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Do you watch video on your iPod?



I'm a big iPod video watcher. I love watching my shows while waiting on slow lines or at the dentist or at the DMV. My kids watch video when we're carpooling and my husband has a boatload of old John Wayne movies digitized that travel with us when we go to hotels. Perhaps we're not the most normal iPod users on Earth, but we use the iPod video features a lot. More than we even use the audio.

According to a recent study by Nielsen, we're completely out of step with most people.

Ars Technica reports that the demand for iPod video features is greatly overblown--if you believe Nielsen. After following 400 iPod users for a month, Nielsen concluded that a very small number of iPod users are interested in the video functionality of their iPod.

Now before you jump to any conclusions, keep in mind that those 400 users weren't all using video iPods--nearly a third didn't own or use video iPods. The Nielsen numbers suggest that only about 1% of the content played on the iPods they surveyed was video, a pretty pathetic showing. Even after restricting iPod use to video iPods, that number only rose to 2.2%.

Surprising, isn't it?

So what about you, TUAW readers? Do you use your iPod for video? Or are you mostly music listeners out there? Let us know in the comments as we conduct our own unscientific and highly skewed poll.

I'm a big iPod video watcher. I love watching my shows while waiting on slow lines or at the dentist or at the DMV. My kids watch video...
 

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sixhoursago

I watched a 40-minute episode of Heroes on a train ride a few days ago. It's a rare occasion that I actually watch video on my iPod's screen, but I love using it when connected to my television. It's so convenient to be able to take hours upon hours of video content with me when I go places without having to bring a bunch of discs.

November 26 2006 at 2:38 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Shlomo

I love using my Video iPod after I get into bed to watch daily video podcasts. It works out well because my significant other likes to turn the lights out right away, now I have my own, unabtrusive viewing screen!

November 26 2006 at 12:36 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jennifer

I go to school, so I watch a lot of videos in the hall waiting for class. I skipped school for a week to camp out for PS3 and brought the external battery (9volt) that saved me from boredom. I rip my own videos from Snap Pro X. I haven't put movies on yet but plan to later. I would say 1/2 of my time is spent with the videos and the other half is used on music/german audio class.

November 24 2006 at 3:01 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Evan

I rarely watch video on my ipod but I frequently watch video from my ipod on my TV, like all my DVD's I've ripped etc... because I find it quicker and more convenient then putting a DVD into my player and waiting 72 minutes for FBI warnings to pass. But the truth is that once the "iTV" comes out, I will most likely rarely use my ipod for video in any respect.

November 24 2006 at 12:03 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Brian

I watch about an hour or two a week -- all podcasts, from PhotoshopTV, Command-N, and CrankyGeeks. Have a couple of movies, but mostly shorts and some of my own motion graphics and videos. It's great as a portfolio presentation tool.

November 23 2006 at 1:35 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Luca

I have bought one episode of a TV show immediately after buying the video IPOD, but the screen was way too small for me. I used it instead to transfer all of our music collection to one device, and we use it all the time to listen to music. In the car, my kids simply share the Macbook on long trips and it works very well, even though the application IBicker runs way too much. Oh well, can't expect Apple to patch that one.

November 23 2006 at 7:58 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Delawheresdan

I watch video all the time since I found videoera. It's an open source video converter and it works pretty well. It's FREE and FAST! And I'm not saying it's free and and then you get only like 10 minutes of converted video like some converters. The only drawback is that it's only for windows.

I used to use FortyTWO-DVD VXPLUS, but randomly my paid license stopped working. I DO NOT RECOMMEND you buy Forty-TWODVD-VXPLUS (who the hell came up with that name anyway). The service sucks and I've tried to call them and e-mailed them like 4 times and nobody answers my e-mails.

For the Mac Podner is a good bet.

November 23 2006 at 6:38 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
richard

i watch video sometimes on my ipod, at least when traveling. i'm not really addicted to my ipod anyway, so i mostly listen to music with it just when i'm walking to the university or whatever.

November 23 2006 at 4:59 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Andrew Proudlove

I use mine quite often for video, podcasts and video podcasts, with music being a runner up these days. I use visualhub to convert stuff over night or when Im busy doing something else and then Ive got it on my ipod whenever I want it.

So far I use it a lot on long commutes or business trips for video, or if my wife is watching something on TV I dont like too much, or in bed when she's asleep and Im not tired enough to sleep yet. Id be happy if someone made a little "hood" for it so that it's light didnt emit sideways, I have the brightness turned down to the lowest setting (this also helps with the battery btw) but sometimes it still seems to cast a strong glow around the room.

Like most of the other people said, I also watch video on my MBP but sometimes if youre travelling light but still need something to keep you amused at airports etc you just cant beat it.

November 23 2006 at 4:40 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
sinus

watching video (tv-series mainly) daily during travelling to work

November 23 2006 at 2:40 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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