iTunes 4.8 includes Quicktime movie playback: begin speculation now.

They were totally hush hush about this update, so it's got to mean all the pieces of the puzzle aren't quite together yet. Apple quietly rolled out iTunes version 4.8, which includes playback support for QuickTime video content. So what does it all mean? Video iPod? iTunes Movie Store? Just plain tease? What do you think?

[Thanks, Joshua and Vic]

[Jon Madrigal @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

It will be both a new ipod and the movie store. Mark my words.

[Ben Hou @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

with hard drive mp3 players, and the H.264 codec, its natural to have a Ipod that can play video as well.

[coldpizza @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Cant it be just as simple as a software update for the iPod Photo to be able to play video?

[mreed @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

YES! MacMini serving up HD films to my HDTV via broadband! I knew it would happen if I wished hard enough, and built that thing in my basement. So glad I watch Weird Science last week.

[zachary @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Awesome, when do us unfortunate windows users get the update? On top of that when do we get QT 7?

[Leo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

/me readies credit card. ;-)

Of course we know it will have DRM but if it outputs to a TV/HDTV that would be nice. - Hey, we can dream.

[Robert Brodrecht @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I agree with Cringely that Apple will make a movie store, and turn the Mini (or mini-like device) into a video player device (and maybe a PVR). Since H.264 is supposed to be all that, I recokon the iPod wouldn't need much modification to decode it. With the advent of iPod-with-a-color-screen, I don't think video playback is far off. I'm willing to bet that "The Year of HD" will bring about an Apple Movie store, and either/both a music+video iPod with support for some of those alternative formats we are missing or/and a Mac Mini-ish "PVR".

[Brad @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I don't get how iPods and Minis are supposed to have the resources to play these HD H.264 streams.

From Apple's HD gallery:

The advanced H.264 codec makes it possible for QuickTime 7 to play back High Definition video on a personal computer without additional hardware required. However, you'll still need a G5 system to display so much media.

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/hdgallery/

[David H. @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

are the new iPods going to be unveiled at macworld this june?

[Alexander Micek @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I think that this time, the pundit has it right:

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20050120.html

(He predicts iTunes as a vehicle for movie distribution, combined with the Mac Mini)

[David H. @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

are the new iPods going to be unveiled at macworld this june?

[mreed @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

YES! MacMini serving up HD films to my HDTV via broadband! I knew it would happen if I wished hard enough, and built that thing in my basement. So glad I watch Weird Science last week.

[Al @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I've played back those H.264 trailers on my 1.25 G4 iMac no problem and encoded a DVD to it too (although it too 10 hours).

[solowCX @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I think Apple needs to change the name from iTunes to iMedia or something. All these additions they are making to it don't have much to do with music. First movie trailers in the Music Store, then syncing photo's with your iPod photo and now video. I can almost see iTunes turning into MTV, something vaguely related to music but with lots of other shit thrown in.

[Cameron @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I believe #7 put the nail in this coffin. They're just setting the stage for the inevitable though. Not ready for prime time...yet.

[Ben @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Brad, I think that even though High Def really pushes the limits, the codec scales very well all the way to 3G phones ... that's been a big part of their talk regarding the Codec.

So, just because it CAN do high def and push a dual G5 -- doesn't mean that we'll all be downloading and viewing high def.

I watched a high def movie clip on Apple's site the other day ... for 1 or 2 minute clip it was 120MB and pushed my Powerbook ... but it was high def ... better than even DVD I think from a "definition" perspective ...

So in other words, we won't be carrying around a high def version of a movie on our iPods, it will be something scaled for the device and screen ... hence the beauty of a single coded capable of supporting all devices.

Or so that's my meager understanding of what I've read ... now the part I don't understand ... will I have to pay separate for the iPod version and the Mac Mini versions encoded in 2 different "resolutions" or once I pay can I get either or both??? ... cause it certainly will NOT re-encode on the fly ... that would take a G6 :-) to happen in any reasonable time frame to transfer to my iPod.

[Jacob Varghese @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

this really is exciting news, but I thought the standard mac mini didn't have the necessary hookups to connect to a TV. am I wrong here? And also wouldn't you need a fairly large harddrive? 250gb+ for it be a good machine to function as a HD video library/pvr.
I do like the idea of being able to transfer videos onto my ipod and then just hook that up to my TV to play video, but I'm not sure that it has that kind of processing power. i hope i'm wrong.

[AHM @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

The Mini can't handle H.264 at HD resolutions. A PVR-type device similar to a Mini with a G5 may be in the works. Or something with a special, dedicated H.264 processor. Or they may figure out some way of storing different versions of the movie - 480 horiz for an "iPod video," 720 horiz for Mac Mini, 1280 and 1920 for high-end devices similar to how the iPod photo stores smaller versions of your photos. Probably preprocessed, though, since on-the-fly will be too slow.

[mreed @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

A lot of people are using Mini's to drive there HDTV's

[Brett @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Anyone else find it weird that playing a video in iTunes allows you to put it full screen (by clicking one of the buttons on the bottom left), while you have to pay $30 for Quicktime to have that function.

[Joshua Ochs @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I'm going to be a spoilsport and say it's just for music videos and trailers.

I'd second other posts that question the processing power of the iPod. Folks, a Powerbook has trouble playing H.264 content, let alone an iPod.

[arkowi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Hmm, I am dragging some QT trailers I got from apple into my iTunes library and not having any luck getting them to show up...yes, I upgraded to 4.8

any ideas?

[Ben @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Take a look at Apple's own technology page regarding it ...

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/technologies/h264/

In particular look at the section "Scalable from 3G to HD and Beyond"

It shows the fps, resolution, bandwidth requirements ... including everything from 3G phones which iPods could definitely be capable of up to Full High Def which G5s would have to work for ... and I wouldn't exactly want to download anytime soon and are meant for High Def DVDs ... remember this same codec is approved for next-gen DVDs ...

So, just because the CODED can be used for High Def or Full High Def does NOT mean we should ever expect or want to run that on our iPod.

[Joe McKinney @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

iTunes 4.7 supports already supports quicktime. go the the movie trailers on apple.com and click "view movie trailers in iTunes"

[TVGenius @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

No, the iPod photo won't be upgradeable, but Apple will release a new 40gig iPod Video and all the Apple freaks will get their panties in a bunch and blow $800 on the stupid thing, to go with their original iPod, their iPod mini, their iPod Photo and their iPod Shuffles.

[Pancake @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I have a 1.5 GHZ Powerbook with 1.25 GB or RAM and HD video from the quicktime trailer page is choppy and not a great viewing experience.

It is watchable, but no way a mini can play this.

The G5 mini will come soon, specifically made to run this video.

It's the "Year of HD"

[El Payo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Make a Smart Playlist with 'Kind' 'Is' [Quicktime Movie] and you'll have a nicely organized playlist of your videos.

[Adam Zeldin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

***********
Maybe they just wanna drop quicktime...

**********

[MacCrazy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Firstly QuickTime 7 is still not out for Windows so this will not play HD content. Secondly I see this for music videos for the time being.

[El Payo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

By the way, iTunes 4.8 ALSO adds an icon for PDF files like the booklets that come with the U2 'How to Disarm an Atomic Bomb' download and the new Jack Johnson album.

You can also drag any PDF into iTunes (it still uses Preview to display the file though.)

Lastly, iTunes 4.8 doesn't seem to support .mov files that are 'pointers' to web content.

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

As this is still iTunes I see a future where songs downloaded from the music store have music videos attached (the song is in essence a movie file with a high quality sound track.) I think this is a very possible scenario from the way this new feature works. Some reasoning: Double clicking on a movie doesn�t open it in a new window (by default) or even bring up a player. It�s as if the movie is secondary to its sound track. This way, you could have a file that will play like any other song most of the time, but if you were to want to see the video, you could just press the full screen button (or see it playing where the album art usually is.) That�s my take, I think we could soon see enhanced songs on the music store that included music videos (at hopefully the same price, but probably not.) This is much more accessible than the current music videos found in the music store, and would just add to the value of buying a song on iTunes (while giving apple another edge in the online music market, while letting them showcase H.264.)

[tmchow @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Could it just be that they are trying to deprecate Quicktime as a standalone app to help distribute iTunes software and increase reach of iTunes online store?

[Nik @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I can't wait for AirMovies!! Using iTunes to stream music to anywhere in the house (AirTunes) is cool, using iTunes to stream movies to anywhere in the house would be awesome!

[met @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

They want to drop quicktime - that way they will have more windows users (coz they wanted to see some trailer online) downloading iTunes - who'll hopefully start building a tunes library with their songs - and finally they'll want to purchase tunes from the itunes store (coz its right there and its easy - and then they'll want to purchase an iPod to play those purchased tunes - and then they'll be wooed on to the mac mini or other macs.

[Stephen Crosby @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

It means they want to build a winamp or wmp, a total media management suite, only way late in the game. But apple has a history of coming out with things way late and totally stomping its competition somehow.

Next year everyone will be saying this is the very first audio management software to include video playback. But we'll know better right guys?

[Dylan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Hey, maybe iTunes will let me burn audio cds now! I somehow doubt it will, but there's still a sliver of hope.

On a side note, I love how it tells me to uninstall sp2 and iTunes, then reinstall iTunes before reinstalling sp2 to solve this. My sp2 is slipstreamed. So...it blows.

[Mike @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

To #34

Winamp will always have a place in my heart.

[grigsby1 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Stage 1. get everyone using iTunes (check)
Stage 2. Start adding software like QuickTime messenger services, file views etc. to iTunes (in progress)

Stage 3. Make it internet browser able (final stage) here comes apple attempt to take full control of media and internet content on all systems Mac and windows. Wait and see... (Long term plain and big gamble on apples part.) And so far it working�.

[Andrew Burke @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

A keyboard that you take anywhere with you. The flip and twist cover for the keyboard is the perfect aspect ratio for watching movies. Sync'd with iTunes for portable movies, music, contacts, schedules, and with your Documents folder. With a Tiger Lite OS with Spotlight to aid navigation, screen orientation controls and pen input, you have a go-anywhere iMate to compliment your desktop.

More than an iPod � less than an iBook...

[D LaRoche @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

My 2 cents; Can anyone say Apple iPorno Video Store?

[mustanger @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

#35: Does iTunes for Windows not allow the burning of Audio CD's? Cuz on my Mac it does--always has. If not, then I'd say that's kinda underhanded on Apple's part.

[Oli @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Where did you find iTunes 4.8? It's not available for download on the Apple website.

[BigQid @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I don't think that Apple really wants to tbe the first to do anything. A video sore online is a great idea. When ABC starts gettign pissed about all the video files that get traded, then we will see tv shows sold online. Apple can sell any digital media it wants as long as it sells at a fair price. Otherwise it won't be that big of a draw.

[arkowi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Oli,

http://www.apple.com/itunes/

[Victor Healey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

If more people were observant they would have already noticed in the 2005-iPod PDF from iPod Lounge a 3/5 inch video player that attaches to the iPod and plays video from it. And YES it works with the iPod Photo.

Look on page 26

It is a portable video docking station made by NKYO with dual speakers and advanced video hardware, cost $250 estimated.

So even if Apple releases a new all in one Video iPod the rest of the iPod crowd will be able to join the game with this device which will help prevent their iPods from being obsolete overnight.

Vic

[cody @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

just go to the itunes tab
how many of you are going to want to pay for this service
i have a feeling it won't be cheap

[petro @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I use iFlicks by Helixent Tech to organize and play all my video files. You have to buy it, but it's probably better than using iTunes, as it supports every type of video format. The interface is the same as itunes.

http://www.helixent.com/iflicks/

[Raffaele @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Just yesterday I needed to download the Quicktime plugin for Windows in order to see a QT movie and well, there is no more Quicktime for Windows! You go through the installation and there, the only thing you can download is iTune "that also include Quicktime".

Whatever...

[Mason W @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Maybe it's a preemptive strike on Real's forthcoming update to Rhapsody. They hate Real's occassional compatibility with the iPod.

[Scubasteve @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I smell a Cell processor Mac Mini....if Apple are thinking Mini=media playback device, the Cell seems far more likely to cope with sitting inside a small enclosure churning out HD pixels, than a G5....