Video Podcasts are available via Apple’s iTunes Music Store. Is this the next big thing for iTunes? It is supported in iTunes 4.9.
Video podcasts load in iTunes just like an audio-only podcast and play videos full screen, in the album artwork (main screen) window, or a separate window (see below for how to change your preferences in iTunes 4.9). Video podcasts distribute content via QuickTime streaming video.
Click the link below for the “macTV videocast” to try it out in Apple iTunes 4.9! In iTunes, just choose an episode (#5 is a good one for a test) and click “Get Episode.” Once it downloads, click the play button and it’ll play video and audio in your iTunes “artwork” window. If you wish, you can click on the video itself to bring up a free-floating video window. Also, in iTunes 4.9’s Preferences’ “Advanced” section, you can choose to “Play videos” in various ways: “in the main window,” “in a separate window,” or “full screen.”
Note: make sure you “Show Artwork” in iTunes. In iTunes’ Edit menu: Show Artwork (⌘+G).
macTV videocast: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=76739584
MacDailyNews Take: It’s hard to image Apple not giving the iPod a way to play back these Video Podcasts, isn’t it? Not so much for watching on the small iPod screen (although that would be useful in some situations), but more for connecting iPods to larger monitors for playback. Apple seems to be laying down pieces of wood here, steel rails there, and driving spikes everywhere in preparation for hurtling a serious locomotive through the media content market of the future.
[Update: 1:32pm EDT, Added “Show Artwork” note.]
Related MacDailyNews articles:
BusinessWeek: Think Apple’s developing ‘Video iPod?’ – Think Different – July 27, 2005
Apple’s ‘pure genius’ will soon make iTunes’ portal the ‘number one destination on the Internet’ – July 26, 2005
Video iPod? Does The Wall Street Journal have a ‘Deep Throat’ inside Apple Computer? – July 25, 2005
Cringely: Apple’s soon-to-come ‘iVideo’ movie download service very important to Intel – July 23, 2005
Selling music videos on Apple’s iTunes makes economic sense – July 19, 2005
Report: Disney considers teaming with Apple to deliver iPod video content – July 19, 2005
Ars Technica peeks at Apple’s portable video plans – July 18, 2005
More info about Apple’s reported iPod+iTunes video talks – July 18, 2005
WSJ: Apple in video iTunes talks, may unveil video iPod by September – July 18, 2005
Cringely: Apple working on HD movie download service and Video iPod – July 15, 2005
Cringley: Apple and Intel to merge; Steve Jobs finally beats Bill Gates – June 09, 2005
Apple’s shift to Intel really all about Hollywood, owning the living room, and Transitive – June 05, 2005
Cringely: This week changed the world of high tech forever – May 13, 2005
Cringely: Apple prepping Video iTunes, Video iPod, and setting stage for iPod clones – May 06, 2005
Cringely: the full story about Apple Mac mini’s purpose has not yet been told – January 21, 2005
I just uploaded my first pornographic videocast. Everything’s changed now. I’m going to be rich. Gosh I hope my mom and dad don’t notice that their camcorder is sticky.
Which is my not-so-subtle way of asking, “What Hell hath Apple wrought?”
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=73831930
The CrashTestKitchen is another good example.
Watching video on a small screen is fine by me…very useful. Just like the original tiny quicktime videos. Been doing that since the first video Archos product years ago.
Wow. There is actually something useful to do with a theoretical video iPod.
Somehow the movies won’t play within iTunes, only the sound. The movies are downloaded, and can be played with Quicktime.
MW: Look, as in, look I can’t see the movies in iTunes.
I have not yet been able to get a podcast to load on either my shuffle or 4th g iPod. What am I doing wrong. I’ve iTunes set up to pull them down, but how do you get them to update onto the iPod automatically?
aToMac:
Make sure you click “Podcasts” in iTunes’ “Source” menu. You’ll see the video, not just hear the audio that way.
What if:
All you needed to buy was a Video out cable and iTunes 5.0 in order to plug your video content into any TV and watch a vBlog or Music Video or (gasp) full length movie. I mean really, the iPod doesn’t come with speakers, why should it need it’s own monitor.
Is the (hardware) capability in the iPod now?
MW= play as in I wanna play movies on my iPod
That wasn’t the problem, I didn’t have Artwork visible. Now it works. Thanks. This realy rocks!
For dutch readers there are several vodcasts from the dutch broadcast companies:
http://www.rvu.nl/vodcast.xml (copy this link into itunes)
http://www.vodcast.nl/feeds/3voor12.xml (same as above, a MTV like station)
and all for free!!
another interesting vodcast is Digirati University:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=73799863&selectedItemId=500838
Sum Jung, Where can I download your video!
Watching video on a small screen is fine by me…very useful
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Nah, I’m not going to be the hypocritical mac user on this one.. give me a bigger screen or I’m not gonna watch anything longer than 3 minutes..
The music videos are logical.. sports highlights, etc.. great… a movie or anything with a plot? No freakin way.
mike,
I’m sure you have a bigger screen somewhere (your TV and computer monitor). The point is that for longer form video content, you plug your “iPod video” into it to watch.
Very nice! I’m impressed! Was slightly jerky..
I think these idea is great. People seem to forget that the Podcasts are not only listened to on the go, but also played back on computers during the day at work. I listen to NBC Nightly News every day at work without ever loading it onto an iPod. If I had a video Podcast, I might watch it during my lunch break or during a break during the day. Don’t discount this because of small screen size, I don’t think that is necessarily the purpose of the video Podcast.
Another example might be to download your favorite tv show or movie and take it over to a friends to watch on their tv while you visit with them. I know several times I have fogotten to tape a show or movie, but one of my friends did on their DVR but they have no way to get it to me. It would be nice to be able to download it through iTunes or straight off the DVR and borrow it from them to watch. That would be perfect I think.