iPod Photo - Compression? Value? Woth?

[TommyMagic]

What is the general opinion on the iPod Photo? I know there are a lot of threads on it but I just wanted to hear some current opinions!

The batt life interests me, so does the art work! But, i heard something like the pictures are compressed, is that true, are they not the same quality photos that you put on it? Or have I heard wrong?

Has anyone got any photos of the iPod Photo in action with a photo on the screen and perhaps with the photos on the tv too?

Also, to show the thickness of the 4G 40gig and the 40 gig photo? These are usually around but just cant find one myself, but then again, I am lazy lol (but I have looked)

[AndyH]

Originally posted by TommyMagic
... But, i heard something like the pictures are compressed, is that true, are they not the same quality photos that you put on it? Or have I heard wrong? ...
Correct, iTunes creates a new copy of the images which is downsized from the original and further compressed. You can also copy the original picture files onto the iPod hard drive manually, but the downsized/compressed images are the ones that you can browse on the iPod photo or via a slideshow on a TV.

[nagromme]

Photos look great--no visible compression--especially on TV. They are SCALED to a smaller pixel size--nothing lossy to my eye. Have you heard reports of visibly LOSSY compression being used?

They do HAVE to be scaled smaller, since an iPod--and a TV--have lower resolution than most original photos have. The original photos would never be viewable on a lower-res screen without cropping or scaling somewhere along the line. So having the full-res photos on the iPod (an option) is good as a backup or for copying to another computer, but is not what you view off the iPod directly.

Bottom line--your photos will look as good on TV as a TV is capable of showing them. (But a TV is not as high-res as a nice computer monitor.)

BTW, photos on TV are definitely at a higher pixel res than the iPod's own screen--probably around 640x480 (which is about all a TV can handle and looks great given the natural softness of a TV). I plan to do some testing to find the exact res if I can. Also, photos are shown in overscan, like a TV show--so the very edges are behind the plastic. That's OK by me. On the iPod itself, you see the whole thing.

My iPod Photo review: http://ipodlounge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57281

[DAPfan888]

The compressed photo can not be uploaded back to your camera or for editing and print. It can not be looked at other PCs. Suppose you take your ipod with photos to your parents's home, you can not transfer the photos to their pc. For people picky about the quality of photos, the the conpressed versions are useless.

[DAPfan888]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DAPfan888
[B]The compressed photo can not be uploaded back to your camera or for editing and print. It can not be looked at other PCs. Suppose you take your ipod with photos to your parents's home, you can not transfer the photos to their pc. For people picky about the quality of photos, the the conpressed versions are useless. plus it is not a good idea to store your valuble photo in ipod. If your ipod stops working, you might loose all your photos. It is much better to keep photos in CD or DVD. If you burns your photo on CD or DVD in JPEG forms, you can play it on DVD which is much better than ipod's compressed form.

[nagromme]

Actually, the "compressed" photos are not MEANT for anything but viewing. If you click the option to store full-res versions, THOSE are the ones you would access from another computer, or keep as a backup. And they are the exact original files, no loss or change.

Ignore the viewable versions--they're for viewing only :)

[DAPfan888]

You can not transfer your ipod file to another PC unless using third party software. If not careful, you may loose all the file on ipod!!!

[SomeCallMePete]

Hi, I'm new here.

I have an iPod Photo question of a different sort: is the iPod Photo backwards compatible with the standard 4gen dock?

I'm guessing that it may only work for music if so. Responses are appreciated -- thanks!

Pete

[holy_cow]

Originally posted by DAPfan888
You can not transfer your ipod file to another PC unless using third party software. If not careful, you may loose all the file on ipod!!!

*sigh* Why, why the uninformed scaremongering?

That comment above applies only to music transferred onto the iPod to be listened to, that is synced or transferred through iTunes. Let me first of all say that there are many third-party products that are pretty darned good at getting the music off your iPod onto a computer, and the sky is not, I repeat, is not falling down. Fear not.

As for files transferred using the iPod's external drive function (including music files), they can be transferred over to basically any computer. Full-res copies of photos sent through iTunes can be accessed this way. You can view the downsampled versions, then hook the iPod up to any computer with FW and USB 2 and get them out.

It worries me when people don't bother finding out exactly what something's all about before making pronouncements about it.

[nagromme]

Agreed--photos are freely movable to other computers--at FULL resolution--and this feature is officially noted by Apple. The photo folder is NOT invisible.

SomeCallMePete: the Photo is thicker than other 4Gs, so it needs its own Photo dock--and that's included with the iPod Photo, nothing extra to buy. (Other brands of dock like docking speakers sometimes come adustable for different iPod sizes--so check for Photo support.)

[SomeCallMePete]

Originally posted by nagromme
SomeCallMePete: the Photo is thicker than other 4Gs, so it needs its own Photo dock--and that's included with the iPod Photo, nothing extra to buy. (Other brands of dock like docking speakers sometimes come adustable for different iPod sizes--so check for Photo support.)
Thanks for the response!

I was just wondering because I have a spare 4G dock (due to an untimely demise of my 40GB) that I'd like to use for an iPod at work, while keeping the new dock at home.

I did stumble upon a post on the Apple support forums with some people saying that they've gotten their 30GB docks to work with the iPod photo, which leads me to think that the only restriction is the shape, as you noted. Perhaps some creative work with a file might solve the problem.

Anyway, thanks again.

Pete

[DAPfan888]

Originally posted by holy_cow
*sigh* Why, why the uninformed scaremongering?

That comment above applies only to music transferred onto the iPod to be listened to, that is synced or transferred through iTunes. Let me first of all say that there are many third-party products that are pretty darned good at getting the music off your iPod onto a computer, and the sky is not, I repeat, is not falling down. Fear not.

As for files transferred using the iPod's external drive function (including music files), they can be transferred over to basically any computer. Full-res copies of photos sent through iTunes can be accessed this way. You can view the downsampled versions, then hook the iPod up to any computer with FW and USB 2 and get them out.

It worries me when people don't bother finding out exactly what something's all about before making pronouncements about it.

No way, to any PC? Window Xp did not recognize ipod. You must instal itunes before you can use it to transfer file on pc. Any public computer, PC at work place did not allow you to instal iTUnes, how could you transfer files?

[AndyH]

Originally posted by DAPfan888
No way, to any PC? Window Xp did not recognize ipod. You must instal itunes before you can use it to transfer file on pc. Any public computer, PC at work place did not allow you to instal iTUnes, how could you transfer files?
Yes, any PC. All you need to do is set the iPod to "Manually manage music and playlists" and also enable it for "hard drive" use, both of which are set in the iPod preferences. You can then hook up the iPod to any PC without the need for installing any software on that PC. Drag-and-drop files to your heart's content. The only limitation is that you can't drag-and-drop music files onto the iPod and expect to play them right away on the iPod. But the iPod works just fine on any "foreign" PC as an external hard drive.

[DAPfan888]

This is really new to me. My friend next door can not use his ipod in his PC at work and this is confirmed by many reviews and even on this site, one reviewer said you need a third party software to load music on ipod to another PC with GREAT CARE

[perfmode]

Originally posted by SomeCallMePete
Hi, I'm new here.

I have an iPod Photo question of a different sort: is the iPod Photo backwards compatible with the standard 4gen dock?

I'm guessing that it may only work for music if so. Responses are appreciated -- thanks!

Pete

No.

[nagromme]

That's right--MUSIC copying is limited (an anti-piracy measure). Other files--including photos--have no such limitation.

[bluejacket]

Originally posted by DAPfan888
You can not transfer your ipod file to another PC unless using third party software. If not careful, you may loose all the file on ipod!!!

That's not true. If you have the full-res photos stored, these can be transferred from the iPod in disk mode using My Computer.