Say it with me now.... twe-nty four.

Nope. No trend here at all. Apple doesn’t create trends.

OK, Mac Fan. You proved your point. Move along.

What point?

Portable Video? PSP obviously sparked the latest movement (as I mentioned before)?  PMC’s, Windows Mobile, and Palm devices have been recieving video for years as well.

HTPC?  Media Center’s crazy sales in since August (40%+ in retail) sparked that trend and Frontrow is obviously a counter to that.

Video and TV? Akimbo, ifilm, Atomfilm, MTV overdrive, BBC, AOL Music, MSN Music, ESPN, NPR, VH1, NBC, ABC, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, Bravo!, XM Radio, MSN TV, CinemaNow, Movielink…

TiVO Series 2 devices offer On Demand programming and TiVo-to-Go.

Comcast offers On Demand.

....

I guess I don’t see Apple creating this trend but mearly throwing their hat into the ring.  That’s not to say that their offering doesn’t have merit though.

Buying network TV shows as single episodes online the day after they are aired.

Buying network TV shows as single episodes online the day after they are aired.

http://www.comcast-ne.com/vod.html

You can usually get a show, movie, or game right after it airs.  Much of the content is free and some is pay-per-episode.  If you subscribe to the channel on which the show airs (i.e. HBO, Showtime etc) then you get all the shows and movies on that channel for free.

Time Warner has something similar as does Dish Network (requires a DVR and a broadband connection).
http://www.timewarnercable.com/austin/produ cts/cable/ondemand/default.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_on_demand

And again, we shouldn’t forget the whole DVR thing (that Apple seems to lack at this point).

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_ display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001219997

I love the idea of Video on Demand. Even Channel on Demand would be great. I don’t have cable because i think it’s silly for me to pay for something I wouldn’t watch. ESPN, COmedy Central and some of teh learning/tech channels are all that interest me at all. I don’t/won’t watch anything else…

I wish they’d go to a pay-per-view method for all TV (something that keeps it affordable, of course) - then we’d have a perfect method of determining what should and should not stay on TV.

The content would become far, far better!

IIRC there was a law passed that says every cable company must provide a super basic package.  Usually that package runs about $5-15 a month and includes ESPN, Comedy Central, Discovery and a few other things.  When you call the cable company you must request it though because they won’t tell you about it otherwise.  Don’t get a cablebox or remote because that wil just add to the monthly cost.

You won’t get ESPN Classic, ESPNNews, the Military channel or anything like that but it’s a nice package for people who think cable is too expensive.

Also, when you call tell them that you are thinking of switching from sattellite and the operator may give you an additional discount.

And there’s always mininova.org and the piratebay for all there other stuff (Discovery, basketball games, football games etc.)

Apple is offering commercial free shows that I can buy with no subscription to a cable or satellite service.

DVR is completely different. DVR is recording broadcasted shows when they are broadcasted and if I don’t get it recorded when it is broadcasted, I’m screwed. They have commercials. And again, I need a subscription to either cable or satellite.

DVR is completely different. DVR is recording broadcasted shows when they are broadcasted and if I don’t get it recorded when it is broadcasted, I’m screwed. They have commercials. And again, I need a subscription to either cable or satellite.

FYI, Some DVR’s cut out the commercials automatically.

Second, Apple is offering ABC and NBC, both of which are freely broadcast over the air so you need no subscription to record them with a DVR.

Apple is offering commercial free shows that I can buy with no subscription to a cable or satellite service.

And who is following behind Apple in regard to how they run their service?  No one.  No one is following Apple so they aren’t starting a trend.  Apple is following the larger trends of portable video and on demand programming (whether over the net or tv) but their business model of targeting shows specifically to and only to iPods (320x240) and itunes is unique to them.  No one, so far has choosen to follow their business model and I doubt anyone will.  TiVO to Go and Microsoft’s Playsforsure/MCE already cover portable devices in a much larger fashion and everyone seems to be following that.  Things may change in the future and everyone may try to copy Apple’s way of doing things but I doubt it as it would be nearly impossible for Apple to “lead” the video market like they do/did the music market.  Comcast had over 1 billion on-demand orders in the last year and I don’t see Apple matching that or even coming close.

Some DVR’s cut out the commercials automatically.

Very cool! Which one?

That still doesn’t change the fact that a DVR is recording shows that are being broadcasted. If you miss one, you are screwed. The shows come to you with commercials.

Apple is offering ABC and NBC, both of which are freely broadcast over the air so you need no subscription to record them with a DVR.

An antennae? Ah, so with that logic, this trend started years ago with VCRs.

And who is following behind Apple in regard to how they run their service?  No one.  No one is following Apple so they aren’t starting a trend

Just wait. I’m quite sure that you will be able to download commercial free TV shows from MSN and others. How long did it take for Microsoft to catch up with their music store? I honestly don’t remember. A year?

Apple is following the larger trends of portable video and on demand programming (whether over the net or tv) but their business model of targeting shows specifically to and only to iPods

If there was no Front Row, I’d agree that they are targeting them only to iPods. But that doesn’t refute anything I said.

For the first time, you can buy commercial free network TV shows off of the Internet. You own the shows and keep them forever. You don’t even need a TV or cable/satellite subscription.

Comcast had over 1 billion on-demand orders in the last year and I don’t see Apple matching that or even coming close.

Link for that figure?

On Demand from Comcast isn’t the same thing as the iTMS.

On Demand from Comcast is simply offering me some of the same TV shows with commercials and I can keep them for only 24 hours. Big deal.

BTW, after Apple announced their solution, Comcast announced CBS shows via On Demand.

At least you have now changed your argument from “Apple isn’t doing anything new” to “Nobody will follow Apple’s lead”.

I’ve been reading about how Media Center is included with more and more retail PCs.

So bragging about Media Center sales is kind of silly, really, because it just comes with a lot of PCs now.

It’s like if I started bragging about how many portable video devices Apple sells when it’s included with the iPods. We don’t really know how many people are buying a new iPod for the video feature, much like we don’t know how many of those retail PCs are being purchased for Windows Media Center.

And again, Windows Media Center PCs with tuner cards and DVR abilities are a fraction of the sales of those Windows Media Center PCs.

Microsoft and MTV announced a deal:
http://playlistmag.com/news/2005/12/13/urge /index.php

Microsoft’s Windows Media Player will have the new store which will include songs and exclusive MTV Networks programming and original content.

IIRC there was a law passed that says every cable company must provide a super basic package.  Usually that package runs about $5-15 a month and includes ESPN, Comedy Central, Discovery and a few other things.

$14-something here through Cablevision.  You get channels 1-22, but none of the ones you mentioned.  Unfortunate.  It’s basically the same as buying an antenna.

Mac rumor site:

Meanwhile, there are reports that Microsoft is not taking Apple’s success lightly and plans on launching a subscription-based TV download service. The service would presumably offer either unlimited downloads or one with a high limit for a flat monthly fee similar to Napster’s present music subscription service.

Linky: http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/12/2005 1220093141.shtml

And now Google has announced TV shows to own via download.

Nope. No trend here at all.