Epic fail. You can buy TV shows for $1.99 and get almost unlimited TV by subscribing to Netflix and Hulu plus combined. A dollar for 48 hour rental, I wouldn't touch it with a shitty stick. I bet the shows will still have ads as well.
How do you define quality? You can?t just go by bit rate if they are using different codecs. Aren?t most cable companies transmitting in MPEG2? Is there an equivalency formula for MPEG2 and H.264?
Cable boxes are mpeg2, and while there is no precise h.264 to MPEG2 equivalency when it comes to bit rate, a 4:1 ratio is probably more or less fair.
If I rip a DVD, I use. 2500 Kbps rate to keep the quality, whereas the source is probably 7500knps or so. Apple actually uses a pretty low rate, 1500kbps which is definitely not DVD quality but is better than SD cable, in my opinion. Their 4500kbps 'HD' is about as good as most cable HD, but lightyears behind Blu Ray.
Cable boxes are mpeg2, and while there is no precise h.264 to MPEG2 equivalency when it comes to bit rate, a 4:1 ratio is probably more or less fair.
If I rip a DVD, I use. 2500 Kbps rate to keep the quality, whereas the source is probably 7500knps or so. Apple actually uses a pretty low rate, 1500kbps which is definitely not DVD quality but is better than SD cable, in my opinion. Their 4500kbps 'HD' is about as good as most cable HD, but lightyears behind Blu Ray.
That is about how I?d rate it from a batter/worse visual comparison. Except when it comes to watching DVDs on a computer, which always shows a lot of blacking which i?d rate only above Hulu?s 480p option.
Would this 99 cent deal be available to current TV owners or would the new iTV box be required???
So far, iTunes Store contracts have been for all devices that can play FairPlay content. If this holds true, then these rumoured 99¢ rentals will allow you to rent and store them on your Mac/PC with iTunes, AppleTV, iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad for a presumed 30 days and have 48 hours to watch it as many times as you wish after you first start playing it.
So far, iTunes Store contracts have been for all devices that can play FairPlay content. If this holds true, then these rumoured 99¢ rentals will allow you to rent and store them on your Mac/PC with iTunes, AppleTV, iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad for a presumed 30 days and have 48 hours to watch it as many times as you wish after you first start playing it.
nice. i buy episodes only when i forget to record or if the dvr messes up for some reason.. although $2.99 for an hd episode that i'll never watch again is pretty steep.. if my current tv will allow a 99 cent rental, i'd be all over it..
nice. i buy episodes only when i forget to record or if the dvr messes up for some reason.. although $2.99 for an hd episode that i'll never watch again is pretty steep.. if my current tv will allow a 99 cent rental, i'd be all over it..
I?ve bought than a few shows over the years that I knew I?d only watch once. Renting the content would have been preferred.
Once was when I was sick and was renting DVDs of TV seasons from a local video store, but they didn?t have a disc here or there so I just paid $1.99 for those 3 or 4 episodes. Another time was going on a flight and wanted some localized content that I grabbed the night before I left. There are other reasons but those are two I can recall.
Note that I?m a torrent user, but sometimes content just isn?t available or will take too long to download and you want it right away.
So far, iTunes Store contracts have been for all devices that can play FairPlay content. If this holds true, then these rumoured 99¢ rentals will allow you to rent and store them on your Mac/PC with iTunes, AppleTV, iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad for a presumed 30 days and have 48 hours to watch it as many times as you wish after you first start playing it.
This means nothing in regards to pricing. This is about Apple negotiating the worth of content. They have given up on yhe possibility on a subsciption service through iTunes. This is about wrestling the control of content away from cable companies which will mean cheaper prices. The problem for cable is that they can't recoup the lost revenues without investigation from the FCC. They already have tiered pricing. Google sold out wireless net neutrality. Right now some of those who are independent from ownership from cable are considering their own apps since they don't have to give Apple a percentage while Apple allows free downloads which won't be much. People don't usually remove channels and add them later.
It is similar to what Jobs had said at the ATD conference. Most will not add a box. They want to replace one.
Wow. Where are you? My cable bill is upwards of $60. Fairly, I have HD service and lots of channels I don't watch, but the two I do are in the package that is insanely expensive. No premiums (HBO etc.) Sounds like you've got a deal.
You got a deal too. My DirecTV bill is $85.00 a month!
You got a deal too. My DirecTV bill is $85.00 a month!
Skip
imo its going to be near impossible to go without any TV channels at all but the good thing is we now have over the air local channels in HD and it could be combine with AppleTv for a decent TV solution.
Now iOs means maybe sports channels will release apps for live sports events. So local channels with OTA, on demand movies and TV shows from various networks with AppleTV and live sports with special apps. That could work.
So Apple could release an iTV pro version with ATSC tuner and PvR and you have yourself a complete TV solution with no monthly fee.
So Apple could release an iTV pro version with ATSC tuner and PvR and you have yourself a complete TV solution with no monthly fee.
Apple will never release a device with a TV tuner. They want to "cut the cord" completely and move everything to the web. I know many will want a PVR feature but content owners already have a severe distaste for it with TiVo and cable offering this feature.
They've already taken Cablevision to court over having a "PVR in the cloud" anywhere service.
We know that you are a thief already. You tolld us that you are a jailbreaker who downloads .ipa files and installls them without paying.
Yes, Teckstud, I have done that. I tested out TomTom that way because Apple doesn’t offer a trial period in their apps. I then deleted the TomTom app and have since bought it from the App Store. Perhaps you should use your gray matter and realize that everything isn’t black and white (see what I did there? Of course not).
I really hope this kind of change happens so that my PS3 rentals could become more competitive.
$4.99 for an HD rental? Seriously? Redbox costs $1.50 a night for a full Blu Ray movie with all the special features and extras. So 24 hours of download access equates to 3 nights of a physical disc rental??
I do feel bad for some of the mom and pop video stores out there. I go to one that offers 5 DVDs for 5 days for $5. Pretty sweet deal, but I'm sure they have to make deals like this in order to compete with streaming services and Redbox.
But...if you are a video store owner...close now and get out while you can. Or start focusing on used games (my local video store that I mentioned has done just that).
I love my PS3 for the media capability (I got it for my dad who will never use it for games) but the Playstation Network is a joke, content wise. Netflix's instant streaming service has a better selection than the stuff you can rent for 5 bucks on PSN, which is truly pathetic.
...and the major thing is, media companies need to find a better way of negotiating digital sales. they need to set up some system similar to how discs are distributed today. if best buy or a mom and pop shop wants to carry CDs or DVDs, they can pretty much carry whatever selection they want.
there needs to be a wholesale system for digital media where any media store can "resell" digital products, so that committing to a certain piece of hardware requiring use of a single media store doesn't leave you with a spotty selection of things to buy.
every piracy apologist reasons that many people want to purchase digital products, but can't do so due to the suits squabbling about content rights, or due to country restrictions, or not making sought after products available for purchase.
i.e., big media needs to stop thinking in the past, but inspiration from the past can be helpful. if all media were available in all stores, just like the record stores of the past, it would only aid the big media companies.
Cable boxes are mpeg2, and while there is no precise h.264 to MPEG2 equivalency when it comes to bit rate, a 4:1 ratio is probably more or less fair.
If I rip a DVD, I use. 2500 Kbps rate to keep the quality, whereas the source is probably 7500knps or so. Apple actually uses a pretty low rate, 1500kbps which is definitely not DVD quality but is better than SD cable, in my opinion. Their 4500kbps 'HD' is about as good as most cable HD, but lightyears behind Blu Ray.
Quote:
Originally Posted by solipsism
That is about how I’d rate it from a batter/worse visual comparison. Except when it comes to watching DVDs on a computer, which always shows a lot of blacking which i’d rate only above Hulu’s 480p option.
Yep we're all pretty much on the same page... but my cable system offers high quality 1080p movies (depending on the movie) over PPV and on the premium movie stations and if I were to 'give up cable' as one poster said I wouldn't have any way to replace that content without buying Blu-rays and or subscribing to Netflix and being stuck with only watching 1 Blu-ray on any given 3 day period.
Now, for lots of folks (younger folks especially) who spend lots of time 'hanging out' (wherever) cutting the cable might very well be a perfectly acceptable thing to do. In my 20s to mid 30s I was hardly ever sitting home and didn't pay for any of the premium movie channels and would never think of buying a PPV movie. Now, married and far less active, one tends to make use of cable more and more.
i.e., big media needs to stop thinking in the past, but inspiration from the past can be helpful. if all media were available in all stores, just like the record stores of the past, it would only aid the big media companies.
FAR easier said than done...
Don't believe me? Just ask the music and the publishing companies...
1 - Those 'media contracts', regional exclusives, etc aren't year to year... They are all/mostly 5 or more year deals and can't simply be torn up and thrown away.
2 - Those companies have built up an enormous amount of 'fiefdoms' that all have their own specific agendas (aside from the official corporate one).
For example it shouldn't come as any surprise that the 'optical media sales' division of any of those companies has far more clout than the 'digital media sales' arm. This is sad but usually pretty accurate.
- Is it any wonder that 'bluray quality' downloads aren't available AT ANY PRICE PERIOD?
- Is it any wonder the cost of low quality digital content is often at/near the blu-ray sale price?
The head of optical divisions don't wanna see sales plummet! What if YOUR job was head of the optical sales division... WOULD YOU do anything and everything you could to protect that position or let that SNOT NOSED KID over in Digital Sales systematically steal the food out of YOUR families mouth? It sucks but this is how things work. Finally, you can certainly look to the corporate management for changing direction... that management is usually given guidance by its most profitable divisions and tend to err on the side of caution AKA keep doing the same ole thing.
Hows that saying go? Better the devil you know than the devil you don't
If this is true then Apple could sell the AppleTV as a loss leader.
The most promising area of growth, Sagan says, may be high-definition video, which has just started arriving on PCs. About 7 percent of all videos watched on the Web are in high-definition, up from 3.5 percent last year, according to researcher IDC, and by 2014 one-third of all online video will be HD. Frost & Sullivan says Akamai charges a customer like Netflix about 5 cents for an HD movie, compared with about 3 cents for standard definition. "We're right on the cusp of rapid adoption" of HD, Sagan says.
Apple will never release a device with a TV tuner. They want to "cut the cord" completely and move everything to the web. I know many will want a PVR feature but content owners already have a severe distaste for it with TiVo and cable offering this feature.
There is no "cord" to cut, OTA is wireless And no matter how much internet TV is a succes, the FCC wont allow a package without local channels just like they do with sat and cable co.
OTA is the ONLY way to get true free TV and it must survived all the sat, cable and now internet attempts to kill it. Lots of poor people depends on it.
Comments
How do you define quality? You can?t just go by bit rate if they are using different codecs. Aren?t most cable companies transmitting in MPEG2? Is there an equivalency formula for MPEG2 and H.264?
Cable boxes are mpeg2, and while there is no precise h.264 to MPEG2 equivalency when it comes to bit rate, a 4:1 ratio is probably more or less fair.
If I rip a DVD, I use. 2500 Kbps rate to keep the quality, whereas the source is probably 7500knps or so. Apple actually uses a pretty low rate, 1500kbps which is definitely not DVD quality but is better than SD cable, in my opinion. Their 4500kbps 'HD' is about as good as most cable HD, but lightyears behind Blu Ray.
Cable boxes are mpeg2, and while there is no precise h.264 to MPEG2 equivalency when it comes to bit rate, a 4:1 ratio is probably more or less fair.
If I rip a DVD, I use. 2500 Kbps rate to keep the quality, whereas the source is probably 7500knps or so. Apple actually uses a pretty low rate, 1500kbps which is definitely not DVD quality but is better than SD cable, in my opinion. Their 4500kbps 'HD' is about as good as most cable HD, but lightyears behind Blu Ray.
That is about how I?d rate it from a batter/worse visual comparison. Except when it comes to watching DVDs on a computer, which always shows a lot of blacking which i?d rate only above Hulu?s 480p option.
Would this 99 cent deal be available to current TV owners or would the new iTV box be required???
So far, iTunes Store contracts have been for all devices that can play FairPlay content. If this holds true, then these rumoured 99¢ rentals will allow you to rent and store them on your Mac/PC with iTunes, AppleTV, iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad for a presumed 30 days and have 48 hours to watch it as many times as you wish after you first start playing it.
So far, iTunes Store contracts have been for all devices that can play FairPlay content. If this holds true, then these rumoured 99¢ rentals will allow you to rent and store them on your Mac/PC with iTunes, AppleTV, iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad for a presumed 30 days and have 48 hours to watch it as many times as you wish after you first start playing it.
nice. i buy episodes only when i forget to record or if the dvr messes up for some reason.. although $2.99 for an hd episode that i'll never watch again is pretty steep.. if my current tv will allow a 99 cent rental, i'd be all over it..
nice. i buy episodes only when i forget to record or if the dvr messes up for some reason.. although $2.99 for an hd episode that i'll never watch again is pretty steep.. if my current tv will allow a 99 cent rental, i'd be all over it..
I?ve bought than a few shows over the years that I knew I?d only watch once. Renting the content would have been preferred.
Once was when I was sick and was renting DVDs of TV seasons from a local video store, but they didn?t have a disc here or there so I just paid $1.99 for those 3 or 4 episodes. Another time was going on a flight and wanted some localized content that I grabbed the night before I left. There are other reasons but those are two I can recall.
Note that I?m a torrent user, but sometimes content just isn?t available or will take too long to download and you want it right away.
So far, iTunes Store contracts have been for all devices that can play FairPlay content. If this holds true, then these rumoured 99¢ rentals will allow you to rent and store them on your Mac/PC with iTunes, AppleTV, iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad for a presumed 30 days and have 48 hours to watch it as many times as you wish after you first start playing it.
This means nothing in regards to pricing. This is about Apple negotiating the worth of content. They have given up on yhe possibility on a subsciption service through iTunes. This is about wrestling the control of content away from cable companies which will mean cheaper prices. The problem for cable is that they can't recoup the lost revenues without investigation from the FCC. They already have tiered pricing. Google sold out wireless net neutrality. Right now some of those who are independent from ownership from cable are considering their own apps since they don't have to give Apple a percentage while Apple allows free downloads which won't be much. People don't usually remove channels and add them later.
It is similar to what Jobs had said at the ATD conference. Most will not add a box. They want to replace one.
Wow. Where are you? My cable bill is upwards of $60. Fairly, I have HD service and lots of channels I don't watch, but the two I do are in the package that is insanely expensive. No premiums (HBO etc.) Sounds like you've got a deal.
You got a deal too. My DirecTV bill is $85.00 a month!
Skip
You got a deal too. My DirecTV bill is $85.00 a month!
Skip
imo its going to be near impossible to go without any TV channels at all but the good thing is we now have over the air local channels in HD and it could be combine with AppleTv for a decent TV solution.
Now iOs means maybe sports channels will release apps for live sports events. So local channels with OTA, on demand movies and TV shows from various networks with AppleTV and live sports with special apps. That could work.
So Apple could release an iTV pro version with ATSC tuner and PvR and you have yourself a complete TV solution with no monthly fee.
Off the top of my head:
And people who (gasp) don't have DVRs
So Apple could release an iTV pro version with ATSC tuner and PvR and you have yourself a complete TV solution with no monthly fee.
Apple will never release a device with a TV tuner. They want to "cut the cord" completely and move everything to the web. I know many will want a PVR feature but content owners already have a severe distaste for it with TiVo and cable offering this feature.
They've already taken Cablevision to court over having a "PVR in the cloud" anywhere service.
Note that I?m a torrent user,
We know that you are a thief already. You tolld us that you are a jailbreaker who downloads .ipa files and installls them without paying.
We know that you are a thief already. You tolld us that you are a jailbreaker who downloads .ipa files and installls them without paying.
Yes, Teckstud, I have done that. I tested out TomTom that way because Apple doesn’t offer a trial period in their apps. I then deleted the TomTom app and have since bought it from the App Store. Perhaps you should use your gray matter and realize that everything isn’t black and white (see what I did there? Of course not).
$4.99 for an HD rental? Seriously? Redbox costs $1.50 a night for a full Blu Ray movie with all the special features and extras. So 24 hours of download access equates to 3 nights of a physical disc rental??
I do feel bad for some of the mom and pop video stores out there. I go to one that offers 5 DVDs for 5 days for $5. Pretty sweet deal, but I'm sure they have to make deals like this in order to compete with streaming services and Redbox.
But...if you are a video store owner...close now and get out while you can. Or start focusing on used games (my local video store that I mentioned has done just that).
I love my PS3 for the media capability (I got it for my dad who will never use it for games) but the Playstation Network is a joke, content wise. Netflix's instant streaming service has a better selection than the stuff you can rent for 5 bucks on PSN, which is truly pathetic.
there needs to be a wholesale system for digital media where any media store can "resell" digital products, so that committing to a certain piece of hardware requiring use of a single media store doesn't leave you with a spotty selection of things to buy.
every piracy apologist reasons that many people want to purchase digital products, but can't do so due to the suits squabbling about content rights, or due to country restrictions, or not making sought after products available for purchase.
i.e., big media needs to stop thinking in the past, but inspiration from the past can be helpful. if all media were available in all stores, just like the record stores of the past, it would only aid the big media companies.
Cable boxes are mpeg2, and while there is no precise h.264 to MPEG2 equivalency when it comes to bit rate, a 4:1 ratio is probably more or less fair.
If I rip a DVD, I use. 2500 Kbps rate to keep the quality, whereas the source is probably 7500knps or so. Apple actually uses a pretty low rate, 1500kbps which is definitely not DVD quality but is better than SD cable, in my opinion. Their 4500kbps 'HD' is about as good as most cable HD, but lightyears behind Blu Ray.
That is about how I’d rate it from a batter/worse visual comparison. Except when it comes to watching DVDs on a computer, which always shows a lot of blacking which i’d rate only above Hulu’s 480p option.
Yep we're all pretty much on the same page... but my cable system offers high quality 1080p movies (depending on the movie) over PPV and on the premium movie stations and if I were to 'give up cable' as one poster said I wouldn't have any way to replace that content without buying Blu-rays and or subscribing to Netflix and being stuck with only watching 1 Blu-ray on any given 3 day period.
Now, for lots of folks (younger folks especially) who spend lots of time 'hanging out' (wherever) cutting the cable might very well be a perfectly acceptable thing to do. In my 20s to mid 30s I was hardly ever sitting home and didn't pay for any of the premium movie channels and would never think of buying a PPV movie. Now, married and far less active, one tends to make use of cable more and more.
i.e., big media needs to stop thinking in the past, but inspiration from the past can be helpful. if all media were available in all stores, just like the record stores of the past, it would only aid the big media companies.
FAR easier said than done...
Don't believe me? Just ask the music and the publishing companies...
1 - Those 'media contracts', regional exclusives, etc aren't year to year... They are all/mostly 5 or more year deals and can't simply be torn up and thrown away.
2 - Those companies have built up an enormous amount of 'fiefdoms' that all have their own specific agendas (aside from the official corporate one).
For example it shouldn't come as any surprise that the 'optical media sales' division of any of those companies has far more clout than the 'digital media sales' arm. This is sad but usually pretty accurate.
- Is it any wonder that 'bluray quality' downloads aren't available AT ANY PRICE PERIOD?
- Is it any wonder the cost of low quality digital content is often at/near the blu-ray sale price?
The head of optical divisions don't wanna see sales plummet! What if YOUR job was head of the optical sales division... WOULD YOU do anything and everything you could to protect that position or let that SNOT NOSED KID over in Digital Sales systematically steal the food out of YOUR families mouth? It sucks but this is how things work. Finally, you can certainly look to the corporate management for changing direction... that management is usually given guidance by its most profitable divisions and tend to err on the side of caution AKA keep doing the same ole thing.
Hows that saying go? Better the devil you know than the devil you don't
Apple will never release a device with a TV tuner. They want to "cut the cord" completely and move everything to the web. I know many will want a PVR feature but content owners already have a severe distaste for it with TiVo and cable offering this feature.
There is no "cord" to cut, OTA is wireless
OTA is the ONLY way to get true free TV and it must survived all the sat, cable and now internet attempts to kill it. Lots of poor people depends on it.