04-21-2006, 04:26 AM
Ars Technica looks at the just-launched PSP Online Video service's fledgling beginnings across the sea in Japan. At best, the PSP video distribution system sounds sort of functional.
The service, called Portable TV, requires users to have a credit card and a legit Japanese mailing address to sign up for the program. Ars Technica wisely assumes that eventually Sony will launch Portable TV globally and loosely compares its service to Apple's iTunes Video Store. Portable TV doesn't fare too well, from Ars Technca: "Instead of merely restricting the user's ability to copy content and view it on other devices, files downloaded from Sony's video store come with a limited shelf life. Like the ill-fated DivX (the original rental concept, not the MPEG4-derived codec of the same name), videos on Portable TV will self-destruct after a set period of time, after which additional payment is required to view them."
With a primitive distribution system that has your downloads expiring after a set amount of time, it remains to be seen if this download-to-rent model will take off for Portable TV. Let alone, how a model like that would fare in the U.S. Further, while downloadable music has seen plenty of publicity and regulation - downloadable movies and television shows haven't garnered the same press and by default, scrutiny. So it's still relatively easy to download the episode of Lost that you missed this week and watch it on your PC or your PSP - which begs the question, if you can get it for free, why pay for it?
Source
The service, called Portable TV, requires users to have a credit card and a legit Japanese mailing address to sign up for the program. Ars Technica wisely assumes that eventually Sony will launch Portable TV globally and loosely compares its service to Apple's iTunes Video Store. Portable TV doesn't fare too well, from Ars Technca: "Instead of merely restricting the user's ability to copy content and view it on other devices, files downloaded from Sony's video store come with a limited shelf life. Like the ill-fated DivX (the original rental concept, not the MPEG4-derived codec of the same name), videos on Portable TV will self-destruct after a set period of time, after which additional payment is required to view them."
With a primitive distribution system that has your downloads expiring after a set amount of time, it remains to be seen if this download-to-rent model will take off for Portable TV. Let alone, how a model like that would fare in the U.S. Further, while downloadable music has seen plenty of publicity and regulation - downloadable movies and television shows haven't garnered the same press and by default, scrutiny. So it's still relatively easy to download the episode of Lost that you missed this week and watch it on your PC or your PSP - which begs the question, if you can get it for free, why pay for it?
Source