Bold claims by new streaming platform

GridNetworks today launched a new streaming platform that it claims will be able to deliver DVD-quality video with instant-on to desktop over the Internet. A very bold claim if you ask me. From what I can tell, the idea is to use peer-to-peer grid technology to distribute the delivery load to multiple hosts, thereby lifting the burden off of a single origin server. Fine, a number of companies are working on that issue now. The big problem is, only popular content gets distributed widely enough that peer-to-peer would be useful. Also, I don’t think the grid is necessarily going to help with last-mile issues. Here at the office, during the height of the workday, our connection to the public Internet can be down right clogged with traffic, making downloads molasses slow. No grid is going to help with that. The days of instant-on DVDs to the desktop are still a long way off.