Disney's "Keychest": Your DVD library in the cloud?

Cloud computing may have gotten a bad rap in recent weeks thanks to the recent Sidekick fiasco, but Disney's reportedly forging ahead with its plans for "Keychest," a digital video locker in the sky that would let you watch your purchased movies and TV shows from your PC, mobile phone, or via on-demand cable.

The Wall Street Journal (registration required) has all the details, but here's the gist: As its name implies, Disney's "Keychest" service would let you buy a "key" to a piece of digital video content—say, a movie, or a TV episode. You'd then be able to log into your Keychest account on "participating" devices and services (such as an iPhone, PC, or cable provider) and your videos would be waiting for you.

We're not just talking online video, either; according to the Journal, purchased DVDs and Blu-rays in the "Keychest" system would include keys that would unlock your content for Web, phone and on-demand cable viewing, as well.

Well, that sounds great—in theory, anyway—and certain companies, like Amazon with its Video on Demand "digital locker" and Kindle services, are already moving in this direction.

But as usual, the devil's in the details. The Journal article makes the crucial point that Disney's Keychest scheme would make video content available for viewing on "participating" services and devices ... so, unless you've got the right phone or cable provider, you might be out of luck.

Disney might also have a tough time getting its competitors (such as Paramount, Warner Brothers, Sony, etc.) to sign on with Keychest—especially, as the Journal points out, given that there's already another Hollywood consortium, the DECE (or Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, which is headed by the CTO of Sony Pictures) working on much the same thing.

Now, Disney execs tell the Journal that its proposed Keychest service (which it is "quietly demonstrating" to outside tech and content companies) and the DECE aren't mutually exclusive, but ... I smell the beginnings of a digital locker war brewing.

And while I love the idea of a digital locker for all my videos, we got a serious "cloud computing" reality check earlier this month after hundreds of thousands of Sidekicks went haywire, sending who knows how much user data into limbo. If and when their respective services go live, Disney and the DECE will have to take pains to prove that our purchased digital video keys will be safe from server failures.

So yes ... given the right safeguards in place, bring on the digital video locker—or lockers, as the case may be.

Related:
Disney Touts a Way to Ditch the DVD [Wall Street Journal, registration required]