The DC storefront in ComiXology's Comics app for iPad.

DC Comics recently began selling digital versions of its new comics on the same day that print editions show up in local comic book shops. It’s a move that coincides with, and helps promote their “New 52,” a complete re-launch of all of their monthly titles beginning at issue #1, but its effects are already being felt beyond even just its own stable of properties.

Beating out books

Last week, three of the top five most popular iPad apps in the Books category were comics apps. Comics by ComiXology came in second overall to Al Gore’s Our Choice, followed by the official Marvel and DC apps at numbers three and four respectively. Note that ComiXology’s tech powers both the Marvel and DC apps, and its own app offers titles from both publishers, as well as a number of others including IDW and Image comics.

But the successes for digital comics on the iPad don’t end there. Comics by ComiXology also became the second highest grossing iPad app — all categories included — as of Wednesday night this week (it’s still at number three at the time of writing). ComiXology CEO David Steinberger directly attributes part of the reason behind his app’s good fortune to DC’s decision to go digital:

[W]hen you look at our success as one of the top grossing iPad Apps and then take in the news about DC Comics going back to print on almost all of The New 52 comics, you can see that digital distribution is growing both the print and digital comic book market. DC’s daring move going digital the same day as print with all their print publications this month in combination with the great buying and reading experience our App provides is a tide that lifts all boats.

A page from Grant Morrison's Action Comics #1, part of DC's "New 52."

It sure does look like the changed approach to digital comics is lifting all boats. Consider that Marvel beat DC itself in terms of gross last week and continues to ride high at number 18 overall among iPad apps, despite having yet to offer its own blanket approach to same-day digital. It is headed in the right direction, however, as it announced in July at San Diego Comic-Con 2011 that it would be rolling out simultaneous digital and print releases gradually for all X-Men and Spider-Man titles. Image is likewise testing same-day releases through ComiXology with at least a few titles.

Same-day digital definitely delivers

Same-day digital appears to be the magic ingredient that was missing from the iPad comic mix. If you’ve ever tried reading comics on the iPad, you know that it’s an almost-perfect delivery method. The screen size and resolution are both good enough that you should be able to view full single-page layouts without zooming or squinting, you can carry an entire library on a single device, and you don’t have to worry about dog-earing the corners. Seriously, though, for all but devoted collectors, it’s a nearly ideal alternative to paper, and digital editions are also often cheaper.

One drawback to digital is load times, but you can view content as it downloads, one-page at a time.

Regardless of what you think of DC’s decision to relaunch its entire line (I’m not that impressed by what I’ve seen so far, with the exception of Grant Morrison’s Action Comics #1), you can’t deny that the bold decision to make everything available digitally on the same day will help push the industry forward. Marvel will likely have to speed up its rollout of day and date iPad releases now that DC is seeing big dividends in terms of gross revenue, and partners like ComiXology will be pushing them to follow suit, because, again, doing so would “lift all boats.”

One more key ingredient missing

There’s still one piece missing for digital delivery, however, and I wrote about it back in May: subscriptions. Comics should be leaving behind the idea that they can still become valuable collector’s items, and same-day digital is one step towards that. But making titles available digitally on a subscription basis is the next, and possible the more important step.

If I could buy an Uncanny X-Men auto-renewing subscription through my iPad, I’d probably never turn it off, whereas I’ll only pick up a print or digital copy maybe three or four times a year these days, at best. An automatic digital pull list of an iPad owner’s favorite titles is bound to be a hit with fans who enjoy comics for the sake of their content, and not for what they might be worth on eBay in 20 years time (hint: it’s nothing).

DC is already talking about introducing value-add elements to digital comics, sort of like DVD special features, but if Netflix has taught us anything, it’s that the only special feature most media consumers care about is reasonable subscription-pricing that delivers just the good stuff. An all you can eat publisher-wide subscription for digital comics would be amazing, but I’d settle for per-issue monthly or yearly pricing. Let’s hope comics don’t take as long to warm up to that idea as they did to same-day digital.

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Even though the app lets you quickly and easily scan barcodes to hunt for better deals on Amazon than might be available from your school bookstore, really, there’s little here that’s necessarily student-specific, besides graphics. In fact, if you’ve used the Amazon Mobile app for iOS, then you’ll probably feel a slight sense of déja vu. As mentioned, both let you can scan barcodes using your device’s camera, as well as search the Amazon.com catalogue, manage your Wish List, view the Amazon daily deals and check out your account or recommendations. Both also let you view your cart and actually make purchases as well.

Unlike the standard Amazon mobile app, Amazon Student lets you quickly and easily access Amazon’s Trade-In program, which lets you sell select used goods using Amazon as the go-between, complete with free shipping. The only catch is that you won’t get cash for your used stuff; instead, Amazon offers up gift cards of varying value, depending on the item you’re selling. So, as you can see from the screenshot, my used copy of Infamous 2 would net me up to $25 in Amazon.com credit.

It’s actually a great feature, and one that makes using the app probably better for a wide selection of Amazon shoppers, not just students. I know I’ve got cabinets filled with unused books, DVDs and video games that aren’t doing me any good here, and since I’ll probably spend the money on Amazon anyway, I might as well get it in gift cards.

Amazon Student also allows users to sign up for a free, six-month Amazon Prime membership, which provides free two-day shipping and release-date delivery for books, video games and other products. This feature really is student-only, however: You need to have an active and valid .edu email address to take advantage of the offer.

Still, thanks to Trade-Ins, Amazon Student is a pretty solid free download, even for non-students.

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The New Yorker has been doing very well in the week it has been available. The app’s rating went from around two stars to nearly four stars since the update, which also brought free access for existing print subscribers. The New Yorker iPad app also was the top grossing iPad app for most of last week.

According to an internal memo from Condé Nast President Bob Sauerberg, the company feels it’s “clearly tapping into the enormous appetite consumers have for [its] award-winning content.” Response has definitely been very positive in the short-term, and it makes sense, as most negative reviews to date have been based on the fact that no subscription option was available.

Allure, Glamour, Golf Digest and Vanity Fair will all offer yearly subscriptions for $19.99, and monthly subscriptions for $1.99. Individual issues can be purchased for $3.99 for Allure and Glamour, or $4.99 for Golf Digest and Vanity Fair. Existing print subscribers can enter their account information to get free access to iPad issues, too.

Apple is making significant headway among publishers with its in-app subscription system, but whether or not that will translate to increased, sustained engagement from readers remains to be seen. Have you signed up for any iPad subscriptions since their introduction?

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The report, which, you’ll remember, appeared in the WSJ itself, cited “a person familiar with the matter” as the source of the information that the Journal would be charging $17.99 per month for iPad subscribers when the device launches next month. No, that’s not a typo where I accidentally switched “per month” for “per year.”

I realize that the Wall Street Journal is among those choice few who’ve been given a pre-production piece of iPad hardware upon which to develop its app, but I doubt very much that anything it can put together, no matter how spectacular, will make me want to pay $18 a month for the privilege of using it. People switched to online news sources because they were cheaper, not significantly more expensive than traditional paper outlets.

While the WSJ seems to have gone well off its rocker regarding iPad pricing, other companies are offering more sane and reasonable deals. Esquire, for instance, which is the magazine the furthest along in the Hearst family with regards to iPad development, plans to offer its iPad issues for only $2.99 an issue. That’s $2 off the standard newsstand price, which is cheaper, as one might expect.

Men’s Health, on the other hand, is going the route of equally priced digital and print editions, and will be charging $4.99 per issue, and other offerings like Time and People are said to be priced close to the newsstand editions. Advertisers are reportedly flocking to the magazine publishers in droves in order to be part of the first wave of iPad editions, owing partly to the marquee value of the highly anticipated launch, and partly to the innovation in interactive ads possible thanks to the new medium.

So the question is, what’s the pricing sweet spot for iPad users when it comes to magazine content? Personally, I wouldn’t pay any of the prices I’ve mentioned, but that’s only because I’m not interested in the content. If National Geographic or Popular Science offered iPad apps priced the same as their print editions, I’d go for it, even though I don’t buy those in print now. I wouldn’t pay $17.99 a month for anything, even a magazine for which I was the sole target audience called “Darrell Monthly.”

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Source: Piper Jaffray

One of the strongest pieces of evidence in support of the existence of an Apple tablet has come into question today. Reports that Condé Nast, publisher of many magazine titles, including The New Yorker and Vogue, was preparing a digital format specifically for the Apple tablet may have overstated the case.

Instead, it looks like Condé Nast and others, including Hearst and Time Inc., are banding together to produce a digital distribution joint venture, which will likely resemble an iTunes store for the magazine industry. The store is apparently being designed with multiple platforms in mind, and is not being specifically targeted at a tablet device from Apple, which may or may not actually exist.

A report in the New York Observer talks about the agreement between the publishing companies, and mentions in particular the fact that the idea is to produce a cross-platform product that’s portable among many different devices:

The company will prepare magazines that can work across multiple digital platforms, whether the iPhone, the BlackBerry or countless other digital devices. The company will not develop an e-book, but create something that people familiar with the plans compare to iTunes—a store where you can buy new and distinct iterations of The New Yorker or Time. Print magazines will also be for sale.

If the deal is successful, according to the interim president of the joint company, John Squires, an official announcement could be forthcoming within weeks, and other major publishers could come on board as well. That doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing a digital newsstand anytime soon, though. Publishers still have to figure out how to create digital versions of the content they aim to provide.

Considering the multiplatform ambitions of the plan, this might be quite a tricky process. Creating a product that remains uniform and recognizable across devices is a major challenge. The consortium simplifies the distribution portion of the equation, though, as a source explained to the Observer:

It’s pretty complicated stuff. The really, really hard part is that you’ve got so many different kinds of devices running on different operating systems. And how do you handle that? The consortium provides one point of contact for the consumer. When you come to the main store, you can get the content any way you want.

It’s possible that this is completely separate from Condé Nast’s plans for Apple’s tablet device, but the timing and nature of the digital distribution scheme make it sound like any tablet formatting may be incidental to a much broader initiative.

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Like many of you, most recorded footage of my youth was on those archaic black plastic things called VHS tapes. As the rest of society moves into the digital age, I’m facing a battle of preserving my childhood memories on something a little more robust and modern than 800 feet of mylar tape. With many video capturing solutions on the market, I settled on a new product by Elgato, called Video Capture.

As new formats for recording video footage come to market, the quality of these mediums greatly improves. Since the VHS system is considered “analog” and is composed of interlaced video, converting to a digital solution requires some special equipment. These breakout boxes work by allowing you to connect your device via some type of connector (depending on the quality of the box) and to your Mac via USB or FireWire.

Since we’re using the breakout box as an intermediary and there are three devices in the chain, there is a potential for less than stellar quality due to any number of reasons: the breakout box in particular, the video tape you’re capturing from, or the VCR deck itself. Considering most of these devices are in the same price range, they are probably all comparable in quality. (Though as you will read on the Internet, everyone has a different opinion as to which one is the best.)

Elgato’s solution, retailing for $99, is a very simple dongle that attaches either via composite or S-video to your device and via USB to your Mac. The biggest concern many have about these types of devices is the flexibility they will have with capturing their video. Elgato includes their own video capture software with their device, though it is quite simple. For many, this is all you will need.

Getting Started

When you start the software, you are asked simple questions about how you have chosen to connect your media device and the aspect ratio of your footage. For folks converting from VHS like me, you’ll want to pick 4:3. The video will be captured at 640×480 resolution.

The biggest oddity about the way the software functions is that before recording, it asks the user to determine the overall length of the recorded project. There are several options to choose from, at varying intervals from 10 to 180 minutes, each giving you an estimate of the final output size. You can stop recording at any point before your pre-set time has elapsed. If you have footage recorded in “EP” or “LP” modes, your tapes could have more than 3 hours of footage on them, making it awkward for bulk captures.

Recording

Once you begin recording, it is pretty much hit or miss. When you hit stop recording, the application is done and saves your file. For some, this may not be a concern as they plan to further split up clips or edit their footage in something like iMovie. Others may find this problematic if they are looking for a bit more control. Some of these concerns can be assuaged as the application does allow users to trim the start and end points of their captured footage.

After you stop recording, you have options within the software to instantly play the file in QuickTime, add it to iTunes, edit with iMovie or upload directly to YouTube. The videos are output in either H.264 or MPEG-4.

Based on the footage I have captured thus far, I have been quite impressed with Elgato’s solution. Sometimes the quality may not be the best but again, in my case, this is VHS we’re talking about. How many times in your home movies are there other concerns to worry about, like somebody panning the camera too fast?

I’m rating Elgato’s solution four out of five stars. Its software is simple and easy to use, and they included all of the cables I would need to plug its device directly into my VCR. The only cons are the limited in-application editing options and the awkward “time restrictions.” The good news is that these could easily be corrected with a future software update.

For some, they may criticize the lack of higher definition inputs, such as component video or HDMI, but these types of capture devices exist and are much pricier. It really just depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Why go overboard for something simple? As a quick and simple way to preserve VHS tapes, this is a great solution and feels a bit stronger than some of the other slightly cheaper options.

If you’ve had an opportunity to use the Elgato video capture or one of the other competitor products, let me know in the comments below.

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When I originally wrote about the introduction of the new 15″ MacBook Pro, I was curious as to if the newly featured SD card slot would support even newer SDHC cards. A little research later, I learned that the MacBook Pro does support this standard and has a few more tricks up its sleeve. So what’s all the buzz about the SD card slot?

Back to the Basics

SD (Secure Digital) cards are one of many competing formats for storing data onto flash-based memory cards (similar to how iPod nanos and iPod shuffles work). Among other competing formats, such as Memory Stick (Sony) or CompactFlash, SD has become one of the more popular types, found in newer digital cameras and camcorders.

Great. What’s This Mean for MacBook Users?

When Apple introduced Intel Macs in 2005, many were surprised to see that they could be booted from a USB drive in addition to FireWire, as had been the standard among PowerPC Macs. Many were surprised to find out last week that with the addition of the built-in SD card slot in these new Mac portables, they are also capable of being booted from this format. While this isn’t exactly feasible, as SD cards are still more expensive than optical media for comparable capacity, it really does speak highly for the robustness of the Mac platform. Of course, what would you expect? You can now pretty much boot a Mac from any device you can connect to it, from a FireWire hard drive, to an SD card, to your iPod. (Try that on a Windows computer!)

Hidden Secrets of the SD Card Slot

In addition to being able to boot from the SD cards, the new SD card slot supports most MultiMediaCards (MMCs) as they are physically similar to SD cards. Derivatives of SD card technology, such as MiniSD, MicroSD, MiniSDHC and MicroSDHC, can also be used with appropriate adapters.

What Doesn’t Work…At Least, That We Know Of

CES 2009 brought about the announcement of a newer format, called SDXC, which will allow for capacities up to 2TB in size. Due to the relatively recent announcement of this technology, and only one or two types of this card in existence, I am unaware if this card can be read by the new MacBook Pros.

Another implementation of SD technology, called SDIO (for Secure Digital Input Output) is incompatible with the card slot. This new technology is designed to combine the functionality of an input/output device, such as an ethernet or bluetooth adapter, with an SD card for greater functionality.

Will We See This Spread?

Apple stunned almost everybody with the announcement of a built-in card slot for the MacBook Pros. Card slots in general really aren’t something Apple has favored in the past (opting for devices like iPods and iPhones to have completely built-in memory). Even its reluctance to spread the technology to the 17″ MacBook Pro indicates that Apple is testing the reception of having this functionality built into its portables. During the keynote address, Phil Schiller mentioned that Apple knew that a very small percentage (less than 10 percent) of its users actually used the ExpressCard slot on its portables. If Apple is capable of tracking usage this accurately, then it stands to reason that if the SD card slot proves popular, it could be expanded to the other products as well.

SD technology is certainly very robust, and with newer standards and higher capacities around the corner, it is keeping up with changing times. This is the exact kind of stability Apple looks for when deciding to go with a new standard, such as including USB or adding FireWire 800 or gigabit ethernet to its products. With more and more consumer electronics using SD cards, the addition of a built-in slot is definitely a “win” for consumers.

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One downside of comics publishing in iTunes is that they’re always motion comics. The “camera” sort of pans and zooms around the panels from the print page, and questionable voice over work reads the captions and speech bubble content. For me, at least in my experience to date, this has to be my least favorite means of experiencing comics, by far. It feels cramped, and sort of like storytime in preschool. I feel like having a nap on the floor when I’m done.

That said, I love Brian Michael Bendis (creator of Powers, and a writer who’s done stints on many, many top series), and he made a statement at the recent NYCC about the exciting potential the new medium offers for comics. In fact, he calls it a “new language,” and I suppose that whenever you learn a new language, a learning curve is to be expected.

The real key to becoming proficient in that new language, though, is to stop translating verbatim and start focusing more on conveying the meaning properly. In other words, Marvel, and others, have to stop roughly cutting up the page and feeding it back to us with lame video editing 101 effects, and start making original content or completely redrawing existing content specifically for digital distribution.

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In recent years, the Mac has become a device capable of acting as a very powerful media center. iTunes, Front Row, and OS X in general, provide a plethora of features which justify the Mac as a living room device.

That said, one vital piece is missing as a standard: watching and recording live TV on your Mac. There is a wide variety of hardware and software which allow you to watch TV, and this post will cover some of the options available to you.

What’s available?

There are several different TV receivers available for the Mac. They all connect via USB, plug into an antenna socket (some include small, portable antennas), and are bundled with a piece of software. Many offer slightly different additional features which meet the specific needs of different users.

The most widely known company producing Mac tuners is Elgato. They develop a range of ‘EyeTV’ devices, and also the widely acclaimed EyeTV Software. The main competitors to Elgato consist of Pinnacle and Miglia. Interestingly, the majority of TV products are aimed at the non-U.S. international market. I’ll note which devices are international and which are U.S. compatible below.

Elgato

EyeTV Hybrid – A versatile DVB-T/DVB-C/Analogue TV tuner and FM radio receiver. EyeTV Hybrid also comes with a video cable for composite (RCA) and S-Video to connect a set-top box to your Mac for satellite or premium channels. This is a very versatile device, which supports most connections (even allowing the use of gaming consoles). It comes with the EyeTV software, a remote control, and is available in European and US versions.

EyeTV Diversity – A dual TV tuner stick that receives Digital Terrestrial Television (DVB-T, or DTT). In “Dual-Tuner mode”, you can watch two different TV shows on your Mac at the same time, or watch one show while you record another. A “Diversity” mode can also be used, which amplifies the received signal through combining both tuners. Quite a formidable concept, with some great functionality. It’s Europe only for the moment.

EyeTV DTT (+ Deluxe) – A compact DVB-T TV tuner with either a full size antenna plug, or a compact version (in the Deluxe edition). You can opt for the standard DTT to receive the basic tuner with no extras, or the Deluxe DTT which comes bundled with a small portable antenna, a remote control and is small enough to fit snugly in the MacBook Air. As with the Diversity, it’s Europe only.

Pinnacle

Pinnacle only offers one TV tuner product for the Mac, the HD Mini Stick. It’s a fairly basic device, with different versions for the US and Europe. It comes with a mini remote, a portable antenna and a carry-bag. Rather than being bundled with the full EyeTV 3 software, they come with a stripped down version called ‘EyeTV Lite’. This still offers most of the main functionality you’d need — basic features such as watching, scheduling and recording TV. It’s possible to upgrade to the full version at a later date. For the price, however, you’d be better off opting for one of Elgato’s devices in the first place.

Miglia

And so we come to the final offering — Miglia’s TV Mini devices. With one exception, these are all non-U.S. — only the TVMicro Express works in the USA. The product lineup from Miglia is as follows:

• TVMini+ – A portable tuner with support for digital & analogue TV, as well as connecting composite and S-Video.
• TVMini 2 – Featuring a compact design, perfect for thin Apple laptops.
• TVMini Express – The budget version, with a relatively compact size and no frills.
• TVBook Pro Express – An unnecessarily long name, but this tuner fits into the ExpressCard slot in the MacBook Pro. Clever!
• TVMicro Express – The international version of the TVMini Express, working worldwide.

Miglia have an extensive line up, and you’ll probably find that only a few of their devices are available where you are. They all come bundled with Miglia’s own TV software, which supports recording, scheduling, integrating with an online TV guide and exporting into iTunes/iPod/Apple TV etc.

Conclusion

It is clear to see that the different companies producing Mac TV products are differentiating their lineup in a similar way. You’ll need to decide whether you want: (a) a compact and budget device; (b) one which supports composite and S-Video inputs; (c) one which fits into an ExpressCard slot; or (d) one with multiple tuners for simultaneous recording/viewing.

Software is also a very important consideration. The definitive market leader is EyeTV 3, which undoubtedly provides a wide range of features. However, if you’re looking to save a few hard earned pennies and don’t require the latest and sleekest software, opting for a device offering EyeTV Lite or MigliaTV could be a cheaper option.

Regardless of which you opt for, I hope this article has opened your eyes to the range of options available and will allow you to make a better informed decision!

Note: There are also a number of TV tuner devices which support hardware encoding of TV shows to a H.264 format. I haven’t covered these in this review (to keep it to a readable size!) but may do so in a future post.

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