DirecTV finally offering video-on-demand
Posted
Mar 13 2008, 03:18 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
DirecTV is finally going to offer a video-on-demand service. About time, too. Comcast and other companies are light-years ahead in this area, and on-demand is becoming a required feature for some consumers these days.
It's taken DirecTV this long because, as a satellite provider, it broadcasts a one-way signal. The technology doesn't allow for the two-way conversation that an interactive service like on-demand uses. DirecTV is going to work around this using broadband connections and digital video recorder (DVR) technology, according to the WSJ.
DirecTV shares are up nearly 1% on the news today to $25.21. The project is expected to launch in the second quarter.
The way it's going to work is that DirecTV will automatially send some movies to customers' DVRs for ordering. Television programs and other movies will be streamed over the Internet to the customers' set-top boxes. So it's not exactly "true" on-demand, but it'll do.
What if you don't want the movies DirecTV chooses taking up space on your DVR? DirecTV says that most of its 3,000 on-demand titles will be streamed online, and the videos that do get to your DVR will sit in space that isn't available to customers anyway. (Then what is that space there for, I wonder?)
Here's what people are saying about today's news:
Broadband Reports: "As we've stated repeatedly, this particular launch will be one to watch -- given you've got a satellite provider suddenly using a competitor's bandwidth to deliver high-definition content -- something that speaks strongly to the debate over a neutral 'Net."
Paid Content: "Think back to Cablevision’s maligned effort to allow viewers to use remote servers as a DVR, still being fought over in court. The main difference: it’s all stored on the user’s DVR, not a remote server. Still, some of it is copied onto the DVRs by the provider without user choice, one of the issues used to rule against Cablevision in U.S. District Court last year."
Silicon Alley Insider: "Will it dramatically boost revenues? Unlikely. Cable companies have hoped for years that on-demand programming would juice sales, but it's not happening. "
Shelly Palmer: "It remains to be seen if DirecTV’s system can stream high-quality films without buffering delays, stuttering video and dropped connections. Stay tuned - this is a high-profile experiment in content delivery."
Blogging Stocks: "Three well-funded competitors trying to get market share usually leads to a price war. Getting "on demand" TV services is probably about to get much cheaper."
Disclosures: I don't own shares of any companies mentioned in this
post. And while Microsoft owns this blog, Microsoft does not control,
censor or otherwise have any editorial influence over what I write.
