What is Jobs problem with the Apple TV?
I guess he sees the Apple TV as a dying market since the set-top box business will likely be replaced by HDTVs with integrated media features (Netflix, Vuuduu, Amazon Box, etc) eventually.
But it seems like Jobs is drawing a line in the sand with TV show and movie content.
Apple hasnt updated the Apple TV since it shipped in 2007. Jobs calls it a hobby. They havent updated Front Row since 2007. The current version of Front Row is based on Apple TV OS 1.0. Apple refuses to support Blu-ray. Theres no HDMI support on the Mac mini. And they wont license FairPlay to other companies.
Their stance is just bizarre. Are they trying to make it as hard as possible to play iTunes content on your TV?
If Apple doesnt do something soon, Im done purchasing TV show and movie content from iTunes.
Ill buy DVDs and Blu-rays and rip them with Handbrake. Im not going to be tied to watching TV show and movie content just on my Mac and iPhone. You would think the living room would be one of Apples top priorities for iTunes content.
No wrong on so many levels.
Firstly TV piped into your home is an industry in decline, they might not be losing customers yet, but viewing figures are down and are increasingly being lost to the internet. The lounge is becoming the disconnected room of yesterday, while people surf the web in the spare bedroom. Wireless internet and the growing popularity of Notebooks and Netbooks, has helped to bring people back to the lounge, but does't really help the TV industry. In fact bringing the internet and social media to TV's is a big focus for the TV industry as a whole, from TV manufactures to service providers. Providing TV and movies on demand is another focus too.
AppleTV is a good solution and although the hardware hasn't really been updated, the software has seen a number of updates including an interface change recently in 2009. Apple doesn't update the interface of software that is going to be mothballed, just look at applications that Apple has phased out in the past, many of them have been stuck with the same an outdated look, before disappearing.
Optical media such as DVD and Blu-ray will find it harder to compete against online alternatives, I mean you don't even have to leave the house or wait for the post, it just downloads and you've got it. As more people are buying their music online, more will buy their movies online too.
So Apple has iTunes, the worlds most popular online media store, and it has AppleTV that can play anything you buy on your TV wirelessly, forgetting other feature, that's a powerful combination and the main selling point.
So what's wrong with it? Well it doesn't replace your digital set-top box or game consoles, it's not as simple as it could be (most libraries are bigger than the internal storage of AppleTV so switching on your computer is necessary) - acting as media server would be better, it doesn't simplify the mind-boggling cable mess behind your tv, and it's lacking in wow features that a service like the App store could bring (skype in the lounge would be amazing). All of this means it's not a game changer, just Apple is participating in an industry that no one knows what to do with.
I think the living room is a big focus for Apple, it's clearly looking at creating the connected home, so the AppleTV idea is hear to stay, what it will morph into is another question.
