SmartVideo Technologies has announced the launch Digital Music Video Network, a 24/7 music video channel designed specifically for Internet-enabled mobile devices. The service is available for free to compatible devices anywhere in North America and currently features top 40 music videos, with plans to expand with additional “phone channels” featuring other genres, including dance, urban, hip-hop, country, rock, and more.
The service is available for free because the music video channel is advertiser-supported: that’s right, while you’re using precious mobile data allowances to download the latest from U2, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, or others, you’re also be paying to download advertisements from network sponsors.
“All the research shows that free, commercial-based content is vastly preferred by consumers,” says Jim Robinson, DMV Network’s president. “And SmartVideo is the perfect partner for this. With their high-quality, full motion video technology at low bandwidths, the video blows everyone away when they see it. Now anyone with an Internet connection can watch streaming music video content on cell phones, PDAs, laptops and desktops.”
SmartVideo’s service operates with Windows Media-capable mobile devices, PDAs, and smartphones (a list of compatible devices is on the SmartVideo site), as well as Symbian-based systems with RealPlayer. The company says the service is coming soon in markets in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region.
Readers with a good memory may recall SmartVideo announced the partnership with DVM Network back in May 2005, and the service is debuting more than half a year after its initial announcement. Only time will tell if the network will be a success: sales of music videos on DVD can only be categorized as disappointing in recent years, and music video downloads haven’t exactly been flying off the virtual music shelves at iTunes Music Store and other services. But then again, those services don’t offer the videos for free
