Video iPods

[mr. sparkle]

There is an iRumor that on Tuesday, there will be new iPods that playback video. Now that's gonna be KEWL!


Perfect for Pongi Playback in H.264

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=454

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051006/ap_on_hi_te/apple_video_ipods

http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/09/20050920172355.shtml

Currently not working there, so why not engage in some healthy speculation.

[Captain Japan]

This would imply that Apple has improved their battery technology substantially. Sparkle-sama, is this correct?

[FG Lurker]

Think Secret says no iPod Video... Just a new iPod with 80GB and some other minor changes:

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0510oct12b.html

New PowerMacs / PowerBooks also expected.

[Charles]

Acually, that's Wednesday, not Tuesday, the announcements will be on Oct 12. But a video iPod is not going to happen. There are a few stumbling blocks.

1. Jobs once said in an interview that a $300 iPod and earphones can give 98% of the experience of a $3000 stereo, but that it's impossible for a $300 portable video device to give anything close to the experience of a $3000 TV.



For all practical purposes, you are tied to your home computer, which means an iTunes store delivering video content to your machine and then playing it on your TV would work. But a portable video iPod isn't going to work, what are you going to do with it, carry the files from your computer into the living room and play them on your TV?

2. There is no infrastructure to deliver user-owned content onto a player. The DVDs I own can't be put on a video iPod, like the CDs I own. So the player would only be useful for downloaded content, either pirated or from the iTunes store with DRM. Neither of those would satisfy the studios.

3. People don't watch the same video over and over like they do with music. I can listen to the same album several times in a row, but I couldn't stand to watch even my favorite movie twice in a row. Due to storage limits, I can't carry around 1000 movies in an iPod, but you can easily carry around 1000 tunes. iPods make sense for music, but make no sense for video.

So unless Jobs has managed to pull off the most historic business deal in the history of Hollywood, and managed to get the movie studios behind an iPod and software to decrypt your DVDs to get files to put on it, and got them to put whole libraries of movies on the iTunes store, it just is not going to happen.

[electrocat]

i got this rumor about video ipods about 2 weeks ago from an apple insider. now that the rumor sites came out.. i think its very possible.

[Papa-Lazarou]

Nope, batterys aint there yet + they are focusing on HD Video downloans via I-Tunes for your mini-mac first

[mr. sparkle]

I guess we'll see in about 18 hours.....

[emperor]

7-Eleven will begin selling iPods in its Japanese convenience stores later this month according an online report.
United Press International on Monday said the convenience retailer will begin marketing up to five versions of Apple's iPod at its nearly 11,000 Japanese locations.
"Customers will be able to place their orders at a local store, and the iPod will arrive two or three days later," the report says...
7-Eleven operates over 27,900 stores worldwide, many of which had previously signed up to sell prepaid gift cards to Apple's iTunes music store.

[Charles]

7-Eleven will begin selling iPods in its Japanese convenience stores later this month according an online report.
United Press International on Monday said the convenience retailer will begin marketing up to five versions of Apple's iPod at its nearly 11,000 Japanese locations.
"Customers will be able to place their orders at a local store, and the iPod will arrive two or three days later," the report says...
7-Eleven operates over 27,900 stores worldwide, many of which had previously signed up to sell prepaid gift cards to Apple's iTunes music store.

Two or three days later? It's just not going to work when even the Apple Store does overnight shipping. People want instant gratification.

[FG Lurker]

Video after all?
Think Secret, October 11, 2005

In recent weeks Think Secret has been deluged with conflicting information [...] While reliable evidence has corroborated reports of the development of a video iPod, information has pointed to a release date later than October. Recent notes suggest otherwise, however, and tomorrow may in fact see the release of a video iPod [...]

Think Secret initially reported that the iPod update arriving tomorrow--all but confirmed in Apple's conference call this afternoon discussing its fourth quarter earnings--would sport a smaller enclosure in capacities up to 80GB. Those upgrades may be planned for a future iPod, however, as sources are pointing to 30GB and 60GB iPods debuting tomorrow, likely with some sort of video playback ability. Think Secret sources still expect pricing to remain at $299 and $399, with each model offered in two colors.

(Full Story)

So, maybe the on-again-off-again "vPod" is about to arrive after all. If it supports DiVx and has video out, I'll buy a 60GB version. It'd be great to be able to take a selection of movies down to Okayama with me, especially for days that it rains.

[mr. sparkle]

Wow! They look really cool.....iTunes 6 out to boot. You can buy music videos for $1.99.

Now that the iTunes Music Store offers more than 2,000 music videos and select TV shows along with 2 million songs (and counting), instant gratification looks better than ever. To help you share your newfound joy, iTunes adds customer reviews, personalized recommendations and new gift options.

New iMac with built-in Isight and remote control released as well.

[GuyJean]

Any idea on how to prepare video for the new iPod? Are they simple Quicktime videos, or do they need to prepared specially? I see the need for content.. he, he, he... Does iTunes 6 allow you to make and submit your own vodcasts like they do podcasts?.. So many questions, so little time..

GJ

[Charles]

Any idea on how to prepare video for the new iPod? Are they simple Quicktime videos, or do they need to prepared specially? I see the need for content.. he, he, he... Does iTunes 6 allow you to make and submit your own vodcasts like they do podcasts?.. So many questions, so little time..

It's QuickTime 7 only, in mpeg4 or H.264 format. Apple already had videocasts (I hate the term vodcasts) up on the iTunes site, no doubt people will start encoding in compatible formats for portability. The iTunes Videocasts I have watched were mostly "screencasts" with instruction on operating apps like Photoshop, oh boy that's really going to work on a tiny screen.

I am pissed at the announcements, who gives a damn about portable video? I guess I underestimated peoples' desire to watch crappy shows like Desperate Housewives and Lost on a tiny screen. What I really wanted was the rumored new quad processor G5 and a new lower cost big LCD screen. And I have money burning a hole in my pocket. I gotta buy something before year-end, for tax purposes. If I buy before year-end, I can basically get a dream machine for free.

[hellosalaryman]

omg ;_; everytime i read about a new feature like, say the ability to link to a tv, i cry.

i just got my 60gb photo like 2 months ago. a long time ago i had the original ipod 20gb version (2nd gen?), then that broke, so with warranty i got the 30gb one that had the 4 red buttons. but then, my mom wanted an ipod, and since she doesnt have nearly as much music as i do, i gave her mine and got the 60 instead, which was actually a lot cheaper then mine had been. but when i got it i asked if a video ipod was coming out, etc, and they said they couldn't say or didn't know. i would have waited, but if i had done so, my mom, who was doing me a favor, would have to wait as well, so i bought it. but now... >_<

do you guys think they'll let me return mine if it's really buggy. like i mean, very buggy. all the time, and i seriously mean, all the time, it does the following: freezes for many seconds at a time (like 5-10), skips songs (so if i click next track when on #4 it will jump to #6), often the buttons will freeze and not work (altho this can be fixed by turning hold on then off, yet still annoying), the album art displays for a song that is not being played instead of the one that is, and many other small things have happened, but not often enough to really care about.

ohh, aside from that, for videos, when i was messing with itunes 5, i was able to add quicktime videos, but nothing else. it shows up in the artist/song title format just like any other song would. i assumed that this was going to be for music vids, and not video pods ;_; at least not to soon. it played videoos in the album art window if i can remember correctly. anyways, installing 6 now, so we'll see how that goes.

ohh, and in the rare case that there is actually a firmware upgrade for my ipod, i will forgive apple for making me so jealous of the new one. but then again, i do have a psp which i bought a 2gb stick for (back when they were super expensive, big mistake) so i can always use that instead.

[GuyJean]

Any idea on how to prepare video for the new iPod? Are they simple Quicktime videos, or do they need to prepared specially? I see the need for content.. he, he, he... Does iTunes 6 allow you to make and submit your own vodcasts like they do podcasts?.. So many questions, so little time..

It's QuickTime 7 only, in mpeg4 or H.264 format. Apple already had videocasts (I hate the term vodcasts) up on the iTunes site, no doubt people will start encoding in compatible formats for portability..

Not crazy about 'vodcasts' either]I am pissed at the announcements, who gives a damn about portable video?[/quote] Home movies of people's children, portable porn, sports events, ... I see some value. They should make a zoom-in function for video..

GJ

[Charles]

[quote="GuyJean"]A shame if it only works with QT 7]
Well, at least transcoding is easy in QT Pro.

After playing with iTunes 6, I have come to the conclusion that the video iPod is just a stealth device, to kickstart iTunes video sales, and get people to start using their Macs as media centers. And it is my general opinion that all the new iPod and Apple media products are just a way to get people to install QuickTime. And it works. QT is Apple's crown jewel, everything Apple does is designed to drive QT acceptance. The computing world would be a much happier place if WMP and Real would disappear and QT would replace them. Just look how they're quaking in their boots, Real settled their antitrust suit against Microsoft and now they're "partners" in trying to drive away Quicktime. But it is too late to knife the baby.

Anyway, iTunes 6's ability to handle videos is significantly enhanced and the preview panel is pretty cool. And it plays all the weird files I've collected, in various formats. As long as there's a Mac QT codec, it plays in iTunes 6, and I haven't found anything yet I couldn't play.
But more than that, check out Front Row. With something like an ElGato EyeTV and Front Row, you've got a MediaPC killer.

[FG Lurker]

A shame if it only works with QT 7]
I couldn't agree more! When they came out with the iPod originally Apple was smart enough to include .mp3 support... I wish they had included support for current video standards such as DiVx and standard MPEG1/2. I suppose that DiVx may require more decoding horsepower than the iPod has though...?

I am pissed at the announcements, who gives a damn about portable video?

Home movies of people's children, portable porn, sports events, ... I see some value.

Yes, I see some value too. Personally I would like to be able to take video with me when I go down to Okayama for a weekend, especially in non-summer months. Re-encoding stuff is a PITA, even if it is easy to do. If they supported standard formats I'd see a lot more value.

They should make a zoom-in function for video..

[cstaylor]

New iMac with built-in Isight and remote control released as well.

This is critical if Apple wants to take some of the office market away from Windoze. Now video conferencing is all in one box, no wires, no third-party drivers.

Too bad it was overshadowed by the video-capable iPod, because this is very cool.

[mr. sparkle]

Any idea on how to prepare video for the new iPod? Are they simple Quicktime videos, or do they need to prepared specially?

Encoded with H.264, they are scalable, so that would be cool. I've seen a guy embed a button from Flash onto the QT video so that you could funnel people to your site. Good idea dude!

I see the need for content.. he, he, he...

I'm thinkin' the Pongi needs to do a V-cast too.

Does iTunes 6 allow you to make and submit your own vodcasts like they do podcasts?.. So many questions, so little time..

iTunes 5 had that capability, it just wasn't broadcasted to the world.

Check out TwIT for download: http://revision3.com/
It's a popular podcast that has a video version. They shot it down the street from my house.

There's also the whole "Vlogging" thang. Blogging, but with video.
Check out this freak's page, he's well into it:
http://futuremediatv.blogspot.com/

[kamome]

But more than that, check out Front Row. With something like an ElGato EyeTV and Front Row, you've got a MediaPC killer.

I know nothing about Macs. Does Front Row function like an entertainment system for the home? Like, I could throw away my regular TV, buy Front Row and use it as a television/entertainment center? I've been thinking of buying something new to put in my living room and was considering an HDTV plus DVR. If this has all of that (without HiDef) and all the other features of a computer, this might actually convince me to switch to a Mac for the first time in my life.

[electrocat]

i think Front Row was very very cool. I love how you are taken away from OS X and into a sort of sub OS. Thats awesome. The people at apple are genious. They push the limits of user interface and can make something so simple feel futuristic.

[tonikoro]

But more than that, check out Front Row. With something like an ElGato EyeTV and Front Row, you've got a MediaPC killer.

I know nothing about Macs. Does Front Row function like an entertainment system for the home? Like, I could throw away my regular TV, buy Front Row and use it as a television/entertainment center? I've been thinking of buying something new to put in my living room and was considering an HDTV plus DVR. If this has all of that (without HiDef) and all the other features of a computer, this might actually convince me to switch to a Mac for the first time in my life.

FrontRow is more like an interface from which to control your DVD-imovie(homemovie)-iTunes Music-and iPhotos. I imagine if you were to connect a separate tv tuner to it, you could watch television on it, but I doubt the TV tuner would be an optional device to be controled via FrontRow. The Mac is not like these FMV machines in the PC market where TV=Computer. But as a home entertainment center that is more interactive with content, via that which you create, or experience like music and movie.

My wish now is that with front row, it would be nice to have it as an ap for a remote with any recent mac, like if the remote worked via Bluetooth, it would be cool to have the same function on the G5 and a Cinema display.
Like what if you went all out for the 30" Cinema display, but you want to control your movie via a remote?

[American Oyaji]

in the Mac Performa 5320, it had a remote control that was similar. This was years ago. Glad they brought it back.

[GuyJean]

Any idea on how to prepare video for the new iPod?

Creating Video Podcasts on Mac OSX
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/videopodcasts.html -(with step by step images)

Step 1
Make sure you have updated your QuickTime software to version 7.0.3 or later. If you don't have QuickTime 7.0.3 installed, get it now.

Step 2
In order to record your video podcast, you need to connect a FireWire camera to your Mac. The iSight and most DV cameras will work. Once your camera is connected, make sure iChat AV and AOL Instant Messenger are not running..

Step 3
Open QuickTime 7 Pro. If you don't have it, get QuickTime 7 Pro today.

Step 4
Check your recording preferences. Choose "Preferences" from the QuickTime Player menu, then click on the Recording icon at the top of the window. First, select the video device and microphone you will use to record your video podcast. Next, for the best video quality of your final video podcast, set the Quality to "Device Native." Last, choose the location where you would like your podcast to be saved. Once you've made your selections, you may close the Preferences window.

Step 5
Choose "New Movie Recording" from the File menu.

Step 6
Click the red Capture button and begin recording with your camera. Click the black Stop button when you're done recording.

Step 7
To convert your podcast recording to a format that iPod understands,* choose "Export..." from the File menu.

Step 8
Choose "Movie to iPod (320x240)" from the export drop down list and click the Save button.

The Export progress bar shows you how much of the export process is completed. The longer your podcast recording, the longer the export will take.

Once the export is complete, QuickTime Pro will place on your Desktop a new version of your podcast recording that will play on the iPod. Double-click the new file and play it to make sure it looks as you expect. You now have a file that is ready to be published.

Step 9
You can publish the exported file to the Internet as an enclosure on a blogging service, such as Blogger, and wrapped in a podcast-friendly RSS feed. (Please note: the file must be hosted on a web server such as .Mac.) RSS feed providers, such as FeedBurner, make it easy to create an RSS file from your blog.

Then to reach a potential audience of millions, publish your podcast to iTunes Podcast Directory (subject to it being free of copyrighted or overtly explicit material). For inclusion in the iTunes Music Store, you'll need to provide the link to the podcast RSS feed and all episodes within a podcast must be available as .m4v, .mp4 or .mov video file enclosures.

I've seen a guy embed a button from Flash onto the QT video so that you could funnel people to your site. Good idea dude!

I've been making the screen of TokyoDV videos 'hotlinked' to the main site for awhile.. It would be nice to have an actual button though.

Looks like I'll be re-encoding some clips this weekend.. Now I need an easy way for people to 'pick up' the videos.. Is there anything like an RSS feed for video clips?

GJ

[mr. sparkle]

Any idea on how to prepare video for the new iPod?

Creating Video Podcasts on Mac OSX
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/videopodcasts.html -(with step by step images)

Nice link. Right now though, content guys that are not aligned with music and video companies are being shut out of the iTunes store. Sure we can pod/vodcast for free, but wherein lies the model where Joe 6 pack can get paid for his content?

My buddy has a new concept for this. Hope it catches on:
http://www.klicktab.com/

BTW, I did make a link especially for video podcasts....whateveh my brothers....

[emperor]

Are these Vid-Pods available at stores yet in Nippon?
Did Steve say end of the week?
A mate is over in Japan for the next fortnight, hope he can pick one up pour moi before he has to return.

[hellosalaryman]

My wish now is that with front row, it would be nice to have it as an ap for a remote with any recent mac, like if the remote worked via Bluetooth, it would be cool to have the same function on the G5 and a Cinema display.
Like what if you went all out for the 30" Cinema display, but you want to control your movie via a remote?

this = me. i have the eyetv also. right now, since my keyboard and mouse are wireless, i can sit on my couch and control from there. it works, but that remote would be perfect.

[American Oyaji]

I've got a question.

Does the new iMac include a CAP to cover the camera?
I was on my way to sleep last night thinking of it and I thought of a program called iSpy that was a trojan horse that could let a remote user see through the camera of an infected iMac that was connected to the internet. Basically, once it installed itself it would send a message with the address to a drop box that the creator could pick up remotely as well

And if I've thought of it, I'm sure someone else has.

[Charles]

I've got a question.

Does the new iMac include a CAP to cover the camera?

I believe this will do the job.

[cstaylor]

And if I've thought of it, I'm sure someone else has.

There was already a Windoze virus that did something like that. With the older iSight you just twist the lens and it will close.