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September 15th, 2006
At Apple's "Showtime" press event on September 12, the biggest news was about a product that won't be available until next year and which Apple barely mentions on its Web site. Before I get to that, however, I have a few semi-random observations about the rest of what Steve Jobs revealed at the press event.
- Apple announced a revamped iPod line, including a completely redesigned iPod shuffle. The shuffle looks like a winner for those minimalists for whom small size and low price are primary concerns. It's hard to imagine an encore here; the device certainly can't get much smaller. As it is now, the entire shuffle is barely bigger than the click wheel.
- The new iPod nano is also a bit smaller than before...and colored cases are back. Still, I continue to be mystified by the popularity of this mid-sized iPod, especially the top-of-the line model. I can understand some people, especially joggers, preferring the smaller size of the nano to a full-size iPod. For these users, the least expensive 2GB nano would likely be adequate (after all, how many people will need more than 500 songs for a jog?). What remains a mystery is why anyone would prefer to spend $250 on the new 8GB nano, when for the exact same price you can get a full size iPod that comes with a 30GB drive and a larger display--plus the ability to play video. And it can still fit in your pocket.
- The new full sized iPods are still called 5th generation iPods -- although with a "(Late 2006)" added to their technical moniker. This makes sense, as they are not that much different from the previous iPod models. Rumor sites are still predicting a 6th generation iPod, featuring a touchscreen that covers the entire front of the device. I am sure it will arrive someday, but, at this point, I would not hold my breath to see it at Macworld Expo this January. (It does make me wonder what Apple has up its sleeves for a major announcement at Macworld Expo. In the last few months it has unveiled Leopard, new iPods and a completed transition to Intel Macs. What's left? New iMacs? Heck, I'll just wait until the Expo to find out.)
- The iTunes Store (you notice it's no longer called the iTunes Music Store?) now features movies for downloading. The only studio to sign up so far is Disney. Does this mean that other studios are either going to pass on this opportunity or go with another vendor such as Amazon.com? I doubt it. The iTunes market share is too big to ignore. If the Disney movie downloads are even a moderate success (and I predict they will be), the other studios will be signing up soon enough.
By the way, I downloaded a movie ("Enemy of the State") on the day the service was announced. It took almost 8 hours. Steve said at the press event that, with a broadband Internet connection as fast as mine, it should only take about 30 minutes. An Apple Knowledge Base article gives a broader range of 20 minutes to 3 hours. Regardless, my experience was not close to any Apple estimate. Maybe it was first day "jitters" -- the service may have been overwhelmed with people like me who wanted to test it out. We'll see.
- The iTunes Store now also features downloadable games. They are designed just for video iPods and won't play on your Mac.
- Happily, the just-announced movies and games are compatible with the original 5th generation iPods, not just the newly announced ones. However, to get them to transfer to your older iPod, you'll need to update your iPod software to version 1.2 (you can get the update from within iTunes 7).
- Speaking of iTunes 7, its newly revamped interface is gorgeous -- as well as easier to navigate. Kudos to Apple on this. The new cover art views are especially great (although if you have a lot of music for which Apple cannot locate the needed cover art, you'll see a lot of boring "blank" covers).
Getting back to movies...
You can't copy downloaded movies to a DVD in a format that will play on a typical DVD player. Not a surprise here. This has also been true for the TV shows already available on iTunes. Yes, you can transfer music downloads (as copy-protected files) to a CD. But it remains a no-go for movies to DVDs.
Conversely, there is still no legal way to transfer a movie from a DVD to your Mac, so that you can get it on an iPod for example.
Too bad...as it would be convenient to have these options. They way it is now, if you want a movie available both as a DVD and on your Mac, you need to pay for the same movie twice. We've all been down this road before (such as having to get the DVD version of a movie you already own as a VHS tape), but I still hold on to some faint hope that the studios may relent on this some day (hopefully in my lifetime).
Until then, when I want to buy a new movie, I am going to have some intense internal debates. Do I want to pay as much as $14.99 to get the movie from iTunes or would I rather (often for just a couple of bucks more) get the DVD? The iTunes option allows me to play the movie on an iPod as well as in a "disc-less" form on a Mac (useful on plane rides where you don't want to drain your battery by the constant spinning of your DVD drive). The DVD option offers better resolution (although the improved 640 x 480 resolution of iTunes movies will be more than adequate for most users) and the ability to easily play it on a TV or any other medium that accepts DVD discs.
One partial solution here would be for Apple to do something it has so far resisted: offer a rental option for movies. I completely understand and support Apple's position to avoid rentals for music and TV shows. But the cost of one movie is much more than one song or one TV show. And people are much less likely to rewatch a movie than relisten to a song. So a rental option, with a $3.00 fee for example, might prove to be quite popular and profitable.
Finally, let's return to what I consider to be the biggest announcement at the press event: iTV. Essentially, it is a wireless device that will allow you to stream movies from your Mac to your television. Think of it as a combination of an enhanced version of Front Row software together with a hardware device that resembles a Mac mini that has expanded connectivity options but no hard drive. And all for just $299.
In an unusual move, Steve showed off a prototype of this product even though it won't be available for sale until the first quarter of 2007. I can understand why. Most people still watch movies on their televisions, not on their computers. This is likely to remain true for quite some time. By offering a convenient way for movies downloaded from iTunes to play on a television, the entire concept suddenly becomes a lot more attractive! Assuming iTV even comes close to working as well as it did in the demo, I know I will be lining up to get one.
What does this all portend for the future? It means that we are at the threshold of a new era in how we get and view media content. I have heard predictions that Apple's venture into movies is the beginning of the end for the DVD. The demise of the CD has been predicted for a couple of years now. I am not ready to start tossing out my discs yet. But clearly the move is on to shift content delivery from discs to downloads. With products such as iTV and iTunes movies, Apple is breaking down some of the barriers to this transition and is well-positioned to continue leading the charge. For Apple, and especially for Mac users, the future looks brighter than ever.
Ted Landau is the founder of MacFixit, and the author of Mac OS X Help Line, Tiger Edition and other Mac help books.
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Observer Comments
Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:08 am Subject: Movie download times
I noticed how slow the iTunes Store was on Tuesday, but it has speeded up. I downloaded four short films last evening. On the average the files are 250 MB and took 20 minutes each to download. However, Apple will need to speed up the series of tubes if this movie venture is to be a success.
I keep hearing in the news how only Disney and Pixar full length movies are available, but I see other offerings. You can download Death Race 2000, how cool is that?
I need to add that some of the movie downloads I did last evening were concurrent. It still took about 20 minutes to download them. However, this was an unscientific observation.
iTunes has a feature where you can monitor and manage download priorities.
Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:29 am Subject: nano vs full size
Some people might want to use their nano in the car or elsewhere when not jogging but still have a smaller, lighter, absolutely skip-free iPod when they are jogging. That's at least part of the market for 8GB nano. (Replace jogging with most other exercising as well.)
Besides, I still don't get wanting to watch video on that tiny screen.
i still wonder.. who needs video on the iPod.. or any other portable device of that size?
Is it really satisfying to watch a movie on that tiny a screen? Or am I too old to appraciate it, far preferring a good ol' book to pass away a long trip (obviously while listening music on my iPod Mini 
)?
Who can tell...
cheers
Fri Sep 15, 2006 11:42 am Subject: DVDs vs iTunes movies
Thought I would mention: There is yet another significant difference between iTunes downloaded movies and DVDs - that can affect your choice as to which way to go: With DVDs you get all the "extras" (commentary, trailers, "making of" featurettes) that do not come with a downloaded movie.
Ted
I usually get better download speeds from Apple's servers than anywhere else — around 500K/sec, typically, sometimes as high as 600. (Which is really where my cable modem tops out, so their servers could probably do better.) At 500K/sec, a 2-hour movie at the iPod's maximum bitrate (1.5mbps, for a total file size of about 1.2GB) would take only 40 minutes to download. A normal half-hour show would take less than 10 minutes.
That said, Apple's servers always slow down a lot after big announcements, which is only natural. Every Apple geek and their grandma was visiting the store and downloading movies right after the announcement. Today I think you'd get close to the maximum speed your connection allows.
Fri Sep 15, 2006 12:36 pm Subject: Probably the DRM
QuoteGuest wrote:
For me, the lack of the extras is a big deal. I love "making of" sorts of things and director commentary. No way to burn to a DVD? Disappointing. 640x480 resolution? Not HD. I just bought Flight Plan to try it out: 13 hours estimated download time. No last-minute shopping here!
All-in-all, though I am a movie fan and an Apple fan, having owned almost every model since 1984's Mac Plus, work on a Mac all day, and have multiple iPods... and will probably buy this new iTV when it arrives... still, I think the negatives are considerable. Why not include the extras? Why not allow burning of a DVD hard copy? Why not HD resolution? In short, why not give me what I'll get in the future on DVDs?
I too enjoy the extras, segments on the location, cut scenes, cast info, but they probably did not include them to keep the download size down.
As to burning to viewable DVD, that probably is due to DRM. You can burn the file to disk, or move it to a back up drive. Yeah, downloading a disk image that we could burn would be nice. At least we are not, as of yet, being subject to 10 minutes of previews that we sometimes are forced to watch.
Sidebar regarding the download times. I have DSL service and am getting downloads at 2435 kbps.
Apple is smart 
Think iMac versus Mac desktop.
The nano/mini ipods are more fashion oriented for those who want that - and frankly, who do not need more than 5-10 GB max because they just don't listen to that much music.
The top tier ipod (since the line split) has always appealed to max storage and max value people. It's still fashionable but you have to trick it more yourself.
Again, Apple is smart by offering the same thing in two packages so they not only appeal to different value & price buyers but fashion in every sense of the word.
Or in the case of many people, you buy several
As for the file restrictions - the bottom line is convenience and yes, the "locked" DRM thing will affect sales but for many people, they don't really care. It's $12.99 (on average) - two cups of Starbucks - how many of the same CD or DVD's have we already bought. If you have a couple hours to catch a plane, you don't have time to rip a couple DVD's - why not buy 1 or 2 movies ... how is that different than paying $10 bucks for a hotel PPV movie ... okay, admitedly, they are newer movies but when all your choices are crappy, wouldn't you rather just watch INCREDIBLES again?
Choice is good. It may not be for 100% of us 100% of the time but choice is good.
Fri Sep 15, 2006 2:20 pm Subject: Re: Extras, Burn, Res
Quotetedlandau wrote:
Thought I would mention: There is yet another significant difference between iTunes downloaded movies and DVDs - that can affect your choice as to which way to go: With DVDs you get all the "extras" (commentary, trailers, "making of"; featurettes) that do not come with a downloaded movie.
Ted
Alas, much of the "extras" I've seen have been so poorly done that they detract from the movie.
Guest added:
QuoteFor me, the lack of the extras is a big deal. I love "making of" sorts of things and director commentary. No way to burn to a DVD? Disappointing. 640x480 resolution? Not HD. I just bought Flight Plan to try it out: 13 hours estimated download time. No last-minute shopping here!
All-in-all, though I am a movie fan and an Apple fan, having owned almost every model since 1984's Mac Plus, work on a Mac all day, and have multiple iPods... and will probably buy this new iTV when it arrives... still, I think the negatives are considerable. Why not include the extras? Why not allow burning of a DVD hard copy? Why not HD resolution? In short, why not give me what I'll get in the future on DVDs?
Few movies are available in HD on disks and you have to be lucky to pick the right format for the movies you want.
Burning a DVD hard copy? Surely, you jest. No studio is going to allow that anytime soon. It would be handing the pirates a free ticket. If you think that music piracy is a problem (it is), DVD piracy is orders of magnitude worse. There are major industries in some countries (and in some areas of the US) that produce knockoff DVDs within hours of a DVD becoming available. Some just videotape the picture on a TV set. (I am not kidding.)
The extras require the DVD file format, which takes a lot of computing power to decode--much more that an iPod could do in real time.
Then, there's the file size. A 2-hour DVD at full quality is about 4 GB--about 34 MB/min. At that rate, the 30 GB iPod could store only 15 hours of video. If the iTunes movies are encoded like the latest TV shows, they're about 11-12 MB/min--roughly 1/3 the size. (Those still take nigh unto forever to download, even with my cable modem.)
Online delivery of movies won't displace physical DVDs until all the problems you mentioned and I expanded are solved--download speed is the biggest problem.
Fri Sep 15, 2006 4:44 pm Subject: Still more thoughts
Another thought occurred to me as I contemplated downloading a second movie: If I wind up using iTunes for most of my movie watching, hard drive space starts to become an issue: Where do I store all those movies if I don't want them accumulating on my internal drive?
A second hard drive of course is one answer.
But I would like to see another option: A feature of iTunes that lets you offload movies to DVD-R discs, and remembers the name of each disc. iTunes would then prompt you to insert the needed DVD when you double-click on a film name in the iTunes Library. I don't think iTunes can do exactly this right now -- but I admit I have not delved into it too deeply.
Finally, on the subject of what's likely to be coming up at Macworld Expo (as I queried in the column) -- there's iLife '07 of course and I am seeing some rumors that the long-awaited iPhone may be announced. More grist for the mill.
Fri Sep 15, 2006 5:34 pm Subject: Card reader and file storage
QuoteGuest wrote:
I beg your indulgence with my question.
Speaking to a rookie Mac owner (2003 Powermac G5) and new owner of a Nikon D70s camera, what device would you reoommend to download my memory card to [when I'm on vacation and can't get to a computer? An iPod or something else?
Much obliged for your answers.
I just did a quick Google and found this http://www.nightowlcamera.com/readers.html Not cheap though and there may better options for you such as the iPod card readers
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