DVD is going to be single biggest roadblock for massive deployment of Video On Demand. Mike Walsh writes that, “After a decade of whispered promises, the prospects of video on demand are finally looking up. Certainly the current buzz about a possible Comcast/Disney tie up has started the rumour mill up again. But with Hollywood already addicted to the consumer love affair with DVD, is it too late for VoD?.”
HBO On Demand lets you get the last 4-5 episodes of all their shows, plus the movies showing currently at your choosing. Very handy.
Brighthouse (broken off of TimeWarner) has it here in Tampa.
After using HBO On Demand, I would love a real VoD service. Imagine *every* episode of HBO shows.
i think that is what most of the cable companies are promising and are hoping that it will be worth something to a large portion of their customers and they can charge $9.95 a month for it. the take-up rate of this is key, and is also predicated on the continous declines in the hard disk drive prices. i think we are not quite there, but perhaps who knows in 24 months we will be. i would love it if this happens sooner
Isn’t Tivo already VOD?
I sure wish Apple would build a 1U home multimedia storage device. They could borrow the multiple IDE device channels design from their corporate storage product and couple it with a ATI multiple TV tuner board.
Since most folks only watch a core group of 8-12 cable channels, and since storage and CPU power are so cheap, an Apple based Tivo-like device could be recording ALL the TIME.
The programming of these devices is backwards, you should NOT have to select shows before they air, and you should be able to record multiple channels.
The disks should ALWAYS be full. Empty disk space has no entertainment value.
At its heart, isn’t VOD just a cheap attempt by the network center (ie. MSOs) trying to extend control over the network edge, ie. subscribers?
Since we americans are such packrats, apple could make a fortune selling us, user and media friendly disk arrays, because we’re so indecisive about what to throw away, its easier to just buy more storage. All hooked up via FireWire800, of course. The volumes allow would really change the corporate/SME storage business.
A DVD is a poor format because it only holds one film. These new 200GB harddrives, that you could take from your house to the car, would hold a complete kids video library.
Why buy SpongeBob DVD’s when Viacom gives it away free every night at 8pm?
Apple should lockup this market with the help of Delphi and Visteon, before anybody else, because the less money folks have to spend on DVD’s the more they can drop on electronics!!!