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IPTV Provider Akimbo Joins with AT&T
crashFaster writes to tell us TechWeb is reporting that in a recent deal AT&T has teamed up with Akimbo Systems to bring internet-based video-on-demand services to customers as early as this summer. From the article: "The AT&T Homezone service, being trialed within several states, integrates AT&T Yahoo! high-speed Internet and AT&T DISH Network programming. The service provides video on demand, digital video, and Internet content, such as photos and music through a set-top box." AT&T and Akimbo have also both issued press releases with a few more specifics.
This is really one of those ideas that was batted about some 10 years ago when people were just starting to get internet to their homes. Until fairly recently, the bandwidth simply wasn't there to stream such media to internet users, but with the further penetration of broadband service and the ramp up of transfer speeds for users, the service is finally going to be available.
A similar type of service has been available on some airline flights for a while. Instead of being fed the movies in the order decided by the flight crew, the movies can be individually selected and played by passengers at their whim. Not having flown in anything but economy class for a few years now, I wouldn't know the specifics of how that works...
Oh, now I see what's going on...
1. Broadband access fees http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=30959
2. ???^H^H^H Provide in-house video-on-demand service
3. Profit
Tried to join the UK's version Sky by Broadband, films + sport on demand. After about 2 hours fiddling and upgrading drm components for windows media player it worked for about five minutes then crashed never to start again. Spent another three hours just trying to get any video to play because of the drm being screwed. So a good service ruined because of drm.
Movilink (Sony+other studios) - couldn't be given away.
Starz/Real partnership - dead.
Kontiki/AOL - Kontiki dead.
Netmovies - (napster + others) dead.
Tivo + Netflix - dead dead dead
+ many many more
What makes this so special ?
Bonus feature: NSA will Tivo all your data automatically for free.
... because the programming will still suck.
Until the viewers are put in charge of their own destiny, the number of watchable shows is going to stay < 10 hours per month.
Wait for a video blogging/podcasting service (maybe something like youtube, or more traditional like maniatv, or more bloggy like vobbo) to push IPTV in a truly addicting format.
On-demand and interesting content - you need both to replace the current setup.
Mooniacs for iOS and Android
Here I am in Canada's capital close to down town and I can't even get 3Mb dsl. Best deal I can get on cable internet @ 3Mb is ~60 bucks with a 60 gig limit and traffic shaped to oblivion. I used up that 60gigs in 2 weeks just playing the radio... IPTV is all about consuming the bandwidth so that the home user can't contribute to culture. God knows they don't plan on lighting up sufficient dark fibre to let everybody play. If I was in the States I'd apply to use eminent domain to grab me some of that dark fibre and light it up. They shouldn't be allowed to restrict the available bandwith just to keep prices high. Use it or lose it! Of course I'm just ranting here as I don't have money to do any of that but I am sure someone does.
You used up 60GB by streaming radio? Bullshit. If you were streaming at 192kbps (most stuff is streamed out lower than this) 24 hours a day you would get 30.34 days out of 60gigs. Why the hell would you need it streaming literally 24 hours a day?
--
WHO ATE MY BREAKFAST PANTS?
I thought that Internet-based VoD was already here, the kids call it BitTorrent.
Admittedly, you have to plan ahead, as the delivery is no where near instant, and have to be able to stomach the breaking of some minor laws, but in the end these are a minor bit of strife in comaprison to the ginormous library one unlocks.
IPVoD does nothing to fix the broken, outdated profit model that the entertainment industry has operated on. The current delivery mechanism, for the most part, is peachy-keen for what the vast majority of consumers need/want.
As a regular consumer of both my current on-demand options (COX and COX+BT respectively) most of what is available to me is the same crap that I avoid when it plays at someone else's whim.
If someone leaves a burning turd-pile on your doorstep does it really matter how it was delivered, or what it was wrapped in? Chances are, it doesn't, since barring being wrapped in something precious, or being able to find a tracking number to id your "pooper" all you have is the same crap, burning on your stoop.
Perhaps all that R&D bling should be going toward content creation that's worth the DV tape used to record it.
Gotta go, "Extreme Fear Survivor Idol Makeover Challenge, Borneo Edition" is on now, and I just can't stand the thought of missing it.
Look, if you're doling up something that people are interested in, you either have to be pivotal to the content (or you'll be seen as a leech), be paid for delivering the content (or you'll be seen as a leech), or included in the content itself (wherein you run the risk of being seen as a leeching advertiser). Most people I know have gotten to the stage where they know what they want, and can identify those entities that get in the way of what they want. Advertisers have mostly managed to place themselves between people and what they want, and are seen as an invasive entity and a stumbling block to a final goal, instead of providing that which people seek.
Sure there are genuinely interesting and funny advertisers out there, but by and large I think that most of my generation discards advertising as a reflex to past mistakes.
Don't Hate, Gestate
I'm really skeptical about this. Like others have said, anything IPTV is probably doomed. I do see a small market for IPTV--how could Akimbo even be big enough to be noticed by AT&T? However, I don't see AT&T bringing any more thunder to it. This might kill it.
From the episode where Elaine "dances", this scene is after the fact... % A meeting at Elaine's office Worker: I pressed through the rushes and there, the native dancers whirled before me: limbs flailing, arms akimbo, feet kicking up dust... (All workers laugh) Elaine: What?
There is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men. -- Boondock Saints
", you have to plan ahead, as the delivery is no where near instant,"
It's sure much quicker then it was in the past. For instance, we are now seeing domestic (us) TV shows released
apx 40min to 1hr past eastern air time. It takes "my friend" apx 14-18 minutes to have all the bits for a 1hr (44 min) HDTV show (340mb). So motivated users at looking at what, 1hr lag time? The boat has already launched.
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B - D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
Does anyone have actual technical details on how this service is provisioned? I read the press releases as "TV on dish, IP on broadband" or perhaps "IP downlink on dish, uplink on broadband" like the old DirecPC service. Neither of these is innovation; either AT&T is repackaging some old crap (just like they've recently repackaged themselves in a nice bundle with their shiny new acquisitions), or they've come up with a nifty new service (which probably has some lovely new DRM tricks they can use to keep the "digital hobbyists" in line). Move along, nothing to see here, business as usual...
Will the NSA need a separate licence to see what I watch? or can they bypass the DRM ?
Here's someone who could use your money in a better way:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/faq.php
Future Slashdot headline: Burst.com Sues AT&T Over Patent Infringement
Who wants the NSA to know what you're watching at home? I mean, sheesh...
I have the Akimbo service. They offer a slim standalone box (I got mine for $70), so you don't need a Media Center PC. It's a great service for someone like me, who works late and only has time to watch only a few hours of TV in between taking care of my pets, working, working out and gaming. The entire Adult Swim on-demand lineup is there, which was a major selling point for me.
It doesn't stream the video and for good reason...the download times can be lengthy. However, if you're at work, all you do is log into my.akimbo.com, click on the shows you want to download to your box and they're there when you get home. That works just fine for me.
The downside? The standalone box stutters like crazy way too much. Customer service recommended shutting it down and rebooting. That worked...for about an hour. Then it all made sense. I had a closer look at the back of the unit and there is a license sticker for Windows XP Embedded. I'll likely cancel the service--not specifically because they use Windows, but because of the poor entertainment experience that the resultant stuttering brings. I'm wondering if I could wipe the standalone system and turn it into a Linux box without much difficulty.
It turns out you can also watch Akimbo programming on an Xbox 360, which I have. *However*, that configuration requires the purchase of a Media Center PC, so that isn't going to happen.
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
TV over IP is cute and all, seeing as I've been doing the Bittorrent + media center thing for a few years already. The question I always end up asking, being the antisocial rebellious bastard that I am, is how much TV do we really need ?
;) Choice is nice, but it doesn't equate to GETTING more.
I don't watch much, because about 98% of the content on cable inspires me to become independently wealthy just so I can travel the world and strangle all the reality-show attention whores in a vain attempt to cleanse the airwaves once again.
My partner and I are moving in together, and so we went over a tentative budget. I was shocked when showed me a 120$ monthly cable bill because of going digital and VOD and having the "everything" package, especially when she mostly watches 4 or 5 channels for 10 to 15 hours a week. Hell, if I could request a strict list of ten channels I REALLY want, and pay 25$ for that, I probably would. Instead, they force you into a minimum of 50-60$ for crap you don't want, so I skipped cable at my old apartment, bumped up my internet connection to a higher service class and just downloaded whatever shows I wanted. She rolls her eyes when I download the latest episodes of Lost and all her other shows less than an hour after they've aired, in full HD resolution with 5.1 sound with no commercial breaks.
Now I know that video has to originate from a benevolent soulless pirate who has invested significant cash into his/her video editing setup as well as paying for the originating video feed from cable or satellite. If J.Pirate can do this so easily, why the hell don't the cable companies get their heads out of their asses and do the same ? I'd rather pay for strictly on-demand video than have a zillion channels I absolutely hate.
I've always found it fallacious that the company charges so much more for extra channels: you can only watch one show at any given time, you only have one set of eyes and ears. It's like hiring ten hookers.. you're not going to have ten times more pleasure, since you only have one set of hardware
-Billco, Fnarg.com
Anytime something new comes along, the first attempts will almost always be hampered by flaws. I have to chuckle at how impatient and intolerant people around here can be, considering such "fits and starts" are completely normal.
... but look at some of the progress in the past year or two:
... the library only offers 1,000 titles, and it is a "rotating" library ... yes, if you already pay for cable (I don't) the inclusion of a free live feed from the STARZ! movie channel is of limited value. However, just in terms of how the system "works", I am pretty impressed. Based on actual experience with the product, here are a few observations:
... and you can begin watching almost immediately. Typically the download of the entire film seems to be finished ten to twenty minutes into viewing.
... same as you get with cable or BlockBuster rental. Would I rather they had *everything* on the "unlimited" menu? Sure, but there seems to be plenty of good stuff mixed around. Being "in the industry" myself, I suspect the reasons for what is Pay-Per-View are entirely dictated by what sort of licensing agreements they can negotiate with the studios. Again, this will evolve over time.
... or when you just want to catch-up on a title or two you haven't seen yet (Examp
The whole IPTV/VOD/ETC situation is complicated for a variety of reasons, not least of which being that it carries both technical challenges and unanswered business questions. Give 'em a chance to figure some of this stuff out!
Sure, the landscape is littered with failed attempts
- sale (to own) of full-length network programs via iTunes
- niche networks dipping their toes in the water such as Adult Swim offering free Friday Night Fix and now a weekly-rotating selection of full-length programs commercial-free
- services like AKIMBO being widely available
- impressively sophisticated online channels like ManiaTV (using the term to refer to the production achievement, and not necessarily the content!)
- AOL's in2TV service, where I can watch shows like F-Troop and Wonder Woman for free! (What's not to love?)
There are many other examples.
I just decided to risk $10 and give VONGO a try. http://www.vongo.com/ Yes, I am aware of the limitations of the current offering
1) The offering will inevitably evolve as demand & customer preferences are evaluated. Again, give it time.
2) The quality of the full-screen viewing experience is on-par with brand-new VHS (sure, not stellar, but adequate for plenty of things). This, too, will improve over time. Artifacting and glitches were minimal when watching on a standard TV at full-screen using the s-video out from my ATI card.
3) The interface for selecting and downloading is a little heavy on the eye-candy, but functions well and smoothly (no glitches or crashes so far). As near as I can tell, all titles have previews and other detailed information available before download.
4) Downloads are adequately fast (on a standard cable-modem connection). They seem to run at about an average of 500kbps
5) There are some titles available as 24-hour Pay-Per-Views. They seem to run $3 or $4
6) Yes, even the "unlimited" menu rotates, so all titles have a date attached when they will "rotate off" the menu and no longer be available. For myself, about 75% of the films I watch I never want to see more than once, so this is perfectly acceptable. For films I want to watch over and over, I will inevitably purchase the DVD anyway, so again, this is not an issue for me.
All-in-all, so far I feel like I am getting a lot for my $10. Plus, for viewing a decent selection of recent releases, I don't have to go to BlockBuster, the library, or wait on Netflix. This is a nice convenience (hell, it's a luxury, why don't we admit it) when you have kids who want to watch something "now" (Example: "Are We There Yet?")
See you space cowboy
Fnord NSA!
No Fnord Thank You.
"Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell
This is a bad idea. A really bad idea. IPTV on a network that can't handle WoW.... This is a really bad idea.
Give me a productive error over a boring, mundane and unproductive fact any day. ~Anon
That would be a great show! Be sure to film it all, I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to watch that!
Maybe you don't need to become wealthy first... just sell that idea to some reality TV show producer...