New startup Zediva attempts to circumvent all the licensing hassles experienced by streaming video services like Netflix, iTunes and Hulu through operating more like a traditional movie rental store, except online.
The catch? “We don’t rent digital copies of a movie,” founder Venky Srinivasan told Rotten Tomatoes, “Our users rent a physical DVD, along with a DVD player from us for a fixed amount of time. They then control that DVD player remotely over the internet — and stream the movie privately to themselves. Think of it as a really long cable and a really long remote control.”
The “really long cable” that is the Internet means not having to negotiate with content companies over streaming rights. This loophole means that Zediva can feature more recent releases at a lower price than companies who stream digital files, charging $1.99 for a movie versus $3.99 on iTunes and Blockbuster.
