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Official "One more thing..." Apple Event thread

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I think Apple's dominance in the MP3 field is becoming a bad thing because there's just not a whole lot of pressure for Apple to really push the envelope any longer. Its just become a joke.

If their competitiors could actually get their shit together (ahem SONY), it would be much better for everyone involved.
 
SnowWolf said:
So much for the PSP killer :lol

I feel bad for all the people who were suckered into getting the Nano.

If the sales are any indication, Apple doesn't really need to worry about the PSP replacing the iPod.
 
I'm too lazy to read all of this, but what if you already own the season one DVD set of Lost? Will you be able to import this into iTunes like you would with a CD and watch it or will it only play video that you buy from Apple?
 
SnowWolf said:
I feel bad for all the people who were suckered into getting the Nano.

The Nano's not a bad option for those who don't have a massive music collection and don't need the big HD space of its big brother.
 
xsarien said:
If the sales are any indication, Apple doesn't really need to worry about the PSP replacing the iPod.



I would be interested to see how a redesigned PSP (fold out design perhaps) with a HDD would fare against i-Pod, but knowing Sony's ass backwards corporate politics, they're probably now reluctant to make such a device because UMD movie sales are so high.

The other electronic manufacturers (Samsung/Panasonc/Toshiba) just have no clue, while the iRivers/Archos of the world are too small potatoes to seriously compete.
 
soundwave05 said:
It means that I was asking for alternatives to the i-Pod video (from other manufacturers) that are reasonably sized, since Apple is not offering a video solution with a decent sized screen.

Jeebus. :lol

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SnowWolf said:
So much for the PSP killer :lol

I feel bad for all the people who were suckered into getting the Nano.

Don't be a turd. If you can imagine such a thing, I got one because it's small and I can run with it in my pocket. I don't really care about this new iPod.
 
SnowWolf said:
So much for the PSP killer :lol

I feel bad for all the people who were suckered into getting the Nano.

The content eventually will be why it's a PSP killer. Plus, is there an easy way to output video from PSP to a TV? That right there is a killer in my opinion. Watching video on the run is kinda cool, but being able to easily hook it up to any TV is a killer feature.

and people who bought the Nano aren't in the market for a regular size iPod. My friend bought a Nano last week knowing that there were new updates coming, but wanted the small size of the Nano.
 
SnowWolf said:
So much for the PSP killer :lol

I feel bad for all the people who were suckered into getting the Nano.
lol. you're kidding, right? After this announcement I actually feel BETTER about getting my wife the nano. it is perfect for what she wants. and while the 30GB is smaller than the old 4Gs, it still isn't a "put it in your pocket and forget about it" device like the nano.

apple replaced the 4G ipod. kudos to them. but don't for a second think this does anything to the nano. it will still outsell these units without even trying.

these units are for people like me who want capacity and features. If my ipod wasn't outside the 30 day return policy I woudl get one of these in a second.
 
Cathcart said:
I'm too lazy to read all of this, but what if you already own the season one DVD set of Lost? Will you be able to import this into iTunes like you would with a CD and watch it or will it only play video that you buy from Apple?

Quicktime will not DeCSS anything, so you'd have to handle that yourself through some other method. If you can get it to any non-DRM'd format, it should be easy as pie.
 
Deku Tree said:
So is there any change of an update to the PowerMac line this month?


This month, perhaps not, but highly likely within the next 60 days or so. The PowerMac has a fairly predictable upgrade cycle and this current model is nearning the end of that cycle.
 
PSP video/UMD will eventually take a hit because Apple is inevitably going to release a proper i-Pod video with a larger sized screen, probably even within the next 6-7 months (next March/April or so) ... so while Sony may not have to fear this particular i-Pod model, it's definitely not going to be the last video i-Pod from Apple.

I'm just miffed because Apple is bothering to release this half-arsed iteration at all.
 
borghe said:
these units are for people like me who want capacity and features. If my ipod wasn't outside the 30 day return policy I woudl get one of these in a second.

Yeah. I'm sure a lot of people will take the restocking hit and grab one of these. Especially from places like CompUSA.
 
Phoenix said:
Yeah. I'm sure a lot of people will take the restocking hit and grab one of these. Especially from places like CompUSA.
not only is it outside 30 days, but even at a place like target where they will give credit... MY DOGS AT MY BOX!!!!!!!

argghhhhhhh... damn dogs.
 
truffleshuffle83 said:
^^^^ aoi. you have to admit the nano is pure sex. if this video doesnt turn out to be all that great ill sell it on ebay before chritmas where i will be able to get close to what i paid for it. it was too hard to resist
Yeah, i toyed with the idea of getting a Nano because of the hot sex black model. Every time i think of getting an iPod or other MP3 player, i realize that i don't have real need for one.

borghe said:
as others have said, it will probably be comparable to perfect VHS. Compression shouldn't be an issue at the size and codec they are talking about. this isn't for someone who buys DVD. This is about having last night's episode of lost (legally) on your ipod and watching it at your girlfriend's house.
That's what i'm assuming, seeing how watchable VCDs are on tvs, even with MPEG1 encoding. Again, i'll just have to test the waters. But as i said in my post, iTunes isn't really for me to begin with, seeing as how i still buy and rip my own CDs to FLACs. :)
 
soundwave05 said:
I'm just miffed because Apple is bothering to release this half-arsed iteration at all.

You shouldn't be. Apple has always historically moved towards their goal in very clean stages. The functionality to do video on the iPod has been in the chipset since the iPod color - they could have done it way back then, but its more than just throwing technology out there. That's the part that most consumers don't get. For Apple it will be a combination of making sure the rights for content are secured, that there is an avenue for cleanly encoding video for the platform, and ensuring that their is a sustainable business model for the device. That's just their way. Its very rare for Apple to just release a device onto any space without having the accompanying set of tools and technology on the sideline to make sure the device can live 'on its own'. Compare this with the other Windows Media Player devices. They are good solid devices but are selling like syphilis-infected monkies. Why? No strong content pipeline for them and a herky-jerky hacky content capture and delivery system to get that content onto the device.

Without content, its just an expensive paper weight.
 
Futureman said:
The content eventually will be why it's a PSP killer. Plus, is there an easy way to output video from PSP to a TV? That right there is a killer in my opinion. Watching video on the run is kinda cool, but being able to easily hook it up to any TV is a killer feature.

and people who bought the Nano aren't in the market for a regular size iPod. My friend bought a Nano last week knowing that there were new updates coming, but wanted the small size of the Nano.

I concur. And portable devices the size of PSP will never sell as well as the iPod, big screens are a good thing but not when that means the device doesn't fit in a pocket.
 
aoi tsuki said:
That's what i'm assuming, seeing how watchable VCDs are on tvs, even with MPEG1 encoding. Again, i'll just have to test the waters. But as i said in my post, iTunes isn't really for me to begin with, seeing as how i still buy and rip my own CDs to FLACs. :)


Well I just did a very unscientific test. I own Quicktime Pro and took the Family Guy movie and encoded 10 minutes of it into H.264 and it is very watchable at 320x240 QVGA. Encoding takes a hell of a lot of time though and is a painful process. I'm encoding at Medium Quality and could encode at a higher quality. If people want, I will do some screen caps of the three versions tonight for Low, Medium, and High quality H.264.

On a screen as small as the iPods, these will look excellent. I guess I can try to plug my powerbook into my TV and see what they would look like on a TV screen (right now I'm watching them in iTunes 6).
 
Phoenix said:
You shouldn't be. Apple has always historically moved towards their goal in very clean stages. The functionality to do video on the iPod has been in the chipset since the iPod color - they could have done it way back then, but its more than just throwing technology out there. That's the part that most consumers don't get. For Apple it will be a combination of making sure the rights for content are secured, that there is an avenue for cleanly encoding video for the platform, and ensuring that their is a sustainable business model for the device. That's just their way. Its very rare for Apple to just release a device onto any space without having the accompanying set of tools and technology on the sideline to make sure the device can live 'on its own'. Compare this with the other Windows Media Player devices. They are good solid devices but are selling like syphilis-infected monkies. Why? No strong content pipeline for them and a herky-jerky hacky content capture and delivery system to get that content onto the device.

Without content, its just an expensive paper weight.


They have the deal with Disney-ABC already.

Would you rather watch that content on a 2.5 inch screen or a 3.5 inch screen? If they're going to offer this functionality to be able to watch episodes of Lost for instance, the screen should be reasonably sized.

The real reason why is Apple wants to give their regular i-Pod line a sales boost this Christmas, so they're releasing this half-assed product, knowing full well they're going to release a "proper" version later on.
 
Anyone with older Macs should note they've dropped Firewire support like they did with the Nano.

I could excuse it with the Nano, but on the proper iPod it's hard to justify.
 
soundwave05 said:
They have the deal with Disney-ABC already.

Would you rather watch that content on a 2.5 inch screen or a 3.5 inch screen?

The real reason why is Apple wants to give their regular i-Pod line a sales boost this Christmas, so they're releasing this half-assed product, knowing full well they're going to release a "proper" version later on.

Just STFU already. Damn.
 
soundwave05 said:
They have the deal with Disney-ABC already.

Would you rather watch that content on a 2.5 inch screen or a 3.5 inch screen?

The real reason why is Apple wants to give their regular i-Pod line a sales boost this Christmas, so they're releasing this half-assed product, knowing full well they're going to release a "proper" version later on.


I'd rather watch it on a 50 inch plasma actually. If I'm watching video on a small device its because I don't have a lot of choice so it doesn't really matter how big the screen is - I have it with me already and its capable of showing me video.

Apple will release a 'proper' version when the time is right, not because the screen is small, not because people complain, but because they have the ability to push content and make money. Right now the 2.5 vs 3.5 screen is almost moot. No one is going to buy a device with either screen with the INTENT of watching video. Video is a 'bonus add' on either device.
 
i dont mind watching 20 minute tv shows on the go, but trying to watch a whole movie is rough. im like a kid at school with ADD when it comes to watching long movies on my portable device
 
Nash said:
Anyone with older Macs should note they've dropped Firewire support like they did with the Nano.

I could excuse it with the Nano, but on the proper iPod it's hard to justify.


Blame the large number of Windows-owning purchasers :)
 
You know, you could watch music videos before in iTunes for free. No big names that I remember, but they were still free. Anyone who has downloaded iT6, can you tell me if those free videos are still there?
 
Front Row should be in the Mac Mini and it should have a video port. It would be perfect in front of your TV.

WTF are you thinking Apple?
 
soundwave05 said:
The real reason why is Apple wants to give their regular i-Pod line a sales boost this Christmas, so they're releasing this half-assed product, knowing full well they're going to release a "proper" version later on.
alright.. now you're not making any sense... why would apple want to give their line a boost when they make more money on the nano line AND it sells better? the only thing canabalizing regular ipods were the minis and now the nanos. certainly no other player. and you keep insisting on a "proper" version with a bigger screen, but really outside of you, how many want a bigger screen? especially at the cost of portability? I like being able to carry my 4G in my pocket. My PSP doesn't fit in any pocket... I don't want a device that needs a carrying case.

the more and more you talk, them happier and happier I am that you aren't designing these devices. is a 4" screen better to watch than a 2.5" one? you bet. is a device with a 4" screen better for watching content on the go than a device with a 2.5" screen? not necessarily, and not at all if the 4" device is more of a pain to carry around.
 
Phoenix said:
Blame the large number of Windows-owning purchasers :)

Yeah, I'm not that surprised but at the same time I didn't expect them to drop Firewire this quickly. There's still quite a lot of Macs without USB2.0 in use, and a lot of them would be some of the earliest iPod adopters. Bit of a slap in the face from Apple.
 
The reality is that the PSP and Ipod are one step closer to direct competition, but still aren't there yet.... when the mainstream consumer can buy full movies and put them on their Ipod Video... then it's truly gonna be a dogfight.... IMHO... and that one step my push Sony even harder(if they aren't already working on it), on a version of the PSP with a built in HD.
 
soundwave05 said:
I'm sorry, I didn't realize Apple gets a free pass because these are the OT boards whereas Sony/MS/Nintendo/George Lucas don't.

No, it's because you're comparing apples (no pun intended) to oranges. There is a difference between a DAP w/ video capabilties and a bona fide PMP. The iPod is the former. It's like the iAudio X5 or the iRiver H10. And it's screen is better than both and it can play higher res movies at better framerates. It is not meant to be like the PSP, Creative Zen Vision, iAudio A2, etc. You're tag has never been more fitting.
 
no kidding. we get he wants a bigger screen. a perfectly valid opinion. but saying the new unit is somehow objectively ineffectual because of his desire is just getting annoying. :\
 
Deku Tree said:
Front Row should be in the Mac Mini and it should have a video port. It would be perfect in front of your TV.

WTF are you thinking Apple?

Oh I'm pretty sure it's coming as a separate app. Probably packaged with a new Airport Express that streams video as well.

They are just letting the new iMac get the spotlight for the moment.
 
borghe said:
alright.. now you're not making any sense... why would apple want to give their line a boost when they make more money on the nano line AND it sells better? the only thing canabalizing regular ipods were the minis and now the nanos. certainly no other player. and you keep insisting on a "proper" version with a bigger screen, but really outside of you, how many want a bigger screen? especially at the cost of portability? I like being able to carry my 4G in my pocket. My PSP doesn't fit in any pocket... I don't want a device that needs a carrying case.

the more and more you talk, them happier and happier I am that you aren't designing these devices. is a 4" screen better to watch than a 2.5" one? you bet. is a device with a 4" screen better for watching content on the go than a device with a 2.5" screen? not necessarily, and not at all if the 4" device is more of a pain to carry around.


Sales of the *regular* i-Pod line is slowing down a bit, the Nano/Mini having been selling well.

As for the point that the screen can't possibly be any bigger without making the device bigger -- I don't buy it.

The clickwheel doesn't need to be that big, as the Nano already proved. There's a lot of dead space on the face of the unit which could have been allocated to making the screen larger. You could definitely have a bigger screen there without making the product any bigger, and I suspect you're going to see exactly that in about 6-8 months from Apple.

And if that cost was too much for Apple to swallow -- as a consumer, I gotta say "tough". Even cheap ass Nintendo can put a high-quality 3-inch screen on an $80 Game Boy these days.

This definitely reeks of a Christmas stop-gap product on Apple's part.
 
soundwave05 said:
I'm sorry, I didn't realize Apple gets a free pass because these are the OT boards whereas Sony/MS/Nintendo/George Lucas don't.
What the hell, man...

a free pass? It's their choice -- they made the choice of offering X battery life, with Y storage space, and Z durability. This all affects the screen size. They didn't screw up something they were supposed to do. For example, Sony made the choice to offer a bigger screen with a smaller X, no built-in Y, and less Z.

If you were to gripe against something that's dumb -- like not including a headphones port on the SP -- fine; agreed, even. But this is a conscious and researched choice made by Apple that affects the whole product.
 
DarienA said:
The reality is that the PSP and Ipod are one step closer to direct competition, but still aren't there yet.... when the mainstream consumer can buy full movies and put them on their Ipod Video... then it's truly gonna be a dogfight.... IMHO... and that one step my push Sony even harder(if they aren't already working on it), on a version of the PSP with a built in HD.
I would almost say TV shows are a bigger deal than movies. Apple really made headway here. Movies aren't well made for a portable device. We often have 20 minutes of downtime to kill in between things. rarely do we have 2 hours of downtime. apple really nailed it on this if you ask me. tackle TV first. movies will fall into place afterwards.

I won't be surprised to see the video portion of iTMS take of instantly.
 
Guys! This isn't the iPod Video. This is the iPod, that happens to now include the ability to play video. You knowt hat the videos in iTunes right now are simply a test for a real iPod video player coming down the line. Right now, it's more of an extra feature for an already nice product, but it isn't the complete video package you'll see down the line.

By the way, for the person who says it doesn't do HD resolutions, you'd better hope they get some bigger drives for that. You're talking about a huge jump in the amount of storage needed.
 
DarienA said:
The reality is that the PSP and Ipod are one step closer to direct competition, but still aren't there yet.... when the mainstream consumer can buy full movies and put them on their Ipod Video... then it's truly gonna be a dogfight.... IMHO... and that one step my push Sony even harder(if they aren't already working on it), on a version of the PSP with a built in HD.

It'd also need video out.
 
soundwave05 said:
As for the point that the screen can't possibly be any bigger without making the device bigger -- I don't buy it.

What good would a bit of a squarer screen be though? And moving the clickwheel all the way down the bottom to accommodate a widescreen display when held sideways would make the device unusable when held normally.

The screen is fine for now, when the focus is video podcasts, music videos and TV. They are just testing the water like they did with photos. When movies get added to the mix they will need to go widescreen and you will get a radical change in form-factor, and probably input device as well.
 
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