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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."

20 of 441 comments (clear)

  1. firmware update or new device? by anotherone · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

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    1. Re:firmware update or new device? by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 2, Interesting

      According to As Seen On TV, Apple was forced to wait for a H.264 hardware decoder before they moved into portable video. It makes sense that enough time has passed for that problem to be solved. Thus, the Apple Store videos will probably be H.264. If Apple makes any equivalent to ripping, it'll probably be to H.264 just like CDs go to AAC by default. The device may be capable of playing MPEG4 also, but do you think Apple is going to forgo the opportunity to put their high end iPod at the $500 price point again for a little while?

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  2. hacked version by plutonium83 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'd be more interested in a hacked version of this new ipod that can play ANY video I want.

  3. Yeah, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Does this mean Apple will now become the world's largest porn vendor???

  4. Link to facts? by spicyjeff · · Score: 2, Interesting
    which Apple has reported may come out sometime in September


    They have? Apple being such an open company and all with their future products.
  5. The choke point seems to be by Chrontius · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ... 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?

  6. I'd buy them on one condition by ShatteredDream · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.

  7. This confirms that "As Seen on TV" was just BS by blonde+rser · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...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.

  8. Re:Before everyone starts bitching about the scree by Tibor+the+Hun · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.

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  9. Re:Cost of video vs. cost of audio by s7uar7 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The record companies usually don't make anything from the videos, they are made to promote the single. Anything they make from selling the video on iTunes will go straight to the bottom line.

  10. Re:Before everyone starts bitching about the scree by garcia · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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.

  11. Video _right_there_ by dazedNconfuzed · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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.

    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 ... perfect for intermediate "dead time", especially when commuting.
    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.

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  12. I was right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    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."

  13. Re:Before everyone starts bitching about the scree by jambarama · · Score: 3, Interesting


    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 .mov music videos.

    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.

  14. Re:From the FA by Otter · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is there really a significant base of people willing to pay $2 for videos, on top of the expensive new player needed to view them, though? Given that the network that's synonomous with music videos has pretty much abandoned them in favor of "reality" shows (and yet the bastards have canceled their one gem, Wildboyz!), I don't quite see it.

  15. Re:Before everyone starts bitching about the scree by Perl-Pusher · · Score: 3, Interesting
    No, iPods are for listening to music on the go.

    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.

  16. Re:Video just isn't the same as music tho... by Jasin+Natael · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Reason #1131 to move to Japan!

    Instead of a 1-hour drive to work, you can have a 1-hour train ride to work, and will be able to watch entire television shows or significant portions of movies during transit. It gives you an excuse to own a video-capable player.

    However, considering that shoulder bags are an acceptable accoutrement for men over there, perhaps you'd be happier with the new Archos PMP with the 7" screen...

    Jasin Natael
    --
    True science means that when you re-evaluate the evidence, you re-evaluate your faith.
  17. Re:Cost of video vs. cost of audio by vudu · · Score: 2, Interesting

    So if this is essentially an advertisement for the single... why am I paying for it?

    $1.99 for a 3 minute video?!?!?! (~$0.66/minute)
    At that rate, an average length DVD would cost about $69.30 to "buy" (license, whatever the term of the day is).

    No thanks.

  18. Re:Before everyone starts bitching about the scree by Larmal · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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?

  19. Missing the point... by shmlco · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Of course, you're totally immersed in other activities sitting on a plane, train, or bus. Or if you're a passenger in a car on a trip. Or peddling away at the gym. Or sitting in a waiting room. Or hotel room. Or sitting around somewhere on a night shift. Or...

    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.

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