TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: The Internet Alternative / If None of Today's Movie-Delivery

The Internet Alternative / If None of Today's Movie-Delivery

Monty Solomon (monty@roscom.com)
Tue, 15 Feb 2005 12:36:24 -0500

The Internet alternative

If none of today's movie-delivery options suit you, now there's the
internet alternative

By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff | February 14, 2005

Now that millions of Americans download music from the Internet,
Joshua Goldman thinks consumers are ready for the next step:
downloading high-quality videos of everything from nature
documentaries to classic Hollywood movies.

"I think we're seeing the largest change in the way people watch video
content ... since the launch of the VCR," said Goldman, chief
executive of Akimbo Systems Inc., a San Mateo, Calif., firm that began
selling its Internet home video system last year. "This is access to
anything you want, when you want it, from the history of recorded
media."

There's already plenty of video on the Internet -- short video clips
at news websites, movie trailers, and crude, illegal copies of popular
films available through file-swapping services like Kazaa or
Grokster. But there are also companies like Movielink and CinemaNow
that offer legal downloads of recent films like "Troy" and "The Bourne
Supremacy." Still, even though it's possible to connect a PC to a
television set, these downloads are usually viewed on a computer
monitor.

Companies like Akimbo and competitor Dave Networks Inc. are aiming for
a place in the living room, right next to the television set-top
controller box, or even inside it. And they're offering video that
looks as good as any pay-per-view movie on cable TV. These companies
are betting that consumers will pay around $15 a month for a service
that will constantly download video entertainment through a broadband
Internet connection, storing it up until the customer is ready to
watch.

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2005/02/14/the_internet_alternative/

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