Off-peak mobile downloads could be entertainment's future

DEVICES downloading content during less congested off-peak hours could be the future of mobile entertainment if a proposed standard is approved.

The IEEE Standards Associations has announced the approval of the development of a draft standard designed for this pre-emptive downloading of content.

The new standard, IEEE P2200, covers stream management in media client devices and is intended to offer the fastest possible speeds for bandwidth-intensive content, such as high-definition or 3D video and games.

The specification achieves this aim by using local storage and intelligent content caching. In other words, IEEE P2200 allows users to select to stream the content at a later date, with the device automatically downloading it to local storage at off-peak times while it's connected to a power source and WiFi.

When the user streams the content the next day speeds will not be dependent on current network rates, since much of the video or game is stored in the cache.

This approach is expected to improve performance across the board, with faster access to content, higher quality, and lower costs thanks to less reliance on congested 3G and proto-4G networks, for example.

Since it takes the user away from network bottlenecks it could also improve overall performance of the network.

This "last node on the network" approach to devices' memory will only apply if device manufacturers, content designers, and application vendors agree to comply to the standard, which may take a number of years to fully implement. With content becoming larger and higher quality by the day, the need for such a standard is becoming more pressing. µ