So this morning I found an invitation for a 72hour weekend pass for
EPIX HD waiting in my inbox. EpixHD.com is an offshoot of the recently launched Epix TV channel, a 24 hour on demand channel available only to Verizon FiOS subscribers (for an added charge of $10/month) that allows subscribers to stream an unlimited amount of movies. The service is brought to you by movie studios Lionsgate, Paramount, and MGM, and has been described as the film equivalent to Hulu. Where Epix differs from Hulu is that its bundled into the cable package, giving it the added benefit of FiOS broadband connection and the ability to successfully stream full-length movies. According to Ars Technica:
"The video is offered through Flash and is multi-bitrate enabled; the player checks the available bandwidth every ten seconds to see if a larger or smaller stream is required. Epix currently creates six different encodings of each film which range from full HD support all the way down to 500Kbps (cell phone quality). Pushing out that sort of data is bandwidth-intensive, and Epix would love to avoid streaming HD content across the public Internet wherever possible. One way to make that happen, which the company is currently pursuing, is to install caching servers directly in the data centers of ISPs with whom Epix has a relationship. "
As a Time Warner subscriber (still waiting on that TV Everywhere...) I won't be able to take advantage of EpixHD after this weekend, but I'm intrigued to see if their claims of HD quality and uninterrupted streaming are true. Jason Bergman brings up some good points in his
"Epix Fail" article, but I'm interested in seeing for myself. I don't think the idea of a subscription service is bad, as along as it allows for tiered pricing, strong support, and an attractive interface. One of the things that EpixHD is offering is an online screening room feature which enables consumers to invite up to four friends anywhere to watch movies while they chat online in real time. These friends don't have to be Verizon or Epix subscribers, which I think is just the sort of unique cable concession that could make Epix a success.
It will be interesting to see if EpixHD catches on in the next few months and convinces other telco subscribers to pick it up. I don't know enough about this stuff to know what the downsides are to Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Cable One, Charter Communications, AT&T U-Verse, and Dish Network carrying the channel. But if Epix isn't able to make carriage deals with any other providers, it won't matter how much content they have on their site--only 2.5 million people will be able to watch it (less, considering many will balk at the $10/month price tag).
