Video iPod confirmed
yeah yeah yeah... I put "confirmed"
My boss went to the IBC in Amsterdam for a few days and talked to a ton of people as usual.
Anyway, of all the people that spilled the beans, Microsoft reps described the ViPod (Im just calling it that right) in minute detail to him. And he could absolutely care less about Apple or whatnot. He was probably talking WMV and DRM crap as usual.
He just passed by my office today and said that he would tell me later about it since he knows I'm a Mac fan. One thing led to another and I went home at 21h and didnt have time to talk to him...
Anyway, I'll get the details from him asap tomorrow and post'em here
Anyone else have any reports?
My boss went to the IBC in Amsterdam for a few days and talked to a ton of people as usual.
Anyway, of all the people that spilled the beans, Microsoft reps described the ViPod (Im just calling it that right) in minute detail to him. And he could absolutely care less about Apple or whatnot. He was probably talking WMV and DRM crap as usual.
He just passed by my office today and said that he would tell me later about it since he knows I'm a Mac fan. One thing led to another and I went home at 21h and didnt have time to talk to him...
Anyway, I'll get the details from him asap tomorrow and post'em here
Anyone else have any reports?
Comments
However, I think Apple needs to stay ahead of the game. Like Steve J said about the nano, everyone wants to be the iPod mini, so they've moved on before the others catch up.
Nonetheless, I would question the word of Microsoft when it comes to a competing product such as the iPod. What I know, I can't say, but your post is entertaining and I'll watch you pull a rabbit out of your hat. 8)
Originally posted by Ebby
What I know, I can't say, ... 8)
Something about that statement strikes me as intensely interesting, but, what exactly, I can't say.
V/R,
Aries 1B
I aint playing a rep game...
Although I guess I shouldnt have put 'confirmed' and rather 'further confirmation'.
I'll get the info asap and pass it on.
If anything, the MS people will get less credibility
And he is from France. Nuff said.
I had these pics tucked away from when Leonis came to "visit" you, but now you're forcing me to make 'em public...
That he was told that the Video iPod is READY but its un sure if to launch for XMas shopping spree or Spring.
There were no actual details of the vPod
The discussion started because of DRM and the failure of WMV to become a standard (despite it being ready since years, like V1).
There were week long sessions at MS about the "future" and half a day was dedicated to the upcoming video iPod and how to fight it before WMV becomes totally irrelevant (and it's DRM) in the video world
The MS sessions said that the way it would work was similar to iTunes: slip in a DVD and it re-encodes it into H.264 for the vPod. No details on the quality if you wanna watch on TV, or if it will be limited to vPod screen.
This was unsure because the amount of time it takes to encode in H.264 is long. To make a specially formatted vPod resolution would take a fraction of the time it would than a TV worth size.
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So, its kinda no news regarding the hardware of the vPod (sorry, jumped the gun), but, interesting and fun that MS is gonna try and fight this any way possible (Panic Mode already)
There was discussion also regarding if the vPod would have an onboard H.264 chip which could re-encode extremely quickly, but the amount of heat generated would probably be prohibitive. Until now Texas Instruments made the only real H.264 chip that was ready, but there are a few more players since a few months that could fit the bill (my boss went to speak to a lot of them at IBC as well for unrealted matters).
In a way, this would make sense since the user experience would be the same for all and wouldnt matter if you had a 5 year old computer or the latest 6-core-128bit-20GHz processor... but the heat issue remains for such a small enclosure.
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So, yeah , sorry about that. He told me he was told "everything" about it. Still, some newsworthy points.
A vPod would fit just as well though.
I just downloaded a quicktime trailer to try and re-encode it to H.264 to see what 240x180 would look like, but there was no preset like that. I had to set it in manually.
Originally posted by ZO
yeah yeah yeah... I put "confirmed"
...
Anyone else have any reports?
I won't take it as confirmed until it is listed on Apple's site or confirmed by an Apple PR rep.
I think one is coming, the question is when, and whether they'll lead the portable video player market. It might just be that Microsoft is taking due dilligence in trying to avoid losing another market, and making the same guesses everyone else is making.
Media format control is one of the few arenas in which Apple is directly competing with MS. Both parties realize that controlling industry "standards" is their key to success in a market driven by consumer compatability.
MS is certainly devising battle and contigency plans in order to fight Apple's media juggernaut (iTunes/iPod/iTMS). Microsoft devised likely market scenarios are what I suspect your boss was talking about...