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This iPod does video
October 13, 2005 -
Apple cuts the TV out of TV programming
October 12, 2005
For more than a year, many people have said it was only a matter of time before Apple released an iPod capable of playing video, despite the fact that CEO Steve Jobs himself claimed doing so would be a move in the "wrong direction." But for all the speculation about when Jobs might reverse his opinion about the importance of adding a video iPod to Apple's lineup, the final product met with a relatively underwhelmed crowd.
While many Apple fans praised the new iPod's thin design and reasonable pricing, the prevailing sentiment online was that the video quality, show pricing and lineup of available shows offered on the iPod aren't good enough to move people to adopt the device as their new medium for TV consumption. And the fact that videos can be downloaded only at a size that fits the iPod's screen means few people will be buying them to view on their PCs.
The new version of iTunes came as a surprise to most people who blogged about or mentioned it in online discussion forums, primarily because Apple just released iTunes 5 a few short weeks ago. While many thought the addition of video to iTunes was a good move, the fact that videos are shown at such a small size diminished excitement for this new feature.
The iMac got a warmer greeting than perhaps either of the other products Apple unveiled Wednesday. Many blogs showed that the company's move to bring the PC to the center of the living room piqued users' interest--especially given that many analysts presumed the Mac Mini would take that role. But again, Apple seems to have fallen just short of making a slam dunk with the new product. More than a few bloggers who were excited about the iMac's Front Row software also lamented that they wouldn't move to an entertainment system centered on their computer until Apple offers more integration with television.
The word from the Web...
• Is it just me, or is the new iPod really not that exciting? Apple are trying to make it sound exciting, yes, but a large part of me (the part that would usually be reaching for the credit card about now) really couldn't care less. Are the magic reserves starting to run a little dry at Apple?
Is there food?
• In terms of downsides, I see one major one: 320x240 would look ridiculously bad on my TV, and unlike the world of music where plenty of people can't tell the difference between lossy and lossless codecs, everyone will be able to see the difference here between standard definition and QVGA. I can't really see this being something I'm interested in until we cross beyond the SD barrier and up into HD, but then we're talking about 350MB or so for an hour of TV, and that's obviously not possible. Some middle ground is needed, but QVGA is just too poor for my taste. I can't see too many people abandoning BitTorrent for this.
Ars Technica
• i don't care about price. i care about quality. if it was 1080p-5.1, i'd slam down my credit card right away. but LOWER than BT (BitTorrent) resolution? this is an insult.
JediFonger on Ars Technica discussion forum
• Only two hours of video playback per charge? Come on, Apple! My 2 year-old RCA PMP gets better battery life than that.
Kevin Robinson on Engadget discussion forum
• iMac = sweet, iTunes 6 = whatever, 5th Gen iPod = dissapointing and somewhat useless.
ones and zeros
• integrated camera - it's about time, hopefully this'll make it into displays and laptops in the foreseeable future. No integrated dial-up modem - i was expecting to see this happen sooner than later, i wonder if their laptops are next. Front row - interesting to see the imac take center-stage as apple's media center where everyone expected the mac mini to take on this roll six months ago. Kinda bold to create a living room media hub without integrated tv-tuner - either they're really confident in their itunes video store or Steve Jobs really hates tv.
engadgeted.net
• The full-screen UI of Front Row is just begging to be hooked up to a TV. Begging. Now that there exists a "video iPod", the next new "Apple has to be working on this" mega-rumor is going to revolve around how Apple plans to bring this Front Row UI to your TV...PhotoBooth is not available for download; I wish it were available to anyone with an iSight. I hope it's not something they're reserving for new machines with built-in cameras.
Daring Fireball
See more CNET content tagged:
Ars Technica, Apple iMac, Apple Computer, blogger, BitTorrent
Users: We Want a Video iPod.. we want one bad
Apple: it's a bad Idea.. but here you go
Users: It doesn't do what *I* want it to do... Waahhhh
Boo freakin' hoo. maybe YOU shoulda come up with one and
sold it to Apple.
I'm an avid Mac + iPod user, but the lack of enthusiasm always
makes me laugh.
Just wait for about a month after all the glowing reviews come in
about ease-of-use, great playback quality on the iPod, etc. and
then the fickle bunch will sing a sweeter tune.
Fortunately, Jobs and his folks run Apple and not the geeks who
claim to know what the consumers want. Apple would have
crashed and burned long ago if they listened to all the nonsense
a minority of its customers spew. Unfortunately, that minority
always seems to be the most heard by the media.
look great even when I stretched it out as far as it could go. The
picture remains clear as a bell and the sound quality was excellent.
Thank you Apple, I never imagined I would buy music videos in the
first place or download them. But here we are and it's good!
computer for editing later??
well!
maybe the lack of a Tuner was a good thing. I've had directv,
dish network, and digital cable and every one needs a seperate
reciever to tune the channels, so why not just hookup the imac
to the AUX/INPUT on the TV and leave the TV alone. I
personally don't watch any of the local channels except for the
news once in a blue moon, and for that, I can aford the exercise
to putdown the imac remote and grabe the TV remote.
This is a baby step toward a bigger picture that gets the ball rolling on maintstream distribution of video on IP. It's a very good start. Sure, there's no DVR in the new iMac, but why would there be? Getting video over the air is old school. We won't do it that way forever.
Other thoughts on my blog...
http://www.campusfish.com/Jeff/3070
will take 20-30 minutes to download on the average broadband
connection, even at the current video resolution. Full resolution
downloads are coming at some point, especially as connection
speeds increase. I can only imagine the complaints that we
would be hearing if Apple provided high-resolution content
right now: "The TV shows take more than an hour to download,
that's way too long . . . " What would be the point of higher
resolution stuff right now since the point is to provide content
for the iPod? Everything would need to be down-converted.
Clearly, Apple is building toward something much bigger.
Getting there will require deals with content providers, such as
movie studios and more TV networks, as well as faster
broadband connections. As we get closer to that future, I expect
new hardware from Apple, perhaps a DVR with HD tuner and
video/music server. FrontRow could be the first stab and the
interface for this. Apple is just giving us a taste and showing its
tech to the content providers.
So to all those who are disappointed, I say be patient.
Enterprising folks will get feature-length movies onto their
iPods. Apple can't provide the tools to do this for the obvious
legal reasons. Besides, as Jobs made clear yesterday, the
number one purpose for the iPod remains the same: music!
going to be absolutely huge. No matter what the naysayers
proclaim, 320x240 is good enough,... for now.
I also agree that some users need to quit whining. They gave
you what you wanted, if it did HD and 1024x768 I can assure
you it would not be as compact and would cost a hell of a lot
more than $299 & $399.
I have to get a new iMac,... though I plan to wait a couple of
months and wait for Rev. B this time.
Mac "diehards" are often resistent to new or evolved technologies, but tend to come around after a while. I rememeber a bunch of them griping about MacOS X when it first came out. Some stayed with their older OS 9, others eventually upgraded. I, myself, being a poor boy, could never afford to be a Mac "diehard" because it's just too expensive to buy one. IPod's on the other hand; I think I now know what to ask for for x-mas. ;)
Can a wi-fi addition to the iPod be far behind? As the chipsets get smaller, it's only a matter of time before wireless is integrated.
will tell all. Watch and see.
You may have found a few select people to read who weren't
excited, but I don't think it's representative at all.
I'm tired of "journalists" pulling a "Dvorak" so they can get more
people to read their columns.
Here's a reality check: yesterday was a huge breakthrough in terms of the consumer being able to control digital content. It wasn't about the video iPod, iTunes6, or the new iMac. It was, however, a huge paradigm shift in how TV will be distributed and viewed going forward.
What happened yesterday is that a major content provider (Disney/ABC) took the first step into the future. As Apple begins to expand the amount of TV (and film)) content, the importance of yesterday will become more apparent. So please stop complaining that you iPod doesn't (yet) have a DVI output, or a larger screen, or a bigger harddrive. Look at the forest instead of the trees, and you'll see that from here forward, TV viewing is entering a new age.
Either way, this is the future.
slopmarketing.blogspot.com
David
http://www.prcube.com
JObs has said that from day one regarding the size of the
display.
Most of these people's reasons are unreasonable! The battery
life the exception, but that's physics, and Apple doesn't have a
magic wand.
It is what it is. It's low res. video - for an iPod. It's cool. And it's
useful - if you THINK about it.
It's NOT (and it's not INTENDED to be:
-HDTV 1080i
-An integrated TV solution (if Apple did TV with this they would
put El Gato out of business, then people would GRIPE about
Apple competing with it's developers!)
WHAT IT IS GOOD FOR:
News shows (video that consists of closeups/head+shoulders
shots)
-Showing various video projects to people on the go with the
caveat that it's "on a iPod" (guerilla marketing for instance)
I'm sure there are many applications...
JObs has said that from day one regarding the size of the
display.
Most of these people's reasons are unreasonable! The battery
life the exception, but that's physics, and Apple doesn't have a
magic wand.
It is what it is. It's low res. video - for an iPod. It's cool. And it's
useful - if you THINK about it.
It's NOT (and it's not INTENDED to be:
-HDTV 1080i
-An integrated TV solution (if Apple did TV with this they would
put El Gato out of business, then people would GRIPE about
Apple competing with it's developers!)
WHAT IT IS GOOD FOR:
News shows (video that consists of closeups/head+shoulders
shots)
-Showing various video projects to people on the go with the
caveat that it's "on a iPod" (guerilla marketing for instance)
I'm sure there are many applications...
Complaining about toys. Look, Apple is not making anyone buy
their stuff. It is optional. At least Apple is not making stuff that
ends up in my drawer like my Palm, Pocket PC, and more.
I actually use the Apple products that I decided to purchase. I
saw enough reason to buy the iPod Video (size and capacity) to
order one even though I have an iPod and accessories that
probably won't work with the new one. I'll probably give my old
one to my mom.
That was my choice! If I chose not to buy it then Apple would
sell 1 less iPod Video - but I am sure it will be useful to millions
of other people.
Look at the complaints about paying $1.99 for a video. I know I
can see it for free on TV but if I feel like watching it on my
computer or iPod it costs $1.99. I can buy 2 packs of gum and
pay more. An ice cream costs more. How about a couple tolls on
the turnpike. Come on it only 2 bucks and I don't have to buy it.
I think the FrontRow software is nice but I don't think I will need
it. That's it. I see no need to criticize them about making
something that doesn't fits my needs. You can't please everyone.
Maybe someday I will use it but not right now. Big deal.
We as consumer don't have to consume everything that comes
out and our not buying a product is enough for us to say. I
would see complaints being more important if the products did
not work after you buy them.
and the fan goes up to max playing 720, I really don't see
anyone making a small HD capable device soon. The more
compressed the codec, generally the more CPU you need to
convert it back. More specialised chip designs will help, but it
helps to have some grasp on reality - Apple are excellent at
engineering but it is generally using existing technology in
better and more usable ways. The Nano is fantastic, but wasn't a
technically unfeasible product. You need to look at the
competitors - in terms of technical capability (rather than design
and user interface) a video iPod today would be no more than
50% better than the existing players like the Archos.
And for the price of an Archos I will pay the difference and have
a 12" iBook thanks. If it's not pocket size, it goes in the bag. If it
goes in the bag I don't care as much about size.
Frontrow :
Given the rumours about a video streaming Airport Express, I
think we will see FrontRow on our TVs someday.
The cynic in me expects we will see a device like this next year -
about the same time iLife '06 is launched, 'including FrontRow'.
If it had an IR port in, it would also solve the problem of older
machines not being able to use the remote too, or the Mac being
in one room and TV in the other.
Better still - an iPod I could use AS the remote when at home
would be neat!
them? What's this crap?!?! Such in-yer-face greed is appalling. I will
never use the iTunes store again..ever!! Doesn't Steve Jobs have
enough$$$? This buying videos will flop bigtime, and who is going
to buy "Lost" or "Housewives" to watch on a tiny screen when they
can record it for free.
Tony
negative bloggers on this topic.
Yet "the view from the web" is presented as if it's entirely
negative. How about a bit of balance? With anything new, some
people like it, some people don't. Glass half full and half empty
and all that.
It's misleading to present quotes showing an entirely negative
picture just because that's what you think.
- I Hate To Say It....
- by toosday October 15, 2005 8:02 AM PDT
- But, this time, it seems Apple really was upstaged. Perhaps the
- Like this Reply to this comment
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- Sony is a paper tiger...
- by Earl Benser October 15, 2005 8:50 AM PDT
- ... Once Sony was king of the consumer electronics. Then, SOny
- Like this
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- Keep this in perspective
- by October 15, 2005 10:10 AM PDT
- For those complaining about buying videos. No one is forcing
- Like this View reply
Processing -
- Don't forget Betamax
- by October 15, 2005 10:13 PM PDT
- Pre-empted, maybe. But not upstaged - I have to ask, what's "Creative Zen Vision" - never heard of it. But I DID hear about the video iPod.
- Like this
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (35 Comments)iPod Video is a response to Creative Zen Vision (which has
double the resolution and battery life), but Apple followed
poorly.
And the Windows Media Center remote that APple compared
with the iMac Front Row remote is interesting in that is actually
shows how much MORE the WMC does than Front Row: It
actually connects to your TV, also.
So, design-wise, yes, Apple wins hands down. Ties with
Hollywood, they are so-so. (Execs are skeptical and Sony owns
three studios.) But, as far as features, they left the door wide
open. Too far open. It seems inevitable that Sony will (who is
creating the next-gen DVD format that even Apple gives thumbs
up to) will come in and sweep the carpet right from under them.
Because, despite falling behind recently, Sony is still a very
reputible name in electronics.
blew it by not recognizing the threat of VHS over Beta. Then,
Sony TV's began to fall into the 'also-ren' category, good but not
quite good enough. Walkman died. Discman died, actually
stillborn. Sony's VHS and CD/DVD players had no edge over the
competition. Sony computers has potential, but it never showed
up as far as I could ever tell, and HP blew them away. Sony had
flat aged out. The Magic was gone. The marketing talents were
gone. The QA credibility was gone.
I'm just not sure that I can see any place where Sony has any
part of a first rate reputation stored. Maybe that's why SOny had
to import an American to get the company back on its feet. In
time, Sony may recover. Right now, despite Blu-Ray, they are no
threat to anybody.
you to buy any of this. Certainly you don't have to buy videos.
The iPod will play any Quicktime movie. Not only the the movies
you buy from iTunes.
Some people also compare the iPod to many other devices out
there. Jobs did not call this a "Video iPod". The iPod is a music
device primarily, the video is a secondary function. The PSP is a
video device primarily, that can also play music. The iPod and
PSP have two different primary functions with some over lap and
many people own both.
The Crative Zen Vision has slightly bigger screen. That screen is
to the detriment of controls which are small. Battery life doesn't
really matter becuase after a couple of years of use the battery
life on all of these devices will gradually erode until it does not
recharge anymore. The Zen Vision is only 30 GB while the iPod is
60. And the Zen Vision only sells a franction of the iPod.
The comparison of Front Row to Windows Media Center doesn't
make much sense to me. Its obvious the two are intended for
two different functions. On top of all of that few people use
Media Center or even know it exists. A market which has had
trouble getting its VCR to stop blinking 12:00, has not been
ready for computers hooked to its televisions.
I'm sure Front Row is a trial of computer media managment for
Apple. Instead of fully launching a full media center for the
television that few people will want or use. They start with a
small media managment app. Apple will see if the general public
finds it useful, and will be able to improve and grow the app into
a full media center. Eventually enough of the PC user base will
become comfortable enough with a computer working with your
television that it will become a viable market.
Right now it really is not.
It ain't about who's best, it's who can shout loudest (hence VHS's win over Betamax).