TidBITS#882/04-Jun-07
=====================
Issue link: <http://db.tidbits.com/issue/882>
Would you like to pay less for just the TV and movies you want to
watch? That was the question that started Adam down the path to this
week's comprehensive overview of all the different ways you can get
TV, how much you'll pay, and what gotchas you may encounter. Also in
this issue, if you've been dreaming lately of touchscreens and
mobile Web browsing, you'll be happy to know that the iPhone now has
a release date: June 29th, 2007. Also later this month, Apple will
start offering YouTube downloads on the Apple TV. But you won't have
to wait for an Apple TV model with a 160 GB hard disk, nor iTunes
7.2 (featuring DRM-free iTunes Plus tracks), nor several more
security updates, all of which are available now.
Articles
Apple to Release iPhone on June 29th
Apple TV Gains 160 GB Drive, YouTube Downloads
Two Small Security Updates
DealBITS Drawing: BeLight Software's Live Interior 3D
iTunes 7.2 Enables DRM-Free Music
I Want My *TV: Comparing Video Acquisition Methods
Take Control News/04-Jun-07
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/04-Jun-07
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Apple to Release iPhone on June 29th
------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9018>
Through a trio of commercials, Apple has revealed that Friday, June
29th will be the release date of the iPhone. The ads demonstrated
some of the iPhone's unique combination of capabilities, including
watching video, a "glass" (key-free) keyboard, rich email, and
integration with Google Maps and local results (see "iPhone Seeks to
Redefine the Mobile Phone," 2007-01-15) . While each of these
capabilities is available on existing smartphones and other devices,
no phone combines all of them, nor offers a library of music and
video anywhere as extensive as Apple's iTunes Store.
<http://www.apple.com/iphone/ads/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8810>
It's unclear what Apple means by the June 29th release date: that
the iPhone will arrive on your doorstep if you've ordered one or
that you will be able to go to an Apple Store or an AT&T (formerly
Cingular) corporate store to obtain one. AT&T has not yet started to
accept orders for the iPhone, but I would imagine that will occur
soon. AT&T recently changed the signage and other details at its
many corporate stores to shed the Cingular logo and name in
preparation for the iPhone launch, the company said a few weeks ago.
The advertisements confirm that an iPhone requires a two-year
commitment through AT&T. Recent rumors suggested that a prepaid
option would be available, but that seemed unlikely given the
premium nature of the phone and the exclusivity that results from
it.
The iPhone will appear in two models: a 4 GB unit for $500 and an 8
GB model for $600. The iPhone includes Wi-Fi and EDGE support, the
latter being a cell data standard that runs two to three times
faster than a dial-up modem, and is widely available. Pricing for
Wi-Fi and EDGE plans hasn't yet been announced.
T-Mobile offers the closest competition for such a package, with $30
per month providing unlimited use of EDGE data everywhere and Wi-Fi
connections at over 7,000 T-Mobile Wi-Fi hot spots in the United
States.
Apple TV Gains 160 GB Drive, YouTube Downloads
----------------------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9015>
Call me a rainmaker. Just a few days after I sent my latest book
("The Apple TV Pocket Guide") to be printed, Apple announced
upgrades to the Apple TV.
<http://www.amazon.com/Apple-TV-Pocket-Guide/dp/0321510216/tidbitselectro00/>
<http://www.apple.com/appletv/>
During last week's D: All Things Digital conference, Apple CEO Steve
Jobs and Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg chatted onstage
about Apple's latest "hobby," the Apple TV. "The reason I call it a
hobby," said Jobs, "is a lot of people have tried and failed to make
it a business. It's a business that's hundreds of thousands of units
per year but it hasn't crested to be millions of units per year, but
I think if we improve things we can crack that."
<http://d5.allthingsd.com/>
<http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/30/steve-jobs-live-from-d-2007/>
One method of cracking the business comes in the form of a
build-to-order option, now available, to include a 160 GB hard drive
in the Apple TV instead of the relatively small 40 GB capacity in
the base model. Apple claims the more capacious drive will hold up
to 200 hours of video or 36,000 songs, compared to 50 hours of video
and 9,000 songs on the 40 GB model. The 160 GB version costs $400;
the 40 GB version remains priced at $300.
More intriguing is the addition of downloadable YouTube content,
something that we suspected would appear, given that the box is
already capable of downloading movie trailers and other video
content (see "Apple TV: The Real Video iPod," 2007-03-26). A new
YouTube menu item will lead to categories such as Featured and Most
Viewed, with video streamed directly to the Apple TV. (Unofficial
hacks have made it possible to view YouTube videos - and other
online content - on the Apple TV since a few days after the device
began shipping, but the process to implement them isn't trivial.)
The capability will be available sometime in June as a free update.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8924>
<http://wiki.awkwardtv.org/wiki/Main_Page>
Two Small Security Updates
--------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9014>
Apple last week released two security updates, version 1.1 of
Security Update 2007-005 (see "Security Update 2007-005 Released,"
2007-05-28) and Security Update (QuickTime 7.1.6). As of this
writing, Apple had said nothing about what was fixed in the 1.1
version of Security Update 2007-005, but the QuickTime security
update fixes two issues in QuickTime for Java that could result
either in arbitrary code execution or disclosure of sensitive
information. That sounds similar to the security fixes in QuickTime
7.1.6 itself from earlier this month, but it seems to be different
(see "QuickTime, AirPort, Security Updates Released," 2007-05-07).
In either case, both updates are likely worthwhile. Downloads for
Security Update 2007-005 1.1 are available in PowerPC (15.7 MB) and
Universal (29.2 MB) forms, and Security Update (QuickTime 7.1.6) is
a 1.4 MB download. Or just use Software Update to get the
appropriate version for your Mac.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9005>
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305531>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8975>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate2007005v11ppc.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate2007005v11universal.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdatequicktime716formac.html>
DealBITS Drawing: BeLight Software's Live Interior 3D
-----------------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9021>
I imagine that for all of us, there are things we'd really like to
do, but somehow have never found the opportunity. For me, one of
those things is to create a 3D model of rooms in our house for the
purpose of playing with furniture placement, remodeling plans, or
honestly, just the fun of having a digital model of a real-world
house. And were I ever to build a new house, such a tool would be
essential. Alas, time doesn't permit such experimentation at this
stage in my life, but for anyone who does want to try 3D modeling of
rooms, BeLight Software's new Live Interior 3D looks like it would
be a boon. It comes with more than 1,000 objects you can place
within your own plans or those you modify from the 50 or so editable
templates included. It supports Google 3D Warehouse, and can import
objects from other 3D programs. You can also work in 2D mode, where
it supports automatic dimensioning, automatic floor and ceiling
creation, and smart guides. In 3D mode, there's a walk-through mode
with multiple adjustable cameras, and you can set the time of day,
geographic orientation, and lighting. It's definitely worth a look.
<http://belightsoft.com/products/liveinterior/overview.php>
In this week's DealBITS drawing, you can enter to win one of three
copies of Live Interior 3D, each worth $79.95. Entrants who aren't
among our lucky winners will receive a discount on Live Interior 3D,
so be sure to enter at the DealBITS page. All information gathered
is covered by our comprehensive privacy policy. Be careful with your
spam filters and challenge-response systems, since you must be able
to receive email from my address to learn if you've won. Remember
too, that if someone you refer to this drawing wins, you'll receive
the same prize as a reward for spreading the word.
<http://www.tidbits.com/dealbits/live-interior-3d/>
<http://www.tidbits.com/about/privacy.html>
iTunes 7.2 Enables DRM-Free Music
---------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9016>
Apple has released iTunes 7.2, which is notable for only one thing -
the fact that it now lets you preview and purchase "iTunes Plus"
music that is both higher in quality and free of Apple's FairPlay
digital rights management. As I wrote in "Apple and EMI Offer
DRM-Free Music via iTunes" (2007-04-02), Apple and EMI Music
announced in April 2007 that EMI's entire digital catalog of music
would be available for purchase in DRM-free form from the iTunes
Store worldwide. The promised start date was May 2007, so they just
squeaked in under the wire, but that's good enough to consider it a
kept promise. iTunes 7.2 is available via Software Update and as a
29.6 MB standalone download.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8937>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/itunes72formac.html>
Besides lacking FairPlay, iTunes Plus songs and music videos are
encoded as 256 Kbps AAC files, up from 128 Kbps AAC. The price for
songs increases as well to $1.29, up from $0.99. Music videos remain
priced at $1.99, and although their audio quality increases, the
video quality remains the same.
To purchase songs and videos in iTunes Plus format, you must enable
iTunes Plus in your account preferences, although iTunes 7.2 prompts
you to do this if you try to purchase a song that's available in
iTunes Plus. Once enabled, you see a little + sign next to the $1.29
price of iTunes Plus tracks.
If you've purchased DRM-protected songs already, you can upgrade
them to iTunes Plus versions for the $0.30 price difference from the
Upgrade My Library page in the iTunes Store. You'll have to check
back at that page over time to see if additional songs have been
released in iTunes Plus format. Music videos cost $0.60 to upgrade,
and entire albums are available at 30 percent of the current album
price. When you upgrade a song, iTunes downloads the new one and
optionally places the original version in an "Original iTunes
Purchases" folder so you can compare it to the iTunes Plus version
to see if you can hear the quality difference.
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZPersonalizer.woa/wa/upgradeMyLibraryPage>
(It's interesting to see Apple putting both the iTunes Plus
preferences and the Upgrade My Library functionality in the iTunes
Store, rather than in iTunes itself. The approach makes sense, since
iTunes is increasingly becoming a true Internet application that's
easier to enhance without pushing code to millions of Macs and PCs.)
iTunes Plus is certainly a good thing for consumers who found even
FairPlay's relatively reasonable restrictions irritating, for those
who will appreciate the higher audio quality, and for the subset of
people who refused to purchase from the iTunes Store because of DRM
restrictions. Even though EMI is offering DRM-free music to other
online music stores, and eMusic has long sold DRM-free music, it's
also a PR boon for Apple, which gets to be seen as helping in the
push to free music from onerous DRM. EMI wins too, both in terms of
increased revenue from sales of iTunes Plus tracks and the increased
sales that will no doubt result from EMI music being featured on the
new iTunes Plus page in the iTunes Store.
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/iTunesPlusPage>
However, Ars Technica is reporting that Apple embeds your full name
and email address in tracks purchased from the iTunes Store,
something that has apparently been true since the beginning but that
wasn't relevant when those tracks couldn't be played without
authorization. With iTunes Plus tracks, though, this hidden branding
could theoretically be used to trace shared tracks back to the
original purchaser, although without some form of digital signature,
that information could also be spoofed as a way to frame an innocent
user. It's not yet clear what Apple plans to do with this
information, if anything, but such use of personally identifiable
information should be included in the company's privacy policy. This
could be an issue particularly in the EU, where privacy is treated
with significantly more importance than in the United States.
<http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070530-apple-hides-account-info-in-drm-free-music-too.html>
Audio developer Rogue Amoeba is happy about iTunes Plus, since the
removal of DRM enables their Fission audio manipulation program to
work with iTunes Plus tracks to create ringtones, create sound
bites, or just edit out the applause in live tracks. (John Gruber of
Daring Fireball noted, however, that updated terms of service for
iTunes 7.2 specifically disallow use of purchased music as
ringtones, not that such a limitation is in any way enforceable.)
What I'm really looking forward to, though, is audiobooks in iTunes
Plus format, since it bugs me that a single audiobook comes from the
iTunes Store in multiple files, making it annoying to play. There
are workarounds (see "Audio File Concatenation: Driven to
Distraction by DR," 2005-11-14), but they're cumbersome, and just
being able to join unprotected AAC files would be a boon.
<http://www.rogueamoeba.com/utm/posts/News/Fission-loves-iTunesPlus-2007-05-30-17-30.html>
<http://daringfireball.net/linked/2007/may#wed-30-ring_tones>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8326>
The two questions that remain are how quickly other music labels
will jump on the iTunes Plus bandwagon and whether Apple will remove
DRM from video. Stay iTuned...
I Want My *TV: Comparing Video Acquisition Methods
--------------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9004>
We're in the middle of a sea change in how we acquire and watch
video, whether serialized television shows, must-see sporting
events, blockbuster movies, quirky documentaries, or even homemade
video clips. It has become wildly confusing, with choices ranging
from the old rabbit ears to the iTunes Store. I've been thinking
about the topic for quite some time with an eye toward trying to
compare all the possibilities in terms of cost, show selection, and
more. This started as a personal project, but as I delved into the
research, I realized that what made sense for our family was by no
means ideal for everyone. And so I increased my scope in an attempt
to lay out for everyone the possibilities and to come up with
recommendations for those whose viewing preferences differ from
ours. Sit back, relax, and join me on a long tour through our
video-filled world.
**The History of Video** -- For many years, and for all of my rural
childhood, over-the-air broadcast television was all that was
available, though cable TV and, later, satellite dishes increased
the number of channels that could be received. At some point in the
1980s, the VCR appeared, enabling both time-shifting and an
aftermarket for movies, prompting MPAA head Jack Valenti's famous
quote, "I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer
and the American public as the Boston Strangler is to the woman home
alone." Needless to say, Jack Valenti couldn't have been more wrong,
with the VCR and then the DVD player generating a vast source of new
revenue for the movie and television industry via post-release
sales. In 1998, the slim size and durability of DVD discs also made
possible the online DVD rental company Netflix and a number of
smaller and more focused competitors.
<http://cryptome.org/hrcw-hear.htm>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix>
As the original Napster caused panic among the music studios, the
movie industry watched carefully, initially insulated from
peer-to-peer copying by numerous technical limitations. Computers in
the mid-1990s lacked sufficient processing power to encode and
decode video at necessary speeds, hard disks weren't sufficiently
large to store reasonable amounts of video, and too few people had
sufficiently fat broadband pipes to download full-length movie
files. Needless to say, those limitations fell by the wayside
quickly. Aided by the breaking of the DVD copy-protection approach,
the Content Scramble System in October 1999 by Jon Lech Johansen and
two others via the program DeCSS, full-scale copying of DVDs became
possible and indeed commonplace.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_Scramble_System>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeCSS>
Legal downloading of video wasn't far behind, with numerous
video-on-demand services springing up for people with Windows PCs.
But none put all the pieces together (wide selection, good business
model, simple user experience) until Apple introduced video to the
iTunes Store, making it possible for individuals to purchase
full-length movies, first-run television shows, short films, and
music videos for playing in iTunes on either a Mac, a PC, or a video
iPod. Although Apple's selection was initially slim, significantly
more videos have appeared on the iTunes Store since, and it's clear
from sales (see "Disney Sells 125,000 Movies in First Week on iTunes
Store," 2006-09-25) that the Internet will be a popular method of
acquiring video.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8682>
Perhaps the most unexpected challenge to the studios and networks
came, however, not from illegal downloads, but from video-sharing
sites like YouTube and Google Video, which attract tens of thousands
of homemade video uploads daily, and many millions of viewers.
Though no money changes hands, the time viewers spend watching short
clips on sites like YouTube (now owned by Google; see "Google Buys
YouTube for $1.65 Billion," 2006-10-16) is time that won't be spent
watching traditional television and movies.
<http://www.youtube.com/>
<http://video.google.com/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8709>
**Setting the Stage** -- All this raises the question - what's the
best way to acquire video entertainment these days? And that in turn
asks the question of what "best" means. I think people determine how
they'll acquire video in a number of ways:
* Availability. Every method of acquiring video has some requirements,
and for many people, those requirements may be impossible or
financially infeasible. Broadcast television assumes that there's a
signal you can receive, and any sort of downloadable video assumes
you can acquire and afford high-speed Internet access.
* Cost. Scott Adams's comic strip character Dilbert may not have been
referring to video when he said, "What the customer wants is better
products for free," but the quote applies. Television used to be
free in exchange for our viewing of commercials, but those days are
long gone. Or are they?
* Selection of shows. The rise of cable TV was driven by one factor
alone - the selection of shows on broadcast TV (which was
non-existent if you couldn't pick up any channels). But as we
quickly discovered, selection isn't everything, as Bruce Springsteen
complained in "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)."
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=485637&s=143441&i=486633>
* Freshness. We want it in our produce, and we want it in our video
too. After all, for better or worse, television remains the way many
people learn about what's happening in the outside world, and
discussing the latest baseball game or hit TV show with friends and
colleagues remains a significant cultural common ground.
* Time-shifting. In addition to freshness, we also want control over
when we watch. Thanks to new technologies and business models, the
tyranny of the broadcast TV schedule is becoming a thing of the
past.
* Place-shifting. Finally, although most people still watch video on
TV screens that continually increase in size, portable DVD players
have been around for a while, laptop displays are now frequently
large and widescreen, and video iPods are becoming ever more
popular. In essence, we're saying that we want control over not just
what and when we watch, but where we watch it too.
There's one additional variable that most people probably don't
think about, but which comes into play whenever time- and
place-shifting are discussed: legality. Almost by definition, time-
and place-shifting require a copy to made, whether it's on a VHS
tape or an iPod. In some cases, that action may be entirely legal,
whereas in others it may be fraught with legal liability. (At least
the FCC's controversial "broadcast flag" rule, which would have
prohibited the manufacture of hardware lacking copy prevention
hardware to prevent time- and place-shifting, was struck down in
2005 before it went into effect.)
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast_flag>
Let's rate each of the following methods of tuning in according to
these criteria.
**Broadcast Over the Air** -- To many of us, with our high-speed
Internet connections, over-the-air broadcast television may seem a
quaint image of the 1950s, with images of Dad up on the roof
adjusting the antenna to improve reception of the big game. The
reality is that as of December 2006, about 13 percent of U.S.
television households - roughly 15 million homes - still rely on
broadcast TV, as do higher percentages of viewers in other
countries. And why not? Availability suffers from physical barriers
and the selection of shows can be restricted by limited channel
reception. But at the same time, advertising-supported broadcast TV
is free to receive; provides the latest network news, major sports
events, and most commonly watched shows; and doesn't restrict
viewers' ability to time-shift. Place-shifting is tougher, since it
requires first recording shows to a digital format, but I suspect
that most people content with broadcast television aren't the target
audience for place-shifting hardware like the iPod.
It's worth noting that a digital video recorder (DVR) like the TiVo
significantly improves not just the viewer's ability to time-shift,
but also broadcast TV's show selection. That's not because it can
pull in shows that weren't there before, but because it enables more
efficient mining of shows that are broadcast at odd times.
For those in the United States, it's particularly worth noting that
as broadcasters switch from old analog channels to new
high-definition digital channels, they can offer more channels. The
switch must be complete by 18-Feb-09, so by that point you'll need a
converter to use existing analog televisions, or you'll need to buy
a new digital TV (see the just-released second edition of Clark
Humphrey's "Take Control of Digital TV" for help with that process).
The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that 99 percent of
U.S. television households can receive one digital channel; 89
percent can receive five or more. The Consumer Electronics
Association's AntennaWeb site has an interesting FAQ and an online
"interactive antenna mapping program" that provides advice about
which stations (digital and analog) you are likely to receive, along
with a map showing exactly how to orient your antenna. You can also
check Antenna Direct's list of HDTV stations to see a long list of
over-the-air HD stations. The Canadian HD experience for
over-the-air broadcasts is similar; see HDTV Digital Home.
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/digital-tv.html?14@@!pt=TB882>
<http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx>
<http://www.antennasdirect.com/HDTV_station_lists.html>
<http://www.digitalhome.ca/hdtv/>
* Availability: Good, particularly in metropolitan areas
* Ongoing Cost: $0, with ads
* Selection of shows: Limited to mainstream shows; improved with a DVR
* Freshness: Excellent for TV, poor for movies
* Time-shifting: Requires VCR or DVR, but legal
* Place-shifting: Possible, but requires extra effort and gear
**Cable/Satellite** -- Broadcast isn't yet dead, and satellite TV is
attracting ever more subscribers, but cable TV still rules, at least
in the United States, where about 60 percent of households (65.6
million homes) have cable, and another 27 percent (30.1 million
homes) subscribe to satellite TV. Worldwide, there are 1.2 billion
television households, but only about 30 percent of those rely on
cable TV. Although the average price for basic expanded cable is
about $41 per month in the United States, both cable and satellite
subscribers report paying an average of $58 per month thanks to
extra services, and it's easy to see bills into the $80 per month
range. Despite those steep monthly charges that generated $68.2
billion for the U.S. cable industry in 2006, advertising is still
prevalent, accounting for another $23.8 billion in revenues. If we
know that the average monthly bill is $58, and the average American
watches (gasp!) 4.5 hours of TV per day, that puts the cost of cable
or satellite TV at only $0.43 per hour. (As an aside, a recent study
found that watching 3 or more hours of TV per day puts teenagers at
increased risk of learning difficulties.)
<http://www.nielsenmedia.com/newsreleases/2005/AvgHoursMinutes92905.pdf>
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070507183630.htm>
Cable and satellite TV fare very well when it comes to freshness,
with plenty of real-time news, sports, and current programming, and
they also do well in terms of show selection. However, the massive
amount of programming available is applied in shotgun fashion, so
you can easily find yourself flipping through hundreds of channels
without finding anything you want to watch. The sheer number of
programs is overwhelming, making a DVR like the TiVo - or even the
less-capable models rented out by the cable/satellite companies -
essential not just for time-shifting (which is legal), but also for
separating the wheat from the chaff. As with broadcast TV,
place-shifting requires extra hardware and fuss; few people will go
to the effort of extracting video from a TiVo to watch on an iPod.
* Availability: Excellent
* Ongoing Cost: $20-$80 per month, with ads (average is $58 per month,
or $0.43 per hour)
* Selection of shows: Very good; almost requires a DVR to sort through
* Freshness: Excellent, especially for sports fans
* Time-shifting: Requires VCR or DVR, but legal
* Place-shifting: Difficult
**Purchasing Pre-Recorded Video on DVD** -- The market for
pre-recorded video started with the VCR but has been almost entirely
supplanted by DVD. Although VCRs and DVD players are essentially
equally popular, with between 75 and 82 percent of U.S. households
owning one, the VCR is in significant decline, with sales of DVD
players outstripping VCRs 40 to 1 globally. More telling, of the
$24.2 billion spent on pre-recorded content in the United States
last year, VHS claimed only $100 million (way down from $3 billion
in 2004). 2006's total take of pre-recorded content was, in fact,
lower than both 2005 and 2004, with the only increased portion
coming from a $300 million jump in DVD sales. And even that growth
was largely fueled by the increase in sales of TV show collections,
which made up 18 percent of market in 2006, up from 8 percent in
2002. Also, TV DVDs cost an average of $41 for a full season, in
comparison to an average price of $17 for a DVD movie.
The per-minute cost of purchased content on DVD varies
significantly, from just under 4 cents to nearly 17 cents, with the
lower costs coming for large bundles that bring together multiple
seasons of a TV show or a movie and several sequels. That works out
to between $2.40 and $10.20 per hour, and if all you watched was
pre-recorded video, even assuming only 2 hours of watching per day,
that would still come out to between about $140 and $600 per month.
Obviously, dropping the average watching time to only 1 hour per day
halves those numbers, but it's still much higher than cable or
satellite.
However, although purchasing pre-recorded content may not make sense
for one-time viewing, children often watch DVDs many times, reducing
the cost with each viewing. I couldn't find stats to back this up,
but I also believe that people in their 20s, who grew up squarely in
the generation that could watch videotapes or DVDs multiple times,
are still more likely to watch TV shows or movies multiple times as
adults. That's in contrast with those of us who predate the VCR
generation, and remember when it was a big deal because "The Wizard
of Oz" came on TV each year. (Tonya and I own only a handful of
movies that we watch multiple times, with each viewing often
separated by years.) Plus, even for people who don't plan to watch a
purchased DVD many times, the DVD has value as a collector's item.
The selection of shows is good, but not great, because back catalogs
are still being transferred to video, so, for instance, not all
seasons of the 1990s TV series "Northern Exposure" are available
yet. It's not just TV shows either; reportedly, only about 50,000 of
the 500,000 or so movies listed on the Internet Movie Database have
been digitized and made available on DVD. Plus, the lag time between
the airing of new TV shows and the theatrical release of movies and
the subsequent release of the DVD hurts both show selection and the
freshness of available content. Time-shifting is inherent in the
medium, since you can watch whenever you want, but place-shifting is
legally possible only if you own a portable DVD player or
DVD-equipped laptop. Ripping physical DVDs to avoid carrying them on
a plane or to watch them on a video-capable iPod is perfectly
possible with the open-source HandBrake, but ripping is a violation
of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), despite the fact
that place-shifting is legal in all other situations.
<http://handbrake.m0k.org/>
* Availability: Excellent (requires inexpensive DVD player)
* Ongoing Cost: $140 to $600 per month, or $2.40 to $10.20 per hour
* Selection of shows: Good
* Freshness: Poor
* Time-shifting: On a per-DVD basis
* Place-shifting: Requires laptop or portable DVD player; otherwise
violates DMCA
**Netflix and Online Video Rental Services** -- Purchasing
pre-recorded content may make little sense for one-time viewing, but
renting DVDs is an entirely different cost proposition. A Netflix
subscription costs between $5 and $48 per month, depending on how
many DVDs you want checked out simultaneously. Other online video
rental services offer similar plans, but with nearly 6.8 million
customers, Netflix is by far the largest, with Blockbuster a distant
second. One advantage of the Blockbuster Total Access service is
that you can also pick up DVDs at a local Blockbuster store if you
can't wait for snail mail delivery.
<http://www.netflix.com/HowItWorks>
<https://www.blockbuster.com/signup/s/howItWorks>
It's hard to calculate Netflix's cost on a per-hour basis, but on an
"unlimited" plan, the limiting factor is how quickly you can watch a
DVD and return it to Netflix. Assuming an average turnaround time of
7 days, a 1-out unlimited subscription equates to 4 DVDs in a month.
Four DVDs of a TV series could reach 16 hours or more, whereas four
DVDs of short 80 minute movies would be about 5.2 hours. Thus, the
cost-per-hour for a month ranges from $0.63 to $1.92 for the 1-out
plan. The 2-out plan is a bit cheaper, and starting with the 3-out
plan, the costs settle into the range of $0.38 to $1.15 per hour.
In terms of show selection and freshness, Netflix is nearly as good
as the option of purchasing pre-recorded video - the difference
coming in adult content, which Netflix doesn't carry. Other services
specialize in it, however, so the overall category of online video
rental services is comparable. Another slight ding for Netflix's
show selection is that popular new releases generate waiting lists,
so you may need to wait a little longer to receive a hot new movie.
Netflix brings a new twist to the issue of time- and place-shifting.
You can of course watch any DVD you've received from Netflix
whenever you want, though ripping it to a hard disk for later
watching violates not just the DMCA, but Netflix's own Terms of Use;
the same goes for place-shifting. It's hard to know if Netflix added
the no-ripping clause to forestall lawsuits from Hollywood or if
ripping would present a business problem for Netflix. Someone who
was ripping to enable time- and place-shifting would probably churn
DVDs more quickly than anyone other than a dedicated TV watcher,
costing Netflix more in postage and handling.
<http://www.netflix.com/TermsOfUse>
* Availability: Excellent (at least in the United States)
* Ongoing Cost: $5-$48 per month, or $0.38 to $1.92 per hour
* Selection of shows: Good, with queue and genre caveats
* Freshness: Poor
* Time-shifting: On per-DVD basis; otherwise violates Netflix Terms of
Use and DMCA
* Place-shifting: Requires laptop or portable DVD player; otherwise
violates DMCA
**P2P File-Sharing Services** -- Of course, the fact that ripping DVDs
violates the DMCA has in no way prevented it from happening. Nor,
now that many people have sufficient bandwidth to download
full-length movies, has the legal liability prevented massive
sharing of video online via peer-to-peer file-sharing services. The
appeal? Downloading is free, or at least no additional cost beyond
the price of a broadband connection.
However, P2P downloading makes users pay in other ways. Finding and
downloading particular movies or TV shows is time-intensive and
often fraught with frustration and failure. Problems include being
unable to find the desired show or movie, download times measured in
days or weeks, ending up with a foreign-language dub, poor audio or
video quality, and more. The selection of shows is impossible to
predict, since the availability of a given show varies constantly
with who's online. The freshness of content can be good, since users
are more likely to share the latest releases than old movies, but
there's no guarantee that you'll be able to download the latest
episode of anything.
Not surprisingly, most of the users of the P2P file-sharing services
are young people with more time than money, and for whom downloaded
video has a whiff of danger and the cachet of rebellion.
* Availability: Good (requires broadband Internet and a modern
computer)
* Ongoing Cost: $0 (but requires a large time investment)
* Selection of shows: Poor
* Freshness: Mediocre
* Time-shifting: Violates DMCA
* Place-shifting: Violates DMCA
**iTunes Store** -- Not all video downloads are inherently a violation
of the DMCA, and thanks to Apple, it's now possible to purchase a
variety of TV shows and movies from the iTunes Store. Or rather,
it's possible if you have an iTunes Store with video in your
country, if you have a modern computer running iTunes, and if you
have a broadband connection. Lots of people do, but far fewer than
those who can, for instance, receive cable or satellite TV.
<http://www.apple.com/itunes/>
The selection of shows is, on balance, poor. Apple is adding shows
and movies all the time, but in comparison with the wealth of video
content available in any other forum, the iTunes Store doesn't yet
match up. What it does have is quite fresh, though, with new TV
shows appearing quickly, along with first-run movies, and some
sports shows.
Calculating the cost of video purchased from the iTunes Store is
both easy and difficult. TV shows, whether they're 30 or 60 minutes
long, cost $2. And movies cost either $15 for recent releases or $10
for older movies, with running times varying between about 80
minutes and 140 minutes. Purchasing a multi-pass for 16 episodes of
something like "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" drops the price by
about 40 percent; buying a season pass to a TV show cuts the price
by 5 to 40 percent (usually about 17 percent). So to return to the
cost-per-hour calculation we performed for pre-recorded video, we'd
end up with a range starting at $1.25 per hour for an hour-long TV
show purchased as part of a multi-pass and going all the way up to
$11.25 per hour for a first-run movie that's relatively short. At 2
hours per day (less than half the national average), the monthly fee
would range from $75 to $675.
As with pre-recorded content, if you fall into the 2 hour per day
category, getting all your video from the iTunes Store makes no
financial sense, but there are other advantages, such the ease of
getting just what you want, the ease of moving video to an iPod, and
the ease of watching downloaded video on a television via Apple TV.
Of all the methods of acquiring video, downloading from the iTunes
Store is perhaps the friendliest to time-shifting, since you can at
any time decide what you want, buy it, and be watching nearly
instantly. (To be fair, Netflix now offers the similar Watch Now
service with some of its movies, but it requires Windows XP-only
software to handle the Microsoft DRM.) Place-shifting is easy and
legal as well, but only if you want to watch on a laptop or
video-capable iPod.
<http://www.netflix.com/WatchNow?lnkctr=mhWN>
Competing with the iTunes Store is Amazon Unbox, which like the
Netflix immediate download approach, works only with Windows and
broadband-connected Series2 or Series3 TiVo units. Purchasing TV
shows and movies costs essentially the same as the iTunes Store,
though Amazon Unbox also offers movie rentals for between $2 and $4.
<http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=16261631>
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/tivo>
* Availability: Good (requires broadband Internet and a modern
computer)
* Ongoing Cost: $75 to $675 per month, or $1.25 to $11.25 per hour
* Selection of shows: Poor, but improving
* Freshness: Excellent
* Time-shifting: Easy and legal
* Place-shifting: Easy and legal, but requires laptop or video-capable
iPod
**Online Streaming from the Television Networks** -- In recent months,
the major television networks have started to change their role from
pure providers of content to distributors as well, thanks to the
Internet. Episodes of a number of current TV shows are provided free
via the networks' Web sites, though with ads that cannot be skipped.
The quality of the players varies a little and suffers a bit at full
screen, but seems generally fine over a broadband connection, and it
works fine on the Mac. Both time-shifting and place-shifting are
supported with this approach, although both have some limits. The
networks don't provide full back catalogs of shows, so you may have
to watch on a fairly regular basis or purchase missed shows from the
iTunes Store. And place-shifting is inherent in the system... as
long as you're watching on a laptop and have a broadband Internet
connection available. As far as I can tell, there's no easy way to
record these video streams for later viewing on a video iPod.
In some ways, online streamed TV provides what so many cable and
satellite subscribers have wanted - the ability to pick and choose
without feeling as though you're paying for the vast amount of dreck
that's available on the rest of those 200 channels.
It's also worth mentioning Joost, a company founded by the guys who
started Skype. Currently in invitation-only beta, Joost promises to
provide streamed video. Unlike the networks, it's using a
peer-to-peer system that spreads the bandwidth load, but which may
suffer quality of service problems, since the bandwidth cannot be
guaranteed. It requires special software that's available for Mac OS
X along with Windows XP and Vista. Joost is ad-supported, with short
ads that are inserted at fairly frequent intervals into the
programming. Not having seen Joost in person yet, I can't provide
more details, but I imagine it will be public soon enough.
<http://www.joost.com/>
* Availability: Good (requires broadband Internet and a modern
computer)
* Ongoing Cost: $0, with ads
* Selection of shows: Limited to a selection of mainstream shows
* Freshness: Excellent
* Time-shifting: Limited to the episodes of shows made available
* Place-shifting: Requires laptop and broadband Internet connection
**YouTube** -- The sea change that's threatening to engulf mainstream
video is led by Google's YouTube, although there are a number of
competing services, including Google's own Google Video. What's
different about YouTube is that its many millions of videos are
contributed for free by users of the service, although there has
been a spate of partnerships with groups like CBS, the BBC, the NBA,
and the Sundance Channel. It's almost impossible to compare
YouTube's content with what you would find anywhere else, because
almost all of it is short, amateurishly produced, and poorly
displayed in a tiny box in a Web page. (Apple just announced that
YouTube content would become available on the Apple TV by way of a
free software update later this month, but the video quality doesn't
appear to be improved - in fact, you're taking highly compressed Web
video and enlarging it for a widescreen TV, so the quality is going
to be less than ideal.) But that's the charm of it as well; it's
easy to find yourself watching utterly unpredictable bits of video
after idly clicking into YouTube from a Web link.
<http://www.youtube.com/>
<http://www.youtube.com/press_room?morgue=yes>
While it may not be possible to compare YouTube to mainstream video,
there's no question that TV networks and providers are extremely
nervous about the rise of YouTube. We all have a limited amount of
time to watch video (though it's apparently more limited for people
like me than for the average American), and time spent watching
YouTube takes away from time spent watching normal TV. What's not to
fear? It doesn't cost anything for people to watch videos on
YouTube, and it's unclear if even Google will be able to come up
with a way to make YouTube earn its bandwidth keep. YouTube is not a
future that TV executives like to dream about at night.
* Availability: Good (requires broadband Internet and a modern
computer)
* Ongoing Cost: $0
* Selection of shows: Insane
* Freshness: Excellent
* Time-shifting: Easy and legal
* Place-shifting: Legal, but requires video-capable iPod or
Internet-connected laptop
**Personal Experiences** -- The genesis of this article came from my
attempt to bring coherency to the video landscape for our family.
From the point Tonya and I left for college in 1985 until 2001, when
we moved back to Ithaca, we had only over-the-air TV, either because
that was all that was available or because we weren't willing to pay
for cable or satellite TV. We've always made heavy use of
time-shifting, first with a VCR (supplemented for a while with a
short-lived electronic program scheduler called a VideoGuide;
mentioned in "Macworld Superlatives," 1995-08-21), and then with a
TiVo, which we've covered in TidBITS numerous times.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/1359>
<http://db.tidbits.com/series/1204>
When we returned to Ithaca in 2001, Time Warner made it easy to add
digital cable TV to our cable-modem subscription, and it was fun for
a while to let the TiVo loose among the hundreds of channels we
received. But having all that video available on the TiVo proved
stressful, since we felt the need to keep up in order to prevent
older unwatched shows from being deleted. We realized that we were
watching TV more - 7 to 10 hours per week - just to manage the
TiVo's contents, and worse, we often ended up watching shows that we
either didn't reliably enjoy or found stressful before bed. It was
fascinating - we were drawn like moths to a flame, to an activity
that required significant time and money and often left us either
slightly disgusted about how we'd spent the time or too wired to
sleep. So in December 2004, we dropped cable TV and promised
ourselves that we'd spend the money we saved on just the media that
we wanted, whether print books, purchased DVDs, a Netflix
subscription, audiobooks that we used to help us fall asleep (see
"iPods Defeating Insomnia," 2005-02-28), support for podcast radio
shows like This American Life or On the Media, or donations to the
local public library.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8004>
<http://www.thisamericanlife.com/>
<http://www.onthemedia.org/>
<http://www.tcpl.org/>
So as much as this appears to be downright un-American, we're down
to 3 to 5 hours of video per week. Thanks to a Netflix subscription,
when we choose to watch video (on my MacBook or Tonya's MacBook Pro,
since we don't own a standalone DVD player), we're catching up on TV
series that we missed during the many years we could get only
over-the-air broadcasts, along with the occasional movie (we've
never been big moviegoers either). Tristan's choices tend toward
naval history documentaries left on the TiVo and Looney Tunes DVDs
he received for Christmas. Occasionally we watch YouTube clips I've
heard about from friends, and tons of great lectures are available
from the Internet too, such as the discussion between author Michael
Pollan (of "The Omnivore's Dilemma" fame) and Whole Foods CEO John
Mackey. But what's important is that we're choosing what to do,
whether watching video, reading books, listening to podcasts,
discussing the day's events, or participating in other indoor
sports.
<http://webcast.berkeley.edu/event_details.php?webcastid=19147>
<http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Natural-History-Meals/dp/1594200823/tidbitselectro00/>
**What About You?** -- I'm fine with the fact that we're statistical
outliers in terms of the amount of video we watch. But if you're
trying to figure out what of this cornucopia of options makes the
most sense for you, here are a few thoughts, based on viewing
patterns I've observed:
* TV-involved. If you eagerly await the new shows every season and
follow the plots of multiple series, or if you're addicted to
watching live sports on TV, cable or satellite TV is the only way to
go. The selection is very good, the freshness can't be beat, and the
cost per hour drops as you watch more. Do yourself a favor and get a
DVR, though, so you can control what you watch when - there is no
reason in this modern world to enslave yourself to the whims of
network TV schedulers. Over-the-air broadcasts and network Web
streams probably lack the selection you want, even if you can't beat
the price; the iTunes Store would be more expensive and have a
smaller selection; and all the other options fail entirely in the
freshness category.
* Movie buff. The choice is clear here - you need a Netflix
subscription. You're unlikely to find many movies you want to see
that Netflix doesn't carry, and both the monthly and per-hour costs
are bargains compared to purchasing the DVDs yourself. Over-the-air
and cable/satellite TV run lots of movies, but the selection is
highly random, and iTunes doesn't have the selection yet, though I
anticipate that will change in the next few years.
* Kid vid. Since children so often want to watch shows repeatedly,
purchasing pre-recorded content on DVD or VHS tape is the best deal
and provides the best selection. The iTunes Store is also a
contender in this space if what you want to see is included in the
35 TV shows and 66 movies in the Kids category, and as a bonus,
digital files won't wear out or get scratched. If you don't want a
kid monopolizing a Mac for watching DVDs, an Apple TV or a portable
DVD player would be a help. For another option, consider subscribing
to cable for a period of time, loading up a TiVo with kid shows and
movies, and then canceling your subscription. Over-the-air
broadcasts fall down in terms of selection and in the ease of
recording and replaying content. Netflix is good, but only if you
don't want to enable repeated viewings over time (and ripping a
rented DVD for that purpose violates both the letter and the spirit
of copyright law).
* Time-constrained. If you don't wish to spend what limited time you
have on TV, while not cutting it out entirely, go with a Netflix
subscription, supplemented with current TV shows from the iTunes
Store and networks' Web streams. You'll stay in control and save
money by restricting the amount of video available to watch to just
those items you really want to see. Whatever you do, don't get
sucked into downloading video from P2P file-sharing services, since
then you'll spend much of your precious time on finding and managing
downloads.
* Tight budget. If your goal is to pay as little as possible for
video, either pull out the rabbit ears for over-the-air broadcasts
or turn to the Internet, where you can download vast amounts of
video for free, legally. To supplement Internet video with
commercial video, I recommend either a cheap Netflix plan or
selective use of the iTunes Store's multi-passes or season passes.
Whether or not you choose to download video from P2P file-sharing
services is up to you, but at the moment, it seems relatively safe
from prosecution, although it's a large time sink.
Again, perhaps I'm odd, but I feel a lot better having worked
through the economics and restrictions of the options. Before, I had
a nagging feeling that we were paying too much for the amount of
enjoyment we derived from TV, and now I can rest easy knowing that
we're on just the right plan, at least for the moment.
Take Control News/04-Jun-07
---------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9022>
**Two New Ebooks Improve Your TV Experience** -- Whether the video you
see on your TV screen is too blurry, too jagged, too small, too old,
too new, too boring, too weird, or just too much, you can make it
better with the advice in two new ebooks.
Are you tired of hearing how your analog viewing habits make you a
crusty dinosaur, but worried that DVDs from your Netflix
subscription won't look good on a new high-definition digital TV? Or
are you wondering how you can survive shopping for a new TV without
paying too much for features you don't need? Learn how to shop like
a pro and get the right peripherals, find HD content, and set up
your new system with the second edition of "Take Control of Digital
TV." If you're like us, you're also downloading video from the
Internet or wondering if you can just use your computer as a TV, so
the ebook also looks at how to bring your computer into the mix,
with notes on video-download sites and products such as the Apple TV
and Elgato's EyeTV line. The ebook includes coupons for $5 off at
Small Dog Electronics and $20 off the purchase of Elgato's EyeTV
Hybrid.
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/digital-tv.html?14@@!pt=TRK-0027-TB882-TCNEWS>
Of course, the just-enhanced Apple TV is the hottest
mix-your-computer-with-your-TV product around, and if you want to
know more about how to set it up, work with it, and troubleshoot any
problems, you can find friendly, expert advice in the "Macworld
Apple TV Superguide." Buy both books together and save $5.
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/mw-apple-tv.html?14@@!pt=TRK-0052-TB882-TCNEWS>
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/04-Jun-07
------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9020>
**Over-the-air HDTV** -- A reader provides recommendations for
receiving high-definition television programming using an antenna.
(1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1308/>
**Scroll Wheel Tips** -- Adam's article on scroll wheel uses brings up
a question of direction: should scrolling down advance video content
(as it does by scrolling text content), or should it rewind the
content? (6 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1309/>
**Methods of geotagging photos** -- Jeff's review of Geophoto brings
up a recommendation for HoudahGeo, a similar utility for assigning
geographical data to photos. (1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1310/>
**Visions of the Sublime and the Inane** -- Does Twitter emphasize the
shallowness and meaninglessness of life, or is it indicative of the
changing modes of communication among younger generations? Or both?
(3 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1311/>
**First FreeHand, now Canvas** -- Adobe's acquisition of Macromedia
spelled doom for FreeHand, but now another competitor is bowing out
of the illustration market: Canvas for the Mac. (1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1312/>
**Issues with international pricing** -- If a developer offers a
product in multiple countries (which have multiple currencies),
what's the best approach for pricing? (14 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1313/>
**Upgrading to iTunes Plus** -- Readers share their experiences with
the new iTunes Plus music, such as whether iTunes Plus tracks
automatically appear in playlists where the original iTunes
Store-bought tracks were assigned. (6 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1314/>
**Latest Computer Comparison** -- A Mac Plus versus a dual-core AMD PC
running Windows XP - guess which machine wins most of the tests? (1
message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1315/>
$$
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