tomandshell
Blue Flame of the West/Mod
Re: The Apple Tablet "The iPad"
I love having a portable movie player. My iPhone has come in handy many times in line at the grocery store or at the doctor's office, etc. I have software that allows me to put a DVD in my laptop and convert it into an MP4 file, and then sync it onto my phone for portable playback. I can then delete it after a while and replace it with something else. I bought the DVD, and I created a digital version to play on my portable media player--just like buying a CD and converting the songs to MP3s for the same purpose.
Now the iPad comes out with a high def-ish screen. (1080p was never going to be a reality at this size, but even your 720p content is going to have to be scaled down to about "576p" due to the 4x3 screen ratio. You're going to have to smash that rectangular HD content down quite a bit to fit inside Apple's square screen, and 576 lines is getting awfully close to the 480 of standard def.)
In order to watch a video in Apple's fake "high def" quality on the iPad, you are going to have to purchase it from iTunes. If I already purchased the Blu-ray, I don't want to pay another $20 to repurchase the same movie from Apple to play downscaled on my iPad--keeping in mind that I cannot connect it via HDMI and watch it in its full resolution on an HDTV.
When there is a way to import the high def video content that I already own (just as I can currently do with music and standard def video), play it back in at least 720p on my portable device and output it via an HDMI connector/adapter to an HDTV monitor, then I will have a portable media player that interests me.
In terms of video capabilities, this is not in any way a step forward from the iPhone and so I will leave it to those who want to pay big bucks for a color Kindle, or sit on the couch and not watch shows on Hulu.
I love having a portable movie player. My iPhone has come in handy many times in line at the grocery store or at the doctor's office, etc. I have software that allows me to put a DVD in my laptop and convert it into an MP4 file, and then sync it onto my phone for portable playback. I can then delete it after a while and replace it with something else. I bought the DVD, and I created a digital version to play on my portable media player--just like buying a CD and converting the songs to MP3s for the same purpose.
Now the iPad comes out with a high def-ish screen. (1080p was never going to be a reality at this size, but even your 720p content is going to have to be scaled down to about "576p" due to the 4x3 screen ratio. You're going to have to smash that rectangular HD content down quite a bit to fit inside Apple's square screen, and 576 lines is getting awfully close to the 480 of standard def.)
In order to watch a video in Apple's fake "high def" quality on the iPad, you are going to have to purchase it from iTunes. If I already purchased the Blu-ray, I don't want to pay another $20 to repurchase the same movie from Apple to play downscaled on my iPad--keeping in mind that I cannot connect it via HDMI and watch it in its full resolution on an HDTV.
When there is a way to import the high def video content that I already own (just as I can currently do with music and standard def video), play it back in at least 720p on my portable device and output it via an HDMI connector/adapter to an HDTV monitor, then I will have a portable media player that interests me.
In terms of video capabilities, this is not in any way a step forward from the iPhone and so I will leave it to those who want to pay big bucks for a color Kindle, or sit on the couch and not watch shows on Hulu.
I keep trying to explain to everyone it's nothing new.. or nothing we don't have all ready. Just hype and sad.. 
D
