Entertainment industry embraces BitTorrent

BitTorrent, the file-sharing technology of choice for music andmovie pirates, istaking another steptoward legitimate commercial usewith a move that willhelp media companies stream their videos over the internet.

On Tuesday, the creator of the technology, San Francisco-based BitTorrent Inc., announced a deal with video publishing company Brightcove that will allow content producers to more efficiently stream their videos by using the same peer-to-peer technology employed by pirates.

Peer-to-peer technology pieces together a file, such as avideo or music track, from several servers or users' computers at once.

Because the file resides in several places, it only needs to utilize a small portion of each individual user's internet bandwidth.

The result is the file downloads faster than it would if it were residing in only one location, which is how most legal video content such as televisionshows from networks is currently offered.

With internet video consumption rising, so too is the cost of providing the necessary bandwidth, BitTorrent said. By using peer-to-peer technology, producers can slash how much bandwidth they need and thus their own costs.

The company said it has been working on a way to commercialize the BitTorrent protocol for three years. The result is a service called BitTorrent Delivery Network Accelerator (DNA), which the company said can stream video 10 to 15 per cent faster than any current content delivery system.

BitTorrent's first DNA customer, Cambridge, Mass.-based Brightcove, currently distributes video programs over the internet for companies including CBS Corp., News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group, Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks and New York Times Co.

While BitTorrent's peer-to-peer technology has become synonymous with music and video piracy, the company hastaken steps toward legitimacy. In February, the companyopened an online store that sells videos licensed from Hollywood studios.