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Movies & Music at Macworld Expo 2008
Monday, 14 January 2008 — by Wayne Smallman
What with Macworld Expo 2008 inching closer, all eyes are on Apple who’re likely to roll out some new products. And as usual, people are trying out-guess each other as to what Apple has in their labs…
I’ve warmed to the iPod Touch, but not enough to plonk down the thick end of £300 for something that offers such limited storage options.
I had the chance to see an iPod Touch in action when I was in Dublin, Ireland last week. A client of mine has one, and it’s an impressive device, there’s no doubting that. But it’s the storage limitations that put me right off.
So unless Apple up the storage of the iPod Touch to at least 32 gigabytes, or drop the price of the current models, I’m not buying.
Apple iTunes 8 and movie rentals
I like to buy DVDs and I buy most of my music through Apple iTunes Store. I simply will not download music & movies illegally. So if Apple offers a movie rental service, I’m in:
“The rumors suggesting Apple would begin renting videos on iTunes appear to be true. Bloomberg today cites ‘people familiar with the agreements’ in a report that claims Warner Bros., Fox, Paramount, Disney and Lions Gate have all signed up to be part of the new service.”
But I’m hoping Apple will avoid the US-to-Europe delay we had with the music and make their movie rental service global from the get-go.
And in light of the recent European Commission ruling against Apple, we may see more reasonable costs for both music and movies.
Apple TV 2.0 — DVR?
Movies, eh — might we see an Apple TV 2.0? I’d say there’s a good chance, especially with the movie rental angle, since ‘consuming’ movies is a couch thing, not a desk and office chair thing.
Apple TV hasn’t exactly struggled in sales, but then it’s not set the world alight, either. But as a vehicle for Apple’s home media plans, there’s potential.
There’s a nice Apple TV wish list over on Alley Insider, which is worth a squint, with a 2-part plan to get the Apple TV in motion.
I’ve always liked the idea of DVR (Digital Video Recorder) functionality for the Apple TV, but how will that sit with the movie studios? If you’ve got the cables, the connection and the contract, you could record the movies of your choice without having to pay the rental fees for individual movies.
But then again, isn’t this about customers first? Especially now that DRM (Digital Rights Management) is effectively dead.
Now that the iPod Touch and the iPhone can handle video, also supporting YouTube, Apple needs to make sure their support of video and those video services applies evenly across all of their devices — and that the iPod Touch and the iPhone are complementary to and not competing with the Apple TV.
I have EyeTV running with a Miglia DVB TV USB device, which I run off my MacBook Pro. So I have my own DVR set-up right on my laptop. If these guys can do it for less than £100, Apple should breeze through for half that price, given the product volumes they deal with.
Macworld rumor round-up!
Just before you go, if it’s Apple / Mac rumors you’re after, there’s plenty to be found on Gizmodo…
Recommended reading
- Apple’s iPod out of Touch?
- Apple movie rentals rumors intensify, five studios said to be on board
- Apple to cut prices for iTunes downloads
- How Steve Jobs Can Fix Apple TV
- Sony BMG Officially Dumps DRM! All Music Freed!
- What To Expect at Macworld 2008 and Why We Think It Will Be Bigger than Usual
« When business matters — The WSJ doesn’t get Social Media »
MacWorld Mania…
It’s the morning of January 15th in India and I wish it were opening time for Macworld Expo 2008 already. I know ‘Theres something in the air’. I just bought myself a MacBook a month back and realized that there’s a new one - MacBook…