iSee Turns iPod Into Digital Video Recorder, Player.

What if your Mac or PC could record TV shows and movies and you could play them on your iPod?

What if you don’t have the new iPod with video? The new iSee 360i “wraps” around your iPod and lets your old iPod do new tricks.

Finally, there’s a way for iPod users to see what they’ve been missing. iSee 360i is a “sleeve” device for your iPod, iPod mini, or iPod nano that turns each into a “full-fledged” video recorder and player.

The iSee is a case that slides over your iPod and attaches to the iPod’s dock on the bottom. What you get is all the things you can’t get with your iPod.

What iSee 360 Does
First, it lets you play video using your iPod but not using your iPod’s screen. The iSee 360 has it’s own 3.6-inch LCD screen. Slide the iPod in, turn it on, watch video on the iSee 360 screen, not your iPod.

iSee 360 also records TV shows directly from your TV, acting like a digital video recorder. The iSee doesn’t store the TV shows or movies; they’re stored on your iPod for playback.

Video is compressed for playback, so you can record TV shows just like your cable company’s DVR or a VCR, using the iPod as the recorder to store the video.

Playing back the TV shows or movies uses the iSee 360i screen. Got photos on your iPod. iSee even has a zoom capability which lets you zoon in on photos, pan across photos, and create and play slides shows.

If you thought your iPod was a little bulky, but loved the feel, you’ll love the bulk of iSee 360. It’s actually a device that slips over your iPod. The company, ATO, says the “iPod slips into the back of the iSee 360, creating a sleek, compact, all-in-one appearance.” White or black.

Think of it as a black brick that does TV.

The iSee uses it’s own battery and, according to their web site, delivers four hours of video playback and does NOT use the battery power from the iPod (though the iPod needs to be running).

There’s a simple GUI interface to the iSee which lets you navigate controls, and there’s standard video in, and video out connections so you can record from your TV, a VCR, or TV—then playback on your TV.

Or, view the TV shows on the iSee screen. It even records multiple formats, including MPEG2 and MPEG4, and Windows Media 9 and 10.

Tell me the truth. Isn’t this what you’d like your Mac and iPod to do? Without an external “sleek” device?

Accessories for the iSee 360 include adapters for the iPod mini and iPod nano (they’re smaller than the original iPods), and a leather case.

What would you expect to pay for such a device? $900? $399? An iPod with video capability is $299 or $399 depending on hard drive size. The iSee 360 is $249.

That gets you video recording and playback capability but you must have an iPod, too.

As of today, you can’t buy the iSee 360i. ATO says it will ship in the first quarter of 2006. The company web site is attractive and professional, though many pages are missing (as of today).

Information about the company, Advanced Technology Office, or, ATO, is available, though (as of today) there’s no list of where you can buy iSee 360.

Other web pages are also blank and the News page does not contain (as of today) any news, articles, or press releases.

Is this what you want? We’ll see. I’ve asked Bambi to check the Macworld exhibitor vendors next week to see if they’re displaying iSee. For now, it’s vaporware; a web site, some photos, and a nifty idea.

Bambi Hambi
I’ll check the exhibitor floor at Macworld. If there’s something available, I’ll get a photo or two and report back.

Tera Patricks
I want all that built in to my Mac, not my iPod. The whole idea of the iPod is portability. If it’s left at home recording something on TV, then it’s not too portable.

Alexis Kayhill
TiVo is not well liked by the content producers; TV or movies. Maybe Apple doesn’t want to re-create a TiVo wheel, and all we’ll see are add on products.

Carol Mary Miller
Alex, if Apple can get the content and get us to pay for it, then content producers will line up with something to sell. Looks like they’re doing that now.