Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 5, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
While more and more companies are using the Internet as a new distribution channel for films, Irish company Portomedia http://www.portomedia.com is now looking for a middle way between new and old media. In future, users are to download their videos from kiosks directly onto a USB stick or portable hard drive and then watch them on a TV through a special interface or on a PC. “I do not see any major advantage for users,” Jörg Weinrich of Germany’s video and media retail trade association (IVD) http://www.ivd-online.de tells pressetext.de critically. “Over the past few years, I have seen many new forms of film rental and almost none have caught on.”
The new system could, however, save retailers money: there is no need to package and deliver DVDs. Users get a wider selection. The kiosks can store between 350 and 5,000 films. Nevertheless, Weinrich considers the attempt unlikely to succeed: “You have to bear in mind that kiosk rental has not played a major role so far either.”
That is unlikely to bother the film studios, since the major companies are on board following a trial in Dublin. Portomedia also has the support of big names on the technology side. While IBM helped develop the transaction system, Samsung is responsible for the flash storage. Toshiba produces the chips for the TV interfaces.
The system is to launch in four US cities in the autumn. Starter packs with a USB stick, interface and six films will be available for around 60 dollars. The high-end package contains twelve films and an additional portable player with 240 GB of storage and costs 160 dollars. Portomedia intends to counter video piracy with Microsoft’s DRM standards. “It will never be perfect, but we will make it as difficult for them as we can,” Portomedia founder Chris Armstrong tells CNET.
