Apples iTunes Store

[d3n]

I'm pretty excited about an upcoming product release from Apple known right now only as iTV. Today Apple was granted a very intriguing patent related to home theater and scaling of anamorphic video images. I am not an apple fan boy. I don't have a Mac or an iPod. I think however that Apple, while a prodigy with the iPod, is headed for genius with the iTV or whatever it is finally known as. Not in v1 but in V2 or V3... awesomeness. This thread was inspired by the iTunes monopoly thread. I don't think that content providers have seen anything yet. Yes, I am looking very closely into getting my hands on some Apple stock

I thought I would post a link to an article that is several months old

Why Apple Will Change TV

 

[Kaido]

I think it could be great for a lot of people, but for the price...not for me. I like the concept, but take Cars for example...they sell it for $14.99. $14.99 can buy me a month's subscription at Netflix or Gameznflicks and access to all the movies/games I want. Hard to swallow!

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: Kaido
I think it could be great for a lot of people, but for the price...not for me. I like the concept, but take Cars for example...they sell it for $14.99. $14.99 can buy me a month's subscription at Netflix or Gameznflicks and access to all the movies/games I want. Hard to swallow!

Well, you do own the movie, it's not just a rental.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: ThePresence

Originally posted by: Kaido
I think it could be great for a lot of people, but for the price...not for me. I like the concept, but take Cars for example...they sell it for $14.99. $14.99 can buy me a month's subscription at Netflix or Gameznflicks and access to all the movies/games I want. Hard to swallow!

Well, you do own the movie, it's not just a rental.

That's true. I'm interested to see how good their upscaling technology is for movies. I've played iTunes TV Shows back on my SDTV and they look alright, although black levels suffer with blockiness. I think the TV Show aspect of the iTunes Store will really take off if they turn each show into a micro-transaction, like 25 cents per show instead of $1.99. How many more people would be willing to spend a quarter or so if they miss last night's episode of their favorite show vs. paying $1.99? I think it has potential but I'm really interested to see how they are going to get millions of people to pay $1.99 per show and $14.99 per movie.

 

[d3n]

I think its more about a new portal into the home for content through the computer in general. Doing this has always been been pretty limited to compressed 480p content through hokey web interfaces or kludgey with a HTPC

The iTunes story is nice but its not the key to this model working. What is key I think is the fact that ultimately with this product you will be seeing HDTV quality content on your home theater, and you will have gotten it online.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: d3n
I think its more about a new portal into the home for content through the computer in general. Doing this has always been been pretty limited to compressed 480p content through hokey web interfaces or kludgey with a HTPC

The iTunes story is nice but its not the key to this model working. What is key I think is the fact that ultimately with this product you will be seeing HDTV quality content on your home theater, and you will have gotten it online.

I don't see that happening until we get faster broadband. Cars on the iTMS is 1.39gb, and I don't even think that's full SDTV quality...an HD copy will be at least double that, if not more. Are you really going to wait all day for a movie that you're in the mood for to download instead of just driving to Blockbuster and picking up the movie, or buying it for the same price at Walmart?

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: d3n
I think its more about a new portal into the home for content through the computer in general. Doing this has always been been pretty limited to compressed 480p content through hokey web interfaces or kludgey with a HTPC

The iTunes story is nice but its not the key to this model working. What is key I think is the fact that ultimately with this product you will be seeing HDTV quality content on your home theater, and you will have gotten it online.

Uh...MS has beat them soundly to the punch on HD downloads and is doing quite well for themselves with XBL Marketplace.

I think iTV is too little, way too late unless there are some seriously cool features for it Apple has up their sleeves. Otherwise, just another pseudo-competitor for MediaCenter without letting people record shows they are already paying their cable/satellite providers for.

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: d3n
I think its more about a new portal into the home for content through the computer in general. Doing this has always been been pretty limited to compressed 480p content through hokey web interfaces or kludgey with a HTPC

The iTunes story is nice but its not the key to this model working. What is key I think is the fact that ultimately with this product you will be seeing HDTV quality content on your home theater, and you will have gotten it online.

Uh...MS has beat them soundly to the punch on HD downloads and is doing quite well for themselves with XBL Marketplace

XBL Marketplace is only available to a very limited user base, namely those who have an Xbox. iTunes OTOH is available to anyone with an internet connection.

 

[d3n]

I don't think this product is meant to be a time shifting DVR, thats what the mac-mini is getting prepped for I think.

Generally speaking with Apple, anything you hookup just generally works. The user interfaces are slick and intuitive. With a PC based DVR you have hoops, and lots of them to get the different components working.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: ThePresence

Originally posted by: Kaido
I think it could be great for a lot of people, but for the price...not for me. I like the concept, but take Cars for example...they sell it for $14.99. $14.99 can buy me a month's subscription at Netflix or Gameznflicks and access to all the movies/games I want. Hard to swallow!

Well, you do own the movie, it's not just a rental.

<shiftyeyes>

You mean with Netflix you don't?

<shiftyeyes>

 

[BCYL]

There was an article in Wired News a while ago... One of the editors gave up his cable TV and only used the Internet & iTunes for their TV shows...

Anyways the conclusion was: It works, but downloading a few shows a week would run up the bill and ends up costing more than cable...

 

[bigrash]

I was really looking forward to buy the itv when it comes out, untill I bought an xbox about a month ago. I really only bought the xbox for the games and didn't know at that time about it's network features. Since i can now view most movies on my hdtv from my computer in my other room, I really don't see any need to buy the itv right now.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: d3n
I think its more about a new portal into the home for content through the computer in general. Doing this has always been been pretty limited to compressed 480p content through hokey web interfaces or kludgey with a HTPC

The iTunes story is nice but its not the key to this model working. What is key I think is the fact that ultimately with this product you will be seeing HDTV quality content on your home theater, and you will have gotten it online.

Uh...MS has beat them soundly to the punch on HD downloads and is doing quite well for themselves with XBL Marketplace.

I think iTV is too little, way too late unless there are some seriously cool features for it Apple has up their sleeves. Otherwise, just another pseudo-competitor for MediaCenter without letting people record shows they are already paying their cable/satellite providers for.

Yeah from what I've seen the Xbox Live Marketplace for HD video looks pretty sweet (never thought I'd be saying Microsoft software looks pretty cool but times are changing!). Pricing looks to be very competitive:

High-def TV shows are 240 points ($3) and regular def shows are 160 points ($2). High-def movies are 480 points ($6) and regular movies are 320 points ($4). While classic movies (as in old ones) are 360 points ($4.50) in high-def and regular will be 240 points ($3).

So a new-release movie in HD will cost you six bucks. Not bad. Of course, afaik you're limited to the 20gb Xbox 360 hard drive right now. Plus you have to have an Xbox ($400 with the hard drive), which is $100 more than the iTV. The 360 can also stream stuff from a computer with XP Media Center.

I don't think there's a perfect solution right now. Personally I am running a TiVo plus a modded Xbox. I'm not into HD yet so it's working out pretty well. I store my personal media (movies/music/photos) on a basic file server plugged into my router. The Xbox lets me play back movies and browse by DVD covers, make custom playlists for music, and play games. The TiVo handles TV shows and movies played on cable TV. I also use Rhapsody for unlimited music (plus a Sansa MP3 player for use with headphones, working out, plugging into my car, etc.). Aside from the monthly cable bill, my media costs per month are as follows:

$9 - TiVo (TV recording)
$16 - Netflix (Movie/TV show rentals)
$13 - Gameznflicks (games mainly)
$15 - Rhapsody (music)

$53 total for unlimited movies, games, music, and TV - all for less than the cost of taking my wife to a movie every Friday night. That's equivalent to buying one movie from iTunes a week for a month, with the added benefit of games and music.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: ThePresence

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: d3n
I think its more about a new portal into the home for content through the computer in general. Doing this has always been been pretty limited to compressed 480p content through hokey web interfaces or kludgey with a HTPC

The iTunes story is nice but its not the key to this model working. What is key I think is the fact that ultimately with this product you will be seeing HDTV quality content on your home theater, and you will have gotten it online.

Uh...MS has beat them soundly to the punch on HD downloads and is doing quite well for themselves with XBL Marketplace

XBL Marketplace is only available to a very limited user base, namely those who have an Xbox. iTunes OTOH is available to anyone with an internet connection.

But you still need a $299 iTV to watch them on your TV easily

 

[bigrash]

Hey Kaido, not to hijack this thread, but how's the service with Gameznflicks?

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: ThePresence

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: d3n
I think its more about a new portal into the home for content through the computer in general. Doing this has always been been pretty limited to compressed 480p content through hokey web interfaces or kludgey with a HTPC

The iTunes story is nice but its not the key to this model working. What is key I think is the fact that ultimately with this product you will be seeing HDTV quality content on your home theater, and you will have gotten it online.

Uh...MS has beat them soundly to the punch on HD downloads and is doing quite well for themselves with XBL Marketplace

XBL Marketplace is only available to a very limited user base, namely those who have an Xbox. iTunes OTOH is available to anyone with an internet connection.

Don't expect that to be the case for very long...as long as the OP is talking about how future implementations of iTV will be, I think I can take the liberty of predicting that XBL Marketplace will be extended to Vista and future iterations of MC Extenders. We're already seeing the beginnings of it with Zune points and Live Anywhere.

Originally posted by: d3n
I don't think this product is meant to be a time shifting DVR, thats what the mac-mini is getting prepped for I think.

Generally speaking with Apple, anything you hookup just generally works. The user interfaces are slick and intuitive. With a PC based DVR you have hoops, and lots of them to get the different components working.

It definitely isn't a DVR, and that's what bugs me to no end about it. It's a(nother) money grab. They want you to pay them for TV you're probably already paying for with your cable/satellite bill. At least MS gives you the option of buying the shows or using your PC as a DVR to record them, then stream to your 360 or MediaCenter extender. Of course you can do the same with iTV, but not to the extent of MediaCenter (control live TV from extender, schedule recordings, etc)

I think you've probably never used MediaCenter/extenders. The entire livingroom ecosystem with them is both slick and intuitive. It really is impressive, especially coming from MS.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: d3n
I don't think this product is meant to be a time shifting DVR, thats what the mac-mini is getting prepped for I think.

Generally speaking with Apple, anything you hookup just generally works. The user interfaces are slick and intuitive. With a PC based DVR you have hoops, and lots of them to get the different components working.

See, that goes back to my idea for micro-transactions. I think that iTV could be great for a lot of people. Apple stuff is typically dirt-simple to use and looks nice to boot, which makes it a great consumer product for the masses. However, the prices of TV shows are just too much. If they were 10 or 20 cents, or even 25 cents per show, people would be downloading like crazy when the iTV came out. But $1.99 per show when you can just go on ABC's website and watch it for free? Meh. And the quality isn't even that good! No HD and it's not even fully SD.

I think Microsoft has the right idea - I'd definitely be willing to pay $6 for a movie in HD, and all I have to do is click "download" and not even leave my house.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: bigrash
Hey Kaido, not to hijack this thread, but how's the service with Gameznflicks?

Awesome, I'd 100% recommend them. My friend and I tried out every other service - Intelliflix, Gamefly, etc. - Gameznflicks is definitely the best. My only gripe is that their website is abnormally slow sometimes. I am thinking of switching over to their "6 Out at a Time" yearly plan for $249 and dropping Netflix. They have DVD/HD-DVD/Bluray plus pretty much any console games you want, plus some other goodies I don't personally use like UMD, books, audio, etc. I'm also excited about their new Wii section

 

[d3n]

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: ThePresence

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: d3n
I think its more about a new portal into the home for content through the computer in general. Doing this has always been been pretty limited to compressed 480p content through hokey web interfaces or kludgey with a HTPC

The iTunes story is nice but its not the key to this model working. What is key I think is the fact that ultimately with this product you will be seeing HDTV quality content on your home theater, and you will have gotten it online.

Uh...MS has beat them soundly to the punch on HD downloads and is doing quite well for themselves with XBL Marketplace

XBL Marketplace is only available to a very limited user base, namely those who have an Xbox. iTunes OTOH is available to anyone with an internet connection.

Don't expect that to be the case for very long...as long as the OP is talking about how future implementations of iTV will be, I think I can take the liberty of predicting that XBL Marketplace will be extended to Vista and future iterations of MC Extenders.

Originally posted by: d3n
I don't think this product is meant to be a time shifting DVR, thats what the mac-mini is getting prepped for I think.

Generally speaking with Apple, anything you hookup just generally works. The user interfaces are slick and intuitive. With a PC based DVR you have hoops, and lots of them to get the different components working.

It definitely isn't a DVR, and that's what bugs me to no end about it. It's a(nother) money grab. They want you to pay them for TV you're probably already paying for with your cable/satellite bill. At least MS gives you the option of buying the shows or using your PC as a DVR to record them, then stream to your 360 or MediaCenter extender. Of course you can do the same with iTV, but not to the extent of MediaCenter (control live TV from extender, schedule recordings, etc)

I think you've probably never used MediaCenter/extenders. The entire livingroom ecosystem with them is both slick and intuitive. It really is impressive, especially coming from MS.

No , I didn't even know they existed. I don't have an Xbox or 360 ether.

 

[bigrash]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: bigrash
Hey Kaido, not to hijack this thread, but how's the service with Gameznflicks?

Awesome, I'd 100% recommend them. My friend and I tried out every other service - Intelliflix, Gamefly, etc. - Gameznflicks is definitely the best. My only gripe is that their website is abnormally slow sometimes. I am thinking of switching over to their "6 Out at a Time" yearly plan for $249 and dropping Netflix. They have DVD/HD-DVD/Bluray plus pretty much any console games you want, plus some other goodies I don't personally use like UMD, books, audio, etc. I'm also excited about their new Wii section

Cool, I think I might give them a try . Thanks for the info!

 

[arod]

Originally posted by: d3n

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: ThePresence

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: d3n
I think its more about a new portal into the home for content through the computer in general. Doing this has always been been pretty limited to compressed 480p content through hokey web interfaces or kludgey with a HTPC

The iTunes story is nice but its not the key to this model working. What is key I think is the fact that ultimately with this product you will be seeing HDTV quality content on your home theater, and you will have gotten it online.

Uh...MS has beat them soundly to the punch on HD downloads and is doing quite well for themselves with XBL Marketplace

XBL Marketplace is only available to a very limited user base, namely those who have an Xbox. iTunes OTOH is available to anyone with an internet connection.

Don't expect that to be the case for very long...as long as the OP is talking about how future implementations of iTV will be, I think I can take the liberty of predicting that XBL Marketplace will be extended to Vista and future iterations of MC Extenders.

Originally posted by: d3n
I don't think this product is meant to be a time shifting DVR, thats what the mac-mini is getting prepped for I think.

Generally speaking with Apple, anything you hookup just generally works. The user interfaces are slick and intuitive. With a PC based DVR you have hoops, and lots of them to get the different components working.

It definitely isn't a DVR, and that's what bugs me to no end about it. It's a(nother) money grab. They want you to pay them for TV you're probably already paying for with your cable/satellite bill. At least MS gives you the option of buying the shows or using your PC as a DVR to record them, then stream to your 360 or MediaCenter extender. Of course you can do the same with iTV, but not to the extent of MediaCenter (control live TV from extender, schedule recordings, etc)

I think you've probably never used MediaCenter/extenders. The entire livingroom ecosystem with them is both slick and intuitive. It really is impressive, especially coming from MS.

No , I didn't even know they existed. I don't have an Xbox or 360 ether.

Yep one thing MS has done really really well is media center (and how it extends to your 360 and other extenders). with vista they are releasing thier new markup language which will allow them to do lots of cool applications but will now be able to be "streamed" to the extender devices (which was the one thing the extenders couldnt do until the vista version). I really am suprised how well the 360 works as an extender. You really cant tell you are on a 360 vs the real pc (other than not being able to play some files due to codecs... divx, dvd images)

And then you add the home automation stuff coming with media center (and it looks really cool) I think media center might be the first whole house solution for everything in one UI (which is something I think will become more and more popular)