Building Media
Distribution
Applications
Matthew Gertner
Co-Founder and CTO
AllPeers

Building Media Distribution Apps
A brief history of media
distribution apps

Building Media Distribution Apps
19
99
Napster
• Peer-to-peer client
• Centralized index
• Lousy user interface
• Primarily unauthorized works
• No business model
• ...but gave people what they wanted

Building Media Distribution Apps
20
00
Kazaa
• Peer-to-peer client
• No centralized index
• Slightly better user interface
• Primarily unauthorized works
• Paid content through Altnet
Also: Gnutella, Limewire, BearShare

Building Media Distribution Apps

Building Media Distribution Apps
20
03
iTunes
• Web-enabled client
• Complete solution for normal consumers
• Authorized works only
• Initially music, added video in 2005
• Per download fee

Building Media Distribution Apps

Building Media Distribution Apps
20
04
BitTorrent
• Very efficient peer-to-peer protocol
• Open client
• Terrible user experience
• Both authorized and unauthorized works
• Popular for all types of media content
• Paid torrents

Building Media Distribution Apps

Building Media Distribution Apps
20
04
MySpace
• Web application
• Primary focus on socializing
• Secondary focus on music distribution
• Content streaming
• Advertising funded

Building Media Distribution Apps

Building Media Distribution Apps
20
05
YouTube
• Web application
• Some social features
• Content streaming
• Weeding out unauthorized content
• Advertising funded
Also: Metacafe, Dailymotion, Revver, Brightcove

Building Media Distribution Apps

Building Media Distribution Apps
20
07
Joost
• Peer-to-peer client
• Interesting social features
• Video only
• Content streaming
• Authorized content only
• Advertising funded

Building Media Distribution Apps

Building Media Distribution Apps
20
07
AllPeers
• Peer-to-peer client, inside Firefox
• Current focus on private sharing
• Version 0.70 with “Social BitTorrent”
• Plans for public channels, communities
• “Ask me about our business model”

Building Media Distribution Apps

Building Media Distribution Apps
?
Streaming vs.
downloading

Building Media Distribution Apps
?
Streaming
• Instant gratification
• Minimum bandwidth requirements
• Low quality
• Issues with offline viewing
• Lightweight copy protection

Building Media Distribution Apps
?
Downloads
• Mature existing technologies
• Maximum flexibility for consumer
• Offline consumption
• Perception of ownership

Building Media Distribution Apps
?
What about DRM

Building Media Distribution Apps

Building Media Distribution Apps

Building Media Distribution Apps

Building Media Distribution Apps
DRM Free
CDs
Smashing Pumpkins Norah Jones Coldplay

Building Media Distribution Apps
?
DRM alternatives
• Watermarking
• Positive incentives
• Rewards
• Status
• Lower prices

Building Media Distribution Apps
?
Web vs. desktop
application

Building Media Distribution Apps
?
Web
• Easy installability
• Mediocre usability
• Technical challenges
• Offline consumption
• Peer-to-peer

Building Media Distribution Apps
?
Desktop
• Much harder to develop
• Need to install software
• Web-enabled or P2P
• Integrate with other media apps
• Media organizer
• Media player

Building Media Distribution Apps
Rich internet applications

Building Media Distribution Apps
Rich client apps
• Markup-based user interface
• Multiplatform runtime
• Web-enabled
• Deployment is a challenge

Building Media Distribution Apps
Silverlight
• User interface technology for .NET
• Advantages of RIA and .NET
• Great runtime
• Great development environment
• Uber-proprietary

Building Media Distribution Apps
Flex and AIR
• Leverage popular Adobe technologies
• Adobe knows how to propagate its runtime
• Great demos
• Partially open source
• Tamarin
• Flex
Reference: Pownce

Building Media Distribution Apps
JavaFX
• Java meets Flash
• Leverage Java IDEs
• ...but still starting from scratch in terms of
adoption

Building Media Distribution Apps
XULRunner
• Mature technology
• Firefox is a terrific killer app
• Lukewarm support from Mozilla
• Tools support is weak
References: Joost, Songbird, AllPeers

Building Media Distribution Apps
WebRunner
• Combines advantages of web apps and
desktop apps
• Will require beefing up of web browser
• Codec support
• Offline storage
• Peer-to-peer
• Social features

Building Media Distribution Apps
My dream media
distribution
application

Building Media Distribution Apps
WebRunner-
based

Building Media Distribution Apps
Stream or
download

Building Media Distribution Apps
Peer-to-peer

Building Media Distribution Apps
Integration with
best-of-breed
apps

Building Media Distribution Apps
“Commodity”
social
features

Building Media Distribution Apps
matthew@allpeers.com
www.allpeers.com/blog