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Review by Michael J. Stein:

As of this writing, no reviews are from someone who actually HAS one of the new iPods (10/19). That is about to change….

My 40GB iPod’s hard disk had been deteriorating for a while, until it stopped working altogether. That happened to be the day before the iPod video announcement (last Tuesday).

On to what you really want to know, and what you can’t get from Apple’s website, or reviews regurgitating technical specifications:

1) Can you actually enjoy watching video on a screen that small? What about the video quality?

In short, if you’re holding the iPod as close to your face as you would hold an older iPod to really read what song is playing, the video quality is actually quite nice. The screen is noticeably bigger (the height is about the size of the old iPod width). If you’re wondering how the quality comes out on an iPod screen (which is normally fairly pixelated), when you load a video it toggles into a mode much akin to when a computer plays a graphics intensive video game. It takes about 10 seconds for a feature-length film to load (i.e., between clicking play, and when it starts playing).

With regard to movies, the iPod doesn’t support chapters. My guess is that people will eventually want movies distributed as folders, witch chapters being the individual files. This will allow chapter skipping. That said, once a movie loads, fast forwarding works very well.

I loaded a fairly graphics-intensive movie on there, at about the highest quality the iPod would allow. The actions scenes come out fine…about what you would expect for an MPGE4.

2) What the heck does this thing actually look like in your hand?

It is about the size of older iPods. It is thinner (a lot thinner, if, like me you are upgrading from a non-photo Gen4 40gb). The front is a flat screen, much like the iPod nano, but bigger. The clickwheel is a bit smaller than it was on older iPods, but bigger than that of a nano.

3) The screen

I have to say, the bigger screen is nice in and of itself. If you have longer track names (if you have live music, etc.) a lot more of the name will appear. This is a very nice subtlety since in oder to read a song title you don’t need to wait……for….it….to…..scroll….

4) Is it worth it?

Jobs called this a regular iPod with “video capability.” I’d say the video capabilities are a little better than that gives it credit for. I don’t yet have a composite adapter, so I can’t see how this comes out on a TV…

With regard to exporting video to TV, there ARE the following options:

TV Out (on/off)

Video Signal (NTSC/PAL)

Widescreen (on/off)

If your iPod is breaking, or is pretty old, I’d definitely upgrade. If you travel a lot or have downtime where you could hold the device pretty close to your face (train, airplane, etc.), I’d definitely get it. If you don’t have much time to enjoy the video capabilities, then it probably isn’t worth it.

5) Firewire

The tech specs didn’t say anything about firewire, so I had been wondering whether it is supported. It actually is not supported at all. In fact, I tried connecting via my old firewire cable, and the iPod brought up a screen that said something like, “firewire is not supported. Please use the supplied USB cable.”

6) The “case”

I saw that a case was included on the Apple website…basically the case, as you might suspect, is pretty bad. I got a 60GB model, and it barely squeezes into the case. That said, cases that support the new screen will likely be unavailable for 3 weeks or so (if what happened with the nano repeats itself), and so it is ncie to have SOMETHING to prevent you from scratching your new screen (which is now more important because it plays video).

Anyway, I hope this answers any questions you might have. I’ve tried to stick to differences between this beauty and the iPod photo.

If you’re still on the fence, let me say this…go for it. It is really quite nice.

Review by Stephen Hall:

The iPod first appeared four years ago, and the features continue to grow, with each update.

The iPod with video playback was introduced on October 13, 2005. However, one should not necessarily consider this player a video player, but a great iPod music player, with video capabilities as a fantastic bonus. Nevertheless, the iPod with video playback is the most capable and feature-rich iPod ever produced by Apple.

Video Playback – The iPod plays back H264 and MPEG4 encoded video. The iPod’s new display is larger than ever at 2.5 inches, giving it a resolution of 320×240. What video content can you play on your iPod? This area is limited, at least currently. You can buy music videos on iTunes at .99 per song, which will play beautifully on the iPod. Furthermore, Apple has made available select television shows, for download on iTunes. They cost .99 per episode, for titles including ABC’s hits Lost and Desperate Housewives. You can also watch the episodes you purchase on your computer. If you want to put some of your own video, onto your iPod, you will need to use an application such as QuickTime Pro to convert the video to the specific requirements to play on the iPod. You can also find video podcasts, which will play on the new iPod. Even if you do not plan to view video on the new iPod, its primary purpose is to be used as the world’s best music player. You can still benefit from the beautiful new display, for it will help you find your favorite music faster, and you can view the album art that accompanies your music.

Size of new iPod – Does the picture of the new iPod make it appear larger to you? Well, it did to me. The iPod looked wider, in the photos I saw. However, it is not. The height and width of the iPod are identical to the previous generation iPod with click wheel. The only change in dimensions is the depth. The new iPod is actually thinner than what came before it! Yes, this 30 gig iPod is thinner than the previous 20 gig photo model by 30 percent. What does all this mean? The iPod continues get smaller, making it even easier to carry.

Capacity – This 30 gig iPod has room, for a lot of entertainment. With storage, for up to 7,500 songs, 12,000 photos, or 75 hours of video. The great thing I love about my iPod is that my music, photos, and video only take up about 15 gigabytes. However, I use the additional space to backup data, from my computer. This is incredibly helpful, and could be a real saver, if something happened to your computer. See, the iPod functions as an external hard drive, so you can backup all sorts of data. The 60 gig version is available, for 0 more, so if you want to use it for lots of video, or you have an enormous music collection, you may want to consider that larger version, which also sports longer battery life.

New Software Features – Apple has added features, to the new iPod besides video support. First, they have a clock feature, which quickly allows you to view the time, in up to four different time zones simultaneously. Furthermore, there is a stop watch, and a screen lock, which you can enable to keep people from snooping on your calendar and/or contacts.

Battery – The battery life is one of the most important specifications that you, as an iPod user, are going to care about. This 30 gigabyte iPod sports a battery that will last up to 14 hours, when playing only music. Also note that repeatedly changing songs manually, and turning on the backlight will use up your battery considerably faster. Furthermore, the iPod’s battery lasts a maximum of two hours, when playing back video. This version of the iPod no longer includes an adapter to charge the iPod, at an electrical outlet. You will have to buy that adapter separately, or always charge the iPod via USB 2.0. The charging works fine, from your computer’s USB 2.0, but if you’re traveling you might want the ability to charge, with the adapter. Also note that the iPod no longer supports syncing via firewire cable. You will have to use USB 2.0.

Mac or PC? This iPod works beautifully with either a Mac or PC. The iPod syncs your contacts, video, and music via the iTunes software.

Podcasting – The iPod continues to support podcasting. Podcasts are internet radio broadcasts, and there are thousands covering nearly every subject imaginable, and more are coming out every day. Podcasts are quickly becoming popular content on iPods around the world. Check them out, for this iPod supports Podcasts out of the box. There are also video podcasts, so with the new iPod, you will be able to watch video podcasts, on the iPod’s display.

Appearance – The iPod is beautiful, but the back’s chrome finish is prone to scratches, and the screen can become scratched as well. It is a very good idea to protect the back of the iPod and the screen in some way. There are many cases and protectors out there, and you will surely find something you like. The new iPod is available in a black or white finish. The black color is quickly becoming the most popular, but the white iPod is still the signature color. Do note that the black may show fingerprints and scratches more than the white iPod, much as a black car shows these blemishes more than a lighter colored car.

Audiobooks – I’m always using my iPod, to listen to audiobooks. You can store literally hundreds of audiobooks on here that you buy from iTunes, or Audible. The iPod even has a feature that can slow down or speed up the reading of the audiobook, so that you hear it at just the right pace.

Output – The iPod connects to your PC or Mac via the dock connector at the bottom of the unit. You will connect the included cable, to the computer via a USB 2.0 port. Furthermore, accessories are being made that will also connect to the bottom dock port, and you may purchase Apple’s Universal iPod dock, for easy syncing to your computer. The dock (available separately) also includes s-video output, so you can show off slideshows and video, on a television. There are also iPod A/V cables available that allow composite video and audio output, for connecting your iPod to your television. This might interest you, not only to display slideshows on a television, but also to display TV shows or music videos on a television, which you purchased from iTunes.

Overall, this is another excellent product from Apple Computer. The design is elegant, simple, and intuitive. It will provide hours of entertainment and convenience. Enjoy your iPod experience.

Review by Tim E Robertson:

If you own any iPod capable of playing video, or an iPhone, and you’ve always wished you could somehow play a video on a television or display, you’ll want to read about Scosche’s “showTIME.”

I’ve owned an iPod Touch 2G for about three months and it really has become my favorite piece of electronics gear. Watching a movie is fine, especially on a plane or in a car (not while driving), but when you are in a hotel room, or visiting Aunt Martha, it would be great to display pictures or a movie from the iPod on the big screen. Scosche’s “showTIME” cable (ST) will allow you to do just that.

The “showTIME” cable is simply a cable with an iPOD connector on one end and composite video jacks on the other end. To use the ST cable you plug one end into your video iPod, or iPhone, and plug the three connectors on the other end into their color corresponding jacks on a television. Most modern televisions have composite inputs that are color coded red, white, and yellow.

The ST cable itself is six feet long (1.828 meters) and is constructed with tapered metal composite (RCA A/V input) connectors that have colored bands around them which make it easy to match the correct connector to the television port.

The Scosche “showTIME” requires no software. When connected to a television it will play any movies or iPhoto pictures you have on your connected device, and if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch it will even play YouTube videos. The quality is very good on a 27″ tube television screen; mileage may vary on large screen TVs.

The “showTIME” worked flawlessly during my testing with an iPod Touch 2G, iPod Classic, and even an iPod nano 3G. In addition, the ST works with the latest nano and the iPod with video (5G).

The cable is very easy to use and works exactly as advertised, and worked very well at that.

MyMac Rating: 5 out of 5

Review by Jesse Baynard:

I had previously bought a no-name non-licensed super cheap A/V for my 1st gen iPod Touch, it worked great (just like this one), but after upgrading the OS to 3.0 it stopped working (“This accessory not supported by this iPod” error). That’s the lesson I learned from buying non-licensed Apple accessories (fortunately it was a cheap lesson).

Committed to not paying the outrageous sum of 50 dollars for the Apple av cable (since I knew they could make them for less than ), I started to look for the cheapest licensed cable. The Scosche fit the bill for about half of the Apple cable (although a lot more than the generic and without the charging feature of either). A compromise… yes, but I really like to be able to share photos and videos when on the road, and the ability to watch movies on the TV is nice too.

With the iPod touch and this cable, you can: play movies, video podcasts, and photo slideshows.

You can NOT with this and the iPod touch: display the current screen (I don’t think any do), pick a single photo from the gallery (you need to start the show and go next… next… next… until you get there) and you can’t play plain music (you could get a headphone to RCA adapter cheap though if that’s what you wanted to do).

I’ve since upgraded again to 3.1.1 and it still works. Overall I’d give it a 4 1/2 stars because I wish it would let me do the other things and was a bit cheaper, but it does the most important things well and is cheaper than most of the alternatives.