Comments on: NBC To Offer On-Demand Movies via P2P

By: Rob Hoover

Rob Hoover — Sat, 19 Nov 2005 05:52:22 +0000

I have a legal p2p application that requires all uploaded content (image and video) to have an ip listed to enable the file sharing. The traffic comes from everywhere and does not convert much sales. We water mark and popup before the movie or image is displayed. We have content producers create trailers and teaser video clips that help promote movies and upload free. The rest of the content is copyright free. We tried DRM, failed. no one on a p2p network will pay. The name is 'p2p', we need to re-create a peer 3 network that is legal and works. I am looking at Video - on - Demand or Pay - Per - View. This will allow you to preview the clips and download them for view now or later. Once a movie is purchased it can be made available on this peer 3 network for that user until they cancel the monthly subcribtion to 'peer 3 networks'. This has a central server and a p2p application running at the same time. Peer 3 will take a small 9.95 monthly to make videos and images etc.. available 24/7 to each user. Downloads will be priced by date. the older the cheaper, the newer the more. Truely Supply on Demand.

Rob Hoover, WeDid.com

By: bryandamage

bryandamage — Sat, 19 Nov 2005 05:42:43 +0000

the thing that's so funny about this is that every show available on this p2p network will be cracked and shared on every other p2p network and NBC will need to seed every file to every leech anyway so they might as will set up an FTP account for every subscriber.

this way they can digitally watermark each file with a user unique code and ban those sharing on illegal p2p networks (transgaming did this to find out how cedega was getting on p2p networks)

i don't know how they're attempting to stop people watching a show after 24hrs but there is _always_ a way around it. the most definate way is to run the tv out from your video card in to a vcr and then you'll have it forever. i did this back in the first years of real media when i wanted to listen to a streamed song away from my computer i just taped it.

By: Arrrr

Arrrr — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 15:19:20 +0000

I think they really need to drop the old models, and move forward. Allow people to download whatever they want, but start doing the advertising via watermarks/pop-ups in the corners and product placement. There is a legal torrent from Australia that breaks all this down in great detail (“Piracy Is Good?”, delivered by Mark Pesce on May 6th, 2005 at the Australian Film Television and Radio School) and it shows how they can make the content free, and still make their money. In fact, they would have more active marketing information by looking at the tracker for the torrent to see who downloads it, how many, etc.
Heck, test it by doing a new show/series, purely released online, for one advertising customer. See what it does, how does it spread, what impact it has on that customers sells. Heck, even include a URL in the watermark that is only available in the show that way you can see exactly what type of response is generated.
In the end, if they imbed the ads, then the more people who download/pirate it, the more wide spread the advertisement, and the more bang for the buck their client will see.

By: Tantrum

Tantrum — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 13:26:11 +0000

24 hours!? Gimme a break, thats worse than the Circuit City idea to promote DivX titles, anyone remember that?

P2P is big because of free content. I hate how these companies want to rent you everything nowadays.

By: William Keeley

William Keeley — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 13:23:59 +0000

I am not in the slightest bit interested, and here is why:

If I were able to buy the movie and watch it on my computer or burn it to a CD or DVD and watch it on TV whenever I WANTED to, I might be interested. If the media industry wants to compete with unauthorized peer to peer filesharing, then it must provide the value that customers want. The same TV programs are usually already available on unauthorized peer to peer filesharing networks.

Most people are willing to pay a reasonable amount of money for these shows, but they are not willing to put up with restrictions on how or when they view the product that they puchased. I'm sorry, but until the Industry comes up with a product that customers want (freely viewable anywhere and any time) at a reasonable price ($.99 is reasonable as far as I am concerned), people will continue to use unauthorized peer to peer filesharing.

Does NBC really expect to use people's computers to distribute their content without paying them for up to 30 days when these same people can only view the content for 24 hours? Get real.

Make the download an unrestricted AVI or MOV file and allow unencumbered viewing for an unlimited time, and people will be willing to buy at the price of $0.99. Until that happens, NBC's customers will continue to receive the broadcasts from unauthorized peer to peer.

P.S. I would be surprised if this comment make it entirely to where it can be publically viewed, but if it does, kudos to NBC.