Originally Posted By: hybrid8
Apple just doesn't seem to give a rat's ass about doing video as well as they've done audio. But there's a reason. A very important reason. When they started with audio they wanted to make sure everyone could easily get their existing audio onto their hardware. Now one of their goals is selling you the video.

The difference though is how fractured the markets are. Audio back when the iPod came out was MP3. One format was clearly working out well, with AAC on the horizon. Apple over time switched to AAC as their preferred format, and the success of the iPod helped carry it. WMA also existed, but hardly anyone used it compared to MP3.

On the video side, you have so many different codecs, and containers. Apple had already settled on MPEG4 based formats, as had many devices including the now current generation of disc based movie formats (BluRay). This ensured that MPEG4 would have support from a vide variety of decoding hardware. If they wanted to support other formats, they would have to start paying quite a bit to cover all the various licenses for Divx, Windows Video, and so on, and doing so would do nothing to solidify the video market behind one format.

Beyond the format issues, you also have bitrate issues. Go slightly too high, and you overwhelm hardware decoders. There are also a variety of resolutions, some that decoders might have trouble with. Audio with MP3 was much simpler.

And lastly, I think if Apple could have pulled off allowing users to import DVDs, they would have. Allowing people to rip their own CDs helped get peoples digital music collections started, but no mass market solution came along to do the same for DVDs, due to the legal threat of being sued out of existence. RealNetworks is facing this right now, with their RealDVD product pissing off the DVD Copy Control Association.

Video is just a mess across the board, and I think Apple is just trying to push forward with the digital only formats, but not gaining enough traction to help much. Just as the PS3/360 lack enough traction in the media side to push it forward, outside their own stores.