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Report card: Apple’s video stream (updated)

By | September 2, 2010, 5:00am PDT

For the first time in a long time Apple yesterday streamed live video from its iPod announcement in San Francisco. Apple announced a new raft of iPods, a second-generation Apple TV and demo’d iOS 4.1 and 4.2 but an interesting rumor surfaced about the video stream itself.

The rumor was that Apple decided to stream the event to test its new new data center in Maiden, North Carolina. The $1 billion data center is one of the largest ever built.

Update: Dan Rayburn confirms that Akamai provided the video stream of yesterday’s event — not Apple. (Tip: @WildCowboy)

The video stream worked fine for me in Safari on my i7 MacBook Pro with decent performance and minimal artifacting and lag, but when I switched to my iPhone 4 (running on AT&T 3G, outside Philadelphia) things went immediately down hill. While I was able to watch video for about 1-2 minutes, the connection was choppy and the video would slip out of sync. Then the video dropped completely and I received this message (below)

“Due to your current limited bandwidth connection this stream is audio only.”

But even the audio-only stream frequently dropped and I had long gaps of silence punctuated by occassional blips of random audio. It picked up again when Coldplay’s Chris Martin was into his second song close to the end of the event.

  • On the Mac I give Apple’s video stream a B+
  • On the iPhone I give it a D-

What about you? How would you grade Apple’s video stream?

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Topics

Apple Inc., Video, Video Stream, Digital Video, Corporate Communications, Personal Technology, Marketing, Jason D. O'Grady

Jason O'Grady is a journalist and author specializing in mobile technology. He has published six books on Apple and mobile gadgets and his PowerPage blog has been publishing for over 15 years.

Disclosure

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Google Adsense
  • Tekserve

    • Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.

Biography

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.

He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging. He has been a frequent speaker at the Macworld Expo conference and a member of the conference faculty. He also co-founded the first dedicated PowerBook User Group (PPUG) in the United States.

After winning a major legal battle with Apple in 2006, he set the precedent that independent journalists are entitled to the same protections under the First Amendment as members of the mainstream media.

O'Grady is the author of The Nexus One Pocket Guide, The Droid Pocket Guide, The Google Phone Pocket Guide, and The Garmin nuvi Pocket Guide (Peachpit Press), the author of Corporations That Changed the World: Apple Inc. (Greenwood Press), and a contributor to The Mac Bible (Peachpit Press). In addition, he has contributed to numerous Mac publications over the years, including MacWEEK, Macworld, and MacPower (Japan).

When he's not writing about Apple for ZDNet at The Apple Core, he enjoys spending time with his family in New Jersey.

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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
xobcooltorn 26th Dec
You be aware of, i fake site looks abundant, i site would extraordinarily ability calculated in lieu of cell phone batteries or else here ability i had the capability hiphone
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View in thread
0 Votes
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
kenosha77a 2nd Sep 2010
I viewed the video stream on my 3G iPad. My results were pretty much the same as yours. It was sort of fun watching this event on my iPad.
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Sort of fun?
wizard57m@... 2nd Sep 2010
@kenosha7777
Hehe...so, I didn't miss anything afterall. BTW, it's "sort of fun" to watch YouTube on my 4 yr old Samsung Blackjack. At least I don't get skips, stops or dropping to "audio only", and it's on the same network as your 3G iPad.
Mind you, I don't watch many YouTubes...too much junk!
So, it looks like Apple's first attempt at streaming went about as well as some of the old Real Video streams from back in 1996 or so. Maybe they should have tried Flash?
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
kenosha77a 2nd Sep 2010
@wizard57m@...
On my home WiFi system I viewed the stream without skips. When I switched my WiFi off and used my AT&T 3G account, the video broke down after a bit. Bottom line .. WiFi good, AT&T bad.
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Re: WiFi good, AT&T bad
wizard57m@... 2nd Sep 2010
@kenosha7777
Well, I'd been up a creek either way then! Since AT&T is my current broadband provider as well as 3g/Edge...
however, I do have to give some credit to AT&T of late, they finally, within the last month, rolled out 3G to my neighborhood ( basically the "boondocks" ), so my cellular service has improved, for my BlackJack anyhow...the rest of the family doesn't do any "web based" stuff on their phones...at least not until I change from the "PDA" plan AT&T mandated for my BlackJack some 4 years ago! Yeah, yeah, I know...it's OLD...but it still works well...still get some 4 days from a single charge of the battery...without having to "reboot" WinMo 5!
0 Votes
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
xobcooltorn 26th Dec
You be aware of, i fake site looks abundant, i site would extraordinarily ability calculated in lieu of cell phone batteries or else here ability i had the capability hiphone
http://www.beebond.com/cell-phones/android-phones | http://www.beebond.com/apple/iphone | http://www.beebond.com/mobile-phone-accessories/battery | http://www.beebond.com/es/ | http://www.beebond.com/es/cell-phones/china-hiphone
0 Votes
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F-
NonZealot 2nd Sep 2010
I couldn't get it to work on the OS that is in use by 90%+ of the people in the world.
0 Votes
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You should have used OS X
Ken_z 2nd Sep 2010
@NonZealot

You have a MBP. It comes with OS X. Why not simply switch over when you want something that is OS X based?
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
ConstableOdo 2nd Sep 2010
@NonZealot
The conference wasn't meant for those from the "dark side". Next time, buy an Apple product if you want to watch. I'm sure Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates managed to see it. They needed to find out the next thing to copy from Apple.
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Yeah, like how to add social networking features to media manager?
NonZealot 2nd Sep 2010
@ConstableOdo
They needed to find out the next thing to copy from Apple.

Oh, wait, that was Apple who copied MS on that one!

And since Ping was the only new thing announced, had Steve and Bill wanted to copy anything, they could simply have looked back to what Apple announced 2 years ago.

Of course, in most cases, what Apple announced 2 years prior was actually released by MS 7 years prior so even that would be a waste of MS's time.
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
dasilvagm 2nd Sep 2010
mine didn't work at all
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
abortuzzo 2nd Sep 2010
Hi there,
in Italy on the Iphone 3G while driving home was working flawlessy: it was awesome!
0 Votes
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I was never a mac, but am I an "i"?
MobileSpoon 2nd Sep 2010
120 million iOS devices! 250,000 apps in the AppStore, 6.5 billion apps downloads ? Amazing numbers!
New iPod Touch models, iOS 4.2 for iPad, iTunes 10, Ping music services, and much more!

I was never an Apple fan, but using an iPhone for 2 years, and now an iPad, can it be that I'm suddenly a mac?
Or maybe an iOS?
http://www.mobilespoon.net/2010/09/everything-you-need-to-know-about-apple.html
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Ha Ha Non Zealot.
smartin007 2nd Sep 2010
Of course you couldnt get it! You had to be running Safari on an Apple device. I would say that alone gives it an A+. The stream was for those who actually care about great products and OS. Im sure you will have no problem watching Balmer jump around on stage at the next Developers conference, since there will be at least tens of hundreds of people wanting to watch that.
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
ConstableOdo 2nd Sep 2010
@smartin007
I want to watch Ballmer do a Monkey Dance again. I don't care if it only streams with Windows. I've got a couple of virtual Windows machines running on my iMac courtesy of WMWare Fusion and Parallels Desktop. Haha.
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Ah, so you are like 95% of Mac users?
NonZealot 2nd Sep 2010
@ConstableOdo
I've got a couple of virtual Windows machines running on my iMac courtesy of WMWare Fusion and Parallels Desktop. Haha.

You've installed Windows on your Mac to get real work done!
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
Jkirk3279 2nd Sep 2010
@ConstableOdo

Which uses less RAM, VMWare or Parallels?
0 Votes
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
Jkirk3279 2nd Sep 2010
@Zealot

No, we install it for laughs. And oddball stuff like Gcode simulation.
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jkirk: Either way, MS gets paid!
NonZealot 2nd Sep 2010
MS is happy either way.
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
msalzberg 2nd Sep 2010
@NonZealot

Source for that 95% claim?
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@NonZealot
msalzberg 3rd Sep 2010
Your continued silence in the face of a request for a source of your claim that "95% of Mac users" install Windows shows that, once again, you make up things to back up your bias.

If the truth can't prove your point, you really don't have much of a point to make, do you?
0 Votes
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
Carrie Johnson 3rd Sep 2010
@NonZealot

I have Windows on my Macs yes -- for one reason and one reason only... So that I can see if the websites I develop, which look flawless on Safari & Firefox on OSX using HTML and CSS to standards still look good in the buggy, strange CSS support, poor resolution Windows browsers. Other than that, my business only uses Macs...

Yes, the new Windows browsers are much better... but anyone who has developed for the Web for a while probably still has IE6 nightmares...
0 Votes
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@Zealot
nix_hed 7th Sep 2010
The only reason to install Windows on a Mac is to remind yourself why you switched in the first place. Even Office for Mac runs faster on my Hackintosh than Office for Windows does.
0 Votes
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
richardw66 3rd Sep 2010
@NonZealot

You've installed Windows on your Mac to get real work done!

I've installed it so I can help people too stupid to switch to Mac.

And I have to admit that the Ikea Kitchen design software is Mac only so I used it for that.

I have also been working with some people who are using Groove and Visio - so I used it for that - but since I have just educated them as to alternatives they are now buying Macs so they will save time and money and I will save time also.

Now back onto topic:

The stream worked fine for most of the time for me - the quality was good.

Once it skipped back to the very start and then back to where it should have been.

Once or twice during Mr Job's part it went blank for a while.

During the performance at the end it skipped backward a few times which was most annoying.

Near the very end it was skipping backward and would never reach the end.

This was on an iMac 21" in Australia

For picture quality: A
For stability: D
0 Votes
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
Rob Perkins 2nd Sep 2010
On my Mac over a Comcast Business internet connection, it stuttered and stopped frequently, and switched to audio only a lot. I wasn't happy.
0 Votes
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
Jkirk3279 2nd Sep 2010
@Rob Perkins

I used to stream Apple events. Last time I did the stream got to 100,000 users and started to bog down.

And it's not only the servers, but the bandwidth that will need major work. We LOVE this 21st Century stuff, but we aren't built out for it yet.
0 Votes
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Yet we plan to stream movies over 3G??
jscott418 2nd Sep 2010
Does anybody else that streaming Media over 3G or even 4G is just asking for a disappointment? Its great to have NetFlix on the iPod Touch, iPad and Phone. But other then a good WIFI connection how are you going to view it? I think we need technology to catch up with ideals on how to use it. I my self thought it worked great through my broadband connection. But even my broadband (Comcast) and my iPod Touch could not keep up.
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Contributr
B- on iPad
Ed Burnette Updated - 2nd Sep 2010
I'd give it a B- on my Apple iPad. It started out great, but then about halfway through it did this weird time-warp thing where it started showing video from before the show started (people filing in, etc.). I reloaded the page and it would work for a while and then have the same problem. That happened three or four times. Then it started stuttering badly towards the end, both video and audio cutting in and out. Reloading the page didn't help. The problems cleared up when the Coldplay music started, maybe as people started dropping off.

When it was working, the quality was excellent and the camera work was professional. I probably only missed a minute or two because of the problems.
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I hope you're just as lenient
wizard57m@... Updated - 2nd Sep 2010
@Ed Burnette
with anything else you test and grade! Say, for example, Google decided to stream an announcement of an update to Chrome via YouTube, YET, the video kept restarting, rebuffering, dropping to audio only, but only "three or four times"...would you be so apt to grade that as a B- ?
I sort of doubt it! At least Jason O'Grady gave a more realistic grade.
Just judging from what I've read here at ZDNet, I would be hesitant to give much more than a C, and that's only because the darned format is relatively new. Overall, it looks like HTML5's streaming media needs some work. That's what this entire fiasco was, you do realise it don't you? Just a test to judge feasibility of HTML5 streaming.
IF it had been the typical Apple media announcment, it would have been done without restriction to "approved Apple devices only".
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
AllenKenya 2nd Sep 2010
Video: F
Audio: B+

From Kenya, I wouldn't have been surprised if the video has stopped and started throughout. But, the video would play for about 30 seconds and then freeze unless I refreshed the page. After a couple of refreshes, I just listened to the audio. The quality was surprisingly good but it was not "live". I was following Engadget's and MacLife's live blogs and the audio from Apple was way behind.
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Ping?
Speednet 2nd Sep 2010
The stream didn't have the best flow rate adapting, and once it got out of sync, it didn't seem to get going again. You'd have to refresh the page.

However, I think the worst thing about the event was the unveiling of "PING". Ping? I wonder just how many people scratched their head and thought, "Did he just say Ping or Bing?"

The word "ping" is such a geek term (coming from the TCP/IP utility Ping) that it's hard to imagine a consumer-focused company like Apple using it. That's aside from the obvious confusion with "Bing".

Also, it's the first name to come out of Apple in a long time that is not prefixed with an "i".

Finally, I cannot for the life of me believe that Apple is going to complete create, from scratch, a new social platform. Why not just partner with Facebook or Twitter? (Facebook being the best match, IMHO.) So, rather than just extending your Facebook profile or something, you have this whole new proprietary Apple iTunes social platform that you have to tend to, in addition to the thousand of other platforms everyone keeps up with. Dopey.
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Re: Ping?
wizard57m@... 2nd Sep 2010
@Speednet
I agree on Ping, I mean, if Apple wants to create their own social network, go ahead, but sheesh, stay with the program! Can you imagine being in tech support, and the "Big Boss" brings his MacBook to work, but can't get a connection on the LAN...
you: "Can you 'ping' the router?"
BB: "I don't want to add router as my friend in Ping, I can't get on the LAN!"
you: "No, I mean, can you 'ping' the router?"
BB: "You imbecile...you're fired! Before you go, though, could you drop by my office and check my MBP?"

Could make a new entry on the Stupid Tech Support web site!
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Time Warner in San Antonio Served it Up Great
bgrh 2nd Sep 2010
I hook up via a cable box into a Time Machine that's wired to my iMac. It looked great for the 20 minutes I could watch live. Later I watched the stored file on my iPad - also great. I'd love to know what the load was on the Apple server farm.
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
Michael Burns 2nd Sep 2010
I watched the first 30 minutes live on my iPhone 3GS on the 3G network, and it worked really well. Dropped video a couple of times for a few seconds but recovered quickly. Then I watched more of it at home on my MBPro on wifi and it did well too. I was very pleased.
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I gave it an A+
i8thecat Updated - 2nd Sep 2010
Watched it on my iphone over wifi at work... No skips, no artifacts, smooth, clear, clean, great clarity, awesome... A+
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"Mac TV"
tommy41 3rd Sep 2010
I watched the stream on my Mac mini connected to my gorgeous 46 inch TV (full screen) and I was amazed of the quality. No drop outs, just a pure and nice experience. Go Apple.
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"Mac TV"
tommy41 3rd Sep 2010
I watched the stream on my Mac mini connected to my gorgeous 46 inch TV in my living room, and I was amazed of the quality. No drop outs (viewed in full screen), just a pure and nice experience. No fuzz, just maturing go Apple.
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
berniedodge 3rd Sep 2010
It may have been the best quality I've ever seen from a live event. Watched on iPad and MBP. Crystal clear sound and picture. About an hour into it, though, it got choppy in a strange way (total blackouts for a few seconds). Then it suddenly reverted to the footage of people filing in before the event on the MBP while the iPad continued live. Had to refresh to rejoin the present timeline. Aside from those glitches, it was great.
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
clcarlso 3rd Sep 2010
So that means watching Ballmer do the mokey dance is real work?
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
gtdworak 3rd Sep 2010
I give it an A- on my iPhone hooked up to WIFI. like night and day compared to five years ago. This technology is truly amazing and getting better each year.
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RE: Report card: Apple's video stream
jackson1984-24316069205748857739440257893812 11th Oct
Incredibly practical as well as hassle-free to know. Enthusiastic about an awesome offer a great football jersey deal more this kind of writeups!! Do you have a myspace?

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