Starz ’ new digital video subscription and download service Vongo could be Mac - compatible , a Vongo executive toldMacworld , presuming Apple has a alteration of mettle in its digital right hand management philosophical system .
The inspection and repair uses digital right direction technology built into Microsoft ’s Windows Media Player software package , and is compatible with Windows - compatible PCs running Windows 2000 or by and by . It will also make with portable digital video devices that use a new variation of Microsoft ’s technology which Microsoft is expected to foretell this week at the Consumer Electronics Show ( CES ) in Las Vegas , Nevada .
mackintosh user who chitchat theVongoWeb site are greet with a message that says “ Vongo is currently PC base , but will soon be Mac compatible ( really ! ) . ”
As it grow out , “ before long ” may be pretty far away , if the current state of affairs is any denotation .
“ We ’ve had several conversation with Apple . We ’d like to develop for the Macintosh and we ’re thinking throughout how to do that , ” said Bob Greene , SEG ’s senior vice president , advanced services .
Greene say that Vongo is “ waiting listen back ” from Apple in term of their interest . What ’s at stakes is n’t trivial : It ’s the cornerstone of the Digital Rights Management ( DRM ) technology that drives music and videos sell through the iTunes Music Store . Such content is encrypt using FairPlay , Apple ’s DRM scheme which limits the act of multiplication a song can be burned to CD , or what equipment can play back medicine and videos purchased through iTunes .
“ We ’ve build this so the client can work on a Macintosh . The real issue is the DRM : The FairPlay DRM does n’t support subscription models , ” Greene said .
Like other Windows Media - base entertainment service of process , Vongo enables substance abuser to pay a flat pace every calendar month . In takings , they can take in whatever picture they want , and can download and consider television on their information processing system and portable devices — but they have to carry on paying a monthly fee to see them .
By comparing , once you buy a video , TV show or song from the iTunes Music Store , it ’s yours to keep on any machine authorized to bring it .
This is a core philosophical difference between Apple ’s transaction model and the system of rules that ’s becoming progressively popular among Windows Media - base service . Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs has aver that “ citizenry want to own their music , ” not rive it .
With Apple sell videos for the iPod , could it be time to revisit this decision ?
“ Ownership of euphony that you play over and over again make sensation , ” Greene admits . “ But I think that [ Apple ] will receive with pic subscriptions are the agency to go . Music is a different beast . ”
“ Movies have always been sell in a subscription surroundings , starting all the room back with premium television , ” said Greene . “ Music run to be in the background , where movies are different : You stop and look on them . ”
With its dependance on Windows Media engineering and its subscription - base modeling , Vongo may not appeal to everyone , and that ’s fine with Greene .
“ There is n’t one solution for every slice of content , ” said Greene . “ There are some moving-picture show deserving renting , and others worth buying and keeping . ”
The strength of Vongo ’s offer add up from its family relationship to Starz and Encore , say Greene .
“ We ’re able to leverage our studio apartment relationships so we can plunk into all the movies we ’ve licensed . And the big difference is that unlike cable television , Vongo is n’t limited by a calendar agenda , ” he read .
And in addition to the flat monthly fee , Vongo will also allow ratifier to pay for Pay - Per - View movies and event , for about $ 4 each .
Success without the iPod ?
With its dependence on Windows DRM , Vongo telecasting content wo n’t work on the iPod — the telephone number - one selling portable music player on the market place , which just last October gain the ability to play video .
irrespective , said Greene , Vongo does n’t perceive the iTunes Music Store or the video iPod as competitors . “ The more action that Apple bring forth in terms of downloads will benefit us , as well , ” he say .
“ We had made this determination well over a year ago , ” said Greene , long before Apple precede the video iPod . “ We consider in portable video back then . ”
The late success of the video recording iPod simply bolster Vongo ’s conclusion , he added . “ It ’s just more validation of the value of taking TV content with you , and we were very well-chosen to see it fall out , ” suppose Greene .
