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billyboy

macrumors 65816
Mar 15, 2003
1,165
0
In my head
The iPod is a pod, a storeage facility for data that has been created on a computer, or downloaded from some sort of camera. At the moment it happens to be able to connect to headphones or speakers and it is of a size that also makes it very portable - all in all a storage device that can double as a music player without compromising the quality of listening to music

From there on in, I am sure the iPod in its current format will remain "no more" than a music playing mega storeage device with the software to talk to external devices concerned with showing visuals - photos, home videos, movies

The games console idea would certainly kill another PC gripe about Apple and games, but I dont see the iPod as the choice of device. Seeing as Apple are striking up alliances with major players like IBM and HP, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Apple could license iTunes to Nintendo so Nintendo can make a new sort of gameboy with the bonus of iTunes inside.
 

the_dalex

macrumors member
Sep 2, 2003
89
0
Here's something I posted about a month ago on a different "Video iPod" thread... what do you think?


Give me an iPod that I can use as a portable TiVo to record and playback video through a television or computer. It would have a screen for small-scale playback, RCA inputs and outputs, and a dock with the cable tuner (they're bulky) so I can do home DVR, programmable via bluetooth from my laptop, or with a minimalist built-in interface. Throw in Airport Extreme for the base station and then I can use it from anywhere in my house to stream recorded shows.

This is the answer to the "multimedia PC" trend that people are mistakenly buying into. Keep it as a discrete system so I don't have to hijack my computer just to record video, and let me pull video files off to archive, view, or burn them, giving me complete control. Then, let me rip DVDs in Mpeg4 format to put on it so I can watch at my leisure or plug it into a hotel TV or my grandparent's. I don't care if there is DRM on a ripped DVD, I don't plan to distribute them to anyone else or modify them in any way. I don't want to download movies because my DSL is slow and I prefer to buy them on disc anyway, but if I can rip it, then I have the best of both worlds.

That's what I want. It's an iVid designed to manage my movies and tv shows the way the iPod and iTunes manage my music, with the ability to play them on almost any TV or computer.
 

temptatino

macrumors newbie
Originally posted by radiofreak
You could download the latest Snoop Dogg,Metallica or Michelle Branch video and watch it on your video ipod.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is where I believe the future for portable video is. People are moving to a system where they buy their music online or rip their cds and toss the cases in a closet. The visual experience is actually diminishing at a time when it should be increasing. When (and only when) full-colour screens and video decoding reach a consumer-portable price point, I believe that we will begin to see rich visual data incorporated into our iTMS downloads, and even distributed on whatever physical media we use to buy our music. The 'music videos' would be unobtrusive, but they would add something to the listening experience, increase the visual appeal of the device itself when you're just carrying it around, and add a lot to the song selection process.
 

yahtzeen

macrumors newbie
Jan 5, 2004
7
0
Fargo
TiVo to Go

TiVo announced a new product coming in 2004 called TiVo to Go. It will allow you to transfer from your TiVo to a laptop (and probably other devices) for viewing.

It is going to require a USB dongle to authenticate that you can watch it to prevent piracy..but basically what they've done is remove the need for building a hardware device to do this, just use people's existing laptops and provide a software solution.

I think this is great, i have no desire to watch anything on a 2" screen but there would be times i'd like to take things with me from my TiVo to watch elsewhere (business trips, vacations, during lunch at my desk).

yeah.
 

Trekkie

macrumors 6502a
Nov 13, 2002
920
29
Wake Forest, NC
Originally posted by Steven1621
people once said hard drived based mp3 players were a waste of time. now look where we are. apple would be crazy not to look into this further.

With 3.5" hard drives, yeah they sure were.

When 1.8" and smaller drives came out, they weren't.

There is no screen tech that you could put on a device the size of an iPod that is readily availalbe and under $50000 that would let you watch a movie and weave your way through an airport terminal while watching the movie without walking like a blind person - into everyone and everything.


Also - Movies and TV shows are all about immersion. You can listen to music as 'background noise' a lot easier than you can a telelvision show / movie, etc. So to me an opaque TV screen is worthless...

..now an opaque computer interface that would let me look stuff up with voice cues or maybe even finger movements or something would be fun. But I don't want to remove myself *totally* from society
 

Sabenth

macrumors 6502a
Jan 24, 2003
887
3
UK
Simple fact of the matter is were not all blessed with supper fast Net conections the idea of a vPod is great dont get me wrong love the idea and all but cant see it happening for another few years yet maybe another 5 just to be on the safe side
 
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