This is what I think of the iPod video. Pay close attention to the new Apple iPod when you get one in your hands. Most of you will notice a design that’s thinner, lighter, and sexier than its as well as a new screen that dwarfs the Click Wheel. A few of you will notice subtler differences, such as the absence of the smart headphone jack, a smaller Click Wheel, and the iPod’s super flat face. Experienced iPod users may complain that essentials such as a power adapter and A/V cables aren’t bundled with the device. But despite the fact that it is an audio player first and foremost, and that the term is overused, all of you will remember the fifth-generation iPod as the video iPod.
Those who follow gadgets know that Apple didn’t invent portable digital video; companies such as have produced good if not stellar products that play back video, and on larger screens with better battery life. But if Apple can do for video what it has done for audio, that is, deliver a hardware/software ecosystem that offers a decent choice of content and makes it easy to get video on to the iPod, then this device, like it or not, will be remembered as the one that started the portable digital video revolution.

The 5G iPod, which is available in white or Nano black and comes in 30GB and 60GB capacities for $299 and $399, respectively, is the best one I’ve used to date. Yet because it has added a major extra feature, video playback, to its solid, audio centric foundation, there’s room for improvement.

Features of Apple iPod 5G (30GB, video)

First, the basic stuff: The 5G iPod plays MP3, AAC, protected AAC, Apple Loss less, WAV, AIFF, and Audible audio files. It includes all the same audio features, plus more, of the previous iPod. The 5G iPod still lacks the coveted FM tuner, and it cannot record audio out of the box. Still, with album art, a plethora of EQ choices, lyrics support, on-the-go play lists, and a dedicated place for audio and video podcasts, as well as audio books, the iPod manages to be a complete audio player.
The 5G iPod is also a decent photo viewer, and you can listen to music while you browse photos or watch a slide show; the iPod has excellent slide-show options, including a variety of transitions and customizable music. Photos look stupendous on the new screen, and in thumbnail view, you get five extra photos. And thanks to the Click Wheel, you can whiz through thumbs and full-size photos. In addition, you can splurge on the ($29) if you’d like to transfer images over from a digital camera.

The 5G iPod also features all the little extras of new to the Nano, including the world clock (you can view four clocks at a time) and the screen lock, plus the tried-and-tested contacts, calendar, games, and other ancillary extras.

Now that the trailers are finished, we can get to the main feature. Videos of all types, except for full-length movies, are available in the new iTunes 6, which has been retooled to serve as an iTunes video store. Within this store, which is virtually guaranteed to explode with content, there are a couple thousand music videos, plenty of movie trailers, a handful of Pixar shorts (including For the Birds and Gerry’s Game), and of course the highly publicized, commercial-free TV-show offerings from ABC (Lost and Desperate Housewives) and Disney (That’s So Raven and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody). The 5G iPod is able to play video encoded in H.264, MPEG-4, M4V, and MOV up to 768Kbps, 320×240 pixels, and 30fps. What differentiates the iPod from video competitors such as Cowon and Creative is that legal video is easily available within a familiar interface, plus the fact that it doesn’t take a genius to get them to play on the iPod; incompatible video files won’t even get transferred to the device.

Of course, purchasable video is just half the story. The video universe includes home movies, content picked from P2P networks, ripped DVDs for personal use, and video podcasts. All but the last type will probably not play natively on the iPod, which means you’ll have to painstakingly convert the video using a utility such as QuickTime Pro 7 ($29.95, Mac and Windows). The tediousness of this process has been a stumbling block for video players in general; iTunes simply can’t rip a DVD like it would an audio CD. Now if iTunes had a built-in video converter, it’d be another story. As for legal full-length movies, they’ll come but only after some serious legal dealings. Don’t expect them soon, though that might be a good thing, considering the iPod’s poor video battery life.

Once there’s video on the iPod, you have a full set of entertainment options in your hand. I love the fact that the iPod will automatically bookmark any number of videos so that you can return to a movie on your evening bus commute. I also like that you can assemble video playlists. While you can fast-forward or rewind using buttons or by scrolling, I’d prefer the ability to skip back or forward in 10- or 30-second increments. I’ve seen more advanced video options on portable video players such as the Archos AV500, which has the special ability to record video, but for an MP3 player, the iPod does a commendable job with the video experience.

Performance of Apple iPod 5G (30GB, video)

Upon selecting a video to play, you will notice a 3-second delay, and the processor works overtime when you scrub through large chunks of video. But while watching an hour-long show on the 5G iPod’s screen can get tiresome for your eyes and hands, I can only praise the screen’s performance. It’s lively, and it never skips frames. Plus, dark areas of video content (at least in H.264) are a rich black, you get instant playback after a pause, and viewing angles are decent. Basically, watching the “iTube” is the equivalent of watching TV in a typical bedroom, that is, from a 12-inch TV about 10 feet away. If you decide to pipe out the video to a TV (and you should), know that the 320×240 resolution will look compressed and grainy on a bigger screen.

The 5G iPod’s processor performance for audio and photos is solid, with only occasional drive delays; this is typical across the MP3 board, though we’ve noticed that the 4G is slightly faster than the 5G when skipping tracks. Audio quality is quite good and probably better than the previous iPod’s, with reasonable bass, distinguishable mids, and shiny highs, plus the audio-output power is quite good. We do wish that the equalizers had more extreme sound-shaping qualities or even offered a preview before selection. Audio is especially noticeable while watching video, as most people aren’t used to hearing bassy passages in a show such as Desperate Housewives. They say if you have good audio, it doesn’t really matter how small the screen is.

Transfer time for audio files is never an issue with the 5G iPod. Our transfers over USB 2.0 on a Windows computer was good enough at 3.52MB per second but not as fast as those of some iPod’s of past. Video, because of its sheer size, will take much longer than you’re used to. Simply downloading a 43-minute TV show (193MB) from iTunes took more than 2 minutes on a corporate broadband connection; the same video file took 25 seconds to make it over to my iPod.

For audio, Apple rates the 30GB and 60GB iPod’s for 14 and 20 hours per charge, respectively. CNET Labs was able to muster 14.7 hours of audio-only battery life for the 30GB version. As for video on a 30GB model, we were pretty disappointed with the 2 hours, 31 minutes we got playing back an iTunes TV show. You should expect a video-only battery life of about 4 hours on the 60GB version; the extra battery life makes the 60GB version a coveted item, particularly because it’s still slimmer than the 4G iPod. However, battery life will always be an issue with a video device. We watched the same show a bit more than two times; the $1.99 was well spent, but I will probably never watch that episode again. Plus, DRM prevents us from copying the show to a watch able DVD.

You’ll barely get a movie in, and your audio battery life will sink if you watch just one music video; do note, however, that because the screen turns on by default when you control the iPod, and because the screen is bigger, your realistic battery life will seem lower than in our tests. Our advice is to disable the back light completely when using it in daylight since it’s not necessary for viewing the iPod interface. Battery life will no doubt be improved in subsequent versions, so if you’re eying the iPod as a video device, either wait or get an Archos or a Creative player with a bigger screen and better battery life.