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Xbox 360 and iPod interoperability? Sort of
- Thread starter Afro Thunder
- Start date
jamesinclair
Banned
"There's a reason for that: Microsoft built its iPod connection without the support of the folks at Apple."
Im not surprised for some reason.
Im not surprised for some reason.
zackattack
Member
I wonder if you'd have to have your music in the root directory, or if you can navigate folders.
Pretty cool feature though, if I was getting one at launch I'd be very excited about this.
Pretty cool feature though, if I was getting one at launch I'd be very excited about this.
Why?
master_shake_05
Banned
I knew the whole theory of iPod+360 was never going to work the way people expected it too. I mean common, apples and oranges people......
CVXFREAK said:
I think I originally read about this on Yahoo News or CNN, but...
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,66460,00.html
Big Takeover
Member
Ahh ,you left out the worst part from the article.
Richard Doherty, president of analyst firm Envisioneering, went so far as to predict that Apple will fight back once the new Xbox launches.
"We expect Apple will have some retaliation ready within days or hours of the Xbox 360 shipping," Doherty said, referring to potential new iPod firmware or a new version of iTunes that could disable interoperability. "If you have iTunes prior to last May, it may work with the Xbox 360 forever, but if you accept (Apple's) updates, it may work differently."
Richard Doherty, president of analyst firm Envisioneering, went so far as to predict that Apple will fight back once the new Xbox launches.
"We expect Apple will have some retaliation ready within days or hours of the Xbox 360 shipping," Doherty said, referring to potential new iPod firmware or a new version of iTunes that could disable interoperability. "If you have iTunes prior to last May, it may work with the Xbox 360 forever, but if you accept (Apple's) updates, it may work differently."
monkeyrun said:
I assume you're talking about Itunes music. The 360 doesn't copy the files to the HD. It just plays the files from a USB storage device. Apple didn't want to give them the capability to play the encrypted files. That't their decision to make, but it would be better for the consumer if they worked with MS on this.
Agent Icebeezy
Welcome beautful toddler, Madison Elizabeth, to the horde!
Steve Jobs has gone on record saying that he supports Microsoft's decision to do this.
Big Takeover
Member
Agent Icebeezy said:
I haven't seen that. Got a link?
Jonnyboy117
Member
monkeyrun said:
I wonder which has sold more, iPod or Xbox?
Eh.. obviously the MS team is the one that would be taking the most advantage of the iPod connectivity. The more features the 360 has the better. But iPod sales would increase far more that 360 sales based only on that fact.monkeyrun said:
Which is the more likely scenario?
-"Oh man, I should buy an iPod so I can upload all my songs to it and stream them while I'm playing my 360!"
-"Hmm.. I should buy the 360 I can stream my music! Oh, and I think it plays games or something too!"
http://news.com.com/Xbox+360+and+iPod+interoperability+Sort+of/2100-1041_3-5931847.html?tag=st.prev
" "We do not have an official relationship with Apple for the iPod connectivity," said Scott Henson, product unit manager in Microsoft's advanced technology group. He maintains that "Xbox 360 leverages standard protocols such as USB mass storage to enable iPod support."
Henshaw said Microsoft tried to "engage" Apple in a partnership that would have officially made the iPod interoperable with Xbox, but Apple rejected the overture.
"So we went in and built all of the support we could," Henshaw said. Microsoft plans to release the new Xbox in North America on Nov. 22.
Apple has been pitching a very different approach for those who want to connect to its popular music player. Through its so-called "Made for iPod" program, the Cupertino, Calif., company is attempting to collect royalties from the maker of any accessory device that interfaces with an iPod through its "dock connector."
Apple would not comment for this story. "
" "We do not have an official relationship with Apple for the iPod connectivity," said Scott Henson, product unit manager in Microsoft's advanced technology group. He maintains that "Xbox 360 leverages standard protocols such as USB mass storage to enable iPod support."
Henshaw said Microsoft tried to "engage" Apple in a partnership that would have officially made the iPod interoperable with Xbox, but Apple rejected the overture.
"So we went in and built all of the support we could," Henshaw said. Microsoft plans to release the new Xbox in North America on Nov. 22.
Apple has been pitching a very different approach for those who want to connect to its popular music player. Through its so-called "Made for iPod" program, the Cupertino, Calif., company is attempting to collect royalties from the maker of any accessory device that interfaces with an iPod through its "dock connector."
Apple would not comment for this story. "
The Faceless Master
Member
i think it's retarded for MS to push the ipod compatibility instead of players that work with their 'playsforsure' system...
and isnt this news old? i remember responding in a similar thread...
and isnt this news old? i remember responding in a similar thread...
Guys, I think some of you aren't thinking this through.
Apple's position:
-Stranglehold on the digital Music Market. Absolutely couldn't get away with making the iPod an absolutely closed system any more than they already have at this point without a huge backlash.
Microsoft's position:
-For the last several years it's been that WMP + any of a million digital media devices are a superior choice over the iPod. No one, including their Redmond campus staff have listened. Believe it or not, they pump more money into Windows Media Player than just about any locally developed technology--it's a huge investment.
Reason for the swing:
-The only reason that WMP is a huge investment is because Microsoft wants to become the literal hub of every household.
-You might remember that this is also the purpose of the Xbox. (more specifically, to prevent Sony from laying claim to the set-top-box that rules them all)
That leaves Microsoft with a conflict of interests. They could take the hard, pure "WMP is superior and that's all we'll support line" or they could take the two days to write a 360 script that re-organizes the music in the mixed-up hidden directory structure of the iPod to enable streaming of non-secure content AND buy themselves a huge amount of attractive interoperability with actual people.
Microsoft's best interest is to get as many people interested in 360's media functions as possible, and that's going to mean bending a little to the clear digital media monopoly that Apple's put together in just four years.
Apple's position:
-Stranglehold on the digital Music Market. Absolutely couldn't get away with making the iPod an absolutely closed system any more than they already have at this point without a huge backlash.
Microsoft's position:
-For the last several years it's been that WMP + any of a million digital media devices are a superior choice over the iPod. No one, including their Redmond campus staff have listened. Believe it or not, they pump more money into Windows Media Player than just about any locally developed technology--it's a huge investment.
Reason for the swing:
-The only reason that WMP is a huge investment is because Microsoft wants to become the literal hub of every household.
-You might remember that this is also the purpose of the Xbox. (more specifically, to prevent Sony from laying claim to the set-top-box that rules them all)
That leaves Microsoft with a conflict of interests. They could take the hard, pure "WMP is superior and that's all we'll support line" or they could take the two days to write a 360 script that re-organizes the music in the mixed-up hidden directory structure of the iPod to enable streaming of non-secure content AND buy themselves a huge amount of attractive interoperability with actual people.
Microsoft's best interest is to get as many people interested in 360's media functions as possible, and that's going to mean bending a little to the clear digital media monopoly that Apple's put together in just four years.
The Faceless Master
Member
yeah they say that, then they parade around with ipods and psp's instead of creative and iriver players...jedimike said:
The Faceless Master said:
Right, except the point of PR and marketing is to get people interested in buying your product. Nobody gives a flying fuck about Creative and iRiver, and Microsoft knows it. If the purpose of the interviews were to to defend their WMP/C sector, then sure, you'd hear about all the alternatives to iPod that work with windows.
But no one listens, cares, or buys those other devices. And it's to the point now where Microsoft is just sounding bitter and defensive by daring to challenge the iPod nation they operate out of. What they need to do now is to swallow one ounce of pride and with it ride the coattails of the popularity of the iPod (and to a far lesser extent) the PSP.
At this point, every word the public hears about the 360 is incredibly valuable, and they have to be very intentional with how they parse their words to maximize interest. The road to that interest on the media side is "it already works with the media devices you use." The variable "you" is maximized in that sentence when you're talking about the iPod, because it has a virtual monopoly.
Like I've already said, the only reason Microsoft pushes WMP is because of the living room implications of being a player in media, and the Xbox 360's importance (especially during initial adoption) definitely trumps that concern, since it's a carrier of the WMP dream and in many ways, its catalyst. First they need to bring people in on that party, and that means touting their iPods and PSPs.
Musashi Wins!
FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
yoopoo said:
awesome.
SuperPac
Member
Sucks since I've bought a lot of music through the iTMS. But Apple really doesn't know what "play nice/fair" means, so I am not holding my breath to ever be able to listen to those files on anything other than through Apple-made products. Anything I'm dying to listen to while I'm gaming I'll just burn and re-encode.
if its using as a USB device and taking the content off it, the Xbox will need fairplay for it to work. And that isn't something Apple just hands out. All their home accessories use analog audio out, leaving the ipod in control. Thats for a reason.
Still dumb though. Potentially this could give apple access to a whole lot more inhome setups than their current accessory lineup. But it is a big call for them to make.
Still dumb though. Potentially this could give apple access to a whole lot more inhome setups than their current accessory lineup. But it is a big call for them to make.
Nightbringer
Don´t hit me for my bad english plase
Any of you knows if we can use the iPod like an external HDD for the Xbox360.
Yusaku said:
You're absolutely correct.
All Apple could possibly do is write in firmware to lock out some identifying trait of the 360, if the iPod can even detect any. Even so, Microsoft could just release a free patch over Live. Not only is it pointless, it doesn't make any sense to try to lock it out as Apple isn't even competing in the living room (yet).
Additionally, now that Apple has such a stranglehold over music, if it holds up for a couple more years, they're going to really not want a record that would be so damning in an antitrust lawsuit as that sort of tactic.
Dumbass analysts
johnjohnson
Member
I hope that the X360 sooner or later will also support DRMed AAC files, as most of the music I bought lately cames from iTunes.
Other question: can you use your ipod (or any other mp3 player supported by X360) to work as a memory card? Like storing your save games from the HDD to the Ipod to go over to your friend's place to play? Or to backup your saves?
Other question: can you use your ipod (or any other mp3 player supported by X360) to work as a memory card? Like storing your save games from the HDD to the Ipod to go over to your friend's place to play? Or to backup your saves?
Mejilan said:
Fairplay isn't challenging to get around, but unless you're going to burn and re-encode it, it's actually a pretty time-consuming conversion. Definitely not 1-to-1 on most machines as far as I've heard.
However, your point's ridiculous, as there's no way Microsoft would break the DMCA by subverting Apple's DRM. That's kind of illegal.
People need to find something worth discussing in the realm of possibilities.
SteveMeister
Hang out with Steve.
Apple won't do anything to prevent this because they don't NEED to do anything to prevent this. The music they sell on iTunes won't play on unlicensed hardware already, including the Xbox 360, so their DRM and deals with the record companies are not threatened, and the capability to play non-DRM'd music stored on the iPod strengthens the iPod brand.
Mudwhistle
Member
Prine said:
Bullshit.
Mudwhistle
Member
Not anymore.
Big Takeover
Member
Yusaku said:
While this is true, it appears as the 360 uses the ipods database file to present what music is on your ipod. If you have ever enabled mass storage mode on your ipod, you would see that the file/folder structure is purposefully jumbled.
For example, I have thousands of songs by hundreds of artists on my ipod. Yet, there are 49 music folders containing a mishmash of different songs from different artists. Songs from 1 album are spread over many folders. The music is not arranged like it is in your itunes folder on your pc/mac.
So, yeah technically you can read the ipod as any other mass storage device, but what you will find inside is a mess. If Apple doesn't want Microsoft accessing this database, all Apple would have to do is rename or move the itunesdb file.