My ADSL service starts tomorrow. Can hardly wait. Maybe then I'll be able to view the inext programming and that mentioned below.
Sharp growth seen in Net-based movies
Okihiro Kamiizawa Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Business opportunities in the distribution of moving
images on the Internet have been quickly expanding with
the growing diffusion in the nation of broadband
ultrahigh-speed communications using cable television
lines, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines (ADSL) and
other connections.
Broadband technology can transmit information on the
Internet at several hundred kilobites per second--more
than 10 times faster than integrated services digital
network (ISDN) technology--making it possible to send
moving images on the Net without interruption.
Though it is commonly considered that most information on
the Internet is available free of charge, users must pay
for most moving images sent via broadband lines.
Later this month will see the launch of several services
set up to transmit movies using broadband technology on
the Internet.
Major Internet provider Nifty and film distribution
company Nippon Herald Film, Inc. plan to jointly launch a
Web site Cineplex@Nifty, while film distribution company
MotionPro is to start its Hollywood Party site. Users of
the two Web sites will be charged.
To commemorate the screening across the nation of Academy
Award-winning film "Traffic" on Saturday, Cineplex@Nifty
will inaugurate its service on the same day by
broadcasting six episodes of the television series the
movie is based on.
One of the sequences lasts 50 minutes and will cost 200
yen to view. During a period of 72 hours, users will be
able to watch the episode as many times as they like.
Hollywood Party began part of its service on April 1.
Viewers using the site can now see 100 famous films, such
as "The Third Man."
Subscribers to the service are able to download a film of
their choice from the Web site onto their personal
computers. Users can watch downloaded movies as many
times as they like, provided they do not change their
computer.
However, one week after downloading, an additional fee is
required if subscribers wish to keep watching a
particular film.
Alternatively, users can pay five times the initial fee
for unlimited viewing of a downloaded movie.
Hollywood Party plans to increase the number of its
titles to 500 by the end of this month.
@Home Japan, an Internet broadcaster that currently
produces broadband transmission programming for about
240,000 households across the nation, plans to offer
university lectures on its Web site with the use of
streaming technology to send moving images and sounds on
the Internet. Subscriber to the lectures will be charged.
The company was launched by Excite@Home of the United
States, Jupiter Telecommunications and Sumitomo Corp. It
plans to expand its lineup of programming by teaming up
with J-Stream, which has about 70 kinds of streaming
video material.
Similarly, AII, an affiliate of Sony Corp. is offering
the streaming of movie prescreenings and domestic films
through its broadband service on the cable television
network system.
Sony has also invested in KMN, an affiliate of KDDI, as
part of its efforts to upgrade AII's network system.
Starting from next month, Hit Pops, launched by
Mitsubishi Corp., Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Space
Communications, will begin to provide broadband
programming to cable television companies via satellite.
Its lineup includes films, karaoke music clips and
promotion videos for computer game software.
More than 35 cable television companies will be part of
the operations of Hit Pops, and about 250,000 households
across the nation will have access to its programming. It
also plans to team up with eAccess, which operates an
ADSL service.
Other major Internet service providers, such as So-net,
JustNet and Hi-Ho, plan to follow suit, setting up Web
sites designed for broadband programming using streaming
technology.
While these firms are currently providing their
programming free of charge, they are likely to increase
the number of fee-charging services involving the
transmission of moving images on the Internet. |
