HBO, Quicktime and iTunes

snipesnipe
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Pure speculation but it looks like HBO might become the first major studio to adopt the video on demand via quicktime and be plugged into iTunes. HBO is allowing their subscribers get past episodes on demand anytime from certain

cable providers. Now Apple is promoting DVD's by HBO ....

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/guide/entertainment/

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    k squaredk squared Posts: 608member
    OK, but do you think content will be delivered through a computer or some form of set-top box, a la Tivo?
  • Reply 2 of 5
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by snipe

    Pure speculation but it looks like HBO might become the first major studio to adopt the video on demand via quicktime and be plugged into iTunes. HBO is allowing their subscribers get past episodes on demand anytime from certain

    cable providers. Now Apple is promoting DVD's by HBO ....

    http://www.apple.com/quicktime/guide/entertainment/



    I SOOOOO HOPE oyu are right!





    I want to be able to pay a subscriptiion and watch the whole library of the Sopranos...that would be cool, If it is a subscribtion, i dont care how much DRM is in place, $5 for streaming HBO would be killer, I dont have an HDTV, and I wouldnt miond streaming it.
  • Reply 3 of 5
    snipesnipe Posts: 97member
    From HBO p o v I would think they want as many ''legal'' distribution channels as possible. They have some terrific content but are somewhat at the mercy of the cable/sat axis. By dipping their toes (older episodes, reruns etc) into internet distribution they can get a feel for the demand outside of U.S. cable/sat enabled consumers. Apple is prominently promoting sales of HBO DVD's on their site. There is probably some quid pro quo involved. The idea of watching previous missed episodes of ''The Wire'' and ''Rome'' via Quicktime (even for a small fee) seems compelling. It just keeps getting more interesting
  • Reply 4 of 5
    danielctulldanielctull Posts: 586member
    I'm not sure on DVD prices in America (or elsewhere) but for it to be worthwhile, the files need to be around DVD quality, I have compressed episodes of 24 from DVD to an acceptable quality at around 300MB per episode using the H.264 codec. In the UK we are seeing prices of £35 per 24 box set. I'd like to think they'd stick to 79p (99c) per 45min episode. Thus £19 ($24) for the season.



    A pre-pay system put in place & using the existing Podcast subscription tech, allow people to automatically have the episodes downloaded as they come out. The only downside I can see is the size of the files Apple would need to send out...
  • Reply 5 of 5
    geekdreamsgeekdreams Posts: 280member
    There are 3 issues that need to be addressed before this could really take off:



    1.) Content. HBO, Showtime, FX, etc., have great original programs that people watch fanatically, so getting those types of shows on the Video Store first would be a good way of capturing the interest of the early adopter crowd. Other crap like Malcom in the Middle can be added later, but the new, cool stuff has to be there first IMO.



    2.) Hardware. Apple really needs a set-top box with wireless networking and dedicated chips to decode H.264 video. Even DVD-quality video (not HD quality) would use up a lot of processing power on a Mac mini or similar G4. Plus, not a lot of people will want to watch these shows on their computer monitors (I download some shows in iTunes or over BitTorrent, but the majority of TV viewing still takes place in the living room).



    3.) Bandwidth. Microsoft is apparently working on a proprietary distrubuted network like BitTorrent; perhaps Apple needs to do the same? They would of course seed from their own servers, but they could use that extra upload capacity from each user to help distribute the files faster and with less bandwidth costs on their end (which keeps the prices lower for consumers).



    Just thinking out loud here...
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