New iPods (Again...)
 

Seems that Apple is hitting all their competitors as much as they can. New iPods will feature a slightly larger screen (about 2.5 inches big), available in two configurations (40 & 80 gig), two colors (yes!), and finally............

VIDEO PLAYBACK

Watch iLounge.com and Apple.com today for more info. Live updates will be available at engadget.com and http://live.macobserver.com/article/..._keynote.shtml .

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

Thier making it 30 and 60 gigs.

Finally!!! i was expecting this a long time ago. but i would have like if they made an update for the photos instead of making a whole new one. now i have to go and buy another iPod. :D

Thier making it 30 and 60 gigs.

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

I could have sworn they had a press release saying they didn't plan to do video...

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

Mac... Overload.... SWEET! Although I don't plan on buying an iPod (although I really wanted a mini) it's nice to see my favorite computing company coming out with new and innovate products.
However, I really don't see the point in video playback. Chances are it'll just give you a headache, or at the least it would give me a headache. I mean if you wanna watch a movie, buy a PSP :rolleyes: ...

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

i'm pretty sure that joe was sitting here with the submit thread button as everyone was clicking on the refresh button on numerous sites reporting news. Well anyway with the Education Discount it goes down to $269 and $369. Theres not much of a market for it yet, but apple products have a tendency to create their own markets, pretty good startegy.

Did anyone else notice that the new iMac G5's don't have intel processors?

Also, look at the 20 hour battery on the New 60 gig ipod, the 30 gig only has 14 hours.


Don't Forget to upgrade to iTunes 6! It's free!

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

*cough* Just wait til the Mac QUAD intel hits the market.

http://www.hardmac.com/news/2005-10-10/#4588

http://www.macrumors.com/c.php?u=ht...10-10%2F%234588

Yes folks 4 CPUs!!!!!

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

Will be interesting to see how this video Ipod does.

One of the problems with Mpeg video players is there is no agreement for fair use of copywrite protected movies. You are allowed to copy your own music CDs to MP3 devices (fair use)

but presently it is illegal to copy your own DVD to your own Mpeg player if the DVD is copywrite protected.

I have a RCA Lyra 2780 that copies movies directly from DVD players (if you know the secret to over-ride the copy protection) - and its an excellent way to watch movies and TV shows when you are travelling, esp if you use VideoEyewear instead of the built in 2.5" LCD

but if the video Ipod cannot record from a DVD player directly, or from a cable or satelite receiver, then what are you going to watch on it? where will you get your content?

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

Spoon feed from the iTMS by Steve Jobs himself, silly!

5 TV shows are now offered, you have tons of video podcasts, and now music videos.

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

I got a mini and that's probably enough for me right now (though I am quite intrigued by the 60 gig model).

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

I got a 40 gig iPod Photo about 9 months ago, and I love it. I can't see myself shelling out the cash for an upgrade to a video or a nano, though I sure would love either.

I hear the TV show quality is quite poor :(

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

Not that bad, I mean, you WON'T be watching these things on a plasma and going WOW, but still, it's usual divx quality (ie, they look as good as my bootleg TDS shows do). I imagine they will look steller on the iPod, good on a computer, and eh on a TV.

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

I think these new iPod videos are pretty sweet, but who's going to pay $2.00 for 1 music video (just seems stupid to me)? I think the $1.99 is more reasonable for a television episode (any word on them getting more shows or maybe movies?). I'de still get the nano if my brother didn't have one, and I didn't have my normal 3g iPod. My Sony PSP still owns the iPod for video though :yikes:

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

*raises hand*

I had to *try* it to see if it worked!

Too bad I'm not that interested in the TV shows they offer, hopefully they'll add some other content soon (The Daily Show! Family Guy! Adult Swim!)

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

If you think about it, the video will probably look decent on a TV. Most TV's are lower res than computer monitors or LCD screens. I've recorded stuff off TV, put it on my computer and its OK. If I put my computer to output to TV the TV doesn't look at good nor as crisp.

If the price came down I would probably buy one, I would really like it if they had a video input port. then I could record competitions.

-Mike

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

The image quality is a function of the compression ratio used. The 160 hours of video (or whatever they are claiming) is with the highest compression ratio, which will give you the lowest image quality.

There are several Mpeg players and recorders out now with 640x480 displays, that will record at 640 resolution with high image quality. The catch is a 90 minute movie will require 3 or 4 Gigs of HD space, so now your 30GB drive will only hold 8 or 10 movies, not 100

the direction the industry is taking with Mpeg video players is twords set-top boxes, like Tivo, that will record programs off the air, compress them to mpeg2 or mpeg4 format, and then you would transfer the content to your portable player, laptop, or desktop PC (wireless of course), and watch it when and where you want.

The two key factors are:

ease of recording and transfer (ie, fast and free $$$)

and image quality. 320x240 images recorded with a high compression ratio, the first time you see them you think "wow this is cool, Im watching a movie on this tiny little gadget". But after a couple movies you start to think "wow, this image quality is terrible".

To put Mpeg compression quality into perspective, DVDs are recorded in high quality Mpeg2 format. The image quality is excellent. Thats the level portable Mpeg players are striving for.

BTW, if you connect one of these players to your TV, with a low quality (high compression) 320 x 240 video, it will look like regular TV with a lousy antenna. Image quality definately shows on the TV monitor. The baseline resolution of a standard TV is approximately 640x480.

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

Not necessarily, back in the good old days I used to capture at 352x240 and it played back almost perfectly on the TV. I haven't played with the iPod export feature yet, but I have seen some samples, and they are fairly decent in quality. Granted they are not DVD quality, but defiantly viewable with a small amount of pixilation.

That isn't an actual mac, it is just a hacked version of the x86 beta development version. It is mostly likely a hacked Pentium D or Xeon.

[quote=Conor Ryan]

Did anyone else notice that the new iMac G5's don't have intel processors?

[quote]

They wouldn't, Apple promised developers a full year until the first x86 macs would come to the consumers. Besides the time to port their apps, apple needs to do a lot of preparation itself in order to release x86 macs. Especially in the way of boot sequence, firewire target disk mode, etc. The first macs to use x86 would be the ibook and the powerbook, which are in definite need of an upgrade from the aging g4 processor. The G5 is still a very competitive processor and probably won't retire until the end 2007.


The video part of the iPod is going to be very cool. $1.99 seems a bit high for a TV episode, but that is roughly the price you pay if you want the DVD of it. They do need more content though, if they convince NBC, CBS, HBO, Spike, TNT, etc to have their shows on iTMS then it will be a viable alternative for people who just can't watch TV at regular times. Soon they will be applications that will take content from a Tivo or other PVR, and automatically transfer it to the video specs of an iPod.

I wouldn't buy an iPod right now for just the video features. The infrastructure is just not there yet, and there will be much better revisions shortly.

The iPod is still and foremost a music player, and that is what it will do the best at.

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

I'd beg to differ. I'm making this post on a 1.42 GHz G4 iBook. The other Mac I'm around is an iMac G5. It's faster, but both hold up beautifully for everything I throw at it (save NeoOffice/J, which appears to be slow for everybody).

However, it would make more sense to start introducing the Mactels towards the low-end, just to avoid ticking off those folks who spend bajillions a year on Macs if something's horribly wrong.

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

They are saying low-end with an emphasis on potability first, so expect Mac minis and iBooks with x86 first, then Powerbooks/iMacs, then PowerMacs.

Re: New iPods (Again...)
 

I thought Macs with Intel processors were supposed to go into effect in 2006.

I still need to figure out which models will have em though...

But as far as the new iPod goes, I think this version is actually worth the money. Not only is the capacity a step up from the last version (in regards to the 20GB moving up to 30GB), it also adds a worthwhile feature (okay, I think its acutally useful, in my opinion), not to mention that you can download ABC and Disney shows onto the new iPod...

Portable "Desparate Housewives," here I come!