FREEZE!…Frame, That Is

Following the broadcast of the first two episodes of this season's hit ABC's television series Lost, fans using VCRs and Digital Video Recorders (DVR) have obsessively poured over each and every frame of both shows looking for clues to Lost's myriad murky mysteries. Visual clues, like an underwater shot of a menacing shark whose tail is emblazoned with the logo of the mysterious DHARMA Initiative, are posted around the Internet on an every growing number of unofficial Lost fan sites and discussion boards.

So fanatical has this practice become that the show's writers and producers actually made a good natured joke about it in Lost's third sophomore episode, Orientation. After "man of faith" John Locke (Terry O' Quinn) and pragmatist Jack Sheppard (Matthew Fox) finish watching an orientation film for occupants of the mysterious hatch they've finally gained access too, Locke says to Sheppard, "We're gonna need to watch that again."

It's easy enough to watch episodes of Lost over and over again searching for visual clues. Practically every home in North America has at least one VCR, and the number of home digital recording devices, like TiVo and Dish Network's DVR receivers, is growing daily. The trick is getting images from the device to your computer.

It's not too difficult to hook a VCR up to a Mac or PC. The tricky part is turning the moving analog images on the tape into a series of digital still frames. It takes up lots of disk space and, depending on the quality of your VCR and signal source, it's often difficult to get just the scene you want as a sharp, clear image. And, in most homes, there's the whole proximity issue between the TV and VCR and the computer. DVRs provide better image quality; however, for a variety of reasons, they aren't as readily able to be connected to a home computer.

Now, thanks to a deal struck between Apple Computer, Inc., CEO Steve Jobs, and Walt Disney Company President and CEO Bob Iger, virtually anyone with access to the Internet can freeze, capture, and analyze every square centimeter of each frame of every episode of Lost from both season one and season two.

"We're gonna need to watch that again." Actor Terry O'Quinn as John Locke from the hit ABC TV series Lost.
Image copyright Touchstone Televison.

Let's Make a Deal!

On October 12, for the second time in just over a month, Jobs led an auditorium of invited guests and media through a series of new product announcements. On September 7 it was the new iPod nano. On this day (October 12), it was a new version of Apple's popular, consumer iMac computer, the long rumored video iPod, and iTunes 6, the latest version of its popular music jukebox and online music store.

After announcing and demonstrating the most recent version of the iMac and iPod, Jobs explained to his audience that with iTunes 6 music video fans can purchase and download over 2,000 music videos and six of Pixar Animation Studios award-winning short films, all for just a $1.99 each. Then, in classic Steve Jobs style, just as the audience began to think his presentation might be over, the screen behind him lit up with the now famous Jobsian expression, "One more thing…

"There is one more thing that you can buy off the iTunes Music Store," Jobs said, "and that is TV shows!"

He went on say that if iTunes was going to get TV shows, it ought to get the biggest hits.

"What's the number one hit show on television?" he asked.

Answering himself, he said, "Desperate Housewives," as a huge slide of the title card for the show appeared behind him, much to the amusement of his audience.

"What's the number two hit television show?" he continued. "Lost. And what network are they on? They're both on ABC. And who owns ABC? Disney."

As his audience chuckled, Jobs, with his back to a giant slide bearing the logos of the alphabet network and Mouse House, said, with an impish grin, "I know these guys." The audience burst into laughter and applause.

"We have done a landmark deal," Jobs said, "which we are announcing here today."

The iTunes music store now offers current and past episodes from ABC's two most popular shows, Desperate Housewives and Lost, along with the new drama series Night Stalker and two of the Disney Channel's most popular shows, That's So Raven and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, all for just $1.99 per episode. Fans of these shows can purchase and download them from the iTunes Music Store the day after they air on TV, watch them on their Mac or PC, and Auto-Sync them onto the new iPod for viewing anywhere.

"These shows are downloaded (from the iTunes Music Store) ad free," Jobs added. "So you don't need to fast-forward through commercials."

He went to say that the download resolution of TV shows will be 320 x 240 pixels, "the same as the native resolution of the new iPod." He also said that iTunes Music Store customers who want to buy these shows will need broadband access to the Internet and that, "depending on your broadband speed, it's between ten to twenty minutes to download an episode. It's really amazing."

Apple iTunes 6 Music Store.
Image copyright and courtesy Apple Computer, Inc.

Following a demonstration of the selection, and playback of an episode of Desperate Housewives on the new iMac and iPod, Jobs then introduced Walt Disney Company President and CEO Bob Iger.

"We've actually enjoyed a great relationship with Steve…through Pixar. And it's great to be able to announce an extension of the relationship," a relaxed smiling Iger told the audience, "with Apple. Not with Pixar…with Apple." As the audience laughed, Iger continued, "Maybe another time, we'll see."

"It (iTunes Music Store TV show downloads) provides great opportunities for the consumer to stay connected to their favorite programs or to get connected to a program that they might not have had access too before."

Echoing previous remarks about his and Disney's commitment to embrace new forms of distribution to get more of the company's content to more people more often, Iger also said, "I can't think of a better example of that than what Steve just announced. This is the intersection of great content…with great technology, Apple iTunes, and Apple iPod. So, we're thrilled to have this relationship with Apple. To be able to extend the relationship with Steve and, we believe, as Steve mentioned, it is indeed a 'breakthrough.' This is a first giant step in terms of making content available to more people, in more places, more often."

In addition to hit ABC and Disney Channel shows featured, exclusive music videos are available from artists such as Beastie Boys and U2, along with more than two dozen classic music videos from Madonna. Music videos are available from hundreds of artists, including classic hits by Michael Jackson and Sting and current hits from Coldplay and Kanye West. The first-ever video iTunes Originals is being released with an exclusive performance and interview from Death Cab for Cutie, along with an exclusive video album from Brazilian Girls. Music fans can also purchase the Complete Stevie Wonder digital box set, which contains over 500 songs, a full color digital booklet, and three bonus videos, available only on the iTunes Music Store. The movie shorts available from Pixar include Boundin, For the Birds, Geri's Game, Luxo Jr., Red's Dream, and Tin Toy.

Other new features in iTunes 6 include expanded online gift options that now allow iTunes customers to give specific songs, albums, music videos, or their own iTunes play lists to anyone with an email address. A public beta of the new "Just for You" personalized music recommendations and the debut of online customer reviews are also offered. Now more than 10 million iTunes music fans can read other customers' reviews, post their own, and rate their usefulness.

The iTunes Music Store is included with iTunes 6, for Mac and Windows, and is available as a free download from Apple. A valid credit card with a billing address in the country of purchase is required to purchase and download songs from the iTunes Music Store. Television shows are available in the US only, and video availability varies by country.

Obsession From Steve Jobs

It remains to be seen just how successful the addition of music videos, Pixar shorts, and TV shows to the iTunes Music Store will be. As recently as last month, Jobs himself was singing a different tune, even as his engineers and marketing staff were prepping the video iPod and iTunes 6 for market.

In Paris, at a sit-down with members of the media that replaced Jobs' usual Apple Expo Paris keynote address, Jobs answered questions about the then-anticipated video iPod.

"You can already download movies from the iTunes Music Store, and some albums offer video as an incentive to buy the music," Jobs told the assembled press. "We also offer video PodCasts, but will people buy a video device just to watch this video? So far they haven't. No one has been successful with that yet."

As previously mentioned, at a September 7 media event, Jobs and Apple, in a completely unexpected move, introduced the new iPod nano, a full-featured iPod that holds 1,000 songs, yet is thinner than a standard #2 pencil and less than half the size of competitive players. Jobs also announced the company would discontinue Apple's hottest selling product, the hard drive-based iPod mini, which the static memory iPod nano will replace.

The 05 lineup of full sized photo and video ready Apple iPods.
Image copyright and courtesy Apple Computer, Inc.

And it appears Jobs isn't done yet.

Last Friday, Apple once again issued invitations to a special event, this time to be held in New York, on October 19, just one day before the PhotoPlus Expo. As usual, the circumspect invites offered little information about the event, saying only that the company will "unveil Apple's latest pro innovations."

Apple watchdog and rumor site AppleInsider has speculated that Jobs and company will use this event to announce the latest versions of its PowerBook G4 laptop and PowerMac G5 desktop systems. New PowerBook and PowerMac model announcements had been expected during Apple Expo Paris, but were delayed for various reasons.

According to AppleInsider:

As an added teaser, sources have also recently hinted at a photography-related announcement that will coincide with the release of Apple's new PowerBooks and Power Macs, but as with the Power Macs, details remain scant.

Why all the rush to announce new products?

Christmas is coming, and Jobs intends to make sure there's something from Apple for everyone on your Christmas list. Whether it's a powerful new desktop system loaded with state of art image editing software, a new iMac G5 with FrontRow media management software, a video iPod, an iPod nano, or gift certificates from the iTunes Music Store, Steve Jobs wants to make sure you have something from Apple to put under the tree or stuff in a stocking.

"Apple got beaten up by the market following its last earnings report," a financial analyst told o-meon.com. "They reported sales of 6.4 million iPods last quarter, and Wall Street was expecting much higher sales figures."

Apple's sales numbers showed a 220% increase in the sales of iPods over the same period a year earlier. That, however, didn't stop Wall Street from punishing the Cupertino tech company for failing to meet its expectations. Apple's stock fell by 10% the day after the iPod maker released its report.

Just For You

And just how will all those "Lostestias" go about examining their favorite riddle, wrapped inside an enigma, frame by frame? It's relatively easy.

With your Mac or Windows PC connected to the Internet via a broadband connection, open iTunes and click on the Music Store icon. Once the iTunes Music Store is open on your computer select "TV Shows" from under the "Inside the Music Store" heading. Select your desired episode of Lost; new shows will be available the day after they first air on ABC.

If you don't already have an account at the iTunes Music Store, you will have to open one with a credit card. According to Apple, all sales of TV shows will only be available in the U.S.

Once you've downloaded the episode(s) of your choosing, go to iTunes "Preferences," select the "Playback" menu, and check the option to "Play videos: in a separate window." Once you've set this preference, close the Preferences window.

You select videos for playback in iTunes just like songs. Under "Source" in iTunes 6, there's a new "Videos" heading. Click once on it with your mouse, and you'll see a list of all the videos you've purchased. Select the episode of Lost you just purchased and click once on the start button in the upper-left corner of your iTunes browser.

[These tests were run using an Apple PowerBook G4 running Mac OS 10.4, iTunes 6 and QuickTime version 7.0.3. They were not attempted on a PC running Microsoft Windows.—Editor]

Your Lost episode will open in a new 320 x 240 window. Here's the really cool thing: because Apple uses the MP4 H.264 codec to record TV shows, you can enlarge this window many times its original size and still have a remarkably sharp, jitter-free viewing experience.

The separate viewing window used by iTunes is a subset of Apple's popular QuickTime digital media creation, delivery, and playback software. The player's controls enable you to pause TV shows, freezing the image on screen, anytime during playback. You can also move forward and backward through the video frame-by-frame using the controls in the lower-right corner of the playback window.

If you have the latest version of QuickTime 7 on your computer, you can view your iTunes video purchases with QuickTime's full-featured player; however, you will not be able to copy or export Music Store videos using the QuickTime player. Open your QuickTime player and using the "File" menu's "Open File" option, navigate to your "iTunes Music" folder. Strangely enough iTunes stores TV shows and other videos in the music folder.

You are now ready to catch even the most fleeting visual clues to Lost's ever evolving mysteries and share that knowledge with your fellow Lost fanatics via the Internet. You'll be able to expound upon your resolution to the show's complicated plot lines backed up by your first person observations…at least until the next show airs.

The day after they air you too can own episodes of ABC's hit series Lost and look for obsure images like this and ponder they're deeper meaning. See link below.
Image copyright Touchstone Televison.

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