The end of Blu-ray? Disney’s online storage scheme aims to replace DVDs
- Added:
- Oct 22, 2009
Disney is working on an online storage service that would give users access to its movies and TV shows online, offering an alternative to DVDs and Blu-rays.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the service, called Keychest, would give users access to media via a wide variety of platforms and devices, including PCs and mobiles.
Using Keychest, consumers would purchase access rights to a film or TV show, rather than have physical ownership of material on a disc.
One Keychest solution would involve digital files being stored on a cloud server rather than on PCs owned by consumers. Customers will pay a single fee in store.
Their account with participating services, such as mobile phone operators and cable companies, would then be updated so that the movie could be watched on all devices, rather than just PCs or laptops.
Disney intends to unveil Keychest next month, the WSJ reports.
According to Disney president Bob Chapek, the Keychest project is unlikely to deliver ‘tangible financial results’ before 2015.
The move comes as the entertainment industry looks to boost revenues amid falling DVD sales, which have dropped up to a quarter at some studios.
Time Warner has been exploring a similar concept, which it has dubbed TV Everywhere; this also involves users paying a subscription to view its content on different devices.
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