Video iPod Available... Sort of 297
Pirogoeth writes "The fine folks over at Engadget have figured out how to get your new iPod Photo to play movies. According to the article, you use Quicktime Pro to export the movie as thousands of individual frames which you export to the iPod, send the soundtrack to the iPod as well, then, if you haven't guessed by now, while playing the soundtrack, put the iPod into slideshow mode and use the scroll wheel to manually keep the frames in synch with the sound. Sound impossible? Here's a video (in mov or wmv) of the Episode III trailer in action..."
Their Other Idea (Score:2, Interesting)
Or... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Or... (Score:2)
Re:Or... (Score:2, Insightful)
If you're trying to watch a video on the subway, you're kind of SOL.
You go around flashing expensive toys on the subway you might find yourself SOL anyway.
Re:Or... (Score:3)
Other then the problem of telling everyone on the subway that you have too much free money, I dont find this to be a problem. You can fit a LOT of video in 512MB-4GB of storage (which can be gotten for cheap these days).
Re:Or... (Score:3, Informative)
1 GB of either of these formats will run you about $100. Compared to a 40GB drive at the iPod price, that's terrible.
Of course, 1 GB of video is probably plenty when the screen is 320 x 240. The one I got came with something like 32 MB.
Re:Or... (Score:4, Insightful)
No it will run you about 60$.
"Compared to a 40GB drive at the iPod price, that's terrible."
Yea, but see your Axim can play video while your iPod cant (despite what this FA claims). An iPod is also cheaper then a new car, but it works better for some things.
Re:Or... (Score:2)
I'll have to look around for a nice cheap storage card (at $60, that's not bad).
Re:Or... (Score:2)
Re:Or... (Score:2)
5GB CF card (Score:2)
That should be enough for a couple of commutes on the subway before you'll want to load something new on it.
Printer hack (Score:5, Funny)
Get a Hewlett Packard Color LaserJet 4650DN (duplex for double-sided printing) and plug it into three-phase power and it'll print fast enough to do this...
Of course, you won't be able to hear the soundtrack over the whine of rollers and gears burning themselves up...
Ugh... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Ugh... (Score:5, Funny)
It'll be beautiful, I tell you, especially if they walk into a lamp post while doing it.
Re:Ugh... (Score:2)
When did you start having feelings?
: D
In related news: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Ugh... (Score:3, Insightful)
Because iPod Video will be avaiable in a couple a months with a $200 addon in price
Re:Ugh... (Score:2)
If they release
oops (Score:3, Funny)
In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
All you do is put the car in neutral, grab a buddy and stand behind the car. Then, placing your hands on the rear bumper...push. Scientists believe it's such a simple process we may all be getting around in these miracle cars any day now!
Re:In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
Scientists built a car today that doesn't require any fuel at all!!
All you do is put the car in neutral, grab a buddy and stand behind the car. Then, placing your hands on the rear bumper...push. Scientists believe it's such a simple process we may all be getting around in these miracle cars any day now!/
There is, however, considerable debate among scientists weather this cooperative mode of operation is superior to the single operator mode in which the user places his feet through a hole in the floor and runs really fast that has been proposed by F. Flintstone and B. Rubble
No, I can't spell
Re:In other news... (Score:2)
Cleaner air, due to the vast reduction in fossil fuel use presented by these new vehicles.
Unlike conventional automobiles, these actually increase the fitness level of the operator.
Also unlike conventional autos, these cars foster the growth of community, as achieving reasonable velocities involves having several helpers to power the vehicle.
There's no downside, really. Except for the hills...
Re:In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
badum ching.
Great Idea! (Score:5, Funny)
Time to upgrade? (Score:4, Funny)
For example, the new Creative's Zen Micro [creative.com] has FM, is someone going to pre-record some radio talk shows and put it into iPod pretending that it's doing radio too?
Re:Time to upgrade? (Score:2)
Re:Time to upgrade? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Time to upgrade? (Score:3, Insightful)
An obvious s
Well.. (Score:5, Funny)
No, Just stupid.
Re:Well.. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Well.. (Score:2)
Re:Well.. (Score:2)
That's pretty retarded right there (Score:5, Informative)
Geesh. Why not just print all the frames out onto paper and make a flipbook?
If you want a video player in an iPod's form factor, either sit tight for 2 years until a honest-to-goodness Video iPod to come out, or buy a Gmini 200 [archos.com] (Flash page).
I chose the latter and haven't looked back.
Video in Action (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Video in Action (Score:3, Interesting)
Since engadget is slow now (wonder why!), here's the text from the above link:
We're the first to admit playing a "movie" on an iPod Photo by exporting the sound, and thousands of frames is as silly as it sounds, so ludicrous that we had to do a how-to on it. Now things are getting toally wacky, and already a video has turned up of someone watching a video on their iRiver H320 (an MP3 player which just recently acquired th
I used to have a paperback book that could... (Score:5, Funny)
I had to flip the pages and hum the soundtrack, but the hand-drawn stick figure animations were outstanding.
In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
Four hits of acid and stare really hard. Much more elegant (by orders of magnitude) and less of a brute force approach than TFA.
Re:In other news... (Score:3, Funny)
Isn't that how BSD was coded?
--
Evan
Why no videa on the new iPod? (Score:5, Insightful)
What is more likely?
1) The new color iPod does not have video because the hardware can't support it.
2) Apple does not have a way to sell movies and videos on iTunes.
Re:Why no videa on the new iPod? (Score:2)
Re:Why no videa on the new iPod? (Score:2)
Re:Why no videa on the new iPod? (Score:2)
Steve Jobs has critized portable video players. (Score:4, Informative)
Watch the Apple Special Event [apple.com] video from Oct 2004. Skip ahead to about 12:35 in the video. Jobs says, in a humorous fashion, that he believes the competition is making a mistake with video on portable players, and lists reasons he believes they are impractical.
The arguments he makes are:
I think it's safe to say there won't be a video iPod.
Re:Steve Jobs has critized portable video players. (Score:2)
Re:Steve Jobs has critized portable video players. (Score:3, Insightful)
Hey, it's not Steve's fault that he's living five years in the past.
But he's pretty much right about the screen size... at least on his OWN product. Everyone else's video player screens are a good size.
Re:Steve Jobs has critized portable video players. (Score:5, Interesting)
My Archos Gmini 400 is no larger or heavier than an iPod. And it was released 2 months prior to Jobs' statements.
Users don't have video content.
Sure I do! The challenge, and I will admit there's really no user-friendly way of doing this yet, is figuring out which files will play on it as is--that is, MPEG4-SP video AVI files (eg, DivX or XviD w/o bidi filtering), no more than 640x400 resolution, no more than 30fps, with IMA-ADPCM or MP3 CBR soundtrack--and figuring out how to convert other content to meet those specs (if possible).
The screens are too small.
Irrelevant. This is a PERSONAL video player.
I can hold the 2.2" screen a foot away from my eyes, and it takes up the same amount of my viewing area as a 30" television across the room. Uses a whole lot electricity that way, too.
Jobs would be smart not to put a Video iPod on the market NOW, but he would be foolish to NEVER put one out.
Re:Steve Jobs has critized portable video players. (Score:3, Insightful)
I disagree... to support my position, you need only look at the prevalence of handheld TVs.
Oh, wait...
Re:Why no videa on the new iPod? (Score:3, Informative)
Or... (Score:3, Insightful)
Apple losing direction (Score:4, Insightful)
Mod me as a troll of you wish, but I'm not trolling.
I think the fact that so soon after the new ipod comes out people are brute forcing it to play movies is a demonstration that Apple may be losing its direction in innovation
I'm an avid digital photographer, and in almost all of the photo boards I hang out on, the opinion of the photo ipod was generally disappointing. How hard would it have been to put a freakin CF card reader in it? How hard would it have been to enable movie playback in at least ONE format?
The ipod was helped in its jump to the top by the fact that it was innovative, so much so that people were willing to ignore its high price tag. Apple missed two big opportunities on this one; movie playback AND easy storage transfer from camera media.
I'm not buying a photo ipod now, but I would've in a second if it had those two features. Apple, I hope this is an isolated incident.Re:Apple losing direction (Score:2)
No, the iPod was helped to jump to the top by marketing. There were other products that were similiar, first. Kind of how Tivo dwarfed ReplayTV, who had a better product (from what I've read). Replay is way more innovative, but Tivo won. The iPod case and
Re:Apple losing direction (Score:2)
It works the same way here, other mp3 players have more features better quality sound and what ever, but Apple has the interface.
Re:Apple losing direction (Score:5, Insightful)
Nope. The iPod made its way to the top by being *simple*. No useless features. No features that *sort-of* work. No features that make the thing a pain-in-the-butt to deal with. It did 1 thing and did that 1 thing well, simply, and trouble-free. Now it does a couple things well, simply, and trouble-free.
This isn't because Apple can't figure out how to do these things-- you just won't see it in a commercially available product until Apple feels it has it all worked out into a simple interface. And when I say simple, I mean like the scroll-wheel design for the interface, or the fact that there's only 1 in/out port (the dock connector). Apple likes their designs to be fool-proof.
PS- You can transfer images from a digital camera, but you need an accessory.
Re:Apple losing direction (Score:3, Insightful)
look, you want a card reader? fine [apple.com], there it is. but to make it built in would be ludicrous. if they did put one in, it would probably not be the card of your preference, so adding even more slots would increase the bulk (and price) on the ipod. secondly, it's a (repeat after me) MUSIC PLAYER. yes, it can be used as a portable hard drive, but that's a niche market compared to its overall first use, bringing music to your ears.
as for movies, nobody wants to wal
Re:Apple losing direction (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Apple losing direction (Score:2)
When Apple made the iPod, it was genius. This is especially true with what's it done with the later generations. The iPod is this incredibly simple and useful tool, and nothing has really changed. This is great. Apple made the iPod not about the iPod, but about the music. My roommates have a 2G and a 3G ipod, and I have a 4G. There's no jealousy over whose is better, because they are exactly the same th
Re:Apple losing direction (Score:2)
Re:Apple losing direction (Score:2)
Re:Apple losing direction (Score:4, Insightful)
I've got a pretty decent camera. It doesn't use CF. How many readers you gonna pack in and keep the form factor desirable?
As for video, if you've got a battery fashioned out of pixie dust and dreams that can power video for a reasonable amount of time (and keep the form factor down), I'm sure Apple would love to hear from you.
Everybody wants, wants, wants. "Won't but one until it has _____!". There are other options or devices out there (including waiting for technology to catch up). Criticizing people or companies who owe you nothing is such a habit of this board, that I don't think a lot of people step back to look at how absurd it is when they get bent out of shape because _____ isn't catering to their specific checklist of desires.
And to your point, if the fact people are doing it means that 'demand' demands it, then Apple must be way behind on adding LEDs and neon ground effects shit to their cases. Or adding wheels to the bottom. Or adding rubber cases to the iPod. Or...
Re:Apple losing direction (Score:2)
I'm not sure about the battery life, but it just died as I was typing this, and my last recharge was Monday evening. S'good enough for me.
As for the photo functionality, it's cool, but let's face it, these pics are about the size of the one on my driver's lic
ack (Score:5, Funny)
Easy... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:ack (Score:3, Funny)
What's the point of being able to play video? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What's the point of being able to play video? (Score:2)
Re:What's the point of being able to play video? (Score:2)
Re:What's the point of being able to play video? (Score:2)
As for working out, please explain why gyms put TVs in front of the exercise equipment. It sure seems like people are able to watch them and exercise at the same time.
Re:What's the point of being able to play video? (Score:2)
Re:What's the point of being able to play video? (Score:2)
What kind of train are you on, anyhow? Are you the conductor?
If you are; I agree. No video for you.
That's why man made PDAs (Score:2)
I use my 3rd-Gen iPod for exactly what I bought it for: playing music while I'm doing other things.
If I wanted to share photos with people, a PDA would be a better route. Especially when you can store and view your photos on a PDA for the same $499 price, and have nearly infinite expandability, a larger screen and video playback.
joke of the day (Score:3, Insightful)
So really, this is something a regular sane fellas would do with their iPods
You even can grab a dead cat and pull it with a piece of rope, but it won't run, even if you mew in the process
GBA (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Synchronising sound with video... (Score:2)
Alt links (Score:5, Informative)
Mirrordot.org also has a copy available:Mirrordot.org [mirrordot.org]
So let me get this straight.... (Score:2)
Now there's some resolution the industry can really get behind. Kwality with a K, baby!
The next hack... (Score:3, Insightful)
Bonus points if you can pull juice right from the iPod's battery...
OUCH! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:OUCH! (Score:2)
my bad.
Flick through static pictures, why of all the... (Score:5, Insightful)
Memories of Diablo (Score:2)
sort of like... (Score:2)
This just in! (Score:2, Funny)
Still images placed on a reel and handcranked through light and synched with a nearby phonograph result in what is being called a "motion picture".
For this breaking story and more, stay tuned to our radio broadcast!
Apparently their web server is crank-operated... (Score:2)
I saw this video a couple days ago. It is funny. THe guy speeds up and slows down a little, and doesn't keep it 'perfectly' in sync, but it's pretty good. (If the click sound were off, and they had it zoomed so you could only see the screen, not the guy frantically scrolling; I would have thought they had actually figured out how to play video on it.)
So, how long until some company makes a 'scroller' device that automatically scrolls at
Wow (Score:2, Funny)
Course, there's probably some old geezer who thinks us youngins have it real good cause in his day he had to crank the projecter by hand. Oh, wait...
Oh Brother (Score:2)
Man... imagine porn becoming a workout.
iRiver H3xx (Score:2, Informative)
Pre-dubbed martial arts movies! (Score:2)
Remember Police Academy? [imdb.com] Now you can dub martial arts movies yourself, in the privacy of your own home...
pr0n? (Score:2)
*ducks*
Look mom!!!! (Score:2)
Thats impossible (Score:2)
even for a computer!
no its not... I used to manually synch slide shows with music on my TI-85 back home... and its not much bigger than an iPod.
Another chance for Apple to make me want an iPod.. (Score:3, Interesting)
iPods are nice. Now when I bought my mp3 player a year ago, I got a 20GB Lyra for $180. Since the cheapest iPod was $400, it was definitely worth it. Plus the Lyra didn't have the battery problems the first-gen iPods did, and it had considerably longer battery life.
Well now iPods are lots cheaper. And they have somewhat better battery life, no dying batteries, and hold more. But if I wanted a new mp3 player today, I still wouldn't get an iPod. Because for the price of an iPod, I can get:
1. A Creative Zen Touch 20GB, has a touch scroll similar to the iPod's and has 60-80% more battery life. Plus I save $90. And it looks cool like the iPod.
2. A video player--larger than the Zen or the iPod, but plays both music, video, and all that.
Now if the iPod, at $300, had number two in there... lets just say it might find its way into my budget
Re:WTF? (Score:5, Funny)
Can't you read? It says iPod right there in the subject line.
Re:WTF? (Score:4, Funny)
Can't you read? It says iPod right there in the subject line.
Re:Too much time? (Score:2, Flamebait)
Re:Worse. Much MUCH Worse. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:slashdotted (Score:2, Funny)
Re:TURN OFF THE CLICKER!!! (Score:2)
Re:TURN OFF THE CLICKER!!! (Score:2)
I do too. It gives a little aural feedback on how fast you are scrolling. It's not necessary by any means but neither is solitaire.
Re:Apples New Service (Score:2)
note the ear, perfectly formed to receive an ice-white earphone, and the elegance of the opposable grip of the hands which seems tailor-made to holding the iPod and operating its controls.