BitTorrent goes legal with new download store

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 26 February 2007 17:00

Your IT - Entertainment

BitTorrent have launched a new store called the ‘BitTorrent Entertainment Network’ to sell TV shows and games, to rent movies and to download free user-generated content. Can they succeed after arriving so late to the legal video download party?

The new BitTorrent Entertainment Network video download store arrives today and is the latest entrant into the video download wars, featuring TV shows, over 3000 movies from partners like Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, MGM, and MTV Networks and independent distributors including First Look, Palm Pictures and Kadokawa. 1000 music videos and games downloads from Activision, Ubisoft and Vivendi, all of whom are the biggest names of the 34 current content providers.

Movies cost $3.99 each with older titles at $2.99, TV shows and music videos are $1.99 and user-generated content is free. DRM-free music downloads are coming, as well as free downloads of ad-supported TV shows. All shows are in standard definition, save for shows from partner Voom which are available in HD, although this is only a small proportion of the content available so far.

BitTorrent uses the uses peer to peer (p2p) protocol to download bits of the file from computers connected on the same p2p network, with a popular file being on more computers and thus being able to be downloaded faster.

High-speed broadband and generous download caps are required to make the most use of the service, which follows video stores from Apple, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Amazon and others.

BitTorrent are trading on popularity of their technology, which is used by millions daily to download from a vast range of pirated content. While BitTorrent seem late to the party, the legal video download revolution has only really just begun, thus giving BitTorrent a real chance in what is set to become an even more crowded market.

The true question is, will the BitTorrent users choose to start paying for content they have been pirating? Sales at legal stores would suggest there is definitely a market, dwarfed though it is by pirate activity. Nevertheless, Hollywood is finally realizing that downloads of content CAN make money, and are finally jumping onboard the download bandwagon in great numbers!