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iTunes says It's Showtime
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ftaok said:
which is why I said "in it's current form."
iTunes has been out long enough to offer a basic 16:9 image. That's a ridiculous oversight for a "movie" store. I'm using a widescreen monitor and I still can't use the whole screen, why bother hooking iTunes to a 50 inch TV?
If they wanted to make a statement then they should have implemented HD now. Even if it takes 2 hours to download a movie. Offering 4:3 at sub-DVD levels for $15 is pathetic.
There's nothing at the iTunes TV or movie store that's worth hooking up to a big screen TV. Not when you can just get your own PVR for better quality or buy a DVD for better quality and the extras and then just rip the content to a mdeia PC drive. In the case of the iHub you still need to have a Mac running elsewhere. The iTV should be the server - not the other way around.
This is just a desperate attempt to stem the fallout of not announcing anything of significance. Steve can wake me up when they finally do something worthwhile with it. There's nothing here for the home theater user in this box.
As far as I'm concerned, iTunes 7 is a step in the right direction. One of the thing that annoyed me the most in iTunes 6 is that my podcast were mixed with my music. When playing music from the library, I'd always hit a podcast after a while. iTunes 7 fixes that problem. The free album covers are neat. It's the one thing that will finally make me get an iTunes account. I think I liked the iTunes 6 color scheme more than the new one, and I'm wondering about the fonts. For some reason, I don't like the "feel" of the new version. I guess I was just used to the other one. I'm sure I won't mind once I'm used to it. And finally, gapless playback is really sweet! I don't know what took them so long.
yeah.......very unlike them.....Stella said:
please don't kill me for comparing this to microsoft's announcement of zune.....
awal said:
Which is where the frustration sets in for those of us waiting since last Winter for an updated iPod.
They're going to go over a year without a new generation coming out. And to make matters worse, they're trying to sell people that 4:3 screens are somehow relevant to ANYTHING anymore. 4:3 screens are garbage.
Stella said:
Perhaps it's not unlike leaking casting possibilites. It's a new area for Apple and I wonder if they aren't looking for feedback. They could also be cutting off people from buying another brand that might come out sooner.
If they are, and they're listening, I woudn't mind seeing a Blu Ray drive in this thing. Others have speculated that you may be able to run content off an external drive. I like this too. That way, if a friend wantd to come over, we could listen to music on his iPod.
Axeon said:
Very strange. The uppercase LIBRARY, STORE, DEVICES and PLAYLISTS is a bit ANNOYING too.
shadowx said:
The question you're all asking is "Why was the iTV announced", whereas the real question is "Why didn't they wait to announce the movie store".
Either way, the iTV is really the big announcement. It's going to redefine how we watch TV. The movie store is a part of making iTV work. It was necessary to announce iTV so we know how everything falls into place. The movie store... that could have waited, I'm sure people would have figured out ways of getting movies streamed to iTV even if iTunes didn't sell movies.
What is funny to me is Apple is the video leader. They created the way movies are made pretty much. Pixar and Disney, isn't jobs on the board of directors at disney? All this and they are so far behind in the living room. I mean Windows media center has been out for ages and it is light years away from anything apple has now or in the future. Comon apple, get it together.
ArcaneDevice,ArcaneDevice said:
You're right. You did say "current form", but you're referring to the iTV. What is the current form of the iTV? No one really knows. What we do know is that it will do HiDef (inferred from the inclusion of Component and HDMI connections).
You also mention that the iTMS is providing movies and TV shows that aren't optimal for widescreen HDTVs. That is true, but the current iTMS selection is geared towards viewing on the iPod, not presentation on HDTVs. Why should Apple have offerings that greatly exceed the capabilities of the devices that it's intended for. Futureproofing?
We'll see what Apple has in store for the iTV in a few months. I would suspect that they will offer HiDef movies, maybe not 1080p to save on bandwidth, but perhaps 720p. All speculation for now.
I have mixed feelings about the new iTunes.
Yay:
--Gapless playback!!! (Does this work on older iPods?)
--New iPod screen. This thing is awesome. If you have an ipod, sync it to check this sucker out. Firmware upgrading, tabs to sync Photos and Contacts, and a slick color coded bar that shows how much stuff of what kind (Music, Movies, Files) you have.
--They integrated Cover Flow. (But Nay if Apple just stole it from the guy.)
--Cover flow in the store. Cool.
--Cover art.
--Next to Podcasts it will tell you how many unlistened Podcasts you have, just like Mail.
--List view is pretty cool, though I doubt I'll use it.
--The little arrows only show up when you click on a song
Nay:
--The GUI team at apple is smoking something. WTF happened to the scrollbar?? Not Aqua?? And selecting albums has this weird glass-like appearance. It doesn't match anything else. This looks like a screwed up version of Apple's pro interface. I hope iTuno can fix up this mess ASAP. if the rest of iLife '08 looks like this I will cry.
--Icon. As it's been said, looks like iTunes 2.0.
--All caps headings, in iIunes and in the store. Annoying.
--The flashy, pulsating Burn button is gone. (sure, it took up excessive space, but it was cool.)
--Browse button is really small and at the bottom. (And it's slower as well, at least on my PB.)
--No rental store (Not expected, but I'd only be interested in iTunes movies if I could rent 'em for $2-3.)
Yay:
--Gapless playback!!! (Does this work on older iPods?)
--New iPod screen. This thing is awesome. If you have an ipod, sync it to check this sucker out. Firmware upgrading, tabs to sync Photos and Contacts, and a slick color coded bar that shows how much stuff of what kind (Music, Movies, Files) you have.
--They integrated Cover Flow. (But Nay if Apple just stole it from the guy.)
--Cover flow in the store. Cool.
--Cover art.
--Next to Podcasts it will tell you how many unlistened Podcasts you have, just like Mail.
--List view is pretty cool, though I doubt I'll use it.
--The little arrows only show up when you click on a song
Nay:
--The GUI team at apple is smoking something. WTF happened to the scrollbar?? Not Aqua?? And selecting albums has this weird glass-like appearance. It doesn't match anything else. This looks like a screwed up version of Apple's pro interface. I hope iTuno can fix up this mess ASAP. if the rest of iLife '08 looks like this I will cry.
--Icon. As it's been said, looks like iTunes 2.0.
--All caps headings, in iIunes and in the store. Annoying.
--The flashy, pulsating Burn button is gone. (sure, it took up excessive space, but it was cool.)
--Browse button is really small and at the bottom. (And it's slower as well, at least on my PB.)
--No rental store (Not expected, but I'd only be interested in iTunes movies if I could rent 'em for $2-3.)
macenforcer said:
Except that Media Center hasn't really caught on. Apple seems to be waiting for the .n wireless standard to get locked down, their iTV depends on it. Apple is already selling millions of downloads. Is there any evidence that Media Center has media use that's anywhere even close to that?
Apple lagged in mp3 players as well, how did that turn out? Is being first really more important than doing it right?
To add to other complaints about iTunes 7, it's very buggy for me. I've been unable to do two iTMS searches in a row - the second time the search box isn't clickable. I have to quit and relaunch to search again.
After performing a search, you have to click in the song list before you can use the scroll wheel/scroll ball, previously you just needed to mouse over the relevant view.
And the UI is, well, blech. Looks like it was designed by 11 different people who spoke 11 different languages. Parts of the UI use the new "gray" popup menus, parts use the old aqua buttons. The scrollbar controls are unique to iTunes. The selection in the source view uses black, instead of the selection colour from the Appearance control panel.
Roll on 7.1!
After performing a search, you have to click in the song list before you can use the scroll wheel/scroll ball, previously you just needed to mouse over the relevant view.
And the UI is, well, blech. Looks like it was designed by 11 different people who spoke 11 different languages. Parts of the UI use the new "gray" popup menus, parts use the old aqua buttons. The scrollbar controls are unique to iTunes. The selection in the source view uses black, instead of the selection colour from the Appearance control panel.
Roll on 7.1!
Big Whoop
So why should I get excited to pay $13 to download a movie to my iPod only when I can buy the DVD at Best Buy and RIP it for the same price. Sure by current standards this is illegal (which makes no sense, I can rip a music CD but not a movie that I own?), but as always enterprising young hackers will find a way to crack the copy protections.
The price point is too high for this to be successful. If it was transferable to another medium maybe, but not in its current forum. Hell its cheaper to buy a Slingbox.
So why should I get excited to pay $13 to download a movie to my iPod only when I can buy the DVD at Best Buy and RIP it for the same price. Sure by current standards this is illegal (which makes no sense, I can rip a music CD but not a movie that I own?), but as always enterprising young hackers will find a way to crack the copy protections.
The price point is too high for this to be successful. If it was transferable to another medium maybe, but not in its current forum. Hell its cheaper to buy a Slingbox.
Sorry if I'm being a bit daft, but can any UK users pipe up -- why, oh why are there no movies for us?
And can anyone get the QT file of the actual press conference to work on the apple site? Is it available in the US? Can anyone in the UK get it?
Interesting aside - was in the Apple Store on Regent St, London tonight at 1800 (when the announcement started in Calif.) and none of the staff seemed aware of what was happening... i would have thought Apple could have done some fantastic theatre by having a bit of a showcase in stores to show off this stuff. Maybe I'm cynical, but i guess it's to do with everyone stopping buying 'old' iPods as soon as the new breed are announced...
And can anyone get the QT file of the actual press conference to work on the apple site? Is it available in the US? Can anyone in the UK get it?
Interesting aside - was in the Apple Store on Regent St, London tonight at 1800 (when the announcement started in Calif.) and none of the staff seemed aware of what was happening... i would have thought Apple could have done some fantastic theatre by having a bit of a showcase in stores to show off this stuff. Maybe I'm cynical, but i guess it's to do with everyone stopping buying 'old' iPods as soon as the new breed are announced...
I guess these two things may have been posted before, but there are too many to read every post, and search didnt find anything...
Firstly, why do we have no more Music Videos option along with music, movies, tv shows under library
also. FrontRow now no longer recognises the tv shows (mp4's i've tagged using Lostify and added to itunes) that it previously worked brilliantly with.
is this a sign of things to come? the only way is the apple way? i dont buy music videos from apple, i definitely dont buy tv shows or movies from them..
Firstly, why do we have no more Music Videos option along with music, movies, tv shows under library
also. FrontRow now no longer recognises the tv shows (mp4's i've tagged using Lostify and added to itunes) that it previously worked brilliantly with.
is this a sign of things to come? the only way is the apple way? i dont buy music videos from apple, i definitely dont buy tv shows or movies from them..
cmw39 said:Sorry if I'm being a bit daft, but can any UK users pipe up -- why, oh why are there no movies for us?
And can anyone get the QT file of the actual press conference to work on the apple site? Is it available in the US? Can anyone in the UK get it?
yep.. i saw the keynote QT Stream at about 8pm (an hour after the keynote actually finished) last night.
no probs at all with the streaming, nice and smooth..
and yes, me in UUUKKK
cmw39 said:Sorry if I'm being a bit daft, but can any UK users pipe up -- why, oh why are there no movies for us?
No movies for us and still no television shows for us... We'll probably get them in 6 months, as usual with an America online centered company :/
Another note - what's with these price conversions? Do we have to pay twice as much as America for everything? Someone should tell Apple it's nearly 2 USD to the Pound, not the other way around
BBC Newsnight last night had a special report on iTunes & the music (and now, movie) industry, which was pretty scathing. I've always been opposed to Apple not licensing Fairplay, but still this went a lot further than my criticisms, yet seemed very vague on details.
It basically focused on how Apple was trying to lock customers into buying its own devices and services, presenting the current music industry as a battlefield between a 'self serving' Apple, and the rest. It drew little attention that almost every label and music service wants/requires/demands DRM, and seemed to present it almost as an Apple invention.
A very negative portrayal of Apple in a very high-visibility programme.
It basically focused on how Apple was trying to lock customers into buying its own devices and services, presenting the current music industry as a battlefield between a 'self serving' Apple, and the rest. It drew little attention that almost every label and music service wants/requires/demands DRM, and seemed to present it almost as an Apple invention.
A very negative portrayal of Apple in a very high-visibility programme.
Well, I guess I "unfortunately" will be forced to go with a Nano!
Is it possible to buy a FW400 or FW800 cable for syncing the Shuffle just like the Nano and iPod?
This is sweeter than WWDC!
For most people. I'm more likely to buy an iPod instead of a MacPro, and iTunes 7 is just roxzroz!
Is it possible to buy a FW400 or FW800 cable for syncing the Shuffle just like the Nano and iPod?
This is sweeter than WWDC!
For most people. I'm more likely to buy an iPod instead of a MacPro, and iTunes 7 is just roxzroz!
Josias said:Well, I guess I "unfortunately" will be forced to go with a Nano!
Is it possible to buy a FW400 or FW800 cable for syncing the Shuffle just like the Nano and iPod?
This is sweeter than WWDC!
For most people. I'm more likely to buy an iPod instead of a MacPro, and iTunes 7 is just roxzroz!
No current iPod uses Firewire for syncing. All of them use USB and USB only for syncing. The nano and iPod can charge via Firewire but not transfer data.
The new shuffle requires the included dock for charging/syncing because it uses the headphone port for data transfer and power.
iPod Story not over for '06
I'm not so sure we've heard the end of the ipod story for this calender year.
Remember last year when they introduced the nano in Sept and the the 5G in Oct. Don't beat me, i took those months from Wikipedia as i couldn't be a*sed to remember.
I wondered why they'd introduce the cheaper (smaller return) model before the more expensive one. (Not common retail thinking). But then realised if you were the sort of customer who wanted more than a nano you would have waited and it made sense for Apple to ramp up prod of the nano earlier as it would make the bulk of sales of the xmas period.
Now this Sept, Apple refreshes all the ipods, making small incremental improvements but more importantly making them much more competitive in price. I see room at the top end $350-$500 for the next step up. I think the boys in ThinkSecret are right in that the iPhone will appear at MWSF07. But there's a definite possibility of an ipod that can show all those pixels on the new iTunes store downloads.
Wouldn't surprise me if another special event rolled around in the next 2 months.
M.
I'm not so sure we've heard the end of the ipod story for this calender year.
Remember last year when they introduced the nano in Sept and the the 5G in Oct. Don't beat me, i took those months from Wikipedia as i couldn't be a*sed to remember.
I wondered why they'd introduce the cheaper (smaller return) model before the more expensive one. (Not common retail thinking). But then realised if you were the sort of customer who wanted more than a nano you would have waited and it made sense for Apple to ramp up prod of the nano earlier as it would make the bulk of sales of the xmas period.
Now this Sept, Apple refreshes all the ipods, making small incremental improvements but more importantly making them much more competitive in price. I see room at the top end $350-$500 for the next step up. I think the boys in ThinkSecret are right in that the iPhone will appear at MWSF07. But there's a definite possibility of an ipod that can show all those pixels on the new iTunes store downloads.
Wouldn't surprise me if another special event rolled around in the next 2 months.
M.