In addition to the"new" iPad announced yesterday, Apple also rolled out a whole host of other updates to its "iProducts." The Apple TV was updated to 1080p, as was iTunes, and iCloud now includes the ability to buy movies and play them from any Apple device. In addition certain apps were updated including iLife, iMovie, and Garageband, and a brand new app for iOS was introduced called iPhoto. But it's really the new 1080p iTunes and iCloud that could do more to affect filmmakers in a specific way than the iPad.
With 1080p finally coming to iOS and iTunes in hardware and software, we get not only increased file sizes, but those movies we've worked hard on might finally get to be seen in the quality we intended them to be seen. Granted, it's not that easy to get a film on iTunes (Distribber can help), but it's one of the most widely used services for buying content on the web. Regardless of the successes or failures on iTunes, getting 1080p is finally a step in the right direction for Apple and you're going to be seeing a lot of films being bought and sold through its iCloud service - and since it's less likely to find an independent film at your local theater, at least we can get those films in "real" high definition.
Apple also updated Apple TV, and it now includes full support for 1080p, finally. For a media box in 2012 to not have 1080p would have been a glaring exclusion, but thankfully the hardware is now capable. With the updated Apple TV comes 1080p for all the other services it is compatible with. One of the most widely used, Netflix, will now have full HD streaming thanks to the additions Apple has made. They've even given users the option to sign up for an account right through the Apple TV, and use iTunes to pay for it.
The iPad is still somewhat of a gadget (that's changing). While it's much nicer to watch a film on an iPad than an iPhone, many, many people still watch movies on TVs, and obviously to a large extent on laptops - so it's nice to be able to watch movies through Airplay, with the iPad now able to stream 1080p through Apple TV. The ability for filmmakers to get a movie on iTunes means that it can be watched from almost anywhere in full HD. We are now getting to a point where all that hard work we've put into a film can at least be seen at the resolution it's supposed to be seen at (4K is probably coming eventually). Since the software will far outlive the hardware, it's important for these updates to finally be happening, and thankfully Apple will actually make it enjoyable to watch one of these iTunes films on a bigger screen.
The other big announcements are a new app called iPhoto (compatible with iPhone 4 and iPad 2 and higher) and an updated iMovie. Here's a description for iPhoto:
With iPhoto for iOS, Apple brings Multi-Touch to photography in a breakthrough way. Browse, edit, and share your photos from your iPad or iPhone, like never before – all the powerful tools you need are at your fingertips. And with iCloud, you can share your experiences as stunning photo journals.
Use simple gestures to quickly sort through photos and find your best shots. A powerful set of Multi-Touch tools helps you perfect color and exposure, crop, straighten, and retouch images. Enhance pictures by adding beautiful, Apple-designed effects with just a tap. Or use fingertip brushes to apply adjustments exactly where you want them. In addition to posting photos to Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter, you can beam photos between your iPhone and iPad, stream photos and slideshows to your Apple TV with AirPlay, and use iCloud to publish photo journals to the web to share your stories with friends and family in a whole new way.
An interesting update for sure, and it allows you to create collages and then send those to other people. iMovie added quite a few features, here's The Verge to explain:
The update adds more advanced editing and planning tools. You can now cut fancy trailers as you're recording video, and iMovie will include nine stylized genre templates, which also include custom soundtracks from famous composers like Hans Zimmer. Movies can be shared in 1080p resolution to the Apple TV using AirStream, and also shared to YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo.
There were lots of new updates for Apple products, and even if you are not an Apple fan, iTunes is so widely used that it's hard to ignore. Thankfully, we can finally buy and watch (as well as submit) films and have them be in full 1080p (not to mention streaming them in 1080p to a television). I know there have been plenty of independent films that I've wanted to get on iTunes in 1080p. Now I can finally do just that (when they update them), and it's a welcome addition.
[via The Verge]
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