MTV Overdrive is a free Broadband Video Channel brought to you by MTV.com offering content such as:
• MY VMAs: My VMAs features a wide range of exclusive Video Music Awards content. Follow Diddy the week leading up to the big event, catch intimate performances, see all of the latest bling, from cars to yachts, and all of the events that transpire on the red carpet. After the event ends, we’ll post the entire show online. You’ll be able to mix and match all of the content to create your own personal VMA experience.
• MUSIC: The Music channel features a wide variety of programming to suit anyone’s taste, including exclusive programming like • MTV.com LIVE and First Ladies. Plus, check out special programming, MTV shows and a library of the hottest Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, R&B and Indie music videos.
• MOVIES: Interviews with your favorite stars, behind the scenes footage, hot news on the best movies, it’s all on MTV Overdrive.
• ON TV: Catch up on Laguna Beach, Real World, MADE, Wild Boyz, Punk’d, TRL, Meet The Barkers and more of your favorite MTV shows.
Mac users who visit MTV Overdrive are presented with the following:
In order to offer a broad selection of full-length music videos on-demand and free of charge, MTV Overdrive uses Windows Digital Rights Management (DRM) to protect videos from unauthorized re-distribution.
Unfortunately, Microsoft’s Windows Media Player Plug-in for Macintosh does not support Windows DRM. If DRM support becomes available for Macintosh, MTV will develop a version of MTV Overdrive that works on a Mac.
MTV Overdrive’s feedback form is located at the bottom of this page: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/about/faq.jhtml
MacDailyNews Take: Companies and the advertisers that support them would do well to realize that Mac users greatly appreciate feature-parity support, have a much larger installed base than the oft-misused quarterly market share “3-5%” figure, and that studies show studies that Mac users tend to be better educated and make more money than Windows PC users and therefore have more disposable income to spend.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
16-percent of computer users are unaffected by viruses, malware because they use Apple Macs – June 15, 2005
Survey shows Apple Macs owned by nearly 10 percent of US small and medium-sized businesses – February 17, 2005
More people use Apple Macs than you think; 8-12 percent of homes use Macs – March 31, 2004
10 percent of computer users use a Mac; 3 percent is Mac’s approximate quarterly market share – February 10, 2004
Syracuse Post-Standard: 3 percent is a false stat; Mac holds ’10 to 12 percent of the market for PCs – August 27, 2003
I’m with you Sam. I really think the time is right for Apple to start licensing FairPlay to content providers only. The market is broadening, and I think it’s getting vitally important to make certain that AAC and FairPlay becomes the standard. Furthermore, they should develop FairPlay for use in video for things like this MTV deal.
I truly believe we’re getting close to a crossroads where Apple is going to have to make a billion dollar decision.
If there is no Mac DRM solution for this perhaps we should be complaining to Apple and not to MTV.
I hope that Apple has something in the works with a video iPod and viable DRM for video. They have to make sure some version is available to content producers like MTV also tho and not have it only be for the video pod.
This reminds me of the recent news about libraries having to only offer WMV files for audiobooks because of a lack of a DRM they can license. Apple has keep a close eye on these developments and make sure that they stay on top of things so M$ doesn’t flank them.
Put that in your Mac-N-Trash and Smoke it.
mw (Value) How ironic…
I sent them a very nice and polite email asking how a “music television network” could exclude *THE* platform that artists and musicians use in writing, recording, playing – hell – PERFORMING their music. Anyone see Duran Duran in concert? There’s a 15″ Powerbook next to the keyboard for all to see.
I agree with the other posters – they went for the easy way out – windows + IE + WinDRM.
No thanks, I’ll go watch something else.
MW = “most” as in “most disappointing”
The real problem with DRM is that it has been developed and promoted to prevent a problem that was never a serious issue at the level it’s used for.
Revenue loss due to piracy at the consumer level. The loss of revenue due to occasional consumer level copying is negligible compared to what occurs at the organized criminal level, where DRM implementation efforts have had little, if any, effect.
Not a single consumer end user really wants DRM, but a lot of us are willing to put up with it’s aggravations. It really is unnecessary for the most part.
The Dude does not even watch MTV when he is stoned out of his gored anymore. There are no music videos, only dumb shows. I have to pay to get into the “Family Tier” on Charter Cable to get music videos. MTV has be sold out for about 17 years the way I see it. the mid-late 80’s started the decay.
I love the post from “Viacom Killed MTV Years Ago…” it makes me think about Chris Rock talking about David Blaine being a “trickles Magician”. But it is all to true…. MTV plays music videos when hardly anyone is watching… like 3 am – 5 am. VH1 sold out too… and they used to be more “adult” content… more Phil Collins, Dave Matthews Bands and stuff like that. Now they play Eminem, Snoop and heavy metal. Don’t get me wrong, Eminem and Snoop are in heavy rotation in my car CD player, but it seems like they have missed what they set out to do… be the Anti-MTV and play music; music that is more conservative.
The Dude now just downloads music videos from Acquisition that he likes. Once iTunes states offering music videos for more artists as a pay for download I will be on that bus.
For now…
The Dude abides
Not that I really want to watch anything on Mtv,,,, I did fill out their feedback form. Very dumb on their part not to be cross platform, I have sent feedback to many major media company that only have windows support. This is what I wrote.
There will never be a mac version of windows digital rights codec, therefore I will never use this service. Very bad move on your part to use microsoft products, (to provide videos of all things) since microsofts support of other platforms is poor at best. There are more people out here you are shuting out than you think (not just mac users, linux ones too). Dump this crummy windows only service and develop a cross platform one to replace it.
frankly, storage (eg hard disk space or even video tape) is going to have to be considerably cheaper and smaller AND download speeds are going to have to be considerably higher for a reasonable price for individuals to download mass amounts of video for theeir own use or for any possible profit.
I’ve stopped collecting video knowing that there is very little out there worth watching that I can’t get on DVD for rent. I no longer want to own everything – books included. I’ll borrow from the library and be quite happy doing pay-per-view for movies.
I will soon be the proud owner of a new 32″ LCD HD-TV and would still be happy with streamedor rented stuff.
I’d rather deal with bits than hunks of plastic any day.
> MTV excludes Mac users with free ‘Overdrive’ Broadband Video Channel>
Best news I’ve heard all day.
MTV SUCKS!!
I hate this channel more than anything. Not only do they hardly show music videos, the music videos they do show are crap. Good Charlotte and 50 Cents suck monkey ass. And the shows are for brain-dead morons. I can’t stand MTV.
MTV is the FOX NEWS CHANEL of the music world.
MTV overdrive isn’t too hot. The video quality is no at all “Top-notch. It tries though.
I think it pathetic how you basicaly can’t be bother to address this issue with mac and mtv overdrive!!!!!
its annoying sort it out!