The secret to the Metastream business model lies in the "Broadcast License". You can create MTS3 files for free, you can put it on your private Web site for free but when you want to put it on your commercial site you must obtain a license. Seems quite reasonable, at first glance. Initially, Metastream will sell you a 6 month license. After that it will determine how many hours your models are being viewed, and based on that they will renegotiate a new 6 month fee. This also seems reasonably fair, however it also strikes me as unwieldy.
To quote from the Metastream Web site:
Metastream’s business model is based upon a broadcast license structure, where online retailers pay an annual fee to display MTS3 content on their E-commerce Web sites. This model is as flexible as the technology itself, as non-commercial and educational sites can generally broadcast MTS3 content for free, while license fees for commercial sites scale according to volume and business needs.
If I was running a business I would definitely want to have a good idea of how much I would be paying for my new whiz-bang 3D site in the future. At least within a reasonable ball-park. Bob Rice was asked this question during the press conference and did say that they would be telling customers what ball-park fees they would be charged, however this all strikes me as a bit unclear. In addition a Web site that's invested a ton of money to developing content is also left somewhat at the mercy of Metastream's future licensing policies. This is certainly not to suggest that Metastream is intending to ream their customers, that would be foolish and these are not foolish people. It is however a cumbersome licensing arrangement and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see some simplifications appearing in the near future. Metastream's willingness to license MTS3 broadcasting for non-commercial and educational sites is also quite laudable.
Finally it is worth noting that Metastream is attempting to actually create a viable business in what has traditionally been an extremely difficult industry. Personally I would love to see Metastream become a roaring success, and clearly they have a shot.
