Apple just announced a new Nano, along with new exclusive games developed for it by Electronic Arts. $4.99 each download. So, now we see Apple has learned that casual gaming is a very profitable way to sell games (Xbox 360’s casual games have been selling like hotcakes).
I also heard on CNBC (Jim Goldman was sending text messages to the hosts from inside the Apple event) that Apple is releasing a new video device that’ll let you watch downloaded videos on your TV, I don’t know enough about that yet to comment, but it sounds interesting! Hmmm, see, Apple does get that there’s a new market now that HDTV screens are coming into the home. Oh, did you miss that Best Buy profits were way up last quarter? Almost wholly on the back of increased large/flat screen TV sales.
Good luck getting through to Engadget and other Apple-watching sites. I got through to Engadget’s minute-by-minute report, but only after trying several times.
UPDATE: I’m sitting in front of Hitachi Data Systems in Santa Clara. Listening to CNBC. Watching MacRumors Live. What a wacky way to get the news.
They just announced movies. And both TV shows and movies are now encoded at 640×480. The movies are selling for $9.99 to $14.99. I still don’t get why I wouldn’t just rent movies from NetFlix, especially since DVDs are better quality? I guess this is useful for travelers, and for people who have kids so they can load a laptop up with lots of Disney stuff and keep the kids busy in the back seat of the car.
iTunes 7 is shipping today.
Scobleizer 
Try macrumors.com for up-to-the-minute reporting. Very fast.
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Try macrumors.com for up-to-the-minute reporting. Very fast.
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http://www.macrumorslive.com/
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http://www.macrumorslive.com/
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or MacCentral: http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09/12/showtime/index.php
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or MacCentral: http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09/12/showtime/index.php
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Optical disks eat up more power, this is much kinder on the batteries
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Optical disks eat up more power, this is much kinder on the batteries
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Yay for better encoding! And a revamped iTunes interface, better iPod syncing betwixt multiple machines…all looking good!
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Yay for better encoding! And a revamped iTunes interface, better iPod syncing betwixt multiple machines…all looking good!
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And Robert finally got his media center that he predicted would be released at the WWDC. Only it was announced at an *iPod/iTunes* event instead of a developer conference, so the message stayed on focus. Imagine.
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And Robert finally got his media center that he predicted would be released at the WWDC. Only it was announced at an *iPod/iTunes* event instead of a developer conference, so the message stayed on focus. Imagine.
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Robert,
Macworld is doing a good job of reporting
http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09/12/showtime/index.php
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Robert,
Macworld is doing a good job of reporting
http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/09/12/showtime/index.php
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Why no use NetFlix? Because I want to keep the films I have paid for, especially as in the UK it is now possible to insure your digital media.
I am still disappointed though, outside of the US we get no TV, no movies and I fully expect no games. Lame.
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Why no use NetFlix? Because I want to keep the films I have paid for, especially as in the UK it is now possible to insure your digital media.
I am still disappointed though, outside of the US we get no TV, no movies and I fully expect no games. Lame.
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Ross, that’s licensing issues. Even the artists complain about how bizarre licensing things internationally is.
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Ross, that’s licensing issues. Even the artists complain about how bizarre licensing things internationally is.
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Already have iT7 and you’ll need the QuickTime update to 7.1.3 (get them both from the Apple web site… software update isn’t seeded with it yet).
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Already have iT7 and you’ll need the QuickTime update to 7.1.3 (get them both from the Apple web site… software update isn’t seeded with it yet).
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As far as why I wouldn’t want to rent or buy a DVD — I want to own the movie, but I don’t want the physical media cluttering up my place.
If I rent, I don’t own the movie.
If I buy, rip and sell, I don’t own the movie.
If I buy, rip and keep, I own the movie but have to find a place to store the disc.
Downloadable media is a nice alternative.
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Why wouldn’t you just rent a DVD? Because, can decide what movie you want to watch, and 30 minutes later, it’s ready to go.
This “on demand” nature of the service, and the fact that iTV boxes will connect wirelessly to both Macs *and* PCs, mean that iTV will likely be a massive success.
Yes, there are quality issues. But the truth is – most people don’t care about that. 640 x 480 is probably “good enough” for most purposes – including watching on a big screen.
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Why wouldn’t you just rent a DVD? Because, can decide what movie you want to watch, and 30 minutes later, it’s ready to go.
This “on demand” nature of the service, and the fact that iTV boxes will connect wirelessly to both Macs *and* PCs, mean that iTV will likely be a massive success.
Yes, there are quality issues. But the truth is – most people don’t care about that. 640 x 480 is probably “good enough” for most purposes – including watching on a big screen.
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As far as why I wouldn’t want to rent or buy a DVD — I want to own the movie, but I don’t want the physical media cluttering up my place.
If I rent, I don’t own the movie.
If I buy, rip and sell, I don’t own the movie.
If I buy, rip and keep, I own the movie but have to find a place to store the disc.
Downloadable media is a nice alternative.
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*yawn*
OK, can I play my 4 seasons worth of Mr. Monk episodes on my Linux box yet?
Seriously. I like Apple hardware (in general, and mostly passed-tense) and OS X in particular, but I DO NOT like being locked into a particular hardware/software combination by purely artificial means (DRM). I want my hardware vendor, and especially my OS vendor to earn my business EVERY DAY and not engage in one lock-in after another and then “retire” to collect dividends like SOME OS companies we could name.
When Apple announced that it had finished it’s transition to Intel I decided to follow suit. I got a used Dell small form factor system for $300 that (running Linux) runs circles around my G4 Powerbook, and I am now using that as my primary machine. Fortunately my music is all MP3 and even the iTunes stuff I purchased was easily converted to non-DRM, so I have NO PROBLEMO with the slightly inconvenient obstacles that ITMS puts in front of me. I’d gladly continue using ITMS if I could download my purchases directly to Linux, but am disinclined to do so otherwise, but I’ll absolutely not buy any more video content until the rules loosen up, A LOT. By all means I’d rather just go buy the DVD and be done with it.
While I appreciate that none of this (or little of it) is Apple’s doing, and has more to do with the media conglomerates having their heads up each others butts, I see no reason why I should support this technology. As I read recently (maybe even here) Apple is facing down-sloping iEverything sales as the market has started to saturate. While at the same time the switch to Intel may look like simply an effort for faster processors, but I see it as “me-tooism” chase for lowest common denominator manufacturing benefits from the far-east. Apple’s vaunted reputation for engineering has left the building (unless you count color selection as engineering) and so now they HAVE to make their venture into media succeed because they won’t be distinguishable from that OTHER OS and that OTHER hardware company for long.
I see the only way out of the corner they have painted themselves into is for them to make it compelling to run any Apple software on any device, allow Apple apps (like iTunes) to run in Open Software environments (not necessarily BE open) and de-couple the hardware and software (including ITMS) from each other (they have done this to a limited extent) which translates probably into an eventual exit from the hardware (PC) business. There is simply no way at this point that they can recover the uniqueness of their hardware platform, and even the outward appearance of HP, Dell and Apple machines is starting to merge into the stylistic uniformity of the American automobile. A core-duo is a core-duo and ones that don’t melt will sell better than ones that do, regardless of the price.
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*yawn*
OK, can I play my 4 seasons worth of Mr. Monk episodes on my Linux box yet?
Seriously. I like Apple hardware (in general, and mostly passed-tense) and OS X in particular, but I DO NOT like being locked into a particular hardware/software combination by purely artificial means (DRM). I want my hardware vendor, and especially my OS vendor to earn my business EVERY DAY and not engage in one lock-in after another and then “retire” to collect dividends like SOME OS companies we could name.
When Apple announced that it had finished it’s transition to Intel I decided to follow suit. I got a used Dell small form factor system for $300 that (running Linux) runs circles around my G4 Powerbook, and I am now using that as my primary machine. Fortunately my music is all MP3 and even the iTunes stuff I purchased was easily converted to non-DRM, so I have NO PROBLEMO with the slightly inconvenient obstacles that ITMS puts in front of me. I’d gladly continue using ITMS if I could download my purchases directly to Linux, but am disinclined to do so otherwise, but I’ll absolutely not buy any more video content until the rules loosen up, A LOT. By all means I’d rather just go buy the DVD and be done with it.
While I appreciate that none of this (or little of it) is Apple’s doing, and has more to do with the media conglomerates having their heads up each others butts, I see no reason why I should support this technology. As I read recently (maybe even here) Apple is facing down-sloping iEverything sales as the market has started to saturate. While at the same time the switch to Intel may look like simply an effort for faster processors, but I see it as “me-tooism” chase for lowest common denominator manufacturing benefits from the far-east. Apple’s vaunted reputation for engineering has left the building (unless you count color selection as engineering) and so now they HAVE to make their venture into media succeed because they won’t be distinguishable from that OTHER OS and that OTHER hardware company for long.
I see the only way out of the corner they have painted themselves into is for them to make it compelling to run any Apple software on any device, allow Apple apps (like iTunes) to run in Open Software environments (not necessarily BE open) and de-couple the hardware and software (including ITMS) from each other (they have done this to a limited extent) which translates probably into an eventual exit from the hardware (PC) business. There is simply no way at this point that they can recover the uniqueness of their hardware platform, and even the outward appearance of HP, Dell and Apple machines is starting to merge into the stylistic uniformity of the American automobile. A core-duo is a core-duo and ones that don’t melt will sell better than ones that do, regardless of the price.
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Maybe Apple just doesn’t *get* pricing? Apple products have always been higher priced (Macs and ipods). Maybe this is justified by other factors, and maybe not. A music CD is still $10-12 on itunes, which isn’t much cheaper than in the store.
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Maybe Apple just doesn’t *get* pricing? Apple products have always been higher priced (Macs and ipods). Maybe this is justified by other factors, and maybe not. A music CD is still $10-12 on itunes, which isn’t much cheaper than in the store.
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Pardon my French, but fuck Best Buy. They have without a doubt the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I just got through a 3 week hellathon trying to get them to take away my old diswasher, but their customer service line has various departments subcontracted out, so I would literally call every day for 2 weeks and get a different answer every day. No one ever actually took ownership of the issue (at several points, they told me I had to talk to Whirlpool, who consequently said I had to talk to BB), even after threatening them with both the Better Business Bureau AND legal action.
I’d recommend Sears, Circuit City, or even manufacturing your own appliance in your garage with iron/aluminum ore before giving any money to Best Buy. You may have a good experience buying the thing, but if you ever have to have a followup, be prepared to run in serious circles.
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Pardon my French, but fuck Best Buy. They have without a doubt the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I just got through a 3 week hellathon trying to get them to take away my old diswasher, but their customer service line has various departments subcontracted out, so I would literally call every day for 2 weeks and get a different answer every day. No one ever actually took ownership of the issue (at several points, they told me I had to talk to Whirlpool, who consequently said I had to talk to BB), even after threatening them with both the Better Business Bureau AND legal action.
I’d recommend Sears, Circuit City, or even manufacturing your own appliance in your garage with iron/aluminum ore before giving any money to Best Buy. You may have a good experience buying the thing, but if you ever have to have a followup, be prepared to run in serious circles.
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A few thoughts:
iTV is going to be $300, why not just shell out the extra cash for a mac mini to use as a living room PC? I still think it’s cool, but not $300 cool.
Apple barely did better than Amazon with movies, they were just already established so the lock-in isn’t as jarring. Still need iTunes, still have to pay as much as most physical DVDs, still can’t burn to DVD, and it’s not even DVD quality.
I still think a better solution is just buying the physical DVD, and if you want a digital copy just ripping and encoding with Handbrake.
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A few thoughts:
iTV is going to be $300, why not just shell out the extra cash for a mac mini to use as a living room PC? I still think it’s cool, but not $300 cool.
Apple barely did better than Amazon with movies, they were just already established so the lock-in isn’t as jarring. Still need iTunes, still have to pay as much as most physical DVDs, still can’t burn to DVD, and it’s not even DVD quality.
I still think a better solution is just buying the physical DVD, and if you want a digital copy just ripping and encoding with Handbrake.
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The biggest news I took note of BEFORE Steve even uttered his first words were that he wasnt wearing his trademark turtleneck…. Am I the only one who took note of this? That’s the biggest news I saw from this Special Event.
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The biggest news I took note of BEFORE Steve even uttered his first words were that he wasnt wearing his trademark turtleneck…. Am I the only one who took note of this? That’s the biggest news I saw from this Special Event.
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This is just Apple fanboys speaking. Why isn’t everyone bitching about the pricing and the inability to burn to DVD when that’s all anyone talked about with Amazon? Oh. It’s Apple. I get it.
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This is just Apple fanboys speaking. Why isn’t everyone bitching about the pricing and the inability to burn to DVD when that’s all anyone talked about with Amazon? Oh. It’s Apple. I get it.
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Robert my thoughts here http://weblogs.asp.net/pleloup/archive/2006/09/12/Apple-innovation-is-losing-grounds-very-fast.aspx
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Robert my thoughts here http://weblogs.asp.net/pleloup/archive/2006/09/12/Apple-innovation-is-losing-grounds-very-fast.aspx
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640 x 480 !
What happened to the “Year of High-Def?” And that was supposed to be last year. OTOH the iTV set top box has HDMI, Component Video and Optical Audio. Are we looking at High Def downloads in the future (2007) with the set top box debut? That would certainly suck for people that spend $$ between now and then to download “near DVD” content.
I am surpised we didn’t get at least a baby RANT from Scoble about the lack of High Def. Patrick’s RDF must be rubbing off on him. Heh. C’mon Robert, don’t go soft on us!. :-p
I was hoping Jobs would be able to convince MPAA regarding burning content to DVDs, the same as Playlists to CDs from iTunes. But no such luck. 😦
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640 x 480 !
What happened to the “Year of High-Def?” And that was supposed to be last year. OTOH the iTV set top box has HDMI, Component Video and Optical Audio. Are we looking at High Def downloads in the future (2007) with the set top box debut? That would certainly suck for people that spend $$ between now and then to download “near DVD” content.
I am surpised we didn’t get at least a baby RANT from Scoble about the lack of High Def. Patrick’s RDF must be rubbing off on him. Heh. C’mon Robert, don’t go soft on us!. :-p
I was hoping Jobs would be able to convince MPAA regarding burning content to DVDs, the same as Playlists to CDs from iTunes. But no such luck. 😦
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As a stockholder in Apple, I love the announcements made today. Couple these with the 24″ iMac and Core Duo MacMini (@13 – show me those HPs and Dells with those form factors please) and Apple has positioned themselves quite well for the upcoming holiday season and beyond… iTV and Leopard being promised in the first half of 2007.
As a Mac user, today was – as expected – as non-eventful day. Kind of what those multimedia fanatics should have expected last month at WWDC.
As an iTunes fan today was also about as expected – nothing for me. Sure, I might buy a new Shuffle next month… that form factor suits my tastes best. As a movie fan I never intended on using iTunes – or at least purchase from iTMS. DVDs suit me best.
@12 – you may share my name, but not my feelings. Are you serious that physical DVD storage is an issue for you? I find that difficult….
I was hopeful about iTV coming before the holidays. That’s a slight disappointment. More troubling was Steve’s need to use his “one more thing” line on essentially vaporware – that’s not his normal style. He likes to use it on something people can usually cross the street and walk into an Apple Store and purchase immediately. (Shades of Microsoft on announcing something that won’t be available for months yet.)
Anyone expecting an iPhone deserves to wallow in their disappointment – anyone who follows this company didn’t expect that one today.
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As a stockholder in Apple, I love the announcements made today. Couple these with the 24″ iMac and Core Duo MacMini (@13 – show me those HPs and Dells with those form factors please) and Apple has positioned themselves quite well for the upcoming holiday season and beyond… iTV and Leopard being promised in the first half of 2007.
As a Mac user, today was – as expected – as non-eventful day. Kind of what those multimedia fanatics should have expected last month at WWDC.
As an iTunes fan today was also about as expected – nothing for me. Sure, I might buy a new Shuffle next month… that form factor suits my tastes best. As a movie fan I never intended on using iTunes – or at least purchase from iTMS. DVDs suit me best.
@12 – you may share my name, but not my feelings. Are you serious that physical DVD storage is an issue for you? I find that difficult….
I was hopeful about iTV coming before the holidays. That’s a slight disappointment. More troubling was Steve’s need to use his “one more thing” line on essentially vaporware – that’s not his normal style. He likes to use it on something people can usually cross the street and walk into an Apple Store and purchase immediately. (Shades of Microsoft on announcing something that won’t be available for months yet.)
Anyone expecting an iPhone deserves to wallow in their disappointment – anyone who follows this company didn’t expect that one today.
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I just came back from Lunch 2.0. Robert was busy talking to people.
I wouldn’t buy video that is 640×480. Lame on my HDTV or even my 21 inch widescreen monitor. That is the quality I get from my Logitech webcam.
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@18, the fact Apple can at least play it on more than one OS, we don’t have to watch rentals within 24 hours of starting, Apple have given a timeline for RestOfTheWorld ?
Amazon screwed up … not much more to it.
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Played pingpong too at the Lunch 2.0 🙂
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@18, the fact Apple can at least play it on more than one OS, we don’t have to watch rentals within 24 hours of starting, Apple have given a timeline for RestOfTheWorld ?
Amazon screwed up … not much more to it.
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I just came back from Lunch 2.0. Robert was busy talking to people.
I wouldn’t buy video that is 640×480. Lame on my HDTV or even my 21 inch widescreen monitor. That is the quality I get from my Logitech webcam.
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Played pingpong too at the Lunch 2.0 🙂
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All the complaints about 640×480… Isn’t standard DVD 640×480?
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All the complaints about 640×480… Isn’t standard DVD 640×480?
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@ 27
Rory, – nope. Standard DVD resolution is 720×480. That’s why they are calling 640×480 “near DVD” quality. One doesn’t have to be a videophile to be disappointed watching a SD DVD signal on a High Def TV without using an upconverting DVD player. So 640×480 sure ain’t gonna look great.
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@ 27
Rory, – nope. Standard DVD resolution is 720×480. That’s why they are calling 640×480 “near DVD” quality. One doesn’t have to be a videophile to be disappointed watching a SD DVD signal on a High Def TV without using an upconverting DVD player. So 640×480 sure ain’t gonna look great.
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>> All the complaints about 640×480… Isn’t standard DVD 640×480?
Nope. It is 852 x 480.
http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/118003.html
Someone on that forum said it is 720×480. Wiki also says it is 720 x 480. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD
I also noticed that there is no Dolby Digital support. It is only Dolby Surround.
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>> All the complaints about 640×480… Isn’t standard DVD 640×480?
Nope. It is 852 x 480.
http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/118003.html
Someone on that forum said it is 720×480. Wiki also says it is 720 x 480. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD
I also noticed that there is no Dolby Digital support. It is only Dolby Surround.
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This new iTunes UI looks very similar to WMP11. Finally Apple is copying MS.
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This new iTunes UI looks very similar to WMP11. Finally Apple is copying MS.
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As I expected, Apple’s movie service pales in comparison to what CinemaNow.com’s been doing for years (CinemaNow has much greater selection by far (but Apple will improve here), it’s cheaper, has highdef vids (720p), and CinemaNow.com is now allowing downloading entire DVDs and burning them to DRM-free recordable DVDs playable on any DVD player).
And iTV looks like an overpriced media extender that connects with the videos in the computer’s iTunes library. Apple’s selling this for $300. D-Link has been selling theirs for $230. Not to mention that a Core Xbox 360 is also a media center extender that also plays games, for the same price as Apple’s iTV box.
Not impressed.
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As I expected, Apple’s movie service pales in comparison to what CinemaNow.com’s been doing for years (CinemaNow has much greater selection by far (but Apple will improve here), it’s cheaper, has highdef vids (720p), and CinemaNow.com is now allowing downloading entire DVDs and burning them to DRM-free recordable DVDs playable on any DVD player).
And iTV looks like an overpriced media extender that connects with the videos in the computer’s iTunes library. Apple’s selling this for $300. D-Link has been selling theirs for $230. Not to mention that a Core Xbox 360 is also a media center extender that also plays games, for the same price as Apple’s iTV box.
Not impressed.
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Maybe I am a fool but I don’t get.
I like the concept of downloading the movie and watching it on flat screen TV through a wireless Apple box. But:
1. Will I be able to burn the DVD?
2. Get HD content? How big HD files are? Or is the world going to be happy be “near DVD quality” content even after next year or two?
3. Suppose I want to share the movie with a guy who does not have iPod. You know like I let my friend borrow a DVD. Is that possible?
4. After 5 years of owning iPod suppose I have about 1000 movies. But Suddenly I feel there is finally a better device to which I will like to move on to, will Apple let me move on with those movies?
If not then why should I pay $15 for a downloaded movie (a little less for old ones) when I can own a disk for a couple of dollars more (if not the same cost)?
I still do not get this movie download thing. I really do believe there is a case for music video download and TV show download. Thos are the stuff for which I would never have bought a DVD in the first place. But movies are different. After seeing HD TV I feel DVD quality is really crap and the download is not going to even match that!!!!!!
On top of that I am stuck with Apple for life. No way….
I love movies. When I buy a Godfather or Deerhunter, I want to be able to watch it as I want, where I want and do what ever I want with it. I want to be able to watch it on a better player when it’s available.
Rohit
http://myclump.spaces.live.com/
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Maybe I am a fool but I don’t get.
I like the concept of downloading the movie and watching it on flat screen TV through a wireless Apple box. But:
1. Will I be able to burn the DVD?
2. Get HD content? How big HD files are? Or is the world going to be happy be “near DVD quality” content even after next year or two?
3. Suppose I want to share the movie with a guy who does not have iPod. You know like I let my friend borrow a DVD. Is that possible?
4. After 5 years of owning iPod suppose I have about 1000 movies. But Suddenly I feel there is finally a better device to which I will like to move on to, will Apple let me move on with those movies?
If not then why should I pay $15 for a downloaded movie (a little less for old ones) when I can own a disk for a couple of dollars more (if not the same cost)?
I still do not get this movie download thing. I really do believe there is a case for music video download and TV show download. Thos are the stuff for which I would never have bought a DVD in the first place. But movies are different. After seeing HD TV I feel DVD quality is really crap and the download is not going to even match that!!!!!!
On top of that I am stuck with Apple for life. No way….
I love movies. When I buy a Godfather or Deerhunter, I want to be able to watch it as I want, where I want and do what ever I want with it. I want to be able to watch it on a better player when it’s available.
Rohit
http://myclump.spaces.live.com/
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I ordered a new 80 gig Ipod because I wanted more capacity. I was underwhelmed by the Apple I TV and movie download service. Do you think the Zune announcement this week will have any surprises ?
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I ordered a new 80 gig Ipod because I wanted more capacity. I was underwhelmed by the Apple I TV and movie download service. Do you think the Zune announcement this week will have any surprises ?
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While I’m not normally enthused with Apple product announcements, this actually is a nice marriage of Apple software with Microsoft-based hardware; namely the Origami devices. I say this as an HDTV subject matter expert: carrying around a VGA movie on a 7-inch touchscreen is actually not that bad. Will I hook this up to my HDTVs and watch? Of course not, but it’s an evolutionary step and provides content portability. I’ve got an 11 minute videocast demo of new iTunes Movie store as well as some movie playback on my Samsung Q1 UMPC: http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkotr_audio_edition/2006/09/jkontherun_audi.html All in all, not bad for now.
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While I’m not normally enthused with Apple product announcements, this actually is a nice marriage of Apple software with Microsoft-based hardware; namely the Origami devices. I say this as an HDTV subject matter expert: carrying around a VGA movie on a 7-inch touchscreen is actually not that bad. Will I hook this up to my HDTVs and watch? Of course not, but it’s an evolutionary step and provides content portability. I’ve got an 11 minute videocast demo of new iTunes Movie store as well as some movie playback on my Samsung Q1 UMPC: http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkotr_audio_edition/2006/09/jkontherun_audi.html All in all, not bad for now.
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“iTV is going to be $300, why not just shell out the extra cash for a mac mini to use as a living room PC?”
Because all of the processing power of this device will be dedicated to encoding/decoding video. Because this device could possibly incorporate 802.11n (plus a/b/g) ahead of the mini. Because this device will be quiter and cooler than a mini. Because this device supports HDMI (for personally recorded video rather than iTMS-purchased video) for higher resolutions. Because people haven’t flocked to the “living room PC” idea.
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“iTV is going to be $300, why not just shell out the extra cash for a mac mini to use as a living room PC?”
Because all of the processing power of this device will be dedicated to encoding/decoding video. Because this device could possibly incorporate 802.11n (plus a/b/g) ahead of the mini. Because this device will be quiter and cooler than a mini. Because this device supports HDMI (for personally recorded video rather than iTMS-purchased video) for higher resolutions. Because people haven’t flocked to the “living room PC” idea.
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Do you think the Zune announcement this week will have any surprises?
If people don’t die from laughing too hard, that’s a surprise. If they get more than 2 minutes worth of serious considerational attention, that’s another surprise.
Really Microsoft, why bother…
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Do you think the Zune announcement this week will have any surprises?
If people don’t die from laughing too hard, that’s a surprise. If they get more than 2 minutes worth of serious considerational attention, that’s another surprise.
Really Microsoft, why bother…
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“Use NetFlix”??? So, Cuban convinced you, eh? Weren’t you the one singing the praises of all the kewl things you could do with Amzazon’s product just days ago?
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“Use NetFlix”??? So, Cuban convinced you, eh? Weren’t you the one singing the praises of all the kewl things you could do with Amzazon’s product just days ago?
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“I love movies. When I buy a Godfather or Deerhunter, I want to be able to watch it as I want, where I want and do what ever I want with it. I want to be able to watch it on a better player when it’s available.”
Exactly WHAT are you doing with your Godfather VHS tapes these days?
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“I love movies. When I buy a Godfather or Deerhunter, I want to be able to watch it as I want, where I want and do what ever I want with it. I want to be able to watch it on a better player when it’s available.”
Exactly WHAT are you doing with your Godfather VHS tapes these days?
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i study cinema in spain and it got me kind of sad to hear(read) this struggeling about gadgets, who has the better technology, etc. It’s like nobody cares about the films anymore. It’s like: fill me up with hollywood crap and I can go on living… well, searching for a new thing to buy.
I am Mac-user and of course I love it… but one has to be reasonable.
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i study cinema in spain and it got me kind of sad to hear(read) this struggeling about gadgets, who has the better technology, etc. It’s like nobody cares about the films anymore. It’s like: fill me up with hollywood crap and I can go on living… well, searching for a new thing to buy.
I am Mac-user and of course I love it… but one has to be reasonable.
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Mac Beach said:
“but I DO NOT like being locked into a particular hardware/software combination by purely artificial means (DRM).”
Hmmm. So means that were not ‘artificial’ would be okay?
You have a duty to let us know when that $300 Dell box goes belly up, which probably won’t be long. Meanwhile, the PowerBook G4 you are dissing will keep on truckin.’
As for the resolution issue, I’ve been just fine watching videos and TV shows in the old resolution on my video iPod. So, to those of us who are the installed base, a higher resolution is gravy.
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Mac Beach said:
“but I DO NOT like being locked into a particular hardware/software combination by purely artificial means (DRM).”
Hmmm. So means that were not ‘artificial’ would be okay?
You have a duty to let us know when that $300 Dell box goes belly up, which probably won’t be long. Meanwhile, the PowerBook G4 you are dissing will keep on truckin.’
As for the resolution issue, I’ve been just fine watching videos and TV shows in the old resolution on my video iPod. So, to those of us who are the installed base, a higher resolution is gravy.
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The best part of today’s announcement is that you can finally play Tetris on your iPod. This stunning technical advance will revolutionise the way people play 15 year old computer games.
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The best part of today’s announcement is that you can finally play Tetris on your iPod. This stunning technical advance will revolutionise the way people play 15 year old computer games.
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itunes 7 pretty gd.. it seems to work faster on my notebook then itune6
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itunes 7 pretty gd.. it seems to work faster on my notebook then itune6
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“Exactly WHAT are you doing with your Godfather VHS tapes these days?”
Rob,
Since I started buying movies there has been DVD so let’s not talk about VHS. But let’s take DVD as example. I have about 50 of them. And soon when the HD DVD settles down I will buy which ever format wins. But the important point is that my old DVD will still work and I can choose whichever company wins the format war. I can ACTUALLY CHANGE TO A DIFFERENT BRAND WITHOUT LOOSEING MY OLD MOVIES.
Now that’s my point. At some point technology moves on. We cannot escape that. But lets move on to the best there is. With Apple the only place I can move on to is Apple. That sucks.
Those who get so emotional about Microsoft’s monopoly and term it as the ‘evil’ and cry day in and day out about how they are getting screwed by it (maybe with some justification) should now wake up and see what Apple is doing. At the end of the day it’s all about money. When MS got a chance to be a monopoly it became one and will defend its territory with all its might as monopoly. The same will be true for Apple or Google. That’s the reason why I am happy that Zune is coming in. We need two or three major players in market so that everyone remains honest.
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“Exactly WHAT are you doing with your Godfather VHS tapes these days?”
Rob,
Since I started buying movies there has been DVD so let’s not talk about VHS. But let’s take DVD as example. I have about 50 of them. And soon when the HD DVD settles down I will buy which ever format wins. But the important point is that my old DVD will still work and I can choose whichever company wins the format war. I can ACTUALLY CHANGE TO A DIFFERENT BRAND WITHOUT LOOSEING MY OLD MOVIES.
Now that’s my point. At some point technology moves on. We cannot escape that. But lets move on to the best there is. With Apple the only place I can move on to is Apple. That sucks.
Those who get so emotional about Microsoft’s monopoly and term it as the ‘evil’ and cry day in and day out about how they are getting screwed by it (maybe with some justification) should now wake up and see what Apple is doing. At the end of the day it’s all about money. When MS got a chance to be a monopoly it became one and will defend its territory with all its might as monopoly. The same will be true for Apple or Google. That’s the reason why I am happy that Zune is coming in. We need two or three major players in market so that everyone remains honest.
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Except the new games don’t work on the nano, only on the larger ipods.
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Except the new games don’t work on the nano, only on the larger ipods.
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Rohit, yes, your DVD movies will still work in the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players but only because the mfrs think it’s important to jumpstart sales of the new players.
Rob’s point (and I agree) was that a few years from now when the next great thing hits, the mfrs may not think it’s that important and those DVDs will only work in your older equipment. Maybe the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray discs will work but not the DVD discs. Just like no mfr thinks VHS playback is important in selling DVD players today.
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Rohit, yes, your DVD movies will still work in the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players but only because the mfrs think it’s important to jumpstart sales of the new players.
Rob’s point (and I agree) was that a few years from now when the next great thing hits, the mfrs may not think it’s that important and those DVDs will only work in your older equipment. Maybe the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray discs will work but not the DVD discs. Just like no mfr thinks VHS playback is important in selling DVD players today.
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There are at least two reasons for non-HD quality:
1. For most people, it takes too long to download. Note that Apple does have some HD previews (short downloads), and it looks like HD content will work across the iTV. They’re just not selling HD downloads at iTunes.
2. For the studios, they are about to sell HD quality on the new HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs for a $10-30 premium per sale and with a stronger DRM. They are not going to dilute that significant revenue/profit opportunity by selling HD downloads. Maybe two years from now they’ll try to sell it again to you via download at a much cheaper price but not today.
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There are at least two reasons for non-HD quality:
1. For most people, it takes too long to download. Note that Apple does have some HD previews (short downloads), and it looks like HD content will work across the iTV. They’re just not selling HD downloads at iTunes.
2. For the studios, they are about to sell HD quality on the new HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs for a $10-30 premium per sale and with a stronger DRM. They are not going to dilute that significant revenue/profit opportunity by selling HD downloads. Maybe two years from now they’ll try to sell it again to you via download at a much cheaper price but not today.
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My wife and I both own iPods. I own a 4gb black nano (dare I say old school in the midst of these new releases?) and she owns a 4gb pink mini.
I use mine all the time. I actually only have about an hour of running music on it, then the rest is filled with podcasts (Hello 8gb version!).
My wife isn’t impressed with hers any longer, so I think this Christmas we’ll have to get her a nano. The battery life, etc is just so much better, and of course size DOES matter when you’re out running and/or in her case carrying it in her purse.
I really don’t have any improvements to nanos that I’d make, but I have seen some peoples complaints about various things. Well, I would like to see more battery life, but realistically I’ve never had a problem with mine in that regards.
It will be interesting to see what reviews say.
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My wife and I both own iPods. I own a 4gb black nano (dare I say old school in the midst of these new releases?) and she owns a 4gb pink mini.
I use mine all the time. I actually only have about an hour of running music on it, then the rest is filled with podcasts (Hello 8gb version!).
My wife isn’t impressed with hers any longer, so I think this Christmas we’ll have to get her a nano. The battery life, etc is just so much better, and of course size DOES matter when you’re out running and/or in her case carrying it in her purse.
I really don’t have any improvements to nanos that I’d make, but I have seen some peoples complaints about various things. Well, I would like to see more battery life, but realistically I’ve never had a problem with mine in that regards.
It will be interesting to see what reviews say.
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cant wait to get mine!!!!
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cant wait to get mine!!!!
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I wish Apple’s movie service was more like a rental service than ownership. IMHO the pricing is too high for what you get. It’s too close to the DVD price.
I basically see movies in three groups: See in the theater, buy the DVD and rent. The last category is where most of my movie watching is. Most movies these days are worth seeing only once and if you want to watch it multiple times, why wouldn’t you just buy the DVD?
I think Apple’s movie idea is great, I just think they should be charging more like $3 – $5 dollars for a download. I would even be willing to accept a model where the files expire after a month.
I see movies completely opposite from music. I want to own my music because I listen to them repeatedly. Movies on the other hand are more disposeable. Not sure why that is for me, but since there are multiple movie rental services and no music CD rental services I think there is a real reason.
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I wish Apple’s movie service was more like a rental service than ownership. IMHO the pricing is too high for what you get. It’s too close to the DVD price.
I basically see movies in three groups: See in the theater, buy the DVD and rent. The last category is where most of my movie watching is. Most movies these days are worth seeing only once and if you want to watch it multiple times, why wouldn’t you just buy the DVD?
I think Apple’s movie idea is great, I just think they should be charging more like $3 – $5 dollars for a download. I would even be willing to accept a model where the files expire after a month.
I see movies completely opposite from music. I want to own my music because I listen to them repeatedly. Movies on the other hand are more disposeable. Not sure why that is for me, but since there are multiple movie rental services and no music CD rental services I think there is a real reason.
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I think the iTV will do a lot better than MCEs, simply because of Apple’s brand strength. They’ll probably advertise it too, something I’ve not seen MS do with MCEs.
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I think the iTV will do a lot better than MCEs, simply because of Apple’s brand strength. They’ll probably advertise it too, something I’ve not seen MS do with MCEs.
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Zune announcement:
“Okay, okay, so Apple was right all along. User experience, true simplicity, and ease of use are more important than our lying about being open. Since we can’t actually manage a solid user experience on Windows, simplicity is an anthema, and ease of use to us is spelled “Wizards”, well, we’re going to do a half-assed job of copying iTunes and the iPod, and hope that we can bribe you enough to use our product, even though it’s going to lock you to a single platform which iTunes didn’t do. Because really, we all know that “Open” is spelled and pronounced “Only Microsoft”. Thank you, here’s a cookie.”
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Zune announcement:
“Okay, okay, so Apple was right all along. User experience, true simplicity, and ease of use are more important than our lying about being open. Since we can’t actually manage a solid user experience on Windows, simplicity is an anthema, and ease of use to us is spelled “Wizards”, well, we’re going to do a half-assed job of copying iTunes and the iPod, and hope that we can bribe you enough to use our product, even though it’s going to lock you to a single platform which iTunes didn’t do. Because really, we all know that “Open” is spelled and pronounced “Only Microsoft”. Thank you, here’s a cookie.”
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John: good point. But, if I grant you that one, will you grant me that the UI on the new Apple settop box (iTV) looks an awful lot like Windows Media Center?
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John: good point. But, if I grant you that one, will you grant me that the UI on the new Apple settop box (iTV) looks an awful lot like Windows Media Center?
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“Rohit, yes, your DVD movies will still work in the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players but only because the mfrs think it’s important to jumpstart sales of the new players”
Mark,
You are missing the bigger picture. The DVD which I own and which might get outdated someday does not belong to one company who is locking me to it. I can view that on a low end DVD player from Walmart which costs about $30 or on a $2000 Denon DVD player. I am not hooked down to a single manufacturer. I have choice. And that to me is most important. Till the time DVD as technology exists I have choice to select which player I am going to use. So if I am not satisfied with quality of a player I can switch. Apple takes away that choice. Maybe today I am satisfied with them but in about 5 years I don’t know. I should have a choice to move on. Here we come back to the whole DRM issue, which really kills the video download. Forget the inferior quality video; I might have still given it a try if I could actually own the movie without DRM.
Further more $15 for a movie is just not worth it. I know the music which iTunes sells are poor quality audio, however generally people are not able to make out the difference. Only a audiophile can. However where video is concerned the difference is right there to see. The jump from DVD to HD is from 420p to 720p/1080p in resolution and anyone with 50 inch or larger flat TV will tell you that how bad a DV looks in from of HD TV. And we are talking about downloaded movies which do not even match DVD???
By the end of this year my cable network will add about 30 new HD channel and by next year about 100. Now that is when HD will become common.
Now if the downloaded movie or the music was a subscription service then I think there might be some case. But that is a whole new discussion.
At least to me downloaded movie (as it stands now) does not cut it…but hey to each his own (just let there be competition please……)
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“Rohit, yes, your DVD movies will still work in the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players but only because the mfrs think it’s important to jumpstart sales of the new players”
Mark,
You are missing the bigger picture. The DVD which I own and which might get outdated someday does not belong to one company who is locking me to it. I can view that on a low end DVD player from Walmart which costs about $30 or on a $2000 Denon DVD player. I am not hooked down to a single manufacturer. I have choice. And that to me is most important. Till the time DVD as technology exists I have choice to select which player I am going to use. So if I am not satisfied with quality of a player I can switch. Apple takes away that choice. Maybe today I am satisfied with them but in about 5 years I don’t know. I should have a choice to move on. Here we come back to the whole DRM issue, which really kills the video download. Forget the inferior quality video; I might have still given it a try if I could actually own the movie without DRM.
Further more $15 for a movie is just not worth it. I know the music which iTunes sells are poor quality audio, however generally people are not able to make out the difference. Only a audiophile can. However where video is concerned the difference is right there to see. The jump from DVD to HD is from 420p to 720p/1080p in resolution and anyone with 50 inch or larger flat TV will tell you that how bad a DV looks in from of HD TV. And we are talking about downloaded movies which do not even match DVD???
By the end of this year my cable network will add about 30 new HD channel and by next year about 100. Now that is when HD will become common.
Now if the downloaded movie or the music was a subscription service then I think there might be some case. But that is a whole new discussion.
At least to me downloaded movie (as it stands now) does not cut it…but hey to each his own (just let there be competition please……)
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hmmm…for 14,99…it is to expensiv…
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hmmm…for 14,99…it is to expensiv…
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Jonh..Scoble…or anyone…
I think I am missing out on something.
Got a question.
It related to this comment by John
“even though it’s going to lock you to a single platform which iTunes didn’t do”
How is that???
Rohit
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Jonh..Scoble…or anyone…
I think I am missing out on something.
Got a question.
It related to this comment by John
“even though it’s going to lock you to a single platform which iTunes didn’t do”
How is that???
Rohit
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Rohit, iTunes runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and motorola phones.
Three platforms, well, 2.5 if you want to split hairs, (you need Win/Mac OS X).
Zune? Microsoft. Windows, Windows Mobile. That’s it. (don’t start with “what about the portable devices. The MP3 player OS doesn’t count, as if it does, then i get to count the iPod’s OS too). All Microsoft platforms. Period. End of sentence.
So iTunes supports 2+ platforms, from different vendors, Zune will only support Windows platforms.
As to what the iTv UI looks like, I haven’t seen it nor do I care about it. I’m not going to get one. I don’t have a Tivo, HD tv, and I barely watch cable as it is. However, in any situation, there’s a limited number of ways to get things done for a given task. I’ll be Apple’s implementation won’t suck to use, and won’t require nearly as much overhead.
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Rohit, iTunes runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and motorola phones.
Three platforms, well, 2.5 if you want to split hairs, (you need Win/Mac OS X).
Zune? Microsoft. Windows, Windows Mobile. That’s it. (don’t start with “what about the portable devices. The MP3 player OS doesn’t count, as if it does, then i get to count the iPod’s OS too). All Microsoft platforms. Period. End of sentence.
So iTunes supports 2+ platforms, from different vendors, Zune will only support Windows platforms.
As to what the iTv UI looks like, I haven’t seen it nor do I care about it. I’m not going to get one. I don’t have a Tivo, HD tv, and I barely watch cable as it is. However, in any situation, there’s a limited number of ways to get things done for a given task. I’ll be Apple’s implementation won’t suck to use, and won’t require nearly as much overhead.
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“, iTunes runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and motorola phones.”
Agreed. I did not know that. Thanks,
However if I say that Zune should support Mac or other interface then what I should be getting into is monopoly of Windows. That’s too big an issue and topic. However I know this…when I download music from iTunes I too am locked with Apple. And in future Apple will use all the monopoly it has to others disadvantage. Using monopoly to ones advantage is nothing new. That’s how economy works. That itself makes a case for a second player in portable media player world.
“be Apple’s implementation won’t suck to use, and won’t require nearly as much overhead”
Will that justify a monopoly??
I think any sort of DRM sucks. But where I can live with DRM is when I get music as monthly subscription. Again.. that’s another story…
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“, iTunes runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and motorola phones.”
Agreed. I did not know that. Thanks,
However if I say that Zune should support Mac or other interface then what I should be getting into is monopoly of Windows. That’s too big an issue and topic. However I know this…when I download music from iTunes I too am locked with Apple. And in future Apple will use all the monopoly it has to others disadvantage. Using monopoly to ones advantage is nothing new. That’s how economy works. That itself makes a case for a second player in portable media player world.
“be Apple’s implementation won’t suck to use, and won’t require nearly as much overhead”
Will that justify a monopoly??
I think any sort of DRM sucks. But where I can live with DRM is when I get music as monthly subscription. Again.. that’s another story…
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Wait, so DRM when you pay forever and get nothing if you stop paying is okay?
Lord, the music company BS is actually working
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Wait, so DRM when you pay forever and get nothing if you stop paying is okay?
Lord, the music company BS is actually working
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