Via Marc's Voice#a1740 is a link to a new 'end-to-end system for delivering high-quality video applications to broadband-connected PCs.'
Maven Networks looks like a firm to watch as does this technology, which is being used by the likes of BMW and Virgin records to promote products online.
A link from the Maven site to the Boston Globe site got me to this quote:
Hilmi Ozguc, cofounder and chief executive of 25-person Maven, said in an interview. "What we're all about is combining the video quality of television merged with the personalization of the Web." Ozguc is a former top executive of the ExciteAtHome broadband cable service.
and a further comment:
Ozguc said Maven envisions people arranging to have the downloads transmitted over high-speed connections late at night or during times when they are not actively surfing the Web. Links to show the clips would then show up in e-mail, roughly like signing up for an online magazine or newsletter subscription. In any case, Ozguc said, the service would be limited to people who opt to sign up for it. "The last thing we want to do is encourage video spam," Ozguc said. "If I'm going to be advertised to, I really want to know about things that actually interest me."
I've already tried to broadcast this within ntl, although I doubt we will make use of it. It would seem to allow powerful makreting messages to be carried and create interesting opportunities for marketeers...