iTunes 8 to bring HD TV, auto playlist making?

iTunes 8 will be the first version of Apple's desktop software to allow HD purchases, if a further leak from Digg head Kevin Rose proves accurate. A purported excerpt from the upgrade notes to the software mentions users having the option of downloading TV episodes in "HD quality," suggesting the software will be the first from Apple to offer any kind of purchasable HD content outside of the Apple TV and that HD will extend beyond the movie-only options available today.

The leak also points to three largely confirmed iPod updates, including reworked iPod nanos as well as a second-generation iPod touch. A second-generation iPod classic is also mentioned.

iTunes' release info additionally backs up Rose's claims of a recommendation system in the version 8 upgrade. Called Genius, the system would automatically create playlists based on songs the software believes "go great together." It would also have a sidebar that recommends song purchases from the iTunes Store and would thus recall Apple's Just For You feature on the iTunes Store itself, which recommends albums based on the listener's purchase history.

Also described in the seeming leak are a new visualizer as well as a Grid view that sorts albums visually; the description parallels a similar method that forms the central basis of navigating music for Microsoft's Zune software.

Adding more HD to iTunes as well as more ways to access it is increasingly regarded as necessary for Apple, which has faced increasing levels of competition on some HD-capable websites, such as Hulu, as well as set-top boxes such as Vudu or the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game consoles.

Filed under: iPod, industry, software
Other story tags: iTunes, Xbox 360, PS3, Apple TV, Vudu, Hulu