[Satchmo]

Originally Posted by onlyafterdark Here is my question: would the movie business want to do business with Apple after seeing how they did things with the music companies? We all know how Apple revitalized the music industry but now all of the companies are crying out that they arent making enough money. We can continue to say that the music industry is run by a bunch of brain-dead scrooges (which they are IMO), but the movie industry is the same way. I think it will be harder for Apple to enter the movie selling game than it was for them to get into the music selling game. Just look at what has been happening with the supposed iPhone (or whatever you want to call it). It started off as a huge deal but it slowly died down and kept getting delayed. I dont think it is because of the hardware or software, but rather dealing with the phone companies. They saw what Apple did with the iTMS and they dont want Apple getting in on what could be very profitable for them. And lets face it, the iPhone will go nowhere unless some major phone companies decide to pick it up and play by Apples rules. So right now Im really pessemistic about a videoPod and the iPhone. I dont think the iPhone will take off and I think that everyone is watching how well the UMD movies on the PSP work out. If they start selling and are a huge hit (which is possible), I think it will be harder for Apple to get the same kind of co-operation they got with they music industry. Dont get your hopes up too high people, we might be in for a huge let down.

Of course the record and movie execs are crying poor. And perhaps their margins won't be where they'd like them to be...but they don't have much choice.
The proliferation of downloaded movies online and bootleg DVD's may very well force them to listen to Apple.

But I'm with you...I don't see a videoPod tomorrow. It'll just be Steve emitting his RDF.

[blehpunk]

i just died a little bit when i found out madonna is going to be in the new itunes phone commercial for motorola. I wonder if this means she will finally let them release her music on itunes.

[onlyafterdark]

As an aside, there's a great comment by music industry execs re dealing with Apple on iTunes - 'It's a monologue with them,' one label executive who asked not to be identified says. 'They pretty much say, 'This is what we want to do,' and if you disagree with them you're an idiot. It's like dealing with a cult.' . A cult!

There is the problem though, no one is going to want to work with Apple because it means they cant make the kind of money they want to make off the deal.

Like one article I read (I think it was an ars one) said that the music industry was crying because they only have one source of revenue (sale of online music) whereas Apple has two (sale of online music and the iPod).

We can all tell that this is total BS because the music industry is having the most successful years it has ever had now. Unfortunately, its not enough and we will most likely get screwed when Apples music contract comes up in 2006.

[DMBand0026]

The thing is, Apple is in a position where they can say to the record companies, "this is how it's going to be. Take it or leave it." The record companies know that, and so does Apple. It's because Apple is in the top spot and no one is gaining ground on them. The record companies know that if they want to sell product online and make online sales a profitable venture for their company, they sell through the iTMS. They could go to Napster, but they won't make as much money, they could go to Rhapsody, but they won't make nearly as much money.

The iTMS is the leader in online music sales and will be for the foreseeable future. Apple didn't do it first, but like with many other things, they did it right. Record companies know that, and that's why Apple can put an offer on the table and be comfortable walking away without a deal. Make no mistake about it, the record companies need Apple, not the other way around. Apple has their revenue and they have the big names in music already signed to deals with the iTMS. Apple is in a sweet spot, they know it, and so does everyone else.

Hopefully they won't get stagnant and blow it all.

[Franz Josef]

Originally Posted by onlyafterdark Unfortunately, its not enough and we will most likely get screwed when Apples music contract comes up in 2006.

That's a real negative vibe, OAD and I just don't buy it.

[onlyafterdark]

Im hoping it doesnt turn out that way either because I really dont want a pricing system similar to what Japan has for their iTMS or a price increase. That would pretty much kill the iTMS for me personally.

Plus, I would like to see a similar system for video downloads in a year or so. Only time will tell I guess.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by iDaver Just curious: Where would you take it? When would you watch it, and with what display? I don't know, but I just can't imagine sitting on a plane or in a car watching a movie on a two inch screen.

I don't think the iPod video will have a two inch screen. It will probably have a four inch screen (think PSP). I'm not expecting the iPod video to be "just" a traditional iPod with video playback - this isn't an iPod photo redux.

Originally Posted by iDaver I think the September 7 special event will be all about iTunes, music and a phone; or something completely out of left field.

I have already stated (in the fifth post in this thread!) that I expect September 7's announcement to be the Motoroloa ROKR iTunes phone. I'm not expecting an iPod video on the 7th, I was just replying to people who said that nobody would be interested in an iPod video.

As for what I would watch on an iPod video? Well, I'd like to note something that seems to be lost on everybody else: It's called the "iPod video," not the "iPod feature film." As in, it can play more than just two hour motion pictures. I'm a big movie buff, so I'd probably use it most to watch movies whenever and wherever I want, but you could also, you know, put TV shows on the thing. Apple could even sell them online - if not individually, then certainly in the DVD season packs. Heck, I'd be able to enjoy an episode of The Simpsons every time I was in the waiting room (which is a lot, now that I have braces...woo-hoo...). I mean, I'd download tons of funky videos from the internet and put them on there - I'm already imagining terrorizing a friend with that video of the cat swinging around on the cieling fan. Oh, and Video Podcasts are a possibility, too - many sites (GameSpot, Engadget) already have their own online "shows." Finally, it could act like a mobile TiVo for your digital content. Staying in a hotel? I'd rather bring a bunch of shows and movies with me on my iPod video then rent something. Video-out is a given, so you'd be able to plug it in and enjoy.

My point is, an iPod video would be useful for more than "just" when you're on a plane and want to watch Hollywood's latest "masterpiece."

[greg_plancich]

So my friend broke the screen on his iPod and when he told me over LJ that he got a new one, I told him a video ipod may be out soon.

He dug around for a while and <a href="http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/images/render2b.jpg">this</a>is what he found. It's obviously photoshopped but it is a possibility.

I always thought they would keep the same design of all the other iPods.

I use both Mac and PC and on the PC, you can minimize WMP to the taskbar and have a small window pop-up that shows what you're playing (video for instance). What pops up is smaller than an iPod screen but I can watch "A Clockwork Orange" fine.

[tannenhauser]

hmm... i think that if its going to be a phone/music player it has to be a music player first and act as a cell phone second... iPod is way too branded as a mp3 player to all of a sudden have phone capabilities. its also too gimmicky for apple to come out with a phone that also plays music, its messy... thats why i hope indeed it is the motorolla phone and not an actual apple product.

[DMBand0026]

This is the picture Greg was trying to post from above:




For the record...I hope that's not what it looks like.

For future reference, html tags won't fly here, only vB stuff. It's kinda odd, but that's just the way things are.

[tannenhauser]

oh man, that thing is disgusting. i feel bad for the person who spent a whole buncha time making this image...

[morningstarrising]

Originally Posted by blehpunk i just died a little bit when i found out madonna is going to be in the new itunes phone commercial for motorola. I wonder if this means she will finally let them release her music on itunes.

Of course, she has a n album coming out later this year..I doubt she wouldn't want it to be on itunes.

[Robo]

Yeah, that's a hideous mockup.

I've always pictured the iPod video as looking quite similair to the Zen Vision...remove some of Vision's less necessary face buttons, replace that "control square" with an iPod shuffle-esque "control circle," move said circle towards the top of the unit (better ergonomics), and voila. (I think the Zen Vision has a 4:3 display...I think the iPod video would have 16:9.)

I supposed a picture of the Vision would be helpful, but I don't know how to post a picture in vB. Sorry.

[faramirtook]

[IMG] http://image.url.here/without/spaces/between.tags [/IMG]

[morningstarrising]

*cough*



But I like this better, the hot seven inch screen, the archos AV700.

[T2dak668]

Originally Posted by naashraf It is going to be video iPod.

sorry dude but SO wrong.

[Escher]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Maybe it's that tablet thing! [ducks and runs for his life]

Or finally a real subnotebook for me... and in orange, especially for pscates.

Escher

[rasmits]

If it is a video iPod, I truly hope they don't call the video store the iTunes Video Store. That name is seriously heinous. iTunes for music. iFlicks for movies. (Or what ever they want to call it). It's a little contradictive to say "iTunes Video Store".

[Doxxic]

I agree that Apple must be thinking it's about as revolutionary as the iPod was. So I guess it's more than just an iPod phone, which is not to say that a phone is not part of the news.

But I think they essentially have finally found a solution for the use and distribution of digital video, which makes more sense if you take the "here we go again"-formulation from Apple into account, and all the hints from Jobs during the past years about the promises and limitations of digitally distributing video.

[Messiahtosh]

The iTunes Music & Movies store? or

The iTunes Music + Movies store?

[InactionMan]

Originally Posted by Messiahtosh The iTunes Music & Movies store? or The iTunes Music + Movies store?

The iTunes Store
Music + Movies

[Brad]

Am I the only person left that thinks selling and organizing movies from at application names iTunes and whose interface was designed for organizing music is a bit ridiculous?

[Mikester]

Originally Posted by InactionMan The iTunes Store Music + Movies

Store Music The iTunes Movies +

[Engine Joe]

Maybe iTunes will become known as iMedia instead. I don't like the name at all... but if Apple is insistent on putting both music and video in one app, I'm not sure what else to call it.

[InactionMan]

I think the definition of Tune is liquid enough to apply to any type of media. Launch the program and decide what you want to tune into; movies, music, tv, whatever the hell else Apple chucks in there.

[Jason]

I really hope this thing is more than just iPod phone. I mean, what's the point of having yet another mobile phone enter the market.
And it plays music? Yeah, but like so what....who cares?

[DMBand0026]

Originally Posted by Brad Am I the only person left that thinks selling and organizing movies from at application names iTunes and whose interface was designed for organizing music is a bit ridiculous?

iTunes now does music, movies, photos, calendars, and the address book.

iTunes may be up for a name change.

[Franz Josef]

Albeit, it is a well established brand. I wonder if it would be worth the risk rebranding in each country where have an iTMS. Not a low risk strategy?

[DMBand0026]

Originally Posted by Franz Josef Albeit, it is a well established brand. I wonder if it would be worth the risk rebranding in each country where have an iTMS. Not a low risk strategy?

Not at all. I don't think they should change it, even if it plays multimedia (as I suppose it does now). That's not a good idea at all.

[Baron Munchausen]

We could see the iTunes interface become the dashboard widget.

My guess is iTunes stays and iVideo/iWatch/iSee comes into view. Seeing as iTunes was the spawner of Spotlight and iPhoto, why not iVideo spawning off too? After all, it is basically a media subset database, search and consume tool.

This means one may have to have a separate AMS (Apple Media Store) interface for both, and/or that iTunes accesses the sounds and iVideo accesses the other content via iVideo Media Store iVMS...sorry, could not resist.