TiVo has announced they will include a feature on future DVRs allowing users to record and view internet-downloaded video files on their TiVo-equipped entertainment-system. Until now, content providers and broadcasters could at least rest assured that, for the time being, there is a physical gap between the typical American PC and the living room VCR/DVD/DVR/TV entertainment system. In-the-know PC owners could download mediocre quality versions of movies and TV programs online with systems like Bit Torrent, but these files would be viewed on PC screens. To watch a home-theater-quality movie, even Bit Torrent users would have to go to Netflix or the video store. To see a full-quality Sopranos episode, users would have to buy cable. But with TiVo's bridging technology, traditional broadcast media and PC downloaded media will truly be intermingled and equally playable on the living room entertainment center. Viewers won't have to worry about when a show is scheduled to air or whether they have the right cable station. A few clicks and some download time and any media file can be downloaded for free, stored, and permanently viewable. www.torrentocracy.com New York Times article Influx article explaining Bit Torrent
Traditional content providers (cable and online) are scrambling this week to quickly put into effect the business model shifts they planned for just this scenario, an attempt to create a viable revenue stream from the inevitable 'download-and-store' technology. These new models are similar to internet pay-per-view video rentals in that the downloaded content self-destructs after a specified period of time. Washington Post article Contra Costa Times article (added 6/17) Slate article
