Rent videos - on your iPod

Stuart Corner
Friday, 18 April 2008 07:12

Your IT - Home IT

Charging and usage would be managed by the set top box communicating to Video Ezy via either dialup, ADSL or its inbuilt GSM phone to apply the rental charge and 'release' the movie.

AUniacke also described other features of the device saying that only half the 160 Gbytes on the hard disc in the device would be reserved for Video Ezy usage. "The customer can put photos, home movies and record free to air programmes on the rest if they want," he said.

That unit also provided other options: "We can put previews of 200 movies on the storage device and you can watch these and choose the ones you want. When you come back into the store with your storage device these will be automatically downloaded onto it," Uniacke said. Another option under investigation was for customers to be able to load movies onto the set top box in advance of their release to the rental market, and then be able to watch them immediately they are released.

One feature of the DigiSoft box not likely to have been part of the Mobilesoft product is its support for high definition video, which is rapidly increasing in popularity.

Mobilesoft issued a statement to the ASX in November 2006 saying it had secured "an exclusive contract is with Australia's largest movie rental franchise, Video Ezy which intends to launch an electronic rental service for movies at home...The contract is for the supply of up to 390,000 of a unique Home Media Centre (HMC) running the next generation ADAPT TV product developed by Mobilesoft...Revenues for this contract over its four year life are projected to be in the range of $45 million for a base case, to more than $150 million in a high case depending on consumer acceptance. The contract is conditional on field trials which started on 31st October and will progressively take place in 40 homes throughout the Sydney Metropolitan are. They will be extended to regional Australia from early 2007."