Akimbo, which has desperately trying to woo consumers to buy its download-and-watch box, made its first sensible move: it announced a new system that allows cable operators to offer the long tail (read indie) video over their own networks.) Akimbo’s Queue-and-View client-server system for DVR-enabled cable set-top boxes will allows cable subscribers to receive videos via download. Cable operators can leverage their popular DVR platforms to generate more revenue by offering niche content, like the 1970 Indian Disco Tracks. Akimbo says it will act as an outsourcer for the cable guys, should they want. Finally, a company has learned from the mistakes of TiVo. Also its very telling – the long tail will work only for the distributors, because they really have the heft to turn pennies into dollars and then into millions.
I think something like Akimbo will never really thrive until the whole CableCard situation is worked out. That way Akimbo could offer a box that not only allows viewers to get Akimbo content but also act as a DVR for their cable service.
No link?
Why would I want Queue-and-View when I have VOD? Presumably the content is already on a server somewhere and VOD doesn’t require a local disk.