Keychest
Encyclopedia
Keychest is a video-on-demand (VOD) service currently under development by The Walt Disney Company
, with a goal of providing digital media to customers through any internet-enabled device. It was announced October 21, 2009, but currently, there is no release date set.
It may end up competing for service with the "UltraViolet
" system from the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem
group that was announced nearly a year before Keychest.
concept to Google Apps
and Zoho Office. Purchasing content, either online or through physical media, creates a unique key stored in a digital rights locker that unlocks the ability to stream the content to any electronic device capable of playing it. Because the actual content remains on the servers as opposed to being downloaded and played locally, the manufacturers retain control of access to the files.
but has attracted criticism for enabling further use of digital rights management
.
However, the biggest obstacle would seem to be the competing UltraViolet
system which has the support of all the other major Hollywood movie studios apart from Disney.
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
, with a goal of providing digital media to customers through any internet-enabled device. It was announced October 21, 2009, but currently, there is no release date set.
It may end up competing for service with the "UltraViolet
UltraViolet (DRM)
UltraViolet is a digital rights authentication and cloud-based licensing system that allows consumers of digital home entertainment content to stream and download purchased content to multiple platforms and devices...
" system from the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem
Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem
The Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem is a consortium of major Hollywood studios, consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers, network hardware vendors, systems integrators and Digital Rights Management vendors...
group that was announced nearly a year before Keychest.
Architecture
A server allows streaming access to the content, using a similar cloud computingCloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
concept to Google Apps
Google Apps
Google Apps is a service from Google providing independently customizable versions of several Google products under a custom domain name. It features several Web applications with similar functionality to traditional office suites, including: Gmail, Google Groups, Google Calendar, Talk, Docs and...
and Zoho Office. Purchasing content, either online or through physical media, creates a unique key stored in a digital rights locker that unlocks the ability to stream the content to any electronic device capable of playing it. Because the actual content remains on the servers as opposed to being downloaded and played locally, the manufacturers retain control of access to the files.
Reception
The technology has been praised for its potential to improve consumer convenience,but has attracted criticism for enabling further use of digital rights management
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
.
Obstacles
There are a number of potential obstacles to implementation. Critics suggest that current US internet capabilities may not be enough to support widespread use of cloud-based VOD. In addition, as cloud-based systems are reliant on the integrity of the server, distributors would have to ensure that systems are robust enough to prevent loss of data.However, the biggest obstacle would seem to be the competing UltraViolet
UltraViolet (DRM)
UltraViolet is a digital rights authentication and cloud-based licensing system that allows consumers of digital home entertainment content to stream and download purchased content to multiple platforms and devices...
system which has the support of all the other major Hollywood movie studios apart from Disney.