Incompetents R Us - iTunes

[wraithfodder]

In the latest screwup with Stargate Atlantis (the first being 'screener copies' of "Adrift" and "Lifeline" getting leaked out), now iTunes (aieee!) released "Doppelganger" instead of "Adrift." While a number of fans got their hands on it, the vast majority can't see it (iTunes apparently yanked it after probably informed by MGM - I'd love to have heard that phone conversation, or email (all in caps, I'm sure). I can sure see why NBC doesn't want anything to with iTunes as heck, they'd probably release HEROES out of order! ;) NBC was sooo right to sever ties with iTunes as this could conceivably harm SGA ratings for this episode. I mean, why watch it if you've got it on download? Sigh.

So, now must avoid certain forumsthreads until October 19th as some folk give away too much even in what they consider to be 'vague' comments. Sigh.

Comments

[tipper-green.livejournal.com]

Curiously, I read about this on Joe M's blog (I don't usually read it, for fear of spoilers usually, but...his pictures were so cute and I was skimming to see what they were and...anyhoo...I ended up reading about this). It's not actually iTunes fault. Doppelganger was the first episode produced, so it had 4.0.1. on it when it was delivered to the iTunes folks. In other words, the problem was at the production end, mislabeling the episodes. In other words, it was a totally honest mistake.

I also don't blame iTunes over the whole fight thing, mostly because I think the whole kerfuffle with NBC Universal isn't about timing or quality, but about money -- about NBC Universal wanting to earn more profit and iTunes not willing to bend on its pricing to accomodate them. It's just a shame all around.

[tipper-green.livejournal.com]

And, apparently, I like to use the phrase "in other words" a lot. Heh.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

If this had been the first time iTunes had misdelivered a show, it would be different, but they've done it before. I read some articles on iTunes and I DO agree with NBC that iTunes pushing of its proprietary software is a huge pain in the butt to many people. I don't want to be forced to buy just iTune/iPod whatever, to view a show. If you buy a DVD, you can play it on any DVD player, not just one MGM suggests ;)

[tipper-green.livejournal.com]

But iTunes is free. Still, I can see your point--I can't just watch it on my TV without buying the TV thingy. Of course, I can't watch anything I downloaded off the net on my TV, regardless of source, because I don't have any of that software/hardware that you need. So, I guess, it doesn't matter to me. Yet. It may in the future, if I ever get more techy. I'm still trying to get a Tivo. Man, I wish I wasn't so lazy! I'd love to download eps straight to TV!

Anyway, the funny thing about the statement that Apple is "pushing proprietary software" is that, in general, that's the opposite of what Apple is about. It's the opposite of everything they do or have ever done. In fact, now that they've got clout, they're actually trying to get the music companies to get *rid* of the licensing stricture that they place on the music, so that you *can* play music downloaded from iTunes on any computer, any device, anywhere. It's much better for Apple if that happens, because it makes iTunes and even more profitable source of music and other media. To be honest, if NBC is saying that iTunes is pushing proprietary media, then something has been seriously screwed up in the translation in the print media. I'm guessing NBC is pushing to *stop* Apple from allowing whatever is downloaded from being broadcast to other media (which I believe is the case right now). Also, from what I read in the NYT (and, I'll admit, the only articles I read were NYT and CNN, so I haven't read all that broadly), it *is* about money, not about software.

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

Steve Jobs has stated that iTunes has no intention of pushing for a removal of Apple DRM from video files at present.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&newsID=17665#mainContent

[tipper-green.livejournal.com]

Yes. But that article made my point. The proprietary software isn't Apple's -- it's the movie industry's. Hence why the statement sounded backwards to me. Seems pretty clear that, unlike music, Apple's clout with TV and Movies is still too nascent. NBC has gone it's own way, because it can -- providing its own free downloads, but only watchable on NBC.com, and only for a limited time. Eventually, NBC says it'll offer episodes for purchase online, but I guarantee it won't be for $1.99, like iTunes and Amazon Unbox. So...again...it's not Apple. It's NBC. And it's the rest of the movie industry. Jobs is right--they work differently from music.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Idon't know much about proprietary software, but they do push proprietary hardware. iPhone is a big example, plus the bundled tiep-in with AT&T (shudder, they're a dreadful phone company, at least in my region).

The movie industry wants people not to burn illegal dvds and sell them on the street. What gets me is that you can go to ABC and watch "Ugly Betty", in its entirety, on their site, so why can't SciFi offer that on their site? It's weird how some networks freely give away some stuff, while others want you to pay for the air you breathe while switching channels ;)

[tipper-green.livejournal.com]

That's AT&T, not iPhone. They're the only ones who took the chance on the new gadget, so they need iPhone to be AT&T exclusively. It's a Catch 22. And I agree. I'm not going near the iPhone until I can carry Sprint on it. AT&T sucks. They're awful here too.

It would be nice for Scifi to do that. Funnily, they do that with Eureka. I don't know why they don't do it with the Stargates, though I can only assume its Universal's fault again.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Ah, but iPhone went along with it. Doesn't really matter as I have no desire to own an iPhone (which I think was featured rather prominently on CBS's MOONLIGHT by the way). But AT&T... man, they screwed up our billing so bad...

Yeah, I can watch EUREKA online but not SGA. So darned annoying. Probably Universal or MGM's doing. I mean, they even ban overseas fans from watching Comic-Con panel videos, which I think it absurd as hello, shouldn't they want to advertise/build an audience?

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

TiVo will soon be the only way to burn TV shows to DVD. I was at a big box store not long ago and was looking for a DVR and they said all they had was TiVo as they were knocking everybody else out of the marekt, although I don't know if TiVo can burn DVDs...

Oh yes, it all really boils down to money. No argument there. I read that somebody (not iTunes/Apple) was going to release music that could be played on any device. Hadn't heard anything about Apple doing that.

But apparently SciFi (if JM's blog is right) isn't at fault for this fiasco. Well, if they keep it up, episode 3 will get released next week ;)

[tipper-green.livejournal.com]

Ooh, really? Tivo's getting that strong? That's not good. I kinda thought, with OnDemand, Tivo might be suffering. Maybe it's just the smaller ones, like ReplayTV that's suffering, eh?

Also, I should have mentioned, I'm so with you on the spoilers. The fact that Doppleganger has been leaked is *horrible*. Of course, I know from a friend that he watched the premieres of everything in advance, so it's not just SGA that's suffering from this. It's really awful for the smaller shows like ours.

Oh, and as for DRM free music, that *was* Apple that did it. Last February, Steve Jobs told the Big Four they needed to sell their downloaded music DRM free (since CDs are). In April, EMI agreed to do it, through iTunes, and it was a huge deal. The news came down at the same time the TV and Movie industry cracked down on You Tube, so it was a strange dichotomy. Then, in July, Universal decided to sell its music DRM free (that's probably what you just read), but through its own site -- So you can see that Apple and Universal have been not geting along for a while. Some even speculate that it's the pressure from Jobs due to the music that riled up Universal so much that it decided to swing back with the TV show thing. BMG and Sony, meanwhile, are still in talks to go DRM free, but it's pretty sure that they'll follow in EMI's footsteps, because the money is just too good. And, of course, once the music is DRM free that you get from iTunes, you can play it on anything and anywhere. So, yeah, its Apple you need to thank for DRM free music.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Yeah, trying to find an 'independent' DVR burner is a LOT harder than it was last year, and the guy at the store said "Tivo" was cornering the market.

I'm not that much into news on music downloads, but one guy at work gripes constantly about iPods due to their flaws - I have to find out which he buys and NOT buy it as he's had nothing but problems with in. Me, I'm still stuck in the buy music on CD era. Heck, I still have vinyl records. ;)

I do remember some big bruhaha over music CDs or something that downloaded software or anti-piracy stuff, a couple years back.

[tipper-green.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I guess I'm on the other side. I love my iPod, and would be lost without it. And if it has flaws, I have yet to find out what they are in the almost two years since I've had mine. Most everyone I know is the same. I think the only person I know who has ever had a problem, had it with the Shuffle. Apparently, those little things seize up.

[benbenberi.livejournal.com]

I think the reason TiVo is cornering the DVR market at the big box stores is that a very large % of people who use a DVR use a non-Tivo box that's supplied by their cable or satellite company for a negligible fee. The current generation of cable company boxes seem to have all the features an average user would need. The people who don't take the boxes offered by their provider are therefore mostly the people who are specifically looking for a Tivo.

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

So, yeah, its Apple you need to thank for DRM free music.

Not really. The reality of it is, record companies know they cannot turn the tide of illegal downloading while these restrictions are in place. How can they expect people to pay for something so heavily restricted when you can get something you can do what you like with for free?

If you want to thank something for DRM-free music, thank BitTorrent for it's continual existence forcing the industry's hand.

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

And I actually think it's fairly dubious that iTunes is required to put stuff on your iPod and that happens to be tied to the retail arm of the company too. Plus I think their players are crap - the constant need to sync my collection to keep it from losing it's associations and becoming null content on the player was problematic and to me defeated the purpose of having it. I don't want to keep 80GB of music and video files on my PC. I want to put them on back-up storage and be able to fill my player from that.

[tipper-green.livejournal.com]

That's strange - you can't back up your collection on DVDs? I do that. I've everything on DVDs data discs. I also make CD mixes all the time for friends. Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I move stuff around all the time. I also use my PC and my laptop interchangeably. I keep the shows and movies on the iTunes on my laptop, and the music on the PC and the iPod never has an issue with it.

But, again, I'm probably misunderstanding. I'm really not that up on stuff that's technical. It's the business side of things I understand.

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

What I mean is, I don't want it sat on my computer by necessity because every 7th day, all the music on the pod loses it's ability to be played because I didn't sync it.

I got rid of my iPod because I spent more time finding the stuff on DVDs to put it back on the iPod because of this problem than anything else I did with it.

[tipper-green.livejournal.com]

No way! Dude! I don't know what was wrong with your iPod, but I don't sync mine for weeks on end (because my computer is old, and the USB port isn't very fast), and I never lose anything. That's so weird! I've never heard of an iPod having that problem. Did you ask Apple about that? Cause that totally shouldn't have happened. 'Course, I'm guessing it's too late now. No wonder you don't like them!

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

It was out of warranty - just out of warranty I might add - when this started. I had a 2nd gen iPod that still had more life in it than that piece of crap did.

I have a Creative Zen Vision now, which to be honest, has way more handy features, like the ability to take advantage of the PictBridge technology in digital cameras so you can move your pics directly from the camera to the player. Handy for a photographer if you have run out of space on your memory card.

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

I have no patience for NBCU or Apple. If TV companies want more money for this stuff they should distribute it themselves. It's not like the tech isn't there. Hell, it's not like the tech isn't there for free downloading and serving up intermission adverts to support it. The entertainment industry just took the path of least resistance and then has the audacity to whine about illegal downloading.

As for Apple, my opinions of the stranglehold on this market and the proprietary crap between their iTunes downloads and the players are not a big secret. It smacks of monopolization - which just humours me considering they exist in an industry that is perpetually smacking Microsoft for the exact same.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

All the studios are capable of doing downloads, etc. on their sites. If anything, why download? Why not get the DVDs out sooner?

Anyway, I'm not a big fan of how Windows, Apple, etc. compete to try to create strangleholds on technology so if you want to watch a third-party show/movie, you're forced into buying their viewer. They tried that with their iPhone but it took some kid what, a week? to crack that so you'd be enslaved to AT&T (don't get me started on how bad AT&T phone can be... aieeee....)

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and it took Apple only weeks to make an update that bricked your iPhone if you had the balls to crack it.

They're bringing them out here...and they are tied to the service provider I use. I'm not in the least bit tempted - they aren't exactly cutting edge technology when it comes to cell phones over here. The lack of 3G is probably going to be a huge anti-point here.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Oh, I guess I'm clueless, but what does "bricked" mean?

I think one I detest about any cellphone is how stupid it makes the user. Every day I'm dodging people on the highway yakking into cellphones and not paying attention to driving. Sigh...

[anjak-j.livejournal.com]

Bricked is the state whereby your phone will not work and is basically, a brick...or would be in years gone by...

If you update the firmware of the phone over the crack it will cause your phone to lock up apparently...

Yeah, despite that being illegal here, you still see it way too often.