“While there’s been lots of buzz about the new video-capable iPod, I find the new video store to be much more interesting. I’ve read some gripes about the low quality of the iTunes videos, but they aren’t meant to replace the DVD versions. I might point out that iTunes music is quite a bit lower quality than CD tracks. I found the videos plenty watchable, certainly for two bucks anyway,” Joe Wilcox writes for JupiterResearch.
“For watching in the living room, I would wants that [DVD] boxed copy of ‘Lost.’ But on my computer, I might settle for less–and even less for the new iPod, because there the quality would be “good enough” for the display,” Wilcox writes. “If I the consumer really want the newest ‘Lost’ episodes to watch, say, on a trip, they’re available for just $2 each the day after broadcast, via a simple, no-hassle download. And with series like “Lost” where complex story lines drop hints in past episodes, immediacy would be important for some viewers trying to follow along. For the content creator, there is the opportunity to immediately monetize its asset. “Lost” wouldn’t go to DVD until some months after the 25-episode season concluded. But the content creator could start cashing in the day after broadcast. In fact, the content creator might reap some lost revenue, given that episode likely would be able on BitTorrent sites. Because the iTunes version is good enough for the computer or video-enabled iPod but not necessarily the TV, the $2/episode sale wouldn’t necessarily jeopardize DVD sales. Fans might easily buy a series of single episodes and later DVDs. Heck, what’s two bucks? Single episodes would be easy spends.”
Wilcox writes, “I agree with colleague Gary Stein, who writes, ‘The ability to buy a show for under $2 and watch it whenever you want is a major step in the right direction…I think we should potentially be talking about this move being the savior of good television.’ Now, it’s just a matter of Apple adding more content.”
Full article here.
JupiterResearch’s Gary Stein’s article is here.
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Joe Wilcox sounds like he’s writing for his middle school newspaper. Maybe his teacher should edit his articles before they go to press.
I bought two episodes of “The Night Stalker” and hooked up my laptop to my TV via the S-video and an RCA cable; the quality I thought was real good. I couldn’t tell the difference between my cable and the iTV show….
I agree with the sentiment of the article, but geez, can something written this poorly really be taken seriously??
Two words. BOSTON LEGAL.
Two words. Battlestar Galactica.
One word. ROME
Joe Wilcox sounds like Gollum. Otherwise, an interesting article.
Just out of interest Hooty, how big are the files ? (file size not dimensions)).
they need BG on itunes!
Pilot One of Lost is 210MB by iTunes’ calculation.
El Gato’s eyeTV 200 + Comcast Cable = ROME, 24, VH1, NEWS, TLC, Lost,HIstory Channel — etc…..all in preparation of my soon to own iPod Video.
210MB !! arghhhhhhh! Our Broadband will need to be a LOT cheaper before some thing like THAT becomes palatible even though we dont yet get the service here in NZ. I download zipped image files during the day that range from 30MB to 120MB at work on commercial Broadband and they take up to 30 minutes for the 120MB file at average speed of 70KiloBytes persec (times by 8 for Kilobits speed equivalent as there are 8 bits to 1 Byte of data) Our work line maxes out at about 100KB persec for most stuff around town or up to 300KB persec for downloads from Apple.)
I bought two episodes of “The Night Stalker” and hooked up my laptop to my TV via the S-video and an RCA cable; the quality I thought was real good. I couldn’t tell the difference between my cable and the iTV show….
It might look better on a tv beause tvs are lower resolution than your laptop screen. on my laptop is watchable but there is very clearly a difference from cable.
plus i´m tired of all these analysts saying its only 2 bucks. thats 50 bucks a season per show. that´s a lot, i could get dvds for that. i could get better quality and sometimes faster downloads for free. this isn´t a great deal yet.
>>Jay, it is only $2 per episode. Technically speaking, it’s less than $2 per episode. For a 23 episode show, if you purchased all episodes via iTMS, then the season would run you $45.77. But that’s only if you purchase each episode independently, because you couldn’t be bothered to watch a single episode on its regularly scheduled night. Otherwise, you could just wait for the entire season to be available for just under $35.
The cost is far more dependent on how you value things then straight up cost. My cable bill is $60 a month, and I typically watch 5 shows (Gilmore Girls, Smallville, Veronica Mars, Law & Order SVU, and Numb3rs). Of course, I also watch VH1, HBO, and or Showtime mixed in here and there. But otherwise you could state that for my $720 per year, I’m paying around $6 an episode just to NOT have tons of static, and to NOT spend time fiddling with an antenna. Well that, and to have something be on, when I go through my bouts of insomnia.
I think $2 is a sweet point. It means for $44 a year I can keep my Sundays free, and download Deseparate Housewives on Mondays or I could easily watch on Sundays, but not have to worry about missing an episode due to travel, dinner parties, or other events.
I also bought those Night Stalker episodes. I was okay with the video quality, but the quality of that show is another thing altogether. NS is X-Files without the talent.
iTunes also needs to incorporate some better controls for pause, rewind, etc.
Battlestar Galactica? That show was about a half-notch below Buck Rogers for crappy TV scifi. I hope it’s gotten a lot better since Ben Cartwright left the helm.
I find that with so much programming around now and so many channels it is inevitable that i miss or forget to record something or simply can’t remember an episode well enough to follow plots. To have the opportunity to download odd episodes now and again to fill in the blanks hits a target that buying a DVD weeks or months later just doesn’t do. This is an ideal concept for our present day viewing habits I reckon and will help keep people involved with shows that otherwise they will drift away from..
$2 per episode is too expensive for me. I do not want to own it, I just want to watch it once.
I would be more interested in subscribing to a series for a fixed fee ($5-10) per series.
For the shows I realy like, a DVD is much more interesting. Extras are great.
“Two words. Battlestar Galactica.”
I second, or third, or whatever that thought. They’ve already got the best show in Lost, now put the second best show in BG on there.
They DO need to do something about the resolution. It’s barely just OK on 23″ cinema display.
If things go well they will probably start selling episodes in higher resolution. Preferably along with an A/V airport or frontrow for a mac mini with digital audio output.
Good Television? That’s like saying Military Intelligence…………
Does such a thing exist?
Mr. Reeese, yes, good television does exist. But given that television tastes vary almost as much as musical ones, I think it will be a big challenge for Apple to bring content to the store that will appeal to as many downloaders as possible. It’s not hard to follow where that line of reasoning takes us: the shows more people watch, with current plot lines that are not in syndication, will probably get into the store sooner. That will generally mean large studio/network shows, not the small cable stuff. Kinda hope I’m wrong here, because I would love to have shows from fx and SciFi available. But so many shows from the small cable networks and content providers like HBO are so quickly available on DVD, I’m not holding my breath.
As for no-name complaining about the size of the downloads, what the heck did you expect? Half the world is bitching at Apple for not making better quality available, and the other half is complaining the files are too big. I think they struck a good compromise. Recently, in a hotel with a free wireless network, I downloaded three shows, each taking about 25 minutes. I think that is pretty slick. If anything, readily available video may help drive faster broadband adoption. In the meantime, quit whining.
Yes, the new Battlestar Galactica would definitely bring my wallet out as well. I bought the season 1 DVD set and have now hooked 3 friends on the show as well. Are you listening, Universal? Put the season 2 stuff out there for us. Please?
I’ve never watched Lost, but hey, maybe I should fork out the $4 to watch the first two pilot episodes…. If I like them I can get the rest of the season and then catch up on this one, at which point I can TiVo the newer episodes…
I third or fourth the desire for BG on iTunes. If it was there, then I would only get basic cable for a $8 a month (as opposed to $42 now). Buying each episode of BG individually would be a lot cheaper than buying cable and I don’t watch much of the rest of the cable programming.
Go send the SciFi people an e-mail about it – tell them that you want to see their shows (especially BG) on iTunes: http://scifi.com/feedback/
Two more words:
Dr. Who.
Since SciFi hasn’t been interested in picking it up in the US, it could go straight to iTunes video store and let’s see the sales for that…
Also Hex…
Dr. Who? Wasn’t that the one where Art Garfunkel traveled through time solving mysteries in his dimension-hopping tearoom? The entire series was filmed in about four old set leftovers from Basil Rathbone’s Sherlock Holmes days…
Good show, though. Helluva lot better than Battlestar Galactica ever was. Does the new show still have Starbuck, the brash, seat-of-his-pants rapscallion who stole the heart of… whatever-her-name-was? Does it still have the Sleestak, or whatever the stormtrooper rip-offs were?
There was only one sf show worse than BG, and that was Space: 1999.
Quevar–mails to scifi, however, might not want to include the info, “I want to buy BG online so I can drop my cable subscription, including to you.”