No Video iPod Coming?

Fuzzball963 writes "ThinkSecret is reporting that a video iPod is not going to be released on Oct.12th. Instead, the announcement will be an 80 GB update to the iPod, along with size improvements on the color models. The analysts seem to say that the video iPod is in development, but that lack of a licensing agreement between Apple and the studios has made it a no-go for now." From the article: "While a video-capable iPod remains in development, without the agreements nor infrastructure in place to deliver movies to customers through a store-like interface, Apple sees little value in releasing such an iPod at this time. Apple insiders have also said executives see consumers needing the capability to easily import the DVD movies they own to a usable format (similar to the encoding functionality provided for audio CDs with iTunes) in order for a video iPod to be truly successful. The complexity to date of accomplishing such a feat has meant only a minority of computer users have dabbled with watching full-length movies on their computer, with most of those having acquired the content through file sharing services."

Comments

Copying your legally-owned DVDs...

[Trollificus]

...to an mpeg/divx/whatever format isn't as difficult as they make it sound. I currently use Smartripper to rip the .vob files and separate my audio and video tracks, and DVDx to encode the audio to mp3 and video to DivX and package it all up in a nice .avi container.

Granted, it is not as easy as ripping a CD, but if anyone can streamline this into a single-step process(to the end-user anyway), it would be Apple.

Re:Copying your legally-owned DVDs...

[plj]

Mod parent up. The DVD CCA will never grant Apple a license to rip CSS-encrypted movies to a hard disk. While it is technically entirely feasible to make DVD ripping as easy as CD ripping, it is not, for legal reasons, anything that a major consumer electronics manufacturer like Apple can do.

This is all just DVD DRM (aka CSS) hard at work, stifling innovation.

I already have an iPod Video...

[michaelzhao]

Its called the iPod-Linux. If you install Linux on your iPod Photo, it will play video. It takes 24 bit uncompressed AVI files and splits up the sound. It takes each frame separately and stores it as a slideshow. Next, it goes to the slideshow and accelerates the frames to 30 frames a second while playing audio in the background. Voila! Although the screen is small, no screen is too small for the Boondock Saints.

There won't be a video iPod

[joelhayhurst]

Jobs has said time and time again that he thinks the idea of a video iPod is stupid and doesn't want to make one. And yet, Slashdot keeps acting like it will be a reality. He even went so far as to mock companies that were pursuing portable video.

I've actually posted a comment similar to this a year ago. Here is the Apple Special Event 04. 12:35 into the video.

Media event for modest product updates? No way.

[calstraycat]

I have no idea what will be announced at this event, but I think it's safe to assume that Thinksecret's assertion that Apple will simply announce modest updates to it's iPod, Powerbook and Power Mac product lines is highly unlikely. Apple only orchestrates these types of highly-publicized events when they are introducing a brand new or substantially different product.

I just can't see Jobs deliberately getting the media buzz going with his cryptic little invitation and then getting on stage and saying "look, here's our new 80 GB iPod and our dual-core Power Mac...oh, and one more thing...our Powerbooks have higher resolution screens".

Something new will be announced. I'd bet against a video iPod, but this event is most assuredly not for announcing product updates.