“According to a seemingly reliable, yet unconfirmed report, the micro-chip Apple plans to use in its 4th generation iPod will not only allow for hardware decoding of MPEG-4/AAC, but will also boast several ENCODE capabilities. The source of the tip refused to provide further comment on other known details of the chip, but claimed no inside knowledge of how Apple plans on using the ENCODE capability in the new iPod, noting only that it would would be churlish of the company ignore the feature,” AppleInsider reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Rumor. Not fact. Yet. Maybe never. And, yes, those dudes said “churlish.” Heh-heh.
Ahhh, rumors.
Assuming it’s true, I have no idea what this all means.
Someone please explain.
John
It means that Glick7 or whatever his handle is, may be getting his wish after all !
It means it’ll record as well as play.
“…but claimed no inside knowledge of how Apple plans on using the ENCODE capability in the new iPod”
Recording capability and encoding the input directly to MP3 or AAC, maybe?
I like the ipod, and having a color screen and better battery life would be great. Also – moving more towards the ipod mini form factor would be wonderful – but is anyone else not too impressed with the fact that it may hold “photos.” I mean, who really cares if you can dispay some photos on the ipod – it is a music device. I would much rather have them not add that feature and make the form factor smaller…
Does anyone think Apple would ever venture into the gaming console market? I would imagine that they could make a great looking, multi-tasking device, but I don’t see it being able to compete with what is already on the market. Although…the iPod has surpassed many peoples expectations.
Color screen, unless OLED, means more battery drain. Smaller profile means smaller battery and less playback time. Dell DJ has an enormous battery and is bigger than standard iPod.
Gaming console market? Why? There are already 3 companies involved and it’s a very low-profit thing what with the competition constantly forcing lower prices. The money is in the software not the machine.
Apple already tried a gaming machine, and it failed miserably.
“Does anyone think Apple would ever venture into the gaming console market?”
It as called the Pippin.
Anyway, encoding my mean we would be able to rip CDs without a computer, via digital input maybe? You can already create playlists without iTunes.
Size is about perfect with mini now, except for the thickness.
I don’t want to be able to watch video on an iPod, but I might like to play a standard tv video signal from it. I might like to be able to rip my cdg collection into iTunes, put it on my iPod, and run my Karaoke show from there. Goodbye hundreds of discs, hello sweet little iPod and PowerBook (for backup). I might like to be able to pre-mix and run an entire custom set list complete with accompanying video. I might like to use iMovie, export the finished product to my iPod, and be able to plug it into anyone’s TV set to watch whatever it was.
Video is the next step for integration with iLife, IMO. Encoding might end up being useful, but not as useful as a video-out.
Wow I never knew about Pippin. Crazy. Anyway, the 4G iPod is gonna be pretty awesome, especially if it does utilize Home on iPod or whatever it is called. A company called http://www.syncitbaby.com does something similar for the PC environment, basically utilizing a stable synchronization program on a portable USB. I am guessing that this is what Home on iPod will be and more, and although I don’t understand all the encoding stuff I’m sure its cool.
YAHOO!
“I mean, who really cares if you can dispay some photos on the ipod – it is a music device”.
If you travel and are into digital photography, having the iPod available to download your pics onto would be a great convenience. Especially if you shoot in raw format which takes up a lot of space. And as long as they are there, you may as well be able to look at them. As a medium for sharing photos I don’t see a real benefit.
Appleinsider is fast becoming the new MOSR.
Lol.
MOSR has been down for several days last I checked.
pkradd wrote: “MOSR has been down for several days last I checked” and that is why Appleinsider is the new MOSR.
“basically utilizing a stable synchronization program on a portable USB. I am guessing that this is what Home on iPod will be and more”
If I remember correctly, Home on the iPod was more than just syncing, you could log in to any OS X computer from the iPod (not boot up, I mean log in- ie fast user switching stuff), and keep all your settings and prefs.
I really don’t think recording is a must have feature. I’ve owned a number of ipods for the past two years and i never really looked for a recoriding feature, and i’m a composer by profession.
Here’s my bet:
The recording feature found in 4G iPods will be for PVR capability. Record shows on television on your iPod in MPEG-4.
Watch it either on your entertainment center or on-the-go. I’d buy it.
That would be wild Colthere. Would this mean you iPod would become Tivo-ish?
I truly doubt that. You need a powerful processor to record video in MPEG4 in real time. Remember, encoding takes much more processing power than decoding.
I can imagine some kind of video-dock that would have all the inputs and outputs and use the iPod as the encoder and hard-drive. I do not see digital ins and outs as something that the iPod needs; I for one would have no use for such a feature.
duh. import unprotected wma songs into aac by plugging in ipod into real music player or plugging into virgin digital player?
In the neer future, i’d like to see Apple implement the new wireless firewire (firewireless?) with the iPod. Bluetooth is a bit too slow IMHO f�r transporting MP3:s, but firewire does it perfectly already. However, implementing bluetooth in it as well would give developers some potentially new areas to explore with the iPod, much like te cell-phones has. For me as a Powerbook-user it’s all about not having to store a bunch of excessive cables, both in the house and out in the field
Nobody:
“I truly doubt that. You need a powerful processor to record video in MPEG4 in real time. Remember, encoding takes much more processing power than decoding.”
Article:
“the micro-chip Apple plans to use in its 4th generation iPod will not only allow for hardware decoding of MPEG-4/AAC, but will also boast several ENCODE capabilities.”
If this rumor is true, they have a little chip that can encode MPEG-4. PVR capability isn’t impossible at that point… Ofcourse this is all based on a rumor. But the fact still remains.. if Apple makes the iPod with some form of PVR capability, I’d buy it. Being able to watch your favorite television shows on your entertainment system or with the iPod is very agreeable to me. And if Apple created it, I’m sure it would work great! For controlling the iPod audio/video on your entertainment system, maybe they could have a wireless rechargeable thin remote that looks just like the iPod, but no wires. Or, Apple could allow navigation on the TV screen. Or it could be a little of both. Just speculation on a rumor that would make Microshaft freak out about Apple’s unfair and closed businesses practices regarding open source MPEG-4. Whenever Microsoft doesn’t own a monopoly, it’s illegal.