Official Apple Media Event 9/1/10 Announcements and DIscussion Thread

Looks awesome but the wifi at Houlihans sucks.

 

All bugs fixed.

New HDR photos.

Beatles music is not unusual.  don't take it as a sign.  Steve is a fan is all.

Wireless printing and multitasking sneak peak for iOS 4.2

Replacing EVERY model of iPod today!

New Nano & Shuffle priced like winners.  Nice feature set. 

New Ipod Touch is in a bit of a pinch; pricing puts them as a real divide with iPad/iPhone..

Need to make sure I can opt out of "Ping".. I don't want any of my friends knowing what I buy/purchase, kind of find that creepy.. I hate that whole trend of everyone having to know everything I do.. I prefer not... waiting for privacy setting options..

 

Edit: and Apple reads my mind.. approval settings for PING and Opt-Out

ATV. 

 

 

 

 

Epic, Mega Fail (IMHO).  No storage (you can stream from a PC, which I assume most will do, so that's misleading), but a "Rental Only" format.  This thing will get subsidized.  It's basically RoKu.  Doesn't Hulu, and only ABC/Fox are on board.. and only limited programming (no backlog) .. so it's like a dumbed down Hulu you pay $.99 to rent a show.

 

Rent-only method basically rules out anyone without very HighSpeed internet (DSL basic and other customers go away)

 

Nice looking interface. 

Maybe this is aimed at a different market then any I can think of.  Limited TV offerings + Youtube to your TV, no ability to store content, only rent content or stream from a PC (somewhere else) some content, and locked format support (in other words, you aren't seeing MKV come to this anytime soon) .. since it's a rent-only and resettable, hacks to alter content feeds via DLNA and UPNP will be worthless.  720P?  1080P?

 

Rentals non-transferrable (ATV only on the pricing) bonded to machine.. nice pic @ Engadget "ATV Only"

ATV: $99

so how does the new touch camera system work?  if i just want to take a photo, i'd have to just use the front-facing camera, which means i wouldn't be able to see what i was shooting?  or just shoot HD video and take a screen cap? (which would have inferior PQ)

 

i assume the iphone 4 has front+back photo capability?

check that... according to gizmodo, back camera can take photos (only 960x724 pixels though)

 

http://gizmodo.com/5627599/the-complete-guide-to-the-new-ipod-touch

Apple confirms.. ATV is 720P only.  No bitstream output.

 

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipod/family/apple_tv?mco=MTM3NTM1Nzk

 

 

I can't figure out who this product appeals to except apple enthusiasts who have to own everything Apple.  Netflix isn't a killer app.  You can get that with bluray players.  ABC and Fox offering limited programming on Rental basis is not good when you can get HuluPlus for $10 on a PS3/XBOX and then it's unlimited.  720P with no bitstream and 160kbps top audio output is old school.

 

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipod/family/apple_tv?mco=MTM3NTM1Nzk

 

Can stream from Itunes in Itunes formats, so M4V/M4P and MJPEG AVI (oldtime), no DIVX, XVID, MKV, etc. formats.  No portable connection formats.  No UPNP. No DLNA.  Can't store anything.  Bitrate of your local network better hold up, or quality will suck.  Buffer is low (they don't state memory but estimate is 512MB)

 

I'm interest in a pitch that puts this ahead of any Bluray player you can buy that has netflix for $119 anywhere.. now.

My stream from home quit twice on me. Well, first time it went back to the beginning of the conference where attendee where walking in about 25 minutes into Steves talk, then about 55 minutes in it started to hic-up for me (20mb connection)

So I just ended there.

The 720 only for 5 dollar rental is very disappointing, I still do not see apple tv as a big seller for them. Would rather have netflix and hili and get way more for my money.

Not sure I like the new nano. That's a small screen, I thought the previous nano screen was just right.

New touches should be a huge success, but a 128 version would have been great.

What about a white phone!!!!

As one who bemoaned the "death" of physical music sales, I completely understood it. For the "average Joe" who doesn't critically listen, a 256kbps AAC sounds just as good as a CD.

 

However with most households having less than the needed bandwidth to do successful 720p streaming, I don't see that streaming video is anywhere near poised to take over. People *will* care about the lesser quality of streaming video when it constantly hiccups/pixellates/freezes while watching a movie. Maybe in Jobs' household, where he likely has a T3 line to the world and can stream multiple 1080p content seamlessly his ideas work, but for the vast majority of American who can't even get a seamless 360p YouTube experience, I don't see how acceptable streaming video can be poised to take over physical media.
 

Edited by Carlo Medina - 9/1/10 at 4:15pm

I think for those who are truly fans of quality HD experience need to hope this does not work.  I say this because, even as an avid Bluray collector, if you buy into the "people don't care about DTS, they dont' care about HD-Audio, they don't care about extras, they don't care about bitrate, they are OK with low-bitrate 720P with low-bitrate audio" then interest in releasing limited titles on Bluray will die.

 

I just look at ATV and think:  argh.  While Bluray players come out with Amazon on Demand (now 99 cents) and they also offer Hulu (sometihng ATV doesn't) and VUDU which walmart backs.. you get those as "counter options" in a bluray player you can go buy at the store right now for $129 at your nearby walmart.

 

Would ATV take off.  Maybe.  I assume there are enough "I must have Apple!" people out there to buy quite a few. 

 

I felt sad when MP3s and Itunes started to eat away at the CD/SACD market, and the SACD market is basically a wasteland now. 

Consumers are OK with giving up on quality.  But here at almost exactly the same price point, they have a choice between: higher quality content vs. lower quality content.

 

Will Apple's brand name win out?  After all, Amazon pointed out that Fox/ABC cut them the exact same deal, so ATV has no exclusive content that won't be available through Amazon on the TV front.  And while Itunes is a celeb, BD players with Amazon can also play.. you know, Bluray.  At higher definition with higher quality audio and video.

 

While BD players race to come out with 3D Bluray and the sets fill the market; Microsoft ushers out Cablecard systems and first certified BD-3D drivers for Windows Media Center, as well as DTS-HD decoder plans, Apple comes out with 720P and support for AC3 bitrate that is less then DVDs.

 

Maybe they've hit it.  Maybe consumers will bolt on spending the $20 upfront money.   *shrug*  As a home theater fan, it's hard to root for the things that promote lower quality and root for the demise of high quality.

At a 100mb connection, the fastest (if you have no other network device running anywhere in your house, so let's say no internet, etc.) you're going to get is 100/8=12.5Mb.  Most re-compressed 720P is actually done at a much, much lower bitrate for streaming over the net.. way, way lower.  (closer to 1-2mb).  Whereas Bluray is anywhere from 25-50Mb.

 

Not a knock on anything, just information.  :)

You're worried about streaming movies over the internet? The gigs up: the world is watching on-demand movies from their cable provider. And these are low-bitrate "HD" movies that macroblock during playback in fast-motion scenes. And my parents rent them. I watch them when visiting family because they're easier than going to Blockbuster. So something like iTunes streaming is only playing catch up with bog-standard cable TV and Netflix.

 

The previous AppleTV was a joke: $229 with $2.99 TV episodes. It was an overpriced toy with ridiculously priced media, and a pathetic selection.

 

Now, at $99 it's cheap enough to buy to give it a go, even if you're not certain if it's what you want. With 48-hr rentals, they've fixed the parents-with-kids problem: watch half the movie the first night, and then the movie evaporates and the movie is never finished. With $0.99 TV rentals, it's cheaper than buying the DVD set a year after the show runs. And for catching a missed episode, easier than scrounging it up (legally or otherwise) online and getting it on the TV with a mess of cables to the laptop. And if you want to buy a Netflix box, this is priced reasonably just for that.

 

It's not a slamdunk. The selection doesn't look any better than last week. But it's now priced to be attractive.

 

iPods: nano is very interesting. Looking forward to playing with one at the Apple Store. Did they get rid of video? Interesting step backwards.

 

Shuffle: never been a fan, but this one actually looks usable.

 

Touch: Wow! Full featured. This is an amazing complement to the iPhone, and will help get those RetinaDisplay apps going! Does it have a speaker and mic to work as a Wifi Skype-phone?

iTunes 10 is now downloadable:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

It may say iTunes 10, but it downloads version 9.2.1.

When I did it, it downloaded v10. I had to clear my cache in Safari in order to get 10 to show up for download.

Just grabbed 10.  They did change the installer.. and now all x64 on the windows side for those that chose it ;)

I will be getting a 32G iPod touch. Unfortunately, they won't show up at Best Buy until the 23rd of September if i order today and I will be in Atlanta. This is the iPod Touch I have been wanting for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So an important detail I've just learned: the iPod Touch camera is under 1 MP; it's quite low-res: sufficient for 720p video and FaceTime use. But no one will make this their regular snapshot camera, like you can with the iPhone 4 or other smartphones.

 

And the nano reportedly no longer plays video, which is a big step backwards in my view. Video is half the reason I bought my current nano. Now, for me, it's not a big deal, since I have the iPhone. But for those getting a first iPod, or on a lower budget, losing video could be a real detriment.

 

DaringFireball linked to Roku's product page, and at a quick glance I don't see why, for Netflix use, you'd buy a Roku over an AppleTV unless you only want SD video and need to save the $50 to get the cheapest version. Maybe Roku has many secondary uses, but they don't highlight them.

Edited by DaveF - 9/2/10 at 7:42am

 

The $99 Roku is upgradable to 1080P (some are testing now), more then that, using Rokubox, you can stream any media to it.  Also, MLB TV, Amazon, etc.   For those who build amazon accounts, it's handy.  The $69 Roku is SD only..   The other "pro" for the Roku for some will be that ATV is HDMI only, so those with older TVs, even older HDTVs (think projection, the first 720P HD set I had was component in) which the Roku support, ATV doesn't. 

 

Since RoKu also has MLB and a few other things, there is that too... plus about 50 channels, including stuff like "Facebook" which tends to be it's own direct app that people will find interesting (or not).

 

I can't see grabbing either.  But With open app development on the RoKu they started the year with about 16 "channels" or "apps" and now have about 40.  And since Amazon is backing them..

 

It's a tomato/tomato.  But if Netflix is your goal, then both lose.  PS3, XBOX360, and WMC offer fully rewindable and searchable storage on HD titles with fore and back buffer.  ATV won't (because it doesn't have storage to allow for it).  So, it will offer a Wii level client with a better interface and HD support.
 

Do you have a gift cert or something?  Why not just preorder from Apple, or better yet, go to the closest Apple Store?

Matt, thanks for the clarification on the Roku.

 

I can see AppleTV and Roku both being better than the Xbox for Netflix based on cost: Xbox requires $60/yr Gold account for Netflix.

 

Having both TivoHD and Xbox (and not Netflix), the AppleTV isn't a must-have for me: it doesn't solve any major problems for me. But at $99, it's now at what Andy Ihnatko called the "What the hell" price. It's tempting as just a music device for my bedroom -- since Tivo no longer does a great job with streaming from the Mac.

Hey! Who sucked all the color out of my iTunes?

 

Gut reaction to iTunes 10 UI refresh: this sucks.

 

And it didn't fix the problem of iTunes chronically revving my CPU to 60%+ :(