[dreilly1]

Is it just a coincidence that my iBook A/V cable will plug into an iPod?

It works perfectly for audio, and of course nothing comes out of the video output... yet!

[RevEvs]

interesting. but like most things like this with apple - it'll probably turn out to be nothing. Isn't there also a mp3 encoding chip in th iPod? wonder if that is ever used.... hmmm...

[Jerjerrod]

Coincidence. I assume you're referring to the "older" style A/V cable which resembles a regular 1/8th-inch headphone jack, but with an extra contact for video. This cable is not unique to Apple, and is used in some video cameras, too.

If, indeed, the headphone jack of the iPod supports that video connection (which I see no reason to consider anything but mindless daydreaming until and unless someone dismantles the iPod's jack and posts pictures of the video contact) the only reasonable use I can think of for it would be to have a way to lug around your photo album.

It could even autosync like iTunes does now: you plug in your iPod, plug in your digital camera, and the computer downloads all your pictures (or the ones you want) and send them right over to the iPod. Then you use an A/V cable with the iPod to look at them on TV. You could even use the jog wheel to rotate pictures that need it.

IMHO, Apple needs to release a basic image editor along the lines of Photoshop LE or *shudder* Photodeluxe, whether or not there are any photo capabilities they wish to include in the iPod.

Anyway, I find something like a photo album to be the only reasonable daydream I've heard about future uses of the iPod. Video would be a joke. If you were just to load it full of quicktime movies, there would be no standard (compression, dimensions, sound format, etc) and ease of use would unquestionably suffer, not to mention the iPod's processor probably doesn't have the horsepower needed to recreate quicktime. Furthermore, it doesn't fit in with the digital hub strategy. Sure, I have over 10 gigs worth of Star Trek I digitized into quicktime movies, but I'm the exception to the rule. Folks just don't do that very much, while tons of people want portable MP3's, PDA's, and digital cameras. Also, if they encouraged people to download their favorite TV shows, it'd be a copyright legislation nightmare. And if they're not going to sell a gadget that can play quicktime movies that way, how are they going to sell it? As a portable movie trailer machine? A portable porno machine? I've even heard it suggested that Apple would let people download a DVD to the iPod and take it with them. Another copyright nightmare, not to mention it doesn't make sense.

The thing that does make sense (at least technological sense, if not strategic sense) would be if Apple released a digital VCR set top box (a la Tivo) which saved its recordings with some great compression scheme (such as Divx) and then let you download those recordings to the iPod -- it'd be standardized, great quality, and you'd get several hours worth of TV in one iPod. Then again, that's another copyright nightmare, but at least there's a reason to do it and the means to do it without sacrificing legendary ease of use and convenience.

So, in a nutshell (this is getting long winded, isn't it?) the only two ideas which make even a lick of sense concerning the iPod and image/video capabilities are A) a portable photo album or B) a portable digital video tape to be used in conjunction with an Apple set top box. The latter is just a pipe dream. It'll never, never happen that way. (If it does, I'll be happy to eat all the crow I can muster, but I'm not worried.)

However, a portable photo album makes great sense for the technology AND for the digital hub strategy. If anything of the imaging nature happens (and I doubt it will) my money is on an idea like this.

Any thoughts?

[zac4mac]

Somebody posted something about a remote, using what seems to be an extra contact or two on the audio jack.
I was poking around there with my DMM(multi-meter) and manged to turn the iPod on and off.
Initially, maybe they were going to enable voice to MP3 and the hardware still exists..