iPod Encoding?

[outerspaceapple]

Just my 2 cents,
I bought a first, second, and third generation newton when then came out, and i STILL use the 3rd gen one today! talk about being way ahead of its time! I still find it extremely useful, and a much better alternative than a palm pilot, or similar.

If Apple were to introduce a newton like feature on the 4th gen iPods, i'd snatch one up in a heartbeat.


~~Eddy~~

 

[Quarkie]

1Gb actually holds an OK amount of music. Assuming average compression factors of about 1Mb/min. and 45min/CD, that's at least 20 CD's worth of favorite tracks or 16+ hrs. of continuous listening. Not too bad for a kid tooling around town. How much is enough for a consumer product?

I heard that Apple is working on an 200Gb drive version, which they are calling "The Ladies Man iPod," and it even comes with a button which expands the iPod into a musically encyclopedic waterbed, complete with nightstand and courvoisier, ready for red hot lovin'. For the Apple engineers, this was the ultimate feat of compression, but they are still having trouble with battery life to power the waterbed's heater, sonic stimulator, and surround-sound speakers. In addition, development has been severely hampered due to excess product testing in conjunction with several hired contractors, including "Veronica," "Mitzi," and someone called "Pantomime Horse."

 

[JFreak]

Maybe something to improve the sound some. Custom multi band EQ settings. That's all I can think of offhand.

best sound improvement is to buy better earphones - take a look at shure E-serie for example.

 

[duffyb]

ipod

Why are we talking about video games, PDA's and color screens? THE POST REFERES TO RECORDING CAPABILITIES! Can we stick to the topic?

Apple needs to make an iPod with a jack that allows one to plug in a pre-amped stereo mic to record live music. Only a few do that now (iRiver, Archos)

Of course, by live music I mean my friends grarage band. Do you think Apple would get pressure from the RIAA if it feels the iPod would open up a whole new bootleg market? Would Apple cave?

 

[greg75]

you're splitting hairs there

You obviously missed the point of my post, which was to debunk the myth that Apple can't add Vorbis support because the chip doesn't support it.

 

[neonart]

Why are we talking about video games, PDA's and color screens? THE POST REFERES TO RECORDING CAPABILITIES! Can we stick to the topic?

Apple needs to make an iPod with a jack that allows one to plug in a pre-amped stereo mic to record live music. Only a few do that now (iRiver, Archos)

Of course, by live music I mean my friends grarage band. Do you think Apple would get pressure from the RIAA if it feels the iPod would open up a whole new bootleg market? Would Apple cave?

I may be wrong, but I don't see this feature as a huge deal for most people. I know there are those who would like to record their rehearsals and such, but most of the general public won't really care. It'll be an increase in cost, another hole in the ipod, and the software engineering that goes with it for something that won't attract the majority. Just my opinion though.

As nsb3000 said, the main features most people would be really wowed by are the basics - smaller size, larger HD capacity, cheaper, and longer battery life. And as mentioned before, updated controls would also be a great update.

Everything else falls into the geek-o-rator category which adds bullet-points to the brochure, but does not really help sell iPods.

 

[Quarkie]

duffy: There have been plenty of portable recording devices produced in the world that are much cheaper and higher volume than the iPod. Why would anyone care what goes into the iPod in the context of trying to prevent live music boot-legging? If the iPod is, some day, capable and caught in a general sweep on concert admittance, for example, that's one thing, but to single it out seems highly implausible. Also, you're going to have a lot of trouble doing stereo recording from a single point in space unless you are using multiple mics or some kind of filtering technology.

What might be fun, however, would be to get 4 or 5 friends all with good, portable monophonic recorders, space yourselves out at a live concert, then recombine the mono channels with a surround mixer after aligning the tracks for that full stadium experience. Or better yet, maybe you could even get some dummy head mics and do binaural stereo recording at each location. Security might find it a little strange that there were several people strolling around with mannequin heads.

NEWSFLASH: The RIAA just banned all mannequin heads from rock concerts!

 

[~Shard~]

Why are we talking about video games, PDA's and color screens? THE POST REFERES TO RECORDING CAPABILITIES! Can we stick to the topic?

Um, actually the post is titled "iPod Encoding" not "recording" - big difference. Although audio recording is indeed included in the scope of encoding, encoding can refer to audio and video, and not simply just the recording aspect of things. So perhaps before you start reprimanding people in CAPS for being off-topic you should be a little less quick to judge, and just relax. Normally I wouldn't make a big deal out of this, but due to the unecessary attitude and incorrect nature of your statement, I thought it was warranted.

In general, I too think that the majority of consumers would prefer to see updates to the iPod "basics" - smaller size, larger hard drives, longer battery life, and not necessarily things like encoding capabilities. There will always be a niche market for such specialized features, but for most people, they would never make use of certain functions on their iPod. Now evolve the iPod into something different, perhaps a PDA or the like, with a lot more capabilities, and then it might be a different story. As long as the iPod is still just the iPod though, I don't think too many more bells and whistles are necessary - not that I would complain of course. Adding in more and more features would start detracting from what the iPod is and what makes it popular - simplicity.

 

[benixau]

iPod could get TV out through a connector. It can record now - just need the adaptor. Same here. That way you can play your photos on a TV - just like any decent digital camera can. Its not much but a nicety for those who store their photos on their iPod.

 

[neonart]

iPod could get TV out through a connector. It can record now - just need the adaptor. Same here. That way you can play your photos on a TV - just like any decent digital camera can. Its not much but a nicety for those who store their photos on their iPod.

A dock connector to video (or S-video) is posible. But is this really a feature that will be used? Just doesn't convince me.

 

[~Shard~]

A dock connector to video (or S-video) is posible. But is this really a feature that will be used? Just doesn't convince me.

I think there are a multitude of features being tossed around that people think would be cool, or would like to see, but you make a good point - will some of these features really be used? And if so, by how many people in the grand scheme of things? I'd be curious to find out how many iPod owners actually use all the extras that currently come with the iPods - contacts, notes, games, alarm clock - I seldom, if ever, use these myself.

 

[neonart]

...I'd be curious to find out how many iPod owners actually use all the extras that currently come with the iPods - contacts, notes, games, alarm clock - I seldom, if ever, use these myself.

Yup, same here. I use the contacts maybe once or twice a week, and the game (2nd gen) I only use when I'm so bored out of my wits that it's the only thing left to do. I also use the clock on occasion.

But none of these features sold me, or will sell me on a new Pod.

 

[benixau]

A dock connector to video (or S-video) is posible. But is this really a feature that will be used? Just doesn't convince me.

Not supposed to. It is something that can be done as a third party add-on. If apple were to add this it would help. Maybe the ability to delete photos. The reason for this is it would remove the need for a color screen for photos.