Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 10:53 PM PST
So Apple announces a Video iPod and $1.99 music video & TV show downloads via iTunes today. The music video piece I'm not surprised about; the labels have been looking to monetize their music videos ever since Universal Music started charging X pennies per play for on-demand streaming. I'm pessimistic that users will actually want to purchase music videos, though, considering:
- a) they're freely available online (granted, they're ad-supported), and
b) there are very few music videos that one would want to watch over and over at one's convenience (though I can think of one awesome exception)
But the TV episode downloads are another thing entirely. I've been interested in this for a while; I think there's considerable user interest in downloading a show or a season and then watching it on a PC, on a TV, on a portable device, etc. The idea of downloading an episode of Lost onto your Video iPod and then walking it over to your TV to watch (via the video out connector) is sa-weet.
But at a 320x240 video resolution? C'mon, Apple. I'm sure it makes sense when you watch it on an iPod, but that's just too small to nicely full-screen onto a PC or your TV. I wonder if that was mandated by Apple (to avoid needing to sell -- or transcode -- multiple versions of a single video), or by ABC (to avoid cutting into their lucrative DVD sales).
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Hey Brian,
I'm not completely sure if I've got the right guy, so please bear with me if I don't. Are you the same Brian Glick who used to be part of the GIA? If so, hey man, how's it going? It's been too long. Send me a wave if you are, and if I've got the wrong guy, well, hi anyway.
-Jae
# Posted by: Jae Shin at October 16, 2005 09:48 AM
Jeff: Interesting article. I think the TV downloads will sell eventually, especially once they work out a few of the early kinks. I gave up trying to guess Apple's strategy a long time ago, though; they're too slippery to nail down, and I'm not even entirely convinced Apple knows precisely what they're aiming for besides building really, really solid products.
Jae: You've got the right guy. I'll send you an email!
# Posted by: Brian at October 18, 2005 11:01 PM