There have been pockets of success, but no studio has proved that it has a workable business model, said Michael Pond, a media analyst at Nielsen Online.
"Strauss and his partners are amassing equity without a lot of investment, which is a low-risk model," said Scott Peters of the Jordan Edmiston Group, a media investment bank.
"It may just get too expensive to continue with the checkerboard model," said Laura Canaccioli-Davis, an executive vice president at the media agency Starcom Entertainment.
"I think that kind of distributed retail could be really significant as a model," said Eric Garland, chief executive of BigChampagne, an online media measurement firm.
"One needs to have active users out there with the devices in their hands in order to promulgate the media model," Mr. Riese said.
What does the model "say"?
"It's a traditional media model, only with user control," says Steve Tomlin, the firm's founder and chief executive.Difficult to openBut open-source hardware poses difficulties, too.
That opens a hole in the market and the opportunity for some unconventional business models," says Ken J. Doctor, media analyst at Outsell.
Linux live CDs provide a high level of protection against malware and are relatively easy to create, making them a great option for viewing untrusted media that accommodates most threat models," says Julian.
The media model has become "demand-led versus supply-led", says Nigel Morris at Dentsu-Aegis, an advertising agency.
