Date: Tuesday, August 21, 2007
The end of GVideo
Google’s new fangled Google Video has bit the dust after only a few months on the open market. This has left thousands of angry consumers with paid-for videos that they are not able to watch.
Thousands of consumers have bought videos of their favourite shows on Google Video, such as CSI Miami and NBA basketball games, which they will now no longer be able to view. This has left many feeling cheated and demanding reimbursement from Google however the only compensation the company is offering is $2 (£1) credit for digital goods, which must be purchased through services which use its own Google Checkout payment system, and claimed within 60 days. This latest move from Google suggests that the company is moving towards combining their Google Video and YouTube applications in to one singular service. Those who have bought content and can no longer play it this announcement is extremely frustrating, but according to analysts such as Jupiter Research, Google Video was never likely to succeed in the first place. The analysts believe this is because the proprietary video digital rights management (DRM) system that Google employed could not be used on any of the major players such as Apple’s iPod meaning consumers were limited to when and where they could view their purchased material.
The DRM system was created to protect purchased content by allowing it only to be downloaded but not permanently unlocked; however, now because of Google Video shutting down, the system has actually caused the videos to become obsolete due to this protection. Many other video-sharing companies also use this system such as Apple's iTunes Store, BitTorrent and Amazon Unbox, however time will tell whether they will be the next casualties of the DRM system and go the same way of Google Video.
Source:
Guardian
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