iPod Video Released; new iMac...WOW!

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 9:39 pm

Seeing as how all of the Nanos are breaking (screen cracking) and collusion expected with the samsung memory chips (price break and only enough supply for apple), it doesn't seem like Nano was all that successful from a "stock holders" point of view. It's just a matter of time before the big A f*cks up big time.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 1:37 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Seeing as how all of the Nanos are breaking (screen cracking) and collusion expected with the samsung memory chips (price break and only enough supply for apple), it doesn't seem like Nano was all that successful from a "stock holders" point of view. It's just a matter of time before the big A f*cks up big time.

Apple announced that they will swap out cracked screens. On Tuesday, during the earnings conference call, they were asked if they anticipate huge reserves to repair or fix Nanos with cracked or scratched screens. They said so far, they're not seeing a lot of people asking for repairs or replacements yet.

The quarterly earnings were seen as a huge disappointment because instead of the 8 million iPods some analysts were predicting, they only shipped about 6.5 mil (still the most they ever shipped). So the stock dropped as much as $6 and yesterday, after the big event, stock was still down to about $49 (compared to $51 plus the day before).

Today, the stock is up $3 to over $52 because of some positive analyst comments about the new products. Most of the web forums were shitting on 2.5-inch screen and 320x240 video. But then again, the web forums shitted on the Mini because it came out at $250 with only 4 GB storage when for $50 more, you could have a 15 GB iPod or other MP3 players for less.

I don't think the new iPods will take off like the original Minis. It'll still be the Nanos which do the huge volumes. But the best thing the new iPods have going for them is that it's the same size but thinner with video thrown in as a bonus, with music still being the main attraction.

Yes the PSP and other PMPs have bigger screens. But they're harder to carry around and you can't really use them at the gym.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 1:51 pm

wco81 wrote:But they're harder to carry around and you can't really use them at the gym.

Whoever watches video on a 2.5-inch screen at a gym isn't working out hard enough.

Take care,
PK

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 2:24 pm

pk500 wrote:Whoever watches video on a 2.5-inch screen at a gym isn't working out hard enough.

There are other sights at the gym, like women in leotards.

Who said anything about watching videos? The form factor lends itself to use in a gym where devices with larger screens don't. Although one of the new features is a stopwatch, running hard with a gadget with a hard disk is probably not the best idea anyways.

Portable video has pretty limited value beyond the novelty factor.

Airdog · Post by **Airdog** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 2:40 pm

I'm going to end up exchanging the refurb 20GB that I got for my birthday (which cost $299CAN) and exchange it for the 30GB video which is $342CAN + tax when purchased through the Apple Education Store that my University is affiliated with.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 3:08 pm

wco81 wrote:
pk500 wrote:Whoever watches video on a 2.5-inch screen at a gym isn't working out hard enough.
There are other sights at the gym, like women in leotards.

Wow... It's obviously been a while since you went to the gym. Leotards went out in like 1989.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 9:22 pm

Spooky wrote:
wco81 wrote:
pk500 wrote:Whoever watches video on a 2.5-inch screen at a gym isn't working out hard enough.
There are other sights at the gym, like women in leotards.
Wow... It's obviously been a while since you went to the gym. Leotards went out in like 1989.

Well, I guess there's all kinds of gyms these days for different people

I still think nano will rule over their latest video ipod.

GridIronGhost · Post by **GridIronGhost** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 5:57 pm

I'm not liking this apple/ipod thing too much. Yeah it's cool to have a gizmo that plays videos, mp3, photos, etc. BUT, the color is some what washed out in the play back. Documentation is on the cd in PDF and really does not answer many questions I had, like how can I fast foreward the video faster without having to hold down a button that restarts the video if you hold it too long. I found it by chance that if you click the center button twice and use the wheel it will do what I'm looking for...it looks f***in silly swirling your finger around real fast to fast foreward.

The sound quailty of ipods are weak! The ipod shuffle sounds much better. I must have spent an hour trying to find an EQ setting that would sound good before giving up. My 40 gig touch zen blows away anything ipod has produced to date IMO.

itunes...I HATE IT! Damn I hate the software. Why does all my music have to be put in on big pile? I mean in WMP10 they have folders for each artist and the name of the album that expands in the tree. In itunes everthing is mixed in, sure you can assort it, but s*** it give me a headache Ihave more the 60 gigs of music,,,try using itunes with 13000+ songs. The f***in software want to connect to the internet, not just for one process, but several...SPYWARE? Why does my system hang up for 2-3 minutes when I plug in the ipod?

Apple will show your how to convert you video, but you have to buy QT7Pro for $30, sure you can hunt down other apps and spend time trying to figure out how it works. I want a simple gizmo, not something I have to have a college degree and spend a few days to master the f***er.

Ok maybe I'm just a dumb f***er, but I did not find my experience with ipod video very user friendly. I'm willing to give up sound quality for video and photos, let's see if I can get used to this apple stuff.

Here's a stupid question, can I use WMP10 with an ipod? I not having any luck transfering songs. It shows that the songs transfered, but it won't show up in my ipod screen.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 6:13 pm

GridIronGhost wrote:The sound quailty of ipods are weak! The ipod shuffle sounds much better. I must have spent an hour trying to find an EQ setting that would sound good before giving up. My 40 gig touch zen blows away anything ipod has produced to date IMO.

And most people that have tried something other than an Ipod have said the same. The problem is that most people only know the Ipod so they think it's great. From a technical standpoint, they are impressive, but if you're looking for pure performance you're better off looking elsewhere.

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:45 pm

Well as usual to be the dissenter, I got mine last week and quite enjoy it. Busy filling it up with video as I type.

Airdog · Post by **Airdog** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 1:34 am

Mine should be here by Friday.

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 10:26 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:
GridIronGhost wrote:The sound quailty of ipods are weak! The ipod shuffle sounds much better. I must have spent an hour trying to find an EQ setting that would sound good before giving up. My 40 gig touch zen blows away anything ipod has produced to date IMO.
And most people that have tried something other than an Ipod have said the same. The problem is that most people only know the Ipod so they think it's great. From a technical standpoint, they are impressive, but if you're looking for pure performance you're better off looking elsewhere.

Scott, what would you recommend (within reason price wise) for someone looking for a good MP3 player? Also, what software do you use for your downloads?

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 11:31 am

grtwhtsk wrote:
dbdynsty25 wrote:
GridIronGhost wrote:The sound quailty of ipods are weak! The ipod shuffle sounds much better. I must have spent an hour trying to find an EQ setting that would sound good before giving up. My 40 gig touch zen blows away anything ipod has produced to date IMO.
And most people that have tried something other than an Ipod have said the same. The problem is that most people only know the Ipod so they think it's great. From a technical standpoint, they are impressive, but if you're looking for pure performance you're better off looking elsewhere.
Scott, what would you recommend (within reason price wise) for someone looking for a good MP3 player? Also, what software do you use for your downloads?

It depends what you're looking for Steve. Do you want a flash player (usually less than 6 GB of space)? Do you want ultra small for the gym? Do you want a little bigger for easy transport? Do you want something that will hold your whole music collection while being a little bit bigger than that? How much are you willing to spend?

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 11:54 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:
grtwhtsk wrote:
dbdynsty25 wrote: And most people that have tried something other than an Ipod have said the same. The problem is that most people only know the Ipod so they think it's great. From a technical standpoint, they are impressive, but if you're looking for pure performance you're better off looking elsewhere.
Scott, what would you recommend (within reason price wise) for someone looking for a good MP3 player? Also, what software do you use for your downloads?
It depends what you're looking for Steve. Do you want a flash player (usually less than 6 GB of space)? Do you want ultra small for the gym? Do you want a little bigger for easy transport? Do you want something that will hold your whole music collection while being a little bit bigger than that? How much are you willing to spend?

Scott, I want something that can hold a good deal of music. I'm willing to spend up to $300 or so.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:07 pm

Creative's new strategy.

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000340065155/

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:31 pm

Well I'll give you three options.

If you want a small flash player w/ 2gb of space (approximately 1000 songs), go with the iAudio U2. It'll run you $210 plus shipping from NewEgg. It has the best sound quality of any mp3 player I ever purchased.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6855603825

If you want a hard drive player, I would definitely go with the Sony NW-HD5...the one I've been using for the past 2 months or so. It'll run you about $270 from Amazon and it is 20GB. It's the same size as a pack of cards so it's significantly smaller than the iPod, and it sounds quite a bit better as well. I personally got the black one because I had read that the Silver and Red versions had issues with the buttons cracking because they are clear. The black's buttons are black so you can't see it. It'll hold about 10,000 songs.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... s&n=507846

Those are the two I'd suggest choosing from.

If you want something that's a bit cheaper...just pick up the Creative Zen Micro, which is another very good player, I just like the storage size on the Sony better. The Micro comes in a few different sizes ranging from 4gb to 6gb. The 5gb will run you approximately 175 from Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... x=0&Go.y=0

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:42 pm

Thanks Scott. I appreciate the advice.

GridIronGhost · Post by **GridIronGhost** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 1:33 pm

What no love for the touch zen? http://tinyurl.com/5zhry

My ipod video battery is lasting less the 2 hours, closer to 1.5 hours when viewing video. Apple sure knows how to milk the customer.

iPod Video 30 gig = $300
iPod USB Power Adapter = $30 (use to be free)
QTpro7 = $30 (takes a lifetime to convert a 2 hour movie)
ipod case = $20-$30 (you're going to need one, most MP3 players come with one free)

I really love this little gizmo, it's just some of the things that I have mentioned really pisses me off. I mean what other choice do you have in this price range? My zen touch costs the same, it has 10 gigs more...but no video or photo.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 1:42 pm

The Zen Touch is okay, but the Sony HD5 dominates it for the same price range. Half the size and three times the battery life. I'm getting approximately 30 hours per charge on mine.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:01 pm

Grid, the new ipodvideo looks sharp and thin but that battery surely sucks like a Hoover if you have only 2hours left after watching a show. DB, I don't know how Sony did it but I don't think any CO can come close to 30 hours of play after a recharge, mind you, the Sony doens't play video.

Speaking of which, for those PSP owners, don't forget it does both too, besides playing games.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:09 pm

10spro wrote:DB, I don't know how Sony did it but I don't think any CO can come close to 30 hours of play after a recharge, mind you, the Sony doens't play video.

You may want to look on their product page then...it's supposed to do up to 40 hours but that's only and lower bitrate ATRAC formats. Look around the web...everyone is getting 20-30 on their players. Not to mention it's completely removable so you can carry a spare.

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSH ... NWHD5BLACK

GridIronGhost · Post by **GridIronGhost** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:42 pm

10spro wrote:Grid, the new ipodvideo looks sharp and thin but that battery surely sucks like a Hoover if you have only 2hours left after watching a show. DB, I don't know how Sony did it but I don't think any CO can come close to 30 hours of play after a recharge, mind you, the Sony doens't play video.

Speaking of which, for those PSP owners, don't forget it does both too, besides playing games.

Yeah two Family guy shows, one Simpsons show and a couple of manson videos...the ipod was wiped out. I have not played music only, but it's supposed to last 18 hours. PSP is too big to haul around as a MP3/Video Player. Plus the cost of memory sticks is way too much. How much would 30 gigs cost?

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:57 pm

How long did it take you to re-encode the video to work on the iPod?

Looks like Apple is choosing thinner form factor as a tradeoff for battery capacity. These models are thinner than the previous 20 GB but the 30 GB has less battery life.

The 60 GB has more battery life than the 30 GB but not sure how it compares to the old 20 GB.

I guess the market will let them know if they will take that tradeoff.

Airdog · Post by **Airdog** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 4:32 pm

GridIronGhost wrote:ipod case = $20-$30 (you're going to need one, most MP3 players come with one free)

To be fair, the iPod does come with a small slip case that's supposed to be serviceable, but it's not very glamourous.

EDIT:

Also, it is not necessary to purchase QTPro - there are freeware programs available that can do conversions to the specifications that the video plays.

Airdog · Post by **Airdog** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 4:33 pm

10spro wrote:Grid, the new ipodvideo looks sharp and thin but that battery surely sucks like a Hoover if you have only 2hours left after watching a show.

Much of the reason for this is because the backlight is on for the duration of the video being played, apparently.