Consortium Wants Consumers to 'Buy Once, Play Anywhere'
Posted 09/17/08 at 01:34:16 AM | by Pulkit Chandna
The incongruity between disparate media formats has denied us a truly universal media experience till now. This is simply not acceptable in this epoch of technology convergence. A consortium called the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystems (DECE) is working on improving interoperability between different media and consumer electronic devices. The group includes HP, Intel, Microsoft, Paramount, Sony and Toshiba, besides other prominent CE heavyweights and film studios.
The group will shed more light on its plan, to have greater interoperability between devices, during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). DECE will develop an industry standard, which will allow users to enjoy digital content across various devices without having to worry about compatibility issues.
If most people find merit in the notion that digital downloads are going to replace need for optical storage formats, they will also agree that digital content will have to offer a universal media experience like the hugely successful DVD. “We see this vision of 'buy once, play anywhere,” Mark Coblitz, senior VP of strategic planning at Comcast – a member of DECE, gave the gist of the plan.
DECE President Mitch Singer even welcomed Apple, which runs a popular digital distribution service iTunes, tied to its products, to join the consortium. Do you think that services like iTunes are doomed?

Image Credit: TMCNET
Why is Comcast involved?
Submitted by ferds7 on Wed, 2008-09-17 05:54
It scares me to see Comcast involved at all in this. It is my opinion that companies such as Comcast are only going to try to save their butts and make this a service that is required to be ran through them with a monthly subscription. Somehow I see this as nothing but trouble.
Indeed... This consortium
Submitted by jwalch.hawk on Wed, 2008-09-17 08:06
Indeed... This consortium scares me just by nature of the companies involved. Comcast? Yeah, we all totally trust them... And Apple? Heck, author even mentions the fact that we know them for their tied-to-iTunes schematic.
Did these guys all magically have changes of heart? I seriously doubt it. Something smells.









