Ideas

This is similar to what Intel is trying to do with their Viiv platform. Essentially create an environment where DRM locked material can be played.

http://www.intel.com...ducts/viiv/index.htm

Last I heard they had some exclusive content agreements with a few networks... but I haven't heard much about it lately, so maybe it was an experiment that didn't work for Intel.

Steve Jobs' keynote at MacWorld just mentioned movie rental/download via iTunes with a connection to the TV.

ViiV sounds more like a media platform for streaming media within the walls of a home. It also sounds a little convoluted with too much overhead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viiv

My vision for the device is very simple and similar to the SlingBox model. Its main function is streaming media from a centralized datacenter. It should be as easy as just plug and go for consumers. No lengthy setup and configuration and reading instructions.

As for Steve Jobs, I believe that iTunes users and movie viewers are two separate markets. With that said, Apple could be very successful in merging the markets. But, I would venture to say that the majority of iTunes market are teenagers and the movie viewer market is a much wider range of age groups. Also, I've used iTunes and I find it a little cumbersome. I'm not sure if Apple could properly market it. I believe they would want to continue to sell iPods and oh by the way subscribe to iTunes and watch videos through your TV. My idea would be to market directly to consumers as watch any movie you want in minutes and to forget the renting, late fee, mailing discs nightmare.

I believe since there are so many customer satisfaction issues with Blockbuster that the market is prime for a simpler model that is fast and reliable.

Been done. You can all ready stream to TV. Also, it has be available for quite some time.

I have to disagree about the iTunes market. I'm no Mac zealot (I don't have an iPod, I have a mac for development, but I run iTunes on a windows box) but I use iTunes a lot and I'm way outside the teenager demographic. So are a lot of my cohorts. I don't like it too much for music, but it's the most convenient interface I've found for podcasts and other content and I'll probably try out there music service long before I'd try out a no-name competitor.

Your business model (market to consumers, instant download and view, no late fees or discs, etc.) is exactly the same as theirs. Not saying you can't beat them, but you're already way behind.

Not very different to the pay-per-view movies being offered by cable television operators either...

Just caught my typos a day late: "I'll probably try out there music service" should have been "I'll probably try out their video service". I wouldn't bother to correct except it doesn't make much sense since I swapped music for video. The point being that iTunes has a huge installed base that is not limited to teenagers, and Apple has a much easier marketing task selling videos to these existing users than anyone does starting from scratch. That's not an idea killer, but something that should be addressed realistically in the business plan.

wasn't there another service out there? been done