05-06-2003, 09:32 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 338
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Bandwidth is a major problem.
In fact, last night on one of the local Seattle news programs they showed the RealPlayer Mobile running on that Nokia phone. As it was playing, it glitched for a second, then resumed... something no one would find acceptable if they were paying for a subscription, etc.
The astute PR person from Real just made the comment that "that kind of thing can happen from time to time as the networks that transmit the data aren't as fast as they will be later in the year" (or something to that effect) nice try at damage control... but if there are more users on that system odds are, even if it is incrementally faster, there will be more interruptions! Bottom line was that it glitched right in front of everyone, including potential new customers... and is, as fact would have it, the primary reason streaming video to cell phones is silly.
Now, I may be wrong here, but are people going to really watch video (feeds) on a phone? Is Real Networks just pumping money into a lost cause? With the bandwidth issues along with the size of what can be displayed on a cell phone I think this is just plain dumb.
Now, being able to download videos that you've recorded from your PVR and or home movies, and having access to them on a mobile device (note: mobile device not necessarily a mobile phone) - without streaming - is a market I know is waiting to be capitalized on. I hope that companies are working on tools to facilitate this type of activity rather than some silly streaming of news/sports/entertainment info. at a horribly slow (and as a result indistinguishable picture) rate.
That's my two cents worth on this topic!![/b]
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RealNetworks Gets Behind Mobile Media Services
Linear Mode
