PocketDish -vs- Video Ipod

[Scott Greczkowski]

Got this from Dish Network, I changed the first line to say SatelliteGuys Member instead of Reporter.

Attention SatelliteGuys Member,

DISH Network Tuesday rolled out the PocketDISH™, a new line of portable media companions allowing TV viewers the ability to take their favorite sitcoms, reality shows or even last night's game with them to watch anywhere.

After Apple Computer, Inc.'s announcement Wednesday of the video iPod®, we invite you to do side-by-side comparison of the two products. The PocketDISH 4-inch and the new video iPod both are equipped with a 30 GB hard drive, but that is where the similarities end.

The PocketDISH 4-inch is a much more powerful media player that eliminates the need for multiple devices: it can store up to 20,000 songs, up to 300,000 photos or up to 120 hours of video*. Other benefits of PocketDISH include a viewing area that is 1.5 inches larger and a battery that lasts two hours longer when watching video.

But what is biggest advantage to choosing PocketDISH over the video iPod? It's the cost of the TV shows. Video iPod users will have to pay about $45 to store and watch an entire season of Desperate Housewives®. With PocketDISH, the cost to transfer content is free, and, you don't have to wait a day to download the broadcast. With the ability to load content from DISH Network DVRs or by recording the shows from other consumer electronics devices or TV providers, PocketDISH gives you much more flexibility to watch and enjoy the programming you already have, and take it with you wherever you go.

Please review the comparison chart below and see for yourself why PocketDISH is one of the most advanced and versatile portable devices on the market.

 

[gpflepsen]

I hear the PocketDish works well as a hand warmer too. That'll be important during the ensuing winter months.

 

[BFG]

heheh

 

[cdru]

For the sake of a fair comparison, I think it also would be reasonable to compare the prices between the two different devices.

The PocketDish is $599 (7"/40GB), $499 (4"/30GB), or $329 (2.2"/20GB)
The Video IPod is $399 (2.5"/60GB) or $299 (2.5"/30GB)

So for $200 less, you lose the ability to encode video. Dish also doesn't have the iPod, iTune, or Apple brand name backing them up.

Some of the features are obviously skewed to Dish's favor. Apple I'm sure could come up with a equally skewed chart, favoring them, that would also be 100% completely accurate.

You can't draw a direct comparison between the two as the features, capacity, and screen sizes are all different. It would be like trying to directly compare a 21" CAD workstation to a 12" iBook. Yeah they both are computers and do different things, but have different customer appeals based on what people want to use them for.

 

[OoTLink]

LOL.

The iPod is a music player that happens to play video. [The video one is still the same size as previous iPods were]..

The PocketDish is a video player that happens to play music.

Don't get the two confused

Hrm now that I notice this, how did they manage to squeeze 5 thousand more songs into the PocketDish? That's not quite kosher, ya know, to use a lower bitrate

 

[Carl B]

I think that Apple is far too well entrenched in the portable digital market for the PocketDish to appeal to any consumers except middle-aged, Dish loyalists. Not to mention the whopping price differential for the 30 GB models. I expect to see Dish release a 2-1/2" screen size version, at a competitive price, shortly after they get their butts kicked by Apple during the Christmas buying season.

Just to define my bias, I'm beyond middle-age, a Dish customer, a Mac OS classic user, and I don't own or want an iPod. I do own a 2-1/2 inch portable color TV that gets a bit of use, and I do have a substantial marketing and business education.

 

[CU2000]

If customers are really interested in the downloading of video the Dish unit would be a much better buy even if the IPod viedo unit was free. @ $1.99/show from Ipod to / All video on pocket Dish from any video source free & same day.

 

[OoTLink]

The pocketdish is an interesting little catch 22 though. It only downloads shows quicker than real time if you have a 942 (essentially, I'm sure USB1 might even be SLOWER than realtime).

The 942 is immensely expensive. Shoot, if you wanted to buy one it'd be more expensive than buying a mac mini. Having said that, why would anyone want to record in realtime?

If you're recording a show that you're probably able to watch in realtime as well, then what's the point? You'll probably watch it the first time and then it'll be on your pocketdish "just for boredom"...

Kinda becomes strange.

 

[riffjim4069]

The hardware required is expensive, but I do like the fact Pocket Dish content if free!

My basic problem with the entire Pocket Dish/iPod thing is practicality. I just can't justify spending so much money on a device I would rarely use. Sorry, but I'll be downloading video from Verizon FiOS and watching content on my Verizon cell phone (inexpensive phone, free content) long before I am going to pay this kind of money for something like a Pocket Dish/iPod.

 

[OoTLink]

You can always buy Quicktime 7 Pro and convert almost any kind of video you want to play on that ipod

Including stuff recorded with a video capture card...

 

[David Dietzel]

Sorry.

I'm waiting for a device that will be 16:9 and offload HD content for free from my DVR and play more formats that Apples' annoited "standard".

I'm sure as heck not paying $2 a pop for music videos or TV shows -- it doesn't take long to blow enough cash to have leased a 942.

DishPlayer is decidedly unsexy, uncool and runs warm enough to keep a single testicle next to my pant pocket comfy in even the coldest weather.

I think I'll wait on all counts for now.

 

[OoTLink]

Spending $250 for the privilege to "rent" a box is not something I'd want to do at all. And H.264 isn't Apple's anointed "standard", last I checked Dish Network was going to use that sort of compression for MPEG4 too

Admittedly protected m4v files aren't going to be "standardized", that's proprietary. The other stuff is an open standard, in fact. Versus "PlayForSure" -- a MS standard

 

[jbcheshire]

I like the idea of a 7" screen of the Archos/pocketdish compared to the Ipod's 2.5" screen. I just wish they weren't so darned expensive... Maybe this time next year for Christmas they might have dropped by a couple of hundred $$$...

 

[Foxbat]

If I could get "Tiki Bar TV" on my PocketDish, maybe I'd buy one, but I know I'll be able to plug my video iPod into my next car and access all the playlists via the steering wheel audio controls. Videos are just extra (and suck down the 14-20 hour battery life to around 2 hours, according to the reviews.)

 

[Spike]

Mac must know that there is a market for these, but... unless one spends tons of time in an airport every week, when would one use these products, as they hide out at their desk at work?

To be honest, I don't get it...

 

[CivicOnBoostEK]

I think that Apple is far too well entrenched in the portable digital market for the PocketDish to appeal to any consumers except middle-aged, Dish loyalists. Not to mention the whopping price differential for the 30 GB models. I expect to see Dish release a 2-1/2" screen size version, at a competitive price, shortly after they get their butts kicked by Apple during the Christmas buying season.

Just to define my bias, I'm beyond middle-age, a Dish customer, a Mac OS classic user, and I don't own or want an iPod. I do own a 2-1/2 inch portable color TV that gets a bit of use, and I do have a substantial marketing and business education.

Exactly.. Perfect point.

In my opinion, Id rather get the ipod.. Just for the fact you can put media from any device to any device, unlike the pocketdish. The pocketdish can transfer to the computer, but you cant transfer mpeg files to it. Software wont allow it (I was playing with one at work). One thing dish should do, and would make it sell better would be to a). drop the price a bit, and b). make it so you can transfer back onto the dvr too.. Alot of people need to have their dvr's replaced. And as of now, theres no option for backing up any kind of recorded media.

 

[Sapient]

I'd like an IPod and a PocketDish, but the video IPod doesn't do anything for me. I can see me spending $2/show to watch on the IPod what I can watch at home for "free".

 

[CivicOnBoostEK]

I'd like an IPod and a PocketDish, but the video IPod doesn't do anything for me. I can see me spending $2/show to watch on the IPod what I can watch at home for "free".

You know you can easily convert any file to work on the ipod for free?

 

[jsb_hburg]

I'd like an IPod and a PocketDish, but the video IPod doesn't do anything for me. I can see me spending $2/show to watch on the IPod what I can watch at home for "free".

If you capture the show using a MyHD card for PC or the EyeTV 200 or 500 for the Mac, the captured file can be converted for use on the iPod for free.

 

[DISHDIVA]

okay i agree pocket dish is pricey..however it dwnloads dish content (from 942), also in realtime you can record from live tv (using rca hooked into special port that comes w/ pocket dish), also jpeg /mp3-striaght from digital camera or computer )\(using usb port). oh did you know that it comes w/ 2 types of usb cables? as for the comment that was made about the content being boring after recording it in real time? well if you have a 942.. you can watch something else while transferring data.