“In a significant step toward vanquishing the local video store and keeping couch potatoes planted firmly in front of their televisions and computers, Amazon.com will introduce a new online store of TV shows and movies on Thursday, called Amazon Video on Demand,” Brad Stone reports for The New York Times.
“Customers of Amazon’s new store will be able to start watching any of 40,000 movies and television programs immediately after ordering them because they stream, just like programs on a cable video-on-demand service,” Stone reports. “That is different from most Internet video stores, like Apple iTunes and the original incarnation of Amazon’s video store, which require users to endure lengthy waits as video files are downloaded to their hard drives.”
MacDailyNews Take: Do some, even just a little, research, Brad. Sheesh. Apple TV and Mac users have been buying and renting their favorite movies from their Apple TVs and/or the iTunes Store and watching them immediately after ordering for quite some time now (TV shows via iTunes Store since October 2005, feature-length movies via iTunes Store since September 2006, TV shows and movies directly via Apple TV since March 2008).
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• The New York Times, Letters to the editor:
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “michael” for the heads up.]
Brad
Actually Apple does play videos as they stream on Apple TV- as they dowload, you can watch them before they are completely finished. This qualifies as streaming. What you meant to say is Apple can stream and download while Amazon can’t.
Read this again. In the excerpt posted, the author does not say that Apple streams video and movies. About iTunes, he simply says “…which require users to endure lengthy waits as video files are downloaded to their hard drives.”
Although we may disagree with what constitutes a “lengthy wait,” technically, the excerpt you poste seems to be correct.
It must be the inspiring legacy of Jayson Blair.
So few movies, so many portals. How do you watch the video from Amazon, through the Kindle?
MSFT+NetFlix on XBox vs. Sony PS3. DirectTV, satellite, cable. Next thing you know Psystar will be making beige set-top boxes to stream movies. Maybe people will become the blobs like in Wall-E after all.
Of course, Apple cannot provide live streaming. If Apple could, Steve Jobs would be selling the service at $12.00 a pop.
Don’t you just LOVE journalizm?
Okay, time for my critical comment on the current status of affairs now & in the future.
Remember “them GREEDY fat bastards”?
They may not have realised this, but the ground is turning spongy underneath them. Before long they will be sinking into a quagnire of thier own making.
How? I hear you ask!
They have so far with the exception of one, denied Apple inc. the right to host DRM free tracks at a slightly higher fee, because they want a very much higher fee to which Apple inc. have said categorically NO.
The film industry have followed suit by dragging thier feet over the provision of films through iTunes rental & outright purchases.
So here is what is going to happen. All those hundreds of developers currently developing & releasing software for the iphone through its very easy to use SDK that delivers native applications have found that thier customer base has already achieved a critical mass. These iphone, itouch & ipod owners have a level of 70% cash buyers & 30% freeloaders, compared to Wince’s 30% business buyers & 70% owners who do not a clue and are not interested in accessing the so called smart features of Wince, maybe because they wince at the hefty charges levied upon them?
So, who is going to buy them GREEDY fat bastards over priced goods?
Them GREEDY fat bastards will be forced to go cap in hand to Apple inc. to swallow crow in an attempt tp keep thier business’s alive. Will they give Apple inc. cartblanche to sell thier wares?
Only time will tell. And of course we Applelites who already JUST know!
What of silly balls? Is he regretting the comments he made last year? “I have never heard of the iPhone no even seen it” Like I said then & will say it now, To survive assassination attempts, keep your enemy closer to you than your friends, that way you will know every move he or she makes. Just as Google are doing at the moment.
I have AppleTV and yes, my wait time is considerably long for even a NON-HD download. Usually it takes 30-45 minutes to even start watching, which is no good. But it’s pretty obvious that the issue is with my download speed, not with apple.
That being said, I sure wish AppleTV had 40,000 movies to rent. I’ve rented about 10-12 movies on AppleTV, but it would be 30-40 if they had any kind of selection. Mostly I find the movie I want, but it’s for purchase only, not renting. I bought the AppleTV for the movie rentals.. probably should have got an XBox 360 and a Netflix account. Oh well.
Bloggers’ immediacy has hastened traditional journos’ decline through their own unwitting urgency.
We expect fact checking; if it’s absent, why read the “old guys” at all?
Sorry for the typo’s!
Maybe i’m just lucky with Verizon FIOS and ‘N’ wifi, but i start watching HD movies in about 1 minute – not a timeframe I consider lengthy…..
“Check out the brain on Brad!”
took me a total of about 15 seconds to start watching the movie I rented last Saturday night
oh the horror, I tell you I am going to burn all my apple gear, thats 15 seconds STOLEN from my life…..oh the horror
Who really cares either way.
Go outside and watch the sunset. Get away from your damn computer and f’n TV for once.
As far as I am concerned (as a programmer), download is also a stream.
Article fail to mention the fact that in case of network failure or high volume of traffic, downloaded movies will work unlike straming video movies, and you can watch them over and over without killing your bandwith or download cap if you have one.
And no chocking video.
ADVANTAGES OF DOWNLOADING Vs STEAMING:
1. If anything happens with your internet connection during streaming (lot of traffic, etc.) you’re show will be interrupted.
2. Downloading with a reasonable speed allows you to watch it within 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Streaming is limited and cannot include High Definition.
4. Storing shows/movies gives piece of mind, knowing its ready to view anytime.
5. If you wish do use the internet or have other files, etc. downloading while you’re watching a movie, this is only possible by having the movie downloaded.
6. You may discover that the studio’s can and will ‘pull’ the content from time to time for marketing purposes. Having the show downloaded will ensure that this does not happen (for movies you’ll have it secure for 28 days)
Aside from this, there are plenty of other advantages of Apple TV / iTunes such as user interface etc.
I don’t have to open my iCal today it’s July 17th!!
When doesn’t the NY Times blow it?
ADVANTAGES OF STEAMING Vs DOWNLOADING:
1. Steam penetrates and deep cleanses the pores for your face!
2. It clears your sinuses.
3. You can burn up to 600 Calories in a 30 Minute Steam!
4. It makes your clothes crisp and smooth.
A full-length feature film on a HD rental download from tv takes me about an hour to be able to view on a DSL connection.
The Movie files purchased at iTunes (and the rentals) download to your machine.
Playback is handled by QuickTime (via iTunes) and it can’t begin until enough data has downloaded. Once your viewing gets “ahead” of the downloaded data playback will cease.
On my DSL connection a typical rental takes 9 hours to complete. I download them while I sleep.
There are no errors in the New York Times article.
So many people – afraid of Apple.
Just bite the bullet and get a XBOX or a PS3. AppleTV is a dead product that will probably be given up on my the end of the year.