- The wait at the airport or the train ride downtown may
soon seem a whole lot shorter. New portable video players that let you
watch TV shows, movies or ballgames anywhere aspire to be digital entertainment's
next big thing. Experts predict a rosy future for the devices -- provided
worthwhile content is available.
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- Unlike portable DVD players that require schlepping discs,
the new devices can copy content stored on a PC, or record programs directly
from TVs or VCRs. Consumer electronics companies including Samsung, Creative
Labs, RCA and others are rolling out portable video players that can store
50 full-length movies or thousands of songs.
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- Manufacturers hope consumers who have purchased MP3 players
and TiVo video recorders will pay $400 or more to watch programs in transit.
The latest portable video players to join the mix are the Creative Labs
Zen Portable Media Center and Samsung Yepp YH-999 Portable Media Center,
which were announced on July 9 and will be available later this summer.
The devices display movies on a 3.5-inch video screen and can run on battery
power for three hours or more.
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- "There's no question that one of the hotter categories
to emerge over the next five years will be portable digital video players
that allow you to bring in your own information," said Tim Bajarin,
president of analyst firm Creative Strategies. Bajarin predicted the first
generation of portable players would appeal to early adopters who want
to be the first with new entertainment toys.
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- While players recently introduced by Archos, MobiNote
Technology and RCA can copy video from VCRs or televisions, these newer
players are dependent on a Microsoft Windows XP computer to get their content.
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- "The PC is the step in the middle" that simplifies
locating and storing video, said Microsoft product manager James Bernard,
who works on the company's Portable Media Center, a set of hardware and
software specifications licensed to consumer electronics companies. "It
takes just three minutes to copy two hours of video from a PC" to
devices using Microsoft's PMC technology, he said. The devices also automatically
copy video from other formats, such as MPEG, to Microsoft's small-screen-optimized
format.
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- The devices can display movies on a television through
the video-out port, as well as play back MP3 audio. "Instead of carrying
stacks of DVDs, you can bring the player with you and pick a movie to watch
on the hotel TV," Bernard said.
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- To boost the content available on PMC video players,
Microsoft has teamed with Major League Baseball and online movie store
CinemaNow. MLB.com will offer every game, as well as highlights, for download.
And CinemaNow will have up to 500 movies available for the portable devices.
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- CinemaNow's Bruce Eisen said movies are downloaded first
to the PC through an Internet connection, and then sent to the portable
players. Movies can be purchased or rented, and they are protected by digital
rights management software that prevents them from being copied.
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- Analyst Bajarin said portable players wouldn't have iPod-like
success unless they are flexible in receiving content. "For it to
become a big category, you can't be restricted as to how you get your video
content. You must be able to directly download it."
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- Since most DVD movies use encryption to prevent copying,
the choices for getting video onto the devices will be limited initially,
Microsoft's Bernard acknowledged. He said PCs with TV tuner cards, or home
networks connecting PCs and home entertainment devices, are options for
copying broadcast programs.
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- "TV is the low-hanging fruit" for portable
video players, said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of research at analyst
firm Jupiter Research. Gartenberg said he expects the amount of content
to increase over time as online services such as CinemaNow or Movielink
optimize their services for delivery to portable players.
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- The players also need to become more user-friendly, as
the first few products appeal only to the "enthusiast's enthusiasts,"
Gartenberg said. "The products out there now are for people who install
operating systems as a social activity," he quipped.
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- While "Microsoft is best capitalized to take advantage
of the portable video player market because they have a holistic system,"
other media companies have plenty of time to make an impact, he said. Partnering
with a portable-player manufacturer would be a natural next step for TiVo,
which helped to popularize the personal video recorder, Gartenberg added.
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- This fall TiVo will ship "TiVo to Go" -- software
that allows PC users to copy video from the TiVo recorder to a computer,
according to company spokeswoman Katherine Kelly. She said the company
hasn't announced any deals that would enable portable players to take content
directly from a TiVo.
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- Gartenberg said although Apple fans are craving a video
equivalent to the popular iPod music player, he doesn't expect the company
to jump in until the market has been established. "It's not about
being first to market. Apple wasn't the first to market with the MP3 player.
They were first with the best MP3 player," Gartenberg said.
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- Analyst Bajarin said Apple will let companies like Creative
Labs and Samsung "take the arrows" as the market develops before
considering developing a portable video player. Bajarin added that Sony,
which invented the Walkman 25 years ago, would be "extremely competitive"
if it chose to enter the fray. Bajarin expects that another seven or eight
portable video players will be available by the end of the year.
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