NBC Direct, the platform to deliver downloads of high quality programming, is opening its beta testing, according to a report in NewTeeVee

Nbc_direct
This is different from Hulu, the joint venture of NBC and News Corp. Hulu streams flash video.  NBC Direct provides a downloaded file  to save and watch in "true" 720 HD.

As HD files are so large, NBC will incorporate a substantial peer-to-peer component. Providing the P2P technology is New York-based Pando Networks.  Earlier this month I caught up with Pando CEO Robert Levitan who explains the integration of Pando and the quickly evolving transformation of P2P technology as a "rogue application" to a legitimate protocol.

Update: The new Adobe Flash player announced late yesterday has a P2P component built in according to this report by Hank Williams in his WhyDoesEverythingSuck?.  Hank says the new player "kill CDN’s."  Wow!

— Andy Plesser