rawalex I totally agree the smart move is not to develop hardware but to leverage android because ultimately thats where its going. admitted not being in google playstore can be harmful BUT most of the apps I mentioned have been delisted from playstore but googling them makes it easy to find them temporarily allow outside apps, install them then turn it back off…it isnt hard to find out if an app is legit or not but it does require some searching on your own….but if all you can deal with is plu n play then an HTPC isnt for you anyway

However, you have to remember that they got much of their boost by tagging onto other people’s equipment. PCs, other set top boxes, smart TV sets, and the like. They have not spent a whole lot of time making their own boxes, they know that hardware is basically for losers. Some porn companies have tried it, and they seem to have all died off. Hardware is a commodity business with almost no margin, and the volume required to get a good enough install base to make anything else work is insane.

So the good plan would be for porn companies to do the same as Netflix, and tag onto other people’s hardware. The problem here is that many of these companies don’t want porn as a selling feature on their products, they don’t want the association. So it’s very hard to get prime positioning and exposure to the public. In the case of Apple, adult is against the rules. In the case of Android, you cannot easily offer adult in Android play, which means you need to have people permit outside apps (which opens them up for attacks), and which most people are not comfortable doing.

Porn isn’t going to have an easy time of it, that is for sure. Moreover, the legal distribution of porn in this manner is very likely to attract the attention of state AGs who will try to enforce local obscenity standards. So if your porn shop happens to have bondage or watersports or anything like that, they could order a video online from you, have it “delivered” electronically, and then charge your company with obscenity in their local community.

We end up back where the DVD and VHS business was, having to deal with a level of local regulation and such that is just not so simple.

Oh, for those who wonder why they don’t do it with regular porn sites, it’s not as easy to make the distribution angle stick. When you talk about a subscription set top box, you are suppose to know who your consumer is, and act accordingly. The difference would not be lost on the courts.

Bye Cable TV, I’ll be streaming from now on!

I’m a guessin’ it’s soon going to cost a fortune to just have a high speed Internet connection.