The iPod (with video) and new iMac G5--hands-on first impressions!
posted October 12th 2005 3:55PM
As reported by Engadget correspondent Paul Boutin:The video iPod won't disappoint. It feels slim and easy to hold even after two weeks spent with my nano. Video
playback is solid. They're not kidding about 30 fps without sputtering. You can't fast forward, but you can scroll back
and forth on a progress bar—just as you do with music—to jump forward and back in the video. Oh, and the black
model is going to be hot. Without the U2 model's red wheel it's less of an acquired taste.
The iMac hasn't changed much. It's a wee bit thinner and there's a camera eye / IR detector at the top. The eye is the
one thing that doesn't live up to Apple's usual panache. It seems an odd black dot in the middle of the iMac's white
forehead.
The remote control, which uses IR is very stylish. It has an iPod Shuffle look and feel and a set of controls set in
a circle that resemble the first iPods, but are marked differently. The on-screen menus for Front Row are also
iPod-like. One nice touch is the way Front Row blurs out the menu screen on a DVD (You know: “Operation not permitted”)
and puts a standardized iPod-like menu over it. My one gripe is that it’s not always clear which button to push on the
remote: plus or minus, fast forward or rewind, or something else? The Apple rep told me to press Menu to select the
video player from the main Front Row menu. Whoops - you have to press Play (>). Yes, even six buttons can be
confusing at first—unusual for Apple.
TV shows on the iMac are a grainy 320 x 240 that looks better in a small window than full screen. It’s not a TiVo
replacement, let’s be clear. It’s more like the BitTorrent copies of The Daily Show - a way to catch shows you’d have
to miss otherwise, and definitely more reliable than streaming. It’ll be a good alternative to needing to plop in front
of the boob tube once more shows become available. The iTunes interface is a lot more consumer friendly than finding
and downloading torrents. What it needs most are more shows!
The underrated announcement of the day is iTunes gifting. Those of us who are always evangelizing new bands or
you-gotta-hear-this songs to each other now have an easy way to push tracks on our friends and vice versa. Good thing
the recipient has to accept the gift, or I’d be jamming everyone’s libraries with Goldfrapp already.
Our correspondent Paul Boutin would like to thank Splunk (maker of network indexing software) for giving him the day off.
How did you find the 2.5" screen handled the video? Where the movies too small? Do you think eye-strain could become an issue?
*WERE the movies... (sorry -- too excited).
wow spam...
anyway. after placing my order for a new video ipod... yes yes now i get to be the one everyone is jealous of. hahaha.. yeah so anyways
the ipod video says it can play h.264 and mpeg4. is there any way to convert all my wmv (non-drm'ed) to h.264 or to mpeg4? so that i may import them into itunes and then sync them with my 5G ipod?
If we encode the video to wide screen, will the actual picture be too small then? [ie. encode your HD show to iPod with top/bottom black bars]
f*ck yeah!!!! now i gotta replace my 30gb ipod photo.
are video capabilities also available on the ipod nano?
IR? Lame.
I'm a little unsure about the point of an iPod video. Firstly - I don't know too many people who would pay $1.99 to watch a music video on the go. Was anything said about the battery? Wouldn't that hamper how much TV you can watch on an iPod?
They need to get the new Battlestar Galactica series on there. ASAP.
I've seen every generation of iPod come and go. Sat on the sidelines while friends and various tech "celebrities" cheered about their amazing mp3 player. Hell, I have an mp3 player. It's a 512mb Sandisk and it works great...
I just bought a black 30gb iPod and I feel giddy as a school girl
I'm going to throw my ipod nano in the bin and get me one of these babies!!
After being fairly negative towards iPods, I'm starting to think that they aren't crap like all the other 'non-conformists' seem to think. It looks fantastic. Good Job, Apple!
349 € in France and 299 $ in Us (for 30GB model), it's a injustice... for a little frenchie like me
Hmm, i wonder if the battery was improved cuz the videos are gonna eat it up.
did you see the new 'just for you' beta in iTunes 6 yet? first time I've seen recommendations in there... :)
h.264 is a quicktime format. My Nokia phone already supports this format so if I just get the files onto my SD card no need for the ipod video...
Does anyone know if the video ipod will play DivX or XviD videos?
The battery is supposed to be 20 hours, an improvment of 5 hours over the previous model.
DAMN IT! WHY COULDN’T IT LOOK LIKE THIS?
http://www.eternal-champions.com/images/iVidx.jpg
Hey Paul Boutin,
1. Is the top material of the new iPod the same as the nano?
2. Does it scratch easy?
3. Does the black iPod look like it will show the scratches more?
4. Does it feel heavier then the 4G iPod?
5. Is there any animation at all in the interface? i.e. equalizer bars, etc?
6. Does the new iPod have the same scroll wheel combination lock found in the nano?
7. Does it come with the same crappy earbuds?
Thanks for answering these questions.
Very important! How do flesh tones look? and liquids?
hahahahaha
In the event that Apple decision makers are reading this - please consider releasing an iTunes ported for Linux.
I still don't get you Mac-ers, why so exited about such a tiny video player ?, there are lots of better video players like this on the market.
It's just another Apple-mania kind of stuff. Hello ! time to be realistics !
Ummm...can we get an FM tuner before the next millennium on this thing? Seriously...way to go crApple...
Looks great! Will it play existing mpeg 4 files? Is there a way to take TIVO recordings and convert them to something that will play on this ipod?
I could easily see replacing my photo with one of these once they get to 80 gb, especially if iVids is doing well.
Nobody's going to pay $1.99 for a music video, but I can see TV shows coming in at $1.99 or 2.99 for half and full hour (maybe ad-supported) and movies coming in at $9.99. I'd be into that, assuming that we get PlayFair for video :)
People looking for a video player: the battery will only last approx. 2 hours on the 30GB model, 3 hours on 60GB (that's MAXIMUM, so real life situation you can expect less!). That would just about cover my waiting time at the airport BEFORE I fly out :(
Must be so cool...I've always wanted one and i think its time i got one, but they better not scratch and break like the nanos!! Same old design...which pisses me off, but is still good cos its very easy to use.
This could be apple's death wish,with only the use of their own video format, so Apple just has to hope ppl will embrace H.264 extremely well and hope that it will not crash and burn like SOny's ATRAC, ATRAC 3, ATRAC 3 Plus codec
I think its time i jumped on the ipod wagon, cos everyone has to jump on a band wagon once in their life!
So goodbye Hi-MD and hello iPod!
Cool iMacs, but i aint getting a mac computer until intel arrives for the whole mac line, so all those suckers hu buy macs from now till intel come in. I've got one thing to say: 'Sucked in!'
BUT WHERE THE HELL IS iTMS AUSTRALIA!!!!
I'm still waiting Stevie J. !!!!
I have the Iriver H320 and its about the same size screen but only 10 fps and the picture quality is good because of the small screen.
Its been great using it during work like on breaks and lunch. With 10 fps there were issues with audio and video syncing correctly, but with the Ipod having 30 fps there wont be any problems.
$1.99 for TV episodes?!
That's way too expensive! As opposed to music, TV shows are something you're probably not going to keep. After one watch, you're probably going to delete it. And the quality of the TV show isn't standard TV dimensions, not to mention it's not HD.
I could "possibly" buy into this pricing model IF the shows come in HD and normal TV dimensions, AND if they come up with shows like Battlestar Galactica.
Internet TV is almost here! It's a good first step, Apple -- but you're still quite a ways until the masses start using your iVideo Service as a substitute to cable/broadcasting or bittorrent.
I would never pay $9.99 for a movie that would only play on this. I also would never pay $2.99 for a stupid TV show, I don't care how good it is. Now, a documentary show like Wings or some of the Nova Shows maybe but not the stupid crap that's on the letter networks today. I would view it for free as add supported but not pay.
Hey Engadget, I read elsewhere that Apple insiders are already talking about another anouncement to make next month. Have you all heard this? Can you ask your "insiders" to confirm this?
I would never pay $9.99 for a movie that would only play on this. I also would never pay $2.99 for a stupid TV show, I don't care how good it is. Now, a documentary show like Wings or some of the Nova Shows maybe but not the stupid crap that's on the letter networks today. I would view it for free as add supported but not pay.
Hey Engadget, I read elsewhere that Apple insiders are already talking about another anouncement to make next month. Have you all heard this? Can you ask your "insiders" to confirm this?
Looks good. But I wonder if this will scratch like Grand Master Flash, as the nano does. Perhaps the same screen issues as the nano too? Let us now when you early buying fools have it in your pocket for a month.
Anyone else think they will unlock video playback in 4g ipods after xmas? Seems like a big deal to have video on itunes w/ such a small market out there(5G ipods) until the real ipod video is released in 06.
I think Apple got the hint about nano scratches and now includes a case with the new iPods!
I love my ipod photo....i dont consider myself as jumping on the wagon, i just think ipod has created a culture of style and simplicity, before i had one i would see people with ipods and they just seemed to stand out for some reason. I might consider a video ipod next year.
Rick James
Can you throw it in my bin :)
"What it needs most are more shows!"
Exactly. The big news here is that Apple has, in one fell swoop, created huge demand for the thousands of independent videomakers already out there. It's down right now (supposedly moving to a new server), but http://mefeedia.com is the best place to find independent video. You'll never look back once you discover what the vloggers have been up to.
Has Apple actually confirmed that we can convert our own video to the device? I mean, it's a bit late, since i've just ordered one, but... :)
I am not an Apple fan(nor do I hate them) but this is probably the first Ipod I will buy.
Bah. This thing is powerful enough to store and play H.264 videos, which ya know is kinda cool, yet apple still can't muster up gapless playback, crossfading, or a proper audiophile EQ for music?? I thought Jobs said "it's all about the music"?
I can only imagine how people will react when they start playing their $2 qvga donwloads on their hdtv .. bhahahaha...it'll be even worst for widescreen movies.
I wonder will their new iPod Updater include and update for my 4G Ipod (32 DAYS OLD)so that it 2 can play vids, if not i guess its time to lose my Ipod and ask for a new1 from mommy
I kind of hope Apple screws this up... Oh wait they already did. h.264? No Divx or Xvid?!
It should be:
http://apple.engadget.com
I think what makes the iPod with video playback attractive (like prior iPods) is the integration with the iTunes service. How many people want to spend the time ripping their DVD's to play on portable players? Not many I imagine. They already have the LOST season 2 episodes up at the store for $1.99 each. For people who don't want to go through the hassle of finding them online/ripping them themselves/Tivo copies, this offers them an alternative.
I think it'll be successful. Like iPods before, it's the ease of use and integration that makes them popular.
So they stayed iPod portrait instead of going landscape... bad move. Look how much screen downsizing they had to do compared with other portable media players out there: 2.5 in vs 4 in. Not good. Crappy resolution too...
Paul... did you get a chance to ask if you can firewire sync?
Any hard drive lag times, as sometimes happens when you switch songs?
i hear ya
So the PSP isnt under any threat as a media player then?
big ice d, THAT was funny.