better access to the big show.

At 8:40 a.m., about 40 minutes before the first game, I logged into a cyberwaiting-room — the 6,489th person in line. Each minute, a countdown screen informed how far I moved up in line. I entered the webcast within five minutes.

For those who signed up for the service later and did not qualify as a VIP, the wait was longer. They were consigned to a general admission area, where 54,000 people queued up at 9 a.m., and 100,000 an hour later. Several of those people said they waited in line online for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.

By most accounts, the process went smoothly. As of 5 p.m. ET, the webcast had been downloaded 1.2 million times, according to CBS. As more people congregated at the site, CBS says, it opened the spigot on more bandwidth.

"It's a big step that a major event can be pulled off on the Web," says Larry Kramer, president of digital media at CBS. "It's a perfect complement to our TV coverage."

My viewing experience went well. The picture and sound were clear, and switching between games was easy. I surfed the Web, and exchanged e-mail and instant messages while the game ran in the background.

A viewer could watch as long as the computer was active. If it wasn't for 30 minutes, a pop-up message appeared. If the viewer didn't respond within five minutes, the connection was terminated and someone in the waiting-room was allowed in.

Computer inactivity was no problem for most users. During games, most tourney followers were likely to jump to ESPN.com and other sports websites to check their entries in contests to pick winners in the tourney.

Perhaps the most crucial feature for office employees viewing games was the "Boss Button." When clicked on, a spreadsheet appeared over the webcast.

Typically, the first two days of the NCAA men's basketball tournament are among the busiest for most sports websites. Last year, an estimated 4.1 million workers visited ESPN.com the first week, compared with 3.4 million the week before, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Despite the online onslaught, overall performance of Internet traffic was not affected, says Rich Miller, an analyst at NetCraft.com, which tracks Net traffic. "For most large companies, it should be a non-issue," Miller says.

For small companies, it's a different story. In Raleigh, N.C., so many MMI Associates workers were checking websites for the latest scores, President Patty Briguglio complained her e-mail was moving too slowly.

One employee at the marketing firm was one of the lucky few to watch. Most of the other nine workers — pulling for Duke, North Carolina and North Carolina State — were constantly refreshing computer screens for the latest scores.

"My office is soooooooo busted," Briguglio said in a e-mail.

Contributing: Jim Hopkins