(San Jose, CA) BitTorrent has shaken up the Internet world with its powerful P2P platform, which earned a negative rep as video content pirates leveraged the software’s ability to move massive files efficiently around the web. But, BitTorrent actually tops everybody else when it comes to the authorized distribution of Hollywood films, according to co-founder and CEO Bram Cohen.
During his keynote talk at The New Video Summit, which preceded VON 07 here, (disclosure: NVS was organized by my company), Cohen said “BitTorrent.com has ten times as much stuff as iTunes today. BitTorrent has been talking to Hollywood for a long time.”
DRM, however, is a problem dogging all online video distributors, according to Cohen. One issue is with DRM leader Microsoft’s technology, which doesn’t work well Cohen said. “We are using Windows DRM because it is the only solution that has been vetted widely, but we are not happy with how it affects playback from a technology point of viewit sometimes makes playback not work.” (Thanks to Information Week’s Rick Merritt for this direct quote — as conference organizer, my note-taking during all the talks was spotty.)
More recommended reading on Cohen’s keynote: Tom Foremski of Silicon Valley Watcher, who masterfully moderated one of the panels at The New Video Summit.
Cynthia Brumfield at 5:38 PM|Comments(0)
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