“When Steve Jobs took the stage here in San Jose today, most people expected him to release a video-based iPod. And indeed he did, but he actually introduced much more. In a sense, he has shown the tech world what it means to create a total consumer eco-system for integrating images, music and video into a digital lifestyle,” Tim Bajarin writes for Technology Pundits.
Bajarin writes, “He demonstrated an iPod with video that sports a 2.5 inch TFT screen that makes it easy to see personal pictures, music videos and even your own movies made on iMovie. In a stroke of genius, he also announced a deal with Disney which will allow you to download full episodes of major ABC hits such as Desperate Housewives, Lost, Night Stalker, That’s So Raven and Suite Life. This alone will cause the Hollywood TV studios to beat a path to Apple’s door to get their offerings on the new iTunes video store as fast as possible. Since Apple uses Fair Play DRM, they can use this new TV iTunes store to show the Movie Moguls their environment is safe since you cannot actually burn DVD’s of the video content, but can download and view them on either a Mac or the iPod Video device to get a great video experience.”
Bajarin writes, “I still doubt a person will watch a full length movie on such a small screen but shorter TV episodes may catch on. However, with this move, Apple is actually showing the Hollywood producers that digital distribution of any content is safe and secure and that Apple gives them a new way to distribute their content to the entire marketplace.”
MacDailyNews Note: iPods can output to any size screen. iMac G5’s (and other Macs) can be and are connected to larger screens for video playback. People don’t have to watch on a small screen unless they’re on-to-go – in an airplane, on a commute, etc. A lot of people today seem to be missing the fact that the video is not limited to iPod or Mac screens. Want to connect a new iMac G5 to another screen? Use Apple’s $19.99 VGA Display Adapter to connect the mini-VGA port on the iMac G5 to any VGA-equipped monitor or external projector for video-mirroring. The VGA cable plugs into the VGA video-out port built into your iMac G5. Or use Apple’s Apple Video Adapter to connect the mini-VGA video output port on your iMac G5 to any S-video or Composite enabled device (TV, VCR, or overhead projector’s S-Video or RCA (composite) cable).
Bajarin continues, “With this new iPod music and video player and the iTunes store that now supports video downloads, Apple is actually re-writing the rules of media distribution. They are creating a complete consumer digital ecosystem that will be very attractive to Mac and PC users alike and this will only make more people think about switching from PC to Mac.”
“The other major announcement, besides some great new thinner iMacs, was the introduction of their new consumer friendly UI called Front Row. It comes with a remote control that looks like an iPod Shuffle and gives them a single consumer UI that now turns a person’s Mac into a complete entertainment system as easy to use as any other product within the overall Mac experience. But Front Row’s UI is so stunning in the way it works with the remote and the way it looks like on the screen that the two together will force the Media Center folks up at Redmond to completely re-think their architecture. Like in the past, Apple’s engineers have outdone themselves by thinking through the entire consumer experience and delivering it in a way that is simple and amazingly easy to use. They have also introduced the powerful concept of a single UI across platforms and devices that will give them a significant edge over the PC based competition for some time,” Bajarin writes.
Full article here.
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