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Movies on the move
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As Apple launches its Video iPod, Indian engineers are helping to create portable media players
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VIDEO VERSION Of the Apple ipod
After making the iPod, the icon among pocket-sized music players, Apple recently unveiled a video version, which plays music videos and downloads popular TV shows and other movie content. The VidPod, as its fans are already calling it, signals a new era when it's time to say, "Goodbye MP, hello PMP", where music players increasingly morph into portable media players, which can handle a variety of audio and video content of DVD quality.
That said, the Video i-Pod has a screen of 2.5 inches (6.35 cm) diagonal, which seems rather small for enjoying long video clips. The makers promise that the $400-version with 60 gigabyte storage can hold 15,000 songs or 150 hours of video. There is a cheaper 30 GB model for $300. In the U.S., Apple has ties up with TV channels such as ABC and Disney so that a large number of music videos, animation films and episodes from popular serials (Desperate Housewives and Lost) can be downloaded by paying $1.99 per episode. These soaps are seen in India, but right now there is no download facility here.
The Video i-Pod may be the latest and most-hyped among new generation media players, but it is by no means the first. Such machines have been around for about a year now, and in fact, quite a few big-name brands sold in the U.S., Europe and the Far East have under the hood, technology that was crafted by Indian engineers at a Bangalore-based company called Ittiam Systems.
Technology licensed
Their reference design for a portable media player and recorder (PMPR), called Media Album, was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show at Las Vegas (U.S.) in January, and since then, 20 different manufacturers worldwide have licensed the technology. Ittiam's CEO Srini Rajam said that the models based on their design sell for around $300, which is not bad considering that it includes a recording feature.
The 30 GB model can hold about 120 hours of movie content, and plays five to six hours on a battery charge. You can also carry the contents of about 40 movies for your personal viewing pleasure while on the move. The Ittiam PMPR (the R is for `Recording') was one of the first to feature the latest video formats including MPEG 4. The device has a Wi-Fi capability and the output can also be connected directly to a television set.
Srini agrees that $300, which is around Rs. 12,000, is a lot of money. But he expects PMP prices to fall sharply in the coming years. Indeed, industry watchers are predicting that media players will outstrip music players in four years and sell over seven million units worldwide. So, get set to make the change when the price point of the PMP matches your purse. And who knows, its ticking heart may be "Made in India."
A. VISHNU
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