Apple has announced a video iPod and you will be able to download TV episodes apparently. ABC is said to be on-board to sell episodes for $1.99 ea. Will have DRM built in.

http://www.macrumors.com/

Information is posted to Apple's Web site

www.apple.com

I love Apple.

Hmm...I'm finding it harder and harder to resist these things.

But gimme a break: it's not called the "eyePod"? Come ON.

I just downloaded the new iTunes (6) that supports video. There is now a video icon in the source paine. I clicked on it and all of my Rocketboom episodes as well as some video podcasts I have done were all organized with titles etc. and thumbnails. They are displayed agiants a black background and each tumbnail has a neat little reflection that produces a 3d effect in the listing. It's neat.

There is a new Quicktime to deal with the DRM, I suppose.

The new version of quickime has an option for generating video for the vidpods, and now there is video playlists in iTunes.

I am comverting a avi with DV into MPEG4 using tne new quicktime as i write this, as the documentation for iTunes states that any quicktime and MPEG4 video kan be added til iTunes library. And this is a nice feature.

But quicktime 7 on the pc seems to be singlethreaded = no multiprocessor support. And that is silly.

I just downloaded the I tunes too, just so I could look through their TV shows. It won't work, pretty much summing up my experience with Apple. Arrrrrrrrgh!

Ok... I'll amend my last post slightly- only the radio stations work, and they're pretty cool. As far as the rest, still no TV shows!

The only TV show that I can find (on the Mac version) as of now is Desparate Housewives with just three episodes.

Its 60 GB and 150 hours of video. Do you think it can be used to download from DV cameras for storage?

How revolutionary. /rollseyes

It would be nice to have an DV-adaptor just like the camera adaptor, but these ipods will only play MPEG4 or H.264 video. You have to convert dv-video to watch it on a video iPod.

You could use the device as a storage media for DV video, but you would still need a computer to get the video to the device.

Yøp - iTunes 6 happily gobbles MPEG4 and h.264 encoded video. So now we can do video festivals in iTunes. My converted video is playing just now in iTunes. Nice!

BTW - lots of new HD video on Apples site

I just got off the phone with Apple's tech support, hoping they could direct me to these new show offered for the ipod. After several minutes of going around in circles, we were finally on the same page- sort of. On HER page, there were selctions such as TV shows, and Pixar clips. But not on mine. I did download the newest version of itunes, but video is not a choice for me. Any other pc users with this problem?

PS... You know how to make applesauce? Give me a Mac and I'll show you ;)

Their servers are overloaded. If you try and do anything on the video side of things is blank. On the Apple site you can't even click on video links under the iTunes area.

Tomorrow, I bet we'll have access to all the video goodies. They probably have been slammed harder than ever...the iPod is so damn huge!

My opinion? Today is a landmark event for indie producers. We can export our movies and people can easily watch them in the palm of their hand. We've gone from huge theaters that project film to palm sized high rez iPod's...it's all been fun. Now we can create for the "little screen" and the "big screen"!

Taken from Apple's specs:

* Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 768 Kbps, 320 x 240, 30 frames per sec., Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 KHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 480 x 480, 30 frames per sec., Simple Profile with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 KHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats

* Upgradable firmware enables support for future video formats

I've read it also has video out!

Those specs make for a decent experience on a bus...or sitting in a park watching a movie. If you have a movie playing on the iPod...it'll actually look and sound great!


......and last, but not least!

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/creatingvideo.html

Whoa!

Looks like I'm gonna have to upgrade my wife's mini iPod to a Nano and my iPod to the new video iPod. X-mas is coming early to our home.

Portable Video systems with built in harddrive have been around for a while now, namley ARCHOS (hmm, did I spell that correctly?), Apples playing catch up. I'm not sure but with the ARCHOS you can record directly from AV sources such as DVDs and TV/Satelites and you can also attach a digital camera head that allows digital stills and video to be captured.

But this will be a big success, if only I had one three years ago (So many long train journeys!) alas, the newer generation will never know what long journey boredom felt like :)

Anhar

About time..hopefully I won't have to design a "Podcast" to register my video uplinks to iTunes. I have been waiting along with my "Silent Killer" (dual G5) and now we can take over the world....Muwahahaa

I just got off the phone with Apple's tech support, hoping they could direct me to these new show offered for the ipod. After several minutes of going around in circles, we were finally on the same page- sort of. On HER page, there were selctions such as TV shows, and Pixar clips. But not on mine. I did download the newest version of itunes, but video is not a choice for me. Any other pc users with this problem?

PS... You know how to make applesauce? Give me a Mac and I'll show you ;)

Keith,

You have to download both the new iTunes 6 and the latest QT version 7.04. Just having iT6 alone won't get the video.

BTW, I did download one episode of Desperate Housewives just to check out the quality. Not bad, but not in widescreen like it is on my tv. The size of the file was 206mb. It took over 2 hours to download but I'm sure that's because their servers were slammed pretty hard today.

-gb-

I love how I posted something about 8 months ago asking people what they thought about a video ipod coming out soon and lots of you laughed at me. I do rule!!!

So what's next to come out in a year from now, special ipod phones or something. It's just going to get more crazy!!

Greg B- Itunes downloads with the latest version of QT.

Greg B- Itunes downloads with the latest version of QT.

It didn't on my Mac system. It was so new as of yesterday that even the Mac software update application didn't detect new versions of Itunes or Quicktime. I haven't downloaded the new stuff to my Windows laptop yet.

-gb-

Sorry, haven't been around much recently am halfway through some intense production of 3 operas here.

Glad to see they finally came out with the video iPod, and I suspect it will be a big hit. Personally I have absolutely zero interest in watching video on a 2.5" screen... and it isn't even 16:9. I find it even more inconceiveable that I would ever pay money to download a TV show that I wouldn't even watch for free. But it's very cool that they are now offering this through iTunes. So as a shareholder I'm really happy with all this, but it isn't the kind of thing that I'd want to buy myself. Then again, I've never wanted a regular iPod either.

As far as Apple playing "catch up"... that's really funny. They already have wiped the floor with every other portable music player and own something outrageous like 80% of the market. Now they're really the only game in town with a video device. Sure, there's the PSP, the Archos, etc. but they don't have the iTunes store, the software or the "cool factor" that Apple has built so skilfully. Nobody stays on top forever, but for the time being it's everyone else that's going to have to play catch up IMO.

Funny thing Boyd... As we are trying to catch up, and get moved in while finishing the house, we have no cable at the moment. The way I see it, internet is a necessity, cable is optional. My wife on the other hand, has become a Housewives junkie. While I wouldn't give a hoot about watching a show on a tiny screen either, I can let my wife catch the latest episodes on my pc, full screen.

If $1.99 makes her happy... everyone is happy ;)

Now... Ifthey would only add Ghost Hunters and Supernatural, I would be happy too!

Funny thing Boyd... As we are trying to catch up, and get moved in while finishing the house, we have no cable at the moment. The way I see it, internet is a necessity, cable is optional. My wife on the other hand, has become a Housewives junkie. While I wouldn't give a hoot about watching a show on a tiny screen either, I can let my wife catch the latest episodes on my pc, full screen.

If $1.99 makes her happy... everyone is happy ;)

Now... Ifthey would only add Ghost Hunters and Supernatural, I would be happy too!

Anytime you can spend $1.99 and make your spouse happy, it's a good day. Hey, I watch Desperate Housewives because of the 'eye candy'. The storyline is pretty good, but Eva Longoria (a native Texan) is just hard to look away from. :-)

-gb-

Eva IS nice, but I like me that red-headed Donna Reed... too bad she is sooooo uptight!

Eva IS nice, but I like me that red-headed Donna Reed... too bad she is sooooo uptight!

Marcia Cross is nice to look at also. Even Terri Hatcher seems to look better on this show than she did on that Superman series a few years ago. I loved the promo ABC ran before the series new season premier featuring all of them and some song with the repeated lyric, "juicy". I'd pay a buck ninety-nine to download that!

-gb-

Hey Boyd

Here's a theatrical use for the video iPod. Have an assistant stage manager tape blocking sessions with a hand-held camera. Compress and put on a video iPod. You now have instant video reference to blocking . . . ok, maybe it's a dumb idea . . .

Maybe realtors put short home tours on a video iPod -- their clients watch while they drive from house to house, or drop in and borrow it from a local office . . .

You are running a teaching shop at a college theatre. The video iPod has saftey or how-to videos on it. Give to a student who missed class etc.

I think the thing has a number of similar neat applications

Sure, all of these are good ideas, I just fail to get very excited by anything on a 2.5" screen personally. A portable DVD player might be better suited for this, but of course the hard drive is much nicer. Analysts are predicting that an iPod with a larger screen is coming however.

I have like 600 gigs of divx and DV video on my computer, anybody have any good ideas for converting that to H.264? I tried Quicktime Pro...didnt like the Divx codec...or even better any idea how to copy all of my LEGALLY purchased DVDs to H.264? I've been waiting for the video ipod to actually take some of my movies on the go, and when i began coping my dvds, i didnt think about what codec they would use...

Guys,

Forget about the 2.5" screen--this thing has video out! This could be the killer app for the new iPod. This basically makes it a portable Tivo. You can convert content on your Mac with QuickTime--it can do MPEG4 at 480x480. How would that look on a TV?

Wedding and event videographers now don't have to wait to render to DVD to show their clients a first draft of their work. Just take your project as a QuickTime movie on your iPod, take the iPod to the client's house/site and view it. Nice.

Also nice for traveling with the kids in the car. Or on a family trip with a rainy day. You dont' have to carry DVDs anymore.

The Trojan Horse in all this is that ultimately, all content could become pay-per-view.

We've pretty much come to that already.... most people watch TV on cable or satellite that they pay for, or rent/buy DVD's. And even with over the air broadcasts you "pay" by suffering through the commercials ;-)

When I said catch up, I meant in terms of technology not market share, in that respect you are definately right. Apples has enough "eye Candy" to shake a stick at. The TV out option is also been done before.

What I was saying was that, Joe Blogs may think this is "new" stuff, but hard nosed gadgeters should know that this is been done before (even if the media will hail this as "first of kind").

Remember Nintendo 64?, it was hailed as the FIRST 64bit system, yet this was factually wrong, as the Atari Jaguar was a true 64bit system, it used two sub system chips namley Tom and Jerry each was 32bit (For graphics and sound respectively). However few got to know about Atari it was a failed games console :(

Anhar

As usual Robert Cringely has some interesting ideas about what if all means

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20051013.html

One intresting idea he mentions: a DVD-movie kiosks located in, say, the GAP or other retailers where one takes one's video iPod, downloads a movie to it and takes the movie home . . . no return needed etc.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/051014/video_ipod_unions.html?.v=3

In a show of unity, five unions representing actors, writers and directors issued a joint call for talks to make sure their members get a cut of revenue generated by the sale of TV shows on Apple's iTunes software.

My current iPod, still under warranty, needs to be replaced--I've been having problems. Guess I'll be getting this as a replacement. I may spring for the 60 gb. What I really want to do is figure out how to put my movies on it, including my feature, so I can show people.

heath

Well that might be cool using the video out jack to a TV set. But if somebody asked me to watch their movie on an iPod with a 2.5" screen and earbuds, I'd tell them to forget it! ;-)

what do you think the battery life is on the new pod when you watch a show for 2 hours?? I would think it would really short.

hmmm, a scientific study may be in order! Perhaps I shall buy one and test it...Wait, car payments' due.

heath

Wow, years after I've been watching feature films on my cell phone, Apple finally brings something to the table.... I'm sooooooooooooooooo impressed. :P

I'm looking forward to the day, where a videofestival is a matter of getting all the video downloaded to your videoPod.

Some analyst has a interesting take on Apple video initiative. It is not movies that is interesting and it is not an effort to compete with DVD's. It is tv on demand with DRM. So If you are interested in per example Simpsons, but only wants a few episodes, then you could get the episodes from iTunes cheaper than getting a whole DVD set. Or you missed an episode of some series, then you could get it from iTunes the day after.

The big issue for Apple is to prove that it is added revenue for the networks, that is not taking anything away from DVD sales.

And there gonna be millions of these devices in a year. Meaning that this pilot could very well be some sort of trojan way of getting the studios to relax on releasing movies on anything else but DVD (or PSP)

Here is David Pogue's review of the iPod.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/18/technology/circuits/19web-pogue.html

I think this guy has hit it on the spot. Very interesting article.

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20051013.html

Both are great articles. The long-rumored place on Apple's site to put indie movies, videos, etc., would be awesome, as all of us struggling filmmakers, videomakers, etc., know.

heath

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2005/tc20051027_764120.htm?campaign_id=hp_views&campaign_creative=steve%25wildstrom

How is it that Apple manages to stay so far out front in the hotly competitive field of digital entertainment? I think there is actually a surprisingly simple answer: Apple Computer's products and services are designed with the single overarching concern of delivering a great consumer experience.

I hear rumors that 5th generation iPods will be replaced by the video version:

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1344

I have the last black and white screen, so I may not be eligible. I'll try calling though because even the one I have, replaced just last week, is having issues. Apple replaces iPods with exactly the version you bought. Which means my iPod replacements are more than likely refurbished--the Apple guy wouldn't confirm, but other companies said it's likely.

From now on, I'll buy my hardware at 3rd party stores as they just replace the product (cell phones, ipods, etc.). Glad I bought my new cell through Best Buy, because if it breads next year, they don't send me a refurb like my cell provider would, they'd just replace it with the newest, latest and greatest.

heath

"The video-enabled iPod becomes the vessel for transporting movies from store to home and of course they don't have to be returned"

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20051013.html

that is not a viable business model... you can get far better video quality by downloading the movie over the internet, both legally and illegally, and you don't have to drive anywhere to do it.

apple is not breaking any new ground here... portable video players have been around for several years, and portable dvd players have far better picture quality... at the end of the day, the video ipod is still ugly video on a tiny little screen... the better business model for garbage video on a tiny screen is to be doing it with cell phones, because it's immediate gratification of breaking new content... qualcomm and others are working on that right now.

Hmm... sounds a lot like what people said about the original iPod as they watched it capture 75% of the portable music player market. ;-)

I think the jury is still out on all this. I'm not impressed by the 2.5" screen, and I'm sure there are issues with the compression. But I wouldn't place any bets against Steve Jobs either...

On the iPod and video distribution . . .

Video data is video data and it does not care if it is downloaded to the iPod's hard disk or over the internet to the hard disk on a computer. The real quality issue is how that data is compressed.

I don't think the idea is that one would go to a video vending machine, download a film to the iPod, and then watch it on the iPod. I think the idea is that the iPod just provides storage for a film to be played back on some unamed device like the "video express" through one's TV. In that case the iPod's screen size and playback capacity is not much of an issue and 30 or 60GB is more than enough room for high quality video designed for another device. If I am already out for milk and it just takes a few seconds to put video data on my iPod as opposed to a much longer download then the idea would appeal to me.

I watched the first episode on The Night Stalker last night on the iPod and I can't say the screen is ugly. My eyes did not get all that tired, but I am extremely nearsighted.