DIVX-ish DVD rental system Audio/Video / Other Posted by zmcnulty on Jul 27, 2004 - 04:48 PM |
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Not the video compression format DivX, I mean that Circuit City experiment conducted a manner of years ago. You would buy a disc for a low price, and then have to pay to play it in your player at home. When you're done, just pitch the disc. Ebis Trade will release the first series of "Keitai DVD" titles on August 4th, where users enter a password they obtain by cell phone to get a password to view movies they purchase. Five titles are in the initial lineup, each with a price of 525 yen. Sales will begin at around 800 "am/pm" convenience stores primarily in the Kanto area. Keitai DVDs are DVDs that use a technology called "DVD MAGIC" developed by Visionaire. When the disc is inserted into a DVD player, a randomly generated ID number will be display on the TV screen. This number is sent by mail from a cellular phone to a server, which will in turn send a password back to the cellular phone. This password is in turn input onto the TV screen using a remote controller, and the disc will then play. Though DVD MAGIC had been a technology that put the HTML protocol to use to play DVD videos on a PC, this DVD MAGIC is an improved version; it can be used in a conventional DVD player. The five titles in the first lineup include "Shaolin Soccer," "Stomach Ache Cafe" showcasing young comedians, "half moon" from the director of "Moonlight Jelly Fish," "New Cutey Honey," an anime, and finally "Hotelier," a Korean drama with Pe Yonjun. When a password is acquired after purchase, playback is possible for one week. If the playback period expires, the same server can be accessed, and by paying 315 yen, it will be extended for another week. Both the first episodes of "New Cutey Honey" and "Hotelier" can be viewed without inputting a password, but viewing the second episode does require a payment of 315 yen. Ebis Trade is planning a second lineup for September or October. After that, they plan on releasing titles on a weekly basis, and a shooting for sales of more than 6 million discs by 2007. They are also looking into expanding their market beyond just convenience stores, to include bookstores and gas stations. Inspired by: http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20040727/ebis.htm [1] Press Release: http://www.ebistrade.com/0301su_html/info/11.html [2] |
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This article is from TechJapan http://www.techjapan.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.techjapan.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=439 Links in this article [1] http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20040727/ebis.htm [2] http://www.ebistrade.com/0301su_html/info/11.html |