Aug 09, 2000 (Tech Web - CMP via COMTEX) --  VastVideo and ActiveSky are betting
there is a hot market for a video stream over wireless devices.
 
The two companies are joining to provide VastVideo's library of instructional
videos over the Internet to wireless devices and PDAs using ActiveSky's media
player technology, allowing Windows CE, Pocket PC, Palm Pilot, and other devices
to view small bits of video information.
 
"Web video [is] going to be more informational than entertainment," said a
spokesman for VastVideo, Astoria, N.Y.
 
The idea is that wireless users will be able to download and view instructional
clips on anything from router repair to refrigerator repair from a company's
website.
 
Videos would not be downloaded across wireless connections, but would have to be
downloaded from the Internet via a PC, thentransferred to a PDA, said Azita
Arvani, vice president of business development and strategy at ActiveSky. The
company said it plans to make completely wireless downloads available by next
summer.
 
Some analysts are not as optimistic about the availability of a robust wireless
infrastructure by that time -- or ActiveSky's chances once RealNetworks (stock:
RNWK) or Microsoft (stock: MSFT) media players join the fray.
 
"It's the right idea, but probably three years ahead of its time in terms of the
availability of wireless bandwidth in the U.S.," said Rob Enderle, vice
president of analyst company Giga Information Group, Cambridge, Mass. "Both
Microsoft and Real are going to be running it at that time. It's tough to see
how these firms, with a different protocol, are going to survive. ActiveSky is a
long shot for the future. They are going to need some fairly significant backing
to weather the storm Microsoft and Real are going to whip up."
 
VastVideo isn't only betting totally on ActiveSky, either. Its alliance is not
an exclusive deal with the company, and ActiveSky is waiting for a standard to
emerge for wireless video download.
 
"The market is still developing," the VastVideo spokesman said. "But you want to
anticipate instead of react."
 
VastVideo has a library of clips from 12,000 tapes on technology, sports,
travel, health, and other topics. The company intends to roll out its service to
users with an ActiveSky media player this fall, with pricing for the service
starting at $40 per month. Prices for ActiveSky media players are still being
determined.
 
 
 techweb.com