VDC is the first service I’ve seen that streams content I’d actually watch for extended periods to mobile devices.

The channels of note (in my book) are Discovery, TLC, and BBC America (you can put the Travel channel in there too). Those are actual channels being streamed to Windows Mobile devices.

Till I came across this service, all I’ve seen have been the standard web fare – NASA TV, preview channels, and channels trying to sell junk.

I gave their HD Preview channel a whirl on my VX6700 over EVDO. Streaming at 300kbps, the quality was excellent with little dropout. I was at 2 bars at the time.

Interestingly enough, switching to WiFi and streaming at 500kbps actually ran into a CPU limitation. Decoding couldn’t keep up well enough to sync the audio and video – so 300kbps would be the sweet spot.

Now the bad news: $12/month. Yeesh. Of course, this type of early-adopter service is always priced at a premium – especially when you have non-trivial content. That said, I wouldn’t use it enough to pay that level of fee.

Now let’s say I traveled a lot more than I do now. My choices for mobile TV are syncing at home (or on the road with TVTorrents) and bringing a PVR, using a placeshifting appliance like Slingbox, or an IPTV service like VDC.

I’m afraid, with those options at the states they’re at now, VDC comes in last in my book. I can’t deal with paying $12/month when I already pay for those channels and more at home. Slingbox will let me stream my paid-for services to my device as much as I want, and use my DVR. Following closely behind placeshifting would be using TVTorrents to grab the shows I want to a PVR.

What would VDC need to do to become a player in my scenario above? Basically they need to tweak the knob of ratio of premium content to price . In my book, they’re at about a $3/month level right now, not $12.

I’d like to hear your opinions on the topic. With DVB-H knocking at the door, and placeshifting becoming hotter, where does IPTV fit in? Content is king – people will gravitate towards content. Do you agree?