It's Showtime: Event Anticipation

[MacRumors]

As Apple's It's Showtime event approaches, a number of interesting tidbits have been circulating.

• Some analysts believe that this is the first of many consumer electronic announcements from Apple in the coming months.
• MacNN posts images from the exterior of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The front is covered with an iPod dancing-silloutete banner.
• One unconfirmed submitter claims knowing the entire agenda for the event.
• Several sites continue to report that only the Disney Studio is on-board for the initial launch of the iTunes Movie Store.

 

[Philberttheduck]

Here's to a CRAZY Tuesday morning.

 

[MacinDoc]

• Several sites continue to report that only the Disney Studio is on-board for the initial launch of the iTunes Movie Store.

If it's just Disney, then there's not much point. The reason iTMS succeeded from the start was that it was simple and it had the largest library from which you could purchase single songs. If the iTunes Movie store starts with just Disney movies, then it's dead in the water. Let's just hope that ThinkSecret is wrong again, as usual.

 

[pknz]

Here's to a ripe Apple Wednesday morning, followed by a Liverpool win.

 

[arn]

If it's just Disney, then there's not much point. The reason iTMS succeeded from the start was that it was simple and it had the largest library from which you could purchase single songs. If the iTunes Movie store starts with just Disney movies, then it's dead in the water. Let's just hope that ThinkSecret is wrong again, as usual.

It's not just thinksecret that's reporting this.

 

[ImAlwaysRight]

More goodies, more disappointment. Woo-hoo! Bring it on.

 

[Chundles]

Here's to a ripe Apple Wednesday morning, followed by a Liverpool win.

Yep, love my "New Hardware Wednesdays." Followed by "Watch Keynote Wednesday Afternoons whilst downloading new versions of software and saving pdf files of every new hardware page."

 

[YoNeX]

• Welcoming of Media Members
• Discussion on iTunes software, iTMS integration into iTunes, and iTMS sales and facts.
• Announcement of iTunes version 7.0
• Announces better search feature for Music Store
• Announces Movie Store. Available Immediately will be movies from Disney and Pixar, among other studios.
• New iPod Nano Announcement (nice brushed casing, while it will have same features as first gen, only a longer battery life)
• New iPod Announcement (Widescreen, Bluetooth, and featuring virtual touchweel. Does not include Wi-Fi, or any other protocols)
• One More Thing....TubePort. A $99 2-piece set that includes a dongle that connects via USB to your mac, and another dongle that connects via included HD cables or regular Component cables to your TV. The movie is accessed on your Mac via an iDisk-like storage component hosted by Apple.

Jobs will then explain the pricing structure of the Movie Store. Movies will be available as either a smaller iPod-format (which will cost $9.99 per movie), or as a larger, streamed movie to be streamed to your TV via TubePort. This cost $14.99 per movie. To purchase an iPod-formatted movie and a streamed version of the same movie, it will cost you $19.99.".

Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2006/09/11/apples-agenda-for-the-media-event

 

[amols]

If it's just Disney, then there's not much point. The reason iTMS succeeded from the start was that it was simple and it had the largest library from which you could purchase single songs. If the iTunes Movie store starts with just Disney movies, then it's dead in the water. Let's just hope that ThinkSecret is wrong again, as usual.

It's a start. What's tricky is the execution itself. Other studios will join the bandwagon like they did with music store.

 

[MacinDoc]

It's a start. What's tricky is the execution itself. Other studios will join the bandwagon like they did with music store.

Maybe, but to impact the market, you need a critical mass. Didn't iTMS have 200,000-300,000 songs when it opened?

It's not just thinksecret that's reporting this.

Who else is? Anyway, my point was more that if Disney is all the iTunes Movie Store has to offer, it will look like a huge marketing failure, and the media will feed on it... If it's true, expect predictions of Apple's pending demise on Wednesday...

 

[iMeowbot]

Maybe, but to impact the market, you need a critical mass. Didn't iTMS have 200,000-300,000 songs when it opened?

Yes, but there was hardly any content at all when they started offering videos.

 

[Chundles]

The TV Shows section started out with 5 shows (zero here) and now look at it, there are hundreds of TV Shows for download on iTunes (zero here).

It just takes a few to get it going and once some momentum is established it just keeps picking up speed.

 

[twoodcc]

Here's to a CRAZY Tuesday morning.

i 2nd that. let's hope it's good

 

[yoda13]

I can't wait to see what they got up their sleeve, hope I am stoked...

 

[MichaelLatta]

MBP Movie related item?

Any chance that in all this movie related presentation there is an MBP with Core 2 Duo and Blu-Ray burner? that would be one hot movie producing computer.

 

[newamiga]

Just a thought

Guys.. just a quick thought,, but remember when they released the iPod HiFi.. they didn't really play it up, but it can be addressed via Airtunes and the Airport Express. That means you can select it by name as a speaker set via iTunes. Now the thing that is missing is a remote device that can show off the album art and play the DRM protected files in remote areas of the house. Note that there are expensive solutions for doing this today, but they don't support DRM (Sonos). I am wondering if the supposed remote or all purpose device will bring this control throughout a house via wireless. This would make the iPod HiFi that much more valuable as a solution for streaming your music with full control throughout the house. It just seems like a logical leap, and one that would not take much technically to do. Now take that the next step and have it also control the output of the new Airport Express Video edition and have the preview on the remote or at least cover art.. stream the movie to where you want in the house.. I know the use of 802.11 in its current form may not be the best for this.. just thinking out loud.

 

[MattDell]

If it's just Disney, then there's not much point.

Disney is the 2nd largest media company in the world. I surely hope you don't think we're just getting Mickey Mouse and Daffy Duck movies. Here's just the movie companies that Disney owns:

Walt Disney Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Hollywood Pictures
Miramax Films
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Pixar​

I think that's quite a good start.

-Matt

 

[hayduke]

A long time ago I remember reading that Jobs said that people didn't really want to download movies or even own movies. The only movies worth owning (according to Jobs) were children's movies because they typically watch them hundreds of times. The average adult, on the other hand, might watch his favorite movie a dozen times. I think this idea, whether or not it can be tracked back to Jobs, is spot on. I've bought a few DVDs and most people I know have bought a few, but nobody I know buys as many movies as they do music (even if you compare total duration, rather then #).

I wouldn't be surprised if Apple's movie store is simply the only way to get Disney/Pixar content and they're happy to stash the revenue from those sales in their pocket. They'll sell enough to make it worth the investment and if it goes really well and the demand grows (or Amazon appears to do well), then they just open the doors and make other studio's movies available. I bet this is more of an Apple control issue than a movie studio control issue. Apple is proven when it comes to DRM (like it or not).

I guess we'll see...

 

[Max_Walker]

$19.99

That's no industry setting price point. For that price you can buy the DVD. watch it, load it on your ipod and the sell it on e-bay.

 

[Chundles]

That's no industry setting price point. For that price you can buy the DVD. watch it, load it on your ipod and the sell it on e-bay.

G'Day Tangles, welcome to the boards. You're right though, US$20 is a lot of money compared to DVD prices.

Oh I hope you get the Tangles reference, otherwise I've just made a goose of myself.

 

[c-Row]

Yeah - I hope that 19.99$ price tag is wrong. Not that it matters for me - unless movies will be available worldwide.

 

[MacinDoc]

Disney is the 2nd largest media company in the world. I surely hope you don't think we're just getting Mickey Mouse and Daffy Duck movies. Here's just the movie companies that Disney owns:

Walt Disney Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Hollywood Pictures
Miramax Films
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Pixar​

I think that's quite a good start.

-Matt

I realize that, but there are more major studios that are not on that list owned by Disney than there are on the list. But maybe it will work out like the TV downloads have, as some have suggested, starting with just a few and adding more. The problem is, Apple does not currently dominate that market; there are other players right now that are equally strong with their video download services. It seems that the market seems to favor having a dominant player, like Windows for OS and iTMS for music downloads. This could leave the door open for Microsoft to dominate this market if Apple doesn't ramp up its selection quickly.

 

[kasei]

Damn! I have jury duty so I am going to miss everything!

 

[quadrakid]

iphone dummy

 

[arn]

Maybe, but to impact the market, you need a critical mass. Didn't iTMS have 200,000-300,000 songs when it opened?

Who else is? Anyway, my point was more that if Disney is all the iTunes Movie Store has to offer, it will look like a huge marketing failure, and the media will feed on it... If it's true, expect predictions of Apple's pending demise on Wednesday...

Variety first reported it

http://www.variety.com/VR1117949519.html