Coming Soon: MSN Video Downloads For Pocket PCs

[Pat Logsdon]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?ContentId=3889' target='_blank'>http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.a...?ContentId=3889</a><br /><br /></div>"With content such as sports highlights, news headlines, children's programming, music videos, independent films and comedy shows, MSN Video Downloads is the first online video download service dedicated to portable entertainment. Starting from 6 January consumers can participate in a preview of the service and access videos from more than a dozen of Microsoft partners.The MSN Video Downloads service will offer free, trial and paid memberships. Digital videos are downloaded daily to a Windows Media Player 10 library, ready to be synchronized with Portable Media Centers.<br /><br />The video content is compliant with PlaysForSure devices, optimized for Portable Media Centers, and compatible with Windows Mobile Smartphones and Pocket PCs that support video. The company promises full Smartphone and Pocket PC optimization to be enabled at a later date. A one-year premium membership to the MSN Video Downloads service with access to all available videos costs US$19.95. In addition, users can access a limited amount of free content without a paid membership."<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20050106_msnvideo.jpg" /><br /><br />You can't access it quite yet, but we have Microsoft's PROMISE that we'll get MSN Video for our Pocket PCs soon. Content will include CNBC, MSNBC, FOX Sports, Cookie Jar (for kids), DIY Network, Fine Living, iFilm, Want Media (which is a Frankensteinian mix of programming that includes BOTH Broadway shows and "extreme sports and motor sports" 8O), and a few other channels involving celebrities. Sadly, there is no mention of the Raccoon Channel. Those little guys are hilarious.

[jkendrick]

MS promises aside I'm pretty sure that this service will require WMP 10 which few people have access to.

[155]

Yeah, I'm a little bit annoyed by that post. The video is appearing on a pda2k in the picture, but the article talks of WMP10.

So evil. I'm pretty upset. :~(

[alabij]

Isn't this like Plus Sync and Go.

[jdhill]

A preview version of the service is available at:

http://www.msnvideodownloads.com/

It requires WMP 10 and a Passport account.

[Pat Logsdon]

Yeah, I'm a little bit annoyed by that post. The video is appearing on a pda2k in the picture, but the article talks of WMP10.

So evil. I'm pretty upset. :~(
Sorry about that, I didn't mean to make you sad. Just a little Photoshop fun. jkendrick is right - distributors need to make WMP10 available as an upgrade, not just as a ROM install on new machines.

[155]

Yeah, I think it's really too bad that everything can't just be universal like PC's. If you want WM2005 you should just be able to buy it at compusa and drop in a cd.

Need a bluetooth stack just drop in a cd. Maybe someday.

[OneAngryDwarf]

Aren't there already services that do this stuff? Haven't they been around for years? I think they are cheaper too. Besides that, if its anything like their desktop vid selection count me out... who wants to pay money to watch small clips from tv shows and such... those are called advertisments which i try to avoid in general, much less pay for them. Microsoft oh Microsoft, will u ever learn?

[Darius Wey]

Aren't there already services that do this stuff? Haven't they been around for years? I think they are cheaper too.

This is just another service available for mobile device users. In fact, there are quite a few other services out there too. The SmartVideo service I posted on a few hours earlier offers similar features, although a lot less channels.

[jimski]

I guess with the WMP10 requirement they will not sell too many subscriptions which will result in a cancellation of the service. Then a research group will be paid $500K :mrgreen: to conclude that mobile users are just not interested :? in downloading video to their device.

Will Microsoft, and the big corporate World in general, ever get it! :roll:

[TzviYosef]

I'm a little confused about the doom and gloom here. Yes, it requires WMP 10. But in this case I believe they mean the PC version. Nowhere did I read anything that even implyed to me that WMP10 on the Pocket PC was a requirement. Mind you, it may not sync as easily to your PPC, but then again MS may release software to do this (or just rebrand Sync &amp; Go).

Am I reading this wrong?

--Tzvi

[joefuture]

Then a research group will be paid $500K :mrgreen: to conclude that mobile users are just not interested :? in downloading video to their device.


I dunno... I think it'd be kind of nice to download the day's news and watch it during my commute.

If not video content, what do you want from MSFT for your Pocket PC?

[Philip Colmer]

The service uses DRM - it isn't immediately clear, though, whether or not the DRMmed video can be transferred onto a Pocket PC. I'll try that out when I've got a bit more time.

What is worrying, though, is that the Basic service doesn't give you any choice over the content - you have to download what they are giving you. So, in my case for example, I just wanted to watch the Blue Man Group clip but I've got to spend 4 hours downloading other clips that I don't want.

I'll then have to find those clips to delete them :-(

--Philip

[Philip Colmer]

The service uses DRM - it isn't immediately clear, though, whether or not the DRMmed video can be transferred onto a Pocket PC. I'll try that out when I've got a bit more time.
Result? If I use the Sync feature in WMP10, I get "Error: Windows Media Player cannot synchronize the protected file. Protected files cannot be converted to the required quality or file format". :cry:

It is possible to manually copy the file over but then the Pocket PC complains that the license for the file isn't valid and to use WMP on the PC to copy the file again.

I'll then have to find those clips to delete them :-(
Well, they are all stored in My Documents\My Videos\MSN Video Downloads, but they just have a numeric filename, so you have to play each one to discover what the content is first.

--Philip

[Attakin]

I too seem disappointed in this. I have a new iPAQ H5555 and a site like this would be great for it!

Jay :devilboy:

[suddenly_ike]

Take a look at http://www.pocketpcmedia.com

this site offers streaming news videos, movietrailers, music videos and a lot more fun.
You can only acces the media by streaming, so you have to be connected to the internet.
Try the High verison stream over a wifi connection and the low version stream over a bluetooth/gprs connection.

[magoh9494]

I'm a new Pocket PC user...from what I gather here in this thread, is it true that I cannot download/buy WMP10 for Pocket PCs if I don't have one on my handheld? Thanks!

[joefuture]

I gotta say, I've been trying to use this all weekend with no luck. For some stupid reason, I can't obtain a license to watch all the video. The online help says nothing about troubleshooting this problem. I assume my username/pwd is just the same as my passport account, right?

Beyond that, I was trynig to watch some non-DRM videos from CES from Engadget on my Dell x50v, and I'm having all sorts of memory problems with WMP10. I have 15 MB free, try to watch a 6MB video, and I'm told there isn't enough memory left and then everything locks up. I tried on my wife's x50v and got the same result.

Well then I tried SmartVideo to watch live streaming TV on my Pocket PC. If I can ever get a video to start, it always locks up my x50v when I stop or pause it. Same problem - no memory left. I've uninstalled just about everything I can find, but I'm beginning to think there are some bad memory leak bugs with WMP10.

Has anyone else had this experience?

[rocky_raher]

I'll then have to find those clips to delete them :-(
Well, they are all stored in My Documents\My Videos\MSN Video Downloads, but they just have a numeric filename, so you have to play each one to discover what the content is first.

--Philip

In WM 10, if you highlight "All Video," then select a clip (like "Paddington Bear") in the right pane, then scroll to the right in that pane, to the column marked "File Name," you see which file corresponds to that clip (in the Paddington example, it's 25752189.wmv). Then you can right-click on it, and choose between "Delete from my library only" and "Delete from my library and my computer."

[rocky_raher]

Sadly, there is no mention of the Raccoon Channel. Those little guys are hilarious.

No ferret videos, either! You should watch those little fuzzies play!