iVMS & corresponding iPod in trouble?

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Sony ( and others ) just bought MGM and UA. As part of the deal , they get the whole 4000+ library.



That is huge.



http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movi...eut/index.html



Sounds like Blu Ray is definitely going to be the format winner.



In any case, what do y'all think this does in terms of a future video iPod and correspnding download store?



It is going to be a tough battle . Here's hoping that Apple already has a partnership deal with Sony.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    A Sony-Apple partnership would be huge! Both companies can operate stores and have media software, and both companies could win. As a content provider, Sony wins because a sale's a sale. Apple wins because QT7 and the DRM framework is an interoperable standard, albeit a closed one. Both groups win due to the increased use of MPEG4.



    If Sony came out with an iTunes compatible player do you think people would choose it over the iPod? Same for an iTunes clone?



    While some market share would be lost, the overall community would grow. But most I'd suspect would still stick with iPod and iTunes for the obvious reasons.
  • Reply 2 of 12
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Quote:

    Sounds like Blu Ray is definitely going to be the format winner.





    Are you willing to stake some money on that?



    MGM isn't that much of a player. And this is old news anyways.
  • Reply 3 of 12
    jaredjared Posts: 639member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by 9secondko

    Sony ( and others ) just bought MGM and UA. As part of the deal , they get the whole 4000+ library.



    That is huge.



    http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movi...eut/index.html



    Sounds like Blu Ray is definitely going to be the format winner.



    In any case, what do y'all think this does in terms of a future video iPod and correspnding download store?



    It is going to be a tough battle . Here's hoping that Apple already has a partnership deal with Sony.




    First of all, the "iVMS" and "video iPod" is and has always been a rumor.



    Second, do you know how much Sony, and their record labels have on the iTunes Music Store?
  • Reply 4 of 12
    neutrino23neutrino23 Posts: 1,561member
    The movie rental business is quite different from the music business. Apple does not (as yet) have a portable video player. If they started an iVMS now it would be for playing movies from a Mac to a TV or on the attached monitor.



    I don't know how Apple looks at this business but it is certainly different from the iPod/iTMS business model. We all think that it is a slam dunk that Apple will be in this business. Perhaps it is not so clear to Steve and company. Without an iPod like device to leverage the online store how will Apple make money? Even if Apple did come out with a small video player I don't see that being as popular as the iPod.



    Perhaps this would let Apple be more cooperative? Without having an iPod like business to protect they might agree to develop a store with Sony (and others?) using a consistent DRM. In return they'd get some license fee for the software and maybe some further cooperation in the music area and maybe some other good will.
  • Reply 5 of 12
    programmerprogrammer Posts: 3,457member
    I just don't get the whole portable video player concept. Who wants to watch a movie on a puny little screen with crappy sound that encourages bad posture. Just another stupid little gadget you don't really need that various marketing departments are trying to ram down your throat.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    jaredjared Posts: 639member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Programmer

    I just don't get the whole portable video player concept. Who wants to watch a movie on a puny little screen with crappy sound that encourages bad posture. Just another stupid little gadget you don't really need that various marketing departments are trying to ram down your throat.



    I could not have said it better myself.
  • Reply 7 of 12
    quambquamb Posts: 143member
    agreed.



    i know hardly anyone who downloads or watches movies/television on their computer. and portable dvd players weren't exactly a success either.
  • Reply 8 of 12
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Programmer

    I just don't get the whole portable video player concept. Who wants to watch a movie on a puny little screen with crappy sound that encourages bad posture. Just another stupid little gadget you don't really need that various marketing departments are trying to ram down your throat.



    Then try to remove yourself from the idea of viewing the movie on a tiny LCD. Think instead in terms of an iPod Photo with EXTERNAL video playback and LCD playback as a secondary option to a) satisfy the masses b) casual airplane viewing.



    The real key to this is not the device, but the system behind it. Where does the content come from, and how...
  • Reply 9 of 12
    Quote:

    Originally posted by quamb

    agreed.



    i know hardly anyone who downloads or watches movies/television on their computer. and portable dvd players weren't exactly a success either.




    So, what's stopping them? To difficult to obtain the movies? To hard to set up the cables/software/whatever? Too small screens?



    Could it be possible to find a SIMPLE, USABLE solution to these problems? I think Apple and others are pretty hard at work to crack this problem.



    To break it down:



    Problem 1: Content

    1a) What content

    1b) Ownership (how to get it, licensewise, DRM)

    1c) Distribution (how to get it, bitwise)

    1d) Creation (download/copy/record, rip, compress)



    Problem 2: Playback

    2a) How get the content to a bigger screen

    2b) Control (on device/ remote / other)



    Things like storage and codecs are less problematic, but equally important.
  • Reply 10 of 12
    I've been ripping a few of my own DVDs lately and the major thing holding me back from most of my movies is that there is no surround sound option. I have been ripping episodes of TV shows with stereo only, and they look fantastic in H.264, if a little slow to play on my 1.33 PB. Apple's got the video codec, now it needs some kind of surround sound format for any movie store/app to work, as we know that tech heads embrace new technology like iVMS, therefore already have surround sound setups, thus why would they buy a movie from the iVMS if it lacked surround sound?



    Maybe some rich AAC format? I honestly don't know how hard it could be to turn AAC into a multi speaker format, I assume it can't be that hard though. If I were Apple, this is the time to be thinking about some kind of iTunes-like movie app, ripping DVDs to H.264 and AAC surround or something. Then after a while, when bandwidth really picks up (I've heard reports of 50Mbps over here in the UK in the next couple of years) release a movie download service.



    The iPod would become somewhat of a portable VCR, it would display movies on it (I think Apple have to re-implement the wheel, so that it takes up less space, and therefore leaving enough room for a 3-4 inch widescreen display), but more importantly it would have a dock with video out and an optical output. Depending on how much power they can fit in it, they could have inputs too, to record TV shows like a VCR. Devices like this have been out for a year plus now, but they were chunky, Apple would make the whole solution work, at a size we can appreciate!



    My money is definitely on Apple bringing out a new iApp at some point in the next year (it should be this year as this is "the year of HD", but more likely in iLife '06 in January), which can rip DVDs and play them on your computer. I personally don't think they will go any further than that until later.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Programmer

    I just don't get the whole portable video player concept. Who wants to watch a movie on a puny little screen with crappy sound that encourages bad posture. Just another stupid little gadget you don't really need that various marketing departments are trying to ram down your throat.



    The point isn't to watch it on the gadget's screen, the point is to plug it in to whatever giant screen TeeVee is handy and watch your own movies on it.
  • Reply 12 of 12
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Programmer

    I just don't get the whole portable video player concept. Who wants to watch a movie on a puny little screen with crappy sound that encourages bad posture. Just another stupid little gadget you don't really need that various marketing departments are trying to ram down your throat.



    I think this one will only get cracked once somebody can provide a pair of cool looking glasses for under a billion or so dollars, that will allow you to watch an AVC movie in full def, and - with the flick of a switch - allow you to see what's in front of you if necessary.



    Otherwise, watching a small 3/4" screen for 2+ hours just doesn't cut it.
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