Video iPod Oct 12? 471
Petey_Alchemist writes "Apple Insider is reporting that Apple will release a video iPod on October 12th, possibly in conjunction with the announcement of Apple's fourth quarter results.
From the article 'Although details are scarce, sources who claim to have seen the new iPod describe it as being similar to Apple's 60GB iPod photo player, but several millimeters thinner.
The device reportedly sports a smaller click-wheel akin to that of the iPod nano's, making way for a larger, higher-resolution color display that extends further down the face of the device.' "
iTunes Music Videos (Score:1, Interesting)
Good thing I'm holding onto my reciept (Score:3, Interesting)
The video side on the iPod side doesn't interest me near as much as the outport system - I'd love to be able to hook it to my TV, archive all of my DVD's to the computer (something I was planning on doing anyway, as I have young children who, though they mean well, tend to dirty the DVD's a bit, and already ruined one copy of Toy Story). Then I can just transfer movie to iPod, put iPod in other room, and have every movie at my fingertips, and my DVD's stay perfectly pristine.
Granted, this is still a rumor, and I'll take it with a grain of salt until I see product in the store - but if they do make the announcement, I'll still have another 11 days on the return policy (maybe I'll just have to "borrow" my wife's iPod Mini for a week or two - I think some groveling will be in order).
Re:Where's the market? (Score:5, Interesting)
I have a feeling this isn't about selling iPods. This is about proving that people will be interested in downloading video content through services like iTunes. What if it can hook up to your TV and act like a DVD player? What if iTunes starts having lots of good video content? This is just small part of a much bigger picture.
Re:Where's the market? (Score:5, Interesting)
That might be true in the circles you are in, but business travellers and various other frequent-flyer types LOVE portable DVD players. Not only for passing time between flight connections, but for late evenings on the road when you don't feel like going out or trying to find something on the hotel TV.
Not to mention damn near every last grunt in Iraq. There's a lot of "down-time" involved in occupation efforts, and folks like us mailing DVD's out to them is one of their main sources of entertainment out there.
These groups of people would probably go bananas over a video iPod, if it was done right.
Not a video iPod, but iFlicks. (Score:2, Interesting)
http://vodkapundit.com/archives/008158.php [vodkapundit.com]
Quote: "Most observers are predicting a "video iPod" that will play back video on a hand-sized device. Not me. I'm predicting not a video iPod, but rather an "iFlicks" service (they may or may not use that name) enabled by a new Airport-Express-on-steroids wireless widget with a video out, as well as a snazzy Apple remote control (perhaps looking something like this) for iTunes and iFlicks.
All this will enable Mac G5 owners to download high-resolution (but not HD, not yet) movies from Apple to their hard drives and play them back on televisions in another part of the house..."
Who knows (Score:5, Interesting)
However, given that many of the movie studios are linked to the same record companies 'fighting' with Apple at the moment makes you wonder where the content would come from.
Think Secret are usually correct though.
Maybe they're finally launching 'Asteroid'
Not sure, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
My suspicions are even stronger now that this "invite" has gone out. I think it's fairly obvious that a movie download service is a natural fit/extension for Apple given the success of ITMS. Yesterday or the day before I read a couple of articles where some big movie execs (or mpaa or somebody) were saying that they were going to enter the movie download market before the end of the year.
The invitation itself does leave a couple of clues (I think.) The first hint is "one more thing..." Steve's opening line before announcing his big plan. To me that means that Apple's going to announce something big. Not: We've said that video for the iPod is stupid, but "Oh yeah, one more thing... It's a video iPod! TAH DAH!!!! it's the greatest thing ever!" Of coarse, Steve Job's could invoke his RSF and make my claim a reality rather than a silly musing.
The next clue is the curtains in the invitation. To me those look like the old movie theater curtains they used to use (and maybe still use.) Dunno, but I can't imagine that they would be using theater curtains because somebody in the art department thought it would make a nifty background for "one more thing." But maybe.
Lastly, I don't believe that refreshed computers (desktops or laptops) would be enough of a reason to setup an invitation only press event. Well it could be G5 powerbooks, but I doubt that.
So my offical guess is a Apple branded DVR that hooks into a Apple movie service similar to ITMS.
Re:Where's the market? (Score:2, Interesting)
1. If you could get an iPod with video capability and at a only slightly higher price point, would you?
2. If iTunes starts having video content (like music videos), a portable video player doesn't sound so bad after all.
Re:The screen! (Score:3, Interesting)
Considering they are made of the same material, I'd imagine that it is just as scratch prone. The difference according to apple is people didn't complain about it with the larger iPod. I would guess, that in addition to only coming in white, the nano gets put into tighter quarters (jeans pockets and whatnot).
Maybe someday TDK [slashdot.org] will save us that trouble. Unless there is some horrible truth about their coating, it seems everything scratchable should come coated in the stuff.
Re:Where's the market? right here (Score:2, Interesting)
The Real Question on /.'ers Minds... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:it's all just rumor... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Bound to happen. (Score:5, Interesting)
It's also very interesting to note the following:
Go to www.apple.com/movies. "You don't have permission to access /movies on this server"
Go to www.apple.com/umptysquat. "Trying to find something at Apple?"
As Bill said from _Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure_, "Ted ... something strange is afoot at the Circle K."
However, and this is only my two cents, I don't think the technology / battery life / screen size / processor speed is quite there yet to show H.264 on a portable system in a marketable, affordable package. Give it two more years.
If anyone can do it...it's Mr. Jobs (Score:5, Interesting)
Sooped up mini (mac video player) (Score:2, Interesting)
This has really got to be it. vPod is of limited use and probably doesn't warrant an unveiling at it's own event. The Airport Express is a great little unit and I have two, one for travel and one for home wifi hooked up to the stereo. But it is a clunky solution: I have to run upstairs to change my music, or buy one of those remote controls to plug into it.
What i have really been hankering for is a mac mini that is more suited to DVR and music playback (without having to buy all the usb hubs and elgato and digital audio out pieces). Honestly, I'd settle for just the music playback piece right now and hook it up to my plasma as the display. I've been looking at those Sonos devices which seem pretty sweet, but I figured their price is high enough that I'd give apple to the end of the year to get their product finished up. Video is the next logical leap, but I fear that will be a long road to reach the idealistic visions of all movies and shows immediately available, both for technical reason and because the movie studios are probably even more paranoid now that they've seen the music businesses travails.
TIVO's stock price has continued to slide, maybe it's time for apple to make a purchase! Or strategic investment...
On a side note, it's funny to see how this year's box office receipts in the US are down from last year and there's all this handwringing about how the movies pretty much just sucked, not because of pirating/downloaders. Seems like both the movie and music industries are going through a bit of a creative slump and their revenues are seeing a hit because of it. The RIAA targets illegal downloads (which is probably a small but actual part of the decline) while not addressing the more structural problems in the industry. The MPAA on the other hand is just at the beginning of getting their arms around digital distribution and all the issues of DRM that inevitably follow. Hopefully they'll be a bit more proactive on providing customers with an alternative!
Re:Where's the market? (Score:3, Interesting)
As for using my laptop to play an in-flight movie: My desktop-replacement doesn't fit comfortably in the space I get in coach (and god help me if the seat in front of me reclines!), the laptop eats batteries too quickly to last thru a 2 or 3 flight day, travelling with kids forces me to choose between their shows and my needs for the laptop, etc.
To be honest, if the PSP had user-burnable UMD's, I'd use that as my portable video box in a heartbeat, and for my kids when they're with me... small, multifunctional, and gorgeous. Too bad Sony hasn't realized that memory sticks are too damn expensive to use for accumulating a personal video library.
Those numbers are extremely over-inflated (Score:3, Interesting)
Add to that the number of people who will buy only one UMD ever for the "try it out" factor, and you will see that the numbers are not as good as it looks.
Portable video players have a bright future I think, but not based on a closed priorietary format that costs more than a DVD (who wants to buy a movie twice?).
Re:No, or Apple would be marketing like mad (Score:5, Interesting)
The lawsuits by Apple against rumor sites are not a twisted propaganda strategy. Jobs hates the leaks because they spoil the surprise.
My sources tell me (Score:2, Interesting)
Supply of the 20G iPod Photo is drying up, and Apple is asking for inventory numbers, daily, broken down by retail location, for this company.
This is similar, I'm told, to what happened with the iPod Mini just before the Nano release.
My source's guess is that the 20G iPod Photo will get replaced with a 40G model, and possibly we'll see a new high-end Nano (6 or 8G?), with some price adjustments across the board.
I'll fuel the rumor (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Good thing I'm holding onto my reciept (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:it's all just rumor... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Still not sure it's a good idea (Score:3, Interesting)
Maybe 320x200 MPEG4 "simple profile" but nothing you download off the net.
I am not using a portable video device until it is a) cheap and b) has at least a PSP-res or VGA screen, and c) is able to play back pirated DIVX/XVID movies as-is from the net.
Nothing really passes all three criteria right now.
Utility != Capacity (Score:4, Interesting)
You probably buy your computer based on megahertz speeds, right?
"Utility" encompasses more than the amount of storage in a device. It can also, in the case of something like the nano, include the device's being small enough to carry with you more easily. Or it might include a color screen for pictures (or TEEENY videos).
My big brother's 1980 stereo could do a lot of stuff that my iPod can't. It had a turntable and a cassette deck, and would let me record from the radio, which it also had inside. It had RCA in jacks that I could use with a CD player. I'm pretty sure I can get a stereo of that vintage for well under the price of a nano at a garage sale. The difference is not pure vanity.
(Now, say the same thing about people buying full-sized SUVs instead of minivans, and I can give you a real good case on that one... There the difference appears to be pure shallow vanity for the vast majority of buyers.)
Re:Where's the market? (Score:3, Interesting)
The problems are:
A) You have to down size all your movies to fit the resolution of the screen.
B) Archos does not provide the software to do this and the freeware stuff they had me download used a very lossy codec.
Until I can watch my shows without having to make special "small versions" this device is useless to me.
Re:it's all just rumor... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:it's all just rumor... (Score:2, Interesting)
So save a few bucks. Install iPodLinux to watch movies on that iPod photo you already have (dunno if its out for nano yet)
DivX is a pile of shit (Score:5, Interesting)
H.264 is totally different. It's MPEG-4 part 10. It's about as big a leap over MPEG-4 part 2 as MPEG-4 was over MPEG-2.
Considering mplayer and other open source apps support H.264, there is *no* reason for anyone to be using DivX or Xvid any more. You will get *better* quality *and* smaller file sizes by using H.264.
0 games = UMD sales (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Bound to happen. (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm speculating here:
iPod AV Screen Resolution
H.264 can encode DVD quality media in 1mbit/s. I saw somewhere it could do it in 800kbps even. However the screen is half that. You could have video content encoded at 500kbps or under (i'm ignoring showing it on a TV here, and given the speculation about Airport Express including video out in its next incarnation you might want to divide/multiply by 2 where necessary).
500kbps
And music videos? At 4 minutes each you can have 5000 music videos in your pocket on a 80GB device. Or 2000 DVD quality music videos and a f*ck load of normal music, photos, etc besides.
Mac Mini is Apple's real secret weapon... (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd rather have Keynote (Score:4, Interesting)