The video store at the end of the street is the creature that just won't die. The promise of high speed internet access for all was supposed to beam the latest flicks directly into our lounge rooms, eliminating the late night dash to return movies. Luckily for video stores, the B-grade horror movie that was Australia's broadband rollout never came close to delivering on this promise. The Attack of the VoD was a pipe dream in need of a fat pipe and, like all good menacing threats, it sank back to the murky depths to contemplate a sequel.

Kids today want to be entertained without leaving the couch.

Video Ezy is having another crack at it, starting a three month "electronic rental download service" in Sydney, with the aim of rolling out the service nationwide in 2007. While this might sound like Video on Demand, it's not. Customers will have to buy a "Home Media Centre" from Video Ezy, developed in conjunction with Mobilesoft and The Content Factory. Then at the store they can copy up to 40 movies onto a portable USB storage device such as an iPod, take them home and play them on their TV via the Home Media Centre.

According to Video Ezy; "The HMC will combine a digital television tuner, 160 GB hard disk drive recorder and a unique encoder/decoder using the latest H.264 technology. It also features Mobilesoft's patented security anti-tamper technology, together with the ADAPT TV product, which will enable it to upgrade remotely."

It seems you don't pay for movies until you watch them, but payment requires broadband or dial-up internet access. At this point I'd say they may as well forget it right now. Not enough people have telephone and/or network access near their television - only nerds like me. Not to be foiled so easily, Video Ezy told me "if you don't have internet access the HMC can be fitted with a modem that connects to the mobile phone network (GSM), and securely directs the information to the Video Ezy DRM system and debits the customer’s account". Sounds expensive, plus just one more thing that can go wrong, but I guess it would work.

I'm also suspicious of the "Home Media Centre" and I'd want to give one a good trial run before I handed over any money. Dedicated AV companies are still struggling to develop the perfect home media centre, and even they are struggling for mainstream acceptance, so what makes Video Ezy think they know better? The phrases "security anti-tamper technology" and "upgrade remotely" also ring alarm bells. Lets hope it's designed with the interests of users in mind rather than just the paranoid movie houses.

But wait a minute, I STILL have to go to the video store to download the movie? Admittedly this solves one of the biggest technical problems surrounding Video on Demand, the delivery, but I think they have missed the point along the way. I want to watch movies without getting off the couch. Don't give me excuses.

The upside is I don't have to return the movie, but the downside is that I can only play the file on one device - plus obviously the cost of the Home Media Centre. Video stores are also fending off an attack from the post office down the road. Online services like Quickflix deliver your favourite flicks to your door. You can only have a few out at once but there are no return dates, thus no late fines. Delivery is free and they even supply a replied paid envelope for returning them. Of course this still involves getting off your arse and finding a post box, a horrifying thought for the people they're targeting - those who can't be bothered finding a video shop. If it's a choice is either going to the shop the get an electronic movie, plus buying a HMC, or going to the post box to return a DVD I think more people will choose the latter.

Even so, I'm keen to review Video Ezy's service when it comes to Melbourne, but the Home Media Centre will have to be damn impressive to win me over.