HD For Indies

I've been busy all day, just happened to stop to think about that it is a Tuesday and that is Apple Update Day, so checking for new updates on AppleTV indicated new software - hallelujah! Downloading now, but I see others have already been dilligently on it -

Apple TV (take 2), take two - Engadget

Bonus geekery - picture above taken with iPhone, emailed to self, yadda yadda...

Labels: AppleTV

AppleTV Take 2: New Software, Same Hardware is my third piece up on the new Pro Video Coalition site, which I'm a part of (more details in a forthcoming announcement).

It is (IMH unbiased O) more than the title suggests, outlining what the hardware capabilities of the AppleTV are, how they compare to other high definition options in broad strokes, and what it may mean for the industry.

The most important thing to realize about AppleTV Take 2 is that it is the EXACT same hardware (with a bigger hard drive option, which we've had for months) as before, but with new features enabled via software, such as direct movie rental and purchase, etc. While the video quality is better on many other options (HD PPV, Xbox 360 downloads, Blu-ray and HD DVD), the simplicity MIGHT make a compelling case for the set top box - will it be like music and MP3s and iPods, that we want simplicity and choice over quality? We'll have to wait and see.

Be sure to check out all the other articles up on Pro Video Coalition as well.

-mike

Labels: Apple, AppleTV

Shortly after the keynote ended, these became available via Software Update if you're running 10.4.11 (haven't tried from 10.5.1 yet, can't check at the moment, middle of massive backup).

iTunes 7.6:

Rent and download your favorite movies with iTunes on your computer or directly to your living room on Apple TV. Enjoy rented movies in sizes up to 720p HD with surround sound on your Apple TV and sizes up to DVD-quality on your computer. Transfer your rented movies from iTunes to your iPod or iPhone and enjoy them on the go.

Also, purchase and download your favorite TV shows, music, and more directly on your Apple TV. Effortlessly transfer purchases made on Apple TV back to your computer with iTunes.


QuickTime 7.4:

QuickTime 7.4 addresses security issues and delivers:
- Numerous bug fixes
- Support for iTunes

This release is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users.

For detailed information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798.


iMovie 7.1.1

This update addresses issues when publishing movies to a .Mac Web Gallery, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues.


...and probably will help with AppleTV content viewing for the .Mac stuff.

Installing all of it right now.

Labels: Apple, AppleTV, Mac, OS X, QuickTime

Steve Jobs is giving his annual keynote right now, here's the highlights:

-iPhone getting substantial software updates, including better Maps with GPS-LIKE but not really truly GPS capabilities. Other improvements as well. Should go live today, but isn't live yet (I'll check later tonight). SDK coming in February for 3rd party apps.

-iPod Touch gets Mail, Maps, Stocks, Notes, and Weather....for a $20 upgrade done via iTunes. Your iPod Touch is now an iPhone sans phone...for $20.

-New gadget called Time Capsule that works with Leopard's Time Machine to wirelessly do backups. Is a fully featured Airport Extreme Base Station with a hard drive for Time Machine backups (for multiple machines, presumably). Halle-F'in'-Lujah. I'm buying a 1TB model for my parents so I don't have to sweat backups for them. Available February.

-OK, now it gets juicy - iTunes will do movie rentals...in HD All the major studios are in. Over 1000 films by end of February....but 30 days after DVD release (doh! Major acquiescence to the studios!). Can start watching in less than 30 seconds IF you have a fast connection. 30 days to start watching it, but only 24 hours to finish it (lame! 48 or 72 - you rent movies for 2-3 days, right? This'll harsh on the parental watching, where movies are watched in snippets over several days).

-Apple TV "Take 2" - FREE software update out in a couple of weeks, price cut to $229. Syncs w/computer, but computer not necessary - can buy and interface directly from the AppleTV (finally!). Can rent movies directly from AppleTV while sitting on the couch. Movies in SD or HD (gonna be 720p24, I promise) with 5.1 (5.1 HD only it seems). Also does streaming pics from Flickr and .Mac, and streaming YouTube. Can buy TV shows and movies directly as well (and those'll sync to computer as well - can you have AppleTV sync with TimeCapsule? That'd be GREAT). Movie rentals are $2.99 for SD catalog releases and $3.99 for new releases, and HD are $4.99. Note it says HD for for rental, but I haven't noticed HD movies for SALE. Drat. Over 100 HD titles to start, more coming. Different/improved UI. TV shows $1.99/episode, syncs back to Mac/PC.

Some DVDs will come with pre-compressed versions for iPod - Family Guy: Blue Harvest stuff that slipped out last week is included in that.

-MacBook Air - tiny skinny laptop with no optical drive, 1.8" hard drive (80GB HD, or 64GB SSD, yes that's Solid State Drive). 0.8 tapering down to 0.15 inches thick. 13.3" screen, backlit keyboard. Aluminum exterior, dark (plastic?) interior. Large trackpad, multi-touch aware. So iPhone touch UI is migrating to Macs, first in this product. GOOD. The catch will be we'll need an OS and application upgrades to support it. But it is a good thing. 1.6 or 1.8 GHz processors, so slower than current Macbooks, but not massively. Software to access a Mac or PC's optical drive since none included. ONE USB 2.0 port, no FireWire mentioned, mini-DVI, NO ethernet port. Bluetooth of course (2.1+EDR), but minimal connectivity. Oh - $99 external SuperDrive module if you want it. Even with wireless on, 5 hour battery life (I'll betcha that's with the SSD not HD though). 3 pounds. iSight. 1.6 or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo. 2GB standard RAM, dunno how expandable. $1799 to start (not bad). No mention of the GPU, but obviously lightweight, light grade presumably.

No "One More Thing."

So...Apple's already down more than $9 for the day, since nothing particularly hugely exciting announced. I'm surprised the Mac Pro update was last week, since this is a thin MWSF for the overall market. Really just some nice/expected software/service updates, and a niche laptop.

The iTunes rentals and HD movies are the big deal for this readership. Apple TV Take 2 - OK, thanks, getting it closer to what it shoulda been in the first place. Maybe I'll update my AppleTVhacker.com website. Next step - getting indie content access to that system.

-mike

UPDATE:

MacBook Air Links & Details:

Apple - MacBook Air - with additional links for design, features, wireless, Mac OS X & iLife, and tech specs.

Apple - MacBook Air - Guided Tour

Macbook Air GPU stats from the website:
Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory

Extended desktop and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 1920 by 1200 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors

iPhone/iPod update info:

Apple - iPhone - Guided Tour Update 2 - Large - for the new features.

Maps - uses info from WiFi and cell towers to get approx location. New button to find location. Also have Drop Pin (to mark a location) and a Traffic button. Gives you your location with a circle to give an idea of where in the circle you are. There's Search and Directions buttons.

Drop Pin - lets YOU set a location, and save as a bookmark, move it around etc.

Hybrid view shows streets and sattelite views merged - like Google Earth does it.

Can save an icon on homescreen to be an icon on homescreen. No biggie.

-you can rearrange icons on your Home Screen

-send SMS to multiple people

-iTunes movie rentals - can't rent straight to iPhone, but can sync rentals to the iPhone.

-chapter markers now in iPhone - good for podcasts too

-song lyrics, Google Mail IMAP, and other benefits.

AppleTV Take 2 Info:

Apple - Apple TV - Guided Tour

Rentals will play on Mac, PC, iPods, iPhone, or AppleTV. Can rent on AppleTV, sync back to Mac, and sync iPod/iPhone to watch in multiple locations.

-new improved UI, easy searching

-individual movie info gives plot summary, can show preview, or let you rent in SD or HD (HD is a buck more).

-movie starts downloading, SD movies will be ready to watch in short order. HD obviously takes longer, but they don't say how long. I'll of course give a hands on review ASAP when the software comes out.

-24 hours to watch as many times as you want, but if you're halfway through after 20 hours..SOL

-TV shows can be bought a day after they air

-no mention of HD for TV shows, only one price, so presumably still HD only

-Flickr & .Mac, or your own photos seen on your TV at high res

-podcasts viewable via AppleTV as well - nice.

Apple - Time Capsule

Overall, a B- Stevecast. Nice updates, a few useful new products, but nothing that makes me want to OMFG go buy it right now.

So, products:

Mac Pro: updated last week but lets lump it into MWSF - I'm happy with my current OctoMac, when they get Blu-ray burners in'em I'll start getting That Itch again to buy

Laptops: I feel no urge to get the MacBook Air personally. And it isn't a viable lightweight FCP box either - hello, no FireWire means no capturing video, and OH YEAH - no reasonably fast external storage. USB 2.0 is barely fast enough for DV/HDV but not any of the heavier codecs like DVCPRO HD (full rate) nor ProRes....so count it out, besides the GPU limitations.

Time Capsule: yep, I'll get one...for my Mom & Dad. No rush for now for me - I'm looking at back devices with 10 times the capacity (or more) for my studio needs. But for backing up boot drives and apps and iTunes and photos....hmmm, maybe I will get one.

iPhone: no new models, but new software later today that I'm VERY excited to get, especially the locations feature, which was my #1 feature I missed the most.

iPod Touch: for $20, you're an iPhone, sans the phone stuff. Good deal.

Leopard - no big changes, but Time Capsule is a hardware product for a software feature/function

iTunes - rentals - GREAT. HD rentals, even better. HD purchased movies? Hello? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

AppleTV - a heap of updates and upgrades that should've come out, frankly, 6 months ago. Will it be a viable competitor to everything else? Yeah. Will it supplant DVDs etc? Nope. My most interesting thought from various conversations with friends - Can Apple make the Next Big Thing for media devices in the home? Mike Says No. Here's why:
-ultimate device would let you DVR TV content, burn to DVD (or HD DVD or Blu-ray), have TiVO type functionality, sync to iPod/iPhone, let you buy/rent videos, distribute to the other formats you want, etc. Apple won't do that. If they offered DVR functionality, or integration with cable TV, they'd be undercutting their rental/sales iTunes content - no way they'll do it. So they're out. Be interesting to see who can supplant the cable set top box and DVD player as the next content distro methodology of substance.

Apple's "Go it alone, brave new frontier, don't look back" ethos has served them well in the past - but it'll bite them here. TV is too big to ignore (and so are DVDs, for that matter).

-mike

more updates:
More details on Apple's iTunes movie / HD rentals - Engadget HD
-1280x720 @ 24p still max (hardware limitation w/H.264)
-HD rentals ONLY available via AppleTV, NOT iTunes
-5.1 only on SOME HD rentals
-hmm....when it goes live, time to get AppleTVhacker.com back up and rolling...

Hands-On: MacBook Air Hands-on - with LOTS of pics. Thanks to Matt of FreshDV for the link (and the one below).

..and MUCH more importantly for us road warriors, MacBook Air doesn't have a user-replaceable battery - Engadget

DAMN. That's a MISTAKE in my book. Deal killer. Not buyin' one, even for Mom.

Labels: Apple, AppleTV, MWSF

Report: Apple caves in Hollywood face off, will raise iTunes movie prices

Hmm.....if I get an iTunes version with the DVD? Sure, that's nice. Wait, the price is going UP for downloadable movies that:
1.) Don't look as good
2.) Aren't as ubiquitously playable
3.) don't include extras
4.) Aren't high def.

Two edged sword. Gets more folks into the game to make the format more viable, BUT at substantially higher price - WHOLESALE cost to Apple of $15, puts the purchase price up in brand new retail range for lesser quality product (that I can rip to AppleTV/iPod compatible with Handbrake).

The ONLY way this could turn out worth a damn is if they make 720p (doable on AppleTV) versions available at that price. Otherwise...bag it.

So hey - does this mean some movies will get cheaper as well? If the primo stuff is high priced....

But JEEZ, folks - Same as max retail price for a download? For lesser quality and quantity of content? WTF wants that? I'd rather HD PPV...

-mike

Labels: AppleTV, format war

Apple CEO Jabs HD Camera Makers || The Mac Observer

Steve Jobs picks on consumer HD camcorder makers for not making true, full, high definition images. A fair complaint, but considering there are cameras costing many tens of thousands of dollars that don't resolve full 1920x1080, it isn't exactly picking on a kid your own size.

Or is this also justification for the half res mode in the new iMovie? Were they finding consumer pushback due to long render times at full res, and with 1/4 as many pixels to push around at 960x540, most folks couldn't tell the difference?

Conveniently/interestingly, AppleTV does 960x540 as well - but that is the maximum resolution supported for a 30p or 60i image. It will do 1280x720, but only up to 24p.

So would it not be fair to complain AppleTV can only make less than full res video from 1920x1080 sources?

-mike

Labels: Apple, AppleTV, cameras, hardware

Apple - Support - Downloads - QuickTime 7.2 for Mac

Apple - Support - Downloads - iTunes 7.3.1 for Mac - among other things, can stream photos from any Mac (yay!) - so maybe I DON'T need to upgrade the onboard 40GB drive....

EDIT: Yeah - look CAREFULLY before leaping:

MacFixIt - The QuickTime 7.2 disaster: Breaks all CFM apps on Intel-based Macs (Office, Photoshop CS2) for some; Problems playing Flash:

Appears to break all CFM apps on some Intel-based Macs (Office, Eudora, older Photoshop versions) Representing one of the most serious issues ever associated with an incremental QuickTime update, QuickTime 7.2 appears to cause functionality problems -- particularly an inability to launch and crashes -- with Carbon CFM (Code Fragment Manager) applications on some Intel-based Macs.


Owie. Check your apps before updating!

Labels: AppleTV, iTunes

Apple CEO Steve Jobs | D5 | AllThingsD: "Apple will be offering a free software upgrade come June that will allow Apple TV users to view YouTube videos on their televisions."

Headline says it all. From the D5 conference.

More details:

Macworld: News: Steve Jobs at D: All Things Digital, Live Coverage: "%u201CWe%u2019re not selling HD yet, because of the tradeoffs between download time and quality. But that might change in the future,%u201D said Jobs.
Jobs acknowledged the popularity of the Google-owned Internet video site, YouTube. %u201CWouldn%u2019t it be great if you could see YouTube in your living room? So we%u2019ve had a great opportunity to work with the YouTube folks, and we%u2019re putting YouTube in the main menu,%u201D he said."

Labels: Apple, AppleTV

I had a friend asking me about what to do to feed his new Sony HDTV he bought (conveniently off my online store).

His question:

So I'm curious to know: if I ripped a DVD at whatever maximum settings an appleTV could handle and played it on my 1080p HDTV, would it look better or worse than the results from a relatively high-end upconverting dedicated DVD player?

-c

"Still looking for an excuse to buy an appleTV, thinking maybe v2.0 will be better."


UPDATE - BTW, that friend is Charlie Wood, creator of Spanning Sync, a nifty utility that synchronizes your Apple iCal and Google Calendar - try it! 15 day free trial

My answer:

So I pondered on that one a few seconds, hmm....

AppleTV

The uprezzing is really nice on the AppleTV. I've written previously here on how to get anamorphic DVD rips going to AppleTV at higher pixel resolution than Apple posts their movies.

BUT...you're transcoding and recompressing, so you're inherently reducing the quality that you started with on the DVD. How much? Depends on the bitrate and how much motion is in frame.

Also, keep in mind, you have to RIP and transcode and that is sloooooooowwwwww. And not all discs will rip properly (Casino Royale, anyone?) So the quality is acceptable, but the time factor is substantial - hours, far beyond realtime.

Uprezzing DVD Player

When I was researching what to get for my own set, my research led me to the Oppo DV-981HD Universal DVD Player with HDMI, 1080p Up-Converting, DivX & SACD. It slices, it dices, it does in fact julienne, and it is $229.99 on Amazon via my online store.

The good - it is lauded as the best uprezzing DVD player out there from the research I did, especially for the price. It also plays DivX & SACD discs as well - a damn nice little box. You can get cheaper uprezzing DVD players, certainly, but this is the one everybody pointed to when I did my research a few months ago. But even better than when I researched it a few months ago, I found that for an extra $65...

Toshiba HD-A2 & HD-A20 HD DVD players

The Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD Player ($296.99 at the moment) also has excellent uprezzing capabilities, and also plays HD DVDs. Why go halfway when you can get the full deal? For me, the incremental cost (now down to only $65 more than the Oppo), you get good uprezzing but can also play HD DVDs. For me, that was a killer deal - while who is going to win the HD DVD vs Blu-ray war is still up in the air (it looks like Blu-ray is pulling ahead in movie sales at the moment, but it has been a back-and-forth deal so far), for $65 more to play a bunch of high def discs too? Too easy a choice - I got this.

Since that time, Toshiba has released the HD-A20 HD DVD Player, which outputs a true 1080p (the A2 only does 1080i). If you have a 1080p set, worth doing, and it is only $359.88 at the moment on the online store - for a $65 bump from DVD to HD DVD, and another $65 bump to get full 1080p output (only worth having if your HDTV supports it!).

And what of Blu-ray, as long as we're thinking about it? The Sony Playstation 3 is still $599 on Amazon (via my store, same price either way), and the least expensive standalone Blu-ray player is the Samsung BD-P1000 at $470 (today's price).

Aside - What's Wrong With AppleTV

The AppleTV is basically a nice interface for iTunes content - I bought one, I like it, I even have another blog all about it - AppleTVhacker.com. But it isn't truly a replacement for a DVD player at any resolution. I see the ability to play downloaded TV shows as a bonus feature, the downloaded movies don't look as good as DVDs (but WILL play back on iPods & computers, so that is bonus), and the ability to see my pictures in high def on the screen is also a bonus. But in the end, I see it as a supplement to, not a replacement for, a high def DVD player (or even a regular DVD player). If version 2 had an optical media slot and played 1080i footage at full res, we'd be talkin'.

I think Apple has lost a significant market advantage, however, in that they STILL don't have downloadable high def movies - check out this article on the 10 minute 720p Ratatoille - download and watch it, and imagine that quality on your HDTV. That plays, right now, on my AppleTV. But I can't buy movies that resolution and quality. Get with it Apple! At $300 to play downloadable 720p movies, that'd be a viable contender against $500+ HD DVD & Blu-ray players.

But now that there are options that look better and cost LESS than AppleTV, with a MUCH wider range of movies...AppleTV's window narrows quickly unless they can get LOTS more content available for sale, and also at higher resolution to make a compelling case. I've bought 3 or 4 movies online, mostly to doodle with or so my neice/nephew can watch, but that's about it - I don't plan on buying any more. I DO buy TV shows (season pass to Lost, episodes I missed of Battlestar Galactica). YES, I could download high def freebies via BitTorrent, but that's more time and hassle than I want to deal with - and then they wouldn't play back on my HDTV via AppleTV anyway, which was the point. Feh.

Bottom Line:

I recommend either:

-a cheap uprezzing player that does a good job (I don't have a specific recommendation for that)
-or spend under $300 on a 1080i HD DVD player - HD For Indies Amazon Store - Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD Player
-or a $360 1080p HD DVD player - HD For Indies Amazon Store - Toshiba HD-A20 HD DVD Player
-or a $420 Blu-ray player - HD For Indies Amazon Store - Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-Ray Disc Player - NOTE - today it is $470 - yesterday was $420 - they like to fiddle with these things, clearly!
-or a $600 Blu-ray playing PS3 if you're into games - HD For Indies Amazon Store - Sony PlayStation 3 (60GB) (and don't forget the remote)
-or the $480 Xbox 360 Elite (because it has HDMI outputs & 120GB drive) and the $200 HD DVD module for another game/high def movie player combo - which can also download and play back excellent quality HD content as well. - HD For Indies Amazon Store - Xbox 360 Elite System Console Includes 120GB Hard Drive, and the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player

To get a $230 uprezzing DVD player without spending the extra $65 to play back HD DVDs strikes me as penny wise and pound foolish, unless for some special reason that makes sense to you. - HD For Indies Amazon Store - Oppo DV-981HD Universal DVD Player with HDMI, 1080p Up-Converting, DivX & SACD

Summing up - to my mind, at this point in time, the Toshiba HD-A2 hits the sweet spot of bang/buck.

Note: All prices based on Tuesday, 1pm CST published prices from Amazon, they change their minds and run'em up and down as they see fit, I don't control it - so if they change and I don't update this article, please let me know. I posted the prices I saw.

Labels: AppleTV, Blu-ray, HD DVD, home theater

What's the Matter with HDMI?

A long rant on the sins of HDMI, which I don't entirely agree with.

I agree that the ability to not reliably do long runs is a problem (witness my own troubles with a 50 foot run, requiring a $130 signal repeater).

I agree that it can be confusing - digital and analog on same cable, many frequencies supported, etc. - but it also allows it to work in a lot of situations.

But I disagree with the writer's complaint about basing it on DVI - he says they should have started all over with a new spec, I say not necessarily - there's a whole multi-billion dollar industry all set up to pump out DVI signals called the computer industry, and if we can make TVs more compatible with that, all the better. I can connect my graphics card to my HDTV with an adaptor or a cable with DVI on one end and HDMI on the other.

As a matter of fact, right now I have a DP in the other room color correcting, and the DVI output of my Multibridge Extreme is running 50 feet under the floor into another room where the client is sitting comfy on the couch watching the live studio output on a 60" HDTV to get a sense of what it'll look like for average viewers (....with 60" TVs, admittedly). If HDMI weren't based on DVI, I wouldn't be able to do that.

The writer does go into a bunch of the electrical shortcomings of HDMI as well, no argument from me there.

He talks about the difficulties of routing and switching the signal, no argument from me there.

He talks about how if it had been up to broadcast engineers rather than IT type engineers, they would've come up with something that could handle longer cable runs. Mmmm.....sure, OK. But WAIT - this is intended to be a CONSUMER format, NOT a professional format. It is intended to plug consumer devices into each other, and that's it. He proposes that when broadcast engineers needed a way to run HD video and a buncha audio signals around, they put it all on coaxial cable for HD-SDI and you can go 300 feet without repeaters. Yes, very true. But the beefy cables aren't exactly cheap, and have you priced HD-SDI cards or other HD-SDI based gear lately? Obviously the price would plummet if it were introduced into the consumer space and the dev costs amortized over a larger base, but HD-SDI is high end professional gear - overkill for our needs here.

What I am surprised about is that he didn't even touch HDCP, which creates all kinds of other interconnection problems.

But if you're into this stuff, here's some Sunday afternoon reading for you.

-mike

Labels: AppleTV, HDMI

Apple - Trailers - Ratatouille

Nine minute preview, and YES it is 720p and plays back on AppleTV, and YES it looks great, and YES I'm REALLY looking forward to this more than I was to Cars (for some reason, my brain can handle talking toys, bugs, fish and rats better than anthropomorphized cars).

I think it no accident this copies right over to AppleTV and plays just fine.

-mike

Labels: AppleTV

I threw a few comments about capturing content via analog from living room to studio (HD-DVD and digital cable) on my AppleTV Hacker blog. In short - the analog hole is alive and well, but does imply a quality loss.

And takes a looooooong time to encode/process. Many many times realtime.

Labels: acquisition, AppleTV, AppleTVHacker, consumer, DRM, Final Cut, hardware, HD-DVD, HDTV, home theater, how done

Hey all - with NAB fast approaching and the press releases flying in at a mad rate the same week taxes are due, sometimes ya gotsta punt - thus the entity I call a blogwad - a buncha news all piled into one post. I've at least broken it down by category for you this time - here's the one on AppleTV related news:

APPLETV NEWS
==============

In case you missed it, I've been doing most of my AppleTV related commentary and blogging over on my new other site, AppleTVhacker.com - all the below and MUCH much more over there.

HungryFlix - Download Movies for your iPod, PSP, Apple TV and More! - these folks are selling content specifically formatted to fit your AppleTV, starting with a $2 movie (24 hour sale) called Wages of Sin which...doesn't look all that impressive even from just the cover art. But it is a start...

-------

AppleInsider | Surprise ad for Apple TV begins airing on networks: "Launching almost without fanfare, a spot for Apple's new media hub has begun making the rounds of TV networks. - Apple, Inc. on Monday launched a surprise new commercial for its Apple TV device, emphasizing the simplicity and echoing Steve Jobs' observations that the company was entering the living room after coming into cars, dens, and pockets."

---------

Apple - Apple TV - Ads Here's the ad in high res.

---------

How-To: play DivX and Xvid on your Apple TV - Engadget

--------

Apple TV hacked for RSS and emulation, plus bounty for USB drive support - Engadget

---------

Audio and Video Podcasts from washingtonpost.com

HD podcasts that are AppleTV compatible via iTunes! Schweet.

-----------


MacNN | Sling to stream Apple TV to cellphones?: "Sling Media is developing support for its Slingbox streaming hubs that would let them support the Apple TV, the company said late on Monday. A future update should give cellphones with SlingPlayer Mobile the ability not only to view an Apple TV's content streamed over the Internet but to control it as well by sending IR codes."

---------

Apple - iTunes - iTunes Store - Podcasts - Technical Specification Formatting specs for iPod & AppleTV in terms of sizes, bitrates, etc. - HANDY!

-----

More homebrew plugins, but where are those from Apple? |
Apple TV Hacks: "Erica Sadun over O%u2019Reily had written a plugin for the Apple TV that allows you to execute any Perl scripts you have uploaded. Given that Perl can run also call shell scripts and any Unix command, this will allow a whole host of cool scripts to be written.
It also opens the doors for programmers and scripters with no knowledge of Cocoa programming to develop their own additions to BackRow."

Read on for more info, analysis, and conjecture on the subject of plugins for AppleTV.

-------

AppleInsider | MGM flicks arrive on Apple's iTunes Store (still no HD)

-------

Motionbox offers personal video downloads for Apple TV | MacMinute News

-------

Apple TV and HD quality: It's not the hardware - Engadget HD: "We quickly realized that the Apple TV wasn't going to be a HD powerhouse and our tests have indicated as much -- we have also discovered that the problem is not the hardware."

--------

Macworld: Secrets: Convert video for Apple TV

Nice list of conversion options, although the DVD ripping tutorial seems eerily familiar, as I got a call from someone over there asking about what works well....

: )

Also covers converting files on drives, etc.

------


........and that ought to hold you for a bit while I'm off to NAB. I'd been too busy to post any of that recently, so this is all really just catching up.

-mike

Labels: Apple, AppleTV, AppleTVHacker

Apple just announced that in May they'll release ALL of EMI's music catalog in a new way - along side the existing DRM'd 99 cent 128kbps AAC tracks, they're offering $1.29 256kbps DRM free tracks. See my article on that with analysis. That's a big, good step.

The next steps I'd like to see Apple take:

1.) Offer other major label content the same way. But if one does it and it is deemed successful, the others are likely to fall in line. Considering that CDs are an "open" format and getting ripped right and left, they might as well make content available this way in general. Sounds like this is on the way - from the press release about EMI, "...we expect to offer more than half of the songs on iTunes in DRM-free versions by the end of this year." Good stuff.

2.) Then offer indie content the same way - let indie music producers/labels choose whether to go 128 kbit DRM or 256 kbit DRM free at a higher price.

3.) Start making movies downloadable from iTunes Store in two formats: iPod Video size, and AppleTV HD size. The AppleTV versions would cost a bit more, be 1280x720 @ 24fps with 5.1 audio (YES it can do that), and obviously be bigger downloads as well (the spec calls for 5 megabits/sec max on the AppleTV). Encouraging along those lines, in the press release Apple says: "All EMI music videos will also be available in DRM-free format with no change in price." - so DRM-free video begins in May.

3.) Allow indies to sell video content through the Apple Store, first at iPod Video size, then later at AppleTV HD size.

4.) Then somewhere down the line, perhaps years from now, drop DRM altogether (or mostly), and only sell audio as 256kbps tracks without DRM for 99 cents, and video content perhaps without DRM as well - or at least make that a choice for the producers to decide. The major studios may never accept DRM, but the indie content producers may find that a desirable choice, to get playback on a wider range of devices.

This will probably take years to happen if it ever does. But Apple is taking the first step in May, so kudos to them. I completely support this move.

And note they are stealthily increasing the price to $1.29/track - that the quality goes up is of piffling concern in terms of production costs - they'll have to re-encode the back library and their bandwidth bill will go up - but bandwidth continues to get cheaper (Amazon's S3 service is about 20 cents/GB I think, and Apple is probably paying less than that).

(I'm envisioning a vast compression farm of Minis networked together, chunking away on 256 kbit conversions of EMI's library....)

-mike

Labels: analysis, AppleTV, online content service, online distribution, online video

Status of several things:

1.) My Dad is out of the hospital and home, thank goodness, after 11 days in there. He should fully recover from his twice collapsed lung after the surgery, which was one of those non-invasive, probes & scope deals. Thanks very much for all the kind notes & emails, MUCH appreciated to know folks out there notice and care. After my Mom, sister and I took turns keeping one of us up there 24/7 for 11 days, we're all glad to get a chance for our lives to start getting back to normal.

2.) Donations - I hadn't yet said thanks to everyone for all their donations to keep HD for Indies up and going - or more accurately, to keep me up and going to have time to keep HD for Indies going. It isn't enough to drop my other work, but I heartily appreciate all those who took the time to kick in to the till. Nobody pays me (otherwise) for any content that gets written here, I cover my own expenses almost always to attend festivals, conferences, etc. unless I'm working for somebody else. If you haven't contributed I'd sincerely appreciate it if you did so using the "Make a donation" link at the top right of every page under the glaring red type. Here was my original pitch asking for donations, read on if you're wondering why you might want to.

3.) AppleTV - FedEx missed me whilst I was at the hospital this morning, so I drove way out yonder to the FedEx depot and got my AppleTV. I'll be posting about what I learn shortly at my new blog, AppleTVHacker. Unboxing pics, vids, etc.

4.) And yeah, if you didn't notice it, I've got a new, more consumer tech blog I started last night, AppleTVHacker. Add it to your daily read or RSS feed if you wish.

-mike

Labels: AppleTV, AppleTVHacker

Hey all -

as if I didn't have enough to do, I felt like starting a new blog just for kicks - AppleTV Hacker*

The URL is appletvhacker.blogspot.com until I can get it switched over to appletvhacker.com

On that site, I'll be sharing my latest reports and doodles and discoveries about what can be done with, and more importantly, TO an AppleTV. I'm not looking to figure out how to do illicit things, just clever things.

I've kicked it off with a round-up of AppleTV news today (pics, analysis, deconstruction hardware pron, etc.) since many AppleTVs are arriving today (Thursday), but mine isn't one of them. DAMMIT.

The joys of the interwebs - I got the site up and running in about an hour, with click trackers and AdSense and all. Blogs are quick and easy to set up. It is the writing and whatnot that chews enormous amounts of time!

I'll continue to cover AppleTV related stuff over there, and will post links on hdforindies.com for pertinent AppleTV things.

So check it out, or if you're a fancy type, read or subscribe to the RSS feed!

As an added bonus, I expect to get my own AppleTV tomorrow, and will be running it through my own heavy user paces - I have well over 120 GB of pictures, movies, and audio content - so how do I pick and choose what goes in?

I want to find out things, like:
-exactly what OS is it running?
-how is it, REALLY, to use, esp. with large media libaries?
-can you attach an external USB drive for expanded storage and have it be recognized in any way shape or form?
-can you attach an external DVD drive and play DVDs from it?
-and most importantly, can you swap out the hard drive and have a bigger hard drive be recognized and use all the additional space on it?

My guesses: a modified stripped down OS X (we kinda knew that already), cumbersome with the itty remote, no (not without software upgrade, but I betcha it's possible, even though Apple claims it is for service only - if it connects to mobo, why not?), no again (same reason), and perhaps, perhaps, perhaps....

I'll document the hell out of it and post some nitty gritty hands on feedback and analysis over the weekend.

And for all you other fellow geeks whose propeller beanies spin at similar frequencies, I'd LOVE to have your reports as well to run on or link from the site - so send them in! Or also links to good AppleTV stuff, too please!

As always but not said often enough, if you've done something you think hdforindies.com worthy, I'm ALWAYS interested in reader submissions of hands on reports on gear, theory, etc. Please do send in, credit & link luv always given.

Why? Because I geek that way....and if you thought I got flippant and occasionally unprofessionally silly on this site...

-mike

PS - and don't forget to check out the lyrics to the theme song...how can you have a blog without a theme song?

Labels: AppleTV, AppleTVHacker

...should have it by Friday.

Woo hoo!

I ordered mine Day Zero, so I'd imagine plenty of others are on the way as well.

If you didn't read yesterday's piece on my thougths on AppleTV, you might want to do so, I've amended some further stuff on to it (another article, more concise analysis).

Labels: Apple, AppleTV

UPDATED TUESDAY - SEE BOTTOM

Apple TV may 'transform video industry' - analyst - iPod/iTunes - Macworld UK
"Hoopes writes: 'We think the Apple TV/iTunes combination could become as disruptive to legacy video purchase-and-consumption behaviour as the iPod/iTunes combination has been to the traditional music business model.'"

Article further predicts 25-70% AppleTV penetration amongst Mac users, citing a 150% penetration achieved by iPod (amongst NEW Mac buyers, perhaps?).

I disagree - lots of Mac owners I know are pretty "feh" about AppleTV, with a "why would I use that again?" attitude. A VCR records TV shows if they plan ahead, TiVO plans for you, and AppleTV's available video/movie offerings are extremely slim as compared to DVD, quality of HD-DVD and Blu-ray exceeed what AppleTV is even capable of, and Apple isn't offering any high-def content anyway. Current movie download systems are overly complex, and offer limited libraries as well. That said, I think the "media extender" concept of AppleTV is genius and will be key to its success long term.

The device is, "an ideal conduit for multiple services including DVR, paid-for content (such as video-on-demand), gaming, or advertising," he writes, adding, "we identify and value these business opportunities at $5.3-$11.4 billion."

I disagree - Apple would be loathe to channel advertising to its customers - or more likely, Steve Jobs would be. I just don't see it in their character to do that. DVR options - well no, there's no video/cable inputs unless Apple added one via a USB device. And if they did, they'd be cannibalizing sales of TV shows, which is one of AppleTV's unique advantages - the ability to purchase a show you missed after the fact without waiting months for the DVDs (like I'm going to download last night's Battlestar Galactica since I missed it, and see if their shark jumping performance of late persists). Gaming - has been ruled not likely recently, since the presumed AppleTV gaming code was recently found to mirror iPod code - just some lazy copy/paste behavior on Apple programmer's part. VOD - is sorta possible, but not in traditional "I want to watch right NOW" model - you'd have to download first then watch, unless significant software upgrades were made - the ability to connect directly to the iTunes Store, the ability to surf content with AppleTV not a computer, the ability for AppleTV to directly connect to store via Internet, the ability to progressive download and start watching like a web QT download does,and a MAJORLY HUGE infrastructure upgrade to Akamai or whatever to support live streaming. Otherwise, it is just buying a show like it works now.

Movie rentals are noted as possible, but I don't see that as likely - Apple has ALWAYS sold content, not rented it to date, and unlike DVDs, Apple would HAVE to be involved (and get a cut) in a rental model, which the studios may not be in a hurry to pursue, esp. with all their security concerns.

AppleInsider | Apple TV said to be worthy of overtaking both TiVo and Netflix - more on Apple from ThinkEquit's Jonathan Hoopes, who I don't think has done his homework very well:

"Apple TV can, in our opinion, be easily turned into a DVR with little or no hardware modification and a software upgrade,"

Oh really, Jonathan? And exactly how would that video signal be getting into the AppleTV? It has video outputs but no inputs, it has Ethernet and wireless ports as the only known data input model. There's a USB port Apple has been coy about, but it WOULD require a hardware update/purchase to get TiVO/DVR functionality going there.

While I DO expect Apple to do fairly well with this, especially compared to the other downloadable movie services, the value proposition as it stands now is weak compared to other video acquisition devices. Apple's library of available video content is now measurable in the hundreds, whereas DVD is who knows how high. Your local blockbuster has many thousands of titles, Netflix via mail has something like 60 or 70 THOUSAND titles available - if Apple is to compete successfully, they'll need a bigger library. That said, Apple's advantages of super simple UI, a good DRM that works across computers, set top boxes and portable devices is the best in the business, and a popular/usable/easy online store is a HUGE advantage in the business column. But as a consumer, the value proposition is still thin in other key areas - content and quality and price. You pay as much or more for the download as you would for the DVD, but you get LESS content with lower quality and no permanent archive if your computer/AppleTV hard drive dies (as they do). A DVD player costs a tiny fraction of what AppleTV does and offers tons more content, just not as easily (significant point). HD-DVD and Blu-ray offer MUCH better looking content at 30-100% more cost (at a minimum), and that's even if Apple had HD content available now, which they don't.

I'm supposed to get my AppleTV by later in the week, so we'll see what the experience is like. I've already bought an HDMI/toslink/optical switcher, so there's a plug ready and waiting to be plugged in right now.

I like the idea of AppleTV, and am buying one - half as much to review for indie content creators as to actually use myself - one of the first things I'm going to do is see about putting a MUCH bigger drive in there, say a 160 or 200. I already have a ton of my own MP3s/AAC files (something like 700-1000 CDs I've ripped over the years), and I want room for video content as well. While AppleTV can stream from other systems in the house, they have to be on and running iTunes for this to work AFAIK (based on the Shared Music/Shared Video mode in recent iTunes). So my wants? Presently about 100GB of music (ripped high quality), probably 20-30 GB of pictures, 20GB of assorted video content - that's a full 160 GB right there...so for now, the trick will be picking playlists & albums & movies that get cached on the device.

Surfing a LOT of content with the little bitty 6 button remote may well prove to be quite a challenge.

But long term, Apple is positioned fairly well if they can get HD content at all, and more content in general lined up. I'd saythey are definitely well positioned to be the leader in movie downloads, and long term MAY have a similar affect on the video market as they have in the music market. Keep in mind, however, that CDs still vastly outsell iTunes sales. I'll betcha next year's MWSF offers a version with a bigger hard drive, too, as an aside - more video content, damn well better be HD as an option by then too.

But what they DO have in the meantime is the nicest way to access your iTunes library remotely, and that is what I think will be the biggest short term selling point. My video fanatic buddies are "feh" on the video quality (except for the benefit of downloadable TV shows), but the idea of surfing their entire iTunes music collection from the couch, with the bonus value of watching pictures and downloaded movies as well. But in the short term, music & missed TV shows is the biggest value proposition for the device.

-cynical mike, signing off

PS -SUMMARY what I MEANT to say rambling through all this - long term AppleTV will have a better value proposition than it does today. Key will be making more content available, and HD content in particular. For now, however, the value proposition is somewhat limited when compared to other means of getting video not off live TV onto your TV/HDTV. DVR, rental & advertising possibilties are I think incorrect/overrated/unlikely in the near future without substantial changes in hardware, software, and the deals that have been cut.

TUESDAY UPDATE
My expectations are more in line with this:

MacNN | Analyst: Apple TV to see slow start
"'As was the case in the early days of the iPod, Apple resellers in our checks expect Apple TV will need to be more fully understood by consumers before it turns into a major contributor,' said Piper Jaffray senior analyst Gene Munster."

He continues:

"...expect Apple TV will have a minor impact on business in the near term (the next 1-2 quarters), with Apple faithful buying in an initial surge and others spending some additional time figuring out what Apple TV is."

My analysis: AppleTV offers insufficient value proposition for most consumers as it presently stands. While the idea of using your EDTV or HDTV as a way to show your digital pictures to guests is nice, it isn't a reason to buy it. Being able to watch the missed episodes of Lost, Battlestar Galactica, or whatever your personal preferences are on your big TV is nice, but not $300 nice. A pleasant interface to your iTunes library is nice, but not $300 nice on its own. Except for the luxury crowd, I don't think it offers enough value....yet. Get us HD movies, get us MORE movies in general, and we're getting somewhere. For those who want to watch on computer, on TV, on portable (iPod video), it is a big step forward, but that is a MINORITY subset of the market right now.

Portability has its advantages though - I'm writing this sitting in line for Grindhouse tix for the Austin premiere, Tarantino & Rodriguez expected to be there next Wednesday. Yee-haw! Blow sh*t up. ;p

-mike

Yet-another-Tuesday-update:

Ars checks in - On the eve of the Apple TV

....and has a nice list of AppleTV's shortcomings, and Wired gets in on the action too:

WIRED Blogs: Gadget Lab: "5 Reasons Why Apple TV Rules, 5 Reasons Why it Sucks"

Tuesday night update:
Macworld: First Look: Picking an HDTV for your Apple TV covers some basics, but misses what I thought would be the point of the article - that since the max res of AppleTV is 1280x720, if AppleTV is your primary high res source (which would imply you were converting your own HD material, since Apple sells no HD content), 1368x768 is more preferable than 1024x768, and true 1080p is overkill.

MacNN | WSJ reviews AppleTV: "simple and elegant"

Apple updated their AppleTV tech specs page with more codec details:

Video formats supported
H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps)
iTunes Store purchased video: 320 by 240 pixels or 640 by 480 pixels
MPEG-4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps)
Audio formats supported
AAC (16 to 320 Kbps); protected AAC (from iTunes Store); MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps); MP3 VBR; Apple Lossless; AIFF; WAV
Photos formats supported
JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PNG

Labels: Apple, AppleTV

Apple came out with iTunes 7.1 and QuickTime 7.1.5 yesterday which I skipped blogging (trying to cut back on my Habit, ya know) since I didn't see anything particularly HD worthy in there.

BUT...iTunes 7.1 is the basis for support or AppleTV, and among other things includes support for full screen coverflow, which others have noted makes you wish you had more album art filled in. iTunes has a lookup & find & install cover art feature, but it isn't perfect, and requires that you have ripped with iTunes in the first place I think. There's also some third party apps that will look elsewhere, such as on Amazon.com for artwork. In any case, it is the version to work with AppleTV.

Apple also released QuickTime 7.1.5, which I'm already seeing some complaints about online, that overall system user interface response time is waaaaaay down - that their machines are getting super slow, so be careful. My Dual 2.0 G5 seems to have been thusly afflicted, but my Macbook seems to be doing OK - so maybe it is an Intel Mac thing? Dunno.

In any case, the big blog worthy news is this - QuickTime 7.1.5 includes presets to output to AppleTV!

Doing some quick tests, here's what I learned:

Feeding it a 720p24 DVCPRO HD clip (I used the bee and flower clip from the SF Bay Area sampler that comes with FCP), I got a 1280x720 @ 23.98 fps as I expected - this is the maximum file size and frame rate AppleTV can handle, according to Apple's own specs. The data rate is a hair over 5 megabits, so that ought to look prety nice, and it does on playback. I'll route it to my 60" 1080p HDTV (and YES I like writing that phrase) to play back from my Quad G5 and see how it looks.

So what of 1080i60 originated footage?

I opened up a shot from the Glacier Bay footage (also from the FCP Sampler stuff), and exported it to the AppleTV preset - I got a 960x540 30 fps movie - half res for 1080i. Datarate was about 4.1 megabits/sec. And obviously it is getting deinterlaced on the way. As with the movie studios, H.264 has proven to be tricky to handle interlaced footage, and does best with progressive images. So AppleTV appears to (internally, at least) handle only progressive frames, and in the case of 1080i originated footage, halves the resolution and deinterlaces it.

So that's interesting - if these presets are an indication of the hardware's capapbilities (and they damn well ought to be), then broadcast material that was shot interlaced (60i) or progressive (60p or 30p) will have to be cut in size down to 960x540. Filmed 24p material will have a max frame size of 1280x720 - that'll be as good as the hardware can handle. And for most HDTV sets with a native resolution of 1368x768, that'll be fine. For true 1080p sets, it is underresolved as compared to what the screen could display. This is in line with what Apple did with their AAC iTunes stuff - it is decent but not optimal specs.

I'll have a report later once I convert some more material, such as that intentionally tricky to compress well DCI StEM (Standard Evaluation Material) footage...

-mike

PS- thanks to Greg Boston for giving me the head's up on this one. If you find cool stuff like this, always feel free to let me know!

Labels: Apple, AppleTV

Just got this email from Apple:

To Our Valued Apple Customer:


Thank you for ordering the new Apple TV, an easy to use and fun way to
wirelessly play all your favorite iTunes content from your Mac or PC on your
widescreen TV.

Wrapping up Apple TV is taking a few weeks longer than we projected, and we
now expect to begin shipments in mid-March, not in February as originally
anticipated.

You may check the status of your order any time by visiting our online order
status website at http://www.apple.com/orderstatus.

A shipment notification, with tracking information, will be emailed to you as
soon as your order is shipped. There is no need to contact us unless you
choose to change or cancel your order.

We appreciate your business and thank you for shopping at the Apple Store!

Sincerely,
The Apple Store Team


...which fits into rumors and prior behavior - Apple announces Neat New Product at MWSF, says it'll ship in a month or two, then a delay occurs.

I've been out of pocket today - had a meeting this morning, went for a run, got the text message that SXSW Music wristbands were available and waited in line for 2 1/2 hours for my out of town friends to get their wristbands (see what a good friend I am? SEE???). The line wrapped around a city block, probably 700 or 800 people in front of me when I got there. Then walked back to where I'd parked my car blocks away and dropped in on my old boss and friend, Mark Rolston, creative director at frogdesign (my old employer). Turns out he's been busy working on his home theater setup too at the same time I had, putting in a 1080p projector and a drop down silver screen. Seems 1080p is on a lot of people's brains. He's always had a killer setup, buying a70+ inch HDTV set many many years ago when that was direly expensive. He now has a Xbox360 w/HD-DVD option and PS3 to play back all high def media. According to his research, the PS3 is both the cheapest and best Blu-ray player - interesting! I'd expected it to be hampered in some fashion, but apparently not.

As for my own home setup, I finally got almost everything hooked up, took 4 runs to the to-be-unnamed electronics shop to FINALLY get the right combo of crimper, stripper, cable and BNC ends to finish up some wiring to get the studio all talking to itself and to the living room at the same time, but it is 90% of the way there (one box can only do single not dual link until I make some more cables.)

All stories mentioned last week are still pending, have some interesting paying workflow consulting to do, and a review to finish as well for an upcoming magazine article.

-mike

Labels: Apple, AppleTV, HDTV