Apple announces iTunes 6 and iTMS video content

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
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.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 66
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    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...
  • Reply 2 of 66
    icfireballicfireball Posts: 2,594member
    Hmm...im thinking iTunes 6 is a bit premature...I'm confused *?*
  • Reply 3 of 66
    the cool gutthe cool gut Posts: 1,714member
    If you can't burn the videos to CD, how in the hell are you supposed to back up your videos?
  • Reply 4 of 66
    proxyproxy Posts: 232member
    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
  • Reply 5 of 66
    rainrain Posts: 538member
    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
  • Reply 6 of 66
    macrules101macrules101 Posts: 70member
    so how is the screen resolution. Steve said it was the iPod screen res, but how is that gonna look on a tv?
  • Reply 7 of 66
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    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.
  • Reply 8 of 66
    g_warreng_warren Posts: 713member
    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!
  • Reply 9 of 66
    the cool gutthe cool gut Posts: 1,714member
    Quote:

    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.
  • Reply 10 of 66
    wmfwmf Posts: 1,164member
    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.
  • Reply 11 of 66
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    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!
  • Reply 12 of 66
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    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
  • Reply 13 of 66
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    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.
  • Reply 14 of 66
    the cool gutthe cool gut Posts: 1,714member
    Quote:

    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.
  • Reply 15 of 66
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:

    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...
  • Reply 16 of 66
    sjksjk Posts: 603member
    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.
  • Reply 17 of 66
    guarthoguartho Posts: 1,208member
    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"



  • Reply 18 of 66
    mpmoriartympmoriarty Posts: 289member
    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?
  • Reply 19 of 66
    nathan22tnathan22t Posts: 317member
    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.
  • Reply 20 of 66
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    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.
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