VOD in Hong Kong. Now this could suffer.......................................
scmp.com
ELLA LEE
Star Interactive TV believes that Internet access will be the prime application for its video on demand (VOD) service.
They plan to deliver up to 25.6 megabits per second Internet access via their ISP, Star Internet, and a high-speed asychronous transfer mode (ATM) network run over a hybrid of fibre-optic and copper lines.
"VOD, for us, is part of the Internet," said sales and marketing controller David Teng.
At last week's Audio and Video Show, Star officials demonstrated the service, including video and music on demand and an educational section.
These three services also are being offered by other VOD bidders, including Hong Kong Telecom IMS, Future TV and Elmsdale.
Star did not demonstrate on-line shopping and banking, although it said these would be included in the future.
For the demonstration show, Star teamed up with film distributors ERA and Pan Asia, music and video producers Fitto Entertainment and Rock Records, and Erwin Wong, a presenter on Asia Television's computer programme Smart Cutie.
But Mr Teng stressed they were only partners in the show, and that the list of future partners was not yet final.
Hongkong Telecom IMS has boasted about its local movie library, having signed a five-year exclusive deal with Golden Harvest and China Star, which produce 70 per cent of SAR movies.
China Star, formerly known as Star Entertainment, was owned formerly by the conglomerate which runs Star Interactive TV.
Mr Teng claimed not to be bothered. "We don't worry about the source of movie titles which can be obtained from many film distributors, like Mei Ah."
All four VOD licence bidders have approached Mei Ah as a movie title supplier, according to a newspaper report.
"Overseas movies will definitely be the majority of the VOD content as the number of overseas movies is far more than [the number of] local ones, especially after the local cinema industry turned downhill," said Mr Teng.
He refused to disclose how much money Star planned to spend to acquire content.
Mr Teng said the company employed standard set-top boxes freely available on the market.
Star technology controller Billy Tam said Star has chosen the "most cost-effective" way to deliver the broadband services.
It will use ATM, which will send data from Star's video servers over a telecom fibre-optic network. From there, it will connect to each building's personal telecom switch.
The last part of the transmission to individual households will be carried by regular copper phone lines.
Hongkong Telecom has said that companies which use its cable relay service (CRS), an ATM service running over its own fibre-optic network, to deliver VOD would be charged $500 per user per month.
Star said that even if it used fibre-optic lines to transmit data to subscribers, its system would not have to use CRS. |
