Apple Adds New TV Shows To iTunes

Phaedo00 writes "Ars Technica is reporting that Apple has added eleven new and classic television shows from NBC, the Sci-Fi network, and USA. The new shows include Alfred Hitchcock, Battlestar Galactica, Monk, Surface, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, Dragnet, Law & Order, The Office and most importantly: Knight Rider!" From the article: "Steve Jobs took the opportunity to toot Apple's horn, stating that since the inception of video downloads on the iTMS, they'd sold nearly three million individual items. In addition to the sales figures, the PR from Apple stated that their current offering of video stands at approximately 300 episodes. All in all this looks like a slam dunk for Apple as they're rounding up their distribution deals and diversifying their suppliers. If the rumored deals with FOX and CBS are true then Apple will have a dominating lead in this market, much like their current domination in the digital music distribution arena."

Comments

When will the rest of the world sign on?

[mattyohe]

Evidently TV is still only downloadable at the US iTunes store.

Re:When will the rest of the world sign on?

[IAmTheDave]

When will the rest of the world sign on?

Unfortunately, even if the rest of the world starts releasing programming, it won't be US based. BitTorrent's popularity is driven at least in part due to TV programming restrictions on an international level. Were iTunes to get Dr. Who in the UK, I still doubt it would be available for US users, continuing to leave people no legal way to obtain said programming.

It's like asking when DVD region coding will go away, and when a DVD/movie will have the same release date internationally. Despite the number of times Finding Nemo (etc) was pirated because it was on DVD here in the states even before it launched in theaters across the globe, people in charge of distribution and licensing will (seemingly) never get that it's a global world now.

Re:When will the rest of the world sign on?

[BasilBrush]

It wouldn't. The TV license is a fixed fee for people who have a television. It isn't needed to watch video files on a computer.

Re:When will the rest of the world sign on?

[Sockatume]

Technically it's a licence for people who use a television to recieve TV broadcasts. If you don't have an aerial hooked up and are willing to claim you only use the TV for, say, DVDs and videogames, you don't have to pay a licence. Inspectors are quite clear on this although neither the TV licencing site nor the BBC's spokespersons are especially keen to be.

Man, I'm pedantic.

Re:When will the rest of the world sign on?

[frostilicus2]

Here's what wikipedia has to say:

"In the United Kingdom, these fees are set by Parliament and go directly to the funding of the BBC, enabling it to run without the need for market competition. The licence fee, initially for radio sets (exempt since 1971), was mandated by the 1904 Wireless Telegraphy Act. The fee was originally 10 shillings (£0.50) and in 2005 was £126.50 for colour TV and £42 for monochrome TV. There are concessions for the elderly (free for over 75s) and blind people (50% off). Only one licence is required per household. It is believed that approximately 5% of TVs are unlicensed. With the BBC's increased worldwide output (including its online services) there has been a debate as to the abolition of the TV licence, which has been denounced as a violation of the freedom to receive information without inteference. Generally, competing television companies favour the licence fee since it means the BBC will not compete with them for advertising or subscriptions. Proper debate of the licence fee is consistently suppressed by the BBC from its own airwaves. Numerous polls show significant public opposition to the fee.

According to the definition of TV receiving apparatus [1], a licence must be obtained for any device which is "installed or used" for receiving broadcasts, which potentially covers devices such as a tuner card in a PC or a portable television. However a television installed and used for some other purpose, such as a closed-circuit monitor, video player or a games console, is exempt provided the owner can demonstrate it is not used for receiving broadcasts.

Enforcement in the UK is provided by Capita Group and the AMV consortium. Capita agents are paid bonuses on the basis of the convictions they secure. AMV is an advertising and public relations agency. Several hundred thousand prosecutions are brought each year. Observations at magistrates court show that a very large proportion of those prosecuted are single women on benefits. Capita maintain a database of all addresses in the country, with electronics retailers being subject to large fines if they do not pass on the addresses of anyone buying television receiving equipment. Addresses with no licence are assumed to have a television, and are subject to repeated threatening mailshots and visits by the enforcement agency. In addition to the database, the BBC claims that electronic detectors are used to pick up the small amount of energy re-radiated by the local oscillator in the tuning circuitry. There is no evidence of any prosecution ever having been brought on this basis of this warrantless electronic surveillance and it is widely suspected that the famous detector vans are no more than mock-ups designed to intimidate viewers. It's open to doubt how well the much advertised detectors would work on a TV tuner card within the electrically noisy Faraday cage enclosure of a PC: the simpler method of calling round and looking for the aerial or an operating television would seem more effective. Note that, since the inspectors are not police officers or any other type of government official, they have no right to enter private property unless invited. Some feel that the scheme is as a regressive tax, in that the very poorest are those least likely to have a licence, and least able to pay the fine for not having a licence. A report ("TV sinners", March 1998) by the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux pointed out that failure to pay the fine is the single largest reason for the imprisonment of single mothers. However, supporters of the licence fee claim that it helps maintain a higher quality of programming on the BBC compared to its commercial rivals. Some also claim that it also leads to better programmes on the commercial channels as they seek to draw viewers/listeners away from the BBC's output."

Any other questions should probably be directed here.

Re:When will the rest of the world sign on?

[lowrydr310]

Pick up a Philips DVP-642. They're about $60, can play MPEG and DivX movies from data CDs, and you can either remove or reset the region code with a few presses on the remote control. They're not exactly portable, but at that price you can buy two and keep one here and one there.

Re:When will the rest of the world sign on?

[whitearrow]

What's the quality like?

I downloaded the post-cancellation episode of Night Stalker from iTunes. The quality is only ok. 320 x 240. It looked acceptable on my 42" HDTV via TV out on my laptop, but far from great. Certainly not nearly as good as a Divx-encoded .avi from an HDTV feed. This service certainly isn't something I'd use as a replacement for my HD-DVR, but in case of emergency or unavailability elsewhere (as with the NS episode) I'm glad it's there. (Cancelling Night Stalker in the middle of a two-parter was particularly cruel on ABC's part, but I'm glad they made the second half available. Even if it did cost $2.)

Not for me.

[Seth Finklestein]

Let's get out my handy-dandy little red pen here.

h.264 format? I guess that's okay.

'FairPlay' DRM? Not good. I can't play it outside iTunes.

Open and accessible store? Nope. You need iTunes which is only available for Macintosh and Windows.

Compatibility with many devices? Nope. Only one: the iPod 5G.

Well at least I can create a DVD, like iTunes lets me burn a CD with my purchased songs, right? Nope. No burning. Only playback.

Well at least the new episodes of Law & Order, which are filmed in HDTV, will be shown in brilliant 1280x720 resolution, right? Nope. 320x240.

Good for you, Apple. Welcome to the 19th century. I'll be over here with my trusty BitTorrent client.

Re:Not for me.

[mr100percent]

You CAN play it outside iTunes, I'm looking at Jay Leno in Quicktime player right now. You're right about not being able to export it, however.

Re:Not for me.

[Chicane-UK]

Let me just get out my handy-dandy little red pen, and use it to illustrate a few points which you seem to have otherwise overlooked.

I think the most important one is this - we all know that bittorrent is out there and that whatever solution that the movie & television studios and their affiliates come up with will never give us the freedom / choice that we currently have. But right now its a LEGAL WAY OF DOING THINGS, and maybe you should accept that there will never be a legal system that just gives you every TV show, ever aired, whenever you want it.

You're a fool - Apple are at least making the effort to get something off the ground that could potentially bloom.. yeah, right now its a bit lousy that its only in low res and you can only play it on your iPod but its step one - and only complete ignorami like yourself would completely overlook the bigger picture in this case, and sing about the same old song about not being able to play it on your Linux PVR or being able to burn it to DVD.

This, like it or not IS the 21st century. Get over it.

Re:Important question...

[jelloshotgun]

The new (Steve Carell) Office. It would be awesome if they got some BBC stuff up there... I already have Fawlty Towers on DVD, but I'd want it up there just so I can tell people to get it!

Re:iTMS dominates now that they feature....

[generic-man]

They've had FOUR of his albums and one EP before Knight Rider was available. (Link requires iTunes.)

Re:Important question...

[Angostura]

A quick peek at iTunes shows that it is the U.S office. Getting the UK Office would require Apple to do a deal with the BBC. And wouldn't *that* be a great day.

Danger! Danger! Non-uniform pricing!!

[ZachPruckowski]

I'd like to point out that most of the Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien stuff is $1.99, which means it costs the same as 45 minutes of LOST. But they are selling two roughly hour-long specials from Conan for $9.99. This is a big example of non-standard pricing, and I wouldn't be suprised to see more of it in the future.

Kind of nice.

[Jeff DeMaagd]

I suppose this is fine for missing a single episode, but for me and episodes of currently running series, I'm thinking a DVR is going to be a better way to go. I have MythTV set up 95%, I've just been putting off finishing it up, and for those that don't go for self-flagellation like installing Myth, there are commercial DVRs too that don't seem too bad. For TV shows that aren't run anymore, the DVDs are better deals anyway, I'm hoping there will be easier conversion software.

Re:As a non-itunes user...

[Ahnteis]

320X240 size IIRC.

If that resolution isn't exact, it's around that size. Works for cartoons, a bit too small to really enjoy other shows on your TV.

Important Add-on comment

[ZachPruckowski]

I'd like to point out that most of the Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien stuff is $1.99, which means it costs the same as 45 minutes of LOST.

The important part of that sentence is that the Leno and Conan stuff is 5-10 minutes long for the same price.

SD Quality Downloads

[Frobozz0]

It's Standard Definition (SD) quality television. In fact, it can look a lot better than SD if you play it through an HD set with upsampling or other quality improving technologies.

For example, I have a Sony 50" LCD Projection HDTV (Love it, BTW.) I also have a PowerBook. All I do is plug the S-Video cable from my computer to my TV and play all those episode of LOST I love. I had never seen LOST prior to downloading on iTunes, so I thought I would DL a couple and try it out. I was really impressed by the quality. It's better than a normal SD broadcast, the colors are amazing, and the compression is almost never noticable.

So, yes, I would like HD quality downloads for video (nominal charge is fine for bandwidth) and I'd like higher quality AAC's (norminal charge fine) as an option. But this is a great start and will prove the validity of the concept.

Re:SD Quality Downloads

[nidhogge242]

Well actually, the standard definitions of Standard Definition are fairly rigid, and are only varied between different regions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/576i

Re:As a non-itunes user...

[stevenprentice]

I have a new iMac G5 with a 20" flat panel screen. The TV shows I've downloaded look great at full-screen. This is not HDTV, but if you've been viewing standard TV for years, you won't notice the difference.

Re:This will be news when...

[SilentChris]

www.dapcentral.org All of the episodes that haven't been released by Rhino. Best Brains (the company that made the show) encourages "tape trading" so they don't mind the service (as long as no one makes a quick buck off it).

I currently have about 40-50 downloaded episodes, some near-DVD quality. Great resource.

Leno and Conan

[jessecurry]

it seems that the episodes of Leno and Conan are not actually episodes, but collections of segments. I would've really liked to be able to download entire episodes, but at least this is a start.

Re:Yawn...

[mblase]

I've downloaded episodes of "Lost" for viewing on my computer, since I don't own/can't afford a video iPod. I was pleased to see that I could watch it on my 17" monitor from several feet away on the couch and enjoy it -- the quality is comparable to a medium-quality home VHS recording. You could see the pixelation in, say, the stubble on Jack's chin, but printed text was completely legible.

Now, keep in mind that a 45-minute episode of "Lost" takes 10-20 minutes to download. You want twice the resolution, that's almost four times the data and would take an hour to download, if not longer. Most customers aren't going to want to download video if it takes longer than the episode itself to do so.

iTMS' current resolution for video is "good enough" for viewing at home and on a portable device. It does the job it was meant to do. If you want it higher than this, you're honestly better off spending the money on the DVD set or a good cable TV connection.

Even their DRM sounds pretty tame, though...

[maillemaker]

From the iTunes web site:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/videos/

"Browse featured listings or search the archive to find just what you want, then click to buy. Once you do, you get stutter-free, ad-free video delivered directly to your desktop. From there, the sky's the limit, because you own purchased video forever. Watch as many times as you choose, share between five computers, burn to data CDs or sync to the new iPod. Instant gratification never looked better."

-> "...because you own purchased video forever." -

Steve

Re:What Technology is Behind iTMS?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yup. It's all us. Bit customized on the software side, you understand, but there are just racks of Xserves serving up media.

Re:Important question... (OT reply sorry!)

[gibbsjoh]

modecx... why not order some region 2 dvds from here (UK) and rip them (straight up, no compression, just a VIDEO_TS folder), and re-burn as Region Free? Not the ideal solution but better than a kick in the trousers :). MacTheRipper will do this on MacOS X, Im sure there's a Windows/Linux package to do the same.

FWIW I love Top Gear too!

JG

Re:What Technology is Behind iTMS?

[amichalo]

iTunes Music Store is using Web Objects. Macworld reports in this article that it runs on Xserve and Xserve RAID and every investor knows Akamai (AKAM) is the bandwidth provider.

Re:I want Firefly!

[Mercano]

Sure, they have the money for it, and probably the inclination, too, problem is Universal Studios (who, I belive, is corperate cousin of the SciFi chanel) only has the movie rights to the franchise. Fox still has the TV rights. They'd need to get Fox to sell them.

Re:Apple's going to take the lead just for trying.

[kannibal_klown]

. $1.99 for TV quality, $2.99 for DVD quality, and $3.99 for HD quality, perhaps?

But DVD is essentially TV quality, just progressive and you don't have to worry about reception. Unless you mean like DVD-writable, at which point I'd gladly pay an extra $1 to be able to burn it to DVD.

US TV and DVD's both store only 480 lines, though our TV signal is interlaced which the DVD is progressive. So as long as the picture is "clean" (no static) and it's progressive then it's probably already DVD quality.

As for HD, I don't know how they'd swing it. 1hr (42min after commercials) shows would still be REALLY big and would take a massive bite out of their bandwith.

ESPN thinking Apple

[kherr]

I have no idea what kind of content they'd be considering, but apparently ESPN is thinking about Apple's video distribution. Now if only that means seeing stuff like The Ocho would be showing ("If it's almost a sport, we've got it!").

Re:Resolution

[Anonymous Coward]

Wrong! I just plugged my 5G iPod video into my standard (not HD) 32" TV and played an episode of Lost. Broadcast quality ... not HD mind you. But the same pciture quality I normally get on my TV. And guess waht ... now I could take this episode to a friends house and plug my iPod into her Tv and she gets to see it too. Make sure you know that facts before pronouncing the technology stupid, stupid.

Re:Danger! Danger! Non-uniform pricing!!

[adpowers]

The two approximately hour long episodes are: 10th Anniversary Special, and a Best of Triumph episode. The short clips (15 minute) include a few Triumph clips and some other skits. All of the skits offered for download (at $2 a pop!) are pretty old (4-5 years?). I'm a little disappointed.