BitTorrent Launches Legal Video Download Store
That said, relative to competing outlets like iTunes, Amazon’s Unbox, and CinemaNow, the value that legal BitTorrent-delivered content delivers to its customers has been called into question by some. In this PC World blog posting, the author discusses his experiences downloading an episode of The Flintstones from both BitTorrent and iTunes: "But Apple's episode gave me more Fred and Barney for my money: I could watch the episode on up to five computers-Windows or Mac-or download it to my iPod. BitTorrent's version is viewable on two Windows PCs. Period."
The article also includes a firsthand account of the user experience associated with downloading content through BitTorrent, in which the service is assailed on the user interface front due to the fact that unlike iTunes, BitTorrent Entertainment Network makes its customers go to the website to find the content they want and then move to a separate application to begin downloading it rather than doing everything through a single application.
BitTorrent does have a number of factors working in its favor, though, including faster downloads and porn. That's right, porn. An Ars Technica article delves into BitTorrent's "Mature" section, which features a limited selection of softcore pornography. While this fact might seem irrelevant to a discussion of "legitimate" movie download services, it's worth noting that iTunes does not offer mature content, and the adult industry has long been credited as a driving force in consumer adoption of new technology.
While BitTorrent faces a number of challenges as it strives to become a leader in legal content distribution-including continuing to foster dialog with network operators who are increasingly shaping their networks to limit P2P traffic and justifying those actions by the prevalence of illegal content being distributed in this manner-its combination of P2P distribution economics, strong studio support, and a gigantic install base of content-hungry users makes certain that BitTorrent will be a major player in this space, at least for the short term. After that, only consumer adoption and continued studio support will determine the BitTorrent Entertainment Network's ultimate fate.
Also worth noting is BitTorrent's stated intention of allowing users to upload high bit-rate content they have created and then distribute it through the BitTorrent Entertainment Network. While this offering will in no way compare to YouTube's ability to embed video into web pages in terms of being able to provide instant, easy access to user-generated content, it will be interesting to see what happens when user-generated content goes full-screen, especially since BitTorrent will offer it essentially alongside pay-for premium content.
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At the recent CES in Las Vegas, we sat down with BitTorrent's creator Bram Cohen to talk about his latest project: video live streaming with peer-to-peer delivery. Get a first look in this exclusive video.
18 Jan 2011