iTunes 9, Blu-ray: talk of the town
“Blu-ray is just a bag of hurt. It’s great to watch the movies, but the licensing of the tech is so complex, we’re waiting till things settle down and Blu-ray takes off in the marketplace.”
– Steve Jobs, Oct. 14, 2008
The Apple chieftain’s decision to wait until Blu-ray “takes off” means we should be seeing some movement regarding the high definition format right about now. Blu-rays are consistently selling at the same rate as DVDs these days, at least on top-tier titles, and DVDs are feeling increasingly like the cheap seats.
Any speculation about Apple’s plans has to be viewed with skepticism, in part because there’s so much of it, but there is an alignment between a couple of unsourced pieces of info floating around out there.
Throw reports from Tech Crunch, Boy Genius Report and AppleInsider in a blender and your info-smoothie has it that iTunes 9 will contain support for the Blu-ray format, aligning with new iMacs that play the true high def format. This is all “rumor and speculation,” of course, but you have to wonder what is taking the tech colossus of Cupertino so long to get with the program.
True, Blu-ray remains shaky in some ways, with continuing annoyances on several fronts for consumers. HD DVD used to market itself against the Blu-ray camp with the proclamation that it was the only “market ready” format. Locked-down Blu-ray standards have been slow in coming and slower in adaptation. Up for some more of those serial firmware updates, anyone?
Watching a Blu-ray on a computer monitor seems a bit of a waste, but why not go for the best images and audio available in any format?
iTunes 9 won’t be touching down anytime soon — for the record we’re on 8.2.1 at this moment.
One of the immediate questions would be compatibility with Apple TV, the chronically dismissed box that gets video content from your computer to the TV monitor. That combo — iTunes to iMac to Apple TV to HD televisions — has bottom-line shifting implications, if it’s possible.
Duly disclaimed: I own Apple stock and I want it to go up.
Hulu’s iPhone app reportedly near
Hulu engineers reportedly are hard at work on an iPhone application that should arrive within a few months.
The influential blog Silicon Alley Insider sourced a “plugged in” industry executive as saying the Hulu app was “badass,” up to the standards of that slick online video site.
The move has long been speculated, but confirmation would be a big deal in that goldrush space where the mobile phone and online video worlds collide.
YouTube always has come preloaded with iPhones. TV.com and Joost also have iPhone conduits. The iTunes video offerings are there as well. But the addition of the content-rich Fox-NBC Universal stream brings another dimension to the mobile phone of choice. That’s yet another reason for wireless device shoppers to go with the iPhone.
The Hulu app for iPhones and iPod Touch will work with wi-fi and the AT&T 3G network, the Insider said. If the app doesn’t work on the slower Edge connection, that’ll leave out all the early adopters who haven’t upgraded, giving Apple another reason to be happy.
Soon, that iPhone-watching distracted driver barreling down the road toward you will be enjoying “The Office” instead of lesser crap. Fun!
Apple preps streaming online video
Downloading movies always was a bit of an odd duck. In some ways, it’s an extension of the old need to own an artifact such as a DVD, possessive proof that you’re down with “Office Space” or “Citizen Kane.”
When we buy a movie off iTunes, the file roosts on the local hard drive, gobbling up space. Kind of like a big DVD box set you rarely touch.
The big streamers — Netflix, Amazon — simply send the content to you, and that’s that. No hangovers, no commitments. Soon, all entertainment media will work that way. All those MP3 files don’t make much sense either — at least if you’re engaged in forward thinking. You want to hear “Unchained Melody” on Valentine’s, who cares where the file sits.
Now comes news that Apple’s iTunes 8 upgrade will include streaming video for video purchases, meaning the movies or TV shows remain on Apple’s computers, not yours.
Apple Insider, which broke the story, says the feature is called iTunes Replay. The tech blog says the scheme will have iTunes functioning as a media server, from which you call up the movies you’ve paid for, whenever you want. Replay on demand.
One clear beneficiary will be the lagging Apple TV box, which should be able to send the video stream to your TV without its current minor hassles and storage limits.
Of course, streaming high-quality video requires big pipes and up-to-date broadband service. Those with slower streams will need to stay with downloads, which usually perform flawlessly at the local level. And those hit movies won’t be of much use when you’re flying the unfriendly skies.
Silicon Valley Insider urges Apple to produce a cheap Apple TV box without a hard drive, a video sister to the AirPort Express wifi distributor.
Meanwhile, Netflix announced today that it broke through the 10 million-subscriber barrier. So far this year, that adds up to about 600,000 new subs. Who knows how many came aboard exclusively for the Watch Instantly streaming service (no additional cost with a regular subscription), but most analysts are crediting the Netflix online videos with boosting the bottom line.
And Blockbuster unveiled its plan for video game rentals by mail, allowing the waiting-line specialist to compete with Gamefly.
iTunes adds Fox to high-def lineup
The iTunes store has added Fox network programming to its high-definition fare, meaning Apple’s online video service now stocks HD primetime shows from all big four networks.
The new Fox shows include “Bones,” “House,” “Prison Break” and “Sons of Anarchy” (from FX).
Apple said more than 1 million HD episodes have been purchased since the launch of HD programming on iTunes last month. A total of 2 million were viewed, including the package of freebies from NBC Universal.
Unimpressed, TV by the Numbers crunched some of the numbers and found that with iTunes’ catalog of 30,000 TV episodes, the total figure translates into an average of 6,666 downloads per episode sold. We’re a bit more generous, subscribing to the long-tail theory.
Here are some numbers from the TAMi measuring service: The new “Knight Rider” (given away free on iTunes) ranked as the biggest NBC show, with more than 97,000 downloads (includes minimal Amazon figures). Mega-hit “Heroes” was close behind with 94,000 for the same number of episodes (three). Props to NBC for releasing the data.
Of course, most of these shows can be found elsewhere on the Web for free, even in HD. Ads can and will dilute the viewing experience.
iTunes episodes go for $2.99 an episode ($1.99 in standard definition). “Season passes”on selected shows offer volume discounts.
Here comes that canned Apple quote, right about here:
“We’ve got an incredible Fall 2008 TV lineup with over 70 primetime comedies and dramas, including many of the most popular shows on TV in stunning HD,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “With over 200 million episodes sold, iTunes customers have proven they love watching television on their computer, iPod, iPhone and TV with Apple TV.”
The list of HD programs now available on the iTunes Store includes ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Dirty Sexy Money,” “Eli Stone,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Life on Mars,” “Lost,” “Private Practice,” “Samantha Who?” and “Ugly Betty.” CBS programming includes “CSI,” “CSI: Miami,” “CSI: New York,” “NCIS” and “Numb3rs.” FOX shows include “Bones,” “House,” “Prison Break” and “Sons of Anarchy,” which airs on FX. NBC shows include “30 Rock,” “Heroes,” “Kath & Kim,” “Knight Rider,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Life,” “Lipstick Jungle,” “My Own Worst Enemy” and “The Office,” and SCI FI Channel’s “Battlestar Galactica” and “Eureka,” and USA Network’s “In Plain Sight,” “Monk,” “Psych” and “The Starter Wife.”
NBC shows back on iTunes, in HD
NBC shows are back on the iTunes store, ending a drawn-out and unusually messy dispute between NBC Universal and Apple.
The deal was announced at Tuesday’s unveiling of the new line of iPods. The iTunes 8 upgrade includes TV programs in high definition.
Here’s the Apple site’s plug for the HD TV shows, in a bit of a mash:
”Purchase select episodes of your favorite TV shows in high definition for just $2.99. Or get the whole season in HD with a Season Pass. And when you buy HD, iTunes doubles your viewing pleasure: You also get an iPod-ready version with a file size and resolution that’s ideal for smaller screens.”
The Apple-NBC dispute dates back to last September, when Jobs and NBC Universal’s Jeff Zucker duked it out over pricing flexibility. Jobs wanted to keep all TV shows at a neat and clean $1.99, while Zucker reportedly wanted to charge as much as $4.99 a show (NBCU denies this).
The new deal has regular shows at $1.99, HD at $2.99 and some catalog stuff for a buck. Apple is showing some flex with adoption of a “season pass” that allows viewers to save money on a bulk buy. The ability to bundle programs was one of NBC’s beefs with Apple.
“Basically we were able to achieve our goal that not all contents should be of the same value,” Zucker told CNBC. “When we achieved that, we were happy to be on iTunes.” Translation: iTunes Store users lost NBCU content for a year so Zucker could make fiscally meaningless adjustments in price.
NBC Universal is offering iTunes Store customers one free episode from each of their top series, in either SD or HD, for the next two weeks. The HD sounds great, but of course the shows are available for streaming over at Hulu for no cost.
The pre-broadcast previews of NBC shows “Knight Rider,” “My Own Worst Enemy,” “Life,” “Lipstick Jungle” and “Kath & Kim” will be available on iTunes as well as on Hulu and nbc.com
The deal includes content from USA Network, SCI FI Channel and Bravo. Programming from Oxygen, Telemundo and Mun2 is coming soon, the companies said.
