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MS Launches Video Download Service
Posted by
Zonk
on Thu Mar 31, 2005 11:26 AM
from the videos-on-the-dl dept.
from the videos-on-the-dl dept.
renderhead writes "According to ZDNet and many other sources, Microsoft has launched a new video download service for playing back television content on Windows Mobile devices. Partners include CinemaNow, MSNBC.com, and TiVo. According to another article from ployer.com, the service will require Windows XP, Internet Explorer 5 or higher, and Windows Media Player 10 or higher."
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Tried it (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.msnvideodownloads.com/ [msnvideodownloads.com]
If it's anything like their current web-based service [msn.com], each free 2-3 minute clip will be preceded by 1 30 minute commerical and 10 seconds of Microsoft ad space.
Plus, it looks like you'll have to sign in with passport.
If you sign-up for the free service, you'll have to agree to "INSTALL THE MSN MUSIC ASSISTANT"
On the positive side, it does look like it will have a bunch of stuff from FOOD TV. The more Alton Brown I can get, the better!
Re:Tried it (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Tried it (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Tried it (Score:2)
Where's the list of content?
List of content (Score:3, Informative)
-- MSNBC.com. News and business headlines updated throughout the day, as well as segments from "Today"
-- BreakTV. Behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive interviews television's hottest celebrities
-- COOKIE JAR Entertainment Inc., a global producer and marketer of children's entertainment, offering children's programs such as "Paddington Bear," "Animal Crackers" and many other popul
Re:Tried it (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
A call to MythTV/gstreamer/apache/whoever hackers: (Score:4, Interesting)
While true, it's a very good option for those in geeks' families, and hopefully the Free (not free) bug will spread, especially as all of the steps listed above get easier with time.
Indeed, there's nothing prohibiting someone from taking mythtv code, shining it up, and selling it as a set-top-box + personal distribution server. In fact, I suspect people would pay TiVo for precisely that, provided they don't get sued out of the water. Or someone could set it up as a LiveCD, like they currently do, for free.... The main catch is the hardware,really, and that's getting better as more and more people adopt Linux. Given that lack of hardware/software support is entirely an intertia problem, and the intertia's changing, there's reason yet to hope for some real service.
Indeed, if anyone from TiVo or others are listening, I bet people would be quite willing to pay to have remote TiVo interfaces so that they can monitor their TiVo and play shows back and watch them live, via TiVo's servers (for a nominal monthly fee, of course). This sounds kind of like what Microsoft may be doing, but with TiVo being merely a very minor cog in the Great Microsoft Video Wheel.
Hopefully, we can convince MythTV and others to build separate frontends (not just the full-screen one) so that we can do things like I describe for free (playback, live TV watching, episode download, and remote control of the backends) as I describe. Given MythTV's backend/frontend separation, it seems like a very logical next step. I know I've wanted to watch some TV on my laptop in my office while working on some stuff. It'd be very convenient for, say, gstreamer to incorporate such a mythtv frontend functionality. Maybe someone from Apache could hack together a mod_mythtv....
Parent
FoodTV huh? (Score:3, Funny)
pay nothing...
Re:Tried it (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Tried it (Score:3, Informative)
Commercials? (Score:3, Insightful)
What the detail page [msnvideodownloads.com] doesn't say is whether there are commercials in the video you are paying to download (we're paying them to sell us stuff?). Commercial-free television shows would be a huge feature, so if they did not include a statement about it, then you are paying to watch/download commercials. Yikes! If it *is* commercial-free, and they did *not* mention it -- what are we missing? I see TiVo is involved with this project, so I'm guessing it's commercial-free television. But I could of course be mistaken because nobody seems to be talking about it!
Commercials vs. DRM (Score:2, Insightful)
Cable TV is already starting to put commercials on most channels. When people don't stop paying for it in droves enough to cut into profits, it makes sense to their business. They don't particularly care. "Show me the money!" Right? This will likely happen over time with any Internet-based Video-On-Demand service.
The same rule applies with DRM. The MSN Music Assistant controls DRM in your downloads from their services. This has caused problems [about.com] for some as one might expect (not particularly surprising.) H
Re:Commercials vs. DRM (Score:3, Informative)
Well, I tell you, as soon as my cable tv provider started showing commercials, I called up the other 30 cable tv providers and found one that was promising to never run ads in the premium channels, and I switched my subscription on the spot and never looked back. I even called around to get commercial-free versions of Food TV and Cartoon Network, so now I'm all set!
Re:Commercials? (Score:2)
So how long until the FCC jump or get pushed in to try to regulate the ratio of commercial time to content time on such downloads? And how long until someone tries bending that ruling to apply to ad-infested webpages?
Re:Commercials? (Score:2)
backed by a trustworthy brand name (Score:4, Funny)
The Mask Comes Off (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:The Mask Comes Off (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:The Mask Comes Off (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:The Mask Comes Off (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:The Mask Comes Off (Score:3, Informative)
Re:The Mask Comes Off (Score:2)
Weird. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Weird. (Score:2)
Philosophical question (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Philosophical question (Score:5, Insightful)
The catch is that the technical restrictions are part of the heart of the issue. If MS can force other decisions on you if you want to use their system, then that's part of the cost. The cost could be freedom, purchasing MS OSes at $100-200 a pop, and so forth. You can't separate the technical issues here and give a reasonable answer.
Parent
At least.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Anti-trust bait? (Score:5, Funny)
Microsoft needs content now. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Microsoft needs content now. (Score:2)
I use MythTV (Score:5, Interesting)
I say this becasue I don't do Windows anymore, and my life is easier for it!
Re:I use MythTV (Score:3, Insightful)
And to think I am stuck using a real DVR when I could just build one in my spare time using off the shelf parts and loads of spare time...
... and get one that does far more than any commercial DVR.
It just depends on what's important to you.
requirements... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:requirements-P2P client and no ethics. (Score:3, Insightful)
Competing with "free" seems pretty easy for Starbucks and the bottled water companies.
Why God? Why?? (Score:5, Insightful)
From the ZDNet article:
Is there some rule that states any mobile video must consist of sports clips, news clips and music videos? (Verizon, I'm looking at you with "VCast"). Seriously, everytime legal downloads of video content are discussed on cell phones or from the internet, these three are always mentioned. Well, I don't watch any of that. Does anyone really want to just watch sports clips on their mobile device? I enjoy sports an all, but I don't want to pay just to see a few clips. And music videos? I guess that's to cater to the teen crowd.
When will I be able to legally download an episode of 24? Or some other show that I actually watch? I don't want snippets of video here and there. I want to watch a freakin' show. I guess I'll stick to torrents when I forget to program my VCR.
XP and IE5? (Score:3, Interesting)
Maybe i'm missing somethign and the windows mobile devices only use IE5 or somehtign. I wonder how long before someone has a hack to let it work with WIN98 or somethign.
Incrementally better? (Score:4, Informative)
Downloading content leaglly sounds good, but it looks like it has a subscription price, and they'll be adding commercials to the front end of things. It also requires Windows, which cuts out a decent portion of geeks who are the type to be early adopters (like me).
Sure, it offers digial timeshifting, but this is something we already have with a TiVo and MythTV, the latter without any DRM of subscription fees.
I don't know...it looks like it has some advantages, but too many of the same old problems to be "the next big thing" in TV.
You forgot something... (Score:3, Insightful)
sports, news, music videos (Score:2)
TiVo? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:TiVo? (Score:4, Informative)
Not all shows are available though. They've included this caveat on the TivoToGo web page:
Not all shows may be eligible for transfer from your TiVo box to your computer. Programming providers may restrict or limit the ability to record, display, view or transfer any particular program using a variety of copy protection mechanisms.
Parent
Potentially worthwhile (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, it will be DRM-encumbered and feature at least its fair share of shite: either get over it or don't avail of the service.
More signal, please, and less noise.
I've spent less time with MSFT products than most (OS/2 -> BeOS/Linux -> FreeBSD and now predominantly OS X [with GNU tools all along for the past ~10 years]) and am no apologist, but give the friggin service a chance - OR DON'T - but having a way to easily* pay for, download and play worthwhile video content could very well be ... worthwhile.
Peace, lux, and thanks -
* - "easily" meaning I don't spend hours / days / weeks building, tweaking and searching for content i can "steal" / use without paying for / however you feel good about stating it.
Only one video I'm interested in... (Score:3, Funny)
If anybody has a link or torrent, please post it..!
Media Players (Score:4, Funny)
Slightly OT rant: but why do commercial media players insist on looking so god-awfully ugly and breaking as many usability rules as possible. Apple has been, rightfully, taken to task about this for QT Player. And MS seems intent on outdoing them in terms of interface destruction. I hate WM9's interface but quickly reverted back to it after trying WM10.
Does anybody like that glitz? Just because it's video do they think they have to copy TV aesthetics? You just shouldn't let the title designers for Channel 6 Local News near window decorations, IMHO.
Thanks, I feel better now.Re:Media Players (Score:3, Insightful)
I, for one, happen to like the following aspect of TV aesthetics:
There are no user interface elements on the screen, because it is devoted to the video itself. There are buttons on the DVD/video player, the TV set, and the remote, but not on the screen.
MPlayer [mplayerhq.hu] gets this right by not having a GUI in the first place. There is the keyboard somewhere below the screen, just like there's a DVD/video player
Seems like pre-packaged shows (Score:3, Insightful)
What I'd be willing to pay say $5-$10 per month for is access to say 5 hours of TV per week. One key show I'm craving is The Daily Show, but I don't want to pay $30/m for one show.
Damien
In the not so distant future... (Score:4, Funny)
They are watching the Super bowl. The announcer is former QB Tom Brady, now somewhat late middle aged. He occassionally pops up in 2.5 D transparent windows that seem to float just in front of the screen. This glitzy spectacular is brought to you by:
MICROSOFT "We're here to fuck ya little buddy!"
and AMD "Keeping what's left of the American middle class Fat, Dumb, and Happy."
and the TMZ Zinc Bushing Corporation / USgov "If you push something hard enough - It Will Fall Over!"
They all settle in to what promises to be yet another route of the New Jersey Proles by the seemingly invincible Las Vegas Patriots, which is fine by this bunch - ever since they got their RFID tatoos, they see it as UNAMERICAN to support any other team BUT the Las Vegas Patriots!
When a morbidly obese Britney Spears waddles out to sing the national anthem, their hearts leap with joy. The game proceeds uneventfully. The Patriots are destroying the Proles all through the first half. Fatalities are high - the Proles lost their QB in the first five minutes. Half time was glorious. A rousing and glittering tribute to the American troops who were killed in the invasion of Brazil earlier that year. This group had hardly a dry eye, as they all remembered Uncle Dick's last letter:
Dear Loved Ones,
Killing these idiots for their resources has gotten kind of stale and boring. Wish I was home watching televised sports like a good citizen. Still, if President Jenna Bush decides I have to walk across a mine field for the sake of Microsoft shareholders and Wall Street speculators, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Love you all-
Your Stupid Uncle Dick
In the third period, things get a little lively - the Proles come back and start pounding the Patriots. They are on the edge of their seats. Multiple 2.5 D windows are bursting all over - every angle is covered as the Proles go into the 4th quarter tied. There's a brief time out to hose the blood off the field, but soon, it's right back to the action!
They're tied all through the 4th quarter, and it's down to the last few seconds of the game! The Proles are on the goal line of the Patriots! Spirits are running high - people all over the country are screaming at their screens! They set up for the final play.
"Hut One! Romeo Tango Foxtrot Mike! HIKE!"
The Proletarian QB takes the ball, takes a half step back, crouches and LEAPS INTO THE AIR! A Patriotic defender does the same! They're going to collide at the goal line - but will the ball cross the plane of the goal? all of the floating windows are covering his every move in excruciating detail! In mid air, he turns and
Sorry. This device has performed an illegal opera
BSOD...
The screen turns bright blue. The group assembled grab the LCD Screen and heave it out the window as the entire country roars with anger at their blue screens of death.
The grand children of Bill Gates are eaten in public.
All Microsoft employees (a solid 7% of India) are given safe passage to nations of their choice.
The penguins cry, because no-one knows who won the game...
It was all virtualised.
RS
MS-slashdot (Score:3, Interesting)
I hope they are paying for all this advertising.
(or are these subtle pseudo-DOS attacks on MS resources via the slashdot-effect? you guys are crafty)
Re:Windows Media Player 10 or higher? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:Windows Media Player 10 or higher? (Score:3, Insightful)