KEY POINTS:
As this article in today's Herald explains, phase two of TVNZ's year-old OnDemand video portal will see the broadcaster completely ditch DRM provisions and the pay-per-download model.
I'm in two minds about a video content provider resting its entire delivery model on video-streaming.
I've personally had
a reasonably good experience streaming programmes from the OnDemand website, but streaming services are, more than anything else you'll do on the web other than make VoIP or video calls or participate in online multiplayer games, susceptible to latency and bandwidth constriction issues.
I'd be interested to know how other people around the country on broadband or dial-up have found using the service.
What's interesting is the shift by TVNZ towards a completely ad-supported model and the news that this will likely be extended this year to mobile phones and also to the Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles at some stage. Now we are really getting somewhere. I like the idea of getting a condensed version of One News on my handset and I'm happy to watch a short ad that goes with it.
I love the idea of being able to stream TV shows to my PS3 and display them on my flat-screen TV. I wonder however how the resolution will hold up as people stream to larger screens than they are used to watching OnDemand on their computer monitor.
Funnily enough, the US video-streaming website Hulu.com, which is supported by the major networks, is already experimenting with high-definition (1280x720 resolution) video-streaming. US users accessing the HD videos need a broadband connection of at least 2.4Mbps (megabits per second).
The streaming model doesn't really support PVR functionality as the whole idea of streaming is that it is easier to protect though there are many software programmes on the internet designed to capture streaming video. Instead you're likely to get a reworked programming guide for mobiles and the video games consoles showing what OnDemand has to offer. Sony has been developing a digital tuner add-on for the PS3 console which will effectively turn the PS3 into a PVR, something that could prove a very attractive option for the 15,000 PS3 owners out there.
The TVNZ model contrasts that of Apple's iTunes where TV shows are downloaded for a fee. Steve Jobs was always convinced that people want to own a copy of the programme or movie they've paid for, plus they may want to watch them on their iPod or iPhone.
He backed away from that view at MacWorld last month where he launched movie download rentals. You still download the movie to your computer but it expires after 30 days.
Speaking of Apple, the new 32GB iPod Touch has arrived but at the hefty price of $749. Ouch, there's a point where the convenience of greater memory capacity is eroded by the price of providing it and that's certainly the case here. Let's see how fast the discounting begins.
Interestingly, the iPhone beat Microsoft and Motorola in sales in the fourth quarter of 2007 Canalys reports the iPhone with 28 per cent of converged-device sales (smart phones) behind the Blackberry (41 per cent) but ahead of Windows Mobile phones (21 per cent).
That should make for some interesting discussion at the Mobile World Congress next week in Barcelona which I'll be reporting from throughout the week.