“Phillip Swann, president of TVPredictions.com who’s also known as Swanni, says Apple’s chance of succeeding with the new video player are thin,” TVPredictions.com reports. “‘The video iPod will be Steve Jobs’ folly,’ Swann said. ‘Americans will not watch full-length videos — or perhaps even short music videos — on 2.5-inch screens on portable devices. It makes no sense. The music IPod is successful because it replicates something we’ve doing for more than two decades — listening to portable music players while on the go. It’s easy because we can continue to perform other tasks while we listen to our tunes.'”
TVPredictions.com reports, “Swann added: ‘However, the video iPod will require you to stop what you’re doing and focus on a video. Who has the time to do that during the day? Plus, the video will be on a small screen that will make watching highly uncomfortable…The video iPod was born from arrogance. Apple has been so successful with the audio iPod that it thinks it can’t go wrong. But it will this time.'”
Full article here.
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What about those with hours to kill on planes, aboard trains, and riding as passengers in automobiles? One very important point “Swanni” missed is that the video isn’t limited to the iPod’s screen. You can take it with you on the red-eye from New York to LA and plug it into the hotel room’s TV set or pull it out of your pocket a friends house or [insert any of a thousand scenerios here] and watch the video on any size screen you wish. Why don’t people read the features and capabilities before they sit down and start banging away at their Gateway keyboards? “Swanni’s” crystal ball seems to have rolled away completely due to the force of the sea change Steve Jobs effected today. Or perhaps “Swanni” actually really can see the future and just doesn’t like what it portends for the “TV Prediction” business?
It’s plainly there on Apple’s iPod section of their website: “Use an optional S-video cable with iPod to play VJ on your TV… Oh, and you can do it all from across the room using the optional Universal Dock and handy new Apple remote.” Info: http://www.apple.com/ipod/ipod.html
A lot of people today seem to be missing the fact that the video purchased from Apple’s iTunes Music Store 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).
Related articles:
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Apple and Disney usher in new media era – October 12, 2005
Apple posts QuickTime of ‘One More Thing’ special media event – October 12, 2005
Apple’s Front Row with Apple Remote and iMac G5: media center done right – October 12, 2005
Apple introduces new thinner iMac G5 with built-in iSight video camera, ‘Front Row’ media experience – October 12, 2005
Apple releases iTunes 6 with 2,000 music videos, Pixar short films & hit TV shows for $1.99 – October 12, 2005
Apple unveils new 5th generation iPod, now plays music, photos, and video – October 12, 2005
What’s ironic is that the guy sounds like Steve Jobs before today.
He also missed that there is no increase in price, only increase in options, compared to yesterday’s ipod.
Ha
Not to mention that the video enable iPod (not iPod video) still does everything the older generation did at the same price point. SO you’re basically getting bonus features. Where’s the down side?
the first thing they should notice is that the ipod still is a music player. For the same price as the old 20GB ipod, you now get a video part, and 30 GB. Its just the bonus of buying the new ipod. It will sell just like any other ipod, but u get the extra features. Idiots like this guy talk about non issues. He doesn’t see this as being something added for value, that doesn’t cost the consumer anymore money.
haha someone beat me to the punch. that was fast
…in ADVANCE, ready to moan about Apple’s latest “failure.”
But guess what? It’s NOT a “video iPod” it’s a music iPod!!!!
Video’s just an extra!
So how is that going to fail?
It’s like saying the iPod calendar is going to fail. It’s great, but you don’t have to use it.
Or maybe the failure is in giving us more GB in a thinner package, for the same price, with a bigger screen, in a choice of colors
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Yeah, these’ll never sell…
“b” you nailed it, it’s still an iPod that just happens to play video if you want, even if the video aspects fails, the new iPods are still the best audio player on earth, with a higher capacity than before for the same price, plus thinner, etc. There is no “folly” in the new iPods…
Today’s iPod generation has a very short-attention-span (no offence!), and is used to chopped up slices of time, video, audio, etc. People aren’t spending 30 years at one job any more, but instead move to where the opportunities are. TV is just one giant generator of short clips, interrupted by commercials. Look at the audio scene– it’s fast-moving and energetic. That’s the generation the new iPod is targeting. And of course, it’s all just the first step of putting all the rights-management issues in place so the video features can take off. I’m way too smart to be way too quick to judge today’s product introductions. They’re like other Apple intro’s– seemingly too out-front, but eventually part of our basic culture.
Maybe he’s right to some degree. I mean, I’d rather have a plain old iPod than the new one, for the simple fact that it’s thinner.
It probably will be a hit. Because I don’t get it. I thought the iPod was a silly over priced idea. But I got one, and love it and so did every one else. I think the video option will probably go the same way. It is an option that I don’t see the practical side of right now, but once it is in my hot little hands, I will wonder how I ever got by with a nasty little b&w screen that would not even show the album art!
G Spank,
The new iPod is thinner than the old one.
The only downside comes from the thief who’s sneaking up behind you!
Introducing the new iPod with video…. watch your back!
With the new iPod I can show random people on the street the most intense hardcore XXX porn. H.264 encoded, of course.
this is idiotic for one reason.
THis new iPods are going to have the same appeal they’ve had all along. People buy them primarily for listening to music. If what he is saying is true, then people would actually become turned off by having video capabilities for essentially no extra cost. It would be an entirely different matter if they were selling Video iPods that ONLY did video, but they arent.
It’s just stupid. It’s an extra feature. How is that going to make it UNAPPEALING.
It isn’t.
Whilst I welcome this as a first step I’ll be holding off on a video iPod until it can play some better resolutions. I would only want one if I could plug it into a tv or screen and play decent resolutions and by decent I mean at least dvd, not 320×240 h.264 or 480×480 mpeg4 and with higher bitrates.
I’m also not paying $40+ dollars or there-abouts to download a season of a tv show at far smaller resolution than I can get from torrents, recording them myself or eventually on dvd.
Of course if my existing iPod dies then i’ll get a video model but not specifically for the purpose of video. Luckily apple aren’t selling it as that.
KEEP IGNORANT REPORTERS FROM REPORTING MISLEADING INFO!!!
drop swann and email: swann@tvpredictions.com
You’d have to be an idiot not to realize that Apple was going to release a video iPod and toaster today. Morons.
what i’m curious about is the video resolution size…currently the videos being sold in itunes are 320×240. a television set is 640×480, so right off the bat your losing about 50% of your quality when you plug into your tv. i was also wondering what happens if you import a normal 640×480 video (or 720×480 for that matter), what is itunes and/or your pod going to compress it?
hmm…
I agree cal,
640×480 is the base standard for video, just like Apple’s new iPod ad:
http://www.apple.com/ipod/ads/
That excellent video is 640×480 pixels at 2.3 mbits/sec H.264 compared to iTunes current 320×240 at 600kbits/sec.
That kind of higher downloadable quality would really start a buzz.
These analysts don’t exactly think outside the square do they? You can plug this new iPod into a TV. Much easier to take a pocket full of movies to your mates place to watch a few movies. Lets face it, one DVD disc dosn’t fit in your pocket. And you never know, on a long train trio or camping or whatever, people wil use the new video feature. Not as much as the music features of course but that OK, it’s nice to have the option. Pocket TVs have been around for years, I’ve used one, it really isn’t that bad. As long as you can hear the story clearly, the imagery is secondary really. Unless its Star wars or some other overly laiden special effects master piece. Apparently this new iPods screen is a little bigger than a pocket TVs so it’s all good. I just wish it was 80gigs instead of 60gig, Still, if I wait yet another year I could be holding a 30gig solid state flash drive video iPod that doubles as a remote for the new G6.
These analysts don’t exactly think outside the square do they.
So does anyone yet know if it will ONLY play mp4 and H264? what about plain old mpg, mpeg, avi or even humble mov formats. I know it won’t play wmv, hell windows Media Player won’t play wmv half the time. I need some more specific specs.
i’ve tried importing avi files into itunes and it won’t recognize them so no to that format. i wonder how much of that though is hardware based vs. software based. hopefully someone will make some hacks/pluggins at some point to allow for more compatibility.
MPEG4 & H264 Video will play on the new iPods. It doesn’t have to be bought from the store. Video from Eye TV (El Gato) and Alchemy DVR works just fine. iMovie, Final Cut Express, Final Cut Pro, Compressor, Cinematize & Popcorn will also encode/transcode for iTunes & the vPods.
Even without the video, the larger screen and improved form-factor are appealing. Black, too!
Now if there were a way to plug the iPod into the built-in screens on airplane seats…
I wonder if it will play VIDEO_TS folders?…
Swani is confused. And likely an older guy with little clue as to what people with video cellphones..PSP’s and similar gear are doing.
The market for mobile video is EXPLODING right now. Check the latest issue of Newsweek for the interview with the president of Sony Pictures Digital Yair Landau. He said, “We started selling copies of movies on memory sticks for watching movies on cell phones in the United Kingdom several months ago. We sold out in one month. I’m constantly surprised by people’s desire to watch movies anywhere, anytime. The whole nature of movie consumption among the younger networked generation is much different than their parents. That’s going to start impacting the way movies are made and other distribution patterns.”