To buy or not to buy...ipod video... (1 Viewer)

[hopeles5ly]

I have a copy of "The Emperor's New Groove" on my iPod and it looks and sounds absolutely fantastic.

Have also downloaded a few music clips from iTunes and they're amazing too (e.g. "Enya - May It Be" with clips from LOTR).

You only get two hours of video playback, but if you have a charger handy (e.g. car charger if you're a passenger, or wall-socket charger if you're away) then you really don't have to worry about becoming temporarily iPodless.

Only suggestion I can make is that you buy a protective cover for it STRAIGHT AWAY! They scratch *so* easily! Seriously. Straight away. Have it ready.

Otherwise I love my iPod.

yeah thats what happened to my ipod after a few mins of getting it out of the box ! ==" my ipod doesnt even work anymore ><" .

 

[MedNez]

Yeah, the newer ipods all have easy-scratching issues :\

@polotik: Uhh, do you have a link to the FM release? I don't mean to burst your bubble, but Apple are not silly enough to release perfect software for the Macintosh system and only a ad-hoc software set for the PC.

I think the majority of people who have Ipods use Windows or a Non-Macintosh system. Apple caters for both systems perfectly, the claim "the Ipod was never made for Windows" is a total crock of nonsense.

 

[seremify007]

Also, and this is important, fully charge and discharge your battery a couple of times before you use it normally. Simply play a video or song over and over again till the battery is gone then full charge and repeat. I don't wanna read another whingy post about the battery life on this forum
A full charge takes about 4 hours.

As a suggestion you could also plug your headphones in (set volume around 70-80%?) and that'll "burn them in" a bit.

Some of you may want to know that this morning Apple released a new FM Radio for the iPod and iPod nano. This confirms the rumors of an inbuilt radio interface in the iPod.

I have heard of no such thing- got a link by any chance? Although it doesn't really affect me because whilst FM Radio was cool when it first came out on phones (I remember using it on my 8310 alot)- once I had mp3 players on my phone (and in my pocket) there was very little need to listen to radio unless something specific was on.

As to the first question, I do recommend the iPod but I always warn people, that the iPod was never made for a Windows PC. The compatibility problems and read/write issues that people get when formatting an iPod for a PC far outweigh the advantages that the iPod provides. If you do get an iPod, I suggest you find a third party solution to replace iTunes and keep your music library intact.

Am I the only one here who really likes iTunes on Windows? I put it on all our PC's- my laptop which doesn't even connect to an iPod, and my Mum's PC because it's easy for her to understand the interface and create playlists. I'm sure there are other programs out there which can do same things like smart playlists and sync, but the programs I've tried (not even taking into account the iPod compatibility) such as WMP10 and MMJ both have horrific interfaces in comparison, the sound quality enhancement isn't as good (I'm surprised WMP10's SRS sound doesn't sound as good as iTunes Sound Enhancer...), the support for Chinese is pitiful (but I guess at least Winamp and WMP have nice skins too?) and the playlist/method of choosing songs is more complex than need be. Like I suggested earlier, try downloading iTunes for Windows and just use it a bit and see how you like it... and then, with an iPod video with heaps of space (assuming your mp3 collection is not "too big") just imagine everything automatically synchronising with the iPod- that is, the playlists, the smart playlists, newly added songs (and these are in Recently Added playlists), playcounts, etc... I also like the simplicity of ripping CDs- whilst it may not seem like much, but in old times I had to rip my CDs and then go on the net to copy the Chinese text and rename the files, and even then, Winamp couldn't read Chinese anyway! But now, even the iPod can display Chinese- although some of the Japanese characters look a bit... funny?

I think the majority of people who have Ipods use Windows or a Non-Macintosh system. Apple caters for both systems perfectly, the claim "the Ipod was never made for Windows" is a total crock of nonsense.

Agreed. The original 1g/2g iPods were like that where people used hacks for it to work with Windows, but iTunes 4+ and iPod worked seamlessly well- I preferred the Windows one because it had two mouse buttons^^ Maybe your PC (politik) is running low on resources (because iTunes is a little bit... too demanding at times?). The only other thing people might not like is iTunes doesn't support Skins, but to me, the interface is so clean and functional- and it works with the multimedia keys on my keyboard and mouse. Visualisation plugins and miscellaneous plugins (eg. Audioscrobbler/last.fm) also exist- but for the most part, the iTunes visualisation is decent and customisable enough. Only way you'll find out is if you try it? C'mon- it's free. Except you need to install Quicktime as well.

 

[RCMasterAA]

Yeah, the newer ipods all have easy-scratching issues :\

@polotik: Uhh, do you have a link to the FM release? I don't mean to burst your bubble, but Apple are not silly enough to release perfect software for the Macintosh system and only a ad-hoc software set for the PC.

I think the majority of people who have Ipods use Windows or a Non-Macintosh system. Apple caters for both systems perfectly, the claim "the Ipod was never made for Windows" is a total crock of nonsense.

http://engadget.com/2006/01/10/apple-ipod-radio-remote-adds-fm-to-ipods/
FM Radio on video Ipod right there.

Family guy is hardly 'taxing' or even remotely detailed in its animation.

Run a test with a DVD version of final fantasy : advent children.

True but I also watch music videos and video podcasts on it and it's fine for the job. I guess I'm just not that fussed about plasma/lcd absolute sharpness. It's the same with audio for me. Earphones will do me and I couldn't tell the difference between 192kb music and 320kb music. Much easier that way too, I don't fret about having crap earphones or supposedly bad video

 

[euskadi_warrior]

http://engadget.com/2006/01/10/apple...s-fm-to-ipods/
FM Radio on video Ipod right there.

about time the ipod was fitted with a FM radio... i may consider to buy one now...

EDIT: oh, wait...its just another add-on [sigh]

 

[¬_¬]

Whilst you may not think you can notice the sound quality difference- invest $50 or so in some cheap (but decent) headphones and you'll easily be amazed. Maybe some good quality in-earphones might be a good investment? And they stop you from hearing other noises when on the bus or plane.

As for your argument politik- just because the driver is not native doesn't make it flawed if it works seamlessly. It's unpractical to expect MS to include an iPod driver, especially when there are also issues of DRM to prevent the music on it from being "stolen" (easily) per se.

 

[stella8h8chang]

Thankyou, guys, for all your help I am now the proud owner of a black, 30GB iPod video!

**dances**

It even matches my beautiful piano! The box itself is so elegant...**begins to ramble** Anyhow, I have decided I shall copy my music to my desktop, as I have cleared the hard drive so much that there is sufficient space to house my "quality "music. I am also going to use my iPod only with my desktop as my laptop has to go back to the school (it's a rental) at the end of this year.

Now, it's time to charge and discharge, I believe...how do I go about that? Just charge it up overnight, then play a video until...how will I know when the battery is fully flat?

 

[Lazarus]

You don't need to do the whole 'drain the battery' thing anymore - new type of battery.

It's in your manual somewhere heh.

 

[Collin]

As to the first question, I do recommend the iPod but I always warn people, that the iPod was never made for a Windows PC. The compatibility problems and read/write issues that people get when formatting an iPod for a PC far outweigh the advantages that the iPod provides. If you do get an iPod, I suggest you find a third party solution to replace iTunes and keep your music library intact.

What compatibility issues? Got proof?

And I think iTunes is great! I'd stick with it even if I didn't have an iPod.

 

[RCMasterAA]

Thankyou, guys, for all your help I am now the proud owner of a black, 30GB iPod video!

**dances**

It even matches my beautiful piano! The box itself is so elegant...**begins to ramble** Anyhow, I have decided I shall copy my music to my desktop, as I have cleared the hard drive so much that there is sufficient space to house my "quality "music. I am also going to use my iPod only with my desktop as my laptop has to go back to the school (it's a rental) at the end of this year.

Now, it's time to charge and discharge, I believe...how do I go about that? Just charge it up overnight, then play a video until...how will I know when the battery is fully flat?

The battery's dead when the iPod switches itself off.
And I hope you remembered a case for it!

 

[stella8h8chang]

The battery's dead when the iPod switches itself off.
And I hope you remembered a case for it!

Ok. Cool, so it's not like my discman which for some reason switches itself off when not fully dead. You can pull the batteries out, warm them up between your hands, put them back in and get another song or two left...or like my digital camera...

My parents refused to buy a case for me...well they just forked out $449 for my combined 17th birthday/Christmas/reward for winning 2 prizes from school/toy to shut me up because my brother got a PS2 and $300 of surfing gear for no reason.

So the ipod will remain on my desk, nice and pristine, until Saturday when I shall buy a nice (perhaps pink) case from Chatswood. I know I should've pushed them, but **shrugs** the saleswoman told them that a case comes with the iPod, so they refused...ah well...**loves parents anyhow**

 

[Collin]

But why would Mac consumers care if Apple gave Windows-based consumers native support?

They are independent groups of users; as long as it works equally aswell, no one is gonna care. I highly doubt Mac-consumers are going to jump ship away from Apple just because there's now native support for Windows too. Not to mention also Windows-based users arguably constitute the majority of their market, so it wouldn't make sense from a business point of view to alienate them. Infact, it wouldn't make sense at all to purposely alienate any group at all from a business point of view, and your assertion that it might make Mac users feel 'alienated' is exactly that, a fundamentally business-based decision.

And speaking of working well, what compatibility issues are there? You elaborated on a certain process executing on Windows during synchronisation, but what implecations does this have on compatibility?

And finally, got a link on this 'Apple Bulletin'? I work in the IT department of a major retail brand, and I've never encountered anything like it. Surely if Apple was to make this business decision and purposely give advantage to one group of users, elaborated upon via a bulletin allocated to retail stores, this would of gotten out to the main public, where many would have already scrutinised and flamed.. yet I haven't seen anything concrete to suggest any major compatibility issues between Mac and Windows.

 

[ogmzergrush]

But why would Mac consumers care if Apple gave Windows-based consumers native support?
They are independent groups of users; as long as it works equally aswell, no one is gonna care. I highly doubt Mac-consumers are going to jump ship away from Apple just because there's now native support for Windows too. Not to mention also Windows-based users arguably constitute the majority of their market, so it wouldn't make sense from a business point of view to alienate them. Infact, it wouldn't make sense at all to purposely alienate any group at all from a business point of view, and your assertion that it might make Mac users feel 'alienated' is exactly that, a fundamentally business-based decision.
And speaking of working well, what compatibility issues are there? You elaborated on a certain process executing on Windows during synchronisation, but what implecations does this have on compatibility?
And finally, got a link on this 'Apple Bulletin'? I work in the IT department of a major retail brand, and I've never encountered anything like it. Surely if Apple was to make this business decision and purposely give advantage to one group of users, elaborated upon via a bulletin allocated to retail stores, this would of gotten out to the main public, where many would have already scrutinised and flamed.. yet I haven't seen anything concrete to suggest any major compatibility issues between Mac and Windows.

I think this magical bulletin was attached to the bottom of that thing that demonstrates how Bill Gates is actually satan when you calculate ASCII values

Also, sort of weird how this iPod_service.exe doesn't return a single link on google? I think you're at the cutting edge when it comes to figuring out Apple's game politik.

 

[MedNez]

I've read the Apple bulletin's sent to retail stores before - the problem won't fix itself, simply because creating native support for windows would create problems for (and alienate) apple mac users.

Uh, you have no idea of the number of people using Ipods with Windows compared with those using Macs, do you. Windows has tenfold the customers. Why would apple NOT focus on their main target audience that is growing stronger every day ?

 

[malkin86]

At least Apple's not trying to sell their computers as an iPod peripheral.. yet..

 

[AsyLum]

Target? HAHAHAHAHAH, you're a joke

The new ipod versions fix the majority of the aforementioned 'bugs' and they continue to release firmware patches.

 

[RCMasterAA]

Target? HAHAHAHAHAH, you're a joke

The new ipod versions fix the majority of the aforementioned 'bugs' and they continue to release firmware patches.

To be fair, the latest iPod firmware release hasn't been met with open arms. There seems to be problems with privately converted video.
http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=142307

 

[AsyLum]

Buzz... Wrong.

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

What's new in iPod Updater 2006-01-10:

* Support for the iPod Radio Remote for iPod with video and iPod nano
* Bug fixes for iPod with video, iPod nano, iPod with color display, iPod mini, and iPod with Click Wheel