DSL Prime has a nice wrap-up of Apple and Amazon's Internet video on demand services and the impact they'll have on IPTV. To catch up those not playing along so far: Apple and Amazon are now offering thousands of movies on their respective VOD portals that boast true DVD quality, unlike legacy players like Bit Torrent. Most would agree the UI's on these services are better than anything Microsoft or any carrier has offered thus far, but this is Apple we're talking about so it's not surprising. Comcast, France Telecom and others will soon launch similar services. As is often the case with these things, the movies are way overpriced (ranging from $10 to $15) and according to DSL Prime, most of the rev share is Hollywood's, but Apple needs to sell the video iPods somehow...
"The TelcoTV financial model is fragile, perhaps broken. Hollywood will squeeze, and, with more buyers, leave next to nothing for the operators. Apple and Amazon will accept that, keeping prices and margins down," DSL Prime wrote. "Customers will demand more speed, and Amazon's site reports cable is two to four times faster than DSL. Time Warner cable worked for me today--solid five Mbps download for an hour. That's good for FIOS, where speeds will go to 50 and 100 Mbps within the year." The final verdict is that AT&T could be the prime victim here.
For more on the repercussion's of Apple and Amazon's video offerings:
- see this smart commentary from DSL Prime