Skype co-founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom have discovered broadband-powered TV and are busy at work on their code-named Venice Project, which aims to do for Internet-delivered video what Skype did for VoIP. The service is currently in trial mode with 6,000 people and the Financial Times’ Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson got to see a demo of the work-in-progress at a Starbucks in London, conducted by none other than Friis himself.
Even though the planned service relies on P2P technology, the content will be legit, according to the plan, with big name TV and movie companies jumping on board. It’s not clear that any big-time content providers have joined forces with Friis and Zennstrom and in fact the only confirmed “artist” whose work will appear on the new service is supposedly Paris Hilton. (Say what? Paris Hilton? She allegedly has a deal with Warner Music. She actually sings? This is terribly confusing.)
In any event, the technology sounds kind of cool even if the founders’ plan to sign up broadcasters, movie studios and record companies appears to be kind of iffy.
The service, currently being trialled by 6,000 people, is capable of displaying high-quality, full-screen video on a computer screen. Users download a piece of software to their PC or Mac (although the service can be transmitted to a TV, it is currently designed for computer screens) and can then search for channels from a menu on the left hand side of the screen.
A control bar at the bottom allows them to search for programmes and pause, rewind or fast-forward what they are watching. On the right is a menu of interactive tools, allowing users to share video playlists with friends or comment on programmes.
Cynthia Brumfield at 8:47 AM|Comments(0)
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