iPod Video Thread - (speculation, rumours etc.)

[Ceroc Addict]

I remember when Sony owned the portable music player market and then got king hit by Apple that delivered, with the iPod, what Sony wouldn't/couldn't at the time.

Now it looks to me like history is getting ready to repeat itself. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but soon, given Apple's stubborn refusal to come out with a video iPod (and a number of solid contenders either being released or already out):

Cowon X5

Creative Zen Vision

Epson P2000



Kap

[HomunQlus]

I'd buy the Zen Vision, looks pretty close to an iPod I'd say, only in landscape format

[cfleck]

Not again. Can we consolidate all the video iPod threads?

[fryke]

Well, none of them has a USP it seems to me - apart from a small video-capable screen.

It seems to me that in order to succeed (i.e. to kill the iPod), such a device would need at least two of the three (better all three) following points:

1.) Screen large and bright enough, as well as good battery life and low overall weight to actually view whole movies on (3 hours plus).

2.) User Interface, by which I mean it has to cover audio and video from the bought disk (CD, DVD etc.) to the portable pleasure (including computer). I.e.: I want to buy a disk (CD/DVD), put it into my computer (it gets scanned to the Library of a jukebox like software) and synch it to my portable device, where I can view it. If I start to listen to an audiobook or movie, both synched devices know where I left off.

3.) Accompanying online store... The same software lets me buy tracks, be they audio only or audio and video. The store should let me buy a movie at a quality that's good enough for a TV set or a video beamer. It has to be scalable, i.e. the same file does well on the small screen (without reading the whole 800 MB file, perhaps?) as well as on the HDTV beamer or TV set.

I guess technology just isn't ready for that yet. Apple does good to wait, in my opinion. I don't want the iPod to deliver sub-par video, for example. Imagine you'd buy "Fantastic Four" on the iTunes Video Store in a couple of weeks. You'd pay, say, 20 USD. You'd get a 800 MB H.264 file. Viewable on a video iPod's small screen (320p width? or 640p? actual 720p?) as well as an attached display in HDTV res. Download takes quite a while, right? Now, a year later the iTunes Video Store lets you download the same movie in a higher quality as a 500 MB file. Good? Sure. But all the people who're p***ed off? I guess Apple has a target. They want to be able to deliver a certain quality at a certain size for a certain device for a certain amount of time. That time isn't ready yet - and the list of devices you've mentioned will be a JOKE compared to what Apple wants.

[fryke]

cfleck: Those threads are old. Merging them now would, in my opinion, confuse users who read the old stuff first.

If, however, new threads appear _now_, I'll merge them with this one.

[HomunQlus]

Originally Posted by fryke

Well, none of them has a USP it seems to me - apart from a small video-capable screen.

It seems to me that in order to succeed (i.e. to kill the iPod), such a device would need at least two of the three (better all three) following points:

1.) Screen large and bright enough, as well as good battery life and low overall weight to actually view whole movies on (3 hours plus).

2.) User Interface, by which I mean it has to cover audio and video from the bought disk (CD, DVD etc.) to the portable pleasure (including computer). I.e.: I want to buy a disk (CD/DVD), put it into my computer (it gets scanned to the Library of a jukebox like software) and synch it to my portable device, where I can view it. If I start to listen to an audiobook or movie, both synched devices know where I left off.

3.) Accompanying online store... The same software lets me buy tracks, be they audio only or audio and video. The store should let me buy a movie at a quality that's good enough for a TV set or a video beamer. It has to be scalable, i.e. the same file does well on the small screen (without reading the whole 800 MB file, perhaps?) as well as on the HDTV beamer or TV set.

I guess technology just isn't ready for that yet. Apple does good to wait, in my opinion. I don't want the iPod to deliver sub-par video, for example. Imagine you'd buy "Fantastic Four" on the iTunes Video Store in a couple of weeks. You'd pay, say, 20 USD. You'd get a 800 MB H.264 file. Viewable on a video iPod's small screen (320p width? or 640p? actual 720p?) as well as an attached display in HDTV res. Download takes quite a while, right? Now, a year later the iTunes Video Store lets you download the same movie in a higher quality as a 500 MB file. Good? Sure. But all the people who're p***ed off? I guess Apple has a target. They want to be able to deliver a certain quality at a certain size for a certain device for a certain amount of time. That time isn't ready yet - and the list of devices you've mentioned will be a JOKE compared to what Apple wants.

The Zen Vision meets your first two requirements.

http://www.dapreview.net/news.php?extend.1784

[fjdouse]

..and the third requirement is unimportant for some. Never used itms, never intend to either. I can buy my music from an online store in mp3 and put it on any device I like.

I love the shuffle I've been using, but it's my partner's iPod. I've just bought my own media player which does video too and I'm quite capable of backing up my DVDs into a tiny divx to watch on the go. (and I can record TV... and take photos)

[Shookster]

Originally Posted by fjdouse

..and the third requirement is unimportant for some. Never used itms, never intend to either. I can buy my music from an online store in mp3 and put it on any device I like.

Fryke was saying that no matter who offers the download service, they'd lack the necessary technology to make it viable for a mass-market audience. That doesn't just apply to ITMS.