Convergence for iTunes/iPod/iLife/iTV: MPEG-4

I was recently in an argument/discussion with someone about the most 
im****tant new features of MPEG-4. As far as he was concerned, it was the 
new compression capabilities as no-one was using the bells and whistles.

Then it dawned on me: Apple has positioned itself to be THE premier 
provider of tools for MPEG-4 production AND playback...

When iTV is released, depending on how it is designed, you could have 
the perfect MPEG-4 settop player, capable of  playing normal iTune 
movies and TV shows as well as special MPEG-4 files with a substantial 
subset of the MPEG-4 bells and whistles added.

With a simultaneous release of a new version of iTunes to sup****t MPEG-4 
features AND a version of iLife that allows content-creation or even 
content addition to existing iTune content using those features, Apple 
could create a compelling reason to own iTV AND a Mac.

It all depends on several issues: how upgradeable is the OS of iTV, what 
kind of user interface controls will be available, and whether anyone at 
Apple believes sup****ting MPEG-4 features would be a compelling reason 
to buy iTV or to upgrade iLife. Obviously, the fact that iLife is 
Mac-only is an im****tant plus for Apple. There could even be a reason to 
include an "iShake" application in an iTV-ready iLife (see page 7 in the 
pdf below).


Here's a summary of features of MPEG-4 that might be doable with iTV . 
iTunes + iLife + iTV could be THE killer combo for MPEG-4. If iTV caught 
on in a big way, cable-providers might start selling MPEG-4-based 
advertising for playback through iTV. Scary.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/presentations/pdffiles/mpeg4gat.pdf