noirExtreme

Still on the topic of TelcoTV alternatives, Endgadget have a piece on a service called Rent my DVR:

Rent my DVR is an online marketplace for buying and selling TV programming. Buyers can scan online listings of available shows and download them via a proprietary P2P application for about 25 cents a pop. Providers in turn receive a 25 cent payment for delivering shows.

I feel a little less on my own than yesterday as it looks like other people are thinking that real-time video delivery of broadcast content over an IP network (TelcoTV in short) is not the ultimate in video entertainment.

A major new strategic management report warns that broadband video services will eventually displace broadcast distribution, but telecommunications providers may not be the ultimate winners of the network television revolution.

[...] The report, IPTV: Broadband meets broadcast--The network television revolution, concludes:

• Within a decade, video services delivered over broadband networks will be firmly established as an alternative platform to digital satellite, terrestrial and cable transmission.

On Demand Media are definitely not "struggling to make sense" —as their tagline seems to claim— with their overview of distributing video over the internet.

It is sometimes refreshing to have the basics retold to us so that we can get back to the bigger picture once in a while.

In this particular case I was struck again by the apparent lack of developments around the Download-as-you-watch model. This model allows users to start viewing while the download is taking place; with sufficient bandwidth (which, unlike for streaming, need not be stable), this yields an instant-gratification experience.

Wow. It's been 4 months since I stopped posting regularly on this blog.

The main reason for my silence is that I started a blog about changes in telcoland inside Thomson to which I added over 250 posts keeping busy enough with writing. I initially thought I could keep going with this blog but I had a hard time deciding where to post what so I put a lid on this one.

I was curious to find out if it would catch people's interest and get them to contribute. Maybe their attention was caught but as a general rule they did not contribute back. I don't think they "get" the disruption story.

In parallel I also worked quite a bit on developing a strategic relationship with SupportSoft to build a tr-069 remote management story for thomson SpeedTouch modems.

End of August the whole family moved to a new appartment in Brussels. It was quite a disruption for the kids but they seem to get over it now.

And —last but not least— I am in the process of leaving Thomson as I just accepted a job offer from Scientific Atlanta. The future doesn't look bright at Thomson and SA gave me an exciting challenge so there you go.

Although I come from a conservative family I have to confess that I really like change.

You know why I love working for the high-tech industry? Because it is one of the few industries with an apparent endless capacity to reinvent itself over again.

In the last few weeks during which I could not follow the news as closely as I usually do Apple announced that Mac OS X will be available on Intel platform and Microsoft that Windows may come to Sun servers!

Isn't that cool or what? In less than a month what most believed to be some of the most solid facts about IT (the separation of the wintel, Apple and Sun worlds) start falling apart. I am certainly going to mention it next time I am being asked to provide a 2-year forecast!

Base, the third and smallest mobile operator in Belgium, just announced a new pricing targeted at Belgacom's fixed line business. One could not be more direct:

The offer includes:

• subscription costs 5% cheaper
• subscription fees for 60+ age group 50% cheaper
• call costs 5% cheaper than with the Belgacom Classic line,
• no installation and activation costs,
• pay per second from the first second,
• many free services - transfers, answer 2nd call, caller number display, personalised voice mail, conference call with 6 people at once, fax mail.

Base stated that they want to quickly increase their market share to 20% from their current 17% and found that Belgacom's fixed line price umbrella offered a nice spot to hit and hurt them.

Finally some action! Next: Alternative DSL service providers: your time to shoot...