The BitTorrent Entertainment Network Debuts

Prior to February 26th, 2007, BitTorrent only said it was going to turn legal – at least its in-house operations. Monday, however, marked the first day in its existence that it actually did so; that it would play it straight with the movie industry, the television industry, the music industry, and even the PC game industry. And what d’ya know, it’s already off to a crappy start.

Pardon. Bad start.

Why did I feel it was imperative to hit on the service the first day it is a legal download center? Because it’s gone from an unrestricted gem of a smart technology to something laden with all that nasty stuff that makes copy protection a no go, and that simply cannot sit with us. Nope. Sorry. No can do.

When BitTorrent first made major headway in Internet file transfers, it was declared as the new best way to move lots of content across the Web. It basically prevented the clogging of pipes and the crashing of servers. BitTorrent’s rule of thumb: The burden would be shared to minimize fault. The more people interested in an item, the better off broadband providers would be. Things would get spread out evenly, sometimes across the world, and thus it made everyone happy, from content consumers to ISPs, who, while begrudging the illegal transfers going on throughout their networks, thanked the new technology for not straining their “tubes”. For the most part, they’ve been able to go on with their business without having to deal with peeved 30- and 40-somethings calling up and wondering why the Internet was being so slow because 13- to 29-year-olds were running rampant, illegally copying American Idol tunes. Don’t worry. I too abhor American Idol. It just works well with the sarcasm.

Yesterday BitTorrent officially shed its rebel skin – the one that had showcased its fed-upped-ness with DRM and the ridiculous prices affixed to jewel cases everywhere; those thin, round plastic discs the music and film industries hold so dear, which, by the way, we never really own. We’re just paying for the privilege of consuming the stuff the way Sony and all the rest want us to consume it.

No, no, Bram Cohen didn’t state any of these as the reason for maintaining the technology he pioneered. His defense was that BitTorrent was simply a messenger, something akin to the US Postal Service. People could send “blank” media mistakenly loaded with duplicate music to friends across the country, and the USPS couldn’t be held accountable. According to Bram, his was a legitimate technology use for illicit purposes. Obviously, he was right. But oh how the tide has changed with the advent of the BitTorrent Entertainment Network.

You know, I would apologize profusely for this rant I’ve got going on here, but I can’t. I would review the BitTorrent Entertainment Network instead, but I can’t. That’s because the content offered on the BitTorrent Entertainment Network is only available to Windows XP users. (I reside here in small sliver of the computer world known as OS X 10.4, installed on a PowerPC-based Apple PowerBook G4.)

And that’s not all that irks me about this “new” service.

Though the movie rentals are offered with 30-day windows of opportunity, they’re still restricted. BitTorrent isn’t known for restriction. Also, anyone outside the U.S. will find the selection available for his or her enjoyment very small indeed. Again, BitTorrent isn’t known for restriction.

For those living in the U.S., there’s a lot of stuff available on the BitTorrent Entertainment Network. There are roughly 3,000 movies and television programs to choose from, and though the pricing isn’t outlandish, there are no bargains. (There are some free items to indulge in, but most of the selection must be paid for.) New releases are $3.99; older content can be rented for $2.99. Television shows are outright purchased for $1.99 each. Hey, if you’re into the rules and regulations currently set by the content owners, you’ll probably love it. But if you’ve been a fan of the original BitTorrent ethos, you’re likely to throw up your hands as I have and ask, “What gives?”

I’m not liking what I see so far, and I can’t even see the other side of this debut, as per the restrictions set by Microsoft-championed DRM.

I don’t advocate the release of advanced copies of music and movies on networks online. Some of the copying bugs me less, which has most to do with blockbuster films and multi-platinum and diamond albums. The studios, directors, artists, and actors aren’t bad off because of it, and so I hardly pay attention to the proliferation of such content online. What I can empathize with is unauthorized distribution of small, independent artists’ work and art house films that were done on meager budgets. Those people tend to live on what they make, not splurge what they “make”.

But, as I’m very well aware, I’m unable to choose who and what gets the short stick in this story. All I can say is that I hope upon hope that BitTorrent’s mantra from the start lives on, so that prices can come down from unreasonable heights so that folks who find it foolish to spend $10, or $0.99 per track on content of inferior quality to what is available on CDs and DVDs can actually get what they pay for. The media world has always been ebb and flow throughout the decades. Things are ebbing right now. As soon as the media companies lose the stubbornness and give us consumers what we’re asking, things will start to flow again. For us all.