'iTunes Replay' On-Demand Video Coming?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/02/11/itunes-replay-on-demand-video-coming/)

AppleInsider reports (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/02/11/apple_prepping_itunes_replay_on_demand_video_service.html) that Apple is developing an on-demand video service that would allow users to stream their purchased iTunes movies and TV shows from Apple's servers for playback on personal devices. The service, to be called "iTunes Replay", would eliminate the need for users to provide significant storage space for their libraries of purchased digital video.

In particular, devices with limited storage capacity, such as the iPhone/iPod touch and Apple TV, could benefit from this service, removing the need to sync with a host computer to load desired video files and circumventing storage capacity constraints of the portable devices.The iTunes Replay service could also improve the experience of the company's Apple TV set top box, allowing users to stream purchased media directly from Apple's servers without ever syncing or copying files between Apple TV and a computer running iTunes, and without filling up the devices' limited hard drive space, which currently tops out at 160 GB.

The ability to stream purchased content directly would also benefit users of mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPod touch, which have an even greater limit on local storage capacity but already have the ability to stream QuickTime content directly over the air.AppleInsider notes that while Amazon's Video on Demand and Netflix's Instant Watch services provide similar functionality, DRM requirements imposed by content owners have resulted in certain limitations on playback ability, generally requiring an Internet browser. Apple, however, has already integrated DRM tools into its devices, which would allow for a more flexible viewing experience for users.

Apple has been known to be exploring streaming iTunes media to the iPhone and iPod touch, with a recent patent application (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/08/07/remote-itunes-streaming-to-iphone-or-ipod-touch/) addressing the ability for users to stream their own at-home iTunes libraries to their mobile devices while on the go.

Article Link: 'iTunes Replay' On-Demand Video Coming? (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/02/11/itunes-replay-on-demand-video-coming/)

[Sky Blue]

Beat ya ;)

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=650170

I'd pay for a monthly streaming service through iTunes, sounds like this is for re-watching purchased movies though.

[notjustjay]

I don't know about a monthly fee.

I'd pay a premium on content ($1.29 a song?) if it meant I could download a copy to keep, PLUS have a copy "in the cloud" ready for me to play anytime to any authorized computer, iPhone, Apple TV, etc. Bonus points if I can get it to a UPnP or DLNA-enabled media center, like an XBox, PS3, or those internet streaming radios.

I'd also be willing to pay a discounted price on movies, etc. to "lease" it -- it wouldn't let me download a copy to keep, but I could stream it anytime to the above devices. Like an endless rental with unlimited plays.

I doubt these are inline with what Apple or the industry wants to do, but those are the services I would personally be interested in.

[dwd3885]

Interesting. But I don't see a point to pay for something when i'm doing just fine now without paying for a subscription, regardless of the perks. Another monthly payment for something? Please..

[tjcampbell]

I don't know about a monthly fee.
Bonus points if I can get it to a UPnP or DLNA-enabled media center, like an XBox, PS3, or those internet streaming radios.


I'm liking that. I stream a lot to my PS3.

[Dr. Dastardly]

Now thats a good idea. Buy a movie off iTunes, either download it or have a flag in my account that allows me to view it anytime I want.

I think the Apple TV is more than just a hobby for apple, I think its a beta test right now and they are going to be the company that really gets digital distribution right.

[w00master]

Personally, I think this is another early sign that Apple wants to make iPhones (and iPods) into thin clients. I believe this is the future for these devices (this includes even Apple's competitors). This will result in even thinner and lighter devices. Why have 400 GB flash drive when you can stream everything wherever you are?

w00master

[kepardue]

How feasible is this considering the bandwidth caps that many ISP's are placing on their services? Streaming on this level would surely eat into limits fast.

[GeekLawyer]

This is all well and good, Apple. But how about you just keep all the content on your servers and stream it to me wherever I am, whenever I want it? You know, just keep it in the cloud?

Edit: Okay, apparently I need to read the AppleInsider article...

[Sky Blue]

This is all well and good, Apple. But how about you just keep all the content on your servers and stream it to me wherever I am, whenever I want it? You know, just keep it in the cloud?

That's what the article is describing.

[bacaramac]

From a business perspective I see this as a great revenue generation tool. Buy from us and you can stream to any of our hardware devices.

From a personal user experience, I just want Apple to allow me to watch movies (Apple TV) without the need to have iTunes up and running on a host computer (I keep all movies on NAS) and also allow me to stream my personal movies from my home network to my iPhone (not from Apple Servers).

Overall I think this is atleast a step in the right direction.

[GeekLawyer]

That's what the article is describing.

I kept seeing references to mobile devices. But, yeah, if they also mean AppleTV and iTunes on any net-connected computer, then that is what I'm hoping for.

[Peace]

I prefer to have everything I purchase or rent from iTunes on my computer or Apple TV.

This would work well for embedded devices though.

[rstansby]

I'd rather just have TV show rentals (with a longer viewing period than 24 hours). I prefer to download a rented movie rather than stream it, because once I get enough of the show buffered the fast-forward, rewind and pause work very well. Then when I am done with the movie it goes away, so I don't waste space on my hard-drive. The only real problem is the short 24 hour viewing period. With TV shows I buy them, and then I can't bring myself to erase them, so they take up lots of hard drive space. If Apple would rent shows for $0.99 and allow a little longer viewing period I would be very happy. I would not like it if the "streaming" to the apple TV included the clunky controls that I experience with On Demand or NBC.com.

[malachiman]

I would rather download something i can play when I want without streaming, especially here in NZ where BB speeds can be terrible. I am 200m from a cabinet with ADSL2+ (after they have run optic around the city and cabinetised the network) and i still only get 4mb if i am lucky usually more like 3mb. And you notice when 2 computers are doing something. Now give me a stable connection and a faster mobile connection and it might work! :D

[Dual Pistolas]

Why does everything stored in the cloud have to be streamable? Why not just make it so I can re-download stuff I've bought?

While you're at it, do the same thing with the music!

Also, I'd love an *option* to watch video or listen to audio for free, but have it be ad-supported.

[bpd115]

My cousin and I were sitting on his back porch one night last summer talking about this very concept.

I have my iPhone, my Macbook Pro, and my Mac Pro. My wife has a Macbook and an iMac. I also have a Mac mini at work and 2 Apple TVs at home.

Now all my content is stored on the Mac Pro with select copies of that content on each of the devices above.

Ideally, I'd want to be able to stream all of my iTunes purchased content to any of those devices from the cloud. Watching season one of "Top Chef" last night on the AppleTV (wife loves the show), I was thinking how great it is to get TV content this way, but kinda miffed that it took up 500 Megs on my Mac Pro for that season.

For iTunes movies and TV shows, I'd love to stream it from the cloud. For music, I'd want the local files on my Mac Pro, with the ability to stream the purchased content on any other device my iTunes account was associated with.

Additionally, I think they should build on the back to my mac feature of Mobile Me (and add another selling point to the service) to allow you to stream *all* of your iTunes content, not just store purchases, to any device from MobileMe.

[zama36]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11 Safari/525.20)

What is described is not a subscription service but an extension of iTunes sales model. I would use my Apple TV more if it was implemented correctly. Purchase on an Apple TV watch a streamed version then download afterwards to iTunes.

[leandromp]

That's a great idea. But heres the thing. Why doesnt the movies that we buy, doesnt come with extras? just like the dvd?
thats the only reason i dont like buying movies or shows on iTunes.

[zama36]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11 Safari/525.20)

How feasible is this considering the bandwidth caps that many ISP's are placing on their services? Streaming on this level would surely eat into limits fast.

Don't know of an ISP that is currently capping like you described but if it were happening Netflix on Xbox wouldn't be as successful as it is.

[Melan]

this is definitely a good step in the right direction, I just wonder if apple can pull off 'the cloud' on this scale better than they do with mobileme. I mean, this is gigs and gigs of data per person.

As for TV show rentals, yes yes yes. I know the news isn't about this but I can't help but get excited about it. $1-2 dollar TV show rentals and I would never visit a torrent site again

[wooo]

What you're describing is sorta the goal of what ooTunes does. It lets you store all your music, movies, etc. on your home computer, and access them wherever you are with an internet connection.

Check out the server here:
http://ootunes.com

and the recently released iphone app client here:
http://ootunes.com/app/

Of course, it's not free, but no monthly fee (it just uses your existing home internet connection for bandwidth.)

And as a disclaimer, I'm the developer so if you buy it, I get money so, you totally should :)

My cousin and I were sitting on his back porch one night last summer talking about this very concept.

I have my iPhone, my Macbook Pro, and my Mac Pro. My wife has a Macbook and an iMac. I also have a Mac mini at work and 2 Apple TVs at home.

Now all my content is stored on the Mac Pro with select copies of that content on each of the devices above.

Ideally, I'd want to be able to stream all of my iTunes purchased content to any of those devices from the cloud. Watching season one of "Top Chef" last night on the AppleTV (wife loves the show), I was thinking how great it is to get TV content this way, but kinda miffed that it took up 500 Megs on my Mac Pro for that season.

For iTunes movies and TV shows, I'd love to stream it from the cloud. For music, I'd want the local files on my Mac Pro, with the ability to stream the purchased content on any other device my iTunes account was associated with.

Additionally, I think they should build on the back to my mac feature of Mobile Me (and add another selling point to the service) to allow you to stream *all* of your iTunes content, not just store purchases, to any device from MobileMe.

[Dingo Dave 69]

Well I hope this become reality. I would buy more tv shows and films off AppleTV if it was stored by Apple and available to stream or redownload whenever I want. The only problem I have with buying digital content is continually making sure I have hard drive space and then backing it all up. As much as I prefer having it digitally sometimes its less hassle just to buy the disc!

[walnuts]

I have to agree with those that are skeptical about this. I was under the impression that apple was already straining in their ability to provide their content (itunes music and videos, app store apps, downloadable software like itunes, software updates). As I understand, apple already subcontracts their server/streaming services, why would they invite a huge jump in services that they sub out already? Seems to me like a lot of headache with little profit.

Certainly cool though- it would suck to keep buying hard drives to store all of the video files (esp. with high def) and backing it all up!

[Rojo]

Streaming sounds good in theory, but I've yet to be 100% satisfied with any kind of streaming I've done in the past. I don't want to be listening to music, or watching shows, with any kind of pauses or hiccups - even if it's for a fraction of a second. Stuff like that drives me crazy, and really takes me out of my entertainment experience. When they can get something like this to be completely flawless in execution, then I'll get very excited about it...

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Streaming sounds good in theory, but I've yet to be 100% satisfied with any kind of streaming I've done in the past. I don't want to be listening to music, or watching shows, with any kind of pauses or hiccups - even if it's for a fraction of a second. Stuff like that drives me crazy, and really takes me out of my entertainment experience. When they can get something like this to be completely flawless in execution, then I'll get very excited about it...

Yes this is one of my concerns. This happens a lot with youtube videos, particularly in poor reception areas. And I can't imagine it being any different coming from the cloud could it?

Other thing is battery life. I'm surprised no one has brought this up yet. Videos itself use up enough battery life, but streaming an ENTIRE movie from the internet would KILL your battery. I can honestly say I don't have a clue how this 'cloud' thing works, so maybe it is much more of a non-issue... But I know if I were to watch youtube videos for 2 hours my battery would be shot...

[SwiftLives]

In theory, this could replace the need for a DVR inside of AppleTV.

However, it would still be difficult to justify paying a monthly fee on top of Cable for on-demand streaming...especially with cable already offering it.

Now...if Apple could make some sort of deal with a cable company to replace those annoying DVR digital cable boxes with an AppleTV, then we'd be onto something.

[ipoppy]

So...I am not seeing SlingPlayer coming to app store then. I hope i am sooooo wrong.
:(:(:(

[Westside guy]

AppleInsider notes that while Amazon's Video on Demand and Netflix's Instant Watch services provide similar functionality, DRM requirements imposed by content owners have resulted in certain limitations on playback ability, generally requiring an Internet browser. Apple, however, has already integrated DRM tools into its devices, which would allow for a more flexible viewing experience for users.

This statement is pretty much wrong. I can watch Netflix or Amazon streaming video on my television, thanks to my Tivo HD (at no additional fee I might add). XBox 360 owners can do the same thing - or you can spend $100 on a Roku box that is sold for this specific use.

The protocol being used is web-based; but that's not even close to the same thing as "requiring an Internet browser". Apple's not really offering anything that's new - it's just new to AppleTV owners. That's not a bad thing; but it's not some wonderful new feature Apple has dreamed up.

Now, I'm not 100% sold on the current state of affairs regarding video streaming - but that's another issue entirely, and one where Apple will face the same hurdles Netflix, Amazon, and others are currently dealing with.

[Michael CM1]

"In particular, devices with limited storage capacity, such as the iPhone/iPod touch and Apple TV, could benefit from this service, removing the need to sync with a host computer to load desired video files and circumventing storage capacity constraints of the portable devices."

So if the iPhone/iPod touch and Apple TV have "limited" capacity, where is this unlimited capacity device and where can I get my hands on it?

[rockosmodurnlif]

Yea, this would get my money. So long as it streams to the iPhone on 3G or WiFi. If it doesn't I wouldn't bother.

[alchemistmuffin]

If this is true, MY GOD, IT'S GOING TO BE HUGE SPACESAVER FOR MY iPod touch, iPhone, and my MacBook.

Let's hope they announce this at this year's Fall iPod event.

[dr_lha]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11 Safari/525.20)



Don't know of an ISP that is currently capping like you described but if it were happening Netflix on Xbox wouldn't be as successful as it is.
Bandwidth caps exist, Comcast has a 250Gb per month one for example, Time Warner in some areas have just started capping at a ridiculous 5Gb a month if you subscribe to their cheapest service ($30 a month for 768kbps, which in itself is quite ridiculously overpriced). However for now most people aren't hitting caps. As more and more stuff goes towards streaming online, its going to become more of an issue however. Sooner or later streaming content providers (such as Apple), consumers and cable companies are going to start butting heads pretty hard about bandwidth caps.

[bpd115]

"So if the iPhone/iPod touch and Apple TV have "limited" capacity, where is this unlimited capacity device and where can I get my hands on it?


Clearly they're talking about the limited storage capacity of mobile devices when compared to what we may have on the desktop side.

IE, my 40 gig AppleTV and 16 gig iPhone compared to my ~ 5TB that I have available on my Mac Pro.

[chr1s60]

I wouldn't want to pay a monthly fee for something like this, but it does sound like a good idea and it is a new feature I would welcome.

[WildCowboy]

This statement is pretty much wrong. I can watch Netflix or Amazon streaming video on my television, thanks to my Tivo HD (at no additional fee I might add). XBox 360 owners can do the same thing - or you can spend $100 on a Roku box that is sold for this specific use.

Agreed, and the AppleInsider article points that out...I just didn't feel it was necessary to repeat all of it. :) Those companies have struck deals with certain vendors to allow their services to be viewed on them, but Apple's integrated experience and control over so many products able to view video content makes things more flexible for users.

[Tilpots]

Agreed, and the AppleInsider article points that out...I just didn't feel it was necessary to repeat all of it. :) Those companies have struck deals with certain vendors to allow their services to be viewed on them, but Apple's integrated experience and control over so many products able to view video content makes things more flexible for users.

You mean less flexible... Unless you're using all Apple all the time.:D

[iParis]

I suppose this is another reason why they would discontinue the iPod classic.
This better have a short buffer time, it takes a lot longer than I would like for music on Simplify Media for the iPod touch to buffer.

[Eric S.]

I haven't joined up with the "subscription mentality" yet. I like owning a copy of the things I've purchased, and having it under my control. Having media stored in the cloud sounds nifty but it's no longer under your control. A network outage, a server outage, bandwidth congestion, or traveling out of network range, and your ability to access that data is compromised. Plus it seems like a complete waste of network bandwidth to be constantly downloading the same media when it can be sitting in the palm of your hand all the time. And a monthly fee would be out of the question.

[Trajectory]

The Apple TV is a piece of crap. Apple needs to fix the many, many bugs that still exist in the Apple TV firmware and software before they start announcing new services and features. Just take a look at the ATV forum on the Apple site, it's full of messages by ATV owners who are having to wait 10-20 hours for content to be downloaded before they can play it. It's been going on for 2 months now. As usual, Apple ignores them.

Don't buy an Apple TV. It's not worth the money at all.

[str1f3]

Interesting. But I don't see a point to pay for something when i'm doing just fine now without paying for a subscription, regardless of the perks. Another monthly payment for something? Please..

i don't know about you but i would gladly get rid of my cable box and move online completely and to be able to watch any show instantly instead of having to worry about if my dvr is recording and if i have enough space (especially if it is cheaper). it wouldn't be adding something. it would actually get rid of a few things.

[str1f3]

I haven't joined up with the "subscription mentality" yet. I like owning a copy of the things I've purchased, and having it under my control. Having media stored in the cloud sounds nifty but it's no longer under your control. A network outage, a server outage, bandwidth congestion, or traveling out of network range, and your ability to access that data is compromised. Plus it seems like a complete waste of network bandwidth to be constantly downloading the same media when it can be sitting in the palm of your hand all the time. And a monthly fee would be out of the question.

what if they eventually did something like offer shows with ads free (pay without ads)? with the exception of paid channels like hbo, cinemax, etc. with replay included.

maybe your in an unlucky area or something but i never have connection problems. if can't access the internet, it would be only because the power has gone out. if you use cable, a good portion of your online access goes to the channels themseves and phones (if you have triple play) since they are over the same line.

with itunes, how often do you ever see their servers go down? itunes is one of the few places on the net that rarely has network issues considering how much traffic they get

[Eric S.]

maybe your in an unlucky area or something but i never have connection problems. if can't access the internet, it would be only because the power has gone out.

I do live in an area where the power goes out a lot. In the winter there are high winds and rain and frequent power outages lasting from a few minutes to a few hours, and on rare occasions a few days (just over a year ago downed trees caused the power to be out for five days). Yeah, at those times TVs and desktop computers are also unavailable (unless one decides to buy a gasoline-powered generator) but at least my iPods keep working.

if you use cable, a good portion of your online access goes to the channels themseves and phones (if you have triple play) since they are over the same line.

I do have cable (Comcast), and I have had both equipment and service problems at times. And sometimes when power is still on at my house, it is off somewhere in the cable system.

with itunes, how often do you ever see their servers go down?

The MobileMe servers go down more often than my personal iTunes server. ;)

itunes is one of the few places on the net that rarely has network issues considering how much traffic they get

But what would they be like if everything was streaming all the time? There would be a gigantic increase of network traffic.

[kiranmk2]

I'd still rather see an Apple home media server that combines a server version of iTunes (can stream to iTunes clients on macs/pcs/ATVs/iphone/ipods), data redundancy and probably a built-in n router(that can also bridge). That way ou can choose to pay a little bit per month for the ability to have your purchases stored in the cloud (still with the ability of download-to-keep if you have the storage), or a large one-off payment for a home media server where you use your own bandwidth to stream to your devices.

[kage207]

Doesn't the ending of this article sound like Simplified Media?

[Maximillian]

Someone already is squatting on itunesreplay.com

Super.

[Clive At Five]

Streaming over 3G? Yeah right.

-Clive

[sphoenix]

Yes this is one of my concerns. This happens a lot with youtube videos, particularly in poor reception areas. And I can't imagine it being any different coming from the cloud could it?

Other thing is battery life. I'm surprised no one has brought this up yet. Videos itself use up enough battery life, but streaming an ENTIRE movie from the internet would KILL your battery. I can honestly say I don't have a clue how this 'cloud' thing works, so maybe it is much more of a non-issue... But I know if I were to watch youtube videos for 2 hours my battery would be shot...Yeah, that's true. That argument alone makes it near-impossible for Apple to introduce a service like this. I'm fine with capacity. Instead, why not introduce 32Gb to the iPhone line & improve on battery? :)

[muskratboy]

Simplify media allows me to do all this, with music anyway. plus i can stream all my friend's itunes collections... bet Apple doesn't provide that feature.

so of course Apple applies for a patent... for a product they HAVEN'T produced, but that another company HAS produced. awesome.

[twoodcc]

this sounds nice. i really don't see this happening, but i guess you never know. i do see apple allowing users to stream stuff from the computer to the iphone though

[garybUK]

And what happens if/when Apple decide to take the service away, unlike the old DRM model where you could still play them on your system they won't be available at all!!!!

This is a p!ss poor idea if you ask me, leave it to the TV companies to produce something, look at the trouble BBC iPlayer is stirring up with ISP's because of the volume of data hitting ISP's now.

This over 3g will kill the mobile systems.

[fleshman03]

Battery Battery Battery

[veeco3110]

have fun streaming movies on 3g. good idea. not quite ready yet with the technology available. in home yes. out and about. nope

[iOrlando]

i see this as interesting....curious to see more details...

[branjosef]

I am so excited. Really.. I am

[CrockettGTO]

I am already doing this on my :apple:TV a server in my office streams all of my content to the device, I dont need to copy it to the device. All that with no additional monthly subscription. Why would I want to purchase a movie from apple only to have to pay again to watch it on my iPhone only to save on having to sync??

[bpd115]

No one has stated that Apple plans on charing a fee to stream your data from the cloud. They might, but let's not crucify them on that point yet.

When and if Apple 'takes the service away', you simply download all the content you've paid for locally. No one said this will replace downloaded movies/music/tv shows. Only enhance the way you store/watch them.

[iMaggot]

I really hope this it true, but with no monthly fee ;)

[sushi]

Seems like a good idea.

At home I prefer to have my movies on the computer. But for the laptop/iPhone/touch, this would be very handy when traveling.

[soLoredd]

How about they open up the iPhone/Touch to allow streaming of music and movies from a home networked computer? I mean, Simplify has already shown it can be done with the music (I won't go into the horrific battery drain this causes, though).

Personally, if I buy something, I want what I buy in my possession. Relying on Apple to have this service up and at 100% 24/7/365 doesn't do it for me. They can barely get iDisk going, no way in the hell they get this right.

Just open up the iPhone/Touch and allow the USB port on the AppleTV to be used for extended drives. I'd be happy with that.

[soLoredd]

The Apple TV is a piece of crap. Apple needs to fix the many, many bugs that still exist in the Apple TV firmware and software before they start announcing new services and features. Just take a look at the ATV forum on the Apple site, it's full of messages by ATV owners who are having to wait 10-20 hours for content to be downloaded before they can play it. It's been going on for 2 months now. As usual, Apple ignores them.

Don't buy an Apple TV. It's not worth the money at all.

I have to disagree. I love my Apple TV, it functions fantastically for both streaming movies/music to another side of my house. What I do agree with, though, is Apple not expanding the Apple TV. I don't mean DVR functions or Blu-Ray, I mean Apple needs to improve the software for easier use (the menus are horribly designed), the sorting of TV shows is strange, and the device still cannot go into standby automatically.

The initial base of the Apple TV is a good foundation - but Apple should decide what they want it to be. Clearly, the capacity alone is becoming a hinderance to many users.

[Jeonat]

I like this idea, my only bugbear with the iPhone that I have is that it only has 8Gb of storage capacity, so only so many videos, TV shows etc. are accessible at any one time. If for whatever reason I'm without a computer for a while, what's on there is stuck on there and there's no way to get new content short of buying music from mobile iTunes.

I would be prepared to pay extra per item (or a monthly fee) to have perpetual access to all purchased content in the cloud that can be streamed through a web browser a-la-Youtube, or streamed to my iPhone on demand.

It would be great, if I bought a season pass to something, as soon as an episodes had been broadcast it was available on the cloud for viewing immediately and when I next turned my computer on it is downloaded as usual.

Would be even more impressive if it could be done over 3G as well as wlan...

I think with the rise of broadband connections, buffering etc. is far less of an issue and I'm very happy with the streaming experience I get from, say Spotify or Last.fm and I think it's time for a legal service that gives you access to your library which doesn't require a home computer to be on, connected to the Internet, using up electricity etc.

Hopefully sooner rather than later! :apple::D

[Laglorden]

LOL :p

1. Scan macrumors for good ideas
2. Patent them (even if they are completly obvious for someone not technologically challenged)
3. (Wait for stupid patent review to approve the patent.) Not really necessary.
4. Profit?

I know I suggested something like this in a Macrumors post a while before Apple "patented" the idea. I said something like "why keep increasing the capacity of the memory on the phone and carry the thing around when you have all your music at home and I thought it was completly Amish (much like I think about the iPhone in general, but escpecially the first one without 3G)

Now I've used "Spotify" and modified my views and I think downloading music is a bit last century. So here,s something new for you to patent Apple (pay attention please); Don't stream music/media from the users home-drives on their PCs, allow them to search a global collection of all music/media, create smart playlists and stream _that_ to their phones over the air.

Now go and write a patent application, never mind it's obvious for anyone with a brain.

Edit: Oh... that's what's already done. Just got stuck on the last line when I saw they patentented "my" idea :) Anyway: http://www.mobile-phones.co.uk/blog/2009/02/05/spotify-for-s60.htm

[Porco]

I think streaming is lame and should be avoided whenever possible. Even the smallest iPhone or iPod has more than enough space to download something then delete it after if space is an issue.

I would like to be able to re-download purchased stuff from a history of downloads (a digital locker kind of thing) though, I don't understand why iTunes doesn't have that option already.

[pmoeser]

How feasible is this considering the bandwidth caps that many ISP's are placing on their services? Streaming on this level would surely eat into limits fast.
Placing? We already have caps down here...

You can't get a good broadband deal for a reasonable price.

[koobcamuk]

I don't know about a monthly fee.

I'd pay a premium on content ($1.29 a song?) if it meant I could download a copy to keep, PLUS have a copy "in the cloud" ready for me to play anytime to any authorized computer, iPhone, Apple TV, etc. Bonus points if I can get it to a UPnP or DLNA-enabled media center, like an XBox, PS3, or those internet streaming radios.

I'd also be willing to pay a discounted price on movies, etc. to "lease" it -- it wouldn't let me download a copy to keep, but I could stream it anytime to the above devices. Like an endless rental with unlimited plays.

I doubt these are inline with what Apple or the industry wants to do, but those are the services I would personally be interested in.

Paying for premium is fine - I'm not interested in he cloud though, the signal reception is too poor on the iPhone.

[Grasbak]

Maybe it will be an addition to MobileMe. Seems to fit the brand....

[kornyboy]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11 Safari/525.20)

From a business perspective I see this as a great revenue generation tool. Buy from us and you can stream to any of our hardware devices.

From a personal user experience, I just want Apple to allow me to watch movies (Apple TV) without the need to have iTunes up and running on a host computer (I keep all movies on NAS) and also allow me to stream my personal movies from my home network to my iPhone (not from Apple Servers).

Overall I think this is atleast a step in the right direction.

I'd like to be able to stream any of my personal content to my iPhone as well. I don't really mind having a host computer running iTunes all the time in order to stream to the AppleTV though. It would be nice not to need the computer runnng though.

[Riverbeds]

Sony already has this capability between the Sony Playstation 3 and the Sony PSP. I hope Apple is not lying to the Patent lawyers on this one, and I hope Sony is watching and cites its prior art. And with Sony PSP it's free!

[TonyHoyle]

have fun streaming movies on 3g. good idea. not quite ready yet with the technology available. in home yes. out and about. nope

3G was designed for video. Video calling never really caught on, but streaming both live and recorded TV has been a standard part of 3G phones ever since they were introduced many years ago - many's the time you'll be in a pub to find a group of people huddled over a phone watching the football.

The problem is the data limits. Video streaming from your provider is generally unlimited.. once you start streaming from a 3rd party it comes out of your limit and that goes very fast (and anyway it's against the T&C to stream video on the iphone).

[iMat77]

Hope this new iTunes 8, stremaing and stuff come to "other places" besides US /UK....

Otherwise it will be just be another missed chance by Hollywood and the like to make some profit. As I am already enjoying their shows on my AppleTV but they don't get anything out of it. (and yes, I pay every single song, just CANNOT do the same for movies)

[Dan55304]

The service, to be called "iTunes Replay", would eliminate the need for users to provide significant storage space for their libraries of purchased digital video.

Good gosh, this is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. What a spin on locking us into a streaming host instead of giving us DRM free copies of our purchases.

Limited disk space? Are you kidding me? Which do you think is more limited, your disk space or your network connection? Give me a break here Apple. I can't believe anyone would consider NOT having a copy of what they purchase on their hard drive.

My ISP tops out at 1.5mb. No streaming video for me. Now, allow it to download fully, remain on my hard drive, and I'll play at will...this I will buy in a heart beat!

[kurosov]

Sony already has this capability between the Sony Playstation 3 and the Sony PSP. I hope Apple is not lying to the Patent lawyers on this one, and I hope Sony is watching and cites its prior art. And with Sony PSP it's free!

That is not the same thing, other apple devices already do that as well.

THe report describes and additional service added to itms video purchases where as well as downloading your physical copy you can also choose to stream that content to your other device from the itunes server, not one of your devices acting as host.

This means that unlike with the ps3-psp you dont need the device holding your downloaded copy to be turned on.
I currently make use of the locationfree-esque service of the ps3-psp combo and would love to be able to do the same thing without having to leave a device at home running.

Although my psp is currently the best portability/screen quality ratio device i own at the moment.

[Cougarcat]

This would be cool if it was free, and content had hulu-style ads. Can't see apple doing that though.

[gvegastiger]

What if they allowed you to rip your own DVDs, slap some DRM on it and store them in the cloud as well. Then you could have all your media content stored on Apples cloud, stream it to any devices you wanted and since its protected and stored in the cloud the studios would be ok with making a ripped copy of it? Now that is an idea that I think has some legs.

[Westside guy]

What if they allowed you to rip your own DVDs, slap some DRM on it and store them in the cloud as well. Then you could have all your media content stored on Apples cloud, stream it to any devices you wanted and since its protected and stored in the cloud the studios would be ok with making a ripped copy of it? Now that is an idea that I think has some legs.

Well, except that the MPAA says ripping your own purchased DVDs is illegal.

Not that their saying so stops some of us... :D Lately I've been slowly working my way through my DVD library and ripping them onto an old MBP that's getting a second life as a media server for our Tivo HD, thanks to some great open-source free software (pyTivo, streambaby). It's a lot easier to find a movie in a list of files than it is to find a DVD on our messy shelves. :p

[Jakethasnake919]

I would like iTunes to be able to sync my ipod touch wirelessly. I can sync files from my computer or even mobileme. I don't think it would be too much to ask to be able to sync wirelessly at certain intervals.

[Arcus]

All this streaming media is going to go no where if the ISPs keep adding capacity per month caps.

[wonderbread57]

Hard drives top out at 160GB? Huh? This isn't the 80's. What is AppleInsider smoking that causes long term brain damage?

[BoulderBum]

I like the idea of subscription based on-demand streaming TV and older movies (like Netflix), but I hope this isn't the beginning of the end of downloaded content.

I know the studios are more comfortable with streaming (because pirates download their content from iTunes, not BitTorrent :rolleyes:), but it's vital to me to be able to watch videos on my iPod when I don't have an internet connection.

[WildCowboy]

Hard drives top out at 160GB? Huh? This isn't the 80's. What is AppleInsider smoking that causes long term brain damage?

The Apple TV's hard drive does in fact top out at 160 GB as they state.