Interesting take since iMovie asks to input 1080i at 960x540 as it is, this should give the novice user a much easier time getting video from the camera to the web quicker and easier.

I could see myself doing this if I was going on a quick adventure into the city (Chicago) for something like a parade or a street festival. I wouldn't trust home movies or vacation vids with it though. Perfect example would be the numerous skateboarding vids you see uploaded to YouTube, this is perfect for the short 90 second videos.

The analogy of using a dSLR to shoot JPEG instead of RAW is a good one to display the usefulness of this new format.

From what Ive heard, Apple is getting ready for their new Tablet. This sized format would fit perfectly on their tablet screen.

Just like when Apple put out specific video compression specs for the iPhone/iPod.

All the above answers are totally right on but still missing a critical part of the picture.

Since iFrame will be using standard codecs, H.264 for video, AAC for audio there's absolutely no reason why we need ANOTHER custom container format. All this serves to do is exert control from Apple and confuse customers who know enough to be dangerous. :)

It's just like the difference between the .MOV container and the .MP4 container. Ie, there is none except manipulating the users preference for what program opens what kind of file.

Noah,

Reading more about this format vs AVCHD, as far as importing, do you know if iFrame has to convert to the intermediate AIC? If iFrame does not, that sounds like it's a big win over AVCHD. And having that ability -- which cuts down on file size and time to convert, is what I'm looking for.

Thoughts?

from what I know, this is just another name for one possible HD format, it's the new iPods format, to be precise.