Silicon Valley Documentary Ditches DRM for its Internet Download Release

Streamburst and ISOTV Media, announce the Internet release of ‘In Search of the Valley’, a documentary which gives a unique insight into the psyche of Silicon Valley, the epicentre of the computer industry.

[UKPRwire, Thu Feb 22 2007] Streamburst and ISOTV Media, announce the Internet release of ‘In Search of the Valley’, a documentary which gives a unique insight into the psyche of Silicon Valley, the epicentre of the computer industry.

The documentary follows three friends' pilgrimage, where against the odds, they gained access to the founders of some of the Valley's most important companies, including Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak; Adobe co-founder, John Warnock; Macromedia co-founder, Marc Canter; Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Media and Craig Newmark of Craigslist.

Although well received by critics and movie goers alike, the documentary had, until now, been given a limited DVD release only as the film’s producers were reluctant to offer the film online because of the restrictions placed on consumers by Digital Rights Management (DRM), the anti-piracy technology which traditionally limits how a download can viewed, so that, for example, it can't be transferred from one device to another.

While Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, said that given the choice, he'd drop DRM in a heart beat; the producers behind the documentary have done just that, thanks to the next-generation service from Streamburst.

In contrast to DRM, the Streamburst service aims to make people more accountable for their actions without artificially restricting them. All distributed video content has a five-second introduction added to the front of the video with the customer's name as it appears on the customer's credit card. This enforces the idea of ownership of the content and will help "keep the honest person honest". In addition, each video has a unique transaction fingerprint - watermark - added to the video content making it possible to trace the content back to the customer, should it be found on pirate download networks.

Commenting on the film's DRM free Internet release, ISOTV Media director, Steve O'Hear said: "We'd previously shopped around for a download partner, but found that all of the existing services imposed far too many restrictions on how customers would be able to watch our film; essentially treating them as potential criminals. We wanted an approach that was far more carrot than stick, and Streambust provides just that."

Robert Bjarnason, Streamburst President/CTO, comments: "We are delighted to have ISOTV as our first, of many, Internet Releases this year. The contents of the film strikes a nerve with us as Streamburst is definitely driven by the spirit of Silicon Valley as portrayed in the film.”

Dave Parsons, Streamburst CEO, added : "We are starting 2007 as we mean to go on, working closely with production companies to achieve quality, Internet delivery of content with focus on the customer. These customers will be the ambassadors for Streamburst's new DRM free way of consuming digital media"

The film and extras are available in various download formats for viewing on HDTV's, PC's, laptops, portable players and multimedia mobile phones at isotv.streamburst.tv . Further information on Streamburst and its next generation film and TV distribution can be found at www.streamburst.co.uk

For more information about the film: www.insearchofthevalley.com

- Ends -

For further information contact:
Streamburst
Dave Parsons - dave@streamburst.co.uk
Robert Bjarnason - robert@streamburst.co.uk

Tel: +44 207 193 2795

ISOTV Media
Steve O'Hear - steve@ohear.net

Notes to editors:
1) Streamburst is an innovative and forward thinking company supplying services and infrastructure for the delivery of Television and Film Productions over the Internet.
2) Streamburst’s sole focus is on Download to Own content, no VOD (Video On Demand) or near-VOD services are planned at this time.
3) International Distributors, Production Companies and Website Operators can benefit hugely from the unique features that Streamburst offer:
• Piracy deterrent methods that do not alienate or drive customers to piracy
• Content delivery in multiple formats, servicing multiple devices
• Brand / market specific content delivery

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