Media Event, iMac, iPod Details and Notes

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

Apple's "One more thing" Media Event (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/10/20051004154949.shtml) took place today with much anticipation. The event saw the release of new Video-capable iPods (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/10/20051012142445.shtml), and a new iMac (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/10/20051012142419.shtml).

A few notes on the event itself... It took place at the California Theater in San Jose, CA. Apple has always been very secretive about their media events. Whether by design or by coincidence, the location for today's event prevented wireless or even cell phone usage thwarting many sites attempts at reporting on the event. The event was also fed to the BBC Television Center by satellite. This location had less stringent measures in place. Much of the information gathered during the event has to be credited to MacNews.de (http://www.macnews.de/) and Stuff Magazine (http://www.stuffmag.co.uk/hotstuffarticle.asp?de_id=594), both reporting from this location.

Early rumors by Appleinsider (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/10/20051004213650.shtml) turned out to be the most accurate. The Video enabled iPod introduced today was very similar to their initial report. Also accurately reported was the introduction of music videos and short movie content through an iTunes update.

Of interest, in the same report, Appleinsider reported that a new Apple wireless device was in the wings... similar to Apple's AirPort Express but with Video-Out capability. Such a device was not introduced today, but may be in our future based on this report.

Meanwhile, ThinkSecret (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/10/20051006035908.shtml) initially discounted the possibility of a Video iPod. They later amended their report (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/10/20051011203158.shtml) at the last minute to include that possibility. Meanwhile, a final report (http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0510oct12e.html) this morning suggested that while Apple's launch today focused on broadcast video, Apple's future plans do include a proper "Movie Store" with a corresponding Widescreen iPod to be introduced in 2006.

But what of the promised Powerbook and PowerMac updates (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/10/20051005115443.shtml)? ThinkSecret still promises these updates "either later this week or early next" (http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0510oct12e.html). While this may not instill us with a great deal of confidence, there have been independent reports that Dual-Core PowerMacs are imminent.

A few interesting notes from the day's events

- The new iPod appears to have the same Height/Width (http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html) as the old iPods (4.1 x 2.4 inches), despite their wider appearance.
- Apple's FrontRow (http://www.apple.com/imac/frontrow.html) media interface is only available on the iMac, but appears to be Apple's first step into the Media Center-like devices/interfaces. This is an area that Microsoft has been aggressively pursuing (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/default.mspx). Historically, Steve Jobs has been against (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/01/20020108201904.shtml) convergence between TV and computers... however, the introduction of TV downloads may change this perspective. Steve Jobs also has made comments against Video playback devices (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/09/20050920172355.shtml). At present the FrontRow interface is meant to be viewed on the iMac and not through a television.
- Eminem is featured in a silhouette iPod/iTunes ad. His publisher previously sued Apple (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2004/02/20040224090015.shtml) for using a song without permission.
- U2 iPod appears to be discontinued.
- Only 5 different TV Shows available at this time. Digital Rights Management is the same as iTunes songs. 5 different computers. Downloaded episodes are .m4v format, 320x240 pixels, AAC Audio. 650kbits/sec. About 200 megs per hour-long episode.

[johannes]

3-5 day shipping on powermacs at the apple store... hmmm...

[berkleeboy210]

3-5 day shipping on powermacs at the apple store... hmmm...

I'm betting Tuesday we'll see quiet updated for the PowerMacs and PowerBooks

[dontmatter]

5 TV shows! no wonder they didn't make this thing about the video feature.

[Mr Maui]

5 TV shows! no wonder they didn't make this thing about the video feature.
It's just another added "feature" to keep the sales (and re-sales) up on the iPod.

FOR NOW!!! :D

[adrian-cg]

Please.. new pro macs next week. If I didn't need portability I'd already be all over that new iMac.

Here's hoping for new PB's and PM's.

[Sharewaredemon]

5 TV shows! no wonder they didn't make this thing about the video feature.

The way Steve worded video when capping up the new iPod is how Apple feels about video on an iPod.

it's an "and"

To Apple the iPod is still first and foremost a music player.

I like this.

The video to me is a bonus, I like the smaller size and the nicer looking clickwheel... and the black...

:)

[shadowmoses]

Its a real shame the proline still ahsnt been updated, it seems like apple are aiming big time at increasing market share and making products to encourage the switch rather than what the real Hardcore Apple users want,

Dissapointing event,

Shadow

[splacid]

- Eminem is featured in a silhouette iPod/iTunes ad. His publisher previously sued Apple (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2004/02/20040224090015.shtml) for using a song without permission.

Anyone find it interesting that Apple initially posted the iTunes + iPod TV ad featuring Eminem for download earlier today and then pulled it, removing all links to it from their website? Continuing issues with Eminem's legal team maybe?

[ErikGrim]

iTunes 6 my donkey! iTunes 5.0.2. The only thing "new" is that they fixed the full-screen bug and added "Videos" to the pane. A thing that was very well handled through smart-playlists by the way.

And who would have thunk that I should also have cancelled my iMac along with my iPod? *sigh*

[Zigster]

U2 is so out. Where's my Shakira ipod??

[Stella]

This event was the wrong place for PowerBook and PowerMac updates. This was purely a consumer event, not a Pro event.

Pro updates will probably be announced in due course.

[plastique45]

Agreed.

I'll drink to that.

No, wait, I'm on the wagon again...

[Object-X]

Areas for improvement.

Wireless streaming of video to HDTV. This is a must, the Frontrow software is made for this, not the iMac.

Add movie rentals to iTunes. I want to download movies and watch them when I want to. Eliminate the lag with rental servies like Netflix and Blockbuster.

Add all this software to other Macs, or at least let the rest of us purchase it.

Turn the remote control into a Shuffle.

[dontmatter]

it's funny, I thought I'd figured everything out, what apple needed to update, etc. and so about what we'd be getting, and of course, what I hoped for, also.

But I was totally wrong.

that's not funny, that's normal. The funny thing is, now I see exactly why apple did everything how they did, they're extremely smart. I'm too lazy to give the details, but the video capable but not designed FOR video ipod makes a lot of sense, the theory here of evolutionary rather than revolutionary change makes great sense, updating the popular and iconic imac with nice but not revolutionary changes in performance and again, quite cool and evolutionary, for sure, but not revolutionary new features, is smart, smart buisness. Using a media event and one placed and designed to maximize hype for this stuff makes sense, too. You don't need to hype the revolutionary, that creates it's own hype. You don't want to hype the boring, that just makes you look stupid. And you don't want to hype the pro line, because the pro's are already going to get the information without media coverage, they're far more critical of updates (IE, will call you out on it not being revolutionary), and also, just don't sell as well.

Powermac's and PB's need updates, for SURE, and hopefully those are coming as think secret says they are, but they don't need a media event.

[berkleeboy210]

5 TV shows! no wonder they didn't make this thing about the video feature.

But Have you noticed how slow iTunes is running right now???? Obviously people aren't to concerned w/ only 5 shows being available right now, and people seem to be downloading them at a good but very slowwwwww pace.

[digitalbiker]

This event was the wrong place for PowerBook and PowerMac updates. This was purely a consumer event, not a Pro event.

Pro updates will probably be announced in due course.

I agree and on the positive side, the iMac got a pretty hefty update considering the Intel transition is a year or less away.

I mean a re-designed housing, new high-speed system bus, PCI-Express bus support, ATI X600 graphics, built-in isite, remote, etc. That's quite a commited update for a possible short life product.

Maybe there is hope for a significant PB & PM boost after all. :D

[blueflame]

the day the 2006 ipod video is released, it is mine.
andreas

[deanwaterman]

5 TV shows! no wonder they didn't make this thing about the video feature.

5 shows now, but I bet by the end of the month we have 20-25 from Disney / ABC alone. The others networks will see that this is another way to make $$$ and they will soon add their hits to the mix.

Remember what iTunes did for music?

Think of what it could do for Television.

However, I am disappointed in the resolution of the dowloads. They will only be of videotape quality on the TV. But my sadness is a high point for the networks. They can make money on both the downloads and DVD sales. I see Apple working towards a computer/TV merger and I think this is one step closer.

One other thing. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see the new Powerbooks come out with Front Row and a remote. Same for the mini down the line. But imagine setting your PB up near the TV and having everything on your tube (or plasma)? That would be awesome!

[mcmillan]

Very weird that the Eminem ad was removed. Does anyone have a mirror?

[splacid]

Very weird that the Eminem ad was removed. Does anyone has a mirror?

If anyone downloaded it for the brief time it was online, please provide a mirror, I'd love to see it in better quality than what I got during the keynote stream.

[njmac]

Everyone should check out Steve's presentation. The stream (http://stream.apple.akadns.net/) is posted on Apple.com.

When I checked out some of the announced items here and at apple.com it just didn't have the same impact of actually watching/listening to Steve show it off. The man is good...... :p

I especially liked the part where Steve looks into his iSight and says something like *when you want to look like god* ... that really cracked me up :D


During the stream they show the eminem commercial. The quality of the stream I am getting is really, really good.

[swingerofbirch]

i download bit torrent tv shows that are about 170 mbs, and to me look like high definition??? i believe they end in .avi...why are the mp4 files so big?

[abhishake]

5 shows now, but I bet by the end of the month we have 20-25 from Disney / ABC alone. The others networks will see that this is another way to make $$$ and they will soon add their hits to the mix.




They will also realize that they can hit a much bigger audience by doing so. I like the new iPod, just hope that it isn't too wide. The iMacs are amazing. Front row is brilliant and they made it thinner.. Def. buying one of those.. Ordered a black 30GB Video and soon to be ordering a white 30GB Video. lol.

Hopefully they will expand front row to be used in all macs. But i thought the remote control was bluetooth? During his presentation, he had to point the remote at the screen for it to work properly.

[asif786]

i download bit torrent tv shows that are about 170 mbs, and to me look like high definition??? i believe they end in .avi...why are the mp4 files so big?

those shows you download are 20 minutes long. the shows at apple are 40 minutes long and 180mb.. that's the difference.

i'll have to download one video first and see. it'd be nice to just pick up an episode a week (would save having to splash out on a box set at the end of the series). depends on the quality i guess.

[jacob1201]

Front Row=TiVo's death. Finally sold TiVo stock and added to my AAPL stock. This is gonna be HUGE!

[nagromme]

Weird--the new iPods really DID look wider to me. All illusion.

Weirder--reports of TV shows being 320x240 are true. Still better than having NO way to catch up on a missed episode (if there were more shows).

But what about music videos? Those I'd actually like to keep. Are they the same low res as TV shows?

Apple could, technically supply a higher res and then they'd be downsampled for the iPod. The iPod screen need not limit what you can download.

I don't see any of this being competition for TiVos, PVRs, TV tuners, or media center PCs. Nor is it trying to be. (But one day it could become more...)

[ncoffey]

Weird--the new iPods really DID look wider to me. All illusion.

Weirder--reports of TV shows being 320x240 are true. Still better than having NO way to catch up on a missed episode (if there were more shows).

But what about music videos? Those I'd actually like to keep. Are they the same low res as TV shows?

Apple could, technically supply a higher res and then they'd be downsampled for the iPod. The iPod screen need not limit what you can download.

I don't see any of this being competition for TiVos, PVRs, TV tuners, or media center PCs. Nor is it trying to be. (But one day it could become more...)

In order for this to not be annoying to people with video iPods they would have to pack both formats in the one file, as downsampling takes forever. I'm downsampling a 90 minute DVD right now to H.264 320x240 to see what the quality is like at 300k/s and it's taking about 5 hours on my mac mini. (Although I do have 2x sample turned on so it would normally take about half of that if you don't care as much about quality)

[bdkennedy1]

With today's event I hope everyone has learned their lesson about what Steve says. Just because he says no doesn't mean it's not going to happen.

[ncoffey]

With today's event I hope everyone has learned their lesson about what Steve says. Just because he says no doesn't mean it's not going to happen.

Does that mean G5 powerbooks next week?

[barneygumble]

180megs for a download, i bet a significant portion of the cost goes to bandwidth, i expect lots more shows to be added, eventually i expect a library of everything ever produced :eek:

[bullcreek]

For me, the biggest deal in the announcements today was Front Row. But I can't believe that Apple is limiting it to just the new iMacs. There's gotta be a huge pent-up demand to put this kind of application on the installed base.

Not that big a deal to come up with a USB infrared device (much like that used on Windoze MCE) to link the new remote to older Macs. I note that the new remote is available now for sale on the Apple store, but it appears to only work with iPods and the new iMac.

If they don't plan on making this more widely available, I think it's a huge mistake. I'm lucky enought to have the 30" Cinema Display (attached to my Powerbook) and it's just itching to do the media center thing.

[ddrueckhammer]

Weird--the new iPods really DID look wider to me. All illusion.

Weirder--reports of TV shows being 320x240 are true. Still better than having NO way to catch up on a missed episode (if there were more shows).

But what about music videos? Those I'd actually like to keep. Are they the same low res as TV shows?

Apple could, technically supply a higher res and then they'd be downsampled for the iPod. The iPod screen need not limit what you can download.

I don't see any of this being competition for TiVos, PVRs, TV tuners, or media center PCs. Nor is it trying to be. (But one day it could become more...)

I downloaded a 50 cent music video...it is 320x240 128kbps...Unless they raise the resolutions I don't think this has the potential to be the online movie/tv rental/purchase Tivo/Netflix killer service that I for one want. Unfortunately, the same people who purchase ringtones for $3 a piece will jump at the chance to purchase low-res video for $2.

[Peace]

iTunes 6 my donkey! iTunes 5.0.2. The only thing "new" is that they fixed the full-screen bug and added "Videos" to the pane. A thing that was very well handled through smart-playlists by the way.

And who would have thunk that I should also have cancelled my iMac along with my iPod? *sigh*

There is a possibility the reason it went to 6.0 is because it's Intel counterpart is now 6.0...

I see the iMac slowly evolving into the fabled MediaCenter...

[iMeowbot]

iTunes 6 my donkey! iTunes 5.0.2. The only thing "new" is that they fixed the full-screen bug and added "Videos" to the pane. A thing that was very well handled through smart-playlists by the way.
The new Videos line item is kind of nice though, it's an icon view much like the just-killed iTMS music video section. (the text view is still available in the search toolbar)

[vrabz]

Front Row=TiVo's death. Finally sold TiVo stock and added to my AAPL stock. This is gonna be HUGE!
Agreed. All we need is an updated mac mini with FrontRow, coax in, optical out, and apple-coated DVR software and I'm sold. (Almost there Apple...)

[ddrueckhammer]

180megs for a download, i bet a significant portion of the cost goes to bandwidth, i expect lots more shows to be added, eventually i expect a library of everything ever produced :eek:

I'm not sure what the bandwidth costs for Apple but go to any bittorrent site and you can find thousands of TV shows being downloaded that are much larger than this. It is possible to download a show before it is finished broadcasting in LA if you live in New York for an HD file.

[Kirbdog]

Does anyone know if the new iPod video still support Firewire? I have not found this info yet. I am curious because the Nano doesn't support Firewire.

[Modano]

Power Mac ship times jumped a little while ago from 24 hours to 3-5 days. Is this due to an upswing in orders from people who were waiting for an announcement today or a sign of imminent upgrades? I don't know but I've got my debit card out...

[andypress]

I think steve or someone made a mistake on the iMac spec slides- it shows 160mb for the 17" and 250mb for the 20"..maybe some retro styling included?

[nagromme]

I downloaded a 50 cent music video...it is 320x240 128kbps.
Too bad. Not something I'd buy a lot of then, but no harm done. It's not the only use for a video iPod. I bet the content owners are the ones demanding the low quality. I hope that changes.


Does anyone know if the new iPod video still support Firewire? I have not found this info yet. I am curious because the Nano doesn't support Firewire.
Actually no it doesn't :p Removed to cut cost (or possible size) since there's very little (but vocal :p ) demand for it.

I prefer FW because I can boot from it. That's a sad loss. But USB2 speed isn't all that bad, and I'm sure Apple's right that VERY few iPod owners care.

[riversky]

Why would Steve not announce PowerBook and PowerMac updates today with the worlds press there!!!! He said himself both the iMacs and new iPods will ship NEXT week. So why do some of you and the rumor sites keep saying PowerBooks and Macs are on the way. Why not announce them today as well and say they will ship in the next 7-10 days. Makes no sense!! No one can explain that.

I say all the Power lines will be updated at Macworld. What else would there be then to reveal but the next PowerBooks and PowerMacs now that the iPod and iMac and mini lines have been updated!

[digitalbiker]

Does that mean G5 powerbooks next week?

Steve never said "No G5 powerbooks" what he actually said was "We haven't been able to do that yet"

[MacFan782040]

I feel like it's Christmas night and all the presents have been opened... now it's time to go back and drool at what we got.

[digitalbiker]

Why would Steve not announce PowerBook and PowerMac updates today with the worlds press there!!!! He said himself both the iMacs and new iPods will ship NEXT week. So why do some of you and the rumor sites keep saying PowerBooks and Macs are on the way. Why not announce them today as well and say they will ship in the next 7-10 days. Makes no sense!! No one can explain that.

I say all the Power lines will be updated at Macworld. What else would there be then to reveal but the next PowerBooks and PowerMacs now that the iPod and iMac and mini lines have been updated!

See Stella's post above. This was a consumer audience, not a pro audience. Steve announces appropriate products at the appropriate venues.

[nagromme]

Why would Steve not announce PowerBook and PowerMac updates today with the worlds press there!!!!
Because this was a consumer- and video-themed event, with plenty to cover, and packing in other announcements would have distracted. Also, possibly because the pro updates will be minor, and placing them alongside truly new stuff would have looked bad.

I do believe that more is coming between now and MWSF January. Maybe nothing big--but dual-core G5s sound very likely :) PowerBooks I don't see getting much faster before the Intel change, but I still see them getting an update.


I feel like it's Christmas night and all the presents have been opened... now it's time to go back and drool at what we got.
Don't look at the big aluminum box hidden behind the sofa ;)

[Peace]

I can't believe Apple would wait until after the holiday season to release updated PB and PM..Unless they wern't ready or are coming real quick as one rumor site suggests.

[agentkow]

Don't know if anyone cares about this, but the TV shows are unavailable in Canada while all the music videos are there (I assume its all of them).

International copyright restrictions and crap?

[xli_ne]

thank god, no more u2 ipods

[1984]

I'm surprised Battelstar Galactica isn't featured. They've had directors commentary Podcasts for the show and even officially released a couple episodes on Bittorrent.

Notice how the 5 shows offered so far are all part of the Disney family?

Maybe U2 will be back with an iPod nano along with the Modonna one next month. They just need to learn how to sign their names really small.

[StkhlmSyndrm23]

Yeah 3-5 for all PM's and 5-7 for BTO PM's...defintely looking at new PM's Tuesday. Also 5-7 on BTO 15- and 17-inch PB's...which indicates there will be new 15- and 17-inch PB's on Tuesday. I think the 12-inch PB may be end-of-life...it's still 1-3 for BTO. 14-inch iBooks have jumped to 3-5 for BTO...don't know if that means anything, though.

Far-fetched scenarios:
a)12-inch PB and 14-inch iBook are EOL...merge the laptop lines.

b)Entirely new widescreen iBook replaces the current iBooks and 12-inch PB...black polycarb exterior.

c)iBooks add black as a color Tuesday.

[ebunton]

All's quiet on the Powerbook front...

[Anonymous Freak]

For those complaining of the lack of a widescreen iPod, why would you want it? It's a waste of space.

The current one has a screen that is just about as wide as you can get it, but it happens to be 4:3 aspect ratio. What does this mean? This means that 16:9 sources will play at their full width, but will have black bars above and below. If you have a black iPod, you won't even notice. It will look wide screen to you. Yet 4:3 content will still play 'full frame'.

What happens if you put a 16:9 screen on? 16:9 content will look fine, but 4:3 content will be postage-stamp sized, with borders on the SIDES.

Or, you make the iPod wider to accommodate the new screen. In which case, 4:3 content will STILL look the size it is on the just-released iPod. And you'll have an ugly-ass iPod. Remember, the iPod's size and shape is largely determined by the size of its hard drive. The best you could do for a 'wide screen' iPod is to put the screen on sideways. But then you lose the usability of the scroll wheel. (As it becomes microscopic.)

We won't see a widescreen iPod anytime soon. A dedicated VIDEO player with reconfigured controls, maybe. But not a 'music player'.

[immac]

Why would Steve not announce PowerBook and PowerMac updates today with the worlds press there!!!! He said himself both the iMacs and new iPods will ship NEXT week. So why do some of you and the rumor sites keep saying PowerBooks and Macs are on the way. Why not announce them today as well and say they will ship in the next 7-10 days. Makes no sense!! No one can explain that.

I say all the Power lines will be updated at Macworld. What else would there be then to reveal but the next PowerBooks and PowerMacs now that the iPod and iMac and mini lines have been updated!

Why in Gods name would Stevo give up an opportunity to have all the worlds' media feeding out of his hand again in (hopefully) the very near future...Let's see, whose thunder does he have to steal in the next couple weeks?? Hmmm...

The tease is very professionally seasoned.. DDR2 and PCIe coyly slipped
into in imacs without alot of fanfare..

(I mean compared to the glare of the ViPod)

Who isn't salivating already over the thought of competitively nimble G5 PM's finally, after the big 200mhz insult??

....And everyone now has weeks to stoke the rumor mills till the announcment..

Everybody wins.

[mainemike]

Thing is, I could watch Steve Jobs do a presentation for hours without getting bored.

Wouldn't it be cool if we had a President someday who could address the country with a State Of The Union address in a similar fashion?

[DavidCar]

- Apple's FrontRow media interface is only available on the iMac, but appears to be Apple's first step into the Media Center-like devices/interfaces. ... At present the FrontRow interface is meant to be viewed on the iMac and not through a television.What do you get when you connect an iPod to a television and operate it through the remote? I would think the interface would look like FrontRow.

[applekid]

My wish list for the future:
- Give me HDTV support for the iPod and future video downloads (next logical update, right? Oh, wait. Let's not forget a replaceable battery, too ;) )
- More TV shows
- AirPort Express + Video + Front Row
- Front Row built-in to Mac Mini and PowerMac
- Front Row USB version and software as a separate release

The iMac with its X600 Pro and XT on a PCI-Express bus?! PowerMac updates will look nice after all :)

I'd jump at the iMac if it wasn't for the price. I'm about to purchase a Mac Mini setup, but I would love to have a iMac instead. But, for my needs, it's too much power even if Front Row is so frickin' cool! I suspect the Mac Mini will have Front Row soon enough :) For now, I will wait for the next Mac Mini update or a Front Row package for non-iMacs.

iPod was okay. Next logical step. Didn't expect much more. Just hope more TV shows jump on quickly. Disappointed music videos aren't free at all now though. I would've liked a AirPort Express with Front Row support or something like it instead of having to use an iPod and Dock for watching things on your TV. AirPort Express and Front Row would do a good job of non-mobile media playing away from the computer.

[dornoforpyros]

hmm the canadian iTMS doesn't seem to have the TV shows.

[Peace]

Maybe I'm reading too much into this but has anybody noticed on Apple's iMac page :
http://www.apple.com/imac/

At the top where it says "Choose A Mac." to the right it shows a Mini and the iMac..

:confused:

[Cfg5]

Maybe I'm reading too much into this but has anybody noticed on Apple's iMac page :
http://www.apple.com/imac/

At the top where it says "Choose A Mac." to the right it shows a Mini and the iMac..

:confused:

How'd that little bugger sneak in there

[artifex]

Front Row=TiVo's death. Finally sold TiVo stock and added to my AAPL stock. This is gonna be HUGE!

Why is that? Front Row is not a PVR.
That brings up a point I've been thinking about since the day the first widescreen iMacs were announced: why no video in? A 20 inch screen and PVR software would make this perfect for college dorm/small apartment life. Right now, though, you still have to buy third party adapters if you want that functionality.

Maybe this will come with the iMac x86s? If they did that, and integrated PVR into Front Row, that would be a scary force, indeed. They might 0wn the HTPC market pretty quickly... especially if they built a unit with the horsepower to do HDTV recording, and put it in a headless box.

edit: ok, I see others said the same thing, already. :)

[tekmoe]

both 15"s and 17" powerbooks are now 5-7 days for BTO. interesting that they went from 6-8 to 5-7 right around midnight (start of a new day).

honestly, i am only trying to convince myself new powerbooks are going to be released next tuesday. :o

[MacTruck]

OH DEAR GOD PLEASE NO!

I can't bare to wait for another Tuesday.



APPLE GIVE THEM TO ME NOW DAMMIT!

[Aqua Structure]

Maybe I'm reading too much into this but has anybody noticed on Apple's iMac page :
http://www.apple.com/imac/

At the top where it says "Choose A Mac." to the right it shows a Mini and the iMac..

:confused:
And...?

They have that on all their product pages (iPod, PowerBook, etc.)

[swingerofbirch]

I broke down and bought an episode of Lost to see how it would look.

320 x 240 is higher resolution than it sounds, or rather than it sounded to me at first. However, it is severely lacking compared to equally long 41 minute programs that have been captured by tv enthusiasts and posted to the Internet .

I in particular recently downloaded a 41 minute episode of Smallville. It comes in widescreen and has none of the artifacts that the iTunes Lost episode had. To me the Smallville episode looks like higher quality than a DVD. It came in at 358 mb. And remember this was recorded off someone's personal TV, transfered to a computer and encoded by an enthusiast, not a major company.

The Lost episode is 210 mb.

So yes, bigger file better quality. But if that's what's going on in the black market, it's what consumers want. Is H264 really the best answer? If it is, why does the video look so VHSish..........?

[Stridder44]

Maybe I'm reading too much into this but has anybody noticed on Apple's iMac page :
http://www.apple.com/imac/

At the top where it says "Choose A Mac." to the right it shows a Mini and the iMac..

:confused:


Yeah they've been there a while.

[mmzplanet]

I think the biggest to come out of this is the fact you have a powerful network Disney/ABC making an agreement to sell episodes of their top-rated shows. That just opens the door to all the things everyone wants to see in the future. I look forward to see more shows from different networks to add-on. This small initial TV line-up will begin to snowball when other networks and maybe even cable networks see its value.

[TMay]

For the watercooler types, bringing your ipod with the latest edition (the previous night's) of a popular show, will be the new wunderthang. Little clip on speakers will be necessities.

For political types, catching the talking head' latest for distribution amongst the intelligensia.

For homemakers, complete editions of Martha Stewart, or Oprah.

Everything but feature length films, which will be, I suspect very disapointing, at least until the real video ipod or tablet arrives.

Keep an eye out on Quicktime adoption and content, as this it the battle that Apple wants, and needs, to win.

[DrEasy]

I downloaded a 50 cent music video...

You paid $2 for a 50 cent video??? :p

[vonFinkelstien]

Actually no it doesn't :p Removed to cut cost (or possible size) since there's very little (but vocal :p ) demand for it.

I prefer FW because I can boot from it. That's a sad loss. But USB2 speed isn't all that bad, and I'm sure Apple's right that VERY few iPod owners care.[/QUOTE]

Actually, it does. You can buy a firewire to Dock connector from Apple for around 20 bucks. However, it states that it is not compatible with the Nano.

[1984]

So yes, bigger file better quality. But if that's what's going on in the black market, it's what consumers want. Is H264 really the best answer? If it is, why does the video look so VHSish..........?

It's not H.264 that is to blame. It's the low bitrate they are using.

[mac_hine82]

I was hoping to put some of the music videos from itunes on my PSP but looks like Apple already thought of that. DAMN! Now I have to buy the new ipod

[DrEasy]

I think the biggest story of the day was the iMac + FrontRow + remote combo. Now all they need to do is embed a TV tuner (well the iMac would just then gain back the inches it just lost...) and come up with some PVR software. Maybe some partnership with el Gato?

Imagine then the next ad campaign: After "Where did the computer go?"...

"Where did the TV go?"
"Where did the VCR go?"
"Where did the DVD player go?"
"Where did the CD player go?"
"Where did all the remotes go?"

I could go on and on... "Where did all my CDs go?" Well, remember you ripped them into iTunes! "Where did all my money go?" Ahem...

And all of this is technically possible NOW! That's not the case with the Mini yet, given its technical limitations (hard drive, video card, room for "hiding" the TV tuner...)

Exciting times! The last remaining bastion to me seems: "Where did my gaming console go?"...

[VicMacs]

U2 is so out. Where's my Shakira ipod??

literally on the floor laughing out this one

a brittney ipod would sell like crazy

or a michael jackson......

but a beatles ipod would be the huge one

[isaacc7]

I'm waiting to see if video podcasting takes off. How many amateur documentary, animation, and experimental video makers are out there that would love an easy way to distribute their stuff? I see this as a potentially big deal...

Isaac

[wrxguy]

anyone else kinda disapointed about no powerbook updates?

[Flowbee]

anyone else kinda disapointed about no powerbook updates?

I think you're the only one.

[artifex]

I prefer FW because I can boot from it. That's a sad loss. But USB2 speed isn't all that bad, and I'm sure Apple's right that VERY few iPod owners care.

After the move to x86, I'll bet we see support for booting from USB.

[flowerbook]

anyone else kinda disapointed about no powerbook updates?
i´m very disapointed.
i need a laptop because i´m travelling a lot.
mine is too old now.
i will buy one in mid november.
i hope it´ll be an updated powerbook.
if not, good bye apple!! :mad:

[ericdano]

I'm surprised Battelstar Galactica isn't featured. They've had directors commentary Podcasts for the show and even officially released a couple episodes on Bittorrent.

Notice how the 5 shows offered so far are all part of the Disney family?

Maybe U2 will be back with an iPod nano along with the Modonna one next month. They just need to learn how to sign their names really small.

I want Battlestar Galactica, Boston Legal, and Stargate available. Oh, and episodes of the Practice would be good too......

[Evan_11]

I'm not sure if it's been noted yet but probably the best use of the new iPod video is porn. Just think about all of the 3rd party "accessories" and of course the iCondom. ;) Definitely choose the black iPod for porn unless you like the virginal types.

[EricNau]

Sorry if this has already been asked...
but is there any way to actually put a full movie onto the iPod? Such as downloading them onto your computer from a DVD or downloading a full movie from itunes, I watched the special event stream, but don't think it was ever mentioned.

[fpnc]

It's not H.264 that is to blame. It's the low bitrate they are using.
The bit rate isn't that low for 320 x 240 H.264. It's the combination of this modest bitrate and the low 320 x 240 resolution that is the problem. Look at Apple's 848 x 480 HD movie trailers and you'll see that they run at about 3Mbps (some a little lower, some a little higher for 24fps 480p HD).

Now consider that 848 x 480 has over five times the resolution of a 320 x 240 video. Now, the iTMS 320 x 240 videos seem to run at about 650Kbps which is just about one fifth of the 480p HD so the compression rate really isn't that much different although you'd have to factor in the difference in the frame rates (24fps for the HD but 30fps for most of the iTMS videos) and the fact that both are using 128Kbps AAC audio.

The exact conversion when factoring in the frame rates and the 128Kbps AAC audio would be: ((3.0Mbps - 0.128Mbps) / (848 x 480)) x (320 x 240) x (30 / 24) = 0.677Mbps + 0.128Mbps = 0.81Mbps = 810Kbps (video and AAC audio).

However, if you drop the frame rate difference and just look at the raw bits per second it comes out to 670Kbps which is darn close to the 650Kbps that is used on the iTMS. Thus, I don't think the bit rate is really the problem, it's more likely the low 320 x 240 resolution. FWIW.

[terkozer]

3-5 day shipping on powermacs at the apple store... hmmm...

I'm in the market for a Mac Mini, and was hoping for official news of the upgrade today.. but oh well :)

What's unusual though, is that the apple store lists a brand new mini (the high end one, 1.42, 512, SD etc) as shipping in 24 hours, but the refurbished top end mini (same configuration) is listed as 3-5 days! I don't get that.

Here's hoping for a formal announcement for the new minis soon! (As I've just ordered a Dell 20.1" wide-screen to go with it already!! :D :D )

[aswitcher]

However, if you drop the frame rate difference and just look at the raw bits per second it comes out to 670Kbps which is darn close to the 650Kbps that is used on the iTMS. Thus, I don't think the bit rate is really the problem, it's more likely the low 320 x 240 resolution. FWIW.


Does anyone know how the quality compares to say a TV episode being made available on the torrents. The reason I ask is I am wondering if offering TVs online will reduce TV piracy some - but I need to know how the quality compares.

[BGil]

The bit rate isn't that low for 320 x 240 H.264. It's the combination of this modest bitrate and the low 320 x 240 resolution that is the problem. Look at Apple's 848 x 480 HD movie trailers and you'll see that they run at about 3Mbps (some a little lower, some a little higher for 24fps 480p HD).

Now consider that 848 x 480 has over five times the resolution of a 320 x 240 video. Now, the iTMS 320 x 240 videos seem to run at about 650Kbps which is just about one fifth of the 480p HD so the compression rate really isn't that much different although you'd have to factor in the difference in the frame rates (24fps for the HD but 30fps for most of the iTMS videos) and the fact that both are using 128Kbps AAC audio.

The exact conversion when factoring in the frame rates and the 128Kbps AAC audio would be: ((3.0Mbps - 0.128Mbps) / (848 x 480)) x (320 x 240) x (30 / 24) = 0.677Mbps + 0.128Mbps = 0.81Mbps = 810Kbps (video and AAC audio).

However, if you drop the frame rate difference and just look at the raw bits per second it comes out to 670Kbps which is darn close to the 650Kbps that is used on the iTMS. Thus, I don't think the bit rate is really the problem, it's more likely the low 320 x 240 resolution. FWIW.
Likewise they should have used a better H.264 encoder. Ateme currently has the best publically available encoder. That's what most enthusiasts use although Xvid and X.264 are often more popular for stuff you find on BT.

[fpnc]

Sorry if this has already been asked...
but is there any way to actually put a full movie onto the iPod? Such as downloading them onto your computer from a DVD or downloading a full movie from itunes, I watched the special event stream, but don't think it was ever mentioned.
It would have to be converted to the 320 x 240 H.264 format that the iPod supports. So, yes, given this low resolution you could put a full length movie on the iPod. However, it could take you several hours to do the H.264 recompression (probably less on a fast G5 system).

[philipcolett]

Did anyone else notice that ALL the powermac's ship times went to 3-5 days from 24 hours. Hmmm, maybe this means new powermac's tomorrow. LOL!

[BGil]

Does anyone know how the quality compares to say a TV episode being made available on the torrents. The reason I ask is I am wondering if offering TVs online will reduce TV piracy some - but I need to know how the quality compares.

It's not even close. Nearly all shows are at least 640x480 or 720x480 and a lot of them are in high definition and widescreen. I got a rip of the superbowl that looks amazing on my HDTV.

Besides, the iTMS didn't reduce piracy at all nor did shutting down Napster. People just moved to Kazza and considering that most music pirates are rather non-techie people that's saying something. People who download TV shows are usually much more technically inclined and would probably pirate them even if a really great movie store popped up.

[EricNau]

Originally Posted by fpnc
It would have to be converted to the 320 x 240 H.264 format that the iPod supports. So, yes, given this low resolution you could put a full length movie on the iPod. However, it could take you several hours to do the H.264 recompression (probably less on a fast G5 system).
So Apple doesn't really support a way of doing it?
So how would I do this, what program do I need? And most of all, is it legal? I thinking if it was, Apple would of made it really easy to do, like hitting an "import movie from DVD" button in iTunes.
In my oppinion this got rid of most of the usefulness of having Video on iPods.

[fpnc]

Likewise they should have used a better H.264 encoder. Ateme currently has the best publically available encoder. That's what most enthusiasts use although Xvid and X.264 are often more popular for stuff you find on BT.
Can you provide a creditable reference that proves that the Ateme encoder is better than what Apple can produce on the Macintosh platform? I wouldn't argue that Apple's H.264 encoder is the best, but what makes you believe that Ateme is so much better that you'd be likely to see any significant difference?

[fpnc]

So Apple doesn't really support a way of doing it?
So how would I do this, what program do I need? And most of all, is it legal? I thinking if it was, Apple would of made it really easy to do, like hitting an "import movie from DVD" button in iTunes.
In my oppinion this got rid of most of the usefulness of having Video on iPods.
No, it isn't legal (in the U.S.) to copy commercial (encrypted) DVDs. So, Apple doesn't provide button to "import movie from DVD."

[crap freakboy]

Rather than go over the same ground that previous post have, I'd like to second all the negative comments.

[Trowaman]

I want Battlestar Galactica, Boston Legal, and Stargate available. Oh, and episodes of the Practice would be good too......

Battlestar Galactica (best show on tv!), Family Guy, Justice League, old Simpsons (Mr. Plow era), and Daily Show are my big ones.

Possibly My Name is Earl.

Yes, I know several of those are 30 minute shows and one of those is daily. If they're on fire one night I may be eager to save those hilarious moments forever.

[berkowit28]

It is possible to download a show before it is finished broadcasting in LA if you live in New York for an HD file.

What does that mean? Who lives in New York for an HD file? It seems a rather silly reason for moving to New York, even if it worked. Do you get to choose what HD file you live for?

[balamw]

a beatles ipod would be the huge one

All the mini's colors could be used for special editions.

I've been thinking that a green nano would be appropriate for the Beatles. http://www.applecorps.com ;)

Maybe an Elvis nano in blue [suede shoes]?

Supposedly a Madonna special edition is already planned in pink.

Serioulsy I wish that iTMS and the Beatles would settle their disputes once and for all.

B

[ddrueckhammer]

What does that mean? Who lives in New York for an HD file? It seems a rather silly reason for moving to New York, even if it worked. Do you get to choose what HD file you live for?

I was just pointing out that with people who have broadband (Most of the people who would download video online) you can download an episode of a TV show at much better quality than what Apple is offering in a couple of hours or before it is finished airing on the opposite coast. I could have easily chosen Atlanta and Seattle...I think that maybe we don't all need to spend 2-4 hours downloading an episode of our favorite TV show in HD but there has to be some compromise in quality/spead of download.

[drewyboy]

Serioulsy I wish that iTMS and the Beatles would settle their disputes once and for all.

B


Just remember who has the rights to the beatles music....Micheal Jackson. Yup, non other than the weirdness himself. so maybe send in a little boy that would sub-consiously keep saying.... beatles on itunes...beatles on itunes.. and maybe it might happen
:rolleyes:

[GorillaPaws]

What I want to see in a mac mini/ front row set top (no monitor, just plug into your TV:
-TV TUNER!
-Some kind of integration w/ Dashboard (i.e. an overlay for Front Row where you can arrange some widgets around the edges of the screen - great for news tickers, weather updates, stock info, etc.) where you could activated it with a button on the remote, and deactivate it just as quickly.
-A Front Row version of Safari
-A Front Row version of Mail (toggleable notification of new incoming mail)
-Integration of iCal alerts w/ Front Row
-Integration w/ bluetooth cell phones in Front Row (i.e. it displays incoming caller on your tv - shows their pic from the caller's info in Address Book like bluephoneelite or whatever it's called).
-Integration w/ iChat AV (i.e. you're watching tv and you get an incoming video chat request box in the corner), and a built in iSight that you can orient to your favorite TV chair and zoom in.
-wireless networkability w/ your "main" mac in the home.
-a "don't disturb mode" where all of the alerts and stuff that I've just mentioned are temporarily deactivated until you reactivate it.
-5.1 Surround sound support
-Doesn't have to be quite so "mini"
-and of course access to a huge content library, maybe with an unlimited use for a monthly fee associated with video/movie content (I think this model works better w/ video than it does w/ music as there are many shows or movies we don't want to own, just watch once or twice.

Could all this be done for a relatively cheap price (i.e. sub $600 box, preferably closer to $300)? Is this the kind of stuff you all would want in a perfect world?

[ddrueckhammer]

What I want to see in a mac mini/ front row set top (no monitor, just plug into your TV:
-TV TUNER!
-Some kind of integration w/ Dashboard (i.e. an overlay for Front Row where you can arrange some widgets around the edges of the screen - great for news tickers, weather updates, stock info, etc.) where you could activated it with a button on the remote, and deactivate it just as quickly.
-A Front Row version of Safari
-A Front Row version of Mail (toggleable notification of new incoming mail)
-Integration of iCal alerts w/ Front Row
-Integration w/ bluetooth cell phones in Front Row (i.e. it displays incoming caller on your tv - shows their pic from the caller's info in Address Book like bluephoneelite or whatever it's called).
-Integration w/ iChat AV (i.e. you're watching tv and you get an incoming video chat request box in the corner), and a built in iSight that you can orient to your favorite TV chair and zoom in.
-wireless networkability w/ your "main" mac in the home.
-a "don't disturb mode" where all of the alerts and stuff that I've just mentioned are temporarily deactivated until you reactivate it.
-5.1 Surround sound support
-Doesn't have to be quite so "mini"
-and of course access to a huge content library, maybe with an unlimited use for a monthly fee associated with video/movie content (I think this model works better w/ video than it does w/ music as there are many shows or movies we don't want to own, just watch once or twice.

Could all this be done for a relatively cheap price (i.e. sub $600 box, preferably closer to $300)? Is this the kind of stuff you all would want in a perfect world?

This sounds really cool but I think I would just as soon use my home theater setup as is and either get an apple branded DVR or a new airport express that streamed video to my TV. Combine that with a ITMS that does movie/tv rentals (they would delete themselves I guess) for $3.99 for a 800x600 MPEG encoded in H264 and now you are talking. I think it would be more exciting and economical to be able to download Movies and TV from an online store and just stream it to my existing setup than to have a Mac HTPC. But to each his own I guess.

[1984]

The bit rate isn't that low for 320 x 240 H.264. It's the combination of this modest bitrate and the low 320 x 240 resolution that is the problem. Look at Apple's 848 x 480 HD movie trailers and you'll see that they run at about 3Mbps (some a little lower, some a little higher for 24fps 480p HD).



If I can see color blurring, smoothed out details and digital artifacts at such a low resolution the bitrate is too low. I'm sure they sacrificed bitrate for faster download speeds but took it just a bit too far. I've seen really good quality at 320x240 before.

[MontyZ]

.

[MontyZ]

.

[iAlan]

we should stop calling it a 'video iPod' or 'iPod video' because it isn't. It is an iPod capable of playing video - an iPod video in my mind id something that watching the video on presents an enjoyable experience - which it seems in not likely on this little puppy (unless you are in fact a real puppy and this screen would be nice, even better if you were a hamster...)

Good baby step forward, but no iPod video as yet...

[Veldek]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

- Only 5 different TV Shows available at this time. Digital Rights Management is the same as iTunes songs. 5 different computers. Downloaded episodes are .m4v format, 320x240 pixels, AAC Audio. 650kbits/sec. About 200 megs per hour-long episode.Not exactly the same as burning isn't allowed, which is different to bought songs.

[GorillaPaws]

I definitly think the video resolution needs to get upped bigtime for a serious set-top/ home theatre system solution whatever it is. I guess I'm a little dissapointed w/ how the vision of the iMac/Front Row concept is panning out. I feel like a unique device is the real solution as having an iMac sitting next to your plasma is a little weird. To me, it's wasting the power of the computer. I mean as great as Front Row is, it's mostly exciting in the potential it has, as opposed to it's current state. I mean, what does it REALLY do as far as in a living room capacity? How often are we going to sit down and watch our slide shows in our living room of the pics we've taken, or home movies we've edited. It seems like it's something to show off to others more than to be a useful/essential daily device (e.g. the inlaws come to visit and you whip out your remote and say "hey, check out the baby shower pictures"). It's not like you're going to sit down and edit movies from your +5' away lazy boy. So if you were going to use it as a daily machine, you'd keep it at you're desk, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having a remote/ Front Row at all. That's why I think this computer is better suited for the desk environment, but an Applerific™ :D living room solution should be based around a "work machine on your desk" (where you create your playlists, orgainze and edit your photos, manage your finances etc.) and a cheaper "play" machine that doesn't need the raw graphics/processing power, but still provides an that Apple "feel" we all love so much, that can incorporate into our home theaters and network seemlessly with our "work" box. Don't get me wrong, I was blown away by Front Row, but I think my previous suggestions would really bring it to life and make it more useful/practical for daily use, as opposed to the show-off device that I fear it is at the moment.

[ErikGrim]

I am SOOO disappointed there were no new iPod Socks introduced. :mad:I don't know, this sock looks new to me:
Accessories (http://www.apple.com/ipod/accessories.html)

[ddrueckhammer]

I definitly think the video resolution needs to get upped bigtime for a serious set-top/ home theatre system solution whatever it is. I guess I'm a little dissapointed w/ how the vision of the iMac/Front Row concept is panning out. I feel like a unique device is the real solution as having an iMac sitting next to your plasma is a little weird. To me, it's wasting the power of the computer. I mean as great as Front Row is, it's mostly exciting in the potential it has, as opposed to it's current state. I mean, what does it REALLY do as far as in a living room capacity? How often are we going to sit down and watch our slide shows in our living room of the pics we've taken, or home movies we've edited. It seems like it's something to show off to others more than to be a useful/essential daily device (e.g. the inlaws come to visit and you whip out your remote and say "hey, check out the baby shower pictures"). It's not like you're going to sit down and edit movies from your +5' away lazy boy. So if you were going to use it as a daily machine, you'd keep it at you're desk, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having a remote/ Front Row at all. That's why I think this computer is better suited for the desk environment, but an Applerific™ :D living room solution should be based around a "work machine on your desk" (where you create your playlists, orgainze and edit your photos, manage your finances etc.) and a cheaper "play" machine that doesn't need the raw graphics/processing power, but still provides an that Apple "feel" we all love so much, that can incorporate into our home theaters and network seemlessly with our "work" box. Don't get me wrong, I was blown away by Front Row, but I think my previous suggestions would really bring it to life and make it more useful/practical for daily use, as opposed to the show-off device that I fear it is at the moment.

I agree with you 100% but I would add that we may not even need another machine in our living room as much as a way to stream wirelessly the content that is on our computers i.e. a video APX. If you wanted to actually make it a set-top box then it should have Tivo capabilities too but this isn't really even necessary for me. I would rather be able to purchase good quality movies/shows online be able to stream them or transfer them to my TV somehow than anything else.

[Renegate]

Think this was overlooked by most initially : Remote is sold seperately and works with Ipod (other MAC's?); wondering if it uses Bluetooth 2.0 which was recently added to all mac's. Does this mean it works with the MAC Mini?? --> Mediacenter evrywhere?

[groovebuster]

So that was it? A minor update to the iMac and the legendary Video iPod?

:D

Actually I am not disappointed because I didn't expect much...

But I have to say that especially the iPod update is kind of lame... I never got the hype around the iPod in first place. Nice toy but I never found any excuse to buy one because I would never know when to use it. At home you don't really use an iPod, do you? In the car... well, I am using the traditional car stereo. While not working in my Home-Office, I am using my laptop. So when would I actually use an iPod? Maybe once every two months? Why do I need to carry around my whole music collection? Or a pitcure collection? When I want to show people some of our family pictures, I just bring my laptop and do a slide-show. I never felt the need to carry around all my pictures all the time...

Don't get me wrong, I love music since I was a pro musician myself. But the hype around the iPod amazes me.

I bought an iPod mini for my wife beginning of this year, beacause she is using it while being in the public transportation on her way to and back from university (the car she takes only ocassionaly). But even she is using it relatively seldom.

And now you can watch stupid little videos with the new iPod? Wow! That's innovative! :rolleyes:

The iMac update is also not very impressive... Who needs a camera in his computer? I don't know any person who is doing video chatting. And even if, there is still the problem that almost nobody is using AOL for chatting. And Mac users are rare still in general. So for most users it's useless. Now people are forced to take a MightyMouse and an iSight with their iMac. How impressive... I guess Apple was just looking for a way to keep the price point for the iMacs, since the overall performance didn't improve a lot.

Anyway,... I hope they are finally bringing out new machines for their Power lines. I am desperate to finally upgrade my machines after almost a year of waiting time...

groovebuster

[GorillaPaws]

I agree with you 100% but I would add that we may not even need another machine in our living room as much as a way to stream wirelessly the content that is on our computers i.e. a video APX. If you wanted to actually make it a set-top box then it should have Tivo capabilities too but this isn't really even necessary for me. I would rather be able to purchase good quality movies/shows online be able to stream them or transfer them to my TV somehow than anything else.

I agree that this wouldn't require a whole set-top box per-se, but I'm a little skeptical of current/near-future wireless technology's ability to stream large quantity's of home theatre quality video + surround sound audio. Oh and it'd definetly need dvr recording capabilitities like you mentioned. As for the remote, it's IR, not Bluetooth and only works w/ the ipod video and iMac :( .

[neutrino23]

Does anyone know how the quality compares to say a TV episode being made available on the torrents. The reason I ask is I am wondering if offering TVs online will reduce TV piracy some - but I need to know how the quality compares.

I think the offerings on BT are of higher quality. Generally, the resolution is higher though some show compression artifacts. I suspect that Disney required the lower resolution.

A complication is that the videos are only being sold in the US while I guess that much of the activity on BT is overseas.

[neutrino23]

But Have you noticed how slow iTunes is running right now???? Obviously people aren't to concerned w/ only 5 shows being available right now, and people seem to be downloading them at a good but very slowwwwww pace.

Hmmm. I was just thinking about how much faster it had become. I just bought a book and while it downloaded I saw that it downloaded at about 720 kilobytes / second according to Activity Monitor. Earlier today when I upgraded QT and iTunes I also noticed that the download was running at about a 1MB / second. This is several times faster than I've ever seen Apple's servers run. It is several times faster than any other server I've used.

[Truffy]

So, was that it? No dual-duals? :mad:

The event's turned out to be no big deal really.

[dragoncha]

I'm not sure if it's been noted yet but probably the best use of the new iPod video is porn. Just think about all of the 3rd party "accessories" and of course the iCondom. ;) Definitely choose the black iPod for porn unless you like the virginal types.

Haha Trojan CEO just announced iCondom! :D

[groovebuster]

Hmmm. I was just thinking about how much faster it had become. I just bought a book and while it downloaded I saw that it downloaded at about 720 kilobytes / second according to Activity Monitor. Earlier today when I upgraded QT and iTunes I also noticed that the download was running at about a 1MB / second. This is several times faster than I've ever seen Apple's servers run. It is several times faster than any other server I've used.
What kind of connection do you have? I guess the average Broadband Internet User has a 2MBit connections which would equal around 200kB/s counting in protocol overhead...

groovebuster

[demallien]

Does anybody know if Apple will be making Front Row available for Macs other than the new iMacG5. I mean, I bought an iMac G5 about 4 weeks ago, and I am going to be one miffed macophile if I can't get my hands on this thing. Especially as I was just saying to my partner yesterday morning that that is exactly what my iMac needed!

[GorillaPaws]

Does anybody know if Apple will be making Front Row available for Macs other than the new iMacG5. I mean, I bought an iMac G5 about 4 weeks ago, and I am going to be one miffed macophile if I can't get my hands on this thing. Especially as I was just saying to my partner yesterday morning that that is exactly what my iMac needed!

I'm pretty sure you're SOL, but maybe someone will pirate/hack it to work w/ sailingclicker or whatever it's called and a bluetooth device. That's probably your best hope unless you wanted to take a big loss and ebay your current iMac and buy the new one.

[Windowlicker]

Don't know if someone already pointed this out, but it seems like the video content is by now available only in USA. I'd like to give the tv-show a try. Though I think the resolution should really be 640x480 (or more). The 320x240 is worse than VHS :P

Anyways, a word about the new iPod Ad with Eminem: hate the guy, love the commercial! Funny how they got the guy to their commercial after the little incident with the iTMS campaign.

Also, I'm very pleased they didn't forget the graphics side on iMac. Guess we should expect PCI-E on PowerMac (and PB?) too very soon.

[Windowlicker]

Think this was overlooked by most initially : Remote is sold seperately and works with Ipod (other MAC's?); wondering if it uses Bluetooth 2.0 which was recently added to all mac's. Does this mean it works with the MAC Mini?? --> Mediacenter evrywhere?

Bluetooth sure sounds like a pretty good way of doing it.. And if they're selling it separately, I guess it'll work. Why else would they sell it, because it already ships with the iMacs?!

[Trowaman]

The iMac update is also not very impressive... Who needs a camera in his computer? I don't know any person who is doing video chatting. And even if, there is still the problem that almost nobody is using AOL for chatting


*cough* MSN and ICQ may be the items of choice in Europe but in America AIM is the norm. Here it's impossible to find someone with ICQ or MSN buddy lists.

Cultural differences I guess.

[gedto]

I don't think that this was a minor update to the iMac:

- Dual Layer 8x Superdrive out of the box in all models.
- Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2, DDR 2, PCI-express, Airport Extreme... all built in at the same (or less) price.
- Great graphics card.
- iSight (actually better than iSight) included. Free.
- Higher processor speed.
- Thinner design.
- Remote control + FrontRow.

:)

[FunkSpaceMonkey]

video + iPod = Lame :p

[Trowaman]

Anyways, i was HAPPY with today's releases. I'm not trying to figure out how to keep myself from spending money and buying a 60 gb iPod (my 3ed gen 20 gb does fine, but I'm gonna start going after the videos. already bought Weapon of Choice video on the store). I'm thinking I'll try to hold off til Feb and see if the 80 gb appears.

as for the imac, my Apple club president had to remind me that there are Mactels next year.

I'm not quite sure where apple is going in the form of their computers now, it's very interesting. If the reports are right, new minis are shipping now, but not being mentioned (wonder why) and new Powermacs and Powerbooks should be next week. That'd mean in 1 week apple updated everything computer-wise but XServes and iBooks.

I smell something big relating to the living room as a leopard feature, now is just getting the ducks in a row, hardware-wise.

Also I'm starting to think a video airport express will have something else too it. A mac projector is starting to seem realistic to me. Maybe mac projector the airport hooks up to. Stream Front Row to it. A 23" HD iMac is starting to seem realistic too.

My current mac advise: hold til mactel is over, I smell new living room adjustments across the entire line over the next 8 months.

Besides, we got MWSF in 3 months.

P.S. a lot of you get your hopes up to high and I don't think you are all buying new powerbooks. at least Apple did update their products and is trying to make money instead of going bankrupt.

[teddy07x]

They will also realize that they can hit a much bigger audience by doing so..

Excacty, the Audience that moved from the Tube to the PC/Mac/xbox. Kids now days are more infront of the telly. so why not move the telly to the computer/ipod/psp? :)

What's gonna be next is that Apple Home Entertainment system.

Music, Video, Pictures, Satellite/Cable recordings etc etc... All neatly stored in the iHome system. :) With Airport X....
all you need then is what? nothing!! it's the ultimate Media gadget :p
you can't get any better than that..... playing games, viewing pictures, doing all that infront of your 40" plasma! Oh My God is the Apple future gonna get me there!!! here I come couch!

[EvilMole]

I think the biggest story of the day was the iMac + FrontRow + remote combo. Now all they need to do is embed a TV tuner (well the iMac would just then gain back the inches it just lost...) and come up with some PVR software...

...and then Apple will be where Microsoft was with Windows Media Center a couple of years ago.

Really, I don't get the excitement. The video iPod is a Portable Media Center/PSP with a smaller screen. FrontRow is Windows Media Center with half the functionality (and afaik, none of the APIs which allow developers to build their own TV-focused apps). Apple gives you the ability to buy content, but not record it (out of the box, at least).

Only the most blinkered of Apple fans could actually get too excited about this, or claim that it's "Apple innovation". It's good, though, that Apple has finally woken up to the potential of the Media Center-style market: 43% of all Windows machines sold in US retail come with Media Center edition, which shows that there's plenty of demand for that kind of functionality.

[Renegate]

Powermacs are now at 3-5days shipping on US Store, 5days on German Store. Powerbooks 24h on US Store , 5days on German Store. Counting from today 5days is Tuesday next week! There is really no reason for them to have a backlog as most people are probably holding off buying with all the rumors around . So the Great day is coming!

[demallien]

I'm pretty sure you're SOL, but maybe someone will pirate/hack it to work w/ sailingclicker or whatever it's called and a bluetooth device. That's probably your best hope unless you wanted to take a big loss and ebay your current iMac and buy the new one.

Oh yeah, Apple have just update the info on the Apple Remote, specifying that it only works with new computers that have built-in infra-red support. Still one would hope that they will either release an IR receiver, or a Bluetooth remote for the rest of us.... I mean an iMac G5 of whatever vintage is MADE to be in the living room! At the absolute limit, I hope that they have at least created a Front Row API that will allow 3rd-Party remotes that already exist to access it.

[Over Achiever]

Ok ... so new iPod is actually the same H & W as the older iPods? That's very interesting! The screen really makes it look wider than it really is then.

No firewire support? How odd!

Something I don't think many have mentioned. There is no longer a remote jack, and the headphone jack is off to one side now. That means all the iPod accessories that run off the top jack have to be redesigned, like the iTrip, iTalk, etc. I rather like my iTalk!

Other than that, since they did keep the width the same, kudos for the increased battery life and improved thickness.

-OA

[SongSeeker]

Think this was overlooked by most initially : Remote is sold seperately and works with Ipod (other MAC's?); wondering if it uses Bluetooth 2.0 which was recently added to all mac's. Does this mean it works with the MAC Mini?? --> Mediacenter evrywhere?

The Apple Remote is NOT Bluetooth, but IR:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70407/wo/uy4Kg4OwA1qf2fnGA6b1Tl46jCv/0.SLID?mco=CAE019BF&nplm=MA128G%2FA

It works with any 2005 Mac with built-in IR, as well as with most iPods & other Macs with the iPod Universal Dock:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70407/wo/uy4Kg4OwA1qf2fnGA6b1Tl46jCv/0.SLID?mco=DB335781&nplm=MA045G%2FA

I would have thought Bluetooth made more sense, but what do I know...

[1984]

Where are the invites for the November 8th "Just one last thing, I swear" event?

[TBR]

Oh yeah, Apple have just update the info on the Apple Remote, specifying that it only works with new computers that have built-in infra-red support. Still one would hope that they will either release an IR receiver, or a Bluetooth remote for the rest of us.... I mean an iMac G5 of whatever vintage is MADE to be in the living room! At the absolute limit, I hope that they have at least created a Front Row API that will allow 3rd-Party remotes that already exist to access it.

The tech specs for the iMac doesn't mention it having an infra red reciver on it. Maybe the docks use infra red and the iMacs use Bluetooth?

[firebox]

I definitly think the video resolution needs to get upped bigtime for a serious set-top/ home theatre system solution whatever it is. I guess I'm a little dissapointed w/ how the vision of the iMac/Front Row concept is panning out. I feel like a unique device is the real solution as having an iMac sitting next to your plasma is a little weird. To me, it's wasting the power of the computer. I mean as great as Front Row is, it's mostly exciting in the potential it has, as opposed to it's current state. I mean, what does it REALLY do as far as in a living room capacity? How often are we going to sit down and watch our slide shows in our living room of the pics we've taken, or home movies we've edited. It seems like it's something to show off to others more than to be a useful/essential daily device (e.g. the inlaws come to visit and you whip out your remote and say "hey, check out the baby shower pictures"). It's not like you're going to sit down and edit movies from your +5' away lazy boy. So if you were going to use it as a daily machine, you'd keep it at you're desk, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having a remote/ Front Row at all. That's why I think this computer is better suited for the desk environment, but an Applerific™ :D living room solution should be based around a "work machine on your desk" (where you create your playlists, orgainze and edit your photos, manage your finances etc.) and a cheaper "play" machine that doesn't need the raw graphics/processing power, but still provides an that Apple "feel" we all love so much, that can incorporate into our home theaters and network seemlessly with our "work" box. Don't get me wrong, I was blown away by Front Row, but I think my previous suggestions would really bring it to life and make it more useful/practical for daily use, as opposed to the show-off device that I fear it is at the moment.

i think your bang on with this one mate ! a stripped down "iplay" in your front room, basically an imac (without the ugly fat white bit at the bottom) with a massive hard-drive - combined with tivo/eyetv - airport BT everything you mentioned above, but as you quite rightly put it, not wasting the full capability of the mac as i think the whole concept of having a full blown PC in your front room is flawed.....good call!?

[ijimk]

i want frontrow on my g5 :eek:

[iAlan]

Anyways, a word about the new iPod Ad with Eminem: hate the guy, love the commercial! Funny how they got the guy to their commercial after the little incident with the iTMS campaign.

Maybe a part of the settlement included Eminem as a future iPod commercial-ee. I can see Eminem wanting this, to ride the coat-tails of the iPod's success, he hasn7t had much success of late and is expected to release a greatest hits collection (after, what only 3 albums?). Also remember the general public may not be aware of Eminem's and Apple's little legal tussle so they would be non-the wiser other than 'Hey, a cool Eminem iPod advert'

[Renegate]

Update : Powerbooks Powermacs on Apple France at 6-8days, 12" Powerbooks at 24h --> Updates latest next Tuesday, 12" Powerbooks will be discontinued (anyway too much overlap with ibooks)

[groovebuster]

i want frontrow on my g5 :eek:

I don't! :rolleyes:

[iAlan]

...the video iPod...

Even Apple doesn't refer to the new iPod as a video iPod so i think we all should not refer to it that way either...it is the new iPod. That's it - and that is all it should be...for now

We will get something early next year I think that will truely be refered to as a 'video iPod'. Actually I prefer 'iPod AV' as the device will always be a music player at heart...

[Renegate]

i want frontrow on my g5 :eek:

They want you to buy a new one, that way they make more than on the remote only. Maybe next week

[grebo]

I imagine it's just a matter of time before iTMS stands for iTunes Media Store...

[GroundLoop]

Music, Video, Pictures, Satellite/Cable recordings etc etc... All neatly stored in the iHome system. :) With Airport X....


Too bad the iHome already exists.

http://www.ihomeaudio.com/flash/default.asp

Hickman

[Fitzcaraldo]

I purchased a couple of videos from the UK itms...

Firstly I note that you can't share them via ethernet. even in a play list they don't show up.

I think Apple has rushed the thought process with regard to the videos, and in Particular how they work with other music, and Visuliser?

Creating a mixed playlist of video and ordinary songs, itunes can't jump between fullscreen video and Visuliser (If you enable Visulizer, then videos display as a still frame art caption in the corner).

Further, the resolution is below acceptable when shown on a PAL television or projector.

Finally, Visuliser still bleeds audio artifacts into the sound output as it has (for me on 4 different Macs) since iTunes 5.

In conclusion I think this was a missed opportunity to produce what could have been a great Video jukebox (remote mac mini playing shared playlist with full screen video via a VGA adapter). A little extra polish was needed in my humble opinion.

[GroundLoop]

I imagine it's just a matter of time before iTMS stands for iTunes Media Store...

I don't think that you are too far off with this. Music, TV, movies, podcasts, and internet radio. There aren't many other media platforms out there.

Hickman

[groovebuster]

*cough* MSN and ICQ may be the items of choice in Europe but in America AIM is the norm. Here it's impossible to find someone with ICQ or MSN buddy lists.
*coughs back*

Last time I checked all my relatives in Canada were not using AIM as well, but MSN and ICQ... Canada belongs to Europe?

That is something that ticks me off since a long time... Apple is making more than 50% of it's revenue outside the US. Still a lot of features are focussed on the US market. Some of them can't be even used when you are not living in the US. But still we are paying for it as well. On top Apple still charges at least around 10% more for their products here in Europe and elsewhere in the world. For what reason? A big share of Apples profit is probably generated by this constant overpricing of their products outside the US...

I love the Mac platform, but I really deeply hate the company...

groovebuster

[groovebuster]

I don't think that you are too far off with this. Music, TV, movies, podcasts, and internet radio. There aren't many other media platforms out there.
Books and magazines...

[Renegate]

I purchased a couple of videos from the UK itms...

Firstly I note that you can't share them via ethernet. even in a play list they don't show up.

I think Apple has rushed the thought process with regard to the videos, and in Particular how they work with other music, and Visuliser?

Creating a mixed playlist of video and ordinary songs, itunes can't jump between fullscreen video and Visuliser (If you enable Visulizer, then videos display as a still frame art caption in the corner).

Further, the resolution is below acceptable when shown on a PAL television or projector.

Finally, Visuliser still bleeds audio artifacts into the sound output as it has (for me on 4 different Macs) since iTunes 5.

In conclusion I think this was a missed opportunity to produce what could have been a great Video jukebox (remote mac mini playing shared playlist with full screen video via a VGA adapter). A little extra polish was needed in my humble opinion.

It definitely seems to be a first step. The original music videos (for free) were rather good quality on a TV-Screen. Have they now sampled them down for purchase?

[Renegate]

Books and magazines...
Playboy-Magazine?

[deanwaterman]

...and then Apple will be where Microsoft was with Windows Media Center a couple of years ago.

Really, I don't get the excitement. The video iPod is a Portable Media Center/PSP with a smaller screen. FrontRow is Windows Media Center with half the functionality (and afaik, none of the APIs which allow developers to build their own TV-focused apps). Apple gives you the ability to buy content, but not record it (out of the box, at least).

The things introduced today in themselves may seem like no big deal. The REAL BIG DEAL is the Media convergence of TV and Computer. Yes Microsoft has the Media Center, yes others have done a video playback handheld device, but none have been able to do anything with them until now.

iTunes will do for TV, and movie content what it did for music. It may take a year or so, but before long it will catch on big time. The networks and movie studios will see what they have been missing and ink up.

For TV content to be worth playing on your TV in the home, it has to come over at a greater resolution than what it is now. However, you do trhat and you are looking at the download time being the same or greater than the watch time.

This is big. Imagine missing the episode you wanted to see of Lost and you can download the next day and save on your TV hard drive system? It may be elementary right now, but I suspect bigger and better things are to come.

[deanwaterman]

They want you to buy a new one, that way they make more than on the remote only. Maybe next week


Also the remote is IR, rather than Frequency or 802.11G. You would have to have a base station to point it at hooked up at your comp. I suspect the new PB's and perhaps the new PM will have Front Row standard.

[Stella]

Its disappointing that iPod won't downsize videos to the 320x400 ( or whatever ) resolution.

I thought you'd be able to upload a home movie ( for example ) and just play it without any conversion.

:-(

[groovebuster]

Its disappointing that iPod won't downsize videos to the 320x400 ( or whatever ) resolution.

I thought you'd be able to upload a home movie ( for example ) and just play it without any conversion.

:-(
What do you expect? Downsizing would mean that the iPod has to decode into the original resolution before it can downsize the video... This would need a lot or processor power which an iPod doesn't have... and even if, the battery would be drained within a very short time. The 320x240 are a compromise...

But that underlines agai that I find the video feature of the iPod pretty much useless, if not to say stupid...

groovebuster

[g4cubed]

I feel like it's Christmas night and all the presents have been opened... now it's time to go back and drool at what we got.
Well I'm glad Christmas was good for you. But I feel like the kid who wanted a bike but got roller skates. Very disappointing. :(

[cgmpowers]

I constinately use my iMic on my iPod. I love to import audio lectures and what not into my iPod. But where is the Belkin (or even Apple made) camera for the iPod?? I want to capture video with the iPod. If I can do it with a cell phone then certainly I can do it with an iPod...

Christopher

I'm waiting to see if video podcasting takes off. How many amateur documentary, animation, and experimental video makers are out there that would love an easy way to distribute their stuff? I see this as a potentially big deal...

Isaac

[groovebuster]

Well I'm glad Christmas was good for you. But I feel like the kid who wanted a bike but got roller skates. Very disappointing. :(
I'm with you...

[Fotek2001]

In reading this thread, the following things occurred to me:


If Apple can fit a G5 processor into the new, slimline iMac, putting one into a Powerbook shouldn't be that much more problematic.

The new iMac with FrontRow is exactly the kind of thing that college students will be looking for in their dorm rooms and it's release is ideally timed to coincide with the holiday season.

Apple should seriously consider building a wireless implementation of FrontRow as a set-top box and allowing DVD ripping in iTunes (MS plans to add ripping with DRM in Windows Vista).

Apple doesn't seem to like producing different hardware configurations for different regions. This seems to be the reason there's no TV tuner in the iMac because countries and regions all over the world are settling on different standards for high definition and digital TV delivery. The same issue applies to the iPod and radio tuners / Satellite radio support.

[groovebuster]

Apple doesn't seem to like producing different hardware configurations for different regions. This seems to be the reason there's no TV tuner in the iMac because countries and regions all over the world are settling on different standards for high definition and digital TV delivery. The same issue applies to the iPod and radio tuners / Satellite radio support.
Apples target is always the US market first, that's why many features don't work in other countries. In my book this is pure ignorance by Jobs Inc...

Supporting multiple standards is no problem. It is performed in many ways already. Today in most cases it is just a question of software.

How many HDTV standards are there today? As far as I know only two that will survive on the long run... The US and the European standard. What's the problem to support both software wise? Same apllies to satellite radio...

And traditional radio broadcasting is the same all over the world... between 87,9-108MHz FM.

groovebuster

[Stella]

Ah, but your forgetting something.. Desktop can get hot, laptops cannot, apple wouldn't be popular with reports of G5 PBs burning its customers legs...

It may not still be possible for G5s in a laptop due to heat. I doubt whether a G5 will ever make its way into a PowerBook.. the Intel processors will arrive sooner..

In reading this thread, the following things occurred to me:

[list=1]
If Apple can fit a G5 processor into the new, slimline iMac, putting one into a Powerbook shouldn't be that much more problematic.



Apple have got DRM for movies now, so the ripping of DVDs could be possible, with the movie industry approval.

Apple, so far have missed the boat slightly with the media centre software - it looks really good, but you must be able to hook it up to your TV ( wirelessly - video airport express?) . I'm sure many people won't want their iMac in front of their sofa, rendering a lot of what Steve was saying yesterday, useless. For music its, fine, for DVD and photos, probably not so useful.

Apples target is always the US market first, that's why many features don't work in other countries. In my book this is pure ignorance by Jobs Inc...


Yep, especially 'you can now play shows on your iPod'... only if your american, because its the only store to offer such downloads. Even Canada doesn't have it.

I hope BBC gets on board, even if I had to pay for content - BBC shows are on the whole, are very good quality. Paying for BBC shows in the UK this way wouldn't go down too well because they already paid the license fee ( which is a complete bargain - something that british people forget - they've never had to watch north american channels - some good content, but mostly, crap ).

[840quadra]

Apples target is always the US market first, that's why many features don't work in other countries. In my book this is pure ignorance by Jobs Inc...

groovebuster

Well actually this is quite rare in the consumer electronics industry. That being a company that builds computers and small electronics more directed at the US population as opposed to others. Sony ( a company from Japan) makes many products that cater only to Japan, and ignore other markets (such as the US) with some of them. Toshiba Hitachi and others are very similar.

Speaking of which, my German made Siemens phone has features that only work in Europe, and not the US. ;)

Apple like Siemens, Toshiba, Sony and the likes, is going to make products that work better in it's land of origin, and will work (sometimes slowly) to adapt them to other countries.

http://forums.macrumors.com/image.php?u=47064&type=profile&dateline=1127904880

[rockthecasbah]

In reading this thread, the following things occurred to me:


If Apple can fit a G5 processor into the new, slimline iMac, putting one into a Powerbook shouldn't be that much more problematic.

The new iMac with FrontRow is exactly the kind of thing that college students will be looking for in their dorm rooms and it's release is ideally timed to coincide with the holiday season.

Apple should seriously consider building a wireless implementation of FrontRow as a set-top box and allowing DVD ripping in iTunes (MS plans to add ripping with DRM in Windows Vista).

Apple doesn't seem to like producing different hardware configurations for different regions. This seems to be the reason there's no TV tuner in the iMac because countries and regions all over the world are settling on different standards for high definition and digital TV delivery. The same issue applies to the iPod and radio tuners / Satellite radio support.



It's not just the size and heat though, you can't just stick a desktop processor in a portable, it wouldn't have enough power. iMacs plug into the wall so they can use as much power as necessary. Laptops have to fit batteries in and make the processors low enough power.

[Fotek2001]

It's not just the size and heat though, you can't just stick a desktop processor in a portable, it wouldn't have enough power. iMacs plug into the wall so they can use as much power as necessary. Laptops have to fit batteries in and make the processors low enough power.


Good point!

[Sbas]

hi all,

I am unable to watch yesterday's presentation at the apple side. I already upgraded quicktime. When use the link to the stream, the former presentation of the nano is popping up. Somebody knows what is wrong?


Thanks!

[840quadra]

In reading this thread, the following things occurred to me:


If Apple can fit a G5 processor into the new, slimline iMac, putting one into a Powerbook shouldn't be that much more problematic.

The new iMac with FrontRow is exactly the kind of thing that college students will be looking for in their dorm rooms and it's release is ideally timed to coincide with the holiday season.

Apple should seriously consider building a wireless implementation of FrontRow as a set-top box and allowing DVD ripping in iTunes (MS plans to add ripping with DRM in Windows Vista).

Apple doesn't seem to like producing different hardware configurations for different regions. This seems to be the reason there's no TV tuner in the iMac because countries and regions all over the world are settling on different standards for high definition and digital TV delivery. The same issue applies to the iPod and radio tuners / Satellite radio support.


1. Making something work in a portable solution is not the same as a desktop market. For one thing the iMac does not need to run off of batteries. Secondly, The area inside of the case would be much smaller for a powerbook or other portable for cooling. The iMac case contains both the display and the internals of the system board. The combined space leaves enough room for airflow and cooling.

2. Couldn't agree more. it wiill also help people out that have small apartments, or offices / bedrooms. Indeed a great deal!

3. Good idea and I would love this to be OEM as opposed to having to run OSEx or other programs. However just because the system will have DRM for ripped DVD files, it will not mean that I can't take your DVD after you are done and rip it myself. I think Apple is going to wait on Blu-ray before they start to work on adding this function. Since Blu-ray has advanced DRM features built in, it should make the job much easier for Apple, and get them into less legal trouble.

4. I think regions are part of it, the other issue with having an OEM TV tuner is most likely the TV and Movie industry wanting to pose sanctions on Apple if they do so. Apple did have TV tuners in Macintosh computers (with Recording capability) back in the 90's, (and earlier) but all of those products were killed shortly after Jobs came back to Apple. There are many rumors as to why, but I am sure that one of them was due to legal issues.


Just my thoughts, nothing more.

http://forums.macrumors.com/image.php?u=47064&type=profile&dateline=1127904880

[Fotek2001]

Supporting multiple standards is no problem. It is performed in many ways already. Today in most cases it is just a question of software.

How many HDTV standards are there today? As far as I know only two that will survive on the long run... The US and the European standard. What's the problem to support both software wise? Same apllies to satellite radio...

And traditional radio broadcasting is the same all over the world... between 87,9-108MHz FM.


The problem isn't so much the software but the way the data is delivered. In the UK for example, most (not all) satellite TV channels are encrypted and the only way to decode them is with a subscriber card meaing you have to have a Sky subscription, each country and broadcster has its own methods and supporting them all would be a nightmare.

I'd love to see Apple release a PVR but I can see a lot of hurdles in the way of a successful product.

Going back to iPods... As for analogue (AM/FM) radio, it's history! Most European countries will be aiming to go entirely digital by 2012 and some parts of the UK are already completely digital.

Satellite services like XM and Sirius only work in North America (and even then only outdoors or near a window) so there are problems aparrent there too from a compatibility and interoperability standpoint.

[groovebuster]

Well actually this is quite rare in the consumer electronics industry. That being a company that builds computers and small electronics more directed at the US population as opposed to others. Sony ( a company from Japan) makes many products that cater only to Japan, and ignore other markets (such as the US) with some of them. Toshiba Hitachi and others are very similar.

Speaking of which, my German made Siemens phone has features that only work in Europe, and not the US. ;)
For example?

Apple like Siemens, Toshiba, Sony and the likes, is going to make products that work better in it's land of origin, and will work (sometimes slowly) to adapt them to other countries.
Normally complex consumer electronics are specifically adapted for a certain market. Most of the SONY TVs you can buy here in Europe you will not find in the US or Japan and the other way around. I don't see why this shouldn't apply also to the gadgets Apple is developping? If I have to pay the same prize as a US customer while getting loads of features which are not working when not using the computer in the US, I think it is ignorance not more and not less... We even pay more for Apple products compared to the US...

As I said before... I love the Mac platform, but I hate the company...

groovebuster

[macam]

literally on the floor laughing out this one

a brittney ipod would sell like crazy

or a michael jackson......

but a beatles ipod would be the huge one

John & George would have a problem signing the iPod back!? :D

I say a Take That one... seeing as they're reforming for a Christmas show!!!!!

I'll chuck my nano in the bin for these puppies!!!!!! :eek:

macam

[840quadra]

hi all,

I am unable to watch yesterday's presentation at the apple side. I already upgraded quicktime. When use the link to the stream, the former presentation of the nano is popping up. Somebody knows what is wrong?


Thanks!

Could be a local issue with your Akami stream, I am sure it will work in an hour or so.. You should also try searching for "One More Thing" in the search function of Apples website, see if one of the other links works for you.

I just tried it and it appears to be working fine for me.

http://forums.macrumors.com/image.php?u=47064&type=profile&dateline=1127904880

[groovebuster]

The problem isn't so much the software but the way the data is delivered. In the UK for example, most (not all) satellite TV channels are encrypted and the only way to decode them is with a subscriber card meaing you have to have a Sky subscription, each country and broadcster has its own methods and supporting them all would be a nightmare...
I totally forgot about PayTV! :eek: Sorry... you are right!

I am not that much into watching TV. PayTV never was an option for me so far, just felt like a waste of money and I like to do more useful things with my time than watching TV...

groovebuster

[vrabz]

"Apple should seriously consider building a wireless implementation of FrontRow as a set-top box and allowing DVD ripping in iTunes (MS plans to add ripping with DRM in Windows Vista)."

it seems like the Mini would be nearly ideal for this. if they could find enough room for hardware decoding (ie Tivo) as well as tv tuning, then it would be a coup IMO. even without wireless streaming of content (802.11g too slow for this), as I would be happy with the ext firewire HDD for extra storage of content.

[Yvan256]

Thing is, I could watch Steve Jobs do a presentation for hours without getting bored.

Indeed, Steve knows how to talk to an audience.

But that Disney CEO? He says too many things at once and uses way too many buzzwords. Hey, dude, this is a public presentation, not a board meeting where you have to impress others with how many buzzwords you can fit into a single sentence.

I couldn't watch him, I just had to fast-forward his part.

[Fotek2001]

For example?

Normally complex consumer electronics are specifically adapted for a certain market. Most of the SONY TVs you can buy here in Europe you will not find in the US or Japan and the other way around. I don't see why this shouldn't apply also to the gadgets Apple is developping? If I have to pay the same prize as a US customer while getting loads of features which are not working when not using the computer in the US, I think it is ignorance not more and not less... We even pay more for Apple products compared to the US...

As I said before... I love the Mac platform, but I hate the company...

groovebuster

Don't forget that Sony and the others sell much, much large volumes of hardware than Apple, it would not be as ecomomically viable for Apple to design, develop, manufacture and MOST importantly support different hardware configurations across regions as it is for Sony etc.

Having said that, we do get ripped off on price in Europe. I can get a 60GB iPod for £228 ($399) in the US but it costs £299 in the UK. :eek:

[Evangelion]

Having said that, we do get ripped off on price in Europe. I can get a 60GB iPod for £228 ($399) in the US but it costs £299 in the UK. :eek:

The Euro-price includes VAT, US-price does not.

[svenas1]

Everyone should check out Steve's presentation. The stream (http://stream.apple.akadns.net/) is posted on Apple.com.


weird - I still get the nano presentation stream. same as you, Sbas.. are you in the US or someplace else ? I'm in the UK.

[Evangelion]

In reading this thread, the following things occurred to me:

[list=1]
If Apple can fit a G5 processor into the new, slimline iMac, putting one into a Powerbook shouldn't be that much more problematic.

Yes it is. the new iMac is about 1.5 inches thich (actually, it's thicker in the middle), while PowerBook is 1 inch thick. Right there, you have 50% advantage on the iMac. And that's HUGE. Not to mention that is also otherwise bigger than the PowerBook is, so there's lots more room for components and cooling inside iMac than in PowerBook.

[Yvan256]

Just remember who has the rights to the beatles music....Micheal Jackson. Yup, non other than the weirdness himself. so maybe send in a little boy that would sub-consiously keep saying.... beatles on itunes...beatles on itunes.. and maybe it might happen
:rolleyes:

If it's really Micheal Jackson who has the rights to the Beatles music, then why is his music on the iTMS, but not the Beatles'?

[svenas1]

hi all,

I am unable to watch yesterday's presentation at the apple side. I already upgraded quicktime. When use the link to the stream, the former presentation of the nano is popping up. Somebody knows what is wrong?

Thanks!

Hi - I had the same problem (see prev post). Try this: go to the stream site where it shows SJ with the nano. Then hit reload. That did it for me - boom, the red curtain appears.

HTH,
S.

[Yvan256]

I thought the same thing. Too bad iPorn.com is already registered.

So is ipodvideoporn.com! :eek:

But you can still be l33t and register ipodvideopr0n.com instead. :D

[Evangelion]

If it's really Micheal Jackson who has the rights to the Beatles music, then why is his music on the iTMS, but not the Beatles'?

MJ has rights to re-publish Beatles-songs. As in, he has the rights to remake them and such. If he wanted to make his own version of "Help!" (for example) he could do it. But rights to the Beatles-songs performed by The Beatles belong to Apple Corps. And considering the bad blood between Apple Computer and Apple Corps, I'm not one bit surprised that The Beatles is missing from ITMS.

[Sbas]

Hi - I had the same problem (see prev post). Try this: go to the stream site where it shows SJ with the nano. Then hit reload. That did it for me - boom, the red curtain appears.

HTH,
S.

Thanks! Will try it when I'm home!

[twentyeight7]

Yes it is. the new iMac is about 1.5 inches thich (actually, it's thicker in the middle), while PowerBook is 1 inch thick. Right there, you have 50% advantage on the iMac. And that's HUGE. Not to mention that is also otherwise bigger than the PowerBook is, so there's lots more room for components and cooling inside iMac than in PowerBook.


and no battery!

[Yvan256]

*cough* MSN and ICQ may be the items of choice in Europe but in America AIM is the norm. Here it's impossible to find someone with ICQ or MSN buddy lists.

Cultural differences I guess.

Weird, because here in Canada I got almost no one on ICQ, 99% of the others on MSN, and nobody at all (or even heard of one) on AIM.

[EvilMole]

The things introduced today in themselves may seem like no big deal. The REAL BIG DEAL is the Media convergence of TV and Computer. Yes Microsoft has the Media Center, yes others have done a video playback handheld device, but none have been able to do anything with them until now.

Interesting definition of "not being able to do anything with them". With a Media Center/PMC combination you can record any program you like, in a non-copyprotected format. You can watch it, transfer it to a portable device, burn it to CD and/or DVD. I wouldn't call any of that "not being able to do anything", would you?

[Porchland]

Areas for improvement.

Wireless streaming of video to HDTV. This is a must, the Frontrow software is made for this, not the iMac.

Add movie rentals to iTunes. I want to download movies and watch them when I want to. Eliminate the lag with rental servies like Netflix and Blockbuster.

Add all this software to other Macs, or at least let the rest of us purchase it.

Turn the remote control into a Shuffle.

I could realistically see all of these things -- except maybe the last one -- come in the next year.

Apple's usual MO is to bring out a product or feature and then rapidly expand it over the next year to 18 months: Adding color to the iPod, starting with a decent library of music and ramping it up week by week, etc.

I think we'll see a new ABC show or two every week and then shows from the other networks and cable networks over the next six months. Apple now has leverage with ABC to get very favorable terms with the other networks.

I can also see this being a fantastic tool for the networks to move new viewers to a show that maybe missed the first episode or first 10 episodes and wants to catch up. It's a great bridge between DVD and next week's episode.

[Damek]

the day the 2006 ipod video is released, it is mine.
andreas

Same here. And same goes for the 2nd gen Intel iMac, unless of course there's a 2nd gen Intel Mac Mini coming out around the same time that features Front Row. Yeah, this probably won't be until 2007, but I wasn't planning on upgrading my computer until around then anyway... Definitely the iMac if there's one with a bigger screen resolution (HDTV capable). But that's not a biggie.

[Steamboatwillie]

In reading this thread, the following things occurred to me:


Apple should seriously consider building a wireless implementation of FrontRow as a set-top box and allowing DVD ripping in iTunes (MS plans to add ripping with DRM in Windows Vista).


Yes yes yes. I totally agree. Also make sure it supports HDTV and the various flavors of surround sound.

[EvilMole]

Apple should seriously consider building a wireless implementation of FrontRow as a set-top box and allowing DVD ripping in iTunes (MS plans to add ripping with DRM in Windows Vista).

AFAIK that's for HD-DVD only, using the "managed copy" system that the HD-DVD spec allows. However, as everyone but MS and Toshiba is supporting Blu-Ray, a format that retains the same DRM conditions of today's DVDs, it probably won't happen.

[jholzner]

I like the new iPod, just hope that it isn't too wide.

Well, if you read the top of this forum you will see that it is the same dimensions as the one it replaced. I think the screen being bigger makes it look wider.

[jholzner]

Ok ... so new iPod is actually the same H & W as the older iPods? That's very interesting! The screen really makes it look wider than it really is then.

No firewire support? How odd!

Something I don't think many have mentioned. There is no longer a remote jack, and the headphone jack is off to one side now. That means all the iPod accessories that run off the top jack have to be redesigned, like the iTrip, iTalk, etc. I rather like my iTalk!

Other than that, since they did keep the width the same, kudos for the increased battery life and improved thickness.

-OA

Yep, and the iTrip was released yesterday that will work with the new iPods...that's what I call fast! Only problem I see is that you can't charge it in your car while your using it so on long road trips that can be a problem.

[Porchland]

Apple could, technically supply a higher res and then they'd be downsampled for the iPod. The iPod screen need not limit what you can download.

IIRC, this is what iTunes/iPhoto does for photos that you download to the iPod.

I was surprised that the TV shows are not 640x480, i.e., suitable for TV, particularly since Steve demonstrated the iPod as a TV feeder and that the big buzz about H.264 is the scalability from HD all the way down to 2-inch screens.

Maybe it's more about the bandwidth.

[bishop99]

I wish I had brought this up earlier, all the Disney news was in the market from October 1st, check out the headlines from Page one of the Wall Street journal that day:

Better Mousetrap
In Shakeup, Disney Rethinks How It Reaches Audiences

Iger Seeks High-Tech Delivery Of Movies, TV Shows;
Theater Owners Worry

'Housewives' on a Handheld
By MERISSA MARR
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 1, 2005; Page A1

It was all right under our noses!

[njmac]

Indeed, Steve knows how to talk to an audience.

But that Disney CEO? He says too many things at once and uses way too many buzzwords. Hey, dude, this is a public presentation, not a board meeting where you have to impress others with how many buzzwords you can fit into a single sentence.

I couldn't watch him, I just had to fast-forward his part.

You are so right about that Disney CEO. I should have done a fast-forward too, his drivel was painful.

[sfhc21]

i´m very disapointed.
i need a laptop because i´m travelling a lot.
mine is too old now.
i will buy one in mid november.
i hope it´ll be an updated powerbook.
if not, good bye apple!! :mad:

If your laptop is too old, go ahead and buy one now. Minor speedbumps do not make that much of a difference and are certainly no reason to leave Apple. Good grief...

[sfhc21]

What do you expect? Downsizing would mean that the iPod has to decode into the original resolution before it can downsize the video... This would need a lot or processor power which an iPod doesn't have... and even if, the battery would be drained within a very short time. The 320x240 are a compromise...

Yep. But I think the iPod should handle videos the way it does photos...convert the videos to the proper size before it gets transfered onto the iPod. Then allow the option to include the full-res version. The iPod itself plays the converted 320x240 version. But if playing to a TV, it plays the 720x480 version. And on your computer, you can watch the full-res version as well...and hopefully one day be able to stream it to your TV.

Until that happens, I have no need for these iTunes Store videos...but I am pleased Apple has the ball rolling on this. It's sure to only improve as time goes on.

[Porchland]

I wish I had brought this up earlier, all the Disney news was in the market from October 1st, check out the headlines from Page one of the Wall Street journal that day:

Better Mousetrap
In Shakeup, Disney Rethinks How It Reaches Audiences

Iger Seeks High-Tech Delivery Of Movies, TV Shows;
Theater Owners Worry

'Housewives' on a Handheld
By MERISSA MARR
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 1, 2005; Page A1

It was all right under our noses!

Bob Wright at NBC Universal has made similar comments in recent weeks, i.e., that the company planned to have content available for download before the end of the year. Seems like, though, he was talking more about movies than TV.

The content possibilities are endless. Can you imagine bridge episodes of popular shows? Extra story lines from "Desperate Housewives"? Clues to "Lost"? Outtakes from sitcoms? I hope Apple weaves some free content in with the paid downloads a la the free music download of the week. Maybe add a show that's been running all season and make the first episode free to get people interested.

Exciting stuff.

[mheidt]

Some people can't imagine putting a desktop in front of the sofa.
I actually have no TV but a PowerMac G5 2.7, 23"Cinema Display and EyeTV (DVB-S).
It's perfect. Especially with a Widget you can control eye TV. Streaming to other computers like the powerbook...no problem...

The only thing that I was missing was a remote for all iLive apps and the Dashboard.

And now I'm dissappointed, because Front Row isn't Bluetooth but IR and cannot be used on my PowerMac. I assume that there is no API like they have for spotlight either in order to "FrontRowize" other apps like my TV-Widget. Hoping for the future...

And last but not least:
The resolution of the iMac isn't 1920x1080.
So where is the point for an iMac, especially because digital streaming resolution beneath HDTV really sucks and cannot replace the traditional TV.

[corbin_a2]

i´m very disapointed.
i need a laptop because i´m travelling a lot.
mine is too old now.
i will buy one in mid november.
i hope it´ll be an updated powerbook.
if not, good bye apple!! :mad:



Give me a break! Talk about overreacting! If you need a Powerbook so bad then buy one! If your computer is "too old" then the current Powerbooks will be a welcome upgrade for you. If you want the newest then you are making a choice to stick it out. You must not value the Apple platform much if you are willing to switch just because the Powerbooks wern't updated yesterday.

[neoelectronaut]

The eMac shall be missed. I sold 4 eMacs over the weekend alone to families that thought the iMac was too pricey and didn't want the Mac Mini due to it's lack of built-in display.

[Butts M Biggilo]

Well.. The new iMac looks awesome and provides great upgrades, but that ipod is sad, sad, sad.

What I’m waiting for is the new Powermacs & Powerbooks. Are they just going to start selling them or are we to expect another media event before their release? Perhaps a blue curtain with "Oops we forgot something."

Jesus, I think the ne iMac is faster than the powermac series. DDR2, pciexpress, who is going to buy a Pmac now.

I’m whining yes, no? My dual gig is dying... It takes 4 presses of the on button before it goes on. Aye... The freelance is building up, like cottage cheese on a French whore...

Butts :)

[Whyren]

The eMac shall be missed. I sold 4 eMacs over the weekend alone to families that thought the iMac was too pricey and didn't want the Mac Mini due to it's lack of built-in display.

I wonder how long it'll be before Apple releases a simple and small display for the Mac Mini like this (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000945KG/qid=1129213068/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1218332-6211111?v=glance&s=videogames&n=507846) one for the GameCube.

[swingerofbirch]

So much for the year of HD!

[Butts M Biggilo]

to become a regular?
Butts :cool:

[deanwaterman]

Interesting definition of "not being able to do anything with them". With a Media Center/PMC combination you can record any program you like, in a non-copyprotected format. You can watch it, transfer it to a portable device, burn it to CD and/or DVD. I wouldn't call any of that "not being able to do anything", would you?

My definition of "not being able to do anything with them" was referring to download media content, not just recording what comes over. Never before has the idea of video / TV / movies on demand looked so promising as it does right now. I mean no offense to the other products, but they were hampered by the inability to get content online, whereas that barrier is about to be blown away!

[iAlan]

So much for the year of HD!

I think HD stands for Hardly Dynamic, refering to the new iPod!

[VanMac]

I think HD stands for Hardly Dynamic, refering to the new iPod!
or

Hot Dang.....where are the new PowerMacs Ethel

[Truffy]

Perhaps a blue curtain with "Oops we forgot something."Or "Fooled ya!" :D

Yes, I'm missing something in the 'wowzers' stakes too. :(

[aussie_in_uk]

Did anybody notice when Jobs displayed the new Customer Reviews feature in Itunes, the guys name doing the Review on screen was Paul Hewson - more commonly known as Bono!

[peharri]

As usual, Apple didn't take ANY of my advice. Bah, humbug. ;)

More seriously, this is the first iTunes update that cannot be taken advantage of by Jaguar users as the Quicktime requirements are too high. I'm disappointed as my living room Mac is... a (heavily upgraded) Beige G3. (G4, Radeon, etc) Whether it'd have had the processing power to play the movies is, of course, open to question anyway, but it'd have been nice to try.

No plans to upgrade soon, I bought a house recently so no longer have such things as "disposable income".

I think the idea of selling TV shows for $2 each is a great one. I'd rather buy the shows I want than subscribe to cable. We might even see a huge quality improvement, and I suspect once the producers "get it" that people want to buy programs rather than "watch" something interrupted by ads every few minutes, we might even see a broadening of the TV-show-on-DVD market. I suspect the fact that that's been happening to a certain extent anyway is probably a major reason Jobs is willing to dip a toe in this water.

I still think the video iPod is pointless, but, oh-well. I'm sure my next iPod will be flash based anyway. There's no 10G version right now of the nano, but on the other hand, see previous comment about disposable income.

[Peace]

Or "Fooled ya!" :D

Yes, I'm missing something in the 'wowzers' stakes too. :(

I'm thinking ( hoping ) we're going to be seeing those red curtains and/or the "One More Thing" theme a couple more times before the holiday season reaches it's peak.

[nagromme]

Yep, and the iTrip was released yesterday that will work with the new iPods...that's what I call fast! Only problem I see is that you can't charge it in your car while your using it so on long road trips that can be a problem.
It has a USB mini-port on it. I bet a charging cable is on the way! (And there are other FM transmitters that have built-in car chargers.)


Yep. But I think the iPod should handle videos the way it does photos...convert the videos to the proper size before it gets transfered onto the iPod. Then allow the option to include the full-res version. The iPod itself plays the converted 320x240 version. But if playing to a TV, it plays the 720x480 version. And on your computer, you can watch the full-res version as well...and hopefully one day be able to stream it to your TV.
I thought the same thing, but someone said that that kind of conversion takes a long time even for a fast computer. So that means you'd have to download both sizes to begin with--and THAT means a download 5 x the size that videos currently are, taking 5 x as long and occupying 5 x as much space on your computer and iPod. I can see Apple's catch-22 here. Technology will catch up, though. For one thing, a single chip might be able to scale (some) video formats to 1/4 on-the-fly right on the iPod. After all, it's not the scaling that's tough (a Mac can scale video up or down instantly--try Exposé!), it's the re-compressing and saving the new version. Skip that step and you no longer need two versions at all.

(Also, content owners may have pushed for lower quality, but that too will evolve).


The resolution of the iMac isn't 1920x1080.
So where is the point for an iMac, especially because digital streaming resolution beneath HDTV really sucks and cannot replace the traditional TV.
The point is that an iMac now does some cool new things--it's not MEANT to replace TV. Any more than iTunes is meant to replace your stereo. For some people it can, but it's useful just by itself. (I'm thinking dorm rooms are the perfect home for an iMac.)


Well.. The new iMac looks awesome and provides great upgrades, but that ipod is sad, sad, sad.
Shame how Apple increased the capacity, added a bigger screen, boosted the recording quality, introduced new features including video, added another color choice, added a wireless remote option, and still managed to make the whole thing thinner and smaller than the old one.

Without raising the price. Sad. ;)


So much for the year of HD!
The year of HD referred to consumers being able to create HD content for the first time. That promise was answered the moment it was made--with iMovie HD and prosumer HD camcorders from Sony. Those things really DID happen.

[igetbanned]

I'm thinking ( hoping ) we're going to be seeing those red curtains and/or the "One More Thing" theme a couple more times before the holiday season reaches it's peak.

18 days until the official start of the holiday season.

7448 still isn't available.

What else would warrant another media event?

When they announce 'That's So Raven' is available through itunes?

[shawnce]

Originally Posted by 840quadra


Speaking of which, my German made Siemens phone has features that only work in Europe, and not the US.
For example?
David Hasselhoff ring tones. :p

(be happy they only work in Germany)

[Peace]

18 days until the official start of the holiday season.

7448 still isn't available.

What else would warrant another media event?

When they announce 'That's So Raven' is available through itunes?

If you watched Job's presentation you will note toward the end he says :

"Wait till you see the rest of the stuff we have for the holiday season"

Most folks have overlooked this little statement.

[Mr Maui]

As usual, Apple didn't take ANY of my advice. Bah, humbug. ;)
No wonder they keep making so much money. ;) :eek:

[Flynnstone]

Anyone seen any hints that FrontRow maybe released (soon) as a app/hardware package?

[Yvan256]

If you watched Job's presentation you will note toward the end he says :

"Wait till you see the rest of the stuff we have for the holiday season"

Most folks have overlooked this little statement.

Exactly. And it would be pretty stupid to limit Front Row and that new remote to the new iMac and the new iPod only.

There's still hope (and a better one, given Front Row and that remote) for some set-top box solution from Apple.

[Mr Maui]

If you watched Job's presentation you will note toward the end he says :

"Wait till you see the rest of the stuff we have for the holiday season"

Most folks have overlooked this little statement.
Some people don't like Steve Jobs for the way he introduces items, etc. Mostly because those people don't get what THEY are hoping for, when They are hoping for it. Steve knows Apple. Steve knows business. Steve knows very well how to market his business. $1.3 billion in PROFITS in the last fiscal year. I love the way he drops in lines like "Wait until you see ...", etc. It keeps us all talking and wondering and hoping, and that is the best form of marketing you can get from a loyal customer base, and all of the commotion gets the attention of many not within the customer base and draws them in. In the hype, hoopla, excitement and disappointment, statements like "Wait until you see ..." are often overlooked by most. Apple is not done with the holiday season yet ... and the first quarter is gonna be huge!! JMO So ... sit back and enjoy the ride. Christmas may or may not have come on October 12 for everyone, but it WILL come. :)

[nagromme]

If you watched Job's presentation you will note toward the end he says :

"Wait till you see the rest of the stuff we have for the holiday season"

Most folks have overlooked this little statement.
Hmmm... food for thought.

I don't think that tells us anything about pro updates (still expected, probably minor) because pro stuff isn't generally what people think of for holiday shopping. Makes it sound like more consumer stuff may be on the way.

However, with the eMac gone, Mac Mini just being updated, new iMac, new iPods from top to bottom, and new iTunes... what consumer stuff is left? Makes you wonder. Something totally different but not yet ready? Something cool for pros after all?

[Peace]

Exactly. And it would be pretty stupid to limit Front Row and that new remote to the new iMac and the new iPod only.

There's still hope (and a better one, given Front Row and that remote) for some set-top box solution from Apple.

Furthermore I will go on record here and say watch for the "new" Mac Mini and updated Powerbooks and Powermacs in the next 2-4 weeks..

[igetbanned]

If you watched Job's presentation you will note toward the end he says :

"Wait till you see the rest of the stuff we have for the holiday season"

Most folks have overlooked this little statement.

So there will be a media event planned for the release of 'That's So Raven'!?

Without the 7448 (or the dual-core), what exactly is apple going to release that would warrant a media event, besides another meaningless ipod?

Wow, soccer moms accross the country can now watch Desperate Housewives while waiting for the kiddies to finish practice!!

Anyone else excited!? :rolleyes:

[groovebuster]

Originally Posted by 840quadra

David Hasselhoff ring tones. :p

(be happy they only work in Germany)

*humming I've been looking for freedom*

Holy crap! http://www.kleberg.org/images/smiles/icon_puke.gif

Well, that's really a life saving feature... :D

http://www.kleberg.org/images/smiles/icon_nono.gif

But serious... are there any real features that don't work?

groovebuster

[groovebuster]

Anyone else excited!? :rolleyes:
Yup... I just wet my pants... http://www.kleberg.org/images/smiles/icon_redface.gif

[Mr Maui]

Wow, soccer moms accross the country can now watch Desperate Housewives while waiting for the kiddies to finish practice!!

Anyone else excited!? :rolleyes:
Next quarter we'll know just how many "soccer moms" (or those pretending to be soccer moms) have bought into the new concept of mobile video shows. My guess is the number will be high.

[igetbanned]

Next quarter we'll know just how many "soccer moms" (or those pretending to be soccer moms) have bought into the new concept of mobile video shows. My guess is the number will be high.


Too bad for them I'm self-centered, and could care less if those with OCD now have the ability to keep their favorite TV shows on their person 24/7.

A serious price adjustment on current hardware, or a serious upgrade, are the only two things that I care about at this point.

Aside from the release of 'That's So Raven' on iTunes. :D

[Mr Maui]

snip ...

A serious price adjustment on current hardware, or a serious upgrade, are the only two things that I care about at this point.

Aside from the release of 'That's So Raven' on iTunes. :D
I'm sure Steve is watching and will jump right on these two for ya. :D

As I've said several times before, new stuff will be here very soon. Steve said yesterday, "wait till you see what other things we have for the holiday season" at the end of his presentation. (Sorry if it is not verbatim)

Be a wee bit patient, my friend. After these additional things are released, then you can rant if still not happy ... heck ... I'll rant with ya. :D

[BGil]

My definition of "not being able to do anything with them" was referring to download media content, not just recording what comes over. Never before has the idea of video / TV / movies on demand looked so promising as it does right now. I mean no offense to the other products, but they were hampered by the inability to get content online, whereas that barrier is about to be blown away!

Media Center has downloadable movies, videos, and shows via CinemaNow, Movielink, NBC, Discovery Channel, Fox Sports, Food Network, and Atom Films. Music videos are free. There's XM Radio Online and a bunch of other stuff too.

Edit: All of which is available at normal SDTV resolutions and some is available at HDTV resolutions. They even have ESPN videos for free.

Apple is really far behind.

[igetbanned]

I'm sure Steve is watching and will jump right on these two for ya. :D

As I've said several times before, new stuff will be here very soon. Steve said yesterday, "wait till you see what other things we have for the holiday season" at the end of his presentation. (Sorry if it is not verbatim)

Be a wee bit patient, my friend. After these additional things are released, then you can rant if still not happy ... heck ... I'll rant with ya. :D

It's a date then.

[pjmurphy77]

If you watched Job's presentation you will note toward the end he says :

"Wait till you see the rest of the stuff we have for the holiday season"

Most folks have overlooked this little statement.

Not to be a wet blanket.. but.. at 1:01:11 in the presentation, Steve is talking about "What all this means.. we have new ipods, itunes 6, tv shows.. One thing it means is we are going to have some great products this Christmas.."

So.. he was simply saying Apple has a strong product lineup for the holidays, not there are some great products coming...

sorry.. I wanted to hear that there was more to follow too!!!

[Pyrix]

Has anyone else noticed that the new imac specs in the presentation list the hard drives as 160 and 250 MEGABYTE S-ATA hard drives?

Take a look... 00:19:56

[Mr Maui]

Has anyone else noticed that the new imac specs in the presentation list the hard drives as 160 and 250 MEGABYTE S-ATA hard drives?

Take a look... 00:19:56
Verbal blunder. Someone noted that yesterday. It's a lot of pressure to stand up there and remember everything you're gonna say. I don't think Steve uses a teleprompter yet. :D

Edit: Or perhaps it's the special new 1000:1 compression software built in that he forgot to mention at the presentation.

[Pyrix]

It's not what he says - it's on the keynote presentation behind him!

[awrc]

Yesterday the 2.0 and 2.3GHz PowerMacs were "Ships within 24hrs" and the 2.7GHz was "Ships in 2-4 days" (which is as low as it ever gets).

Today all three are "Ships within 3-5 business days".

Conclusions, if any, are left to the reader.

Al

[Mr Maui]

It's not what he says - it's on the keynote presentation behind him!
Typo then ... didn't see the presentation. Guess that guy/gal will be working for Microsoft next week. They like people like that over there. :D

[Mr Maui]

Yesterday the 2.0 and 2.3GHz PowerMacs were "Ships within 24hrs" and the 2.7GHz was "Ships in 2-4 days" (which is as low as it ever gets).

Today all three are "Ships within 3-5 business days".

Conclusions, if any, are left to the reader.
Perhaps so many people were disgusted with no new PM updates that they just broke down and bought what Apple has on sale now. The overwhelming demand for these items yesterday has caused the wait times to go up since there are so few available (with the real updates coming next Tuesday). ;)

[manu chao]

The tease is very professionally seasoned.. DDR2 and PCIe coyly slipped
into in imacs without alot of fanfare..

(I mean compared to the glare of the ViPod)

A less optimistic interpretation that Steve either personally is not interested in technical details anymore (like DDR2 and PCIe) and prefers to talk about the end-user (read average consumer) experience.
Or he simply thinks that feeding the media with great end-user experiences is much more important and effective than showing them how technically great Macs are, since Apple has become in the eyes of the public, the media and the investors an electronic consumer goods company and much less a computer company.

[Butts M Biggilo]

How can these upgrades make it into a non Pro machine before the high end gets them...

I wonder if the PCIexpress for Powermacs will be dual for gaming... and intense surfing of the web hehe.

Maybe I can use my thought control to make Steve release the new PowerMacs and Powerbooks today....

Let me try! Thinking hard...Veins popping in forehead... oops I think I sharted, sorry, no luck, will try next Tuesday.
Butts :cool:

[drewyboy]

Has anyone else had the thought that Stevey didn't announce the PM and PB updates so that the ppl waiting would give in and use up their left over stock of them?? Then there would be less older models and can roll our the new ones without that big of a hit financially having to deal with the old ones.

[strummert]

Today I went to fnac and surcouf to buy a new ibook. They told me that in the whole France they run out of ibooks. "IBOOKS OUT OF STOCK".
"Impossible to get one. Wait 2-3 months." !!???

[Peace]

Not to be a wet blanket.. but.. at 1:01:11 in the presentation, Steve is talking about "What all this means.. we have new ipods, itunes 6, tv shows.. One thing it means is we are going to have some great products this Christmas.."

So.. he was simply saying Apple has a strong product lineup for the holidays, not there are some great products coming...

sorry.. I wanted to hear that there was more to follow too!!!

Going back and watching it again I have to say you're correct!..

nevermind..... :o

[ddrueckhammer]

"Apple should seriously consider building a wireless implementation of FrontRow as a set-top box and allowing DVD ripping in iTunes (MS plans to add ripping with DRM in Windows Vista)."

it seems like the Mini would be nearly ideal for this. if they could find enough room for hardware decoding (ie Tivo) as well as tv tuning, then it would be a coup IMO. even without wireless streaming of content (802.11g too slow for this), as I would be happy with the ext firewire HDD for extra storage of content.

802.11n (wich will probably be adopted in about a year to 18 months) is fast enough to stream content but even if streaming is not possbile if you could hook it up to an APX at least and download content back and forth from your main computer it would be sweet!

[gugy]

I wonder if the next set of Cinema Displays will have the built-in Isight. That would be a nice addition.

[unsunder]

it looks like the eminem commercial has been pulled from the site.

[Mac_Freak]

it looks like the eminem commercial has been pulled from the site.

I wonder why. Perhaps it is for later and somebody has posted it to early. I liked it a lot, to bad I didn't saved it.

[Uragon]

How can these upgrades make it into a non Pro machine before the high end gets them...

I wonder if the PCIexpress for Powermacs will be dual for gaming... and intense surfing of the web hehe.

Maybe I can use my thought control to make Steve release the new PowerMacs and Powerbooks today....

Let me try! Thinking hard...Veins popping in forehead... oops I think I sharted, sorry, no luck, will try next Tuesday.
Butts :cool:

try a little harder, and I believe it will come t(h)rue by tuesday with PCI express and DDR2....perhaps will join you too... :D

[MrTrois]

I got a copy of the eminem ipod video H.264, 640 x 480, i quickly downloaded it to have a source movie for a ipod video compression test :)
So if somebody whats to post this on his/her site, leave a message and ill send it. Please, only ONE person i am almost at the top my ISPs upload restrictions.

[TechnoLawyer]

1. Will the new iPod play regular QT H.264 movies created in iMovie, Final Cut Pro, etc.? Many clever amateur videos exist out there on the Web that would be fun to carry around -- not to mention your own videos.

2. Can Front Row stream music through Airport Express or only through speakers connected to the iMac?

[manu chao]

and no battery!

But an AC-Converter, the battery could take the place of that. (But still it would be one of those desktop-replacement, better-don't-move-if-you-care-about-your-back thingies.

[manu chao]

Yep. But I think the iPod should handle videos the way it does photos...convert the videos to the proper size before it gets transfered onto the iPod.

Yes, but as others said, decoding a 640x480 (or whatever) stream and re-encoding it at 320x240 on G4 probably takes about as long as the stream is itself. For dual G5s this might be a realistic option.

[manu chao]

I thought the same thing, but someone said that that kind of conversion takes a long time even for a fast computer. So that means you'd have to download both sizes to begin with--and THAT means a download 5 x the size that videos currently are, taking 5 x as long and occupying 5 x as much space on your computer and iPod. I can see Apple's catch-22 here. Technology will catch up, though. For one thing, a single chip might be able to scale (some) video formats to 1/4 on-the-fly right on the iPod. After all, it's not the scaling that's tough (a Mac can scale video up or down instantly--try Exposé!), it's the re-compressing and saving the new version. Skip that step and you no longer need two versions at all.

You are right that compressing takes more time than de-compressing (and much more than scaling), but de-compressing a stream with four times as many pixels probably still takes four times as many processor cycles.

[cocozz]

No more waiting for me, Ill buy my cute Powerbook 12" Monday, I have 1 week for test it and give it back in the FNAC :) . So If they update them next week I'll can give it back and get the new one :rolleyes:

Greets !

[greenstork]

Front Row=TiVo's death. Finally sold TiVo stock and added to my AAPL stock. This is gonna be HUGE!

Not with that cheesy ass remote Apple produced. TiVo still has the best remote in the industry and that is essential because when I'm watching TV and movies, like most people in this world, I'm on my couch.

[area51]

Here's a very good primer on H.264 and how the quality compares to TV. Skim through to get to the good parts.

http://www.shapeofdays.com/h264/

-Area51


Does anyone know how the quality compares to say a TV episode being made available on the torrents. The reason I ask is I am wondering if offering TVs online will reduce TV piracy some - but I need to know how the quality compares.