Apple announces iTunes 6 and iTMS video content

[AppleInsider]

Apple today announced iTunes 6, the next generation of the world’s most popular music jukebox and online music store.

iTunes 6 lets fans purchase and download over 2,000 music videos and six short films from Academy-Award winning Pixar Animation Studios for just $1.99 each. Also, in a landmark deal with Disney, iTunes is now offering current and past episodes from two of the most popular shows on television, “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost,” as well as the new drama series “Night Stalker” and the two most popular shows from Disney Channel, “That’s So Raven” and “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,” for just $1.99 per episode. Customers can now purchase and download their favorite television shows from iTunes the day after they air on TV, watch them on their Mac or PC, and Auto-Sync them onto the new iPod for viewing anywhere.

“We’re doing for video what we’ve done for music—we’re making it easy and affordable to purchase and download, play on your computer, and take with you on your iPod,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Right out of the gate we’re offering 2,000 music videos, Pixar’s short films and hit primetime TV shows like ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ‘Lost’.”

Featured exclusive music videos are available from artists such as Beastie Boys and U2 along with more than two dozen classic music videos from Madonna. Music videos are available from hundreds of artists, including classic hits by Michael Jackson and Sting and current hits from Coldplay and Kanye West. The first ever video iTunes Originals is being released with an exclusive performance and interview from Death Cab for Cutie as well as an exclusive video album from Brazilian Girls. Music fans can also purchase the Complete Stevie Wonder digital box set, which contains over 500 songs, a full color digital booklet and three bonus videos, available only on the iTunes Music Store. Movie shorts available from Pixar include “Boundin’,” “For the Birds,” “Geri's Game,” “Luxo Jr.,” “Red's Dream,” and “Tin Toy.”

New features in iTunes 6 include expanded online gift options which now allow customers to give specific songs, albums, music videos or their own iTunes playlists to anyone with an email address, a public beta of new “Just for You” personalized music recommendations and the debut of online customer reviews. Now more than 10 million iTunes music fans can read other customers’ reviews, post their own and rate their usefulness.

With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as integrated Podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod and groundbreaking personal use rights, the iTunes Music Store is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music online. The iTunes Music Store features more than two million songs from the major music companies and over 1,000 independent record labels, 10,000 audiobooks, gift certificates and exclusive music not found anywhere else online.

Pricing & Availability

iTunes 6 for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Music Store and is available as a free download immediately from www.apple.com/itunes. Purchase and download of songs from the iTunes Music Store for Mac or Windows requires a valid credit card with a billing address in the country of purchase. Television shows are available in the US only, and video availability varies by country. Music videos and short films are $1.99 (US) each, and television shows are $1.99 (US) per episode.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[nagromme]

Looks like a smart, gradual entry into some new areas, and a fun "optional extra" for new iPod owners. Full downloadable feature films? Maybe someday.

If you buy a video, is the music part incorporated into your music library just like any other song, for use in playlists etc.? And is it the full quality of downloading the song alone?

iT6 is a nice evolution... I've been hoping for a Gift option. But poor iT5! Gone already...

[icfireball]

Hmm...im thinking iTunes 6 is a bit premature...I'm confused *?*

[the cool gut]

If you can't burn the videos to CD, how in the hell are you supposed to back up your videos?

[Proxy]

If you're thinking that $1.99 might be a bit steep for a video then try the UK store pricing... £1.89!! Completely bonkers. Haven't Apple heard of an exchange rate

[rain]

Did anyone else catch the "NO BURNING" feature for any video?
Wow... what a feature. Thats like buying a car with the feature of it only running in your neighbourhood. Forget about taking that car on a sunday drive, or to the city.
I can see people lining up around the corner for a 'FEATURE' like that. ???!!!!????
Hey Steve... it's called a 'Screw', not a feature.

FairPlay is a nice way to say "$#@* the people".

At least in Canada, it's legal to download tv shows. They are a lot higher quality, and you can take them anywhere. You can also re-format them for the iPod.

The day that people start accepting the 'Ol poke up the ass', is the day we see the "one more thing... digital insurance". Where you pay gobs of money for files that you alrady own... because it's your only choice for protection.

booooooo

[macrules101]

so how is the screen resolution. Steve said it was the iPod screen res, but how is that gonna look on a tv?

[Aquatic]

Same stupid look, same great taste!

Did they add any new features? CD-TEXT...? No skipping MP3? Karaoke mode?

I DO however like the video mode. Just like in iPhoto. They are GETTING it at least. They are not missing the boat on video. In fact with iChat AV and iSight they beat everyone else. They are really getting it, with video. I like this direction Apple is going with media.

[G_Warren]

Just imported some movies files into iTunes in preparation for my new iPod, and it darn well copies them to the MUSIC folder. I could turn this option off, but then my music wouldn't be organised, and I like it organised. Grrr, this is just plain silly - let us import music to the music folder, and movies elsewhere - give us a darn better prefs option apple!

[the cool gut]

Originally posted by G_Warren
Just imported some movies files into iTunes in preparation for my new iPod, and it darn well copies them to the MUSIC folder. I could turn this option off, but then my music wouldn't be organised, and I like it organised. Grrr, this is just plain silly - let us import music to the music folder, and movies elsewhere - give us a darn better prefs option apple!

I don't think I understand. It imports it into your music, so you can still play the audio, but if you just want to see you Video, just click on the "Video" folder.

[wmf]

For backups you can just burn the .m4v files.

If you want to make an actual DVD you can probably un-DRM the file and then drop it into iDVD or Toast. The quality will be low, though.

[a_greer]

This is a good start...now to give us 640*480...and fox content...and maybe HD...Simpsons and Family Guy in 480 and 24 in HD baby!

[a_greer]

Originally posted by macrules101
so how is the screen resolution. Steve said it was the iPod screen res, but how is that gonna look on a tv?

I am DLing the "lost" Premere now...will report

[sunilraman]

Originally posted by a_greer
I am DLing the "lost" Premere now...will report

cool other than just pointlessly bitching someone is actually researching this. :thumbs:

h.264, what bitrate, what res, visual quality, audio codec, spill the beans ya, thanks matey.

well i think this is a great entry into the video market. apple is reluctant because of content but they know they gotta establish a foothold in this scene, and they've lined up enough content for now to get this rolling.

speaking of pointless bitching,
powermacs and powerbooks can kiss my ass. whatever

nice entry into home theatre with the imac, but again, just a foot in the door for now until hi-def and bigger display stuff gets cleaned up a little. and plus they gotta get those "obsolete" (tongue-in-cheek) g5 chips out the door.

[the cool gut]

Originally posted by a_greer
I am DLing the "lost" Premere now...will report

Obviously someone needs to test this out, but on the demo Jobs gave, when he plugged his iPod in, the "iPod" screen popped up on the screen. So the picture doesn't fill the whole screen - can that be right? You essentially see the iPod border, and the movie plays within that.

[sunilraman]

Originally posted by the cool gut
Obviously someone needs to test this out, but on the demo Jobs gave, when he plugged his iPod in, the "iPod" screen popped up on the screen. So the picture doesn't fill the whole screen - can that be right? You essentially see the iPod border, and the movie plays within that.

yeah certainly people will be curious about 16:9 or other widescreen-type content how it looks on 4:3 of which 320x240 is 4:3...

[sjk]

I think someone reported one of the videos they downloaded was 480x320. [edit: wrong; the image in Guartho's post shows 320x240]

Now's the time for Elgato to add H.264 support to EyeHome. Then I'd download a video just to satisfy my curiosity with how playback looked with that.

[Guartho]

I just finished watching the lost premiere. It's in 4x3. Is Lost in 4x3 originally, or has it been chopped? It looks about the same as shows I record and save in Mpeg-4. I played it in QT and watched it full screen. It''s 209 megabytes and took about 1:15 to download. It was going pretty fast at first, but I think as other people started downloading it slowed down.


edit: Aha! I found a little dude called "Movie Info"

[MPMoriarty]

I think you are allowed to burn your movie files to a data CD/DVD. Not even Apple can really stop you from doing that. But they can stop you from turning that video file into something that can be playable on a DVD player.

Here's a question I have...

When you buy a music video, does it come bundled with the AAC audio song, too? Or is it just the video?

[nathan22t]

the video quality is fine/good/whatever

however, the resolution is completely ass-tasticly low... good for the ipod, but not for watching on a real screen. definitely not how i plan to buy any TV shows. they would have to at least be DVD resolution or better

taking any of the videos (yes i bought some) full screen makes them look poor and grainy.

sucks, because everything else apple released was spot on. but if we are locked into this shitty res for years to come then the whole idea is awash. this is much worse than the mostly imperceptible loss of quality with 128 AAC.

[sunilraman]

i must say i'm annoyed with watching videos in iTunes6 on PC (winxp64, quicktime for win pro 7.03) ~ even in fullscreen unlike playing a .mov in quicktime fullscreen which uses hardware overlay, playing a .mov in itunes6 fullscreen does not make use of hardware overlay ~ meaning flickering when watching clips through itunes6 is what i found.

impt note: i am only talking about the quicktime movie trailers i have added to itunes6 on PC.

[sunilraman]

this said i like the video layout in iTunes6 with the thumbnails. very very nice. remember if you have qt7 *pro* all you have to do is open the file in quicktime7 if you can, scroll to a frame you like, then choose view>"set poster frame"
hit file>save and when you import it into itunes6 the poster frame you set will be used as a thumbnail even though the movie clip will start playing from the beginning (or where you left off last)

[Matthew Yohe]

I'm glad Apple landed the $1.99 video deal. If those take off, then it gives apple even more of a pull when it comes time to renew contracts with record companies next spring. How can a song cost more than a music VIDEO?

If they want premium songs at a premium price, then they should lower "older" songs. below .99

[Jimzip]

>grumble<

All of you just be happy you can use the music store...
Anything is better than nothing..


COME ON APPLE!!!! I'M DYIN' HERE!


On another note. I'm quite impressed with the recent releases.. New iMac? Sweet! Built in iSight, and a media center to boot, now *that's* cool..
Plus the new iPod is damn sexy, I don't care what anyone else says, Apple still r0x0rz my ... world..

Jimzip

[sunilraman]

jimzip, australia will become a republic before iTMS music/video/whatever is launched for oz

[mjuchter]

The new video features would be great, if they actually worked. I paid $1.99 for three minutes of nothing but grey screen with no sound today. Zip. It was supposed to be a Pixar short. I know the money was taken off of my account, but the video's not there.

I hope they fix that soon, I was looking forward to that feature!

[Jimzip]

Originally posted by mjuchter
The new video features would be great, if they actually worked. I paid $1.99 for three minutes of nothing but grey screen with no sound today. Zip. It was supposed to be a Pixar short. I know the money was taken off of my account, but the video's not there.

I hope they fix that soon, I was looking forward to that feature!

Have you got QuickTime 7.0.3? You have to have it to play video files with iTunes. (I assume. I'm thinking the DRM has something to do with it, because I could watch normal videos from my comp before iTunes 6..)

Hope that helps!

Jimzip

[mjuchter]

Originally posted by Jimzip
Have you got QuickTime 7.0.3? You have to have it to play video files with iTunes. (I assume. I'm thinking the DRM has something to do with it, because I could watch normal videos from my comp before iTunes 6..)

Hope that helps!

Jimzip

I have 7.0.2, but there are no software updates, according to Software Update...

[sunilraman]

on firefox 1.0.7 qt 7.0.3 and winxp64 the qt plugin for firefox seems buggy. i blame microsoft

i want a 17inch new imac g5 i don't want to use pcs and windows anymore.... linux is fun but... macs rock... *sniffle* *sniffle*

[danielctull]

Originally posted by mjuchter
I have 7.0.2, but there are no software updates, according to Software Update...

Go to the Quicktime page and you can get it there.

[danielctull]

Also it baffles me why the UK are getting charged £1.89.

Songs are £0.79 and $0.99, yet videos are £1.89 and $1.99, the gap between the numbers should get bigger with a higher price, not lower!!

Working with their numbers:

99c roughly times 2 = $1.99

79p roughly times 2 = £1.59

[mjuchter]

Originally posted by danielctull
Go to the Quicktime page and you can get it there.

Got it, we'll see after a reboot if it worked! Thanks!

(Added five minutes later: Jackpot, thanks!)

[progmac]

i hate to drag this thread into 1999, but why the hell can't they add CD-TEXT in iTunes? Grrr!

[sunilraman]

edit: removed my comments.... anyway, here's what appletalk.com.au posted on their front page

[Jimzip]

Originally posted by sunilraman
edit: removed my comments.... anyway, here's what appletalk.com.au posted on their front page

Well I don't know about you.. But I only wear green tweed and slacks while standing in a sheep paddock on •very• special occasions..

Honestly, I don't know whether the rest of the world knows we have cities over here sometimes, can we at least make artwork that shows a structure of some sort? A pub? Milk bar? Apple store? Oh.. right, we don't have any Apple stores either.. Oh well, scratch that..

I'm not bitter..

Jimzip

[sunilraman]

heh. i haven't seen much sheep in oz. new zealand yes, but oz no. i've lived in brisbane, melbourne and sydney. you can see some horses on the way to the brisbane international airport though driving out from the city

its just the appletalk.com.au people taking the piss out of themselves showing a rather rustic, rural setting, with farmer joe (vic bitter commercial mate --- you can get it any old how, matter of fact, i got it now... ah... good times during uni with the ol' vic bitter.. carlton draught...as well.. and fourex when i was in brisbane... not sure what the NSW people are up to with that tooheys stuff they drink all the time.... pity i don't remember much of those drinking times nowadays .....

ummmmm where was i? yeah, just appletalk mucking around. applecentre and apple-academy taylorsquare sydney is the closest thing to a flagship apple store in australia goodluck.... hmmm... i've been away from oz for about almost a year now.

[nathan22t]

Originally posted by sunilraman
this said i like the video layout in iTunes6 with the thumbnails. very very nice. remember if you have qt7 *pro* all you have to do is open the file in quicktime7 if you can, scroll to a frame you like, then choose view>"set poster frame"
hit file>save and when you import it into itunes6 the poster frame you set will be used as a thumbnail even though the movie clip will start playing from the beginning (or where you left off last)

You can do it in iTunes as well. Just right click on the video while it is playing and you shall see

rock on

[G_Warren]

Originally posted by the cool gut
I don't think I understand. It imports it into your music, so you can still play the audio, but if you just want to see you Video, just click on the "Video" folder.

I didn't mean in iTunes, I meant on my hard disk itself - when I import a video, it copies the file from its original location (eg Movies Folder, Desktop etc) into the iTunes folder within the music folder, even though it is a movie, not music. Grumble grumble. The prefs option should be to copy music to the iTunes music folder, and give you to option to leave movies wherever you want.

[sjk]

Originally posted by G_Warren
The prefs option should be to copy music to the iTunes music folder, and give you to option to leave movies wherever you want.

Have you tried unsetting the "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" preference under Advanced->General when you're importing video? With that unset only iTMS downloads end up in the iTunes music folder (with a few possible exceptions). That's how it's always worked for me anyway and helps keep iTMS content segregated from other iTunes-managed content (e.g. for backups).

[Smarty]

hi, i'm new to the forum. the reason as to why i'm posting is because i've been thiking about getting an ipod recently. the nano almost convinced me, but the new video ipod took my breath away. it impressed me because of the possibilities it left open. one possibility that i couldn't get a definite answer to was whether or not we could trnasfer any type of video (not h.264 or mpeg-4) and if they can't be transferred, can they be converted? i have tons of videos on my computer that i've downloaded from many different places including torrents. it would be a shame not to be able to watch them on the ipod. that doesn't mean i wouldn't buy ne thing from itunes, but considering they aren't supplying full length movies at the moment, i have another alternative. i'm sure there's a way to put movies on the ipod, just haven't found the eight thing to do it with yet. ne help would be greatly appreciated. thanks