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Video iPod May Arrive in September
Fuzzball963 writes "MSNBC is reporting that Apple is in talks with major record labels to license and sell video content on the iTunes music store. The videos would sell for $1.99 and be playable on a video iPod, which Apple has reported may come out sometime in September." Update: 07/18 18:54 GMT by T : Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "Just to add to the previous Apple post, here's a free link to today's Wall Street Journal article upon which the MSNBC article was based."
I'd get one if and only if it has Xvid or Divx support. Quicktime's nice and all but most content worth watching are for Xvid or Divx.
Before everyone starts bitching about the screen, I'd like to mention that the strength of such a video iPod would be in its ability to output signal to a TV.
That way you can carry half a dozen, dozen movies with you on trips, to your friends houses, wherever, and view them on TV.
Think of it as your portable movie library.
(considering that that's what iPods already are for music purposes.)
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
I don't see how someone could find watching video on a 1.5" screen enjoyable.
Allegedly the current chip that's now being used for all ipods is capable of playing MPEG4 video. Will we see video support being released as a firmware upgrade or as a whole new ipod? I want to say new ipod but I really don't know if I'd be suprised if apple released it as a firmware upgrade.
Username taken, please choose another one.
Can't wait to watch movie trailers on my iPod. How much are the actual movies?
I'd be more interested in a hacked version of this new ipod that can play ANY video I want.
For a few reasons, I have a hard time believing that video on an iPod (or any other device) will be nearly as popular as music. The main thing is that people have lots of time to _listen_ while they work/drive/exercise/stroll/relax/sleep, but very little time when they can dedicate their most important sense to recreation. DVD's sell well, it's true, but while in my own case I might listen to a CD 20 or 30 times (and sometimes way more), I only watch a movie a few times (and maybe up to 10 times). This is primarily because of the bandwidth of time and attention, not for lack of interest.
Helping with organizational effectiveness is our job.
Now they need to make a video camera iPod, so I can film all the video iPod owners running into light poles while trying to watch this thing on their morning jog.
I'm thinking the design of the video iPod might be slightly different than the audio version. At least that's what I'm hoping for, because you're right -- it will be horrific if it's the little stamp sized screen they have now. Maybe if they had something similar to the PSP's screen...
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
I hear you plug it into a TV to watch it, afaik, you don't watch it on the actual iPod.
This would actually be a really good use for it: I currently use mine as a hard drive to store movies so I don't have to have them on my laptop's drive. It would be kind of like the iPod Photo, but with video instead.
All your
I wonder if iTunes will have a built-in video player so I won't need a video iPod. At $3 a movie that's not a bad deal as long as it's at least 600kbps MPEG-4.
The future of video isn't HD, it's little portable devices with overpriced, DRM-encumbered media and small, low-res screens, like the PSP, cell phones, and the iPod.
I don't think this will be successful. People like to listen to music while they do other things. Video is immersive. You sit down and you watch it and you don't do anything else. Furthermore, there's no way to play a video on an iPod without the hard drive running constantly, and that will burn out the hard drive in no time and use up the battery in half that.
Does this mean Apple will now become the world's largest porn vendor???
They have? Apple being such an open company and all with their future products.
ETA of video iPod: September.
ETA of conspiracy theory explaining why the video iPod is the real reason that Apple switched to Intel: Any second now.
Hey--everybody sure seems content living up their fantasy girlfriend life with PSP-formatted porn videos. The Shuffle version should be a treat 8)
So, if a music video is $1.99 and the song is $0.99...then I don't get it. Does it really cost that much to make a song or does it really cost very little to make a video?
:).
Somehow, I don't see that it's only twice the cost to make a video unless the price of the song is hyper-inflated (which, of course, could never be the case
Just like how the DVD is ~$17 on release day at Wal-Mart but the soundtrack is $16.
:wq
As long as it can play other videos, this could be good. I hope it plays all QT7 compatible formats, including h.264. Has anyone heard about the formats it will support?
Hehe. And this just hours after "Bill Gates Swears Vow Against 'Son of iPod'"
Too little too late? I thought you said it was a good size!
-Brodie and Gates.
Given a choice between free speech and free beer, most people will take the beer.
Now I can easily take my p0rn collection everywhere.
Evolution or ID?
Nobody would ever accuse me of being an Apple basher. Quite the oppisite... I'm often called a Mac "zealot."
That said, this seems kind of stupid to me.
Music videos are not even popular enough to support a cable network channel ("MTV" is almost entirely crap "reality" shows these days), so what makes anybody think that they can support a "buy-to-watch-on-a-two-inch-screen" market?
Now, if you were talking about being able to watch pre-recorded episodes of Battlestar Galactica and Doctor Who while waiting around in an airport, I could get behind that. The tiny screen would be an okay-ish trade-off to not have to break out the laptop from my carry-on bag.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
I like the idea of music videos - I think they would be a cool substitute for cover art. I think the songs should still be $.99, though, or maybe $.10 more. How many times can you watch the same little video? I'd pay a dime for the novelty.
Apple could easily pitch the success of their iTunes music store the the major motion picture companies and probably work out a reasonable DRM that's flexible enough for consumers to handle.
Personally, I don't care if some other company is first out the door and gets it right like Apple did with the iPod and iTunes, but I just hope that other company isn't Microsoft given a lot of the recent /. articles about Longhorn having DRM for monitors and EF by Intel.
If I wanted to download videos, I want to watch them on my desktop or laptop where I get better resolution. $1.99 for a video to play in an inch and a half screen? No thanks.
So, I guess I should say no thanks to the video iPod if such a thing is to exist. I can see the people driving down the road now with cell phone in one hand, video iPod in the other, slurping Starbucks somehow while driving with their knees.
... storage space. Movies are big and I don't think that jukeboxing movies and my 30 gigs of music on a 60gb iPod Video is going to be very practical -- I have a lot of DVDs I'd like to rip onto a video iPod. Can we expect a bump in the capacity then?
It's all about music videos, not movies. That makes a huge difference, IMNSHO.
The Raven
If I needed to watch videos at $1.99 a pop "On-the-go" THAT badly, I think I'd just DVR VH1 for a while, create a DVD of however many videos will fit, and just use my non pay-per-view portable dvd player to view them wherever I wanted. I could then also watch regular movies, old tv show dvds, and whatever else.
Sometimes I think that people buy these songs/videos just to be part of the in-crowd. Do people really need to be entertained THAT much when they're not at their residence?
At almost 2 bucks each, that will make a hefty bill VERY quickly.
And they said zombies weren't real!
Would it really be worth it to watch the same music video's over and over again? Especially since I'm sure these new ipods will cost a bundle. Now if they made it so you could connect and digital video camera, that would be cool. If they don't do that, I don't see many people waiting in line to upgrage.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" -Hunter S. Thompson
Who wants to bet the latest 'color only' iPods already have the ability to play video with a software update?
Ya gotta wonder why Apple is trying to expand to the tiny Video market when the PSP's UMD Media is not selling all that well to begin with... Now, they may be selling Music Video's, but even those are becoming more visual than 'Musical.' If I was apple, id stick with the Photo and just continue their domination of that market instead of trying to expand to another market and end up falling on their face when the PSP is trying, and currently not doing all that well, on a MADE for Gaming/Video handheld.
And if it works anything like the Archos then it's DRMd and outputting stuff like DVDs recorded to the device won't work unless you have an intermediate step between the record and putting it on the device.
Now that's a bit short-sighted. I'll bet big money that the first peripheral/add-on is an A/V red-white-yellow output so you can connect it to your TV.
<paranoia>(Or, will Apple balk at this, considering how easy that would make it to circumvent the inevitable DRM on the movies?)</paranoia>
As of 4.7 I believe.
There's been a few comments on /. lately about how portable video devices won't take off because noone wants to watch video on a small screen. But I've been thinking about this, and the regular iPod line has been inspiring high-end custom electronics manufacturers to integrate the iPod into nice home audio systems. The more I think about it, the purpose of the Video iPod wouldn't necessarily be to watch video wherever you go, although that would be an extra bonus, but to bring video wherever you want to, and easily watch it on whatever decent-size display you want. I'm sure it wouldn't have DVI or component out, so it wouldn't be a source for super-awesome hi-def video, but it would be great for home movies, music videos, funny videos downloaded from the Internet, and a lot of other things.
I seem to recall Steve Jobs mentioning that video was never meant to be portable. If memory serves, that was only one or two years ago.
Fast forward and any technology statement can and will be proven wrong by technology advances, customer demand, or the latter despite the lack of the former followed by several years of beta testing that people will call 1G.
Regardless, I'm still looking forward to what Apple can bring to the less than booming world of portable video players. And does anyone know when Microsoft is supposed to release a contender to this possible product?
Perfecting Discordia
www.stevenvansickle.com
So much for Bill Gates' recent proclamations about the Son of iPod. Apple is one step ahead again.
Now my Aunt can carry around hours of her crappy home videos anywhere she wants for instant torture.
I can't see Apple making a video ipod while Jobs is there.
It's been pointed out time and again that while listening to music can be a passive activity, watching video is active. You just can't watch video in all the places you can throw on the headphones.
Plus, watching video on a tiny screen is a terrible experience.
I just don't see it.
I can see a video iTunes. That makes sense. Watching video on you computer screen or piped from your computer to your TV isn't bad at all.
obviously no deficiencies vs. no obvious deficiencies
I do beleive they already have the A/V out on the iPod photo.
Does anyone see the hilarity of an Apple article reported by MSNBC and an Microsoft related ad in the middle of it on 3 out of 5 refreshes?
Perfecting Discordia
www.stevenvansickle.com
but wait though.
the files are DRMd, not the output. suppose they pump it throug the analog RCA (red, white, yellow).
sure you could rip the movie, but you'd have to wait 1.5 hours for each movie, and it wouldn't make much sense. just as you can rip the audio off the iPod, i don't think there would be much worry over it.
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
Pay $1.99 for a promotional waste product now!
It'll be called iPrOn
Before everyone starts bitching about the screen, I'd like to mention that the strength of such a video iPod would be in its ability to output signal to a TV.
That way you can carry half a dozen, dozen movies with you on trips, to your friends houses, wherever, and view them on TV.
I can already do that, though, provided a computer with DVI-output (eg: any new Mac), and a TV with HDMI-input (eg: pretty much any new TV worth owning) is available for use at the house I'm going to.
Just rip the DVD's to the iPod with Mac the Ripper, as I would with any other hard drive, and open them using the DVD Player on the Mac at the house I go to.
Think of it as your portable movie library.
(considering that that's what iPods already are for music purposes.)
No, iPods are for listening to music on the go. Are you actually suggesting that their main function is to allow you to take your music to a friends house and play on their stereo?
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/epic ... )
(watch it until the end
As far as the screen goes, I would assume Apple would redesign the iPod's form factor and use a larger screen, fitting the mainboard and hard drive behind it like other portable video player manufacturers have done.
.mp4 movies) and not allow the more open formats like XviD.
Also, video output to TV would certainly be included. Imagine being able to cart around movies with you and plug them into anyone's TV. This would be a big seller.
My only fear would be that Apple would only allow certain formats (ie. DRM'ed
I agree with that sentiment totally, but Apple has a pretty keen eye for design and interface. Perhaps a screen the size of the current ipods (covering the whole face) with some sort of touch screen input. Hopefully whatever they do, it won't disappoint.
Actually, If you try out a modern phone, it has a resolution of about 240x320, which is approximately one quarter of the resolution of a normal tv. I have watched quite a lot of content on it, and it works surprisingly well.
Most people I meet laugh at the idea of watching video from something as small as a mobile phone, but it is already quite enjoyable, and after being shown a video they are always eager to accept being wrong. (As an anecdote I've had some of my friends sit around my phone looking at the video of Satisfaction, and noone complained about the screen size being small)
I can only imagine that if Apple puts some effort into their video iPod, they'll be able to have the same resolution as a regular TV.
The idea that we need to watch video on large screens (tv/cinema) is what I think is mostly convention, a small screen (at a closer distance to your eyes) occupies the same percentage of your retina as a big one at a distance.
To me, such criticism is just like people said "who would ever want to walk and listen to music at the same time?".
Small screens are usable already. And of course, should you prefer the relaxation of looking at something in the distance, you can always hook the iPod to the TV, just as the parent poster suggested.
Nope... I don't find it funny at all. Perhaps you think that a news outlet co-owned by NBC and Microsoft should just ignore good news about their competitors?
Of course 3 out of 5 of the ads are Microsoft related. You are on a Microsoft-owned website
If I could buy them and burn them to DVD using iTunes, then hell yeah I'd pay $1.99 per video. However, if they expect me to have to watch them on a tiny iPod screen or on my laptop then forget it. I have about 6-7 DVDs of music videos that I've downloaded online. If I can't watch them on my TV using VCDs or DVDs, then this isn't a good reason for me to give up on downloading music videos.
Click here or a puppy gets stomped!
They're talking to record lables about video, not movie studios. This is about music vidoes, not movies. That's why they're so cheap. We're talking about 4 minutes of content, not 2 hours.
...at least it does to me. I don't know who else was following along with the claims of "As Seen on TV" of being a big shot at apple but here he pretty much states there will never be a video ipod from apple. I'm guessing most people already had their suspicions about the guy but for me this confirms mine.
OH! Is Apple rebranding the Cowon X5 or something? http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/iaudio/x5/
Don't blame me, I voted for Cthulhu.
Before everyone starts bitching...
Stop right there. I know it's cliche, but you must be new here.
Help me take back Slashdot. When did 'News for Nerds' become 'FUD and Conspiracy Theories for Extremist Nutjobs'?
Didn't he just say the opposite, oh yeah.
Mr. Jobs addressed the issue of video on iPods when asked by Mike Wendland of the Detroit Free Press whether or not Apple was looking to add features to the iPod. "We want it to make toast," replied Mr. Jobs. "We're toying with refrigeration, too."
While intended to get a laugh, which it did, Mr. Jobs also offered a more substantive answer as to why Apple had heretofore not added too many features to the iPod. "One of the things we say around Apple, and I paraphrase Bill Clinton from the 1992 presidential race, is 'It's about the music, stupid.'"
Mr. Jobs says that there is a big difference between the way people listen to music and other activities like watching videos. Specifically, he said, you can listen to music in the background, while movies require that you actually watch them. "You can't watch a video and drive a car," he said. "We're focused on music."
Sources: one
two
Current IPod has a ~90 MHz ARM processor. Would that be enough for video processing?
Ofcourse, since the video resolution is quite tiny, we should be view video's without much problems.
But with the Intel-Apple nexus, I won't be surprised if we see a new Ipod model in market that boasts an Intel processor.
- Sh!t
you have a point.
adding video to iPod (which does one thing and does it well, except now it can do two things -- photos) makes it perhaps too complicated.
however, what i am suggesting is that Apple would now have a tool to dominate the online video market the way they do music.
think about it. we're all waiting for movies for download. who's gonna do it and how? Apple is the only company that can even try. All they need are the contracts, bandwidth, and video iPods.
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
Save it. Does anyone actually *watch* the garbage put out by the MTV types anymore? If you want to check out a new band then you would just get the song, not the video. So far I see 2.5 uses for this thing:
... maybe.
1. Portable movie library for hotel rooms, trips to your friends' houses, etc..
2. Trading movies/porn.
3. Airplane movies
Depending on the price and what DRMish restrictions they force on consumers this thing may not be worth it.
nt
I wasn't clear I guess. The device disables the external output when the files are DRMd thus you cannot view it on anything except the tiny screen unless you are playing a non-DRM file.
I can already do that, though, provided a computer with DVI-output (eg: any new Mac), and a TV with HDMI-input (eg: pretty much any new TV worth owning) is available for use at the house I'm going to.
Just rip the DVD's to the iPod with Mac the Ripper, as I would with any other hard drive, and open them using the DVD Player on the Mac at the house I go to.
Well we're all proud of you, now tell that to the average consumer and watch him scratch his head. Also, feel free to buy me a new computer and TV "worth owning" so that I may bask in your technical grandure!
Are you actually suggesting that their main function is to allow you to take your music to a friends house and play on their stereo?
Yes, the iPod's main function is to be a portable music library. Twist the words all you want, it won't make them true.
today the ipod can't decode in real time an ogg file, i guess if this is why they'll switch to intel's cpu.
one bug, one crash
I don't see it. Sounds like an inelegant solution; it's not like Apple to require you to hook up to a third-party device (TV) -- especially with a cable -- to use the basic functionality of their product.
What I could see would be the video equivalent of the AirPort Express. Hook it up to your TV, and watch video content from your Mac.
Free, legal music for iTunes users.
My friend showed me his PSP and it was the first time I was looking at one. I played a couple games (which looked really great BTW), but then I went through the menu's and found he not only had mp3's on there but also music videos. I believe he had it stored on a memory card. The video playback was great.
Sure he couldn't fit thousands of videos on there (it was limited to the memory card size), but it did the job well enough...
Bottom line: I agree with what some had said... Video on such a small screen isn't all that. So I'd rather have it as an extra feature on something like PSP.
For a small(ish) screen and earbuds, you don't need surround sound audio tracks and high resolution HD video feeds. A compressed video stream at a reduced screen size and bitrate can hold a movie in under a gigabyte of space. You're not going to have breathtaking quality anyway, so it's not as if you're going to severely miss something.
So, now your 60Gb iPod holds 30 Gb of music and 30-60 movies or a bunch more TV programs.
(I'm not debating whether or not it's an idea that's really worth much. I like my iPod but can't think of a reason why I'd need a video one. But I'm sure someone else might have a very good reason. I'm just saying that it's feasible from a current storage perspective.)
Ever watched a movie on a PSP? It's actually not too bad (I was surprised too). If the video-iPod had a cable to hook up to a normal TV (or computer) that would be amazing... but even with PSP-style video size/resolution, it's good enough for watching the morning news on the bus, or perhaps watching an episode of the "Family Guy" (or other TV that doesn't require awesome resolution)... It's even reasonable for watching normal TV and movies in situations where you don't have access to a normal TV screen.
And of course, if the pixel density is high enough, there's not much difference between watching a 4-inch screen at 2ft distance versus watching a 52-inch screen at 15ft.
About being limited to a 2" screen, iPod Photo already has S-Video and composite video outputs so I wouldn't believe Apple is thinking about this restriction.
;-)
About jogging users that can't watch and run, there's no difference between an audio track and a music video track if the screen is either turned off, dimmed or just ignored.
If you haven't noticed by now, all media, as we know it, is being redefined. In the future, we won't have either music records, music videos, movies or games. It will all sell as content. Take for example, a live concert DVD. It's music, it's a music video (chapter by chapter), it's a movie -- all at the same time.
That's what my friends and I do. So for us it is the main function.
I am pro-lifechoice.
With all the trash on TV these days I would guess that if people would pay $2-5 per episode of a TV show with NO commercials then subscription based video might take off. Apple already has the subscription service for music. Why not extend it to TV shows or movies? There are three shows I watch and three my girlfriend watches. I would pay $12-30 per week for commercial free shows legally acquired. That would allow me to get rid of DirecTV. DirecTV is MPEG-4 now for some channels so the quality would be comparable. Most people don't see a quality difference between digital cable, satellite and DVDs. I think this is a great direction for Apple to be heading into. Would I buy one? Sure I would if the video content were interesting and at the right price.
Nothing is impossible. It just hasn't been figured out yet.
I imagine the battery life of this "video iPod" won't be very desirable.
I'd also imagine that they will have RCA jacks to plug into a television. I'd very much like that.
Just Like Apple, to create a revolutionary product that people buy up, make a load money on it, and then come out with an over-enginnered, feature-rich, (that is, features people aren't willing to pay a preminum for yet)follow-up that fails miserably.
insert inflammatory anti-microsoft comment here
That's pretty fscking stupid.
I wasn't aware of that.
Who's the manager that brought that decision?
Mr. Dumass?
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
Problem with video tech so far is that you have to settle in to watch it: fire up the home theater, point & click several times on your laptop, open & hold the awkward portable DVD player ... watching videos requires setup time and awkward movement-unfriendly positions. The technology forces you to not move, coupled with set-up/down time.
... perfect for intermediate "dead time", especially when commuting.
Contrast that with a video iPod:
iPod audio is right there - in pocket, instant on/off.
iPod video will likewise be right there - in-hand and running practically instantly
Spending 10 minutes on a bus? Waiting for an airplane? 5 minutes early for a meeting? Unexpectedly waiting an hour for someone? No time to watch that movie, but have 15 minutes a day to kill?
One second flat from bored to watching something interesting. Enough storage to actually store several interesting things.
Yeah, the screen will be small - but it's right there, unlike your laptop which has to be hauled out of your backpack, or your >15" TV which is in your living room and definitely not on the bus or in the elevator with you.
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
Yes, I'm not entirely convinced by this. More likely perhaps is Apple using iTunes or a variant thereof as a video store application.
It'll never happen. Steve Jobs said that video is not meant to be portable.
Of course, Apple's own website claims that the PowerMac G5 "runs Photoshop nearly two times faster than a Pentium 4-based system", and IIRC, Apple will be switching to Intel processors in the near future. So maybe we shouldn't take what he says too seriously.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
If you look through Apple's history, they have historically charged for each and every new upgrade, requiring the customer to buy an entirely new product. They only do "free" upgrades if there's a very serious flaw, apparently (like exploding batteries). In fact, that's why we won't consider Apple products.... their lock-in is ridiculous. Their PC's are notorously hard (if not impossible) to upgrade, as are their other products.
Rest assured, it'll be a new iPod, and all of the current iPod owners will happily be waiting in lines outaside the Apple stores like good little consumer drones, ready to pledge their eternal, undying love, affection, and wallets to Apple. All Praise Apple!
I don't respond to AC's.
Wasn't there a really great conversation about the speculation of movies/videos on /. before? And didn't Cringley cover this as well (with references and links to /.)?
/. was that Apple would introduce a "bridge-type" hardware that connected movies/videos bought from iTunes to your existing TV. Much like the AirPort product connects iTunes to your stereo. This would be a killer product and much more enjoyable instead of straining your eyes to watch a movie on a 2" screen.
I'm in total agreement that watching any type of videos on an iPod is *not* the way to go. If I remember correctly, the discussion on
Synchronize your calendar and mobile phone via text messaging.
in message 13095606 I wrote:
"Sone of iPod will be something like iPodv or somethinglike that, it will look exactly like a color screen iPod and it will be able to play video. The only visible difference is that it will have a sVideo out and it will have many different attachemnts for sale, from video goggles, iScreen to iProjector or iRay or something like that."
from the picture, looks like I was right, can't see the video connection though. But there is some odd silver thing bulging at the top that looks different.
Makes all the sense in the world to me... outsource the projection system and just provide the vehicle, and if someone comes up with something mega creative like Bose, you license it as official. Otherwise, let 3rd part people take the risk and let the market evolve what people want for content delivery... very wise marketing strategy.
the funniest thing though, is that you go to the linked sight and want to look at it and you see microsoft is already turning tricks.
They are not evolving, just a bloated predator that is consuming resources... kinda like republicans.
clicking for the video of the IPodv from OS X gives you:
"Feedback | Privacy | Help
Operating system not supported
MSN Video does not support your computer's operating system."
While the whole video sales thing might not end up being successful, at first glance it just seems like a "meh" addition to the Ipod. I don't think any of us would mind having video playback capability, just so long as it is secondary to the main function of the ipod (to play music).
Where this could backfire, however, would be that by allowing videos to be played on the Ipod, Apple would be dramatically increasing the competition they would have to fight against. Up until now the Ipod has done well because it does one thing very well: store and play audio.
By adding video, Apple will need to make sure that their video playback meets the same quality levels as their audio otherwise the consumer perception of the Ipod will begin to faulter. But, Apple has some heavy competition in the portable video playback arena. Sony and their PSP is the first thing that comes to mind. If you begin to lump the Ipod in, device wise, with things like the PSP and portable DVD players, how successful will it continue to be if it isn't "the best".
Keep in mind this is all hypothetical. Video on the Ipod could become a huge success, or just become a feature that is ignored while the Ipod still sells strong as a pure audio device. But, the simple addition of video could come back to haunt Apple too if they are not very careful about how they proceed.
You are who you are, let no one tell you different. But, never close your mind to a new point of view.
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, START
It would be nice if Apple could incorporate DV firmware into the Video iPod, so you could record DV video onto the unit (replacing a tape deck, for instance), and have it playback DV codec video to a TV without the need for a converter. Of course, it would kill several third party products (at least at the consumer level), and would require that Apple use better engineering to deal with the heat created by continually spinning the iPod's HD.
Looking forward to new three-color iPod ads on TV showing someone wearing an iPod, dancing down the street watching the screen, and smashing into a nearby lamppost.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
The MSN video will not work with Linux and Firefox. I emailed MSN and am waiting for a reply. If they say IE6 and WMP do not work on Linux, I will ask them for the source code so I can compile it!:)
because iTunes music is pay-per-listen... ::roll::
and maybe YOU yourself do really need to be entertained THAT much as to need a portable dvd player...
-- i am jack's amusing sig file
Yeah! Just like I can't listen to DRM-less MP3s on my iPod now! Oh, wait...
And customers are so "pissed off" that Apple just passed the 500 million song mark at the iTMS.
Give me a break.
And how does QuickTime or DRM take up "way more space than it needs too[sic]"?
I would expect Apple to use H.264, which stands up to any other codec in the quality per bitrate fight. Assuming they are actually doing a vPod, and that they can get a cheap custom processor for H.264 decoding, etc.
It'd be nice if they supported XViD, but if they don't support Ogg Snigfa or whatever the video codec is called, I don't think anyone will care. "Anyone" meaning "anyone who would be a paying customer" for a vPod. :-)
What are the chances of a video ipod using a hybrid memory system? For example using flash based memory as a buffer for data stored on a hard disk. Would this not be a solution to battery life issues?
Cringely saw this coming last Friday. The Jean Dixon of the computer industry does it again.
No grandparent poster is right. No one wants to use a computer to serve video from an iPod to a TV. Too many components. These small cables are much easier.
On the other side I doubt this is what apple wants people to use the iPod for. P2PNet has a good post listing why this isn't what you think. Apple knows a video iPod would get hacked to play nearly anything (though any mpeg4 video like xvid/divx is probably too cpu intensive to work) to play on it. This functionality will be for crap quality
The quality will be crap so that no one feeds it to a TV, so you don't need a fast processesor to run it, and so file downloads and transfers to iPod don't take forever. Uploading higher resolution video won't play, not because of codecs, but because there won't be enough cpu cycles.
I'd like to mention that the strength of such a video iPod would be in its ability to output signal to a TV. You still have a TV? why can't you just store divx's on the current ipod and play them via your media center. Don't bother buying this Ipod, spend the cash on a $200 media center instead.
I can't see the value in a video iPod that didn't have a full-size touchscreen instead of a little window on top of a clickwheel.
I mean, do the Archos but with a touchscreen instead of those ugly little control keys.
People are already taking pics and movies with their cell phones and sharing them by watching them on their tiny screens.
If people are using the iPod Photo for their Photos, I bet the push is to allow users to put their OWN Content that THEY create onto the Video iPod.
Import your Video to your Mac, edit it down with iMovie, export for iPod Video.
* Look, here's my grandkids!
* Look, here's our new Puppy!
* Look, here's our new BABY!
* Look, here's....whoops, you're not supposed to see that one...
* Lets see that Puppy again!
I like microcars
Not only that, but last time I tried to shove a laptop in my shirt pocket, it ripped it to all hell.
My mom was not amused, to say the least.
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
Maybe they could call it the stupiduseoftechnologyPod? I'm going to spend all that energy transferring a movie to my videoPod to watch it once? People will pay for music videos? It's just another checkbox on the feature list...
There's also the issue of battery life -- I doubt watching videos on-the-go will be practical.
I also doubt that people will buy movies when they can rip their own (since I think it's safe to say that we won't be seeing feature films anywhere near the $1.99 price point. Probably music videos... which can be streamed for free from many legit sites already).
I have been messing around with HandBreak http://handbrake.m0k.org/ and have been able to use that snazzy new H.264 codec and compressed NapoleonDynomite to 652mb with no noticable quality loss at all. My 60 gig iPod should hold at least 60 movies and still a bit of music.
Small screen? Sure its small. But as said elsewhere in this thread, plug it into your tv. Bam. portable movies.
Sync it with your new Apple DVR system and... oh wait. not yet.
go apple
I hope they switch to a high-dpi screen like those used in Palms and PocketPCs though. I think it might be possible to implement the scroll wheel within the screen.
Yeah, but they are new. Only a matter of time before MTV2 evolves to show "edgier" heavy metal "Real World" and "Road Rules". MTV itself will evolve to become the "We show now the reality shows MTV2 showed last year" channel.
To the MTV suits, there is nothing viewers like more than 72-hour 'Road Rules' marathons.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
This could turn out to be an interesting battle. Sony is already quite peeved that Apple has dominated the portable music market. Whereas the PSP looks like a rockin' game system, it also doubles as a sly entry into the portable video market. Apple has the distribution (with iTMS)...then again Sony owns quite a bit in the video realm. So, where do we go? With a pseudo-mini DVD player like the PSP or a video version of iTMS and iPod? And just in time for Christmas...
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
"Their PC's are notorously hard (if not impossible) to upgrade, as are their other products." P. Sorry to break it to you, but Apple has never built a PC. No wonder you are having trouble: you are trying to upgrade your eMachine to run OS-X. Rather futile if you ask me.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
see here.
Vote for Pedro
Why is it that Slashdot insists on giving Apple and the iPod a premium position on their page while ignoring everything else?
A "video iPod" has already been done, numerous times, by other companies. But oh, it's not Apple, the "golden child" of Slashdot so it's not cool. It's never cool until Apple does it (and claims they invented it).
I could point out the links to other companies that are already doing the same bloody thing RIGHT NOW but why bother? I'll just get accused of bias (not that this site isn't insanely biased towards Apple). Heck, for all the Linux/free software focus this site has, you'd think that the companies that have actually released the source code to their players would get airplay here. Not so it seems.
Wonder how many free iPods the editors here have gotten from Apple for their continuous support? How many iPods has Slashdot been directly responsible for selling?
News for Nerds? THIS nerd wants to hear about more than just Apple's latest ego trip.
That music videos started out as promos - free ones - to push music sales. MTV made its nut early on leveraging this (until they became the angst outlet for whiney 24-year-old teens).
Of course this was back in the same era when a pair of fathers and sons from Bristol CT were having a tough time figuring out how they could ever fill 24 hours of sports on a cable channel...
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
I just hope y'all don't take me with you.
I for one do not welcome portable video viewing devices...people in motion should damn well pay attention to where they are going. period. Its bad enough that idiot drivers fidget with their cell phones and a few complete morons watch porn on their laptop while cruising around. Now what'll it be instead of white earbuds and wires? sunglasses with one eyepiece playing $2 movies? I'm committed to getting around by bike where I can and this is not a comforting development. Do people have such shitty lives that they have to be distracted 100% of the time?
Just because you CAN do something, Mr. Jobs, doesn't mean you SHOULD, even if it is profitable, even if it gives Kim Jong Bill another marketing migraine.
SLASHDOT: news for people who can't concentrate on work or have no life at all and got tired of yelling back at the TV.
While I would agree that divx is processor intensive. iPods do have enough storage handle quite a few mpeg2 files.
My PVR 250 card with a fairly high bitrate takes about 2 gig per hour. You could fit 10 hours of content on a video iPod at that rate and adjusting the bitrate could get you down to 1 gig per hour pretty easily.
Music videos only appeal to dumb teenagers. If they sold TV shows, they'd have much more business. If I could download last night's episode of Family Guy for $2, I might do it.
MTV switched to reality shows because they have a begining and end at scheduled time. Therefore you can get ratings. Therefore you can charge money for advertising. If they had not switched they would have gone under. Instead they have spin-off channels and soon to partners with Apple in the re-birth of music videos.
I guess you were unaware that Quicktime includes an MPEG-4 codec? And, since it (ostensibly) shares the same standards as DivX and other MP4 files, they'll get similar quality at the same file sizes.
As for DRM, I'd expect it to be no different than the regular iTunes Music Store DRM.
Why not let the customers decide on this one? No one will be forcing you to buy one, regardless.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
But isn't plugging in your iPod straight into a TV just a little easier?
Go on, shoot some fish!
Two statements about this mod: 1. This comment did not (nor could it possibly) cause a flamewar, so how is it flamebait? 2. Apparently Steve Jobs is a Slashdot moderator now.
They can be so much more than music on the go. I perform using mine. I can DJ 2,000 songs, in addition I record songs using garageband on my G5 iMac, a FOSTEX 8 track digital recorder and a mixing board. I then play them back over the PA while I sing and play the guitar. It works like a charm! I will probably use a laptop sometime in the future. But for now the ipod works great! Before I do a show I edit the play lists for each set. The great thing is when I DJ, I don't have to carry all my CD's and I'm no longer burning cd back ups all the time. CD's tend to get scratched too easy.
Oh yeah. New Mac mini's as the best way to download and store that music and video. Firewire video input devices so you can also use it as a DVR. AirPort systems throughout the house so you stream said music and video where ever you want it.
You're right. They have a HUGE target market in mind...
Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
Anyone else getting this? Mac OS X.4, I play WMV videos almost every day for watching classes remotely, but MSN video doesn't know how to make WMVs viewable cross-platform? What a bunch of assholes.
when I find myself you'll be the first to know.
Six months ago I would've thought that a video ipod wasn't a very good idea. Now, I don't have to commute on public transportation everyday, nor do I have long down times in airports, etc., which is where I hear most of uses for portable DVD players, PSPs, etc. However, my gym has recently installed LCD screens on a few of their elliptical machines which are fed a basic cable feed. Those machines are always packed. I've used them a few times and it's great to skip around the channels with my head phones in watching the daily show or other stuff that's on around 7-8pm, but I really miss my tivo at home when I can skip channels or go back and watch that episode of mythbusters from two months ago. Now a video ipod would be wonderful for this. if I could load my own content on. I don't need video all the time, but I do use a regular music iPod pretty much all day at work, and that ipod is getting a little old (orig. 5gb) so a replacement might be on the horizon. tivotogo + handbrake + video ipod = happy me.
Stupid Cheap Guitars
If Apple can talk to the MPAA players in to releasing their movies for $20 or so at the same time as the theater release, encoded the movies with H.624 (the HD QuickTime codec) and surround sound, they might have a fighting chance to survive in the evolving distribution world in the "Post-P2P World".
Imagine it... Apple has the distribution model (iTunes with QuickTime 7 integrated, iTunes Music Store, Akami/etc. distributing the bits) and the hardware (Mac Minis with HD outputs, surround sound output (?)) already, so all they need is the content from the movie studios.
Hook up your Mac Mini to your brand spanking new plasma display and surround sound system (it'd be interesting to perform a survey to find out how many Mac hardware customers have such a set up in their living rooms) and stream high def videos over your cable connection for only $20! Cheaper than the cost of a trip to the theater, better quality!
I seriously doubt that Apple's UI engineers would allow the company to ship an iPod (at least with a 2" screen) that played video and expected the customer to use it.
I can already do that, though, provided a computer with DVI-output (eg: any new Mac), and a TV with HDMI-input (eg: pretty much any new TV worth owning) is available for use at the house I'm going to.
Great. If you go to a geek's house, you'll be able to view your movies, and if you go to any normal person's, you probably won't.
What a stunning rebuttal to the idea of an iPod that can show video in practically any home, aimed at non-geeks.
So what? Even if hacked, you still need to buy one...
Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
It would be good for Apple to get this done, as quickly as possible. We know that Billgatus of Borg is not sleeping at the wheel this time around, so if Apple doesn't dazzle the world with a video product very soon, the future of video distribution will fall victim to Microsoft DRM and platform lock-in.
Tired of FB/Google censorship? Visit UNCENSORED!
I bought the iPhoto for my partner last Christmas, partly expecting video playback sometime in the future via a software update.. After, someone had already done a "video" hack akin to a cartoon flip-book.
Guess we'll never see videos on the iPhoto now..
Everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts.
It wouldn't help me too much when I'm driving to work unless I hold my iPod in front of me. But I seem to think that would increase my chances of getting in a collision. So, no I don't see music videos in my purchasing future.
It's not going to have a screen. It's going to use glasses.
http://www.microopticalcorp.com/
Find an AC outlet that accepts fingers in those tiny slots. Can you?
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I can already do that, though, provided a computer with DVI-output (eg: any new Mac), and a TV with HDMI-input (eg: pretty much any new TV worth owning) is available for use at the house I'm going to.
... but how about the ability to plug an RCA or S-Video jack directly from your very portable iPod into a TV and calling it a day?
Your method requires not only a Mac, but a relatively new Mac, a high definition TV, and a short enough distance between the two to hook up a rather expensive cable.
Any bets on how many target users actually have a setup like that? It's not practical...
Are you actually suggesting that their main function is to allow you to take your music to a friends house and play on their stereo?
Although I'm not the parent poster, I can attest that many users purchase iPods to plug into their stereos at work. It happens here constantly, and I highly doubt we're the only ones. The point of an iPod is to have ridiculous amounts of music with you in your pocket that you can access anywhere. How would this not translate well with movies? What is the fundamental difference between hooking it up to earphones or to speakers?
this Hmm..I guess branding is a bitch.
Any Apple Video iPod will probably be their current generation color iPod's with a video playback firmware update.
Any NEW technology may be an iPod like the current generation, with slightly larger screen and video playback (given if the current generation do not have video codec capability).
What the new video iPod will NOT be is a truely innovative product that will compete against other video players in the market.
The iPod may be Apple's greatest success story, but they have not innovated in this product line for a while. Sure the Shuffle was a hit, but it only represents Apple following trends other companies have set by offering cheap and small flash based players. Apple hasn't added anything truely innovative in their iPod lineup, even the "color" screen and photo abilities are not truely innovative, just representing a trend Apple is following.
Video playback represents more a change in their iTunes music store and software, rather then an iPod innovation. It looks like Apple is spending more time beefing up iTunes, rather then worrying about such things as continuing to make their iPod's compete against new products emerging with better features and a cheaper price tag. Apple can relax for a little while longer, as their iPod sales are brisk, but many people like myself, happy with the old iPods, but unhappy with Apples recent apathy towards mobile technology will cause problems in the near future.
I am sure any "new" video iPod will be a rehash of existing technology, simply with video playback and a new enhanced iTunes music store and software. Apple won't offer touch screen capabilities, large display,or any other innovative features that you can already find among all the competitors quickly surpassing Apple in almost every aspect of music players, style, quality, features, and price!
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
Just rip the DVD's to the iPod with Mac the Ripper, as I would with any other hard drive, and open them using the DVD Player on the Mac at the house I go to.
Or you could just use The Only Mac Ripper Worth Using and AVC/H.264, and not have every movie take up 4-9GB. (Or if you're impatient, use plain MPEG-4, which encodes in realtime on a recent system.)
Of course you can already do that. The music Ipod itself isn't anything you couldn't already do - it didn't become wildly popular for its capabilities, but for its interface, size, sex appeal, iTunes, etc.
I seem to remember those awful tiny-screened mini TV tuners being terribly popular back in 80s. Not only would people be happy to watch such a tiny screen, but they would also watch a tiny screen with bad reception. Given that we are talking about this as an additional iPod feature as opposed to a main selling point, kind of like the test bed of music videos in iTunes currently... I don't see this as being a bad thing.
Obviously everyone here and at Apple both know that video on the iPod is not a feature that consumers want. What this is about IMO is video content for the home. Remember that apple insider slashdot poster a while back saying that the next Airport Express is the product to watch, not the iPod? How quickly we forget... With the new Airport, we will all be able to stream video and audio wirelessly to our TV. With TV shows/movies for download instantly, it will be like TiVo, just without having to tape everything first...and a bigger price tag. As far as a video iPod, it will happen sometime soon, but it will just be adding gravy to the home system.
I find it odd why everyone jumps to the conclusion that iTunes is only an outlet to supply content for iPods. What is to prevent Apple from coming out with an "Airport Express Video" product that lets you stream video you purchased from iTunes to your TV? This seems a lot more likely. Maybe even a rental system to bypass or teamup with Netflix.
No, iPods are for listening to music on the go. Are you actually suggesting that their main function is to allow you to take your music to a friends house and play on their stereo?
I do it all the time, actually. I bought a 40gig iPod Photo. It came with a dock, carrying case, and a/v out cables to connect to a home entertainment system. I use it at home all the time and I often take it to my friend's house. I've also co-hosted a radio show and have hooked up my iPod to the system and streamed a short (2 - 3 song) playlist over the air. What's so crazy about that?
I think people just lack vision.
To them, lugging around a laptop and a roll of chickenwire makes more sense than an ipod.
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
Hmm. I wonder if this thing could output a Keynote presentation.
Not sure whether this is much more useful than just using a laptop,
but I suppose it could be in some circumstances.
The world is everything that is the case
Here is a good definition if you still do not get it: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/PC.html
With Intel in Apple's future, this might change. For right now, Apple is not in the PC business and has never been.
"Are you saying Apple never built a personal computer?"
The PC abbreviation, especially capitalized, refers only to the type that started with the IBM-PC and clones. Due to confusion, it is best to say that Apple makes microcomputers, not "personal computers".
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
This whole business of watching videos on an iPod is just silly. Other than being a neat technical trick, why would your average consumer want to do that? Apple doesn't sell technology, they sell sell products that everyday people use in everyday situations.
I think there is a much bigger plan in the works here and people are coming up with scenarios that just don't make sense. When it comes to video, where does your typical consumer watch video? Where do you watch video outside the home? The only real place that jumps out at me is where parents put a TV in the car for kids on long trips.
What about the iPod as just a device for temporarily transporting video content? In the same way that you can transport pictures from a digital camera and then sync them with your computer later. What if I could go to Blockbuster or even a kiosk at the grocery store and load a movie on my iPod? I could then take it home and watch it, and it may expire after a week or two. Not everyone has a computer and an internet connection you know!
Maybe there really is some kind of home media server in the works where you can download movies from an iTMS-like store and the iPod plays more of a role of temporary transport than actual consumption of the content.
I think more and more in the future the storage and management of digital content (photos/music/video) is going to become the key driving force. How/where do you store all of this data? How do you safeguard content that you have purchased or is otherwise not easily replaced (ie photos)? Do you really have to have a computer to do this? Doesn't some kind of dedicated device that doesn't cost as much as a computer make sense?
I might be interested in buying one, only if I could rip my DVDs for watching them with the iPod.
.mp4, a format which is not supported by dvdrip+transcode. Any suggestions for producing mp4 files from my dvds?. What resolutions will be supported?.
I usually rip my dvds to xvid+ogg(ogm conteiner) with dvdrip+transcode under linux. I presume that the video iPod will support only plain
Video iPods in September, Intel Macs in 2006... good thing I don't have the cash for anything but a Mac Mini right now.
Reading on this board, it seems to me that everybody's thinking that the iPod will be the primary means of digesting movies sold through iTunes. It strikes me that this is totally geared towards mac mini's (struck me the day after it's release, actually)... The way I see it, the iPod's integration into all of this (other than TV Out for the video, much like the iPod photo already has) is for previewing chapters and scene selections. IE - build in some video and a bit of bluetooth and control your mac mini from your sofa using your fnacy shmancy iPod remote.
I think it's important to remember that the majority of iPod users do not have the technical know-how that us /. users have. They don't know what codecs, divx and xvid are... nor do they care. This will be the 'new thing.' Someone mentioned this earlier, but I will emphasize again, cell phones are already introcing video features.
Okay, so maybe you or I wouldn't use this "vPod" for portable movie watching, but I sure would use it if it had an AV-out on it so I could hook it to any TV. Think of the popularity this would have amoung college students. No longer would they have to crowd around their latops (since most don't know they have an s-video out). They could have their downloaded movies on the 'pod and easily be able to bring a movie to a friends' room.
This is a marketing utopia. The number of uses for this are endless. Again, I don't think I would make use of it. But we have to remember that what only really matters is if the majority think it's a great innovation.
It all depends on how they market it.
arl with a k - a blog of mine.
"That way you can carry half a dozen, dozen movies with you on trips, to your friends houses, wherever, and view them on TV."
So what happens when the movie is half over, and you need to get going? Do you leave the thing with your friends, or be a dick and take it with you?
If I ever bought one, I would just tell my buddies it's a old ipod. I don't want them to know that I keep a copy of "sisterhood of the traveling jeans" on it.
If you believe this is actually going to happen you can you can try and pick the release date yourself!
Drag n' Drop DVD Recommendations
Could this be why?
Can I get a MP3 player cheaper now, or is the video version just going to be hella expensive?
- I voted for Nintendo and against Bush
"Apple doesn't sell technology, they sell sell products that everyday people use in everyday situations." They sell technology. Period. They'be been at it for a long time. Also, even with the success of the iPod, most "every day people" have no use for Apple's tech products in their "everyday situations".
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I really dont think they are that stupid. they will probably encode with some kind of macrovision screwup that will make it difficult to record manually. that means even to vhs.
The laptop? or the shirt?
And while everybody's talking about the whole 'screens too small!' angle, the iPod is made for a portable music device, for use on walks, at the gym, on the bus or the train... the reason I say this is the last 2 I think would be a great target for this. If I have a long morning/afternoon bus or train commute then being able to watch a couple videos on my iPod would be a nice option as well as listening to music... So I think it's a positive thing, so it's a small screen, if you're commuting either fire up your laptop and watch there, or be content to sit there and relax and look at your little portable screen and be happy. I'd like that.
I wonder if they will offer a "Video Camera" accessory just like the audio mic for the iPod where you can record video straight onto the device.
believing the big bang requires a certain amount of supernatural faith
Dear Apple,
I do not much care about these Video iPod rumors, but please let me buy episodes of the Daily Show at the ITMS. I will worry about where I watch them. If you want to provide them in MPEG4 format and tell me I have to use a device such as a Video iPod to send them to a tv set, fine. I don't care. What is really bugging me is the inconvenience of using Bittorrent. Bittorrent is the most convenient thing in history for getting video, but it is still too inconvenient. If you make $1.98 per episode easier, I will be spending about $20 to$40 per month at the ITMS, between needing a frequent Daily Show fix and whatever else you put along side it that catches my fancy on occasion.
Sincerely,
A Waiting Customer who knows that these shit-for-brain Hollywood MPAA types and Bill Gates aren't even thinking about how to make it worth $1.98 to bypass the free torrents.
..that Apple now develops a product that will cost more than one of those portable DVD-Players, but is more portable while less hackable?
Does that mean Apple is finally dumping Nerds in favour of the broad market? Sad, really....
Look, this thing is totally safe! Built it myself, you know. You just press that button like this and then turn that lev
... of Apple moving into the PVR and home market. I'd love to stick an apple behind my TV for all media management.
Or to put it another way, yeah, I'd spend ten minutes or so transferring a movie and some TV shows I haven't seen yet to a pod so I can watch them on an airplane. Especially since my time is just dragging them to the pod, and walking away while it does its thing.
Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
Hard drive space is about $0.50 per GB these days. I'll stick with uncompressed DVD rips, thanks anyway.
(Yes, it's excessive for most people to do that, but I usually watch my movies on a 119" screen with surround sound, so every small compromise in video & sound quality becomes glaringly obvious on my system.)
That said, thanks for the link. There are some disks I have which have horrible interlace issues, and perhaps converting them with Handbrake will actually result in them being cleaned up a little, depending on how good the de-interlace logic is.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
If you can play DRM-ed music videos, I'm sure you would be able to play homemade .mov files as well, which includes a lot of video clips available on the internet, and those created at home using $30 QuickTime Pro. With an iPod Video that could play those videos, home users would actually have a reason to buy QT Pro, so that's a benefit for Apple.
As far as the power of the processor goes, someone posted a comment claiming that the current iPods could handle mpeg4. I don't know anything about the current iPod processor. Maybe they're making stuff up, maybe they really know something I don't. But I don't know that we really know what processor they would be using for an iPod video... Maybe they have something pretty strong lined up.
I think that if Apple is going to make a move like this, they will make it big, with something uesful that people are going to want, in the style of the original iPod/iTMS. Simple music videos at $2 a pop aren't much more interesting or useful than cell phone ringtones, and I just don't buy that Apple would get into video just for that. I'm not expecting feature films any time in the next couple of years, but I think there's more use to this than just music videos.
Encoding video is several magnitudes more processor-intensive than decoding. To do video encoding, more chips would need to be added and more battery.
Seth
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
Archos had pocket video players 3 years ago in 2001. The first one, the MMJB, had a form factor that sucked and a screen that was lambasted as too small. Then Apple brings out the photo ipod that basically copies the 3-year-old Archos design with a similar sucky tiny screen.
Archos learned from their mistake and abandoned their form factor to utilize most of the front surface. Unless it wants to repeat the shuffle debacle, Apple will have to innovate around the clickwheel to maximize the real estate on the device. Maybe put the wheel on the reverse side, or use an edge jogger? Or use a touch-sensitive software wheel?
Basically, Apple isn;t interested in giving peope cool toys - it's interested in selling product. So until it could get "proper" DRM'd video ready to sell, it saw no reason to give people video. And because it has little interest in providing people with tools to make their own content, I suspect that the Apple video ipod's recording facilities will be non-existent or incredibly crappy, just like the audio ipod.
Da Blog
Actually, I think the parent poster was simply misguided by the intuitive, but wrong, idea that consumer prices are directly proportional to input costs. I doubt the poster really cares whether the difference is due to labor, technology, fixed costs of equipment, or anything else. In neo-classical supply/demand price theory, which most economists in the US assume to be true, input costs (of which the cost of labor is /one/) only play a relatively minor role in determining the market equilibrium price of a product. In this theory it is not the willingness of the buyer that determines value, but the intersection of the willingness of the buyer to buy at a certain price with the willingness of the seller to sell at a certain price that determines the equilibrium price that commodities will be found at in a free market.
But if the assumptions of neo-classical supply/demand price theory were true, then it would be the case that branding would have no impact on sales as all units would be identical. In the music industry, this is demonstrably false. Branding has an enormous impact on sales. The assumptions that have to hold for neo-classical supply/demand price theory to hold are utterly unrealistic.
Further, the labor theory of value that you decry can be used to entirely explain the fluctuations of price in the free market. While it is true that Marxian economics is based somewhat on labor theory of value, neo-Ricardian economics also is and explains the world we live in far better than either Marxian or neo-classical economics. There is good empirical evidence to hold to labor theory of value. The only thing neo-classical economics has going for it is wide spread acceptance in the US. There are no good empirical studies that suggest supply/demand price theory actually holds in the real world.
You get the idea. There's a ton of dead time in which such a thing could be useful, in addition to the fact that you can STILL use it to play music the rest of the time.
As to battery life, that's an unknown assumption. But really, all it needs to do is exceed the current 3-4 hours you get spinning a DVD in existing players and/or notebooks.
Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
'd be more interested in a hacked version of this new ipod that can play ANY video I want
It already exists, it's been around for 3 years, and it's called an Archos. DRM-free.
Da Blog
In my main menu, "Music" is an item that if selected then divides into Artist/Album/etc.
To put audio onto my iPod, I need only drag and drop it ionto my iPod icon in iTunes. The end. iTunes then takes care of the rest of the work, and the new audio is now visible on my iPod.
Assuming that Apple isn't stupid enough to not make adding movies to an iPod as simple as adding audio files and then adds a "Movies" category on the main menu, I'm not too sure what would be confusing to a user besides codec support. However, even that could be taken care of for most folks by simply having iTunes offer to convert the codec into h.264 (or whatever it is) automatically.
How about this improvement? No more waiting to download the songs, or standing in line at the kiosk waiting for Trent Rap-fan to figure out what he wants to download: just imagine if the stores sold the songs in separate units, stored on some media (like a round disc or a tape cartridge). Imagine the convenience! They could even have stores to sell this recorded media with MP3's already on it. Hey, they could even sell media with several of one artist's MP3's grouped by theme. Think it would ever work?
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Yea the mac mini does look a potental media pc box doesn't it.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Apple is running a back to school special right now until September 24th where if you buy a 4GB mini or higher, and a computer, they'll give you $179 back (the price of an educationally discounted 4GB mini).
They will not release a video iPod until this promotion is over.
You don't understand man.
Tiny screen, no Ogg, no wireless... Lame...
There I've said it. Eat that Taco!
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
Since you brought parsecs into a discussion of computers, perhaps ambiguity is all the rage!
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Clicking on the video...
...from Safari / OS X.
"Operating system not supported
MSN Video does not support your computer's operating system."
Blame both Microsoft and MSNBC for an iPod video non-viewable on macs.
Alexis 'jeriqo' BRET
Comparing Apple's software upgrades with Microsoft's Service Packs is ridiculous.
Updates to Apple software which address bugs, compatibility, speed, etc., are 100% FREE updates via Software Update or apple.com -- just like Service Packs are free. As they should be.
And from what I understand, they are all relatively minor updates
Well you understand wrongly. Do your research. So iLife is just $49.00. Compare earlier versions of iDVD and iMovie to the current software, and yeah, it's more than worth $49 every year or so.
You seem to be saying that it's outrageous that companies charge for upgrades that offer new features. So, the next time MS comes out with a new version of Office, well damnit, it had better be free! This is an outrageous claim.
If you don't think the new version with all its new features is worth your dime, then don't buy it. Fortunately, thanks to Apple, you will have the previous version, bug-free and functional, all paid for.
I also do not understand why everyone assumes the video iPod will in the end look exactly the same. Maybe for music videos as a stepping stone the form factor will remain, but remember, the iPod is a $5 billion brand. While certain elements, like the user interface and click-wheel, are integral to the design, the iPod is a powerful brand and name, and it will be Apple who decides what it looks like -- and it will look the way that best suits the user interface. $1,000 says that nobody at Apple thinks people want to watch full length feature films on a 320x240 screen. The iPod name itself, after all, has little do with music. From the start, it's about the integration of the digital lifestyle into a portal device. That's the pod. The software around it is what dictates its uses. First with iTunes.. and down the road, well we will all see.
The next comment I write will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
You use an iPod for DJing? That seems far from ideal. I use a laptop with DJ software on it, which works much better.
I just tried it out. "Out of the box", the interface was kind of tedious as GIMP was broken into a lot of little pieces. No nice containing MDI screen that made it easy to move GIMP around without having to drag all the separate parts. Is this a setting I am missing?
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
From TFA this is 'Apple's gamble on video'
Video on future friggin tiny iPods? Give me a break. Sitting at home or at work and watching crappy 5 min music video downloads of 50ct in total boredom is one thing. Watching video on any handheld is a TASK i avoid.
That i would have to PAY for such a whor...i mean pain is out of question, whatever the price. A good number of new economic disorderly guys i know do not care to watch TV for months at a time leave alone 20x20 video. Who is the iPodVdeo (tm) meant for?
Only dopely Teens?.
That's false. Here's how it actually works.
Every year, Apple comes up with a major upgrade to OS X. These upgrades are numbered 10.2, 10.3, and so on. The most recent, 10.4, includes a boatload of entirely new features, including system-wide Spotlight searches, Automator scripting tools, Dashboard widgets, smart folders, burnable folders, and many other small feature improvements that make a difference in the utlility of the OS. Not every Mac user upgrades to the latest rev each year, but in my experience each .x upgrade has been worth the $130 price, because Apple is adding to the capabilities of the OS.
Microsoft's Windows Service Packs are quite different. They're collections of bug fixes, security updates, and application compatibiliity fixes. Apple provides those too, but they're handled as .x.x releases (10.3.1, 10.3.2, etc.), and they're free.
The Microsoft approach is to come out with one major release every several years, and market it as a wholly different operating system. The Apple approach is to come out with significant improvements to OS X each year, and to market each release as a better version of OS X.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
Couldn't afford the 120", huh?
Slightly OT here, but, I've got an older G3 iBook, 15", 800Mhz. It has a CD writer, DVD reader. I recently upgraded to Panther (before Tiger came out). It came with iLife and iDVD..etc I cannot get this to install on the laptop. I've researched...and can't find out a workaround for this...if you don't have a built in superdrive.
Also, I've wanted to look into hooking an external firewire DL DVD burner...but, I've heard that for some reason, OSX won't let you use external DVD burners? Is there a workaround for this? Why the hell are they so picky about using external devices with their software?
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Apple is going to release a music video addition to iTunes. The idea is that you can watch the music video on your iPod. It's going to be nothing spectacular, just another reason to buy an iPod.
:) )
What this is gearing up for IS something spectacular. Apple is going to create a whole new product. The new product will be a set top box, and will work similarly to series 2 Tivo's (pvr and network stuff.) Besides just being an Apple branded PVR, it will have iTunes built into it. Currently we are on iTunes 4.9, and I expect (as is often the case) iTunes 5.0 will have some kind of incredible new feature. The new feature for iTunes 5.0 will be HD Movies. You may be able to purchase these movies like you can music, but a movie subscription service will be the bread on butter. Remember Steve Job's Keynote in January... "This is the year of High Definition." Surely that means more than HD quicktime, iMovie, and Final Cut which are natural progressions. Surely (stop calling me Shirly) this implies something much bigger.
Apple understands that subscription music is a bad idea and most people want to own (lease) their music, not rent. Apple also understands that most people do not want to own their movies. Sure most people will buy some movies that they really like, but most are happy renting all the others.
As far as whether or not the service will work. I believe it will. Sure you can point to all the possible reasons why it'll never work, I've considered a lot of them and I believe they can be handled.
Old and busted == iPod
New hotness == iPvr (or whatever they'll call it)
Old and busted == iTunes 4.9 w/podcasting and iTunes Music store
New hotness == iTunes 5.0 w/all the old stuff plus Movies
For the record, the above is pure speculation. Also I'm a huge Netflix and Tivo fan, I'm aware that they are coming out with a very similar service to what I described... Even though I love both Netflix and Tivo I think their download service will suck. Kinda like how the portable MP3 players sucked before the iPod came out. (flame away for that last comment
I had this sudden vision of someone scratching with the click-wheel.
More Shoes, his latest article.
Never underestimate the effect of piracy on something like this. The average college student has probably amassed quite a large collection of xvid videos and movies, thanks to nearly all the release groups standardizing on xvid for their releases. A video ipod would have significantly reduced usefulness without being able to play XVID/DivX, assuming they're targeting an established base of general videos and not specialized music videos.
because it's your choice to buy it or not. It's not as if Apple is releasing an iPod video and saying "from now on you can no longer purchase AAC audio from us for 99 cents"
just because you don't like the idea doen't mean it;s a bad idea
I've had my Gmini 400 for almost a year now. The screen is pretty small, but I watch movies/tv shows on it whenever I take trips. It's small but it's more than watchable. It plays Xvid/Divx. It's also an mp3 player. Has 20gb total memory and is the size of an iPod (a couple of centimeters smaller).
Damn, this almost reads like an ad. Here's a link.
But how will I watch video on my iPod Shuffle?
I don't immediately see how carrying feature-length movies around is a very compelling feature. I mean, with the iPod I can have essentially my entire music collection a click away. But while I can listen to music over and over and with little personal investment, movies require hours of your time and in general I don't think I'd re-watch movies with any short-term frequency. And with the large amount of hard drive space these movies (I assume) would take up, I can easily see half an iPod taken up by 5-6 movies. I find it unreasonable to sacrifice all that potential music for a few movies. And, the nature of an iPod is that it's dynamic: it's easy and almost encouraged (especially with the music store and podcasts) that you download new content. I don't think I have the patience to wait for a 4GB download, and then wait for that to transfer to my iPod. And I generally don't have the desire to bring movies with me all the time! And to be curtly to-the-point: How often to people watch movies, and how often do they listen to music? I consider myself a movie-lover, and I still barely find the time to watch 3-4 a month (thanks, Netflix!).
As for the music video feature: I just can't see myself staring into my iPod. But then again, I don't really watch music videos.
Laptop? Get some tables, man!
Since iTunes can convert higher bit rate songs to 128 bits on-the-fly when transfering to the iPod Shuffle, I see no reason why iTunes couldn't do the same thing for music videos. Either transfer the audio portion only to the iPod or allow the audio to be played without showing the video.
If Apple does come out with a dock made for showing movies from the iPod it would not surprise me if it came with a remote control that is shaped similar to the iPod Shuffle and would also display the iPod's menu on the TV screen so you can navigate from the sofa.
Can Apple make an iPod with a PSP-quality screen (and H.264-capable processor) for less than $500? Also, a screen the size of the PSP's screen (4.3" 16:9) wouldn't leave much room for a scroll wheel unless the tripled the iPod's size. Will they settle for a smaller screen or lose the scroll wheel?
Couldn't afford the 120", huh?
Why were you modded down? That was a shot at me, and I thought it was funny as hell.
Well, in spite of your sudden Karma loss, allow me to say, "good one."
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
What do you think about how the iPod skips between tracks?
You will be able to stream such a video to a TV or monitor without plugging it in. I saw something similar at a Lenovo show in Chicago.
That is not a good argument given the iPod Photo - errm, i mean both new iPods. You could watch videos just as well on that screen as you can look at photos - but many people will hook it up to a TV to watch the pictures, so why not for movies?
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
Hah, I guess I'm just not "old school" enough for that.
Umm... you've just found an argument against it.
I don't want people on my morning commute watching videos, especially on close-packed public transport. Who knows what they're watching?
How many people can read hex if only you and dead people can read hex?
Right, but photos/hooking up to a TV are not the primary purpose of the iPod Photo. My guess is that adding video to an iPod would add sufficient cost that it wouldn't just be a "bonus feature" but rather a primary feature.
Free, legal music for iTunes users.
Your method requires not only a Mac, but a relatively new Mac, a high definition TV, and a short enough distance between the two to hook up a rather expensive cable. Any bets on how many target users actually have a setup like that? It's not practical
I'd bet at least one, me.
And, oh by the way, Apple is in the business of selling Macs. So requiring a Mac, from Apple's perspective, isn't necessarily a bad thing. And Apple is a big time proponent of hi def video.
And if by relatively new you mean seven years old then we agree on that.
I have my formerly beige, now black, PowerMac G3, purchased in 1998, with an under US$100 ad in video board (I don't recall the model, ATI something) commected to my hi def TV via DVI. Works fine.
It used to be connected to my standard def TV via RCA cables. That worked OK too.
The sound out goes to my receiver. And I mainly use this setup to run iTunes, having ripped all my CDs and some of my vinyl.
I wouldn't be surprised if Apple is developing an "iMovie" video store, but I expect that it will be to download movies to a Mac Mini like video server more than a moblie video device.
While I don't plug my iPod into a stereo at work, I do plug it into external speakers. The difference is that I can listen to music and work. I would find it very hard to watch video and work.
On the other hand, I do take DVDs to friends and they bring them to my place, so having my movie collection portable does have some appeal.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
SteveM
I don't want people on my morning commute watching videos, especially on close-packed public transport. Who knows what they're watching?
Well there's always going to be someone who thinks the opposite, so I'm not going to say I'm right and you're wrong (or vice versa) but I see your point as well. However if I were one of the people watching something I'd be the type to kinda shield it because I don't want anybody watching over my shoulder, because that's equally annoying to me. So I guess it's got its ups and downs, but still a useful feature so long as you're not being an ass about it y'know?
Actually the Achos AV 300 and AV 400 series have 3" and 4" screen respentivly and also fucntion as full Mpeg4 encoders..... ala manual PVR. Get stuck somewhere like a dentist office and don't want to watch "How to floss" on the lobby tv? Well thats when you realy want one.
iDVD won't burn to external DVD writers. I'm not sure about burning from the Finder. Third party programs will burn to external DVD writers just fine (I use Dragon Burn, and it works). The latest iDVD will, however, write to an image, which you can then burn to the external DVD writer using other tools.
The major plus of the H.264 codec is that it scales from HD to web phone.
half of these replies seem to be saying "oh a portable movie player wouldn't that be wonderful" and as others have already said there are TONS of pvp's out atm, not just the regular Archos which I used to have a av340. You should look at some of the pvp review sites where theres 50+ different portable movei players. I really doubt apple will make anything that isn't already out there. Oh except they'll only let you add content to it by using their crappy software. yeah great reason to use an ipod video
Is there a good way to trick iDVD into installing on a mac, with no superdrive...only a dvd reader?
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I like the idea of using video glasses. I remember trying a pair on at the 2004 Embedded Systems Conference - there was a big screen projected in front of me.
I have an AV480, and it took me about a minute to figure out that all the DRM that it has is Macrovision detection.
So, if you want to record a DVD to the player and transfer it to your PC or playback on the big screen you need either 1) a DVD player without Macrovision (or Macrovision disabled...thank you Sampo) or 2) a TV with video-out ports (you just record from the TV video-out instead of straight from the DVD player).
-R
I take my ipod to my friend's houses to play music on their stereo. I find most of my friend's have pittiful music libraries. They are grateful for my vast collection to keep the party going, whether its is a druken booze fest w/ the naked slip-n-slide or a psychedelic shroom fest, I have the tunes for it.
Steve said this would be the year of HD-video. I'm sure what ever product they ship will be HD h.264 capabable.
A friend recently got an iPod Photo, then took a bunch of photos, did some nice effects in Photoshop, made a presentation using... probably Keynote, I guess, but maybe PowerPoint - and then used a third-party program (maybe iPresent It from ZappTek, I'm not sure) to put his presentation, complete with audio and transitions and stuff like that, onto his iPod Photo. Very slick, and made me wonder just how much the existing iPods might be capable of in terms of animation or video.
Village idiot in some extremely smart villages.
No grandparent poster is right.
NO grandparent poster is right? EVER? Quick- somebody reply to this post so that the parent will be wrong!
This message brought to you by commas. Try them out!
I predict you will be able to download and view video podcasts using iTunes and this "iPod Video".
You wouldn't need awesome resolution for news and talk shows and whatnot. If I had a long commute to work/school I would love being able to wake up in the morning and have the morning news already downloaded onto my iPod.
-tom
Hehe. And this just hours after "Bill Gates Swears Vow Against 'Son of iPod'"
In a correction, Gates swears vengance against "Son of iPod, twice removed!"
"We'll not let Apple have the market for small devices that measure milk levels in the fridge. No Way! That is the line! I really mean it!" Gates said.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Hmm... my Japanese celphone isn't much bigger than an iPod mini, and yet it can both record and playback 320x240 30fps MPEG-4 videos with its 2x optical zoom 2MP digital camera (or from any video source via a composite cable) and QVGA LCD, in addition to AAC audio and, you know, being a celphone. :) You can download music videos and short tv clips right on the phone at 2.4mbps, or download them via PC to a memory card and then just have the phone authorize & decrypt them.
So I see no reason why an iPod mini-sized device would have any trouble playing back MPEG-4 (divx/xvid), and could possibly even record to it.
Why do you think adding video playback to an iPod would greatly increase the cost? As long as Apple can limit the resolution of the supported video, which it can, current-generation ARM or XScale chipsets are more than powerful enough to do the job - they're used in current-generation cell phones for just that kind of thing, right?
From the PortalPlayer website :
That should about do it for NTSC-resolution playback, shouldn't it??It's called the IRIVER H300 series. As of firmware 1.25 you can watch any movie as long as it is encoded a certain way (xvid,15fps,size,etc. etc.), i've fit 4 seasons of Trailer Park Boys on my H320 and still have half of the HD to fill with songs. The movies are definetely watchable and look quite good on the screen. There is no TV out but who cares, this is for portable viewing, great for watching anything except movies like X-Men and such. Oh yeah, and if you get one don't forget to upgrade to firmware 1.27, as it extends battery life, 1.25 had too much hd accesses. lushdog
iAudio has made a cheaper, more full featured player than iRiver and Apple could even dream of.
For $250, you get 20gigs, divx, xvid, mp3, wav, wma, wmv, ogg, flac.
Color screen, USB host-to-host, USB charging. Line in/out. FM radio, FM recording. Microphone recording.
Scheduled recordings, alarms, visualizations.
I cant even keep listing the features.
Fuck Ipod and Iriver.
iAudio has them both beat hands down.
Brent Jones
Does anyone else think that $2 for a legal movie is a far more compelling pricepoint than 99 cents was for one song? Here, we're actually seeing a savings over buying the traditional disc, and a savings over most rental schemes too - and you own the movie.
This I might consider buying. Assuming, of course, it's not the $2 for the movies that are in the $1 bin at Wal-Mart, and more like $2 for the movies that are coming out on DVD. Seriously, I would pay $2 for a 650MB Divx/Xvid rip of the movie from DVD. But it would need to be unencumbered enough for me to burn that to CD and play it in my current Divx enabled DVD player.
Opera, Proxomitron-Grypen,GPG 0x0A1C6EE3
I can't believe nobody's mentioned Microvision retinal-projectors yet.
The most interesting thing in Cringely's "Shoes" article was the conjecture about Apple not bothering with crappy lil' video screens and jumping straight for the obvious killer - projecting the video straight into your eye.
If Apple could make screens passe' for portable use, that would be a huge coup.
G. Ratte'/cDc "I don't know what your problem is, but I bet it's hard to pronounce."
http://www.archos.com/
I can already play video to tv from a "portable music player"
Color me unimpressed.
Does this mean that iTunes will provide the ability to rip a DVD the same way it can rip a CD?
I tend to mark my next song in the list, then when I fade the volume enough on the track, I press the center button and the next track starts and I fade back in the volume. I rarely wait for the next track to start. Besides, different tracks can have widely varying levels. What bothers me is sometimes after a song ends the ipod will lockup for no reason. I have had to resort to a CD while the ipod resets itself.
I'm not an expert, but my understanding was that the hard drive is not suitable for the near-continuous usage video playback would require. Also the battery would presumably need to be juiced up.
The more I think about it, though, I realize my guess is not based on what's technically possible. It just doesn't seem like Apple to require hooking up to a third-party device to get useful functionality. (Showing photos on a small screen is useful, like showing off wallet-sized photos. Watching video on one is not useful, aside from the use case of mass-transit commuters.)
Free, legal music for iTunes users.
Eat that Taco!
If God didn't want us to eat pussy, then why did he shape it like a taco? [jerk! Eh-hyuck!]
--
In other words, chow that box!
The folks at http://ipodlinux.org/ have already hacked the iPod into playing a special type of .avi file. AND, Apple is already (!) selling music videos through iTunes, and has been for a few months, for those of you who haven't seen it already.
I don't know if anyone's brought this up, but Steve Jobs has only said no one wants to watch movies on a small screen like the current iPods'.
Who's to say the video iPods won't have bigger screens and new form factors?
I've had some of my friends sit around my phone looking at the video of Satisfaction, and noone complained about the screen size being small
I be that's not all they don't complain about being small...at least to your face.
If you honestly believe that a small pixelated screen is just as good as a large sharp one, then I have news for you. You know that feeling you get that everyone's laughing behind your back...In your case it's not paranoia.
Cole's Axiom: The sum of the intelligence on the planet is a constant. The population is growing.
adding video to iPod (which does one thing and does it well, except now it can do two things -- photos) makes it perhaps too complicated.
The iPod Photo already can be hooked up to a television to display slideshows. I believe Apple has actually been developing the iPod in this direction so that it would actually not take much modification to the existing design of the iPod photo in order to use it for video playback, from a manufacturing perspective. In fact, the iPod photo can technically play back videos, so it seems like it is probably only a matter of a software upgrade to get it to play videos. That is unless the processor isn't powerful enough to handle video decompression, as that example utilises "video" composed of frames that are individual files.
what i am suggesting is that Apple would now have a tool to dominate the online video market the way they do music.
think about it. we're all waiting for movies for download.
I think that Apple will actually start by selling music videos first rather than full-fledged movies. Somehow, the "iTunes" name doesn't seem to adequately describe a store and jukebox application for movies, although it would perfectly suit music videos as they still conform to the same genre. The file sizes of music videos along with H.264 compression would suit the iPod as it is currently, in terms of capacity. And you could just listen to the music without watching the video as well, kind of like leaving a television on in the background, listening to MTV as if it were a radio station.
Music videos are a dominating part of the music industry and seem to be a more influential broadcast medium than radio with regards to an artist's success in the music industry. Just imagine iTunes playing, but the "visualizer" function would make it play full screen music videos, turning it into your own private MTV channel rather than simply displaying visual graphics. Music videos seem to be an untapped potential of current technology because of the feasibility of short video file sizes. I don't believe that people are even trading music videos on P2P networks the way they do songs, so if the iTunes Music Store started selling them, it would have a major impact and fulfill a niche that even P2P file sharing hasn't addressed.
Movies still take up quite a bit of space for storage and bandwidth for downloading. However, the iPod would most likely end up as a way of storing your movie collection as well. I just think that the functionality isn't quite there yet at present to handle full-length movies as comfortably as it can music with regards to ripping, downloading, and storing. But it will get there as technology progresses, and music videos are the perfect media in the interim. I think that when they finally get into full-length movies, they would also have to change their jukebox application and downloading service name from "iTunes" into something else.
a listener to my radio show sent in this scan from the annual report. http://infonomicon.org/images/ge.jpg
What makes anybody think its for an iPod?
Eyeball bandwidth is radically more demanding. You can listen to a song while doing something else. You can't watch a video and ride a bike at the same time. Humans aren't designed that way.
Steve Jobs is not trying to kill his customers.
This way they can work with Windows too. (I bet Gates will be plenty pissed at that.)
So viTunes (for music videos to start, and then for downloading full length movies) are designed for non-mobile playback.
MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
of course the first question will be how long will the battery last, hopefully won't be the PSP-like estimates of 14hrs on a charge and it turns out to be 2hrs, a movie if you're lucky.
And the 2nd will probably be what file types will it support. I think all portable audio players support mp3 and whatever DRM-ed format, acc, wma, rma. The newer iPod models have at least dual ARM 80MHz and 32MB buffer, that should be enough to play all formats at 500+k variable bitrate but the obsession on "piracy" and DRM is preventing that.
When are the entertainment industry folks going to realize that anyone who wants something for free will find a way to get it for free. STOP punishing the people who PAY for their entertainment. When people BUY something they are less likely to give it away on P2P networks, they're going to KEEP it for their OWN USE. The worst that's going to happen is they share it with other people in their home, which I think itunes allows.
I don't consider it to be "piracy" if you can't buy it, that tv show from last night that may not be released on DVD and if it is will not be in the next 5yrs. The questionable area are movies no longer in theaters and no announced DVD release date set.
F7 doesn't work, ignore spelling and grammar
What about wireless recording or streaming HDTV quality video from/to your new handheld Apple iVid digital media center?
---- I have nothing more to add.
sad. Dumbass.
No,
Mr Dumbass is my Manager. He works with Mr.Dickhead and Mr. Shithead.
Just shows how little I care about Apple.I thought the one with the tiny screen already out could play movies... hmm.
"I used to have that really cool,funny sig
I like the idea of using video glasses. I remember trying a pair on at the 2004 Embedded Systems Conference - there was a big screen projected in front of me.
Then they cheated you. The idea of video glasses are to make it seem like there is a big screen projected in front of you. If they did project a big screen in front of you after you tried on a pair , then they were just screwing with you.
Ok, so this is a really lame joke.Please mod me down... I'll be quiet.
"I used to have that really cool,funny sig
This portable functionality is already available and the product can play Divx, Xvid, .ogm files etc is firmware upgradeable. You can see it here.
http://www.tvix.co.kr/Eng/Products/TVix.aspx
The reason I know about it is that I am very seriously looking into buying one shortly. I'll put a 300-400 GB drive and it'll be perfect.
Agreed. My PSP + 1Gb Duo has made my long train commute much better. Looking forward to what Apple comes out with. What is really needed (and I think this is as important as screen size, etc) is a way to make video xfer as quick and easy as audio xfer(e.g. ripping a CD with iTunes). Whoever solves that and makes it fast will have the killer product.
But, to a limited extent, some users ( espeically those tempted to get a full-size iPod rather than a mini ) might like to play a little video clip on that little iPod screen - on the train, bus, airplane, waiting for class, showing off a video clip to a friend... there are uses for the feature, and that's where I'm thinking iPod video is not a *major* feature, just *another* feature.
I think it's a feature that's being added because it's easy, not a major feature that's going to be a main selling point for _most_ folks. It's just something else that makes the full-size iPod more competitive with the Windows Media and MPEG-based video playback handhelds out there.
That's just my guess, of course. I could be wrong, but with reasonable restraints on video size and use of MPEG-4, the load on the hard disk would not be *too* much- I mean, the existing MPEG and Windows Media video players use the same drives, don't they? Of course, using it for that would drain the battery, but, then, users expect that, and like you point out, you're not going to be watching video on your iPod for hours at a time. But you might be watch a new music video or Daily Show clip or show off your kid/cat/vacation footage that nobody wants to see any more than they want to see your wallet-size snapshots... 30 or 40 minutes of video at a time, tops. With 60 GB of storage, why not carry around a 30 second video of your kid playing at the beach or the latest Gorillaz video or last night's Daily Show ?
I really think even current iPods might be up to the task technically. We'll see. The video features built into iTunes by itself points to Apple doing some serious, long-term thinking about video delivery.
Anyway, you keep picking on minor details and missing the actual point that I was trying to make and will repeat one last time now: OP says "Their [Apple's] PC's are notorously hard (if not impossible) to upgrade". Someone feels like arguing, can't do any better than smugly pointing out that Apple never made PCs (a statement which you may interpret to be true, but only when you regard it out of the context of the OP, which makes it irrelevant to the discussion and thus doesn't prove anything), and is therefore a bean-counting smart-ass and a stupid flamebaiter ('troll' being too kind a term).
Whereas the point you were trying to make seems to be: IBM marketing department pwned term 'PC' in ancient times, so Apple marketing department consistently avoids this term even now (not wanting to evoke a 'boring beige box' image), thus it is wrong to abbreviate 'personal computer' to 'PC'. After all, when it comes to the English language, commercials and press releases are a much better source of information than dictionaries and common sense. In the face of this logic, I give up. If you really believe this, I won't try to stop you any longer; go ahead, I don't care.
but what do i know, i'm just a model.
Wouldn't you rather take your powerbook and watch it on a decent sized screen (larger than 3")? I take my powerbook whenever I fly anyways... If you don't want to spend that much, take the $500 you plunk down for vidPod and buy one of those 7" portable dvd players.
A full length, full quality feature film ripped from DVD to H.264 takes up about 600 to 800 megs.
e ature-length-film-playing.html
All that's standing in the way of an iTunes style movie store is the motion picture industry.
http://videothing.blogspot.com/2005/06/full-res-f