“Anyone who has ever delved into the world of torrents has been greeted by a slew of file formats. Yes, the video is usually some flavor of DivX. However, the bit rate, the resolution, the audio format, etc. can all be different. The onus is then placed on you, the consumer, to download and configure the proper codecs. What if, on the other hand, a new set of torrents emerged. Instead of files intended for all types of destination devices, these files just assume they’ll be played on the wildly popular iPod. It would be easy enough to encode iPod friendly versions. It’s just H.264 and Apple (surprise surprise) offers a $29.99 upgrade to its Quicktime Pro package which offers encoding into H.264,” Stephen Speicher writes for Engadget.
All of a sudden you’ll be able to look at:
Lost.S01.E02.ipod
and know that not only will the file play on your iPod, but that it’s been optimized to do so. Suddenly, the lack of DivX support isn’t so important. In fact, by excluding DivX Apple might have given the torrent community the direction it needs to truly make iPod torrents consumer friendly.
Speicher writes, “Within six months we’ll see iPod torrent search sites. People will be thanking Apple and wondering why DivX was such a big deal. But why on earth would Apple want to drive torrent traffic? To pressure the content owners of course.”
Full article here.
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As Mike above puts it “I think $1.99 is a fair price. I know, I know, it’s free on tv”………..that’s the rub, TV ISN’T FREE. I pay $45 a month for basic cable. The 1st baby step that Iger/Jobs are talking about is a whole new way of distribution! Over time, perhaps several years, a a-la-carte may emerge that allows me to buy programming I want to view AND END UP BEING CHEAPER THAN MY MONTHLY FLAT RATE IS TODAY.
Mike, doubling the resolution both vertically and horizontally (320X240 vs 640X480) would quadruple (4X) file size and download times (not double them, all other things being equal). 7 minutes vs a half hour is a big deal and could be the tipping point for a lot of folks. (7 minutes seems like right now!)
Also 320X240 is not horrible full screen on a TV, a little fuzzy but no more so than VHS.
Yeah I agree 320×240 ain’t that bad. I’ve done it and it’s more than acceptable. You have to think about download times too.
i am happy and still waiting my ipod 5gen to be delivered!!! yeeeyyyy!!!
“Seriously, the current iPod is crippled, and its crippling apple’s entire video solution.
It needs to be able to decode at least a 640X480 stream, around 4-5Mpbs, and downsample it to the smaller screen. This will allow people to save video files in a respectable format and still watch them on the ipod. The way it is right now, you have to choose between iPod compatible and decent resolution, or store 2 different files. Hopefully apple will fix this with the 6th Generation iPod.”
Excuse me Sir-
Simply put, it can. I have encoded DVDs at 720 pixels by 304 pixels in MP4 format. It downsamples it in realtime for the iPod viewing. When I connect it to a television with my cable, it displays it at full resolution, widescreen, and is not visibly different to the DVD. I have full control from the iPod as to playing position.
It works PERFECTLY. So, basically, everything you wish for is ALREADY true.
Best regards,
Danny
Just to let your guys know There is a new torrent site for ipod only content and its called http://WWW.PODTROPOLIS.COM
they have a great layout and there sites fast with some kick ass music videos also , movies and tv shows . though it would be cool if there was more seeders .
i would love to get some links to get FREE movies for the ipod mini…..running in iPodLinux….
your predictions were right! lol
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Sites like http://www.torpod.com offer movies and TV show downloads!
Very interesting