iPod Video Coming to a Car Near You 823
_am99_ writes "In the "one more thing" media event today, an iPod that can play Video was announced. The initial content seems to be music videos that can be purchased from the iTunes Music Store." In related news aquachannel writes "Apple has just updated their iPodYourCar page to include a slew of new car companies. This means that there'll be a lot of cars that you can buy off the showroom floor and use your iPod with your car - right off the floor and out of the box."
Erm...TV Shows? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Finally... (Score:4, Insightful)
Being able to download TV shows is a much bigger deal, especially shows which I otherwise would not have free access to, such as the new Doctor Who episodes from the BBC.
Re:Erm...TV Shows? (Score:5, Insightful)
Even more than the price comparison, the big deal here is that Apple has gotten a big content provider to agree to a different distribution method than broadcast TV. Up until now, you were lucky to get the content providers to agree to video-on-demand for cable subscribers (only HBO and a few other cable outlets signed up). If ABC is going to offer shows for sale via Internet download, this could be a watershed event.
Re:Finally... (Score:5, Insightful)
Yep, the $1.99 price point seems pretty nice. I think this is the beginning of the end for DVDs and services around DVDs (Blockbuster, NetFlix, etc). Putting Pixar content up there is a way to show the movie industry, "Hey, look what we can do here. Extremely low distribution costs, instant access for customers." Does anybody know if this video content is HD? If so, then the format wars for HD DVD will become meaningless pretty soon.
Re:From Engadget (Score:5, Insightful)
1. (1) Gifting. This has been the most requested feature. You can gift (i.e. buy) iTunes songs for someone else by song, album, or playlist.
2. Customer reviews.
3. Just for You. Personalized recommendations. We're going to be recommending albums and singles based on what you've bought before. It's going to be a beta, we'd like your feedback on it.
4. Video. If we're going to be able to play video on the iPod we're going to need away to buy video. Starting today we have 2,000 music videos for sale.[Shows Madonna catalogue]
What do they cost? $1.99 each. But we didn't stop there; we're adding some other videos you can buy. Pixar is putting up six of their award-winning short videos. $1.99 each. We are downloading videos 320 x 240, which is the native resolution of the iPod. They're about the size of six songs. All songs are governed by FairPlay. You can play them on up to five computers. They're not rentals. You own them -- they never time out. [Demo of gifting, customer reviews, Just for You, and videos including "Vogue," a U2 live exclusive. Demo of watching U2 video using Front Row on an iMac, playing photos and videos from an iPod on a big screen]
One more thing...
We have one more thing today, a pretty big thing. We're announcing one more thing that you can buy off the iTunes store today, and that is TV shows. What's the number one show on TV? What's the second? Lost. And who has these shows? ABC. And who owns ABC? [Disney logo on screen.] I know those guys!
Lost, Desperate Housewives, Night Stalker, That's So Raven, The Suite Life.
Yes, you can buy current episodes, and you can buy them the day after they are broadcast. They're ad free so you don't need to fast forward through the commercials, 320 x 240 again. An hour show is about the size of five albums. Depending on your speed it's about 10-20 minute to download an episode. What are they going to cost? $1.99 an episode for current season and past seasons. We have free previews on every episode.
Thanks everyone!
This is ridiculous (Score:5, Insightful)
-iTunes 6
-New iMac with built-in Firewire camera
-New app called FrontRow for playing media from your sofa, 6 button iPod-like remote -compared to Microsoft Media Center's 40 buttons
-New PhotoBooth app for taking pictures that actually uses iMac's screen as a flash
-Television shows and music videos for sale through iTunes at $1.99.
Etc....
Instead, we get "Yeah, they mentioned iPod video today, and here's a lame car link. Disregard all the other news, like Apple taking Microsoft on directly in the living room..."
Of course you can (Score:5, Insightful)
Looks like Handbrake [m0k.org] just got a lot more popular.
iMac G5 has semi-sane prices (Score:4, Insightful)
For $1299 you get 17" LCD, built in good quality webcam, 1.9 GHz G5, 512 MB, 160 GB, dual layer slot load DVD writer, Radeon X600 Pro, 802.11g, bluetooth, a wired funky MightyMouse, a remote control, and a bunch of preinstalled software.
Re:Finally... (Score:5, Insightful)
Instead, it's kind of like..."Yeah, it looks like they released video-based iPods and some other stuff. Hey, here's stuff about cars. Ho-hum."
Re:No Divx support? (Score:4, Insightful)
I expected Apple to come out with ripping software at this event. Something that would rip DVDs to iPod compatible files. I still do expect that actually. I suspect the biggest hurdle is that they have to get the MPAA on board because the DVDs are encrypted and Apple won't want to create DRMed files from your physically owned DVDs.
I wonder if it at least plays non-FairPlay h.264 files... Off to the iPod site to check.
P.S. Avalon versus Quartz (Score:3, Insightful)
Seriously though, they smoothed out the sharp corners of the whole interface. It was actually bugging me in version 5, as trivial as that is. I didn't like the really sharp corners at all, and I know a lot of people were complaining about that. When you're using an app all the time like iTunes, it helps to have it look and feel nice.
Re:Non-iTunes purchased video... (Score:4, Insightful)
No powerbook upgrades?!!!! (Score:2, Insightful)
Didn't Apple used to be a computer company? (Score:3, Insightful)
Where are the upgraded PowerBooks and PowerMacs? We seem to get a new iPod model every two weeks, but no new PowerBooks for over 10 months?
Grrrrrrr!
Who cares about the video store? (Score:3, Insightful)
1984 (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Finally... (Score:3, Insightful)
I might still travel with the laptop sometimes, but for 90% of the non-business trips I take, this new iPod looks like it could be the ideal replacement. The small size makes it easier to carry around, and much easier to watch in a coach seat on a plane. With the AV cable, I'll also be able to use it on hotel TV sets, though with a slightly lower resolution.
Even with an external battery pack to extend run-time (such as the ones Belkin already sells for the current iPod), It will still occupy considerably less space than a carry-on bag than a laptop or portable DVD player, making it the perfect companion for a flight I'll be taking across the Pacific next Spring.
I've been pretty happy with my trusty old 3G 20GB iPod so far, but this new one, combined with the ability to download video content, really has me thinking seriously about upgrading.
Re:Finally... (Score:4, Insightful)
Right now, Apple's videos are at 320x240, probably for bandwidth reasons as well as the fact that HD H.264 decoding requires a powerful machine that most don't have yet. But this is a start--Apple is quickly becoming the forerunner of "digital media" (finally, a use for that buzzword that actually applies).
Re:Didn't Apple used to be a computer company? (Score:3, Insightful)
Making laptops that are better than the competition? Certainly there are a number of people who feel that way, but Apple isn't such a far-and-away leader at laptops as they are at iPods. So it makes sense they should spend more time developing new iPods. (from an "invisible hand" kind of perspective)
(furthermore, since they're the market leader at mp3 players, and it's not hard for other companies to emulate Apple, it's imperative that they capitalize on this lead right now and solidify themselves as a solid, long-term leader)
Doesn't really explain things (Score:4, Insightful)
If that's the case, then why upgrade the iMac now, the Mini a few weeks ago, the Xserve last month, and the iBook in July? None of these feature x86 processors yet, and they seem to have managed to increase performance for them.
And whatever happened to those dual core and low power G5 chips that IBM claimed to have?
Re:Disney's new strategy (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Amazing... (Score:3, Insightful)
Sometimes I HAVE to do this because there are 3 or 4 shows that I watch on at the same time. So I can't even watch them all, I have to download at least 2 of them otherwise I miss it.
Incredible boon to travelers... (Score:2, Insightful)
I wonder if those videos will have commercials? Not that you couldn't skip those either now...
Re:Amazing... (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, it's a tiny video screen, but you can attach the iPod to a monitor using S-Video plus audio cabling.
Sure, but realize that it won't increase the resolution beyond what is viewable on the iPod's display.
How can an organization like the RIAA justify wanting more than 99 cents per song when you can purchase 44 minutes of audio and video for two dollars?
The answer to that is simple. Music has high replayability. You can listen to a song hundreds of times over the course of a year. But video media, such as movies and television programs, loses its appeal very quickly. I find it difficult to watch most movies a second time, let alone a third or fourth.
Plus, music is something you can listen to while doing other things, such as walking down the street or working on your computer. Videos are not well-suited to that, and that makes them somewhat less useful. Yes, sometimes less is more!
Ummm... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Finally... (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah, there are some great opportunities here. Imagine new Firefly episodes as iTunes exclusives. Being able to vote with our wallets instead of our Neilsen boxes can correct the fundamental flaws of existing ratings methods that force nearly everything to the lowest common denominator.
Content Distribution (Score:4, Insightful)
What an idea (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Finally... (Score:1, Insightful)
Riiiiight. Not everyone is enraptured with iThings. I doubt people will toss out their dvd players and buy an iPod, video or not, since broadband is not available everywhere (yet). The overall cost associated w/ downloading content might be more than a lot of consumers are willing to pay to watch movies at home.
Re:Finally... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Not just videos (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm not ditching my HDTiVo. On the other hand, if I somehow manage to miss a show, or decide to pick up watching a show midseason, at $2 a pop, I'd be more likely to go to iTunes than to Bittorrent.
This looks like a good foot-in-the-door move for Apple. At that resolution, it's not all that threatening for the TV studios. But if it turns out to be a big source of revenue, the studios might be willing to consider higher resolution.
What strikes me as most interesting, though, is the potential for selling not merely current shows, but the huge backlist of old TV shows. These weren't HD to begin with, so the low resolution would be less of a sacrifice. And I'll bet that they'll find that they can sell individual shows to people who would not be likely to go to a video shop and pick up a DVD collection.
DRM and post-apocalyptic fantasy scenarios (Score:5, Insightful)
With a DVD, you'd have to rip it, then reencode it into DIVIX or something appropriate for a portable, which takes a LONG time. Apple's solution seems rather smart, and looks like a very natural extension of the iTMS.
I like options:
If you want high quality media, you continue buying CDs and DVDs, and rip them yourself at whatever bitrate makes you happy.
If you want the convenience of an online store (the new "Just for you - Beta" looks pretty cool) and instant access to lots of pop content, you can pay a small fee and download smallish, ready to go files.
Apple is offering both options to fit the desires of a broad swath of people.
Compare this to Microsoft's WMP, which sought to kill MP3s entirely, and replace them with locked up WMA files with brutal restrictions, and very limited playback options.
What about my music videos? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Finally... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Disney, of all companies (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Finally... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Finally... (Score:5, Insightful)
The number is 13 so far for the new series.
13x5 = $65
When you consider that ABC and Fox makes a fortune selling 26-episode boxed sets of their biggest shows on DVD for about $40 each, it's obvious that $65 for downloading low-res rips of a 13-episode series (Bring Your Own Storage Media), is downright extravagant. Even at $26 for the season, they would make a killing.
Consider this: Let's say that, of the 300 Million people in America, only 0.1% would be willing to pay for Doctor Who episodes. That's still 300,000 x $26, which would be an extra $7,800,000.00 made on a show which has already paid for itself via distribution in other markets!
Yeah... Just under 8 million dollars... hardly worth the trouble, eh?
Smart move making video standard (Score:3, Insightful)
The genius move with the video iPod is that it's not a separate range. From now on, the regular iPod plays video too. That means that millions of people who would have just bought an iPod are now getting a video iPod. Millions will by a video player almost by default.
Up until now, no-one has managed to shift portable video players because the customer doesn't see a need for them. But some time someone will work out how to make video on the move work, whether it's as a mobile movie library or some watch-on-the-move content. When that time comes, Apple will be in an unassailable position because they will have a virtual stranglehold on the videoplayer market already.
You have to hand to Steve.
Steve Jobs has addressed the problems. (Score:3, Insightful)
Size -- other poratables are too big.
Weight -- they also also too heavy.
Content -- there is no content to put on it. Copyright issues are everywhere!
Output screens -- they are simply too small for video.
"So how could that change?" I asked.
Simple!
The iPod video is smaller than the previous iPod photo; it is also lighter.
In terms of content, Steve Jobs has managed to secure a couple of deals to get music videos and TV shows into the iTunes store, and has provided home-grown content in the form of video pod casts. To help facilitate the production of video podcasts, he has included the iSight into every new iMac.
Watching the video is also as he wanted -- you can watch it on your computer in a unified interface via front row (with remote!), watch it directly on the iPod, or even watch it on a TV-out cable they have for the iPod video.
I think it also hints at where he'll be going in a few years. Now that you can get a nice H.264 movie trailer on your TV via front row, who's to say you won't be able to buy a complete movide for 6-8$? I'd love to be able to get a high quality, digital movie online. New release movies on DVD are about 20-30$ CAD -- too much for what you get. Hell, I could go to the theatre for less even with watery drink!
But if I could get movies that just came out for 6-8$ and watch them on my wonderful home theatre, I think I'd do it. I'm not too into 2$ music videos, but 2$ for a TV show isn't too bad. Why should I spend 80-100$ on a DVD box set of a TV show, when I'd much rather have a digital version of it for 20-30$.
With no manufacturing costs, the content providers get all the money -- no more middle men in China making all the DVDs and shipping them back and forth across the ocean!
Re:Finally... Just downloaded Lost... some info.. (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't get why you'd even consider the download. I see the value added in buying tonights episode of Lost if you missed it and want to watch it on the train tomorrow, but once it's out on DVD I'd need a much better price break than 11%... personally I would've expected pay per view kind of prices, 3-5 bucks for a movie, maybe 10 bucks for a season of Lost, I dunno if that would even cover cost of bandwidth, but it's about what it's worth IMO.
Now, the real nice gadget is the Tivo (or whatever DVR) to IPod dock, so people who already have a DVR can take their TV shows on public transit and airplanes and such without paying again.
Clever (Score:3, Insightful)
Very smart.
Re:Not since Eisner left (Score:3, Insightful)
Disney's responsibility:
-Loan money to produce movie
-Distribute movie through established distribution channels
Disneys reward:
Keep 50% of revenue
Pixar's responsibility:
-Make 100% of the movie
-Pay 100% of the cost to produce the movie (pay back loan)
Pixar's reward:
Keep 50% of what's left
If I'm misunderstanding this, let me know. But if this is the deal it'll take a lot more than ditching Eisner to put a signature on a contract.
BTW, as a twist of fate it's interesting to note the roles are reversed for the iTunes venture. Disney makes the content and Apple is distributing it. You gotta wonder if Apple is keeping 50% of revenue for selling a hit show like "Lost".
TW