“The new version of Apple’s iTunes online music service and QuickTime includes the capability to watch video through iTunes, and… ultimately brings up the question many might have been wondering — just how far into digital media Apple’s going to go,” Alyce Lomax writes for The Motley Fool.
“The news definitely gives some food for thought concerning Apple’s possible future plans. It looks pretty obvious that Apple would like iTunes to be a repository for more than just music — try music videos and maybe (conjecture, here) someday even movies. It’s already proved that the model can work, and iTunes is popular and subsequently very well-known,” Lomax writes.
“Apple’s Steve Jobs has traditionally put a thumbs-down on the idea of the mainstream business viability of video content on portable devices such as iPod. Of course, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t mean business when it comes to content and computers — in particular, his own Macintosh line,” Lomax writes. “For now, the service sounds like it just provides quick video clips as bonus content to songs that are purchased — a perfectly good way to go in terms of bolstering users’ loyalty. However, there doesn’t seem to be a good reason to underestimate this move with the coming reality of media convergence — it seems pretty likely that Apple has plenty up its sleeve. For now, there’s no reason for investing excitement, just the usual conjecture and questions. It’s obvious that Apple continues to indoctrinate the public into the iTunes fold; will iTunes soon become iLiving Room? Only time will tell.”
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Apple bundles videos with select music albums via iTunes Music Store – May 10, 2005
Apple releases iTunes 4.8; now supports QuickTime video along with contact, calendar transfers – May 09, 2005
“…just the usual conjecture and questions.”
‘Nuff said.
This could explain the 30 free iTunes with purchase of an Airport Express. They could be clearing out old models to clear inventory.
New Airport Express with video/music out capability could in the works.
WWDC couldn’t come soon enough…. tablet macs? Movie Store? iNuclearBomb?
how cool would it be to dload your movie for rental and have it in 5 min. The DRM would be tricky as hell though…
I personally am waiting for the release of the iAdmitWeSuck. Yeh-hehessss. You know, it’s software from Microsoft — so come to think of it, the name is kind of redundant.
But really, it comes hand-signed by Gates himself. I hear they’re going to be individually numbered, too. Yeh-hehessssss. So that when it crashes your iAdmitWeSuck Living Room Media Center unit and blows every circuit in your house, you’ll have an easier time joining de class action suit.
Yeh-heh-hehessssssssssss.
Hey, I keed. I keed because . . . I hate Microsoft.
Everyone should check out the posting from “As Seen On TV”, what most assume is a higher echelon Apple employee spilling some of the beans on the recent speculation of the iMoviestore/iVideoPod, etc.
“Everybody’s wrong about the video iPod thing. A video iPod would be a dumb idea for lots of reasons, some technical, some psychological. If you want to know where we’re going with video playback, look not to the iPod but to its considerably less famous little brother, AirPort Express.”
[…]
“Basically what stands between us and roll-out today is 10% technological and 90% business. It strikes me as kinda funny that some people look only at the technology part of our operations for clues as to future directions. Yes, we shipped iTunes 4.8 with video playback. Whoopty-do. iTunes is built on QuickTime. Adding video support was so incredibly trivial, you wouldn’t believe it. It’s a tiny thing. What’s a much bigger thing is the gradual shift, over the past two years, in the way we as a company do business. We are very serious about IP. We’ve made a name for ourselves as being the one company in the industry that, better than anybody else, understands the need to zealously protect intellectual property. So when we go to (say) Disney and ask them to let us distribute their unimaginably valuable IP over the Internet, we’re going to have a little bit more credibility than whatever copycat tries to come along behind us (cough*Napster*cough, cough*Walmart*cough).”
http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=148958&cid=12485267
g, those comments could’ve come from Jobs himself.
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SJ has said movies/video should be viewed in the living room on a large screen, not on a handheld tiny screen (unlike MS-based PMP). He’s said the computer should not be in the living room (unlike MS MCE). SJ said in 2001 that Apple would be one of the ten biggest Internet companies. Solution: video-enabled AE and iTunes Store.
Now where’s that iTunes/Mac remote!!!
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog is a weird fellow
Adding video playback to the iPod Photo would be trivial as well. We allready know that the CPUs of the iPod support this function (as well as WMA playback) and the digital camera connector allready handles video files.
MOV files in iTunes means a new AirPort Express will support streaming of video and audio. The question is if it will use a new wi-fi standard.
The issue is that the iPod does not have enough horsepower to decode H.264 encoded files. The iPod photo is doing no such thing (magic word) today. The same issue applies to a video-enabled AIrport Express relative to today’s audio-only AE. (AE today is only decompressing Apple lossless.)
The good news is that a couple of months ago there was a rumor that Apple contracted with Alphamosaic (part of Broadcom) to use their VC02 chip, which decodes H.264, and does much much more. It seems it is perfect for the AE and even for an iPod.
The AE related comments DID come from jobs himself during an interview with fortune Mag for a feb issue.
actual interview was prolly in dec-jan
he commented on looking for parts for the next gen of AExpress
(IE video related issues)
ASOT is no more an apple employee than myself
BTW: FTR I live in Socialist Trudeaupia it’s nearly civil war time up here
MW :those
Hype, hype, hype
Personally although I would love an iVideo type application or product, I don’t want my videos in iTunes. Forgetting the obvious naming problem, I want different content seperated in different apps, I don’t want to have to specify in each smart playlist to include video or music only, I don’t want to be listening to the latest kickin’ tunes and then to have a move trailer start playing.
In reality all I can see being made of the video functionality in iTunes is the addition of music Videos to iTms downloads – and suprise this is what is happening.
2005 is “the year of high-definition video.” -Steve Jobs, January 2005.
Speculate away on the details. But, “High-definition” rules out miniature devices.
Speaking as an owner of a 60Gig iPod Photo, I am thankful that Steve Jobs knows watching video on a little screen would be the ultimate in suckification. I’ve laughed at people who download postage stamp-sized video off the net for years. I’ll be damned if I become one of them. Even if iTunes time-consumingly converts high-def to a small version that some iPod can handle, it is still a SMALL version. No thanks.
Its about high-definition. That means somewhere in the chain a robust computer (or specialized coprocessor) is involved. What a coincidence! Apple makes robust computers!
When I said that the iPod Photo could handle video I was refering to .MP4 files that digital still cameras produce. This is also the format of choice by the iTunes Music Store’s recent video additions.
H.264 is just one codec and although good, it is ahead of its time. This codec will need dedicated chips to play it back without hogging the processor and next generation CPUs to encode it fast. Current Macs can handle .MP4 well enough to do for movies what iTunes did for CDs at its launch.
I’d suggest they rename the site ‘iPlay’ (so much better than the stuffy ‘iMedia’ or somesuch), but a quick google reveals most of the world seems to have had this idea already.
Tsh, some people.
It’s almost as if I’m a bit slow.
Let Apple buy Delicious Monster(Delicious Library) then we can start talking about iLiving Room. Once they integrate that software into iTunes, iMovies or whatever they want to iCall it then Apple will have the entire widget so to say.
Matt:
Why would Apple buy Delicious? Delicious knocked off the iTunes motif and gets info from Amazon.
Did iMiss something?
g –
You are the greatest for pointing out those comments from As Seen On TV. Veeerrry Interesting! He certainly poses as an Apple employee with the inside scoop. But – how could he “leak” info like this without losing his job? Either he is not really an Apple employee (in which case his information may not be much more than well informed speculation), or he is taking a big risk, or he has the blessing of Jobs.
At any rate -thank for the tip – I’ll be watching his posts!!! Thanks a LOT!!!!