Akimbo (on-demand service)
Encyclopedia
Akimbo was a video on demand
system that allowed subscribers to download television shows, movies, and other video to a set-top box
on demand.
Before adopting the name Akimbo, the company also operated under a number of other names including StaticTV and Blue Falcon Networks.
, a TiVo
competitor that was to became a unit of D&M Holdings
, and is now owned by DirecTV
.
and Xbox 360
.
The service was initially announced in February 2004, when Akimbo demonstrated its product at the Demo 2004 conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.
It was launched in October 2004, and signed on with Amazon
as their official retailer.
Initial reactions were mixed, with criticisms of high prices of unknown content being levelled at it, although the user interface was regarded as intuitive and responsive.
From December 2004, AT&T
Homezone began to offer some of Akimbo video content through its set top boxes, a result of a partnership deal inspired by AT&T's deep investments in the company.
Akimbo had also released its new RCA Akimbo Player which was a set top box that offers up to 100 hours of recording and was connected to the Akimbo Video On Demand Service.
On August 1, 2007, Akimbo finalized the dissemination of its Video on Demand service.
On June 2, 2008, Akimbo went out of business.
Akimbo also struggled with video quality, using Windows Media as the video type. Videos often were encoded in standard definition with the audio and video out of sync, audio cutting out part way through a video, and or pixelation and distortion to the video.
About a month after launching the Akimbo service, the company had about 120 active set-top boxes, about 60 of which were being used by employees and/or investors. On average only about 20 of those 120 players downloaded any content during a month. At the time when the company began its first round of lay-offs, about a year and a half after the initial launch, the number of users had grown to only about 140.
-like guide.
Cartoon Network
& VH1 Uno
were also among the offerings from its 200 content partners.
Channels which were available on Akimbo were:
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
system that allowed subscribers to download television shows, movies, and other video to a set-top box
Set-top box
A set-top box or set-top unit is an information appliance device that generally contains a tuner and connects to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television screen or other display device.-History:Before the...
on demand.
Before adopting the name Akimbo, the company also operated under a number of other names including StaticTV and Blue Falcon Networks.
Company
Based out of San Mateo California, the company employed approximately 80 people at its peak. It was founded by Steve Shannon, a former executive of ReplayTVReplayTV
ReplayTV is a brand of digital video recorder , a term synonymous with personal video recorder . It is a consumer video device which allows users to capture television programming to internal hard disk storage for later viewing...
, a TiVo
TiVo
TiVo is a digital video recorder developed and marketed by TiVo, Inc. and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose features include "Season Pass" schedules which record every new episode of a series, and "WishList"...
competitor that was to became a unit of D&M Holdings
D&M Holdings
D&M Holdings is a Japanese corporation that owns several audio and video brands. It was formed in 2002 from the merger of Denon and Marantz. It has acquired several other companies since that time. In 2008 it was acquired by K. K. BCJ-2, a Tokyo corporation owned by investment funds advised...
, and is now owned by DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
.
History
Akimbo had released a software version of its on-demand system that ran on any computer running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. The software version was compatible with media center extenders such as the XboxXbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.
The service was initially announced in February 2004, when Akimbo demonstrated its product at the Demo 2004 conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.
It was launched in October 2004, and signed on with Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
as their official retailer.
Initial reactions were mixed, with criticisms of high prices of unknown content being levelled at it, although the user interface was regarded as intuitive and responsive.
From December 2004, AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
Homezone began to offer some of Akimbo video content through its set top boxes, a result of a partnership deal inspired by AT&T's deep investments in the company.
Akimbo had also released its new RCA Akimbo Player which was a set top box that offers up to 100 hours of recording and was connected to the Akimbo Video On Demand Service.
On August 1, 2007, Akimbo finalized the dissemination of its Video on Demand service.
On June 2, 2008, Akimbo went out of business.
Criticism
With the initial launch of the service, complaints were rampant regarding the cost of the set-top-box (about $300), and then the added cost for users to purchase video content. Users would be able to buy or rent video content which would then be downloaded to their player for viewing. Akimbo would purchase the rights to provide content from content providers, then allow the content providers to set the cost of their content. This resulted in erratic pricing and exorbitant costs for users, as content owners would often set prices of 5-9 dollars for a 30 minute show, and load the show with commercials.Akimbo also struggled with video quality, using Windows Media as the video type. Videos often were encoded in standard definition with the audio and video out of sync, audio cutting out part way through a video, and or pixelation and distortion to the video.
About a month after launching the Akimbo service, the company had about 120 active set-top boxes, about 60 of which were being used by employees and/or investors. On average only about 20 of those 120 players downloaded any content during a month. At the time when the company began its first round of lay-offs, about a year and a half after the initial launch, the number of users had grown to only about 140.
Equipment
Akimbo's hard-drive-equipped set-top box connected to a broadband connection and stored the chosen full-resolution programs using Akimbo’s TiVoTiVo
TiVo is a digital video recorder developed and marketed by TiVo, Inc. and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose features include "Season Pass" schedules which record every new episode of a series, and "WishList"...
-like guide.
Programming
The initial content was a bit eccentric — Turkish-language shows, independent films, British dramas from Granada TV, a lot of skin flicks — but 6ABC CNBCCNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
& VH1 Uno
VH1 Uno
VH1 Uno was a digital cable and satellite television channel which was a sister channel of VH1...
were also among the offerings from its 200 content partners.
Channels which were available on Akimbo were:
|
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