Online PVR goes live in Australia

Beem ends beta

By Richard Chirgwin, 28th April 2011

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Beem.com.au – an online PVR service – has exited its “invitation-only” beta phase and launched services to the public.

The "personal cloud storage for TV shows" records programmes from Australia’s free-to-air TV channels for replay over the internet.

At the moment, the service only supports PC-based browsers, but its home page promises mobile device support "soon". Right now, the company says the service is only available to Sydney residents, with plans to expand nationally and internationally during 2011.

As well as its "personal PVR" service, Beem offers social networking features allowing users to recommend programmes to friends, and to check the popularity of a show with what the company calls a "social graph".

Internet rebroadcasting has run into trouble in other jurisdictions such as the USA, and there is some hint that Beem expects some push-back from Australian broadcasters. In its press release, the company said content owners should embrace online trends "rather than constantly fight a losing battle against them". ®

Cloud based data management

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Posted Friday 29th April 2011 02:02 GMT

Antti Roppola

Sanity?

If there is any sense, this should become the norm for television viewing.

- Why should I arrange my life around a TV schedule predicated on single sequential channels?

- Unlike home brew torrents arriving from overseas, advertising is more likely to be retained and seen.

- Better targeting and stats for the ads that are seen as compared to broadcasting to a guesstimated audiences of unknown engagement.

- How many people are already making multiple copies of the same shows with their own PVRs anyway?

Done right, this can rely on laziness and make it easier to pay a few bucks for a subscription and be subject to some adverts than mucking around with torrents. Everyone wins except perhaps the broadcasters. It's a pity we've just sunk a bomb into digital broadcasting.