Video iPod Apple's First Bad Move? 598
An anonymous reader writes "Apple has had a lot of success with the iPod brand the past few years. The NYT has an article up wondering if, just maybe, this week's release of the video iPod was too soon." From the article: "Everyone from Microsoft to Comcast - in other words, the usual suspects - is working on or looking at similar pocket-size recorders. At least two companies, Pace Micro Technology of Britain and Samsung of South Korea, have said they plan to introduce models early next year. There is also TivoToGo, a service that can forward recorded shows to various mobile devices, even Sony PSP handheld gaming units ... [anyway,] the video iPod only has it half right: if it took material from the television as readily as it did from the Internet, it could be a blockbuster. But then who would pay $1.99 to download an episode of 'Lost' from iTunes if the iPod could also hook up to your television and record that same episode free? Unlike its musical forebear, the video iPod may not be ready for prime time. "
The iPod is a music player *first* (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Missed the Point (Score:5, Interesting)
Sorry but I love the fact that my portable video player also acts as a PVR. I don't have to re-encode video to play on it and look correct, I don't have to have a Tivo and use "Record to VCR" or Tivo2Go if I don't want to, and I don't have to pay an additional $100+ on a decent PVR card to record content that I'm just putting on a portable device.
It's apparent to me that plenty of people are speculating on how moving content to portable devices will work and how well it will work. I'm not speculating as I do it every day with my Archos AV400.
Having a built in PVR is a GOOD THING.
The last line of the article... (Score:3, Interesting)
"And there are chewy, unresolved legal questions raised by gadgets like the PocketDISH or Slingbox" ipod is too much of a cash cow for apple to risk lawsuits. Do you think that the MPAA will sit around doing nothing if Apple introduced an ipod capable of recording movies ? Downloading video content from itunes is above the board, legal and safe (from apple's standpoint). And this is not the last ipod that apple is ever going to introduce. How about Mac mini --> Front row [apple.com] --> Sync recorded shows to video ipod ? They have the mini, they have front row, they have video ipod, the next step is too easy. Trust me, this take it slow approach is not because of lack of vision.
Apples folly in all this (Score:5, Interesting)
1 word (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Say what? (Score:2, Interesting)
Quicktime has export to iPod Format (Score:1, Interesting)
Also, you can drag and drop movies that are the right format right onto your ipod via itunes.
Another point he missed is this big announcement isn't really about the video ipod, it's about FrontRow. Streaming you entire houses music, videos, and photos (via Bonjour, previously Rendezvous) and playing them on your TV is pretty sweet. It's just a matter of time before there are huge movie selections available (probably pay-per-view and streaming only).
Chris
Re:Missed the Point (Score:2, Interesting)
The really neat thing about the new iPod is that it's so small, but still 60gb. Now that is sweet. And people would be more interested in it if Apple hadn't already saturated the market in the last 18 months with minis, nanos, ipods, ipod videos, iPod U2 editions, shuffles and all these other stupid things. If you just bought a nano in the last few months, you're probably not going to rush out to buy the newest line just because they're thinner.
The iPod is a really good, durable product. People with first and second generation iPods are still happy with them. You have to really up the ante to make people who are very happy with what they have want to "upgrade".
That said, as soon as Apple comes out with a 300gb ipod (or maybe even a 120gb) that's the physical size of the one they released this week - I'm all over it.
Re:Missed the Point (Score:3, Interesting)
My pick is? Just ingore that. There are usually will be people who will whine, cry, etc. And they will be men of action.
Re:Apples folly in all this (Score:3, Interesting)
However, on second thought, perhaps this wouldn't be technically reasonable. It would take too long (especially on G4 Macs), or may not produce the quality and optimization desired. So, Apple may need to offer downloads with two quality levels.
Also, I'm sure the low quality of the videos played a large roll in getting Disney to back the project.
Re:Missed the Point (Score:2, Interesting)
You forgot the classic!
mod parent up (Score:4, Interesting)
I would have been happy to support LOST by buying episodes through the iTMS - even though they're more expensive than the DVD and have no special features - but if and only if the they come in the same widescreen format and resolution that I can get from..
I'm standing here waving my money in the air and - no one's selling what I want to buy.
The same situation goes for the music store - the new album by The Bad Plus is available, however it's only available in compressed AAC. I want the best quality - I actually want it in DVD-Audio. My other option is a copy protected "CD" that I refuse to purchase. Blah.
Re:Say what? (Score:5, Interesting)
Just shows how overpriced the songs are.
Re:Missed the Point (Score:4, Interesting)
It's alright if someone is skeptical of something, because that's healthy. It's just when people get vitriolic that it "becomes sour-grapes x 10." I think a healthy skepticism is a good way to protect onesself from the hype, but just going into the minutiae of details of how it is such a "bad idea" makes a person seem bitter.
I certainly am not all that interested in the video capabilities of the iPod, but that doesn't mean I won't buy another one. I'm thinking of getting a new one in a few months anyway... my 2nd Gen iPod doesn't have a dock connector, and it seems all the new gadgets for the iPods are becoming dock-centric. I guess when I get another one will depend on what gadget is a must-have (heheh), or when it comes time to replace the battery on my iPod again. I think it'll stand a 3rd battery... That unit's been like a tank for many years, despite not feeling like one.
If a new iPod keeps the competitors on their toes, that's great. If it makes the CEO of Creative whine and cry about their own marketshare... it's good for a laugh too.
Re:Missed the Point (Score:5, Interesting)
A poignant observation in an Apple thread. Especially seeing how the popularity of the iPod seems to function as Ultimate Vindication for those who may have 'backed the wrong horse' in the PC platform wars.
Re:iRiver beat them to it. (Score:2, Interesting)
You know, between that quick and easy procedure of getting videos onto the iRiver, the award-winning simplicity of the iRiver Music Store, the new iRiver Video Store, and the fact that the H300 doesn't officially support video files [iriveramerica.com], it's a real wonder why iRiver doesn't dominate the portable video market. Must be entirely due to those catchy iPod commercials.
ITMS videos and songs are low quality (Score:2, Interesting)
Currently, I'm ripping my CDs to FLAC for use on my stereo, and to MP3 or WMA for my MP3 player. I've tried several formats, and any lossy format just sounds bad on my stereo. So I won't be buying any AAC files from ITMS: it costs about the same as a regular CD, but offers a lower sound quality, and is heavily DRMed on top of it, and you're forced to use iTunes.
Same goes for the videos/TV shows/films: I can buy DVDs, and rip them to any format (for my Palm Tungsten, motorola e398...), and still enjoy the best video and sound quality by watching the original DVD. $2 is not expensive for a TV show, but it IS expensive for a TV show you can only watch on a minuscule screen, at a very low resolution. If I'm shelling out $2 for a show, I want it up on my big screen. There's enough good, old stuff around that I have yet to see, so I can wait for the DVDs to come out, and not rush to get a next-day fix.
I do like the iPod's hardware, though
Re:Who would? (Score:4, Interesting)
In the meantime, I get about half my TV shows by DVD rental, which works as a good comprimise.
Re:Missed the Point (Score:5, Interesting)
Anyway, here's my sample of one: A year or so back, my wife and I decided to terminate our cable service. We'd only watched TV for news and movies, really. Here in the US, TV news has long since become a joke, and when news.google.com came out, we realized very quickly that it gave us more news from more viewpoints in 10 minutes than TV did in an evening of news shows. And we subscribed to Netflix, eliminating the movies angle. We realized that the only thing we'd turned the TV on for months was the Jon Stewart's Daily Show, and even that had become available in video clips on the political blogs a day after a show was aired. We asked ourself "Why are we paying for this?"
So we switched to DSL (speakeasy), including VoIP. Half the price for a real IP link with no port blocking. They're very nice if the local power structure permits them to sell in your neighborhood.
Meanwhile, we'd been following the iPod stories, bue hadn't seen anything that persuaded us to buy one of the cute little gadgets. Now, with the announcement of videos, my wife (the real old-movie freak) is mentioning "iPod" once or twice a day. My bet is that she'll wait until she sees a couple in action, and then she'll have to buy one. She'll then drop her Netflix subscription. She'll just download the movies to her Mac PB, where she'll watch most of them. Some will go to the iPod. Depending on the price they settle on, this will probably be comparable to the Netflix subscription price, but a lot more convenient.
Now if they'd just incorporate a "smartphone" (phone + calendar), with full-time internet access, it'd be an instant sell. We could carry just the one electronic barnacle.
And if they'd run OSX internally, I could even program it
(Yeah, I know; linux or freebsd would be better. But what're the chances of either of those?
(And while I'm dreaming, how about a browser that works with google maps, and GPS capability? Wouldn't it be fun to work on software that combines these in a wireless gadget?)
Cable a la carte (Score:2, Interesting)
You just nailed it, at least for me! I also watch fewer than 10 hours a month. Moreover, I would love to watch shows not available in North America (Canada, in my case), like outstanding documentaries from the BBC, which I only get to watch when I go there (no, BBC Canada does not include them). Or from there, why not the best public broadcating from around the world? -- I don't sig, therefore I don't exist
release early, release often (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:The iPod is a music player *first* (Score:3, Interesting)
While that's true (and Apple had loads of other problems with distribution and manufaturing and QC), the root cause of all those confusing models was the fact that cloning made Macs an open platform.
Companies like Power Computing made cheap boxes with fast CPUs and that completely removed Apple's ability to artificially segment their model lineup with artificial distinctions like CPU speeds, video cards, and slots, and that drove their margins down. "Mobile vs stationary, professional vs home user" is a profit maximization technique that a closed platform allows, which is why Apple operates this way and Dell doesn't.
Back to the iPod, you have seem much more experimentation with things like Video and Radio from the open market of unpopular WM-based devices. But Apple's control over the market with a closed platform allows them introduce features in a staged manner "Video is not needed!" (one year later) "iPod with Video!!" (one year later) "Wide Screen iPod Video!!" (etc). Which is great for them because their control over the market allows them to maximize upgrade revenues by being conservative with new features.
Re:Say what? (Score:4, Interesting)
Haha, shows you have never been to North America
I stopped getting cable because the amount of adverts was just as bad as what I got over air.
Video is FREE on the new iPod (Score:1, Interesting)
Presto! Video on the Pod!
Not to mention software to reduce DVD movies, you already own, to fit onto your video iPod. You can do this right now with newer Palms.
Re: Too true (Score:1, Interesting)
Remember, the $1.99 includes express delivery. You can get better-looking, better-sounding episodes with extras for much less money when the DVDs come out. But that's the thing...you have to wait until they come out! If you want it now, $1.99 doesn't seem so bad.
Too early? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Missed the Point (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Missed the Point (Score:2, Interesting)
I never had an issue with manually allocating RAM to programs. I actually thought that was a feature, not a bug...
And, if your only option here is to talk about MacOS 9 and previous, I think your argument isn't very strong...
Did anyone watch the presentation???? (Score:5, Interesting)
So is Steve just smoking crack here? Of course not. Now consider the Apple 30" cinema display hooked up to that remote. Things become a bit more compelling, don't they? Am I saying that Apple is going to make a Tivo? They might, but I'm guessing they won't. Here's why. The broadcasters hate Tivo. To them, Tivo means they just gave away the show AND the viewer skipped the ads. Same goes for BitTorrent, which has content producers frightened even more. Apple is offering them an alternative. Try to capture some of the Tivo/BT market by selling the show a day later with no ads. That way the broadcaster gets paid, and paid fast. The home viewer can watch the show on their Apple set top box or on the iPod. My guess is that the iTunes video store will start to grow to include older shows and eventually movies.
One thing nobody has mentioned is HD. Obviously the current iPods can't do it, but it won't be long. Apple is playing this smart, leveraging the popularity of the iPod and iTunes to establish the relationships with content producers that will get them on board.
Finally, another thing that nobody has mentioned is video in the car. If you have kids you know that a DVD player is not the best solution in the world. Not only do you have to mess with disks, but many children's disks are only about 20 minutes long and looping that over and over again on a long drive will make you want to murder Thomas, Percy, Gordan, and even Edward. What if instead you could put all your kids' shows on an iPod and hook that up to the screen in the car instead? Parents across the nation will go nuts for this and will download content just to keep themselves sane by avoiding repetition. I know that if I get one of these I'm going to rip all the Sesame Street and Thomas DVDs we have to it immediately and then park the thing in the car. And yes you can do it, just not with Apple software, for now at least.
Re:Missed the Point (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, that doesn't fly. You don't need marketing for business products that is anywhere near the same scale or scope of consumer marketing, esp. targeting the coveted 18-29 demographic. Sure, there's ads for Xerox copiers and shit like that in trade mags but it is a far cry from $1-200 million campaigns that splatter dozens of cities with dancer silhouettes. So unless Palm wants the Treo to stay in the realm of the aforementioned geeky sysadmin/business types, it needs better marketing.
Re:Missed the Point (Score:5, Interesting)
Then I got an iPod mini and realized that I really didn't need to input things into a PDA right that second, and that in exchange of the syncing ease of an iPod, I could just wait to type in my little notes once I got home or the office.
So no, it's not just that it has a little fruit logo on it, it's because my needs were simple, and after eight years Palm still couldn't get them right, and I bailed.
Apple Versus (Score:3, Interesting)
I will agree that some of the ipod product line is a little too much. A few models have been released perhaps that are confusing in the marketplace -- that photo one was a mistake
The photo aspect is daring, already the the photoblog / podcast stuff seems intersting from what my existing subscriptions have yeilded.
Where is video-on-demand for my phone? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Did anyone watch the presentation???? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Not Folly: bandwidth reality (Score:3, Interesting)