I saw this article [msnbc.com] while geeking around on slashdot.org about Video on Demand through Disney and a company dotcast.
When I was at intel I worked in a group doing video on demand like this. Except that was over 4 years ago and if the Intel service went through they would have gotten videos at the same time as Blockbuster (curse them), Hollywood and others. Where this Disney thing doesn't get videos in the same window as video stores and only allows you to have the movie for 24 hours, which I think will hurt the project.
It's annoying to see that something I've worked on that was superior to this not get OKed and pushed through. I think that the project I was on missed the boat because the boat hadn't been docked yet and we just hopped into the river and got wet.
It's too bad really, a DVD quality (which Disney is not supplying) movie that you can watch anytime over 5-7 days (like a normal rental) would be great. Allow the user to burn a DVD on the set top box for an additional charge and you have a good deal. Put it all together with a system like myth tv or tivo and you'd have a great product.
I think it's only a matter of time for this type of product to be used by lots of people. I for one hate returning videos after I've rented them. People in the US spend over $1 billion on late fees, which is insane.
Posted by Sam at October 2, 2003 12:34 PM