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WMA, OGG and Video support directly in iTunes? Awesome, I only hope it's true

H.264 would be great with a video card that decoded it on the fly... hmmm maybe the next gen video cards will be doing some H.264 so the cpu is doing what it needs to do... think openGL, Quartz... all now gpu based...

Oh, and if I can use iTunes to manage my movie library... that'll make me even happier

Sounds promising although I do think that they still need to increase the amunt of iPods and Shuffles being produced. They are still in short supply in NZ.

The icons Bob refers to have been in iTunes for quite a while now.

There's basically no reason for Apple to support OGG, as it is inferior to AAC in all respects. And there's an excellent reason for Apple NOT to add additional support for Windows Media: It's a competing format. Apple already supports transcoding unencrypted Windows Media songs to AAC with iTunes, so I wouldn't expect anything revolutionary on that front.

I have been saying all along that Apple should license out AAC/Fairplay at some point and sew up the market. The question has always been - when? Maybe the time is approaching. Steve has been playing this one right on the money at every turn so far. Time for "checkmate"?

Actually, the unused Ogg Vorbis and WMA file icons have been present in the iTunes application bundle for some time. I'd heard about it in a forum some time last year or year before, and confirmed it for myself by poking around in the bundle. While Cringely's assertions about iTMS eventually (or shortly) providing video downloads certainly rings true, and makes a lot of sense for them, I still seriously doubt that we'll see a "videoPod" portable viewer. As Jobs and many others have said, people just don't consume video in the same ways as they do music, and personally, I'm not in the least bit interested in watching a movie or music video on a screen as small as an iPod's.

The intriguing possibility of course is that such a purported device would be ideal for transporting and playing video on a larger monitor, such as those found in many autos. It's certainly desirable to have such a portable media device that plugs into a dedicated dock in a family vehicle, if only to put the kibosh on the crazy-making "Are we there yet?" whining. What would be great is if such a device could stream music and video separately, so the kids in the back could watch Spongebob (while listening on headphones) while Mom and Dad groove to Miles Davis on the stereo. Of course, Apple would prefer if the vehicle had more than one dedicated dock so the family would need more than one 'Pod. It would be cheaper and easier to develop as well.

Good point.. they might not change the name iTunes Music Store...

There has been speculation as to a QuickTime Movie Store.. which is logical, albeit cumbersome (to open a new store, etc)

The cool thing.. well.. extremely cool.. is that they already have stores in place to promote any new media-related venture they do.. through the iTMS pages..

(eg. iPod shuffle 60% market share)

the ipod of the future will be a true mobile media device. one that will allow you to save and listen to your music anywhere, store your vacation photos and digital video on one device. it'll have usb, firewire, and s-video ports. additionally, it'll have bluetooth or any future short rang wireless networking ability to broadcast video, stills, and audio to next generation television and sound systems. the video screen will then become something akin to a studio monitor where you can view your work as it's being uploaded to the ipod, or review footage to see what should be keep and what should be deleted. of course people will also\ use the screen to watch music videos embedded in their itunes bought songs or watch the latest blockbuster while riding the train to work. knowing that the best picture quality comes from using the ipod like a portable dvd player plugged into the video ins on your flat screen 52 inch hdtv that supports the latest H.264 video codec.

It will start with video music clips and as (world) broadband dowload speeds increase it will then extend to movies. It's a logical extension of the iTunes business model after the next step takes place.

The next step will be to bury any remaining (Windows) competition to iTunes as the author opined.

It shouldn't take too much longer

As for Microsoft, if Longhorn and the Windows Media Center (sic) don't take off the only crumbs left in their cupboard will be Office and Xbox.

In this scenario their user base for the Windows' platform would ebb over a number of years.

Personally, I believe Microsoft will be able to push out Longhorn over time but by then Apple will be light years ahead of them. And the markets will savage their share price.

After the crap I had to put up with from Windows' users back in the mid to late '90s it's a scenario I can live with, with a degree of grace and humility.

P.S. Do not underestimate the ignorance of some computer users. One of my best friends insists I should wash downloaded software for adware. I keep telling him that's a Windows only problem. He refuses to believe me.

> There's basically no reason for Apple to support OGG, as it is inferior to
> AAC in all respects.

Actually Ogg Vorbis (Ogg is a container, like mov) is a superior audio codec to AAC. It did fall behind for a while, but the release of libvorbis 1.1 last year pushed Ogg Vorbis back to the forefront of lossy audio codecs.

Apple should really support the format natively in both iTunes and Quicktime (and QT support for Ogg Theora, FLAC and Speex). It's an open format and is not patent encumbered. Many users have been requesting support for these features for years, and it's very disappointing that Apple still haven't listened.

With the UWB standardization deadlock now resolved (they're working together now), and Firewire over UWB standardized, and FreeScale already having demoed products for their version of UWB, maybe the video version of Airport Express is closer than we think.

This video AE is key because research has shown that getting the video from your Mac/Broadband connection to that 52" HDTV in the living room in a very simple way is the major issue why people don't do video downloads today.

Very, very interesting.

Well, they could easily keep the name iTunes...after all, Warner Brothers had no trouble using 'Looney Tunes' and 'Merrie Melodies' for their cartoons, even when they didn't have songs in them.

SJ said that there would be no video store because copying video was illegal. Until that changes there will be no video store.

The application will be called iFlicks and the store iFlicks Movie Store.

I read on MDN some time ago that Apple has already gotten the rights to that name.

I wonder if they would sell porn over this purported delivery service....OGG is really doubtful considering the fact that OS X was essentially an open source rip from freeBSD. Apple seems to like getting open source stuff, then tailoring it to their agenda and stockholder needs, and selling it to mac fans and the computer illiterate in a shiny package and an agreeable price tag. I'd like to see OGG too, and I have made requests for it at apple.com/feedback, but the demand has to be at least a majority for Apple to invest a programmer or two on the project, and most people just don't care. Damn, and I thought the open-source revolution was at hand.
ps. I did try to install Linux on me ol' mac, but got bored after 2 hours of configuration. Let Them deal with it.

"And in the long run, iTunes is where the money is."

This is the last line of the article and yet the writer erlier predicted that the iPod would be open to competing formats. How can iTunes make crazy amounts of money if Apple open the gates to competing music stores? Apple are making a lot of money from their current model and I see no reason to change it when competitor after competitor fails with their would-be 'iPod killers.'

The only way the iPod grows in the future is to add key features like a microphone and an FM tuner. Until then, they are the finest player... for me to POOP ON!!!
Yeh-heh-hesss!!!!

I start to get a little worried when "commentators" start talking about Apple and clones. Instead of making slightly wild guesses as to what's coming next from Apple - we should perhaps look at what has already been said.

When iPod's share of the market starts to slip (and at the moment, it's doing anything but), then Apple may start to think about supporting the WMA format, or licensing out FairPlay to other portable music players. Until then - they have the number one music store which is tied to the number one player - where does the pressure come from? Apple don't seem to have a problem with licensing their DRM to others working in different areas. Sony has included it in their new wi-fi enabled stereo, Motorola has it on their iTunes phone, and I'm sure others are in the works (in car units?). It seems that we can learn more from these kind of deals as to which areas Apple are _not_ intending to move in, rather than rashly speculating about iPod "clones".

And as for the video iPod - does anyone remember the Indiana Jones clip from a keynote a while back? I honestly don't think that Apple believes that video on the move is the way forward. Steve Jobs perhaps said it best: Others working in this space are very much "digging in the wrong place". These would be a niche item at best, and I think Apple's sights are set a little higher these days.

Poor old Triumph has got a real scatological obsession.

In every post he feels it necessary to poop on someone or something.

Couldn't someone tell him - diplomatically of course - how infantile, distasteful and plain silly these constant references to excrement are?

All Apple need to do is re-name the iTunes Music Store.

Call it the iMedia Store or the iEntertainment Store

With the new video codec which has scalability without pixelation suitable for any device - it's just a matter of time 'when' Apple release a video store - NOT 'if'.

All Apple need to do is re-name the iTunes Music Store.

--

er, yeah, which has been suggested but of course, sounds bad..

sooo you're going to access this store that houses music AND movies (hello amazon) through your digital music app? no no no.. that's dumb.. you use iTunes for music.. if they're going to release a second store called the QT Moviestore, they can attach it to the player (iTunes is a player/manager.. iMovie is for creation.. it wouldn't go there)

Appropriately, everyone already associates apple with QT Movie Previews.. many people have simply never heard of iMovie..

the one big imedia store is not apple's style. That's WMP you're talkin about..

I think the iTunes name could stay for the ride... after all, don't you 'tune in' to your favorite show or 'stay tuned' for a message from our sponsors or 'tune in next week as we hear Robin say, 'Holy Glazed Doughnuts, Batman!!!''
And as far as the vPod goes, I think it's well on it's way. People have been playing games on small screens for years = 'video' games even...
The PSP looks to be doing pretty well for itself so far (the jury is still out on that one with it's dead pixel issues).
And we all know we can't take Steve at his word when he says they aren't going to do something... the best magician are the best at diverting your attention from what they are actually doing.
If the vPod had a screenthe size of the entire back panel with buttons on the sides or back that were easy to 'feel control' your way around menus, and had the ability to play on other units like monitors & TV's I'd be all over it... and I doubt that I'd be the only one!!

Damn, why are y'all so totally unimaginative? Regurgitating old twists on existing technology is NOT Apple's way. But, all they really need to do is make a new twist on existing technology to create a major technological earthquake.

Steve already said he is not into a video iPod-like device. He DID say that he likes the media hub concept for the Mac. Based on what Apple has presented in the past, and the fact that Steve is far overdue to shake up the electronics world again, this is my take...

Based on the idea of Smart Card (ROM chips), Apple will have IBM produce 25Gb media cards. Enough to store a HD H.264 video with all of the other features you'd expect from a DVD. No moving parts. Nothing to scratch or get dirty. Its size would be about 1/4th the size of a CD case. You can buy and rent these just as you would a DVD. Apple will also produce a RAM (recordable/erasable) version for recording your own video. Sony will have their HD camcorder as well as a standard one, both, utilizing these cards. Canon will be the first digital SLR to use these cards.

Apple will then introduce a variety of hardware (remember Apple is a hardware company first). A home unit that can store a dozen or so cards at once, think video jukebox; any mix of ROM and RAM cards. A slot will be added to the iPod Photo and Macs for these cards. Even though Steve is not keen on the idea of video on an iPod, the cost of adding such a slot on an iPod is insignificant while it also vastly increases the iPod's memory. These cards are not yet fast enough to replace your computer's RAM, they will make for a faster replacement for your DVD-RW. The day of the mechanical spinning data device is at an end. This is the 21st century for God sakes!

At the same time, Apple is all set to release the iVideo Movie Store where you can buy or rent (via Fairplay) videos. The home unit can be linked up to your computer to download the movies via Airport or Firewire. This will make a serious move into Blockbuster's market.

But, Apple won't stop there. They will have an adapter for their Video Cards to be played in any DVD player. (The spinning motor can easily generate the tiny current needed to produce the red or blue light flashing LED.) So, anyone can start downloading videos from Apple with a small investment in a card, adapter and dock to be attached to their computer... yea, even Wintel boxes.

The industry will see these cards as a huge advantage over DVDs. The players will be very cheap to produce, no motors or moving LEDs, and much more durable. It will be hundreds of times faster to program and reproduce videos onto ROM chips than burning DVDs. The technology isn't much different than making video game cartridges. No more bulky DVD players.

Apple would have replaced ALL DVD and VCR hardware markets as well as forcing a change in the DVD sales and rental markets, too. This is huge!

Besides the mentioned movie store, your idea is simply mindless.

People don't like buying new hardware. They have DVD player, they will buy DVD's. Until you give them a compelling reason. A card being smaller (physical size, not binary size) than a DVD is not a compelling reason.

The only part of Cringley's piece that has the ring of truth is the "year of HD." There is zero chance of Apple permitting iPod clones since, as has long been true in the computer space, Apple views itself fundamentally as a HARDWARE company. This is a "when hell freezes over" type of thing, and don't anyone bring up iTunes for Windows--Apple had Quicktime for Windows for a long time before that, so iTunes for Windows wasn't nearly as big a leap as this would be. Though Apple is a business, SJ clearly has an aesthetic vision, and sleek hardware is at the core of that. I'm among the most hard-nosed of business guys in some ways, but even from that perspective it is a big mistake to assume that individuals aren't sometimes motivated by such factors, and in any case SJ clearly IS.
Just my $0.02

Videos in iTunes is as stupid as videos on iPods. Let them play music, let QuickTime handle videos and video purchase.

But, wait, one type of videos is relevant to iTunes: Music Videos.

Let us choose to include the music video in the purchase of music in iTunes. If we include the music video, we can play it the same way we use (the outdated) visualisation feature, by pressing a video button in the bottom right corner.

Magic word: Never! Oh, well, it was worth a try, though.

OMG!

somebody quick do the math!....

IS BLUETOOTH 2.0 FAST ENOUGH FOR H.264 @ 1920x1080 ??!?

Hey Charko, you don't like poop???
How about a Golden Shower then?

Triumph - it's obvious that Charko ain't a Yankee, and therefore has not a clue as to what a deep and intellectual mind you have (not to mention a cultural icon to be revered and respected). I think he needs a drive-by pooping.

Here is what WILL work and what A LOT of people would buy:

In the future vPod, videos won't be viewable on the player itself - but it will act as a portable "all around media device". You will go to iTunes and download anything from your favorite movie to episodic TV (think Sienfeld or Alias). These files will be stored on your 120g vPod and you will have a cord that will hook up to ANY type of connection (progressive scan, component, or typical RCA jacks). You will then take your vPod with you wherever you go (just think about it - no more paying for the "premium" channels when you are staying at a hotel). Some company will make small, portable "iScreens" that are powered by battteries for those times when there is no "monitor" available (about the same size screen as current portable dvd players).

The only thing that needs to happen to make this possible (and profitable) will be the ongoing expansion of broadband. When broadband becomes as prevelant as 56k dial up access, say goodbye to Blockbuster

There is something money can't buy. It is call originality, which Bill does not have and he has to constantly copy Apple.

Hello. Yeh-hehesssss, the phony 'Triumph' above can exit the scene now, since I am here.

Don't let him sway you -- he is nothing but a Winnerd. You know, an uber-dork. The same way most Winnerds are . . . like Gates.

I mean really, de only time this phony masquerading as me ever got 'laid' was when his family brought him to Hawai'i. No, I keed. I keed the lame and limp.

By the way, I love to smell men's crothes.

Bluetooth is not fast enough for video - SD or HD. But UWB certainly is. And Bluetooth is fast enough for a remote control. And UWB and Bluetooth have begun to work together.

There has been no public indication that Apple bought iFlicks or iFlix. No press release. No trademark registration filing. All we know is both sites and their offerings disappeared sometime in January.

Why would people buy something new if they already have a DVD player? Because their DVD player does not play HD.

Any Apple video store will offer HD. That's what Apple's been waiting for before they get into the media center business.

The name iFlicks is taken.

http://www.helixent.com/iflicks/

Notice from site:

iFlicks is back!

On January 4, 2005, Helixent Technologies released iFlicks 1.0. iFlicks made it easy to store, browse, and play all your favorite movies. However, on January 6, 2005, two days after the release, iFlicks was pulled from the market.

iFlicks 1.0 was in no way hampered by serious technical problems. Any copies of iFlicks 1.0 that had been downloaded and installed continued to function as normal.

We still cannot, and will not, disclose the exact nature of the situation that caused us to halt distribution of iFlicks. However, we are pleased to announce the rerelease of iFlicks, as version 1.1, on February 26, 2005.

The downtime has been spent refining iFlicks and making it an even better and more powerful movie organizer and player. There are even more great features planned for future releases of iFlicks, as well as some exciting announcements to make in the coming months. Stay tuned to Helixent Technologies' web site for further details.

We would like to thank everyone who has expressed their support and satisfaction with iFlicks 1.0. We hope that you will find iFlicks 1.1 even more enjoyable to use. If you did not get a chance to try out version 1.0, please download and evaluate version 1.1. We think you will be pleased.

When Apple introduces video, they will provide enough of an easy integrated system so people will buy it. So what pieces are needed: Video content, delivery to Mac/PC on broadband network, delivery to big HDTV via home wireless network.

So video store is coming to fufill the year of HD as there have been so many hints from Hollywood studios and TV networks that they are willing to sell downloadable and streaming content over Internet and/or 3G networks. And the DRM will be the same as that of Blu-Ray HD drives.

Will there be a new app called iFlicks/iFlix for both Mac and PC instead of bundling video inside iTunes? Maybe if Apple thinks they can get PC users to load another app. (Mac users will do it easily via Software Update.) In any case, this software should allow a user to set criteria that will cause the Store to automatically discover (Spotlight server technology) and download stuff to the user's Playlist for purchase. Once the user okays/buys it, it is immediately unlocked and ready to view. Of course, the user can also browse the Store, but then there will be a brief delay while downloading (filling the buffer).

Why will this be available for PC users? Because Apple (the hardware company) has hardware to sell them: the HD video version of Airport Express to meet the bottleneck of getting video from PCs to TVs. This is Apple's trojan horse into the living room of PC users. Then later Apple will try to sell them a Mac media hub with a Blu-Ray recordable drive to start offloading downloaded video from hard drives.

What about the video iPod? I still don't see people watching on such a small screen. An iPod could still be used to carry content and drive a TV/projector, so maybe Apple will also sell a separate small 7' or 9" portable display into which you plug in the iPod. But the battery...

Bluetooth 2.0 is 2.1 Mbps (not fast enough for HD, but fine for SD, could do delayed or cached HD...

eyeTunes

Maybe there is a reason why Apple is partnering now with HP on iPods. I can see HP building the first Mac mini clones for Apple to address the masses of potential Wintel customers. HP could build a Mac mini for say $199. Let's see Dell compete with that. They cannot because they zero engineering skills/creativity and also pay MS a lot to bundle XP per unit. Who knows, Dell could even become the next Mac cloner after that. Gates would get out of the computer business if that happened, guaranteed.

Here's how it's gonna go down, there will be a video pod but it will basically be an afterthought in the press release "oh by the way you can also watch video on here/present it on a tv screen" I also do beleive there will be a video download service sooner than many might think! All the ducks are in a row. You heard it here first.

All the pieces are already in place. The iPod IS the delivery device. The video iPod would have a dock with component video out - right into your HD-TV set (just like the iPod photo). You would play movies from the iPod. Since it takes about 100 meg for 5 minutes of H.264 HD Video (see the Fantastic Four trailer...), that means that 2.5 gig would be all you need for about 2 hours of HD Video (20 meg a minute)... Thinks about it: You'd use your computer to manage and store your library in iTunesMovies that you'd buy from iTunes Movie Store. You could watch it on your computer if you wanted to. You could watch it on the iPod's little screen if you wanted to, but drop the iPod in a dock, and you'd get HD on your HDTV!!! Remember - H.264 is SCALEABLE. Geez, there could even be a video-capable Airport Express that would let you share your movies off any computer to any TV in the house. I really think that this is where it's headed.

http://home.hawaii.rr.com/thedepot/images/farkentry

Location of icons:

/Applications/VLC.app/Contents/Resources/

What's in it for Apple to support WMA? I thought this was a fight to the death between WMA and AAC.

Also, does an Apple media center based on the Mac mini figure into anyone's equations?

Oh yeah, and I'd like IBM to start making Xserve clones, maybe followed later by Macs (would bring a whole new meaning to the term "IBM-compatible"!)

Then bring HP on board, then Sony ...

if the licensing deal does materialize, i hope it's to the celphone companies.... if the celphone is indeed the ipod's biggest competitor, apple should be smart enough to steal that market before it's big enough to threaten the ipod.....

though personally, i wouldn't want to waste cel phone batteries on music.... imagine an hour commute with you listening to your music on your phone and when you get to work, your battery wuod be half dead....

MDN, you really need to give Triumph his own column on your site.

He KILLS me.

Magic word is "pool" as in "pool of piddle" that Triumph leaves on Bill Gates' leg!

Cute new iPod ads:

http://www.apple.com/ipod/ads/rollerskating/