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stovetop6872

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 27, 2007
110
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Do you think that there will be an Apple TV update on Tuesday. After all, the Apple TV is an iPod, and this is an iPod event, so isn't this possible? What do you think features will be? Finally 1080P?? More storage space?? What do you think?
 
I hope for the following:

(1) Stability and smoothness via both the interface and the remote app (seems a lot of Apple products are suffering from this lately).

(2) DVR, with all the Apple patent technologies about exporting to iPod and control via the internet etc...

(3) Touch remote for the unit itself via bluetooth.

(4) Safari, to be controlled by touch remote (what is displayed on the remote displays on screen (zooming, pinching, tapping etc...).

(5) App Store for Apple TV.

(6) More of an iTunes thing - video rental subscription service.

(7) 1080p, although, this is not a major need at the current time, though it would be nice.

(8) Better streaming performance - The Apple Tv streaming also is not up to par. I have a full Wireless N setup, but SD material being streamed cannot fast-foward without stopping after about 25-50 seconds.

(9) Blu-Ray Drive - This would be VERY useful to get people who want to get Blu-Ray into buying the Apple TV. Once they have the unit, people will still rent and download things from iTunes, but it will massively help sales penetrate the market better.

(10) DVD player (if not Blu-Ray) OR iTunes needs to be able to import dvd's into the new Anamorphic Format w/ DD 5.1. Most people will never use Handbrake or other options to convert their libraries. Digital music went mainstream because it was easily to rip cd's. People will not replace their dvd player unless they can still watch their dvd's. Either option, to include one, or allow protected copy's to be injected into iTunes will work. But without this, the Apple TV will always be a hobby, not a 4th leg of Apple's business.
 
Do you think that there will be an Apple TV update on Tuesday. After all, the Apple TV is an iPod, and this is an iPod event, so isn't this possible? What do you think features will be? Finally 1080P?? More storage space?? What do you think?

I wouldn't hold my breath...
 
Do you think that there will be an Apple TV update on Tuesday. After all, the Apple TV is an iPod, and this is an iPod event, so isn't this possible?
Possible yes. Likely, I don't think so. There haven't been rumors on it.

What do you think features will be? Finally 1080P?? More storage space?? What do you think?
Atom CPU, capacity bump, 1080p, new case design.
 
Much more so than adding new features, I hope they fix what the last update broke. :mad:

-Podcast list does not stay consistently alphabetized.
-Podcast list does not always show blue dots for new episodes unless you go out of the menu and back in.
-Podcast list no longer shows description, but instead "contains 1 episode" (unless you have more than one episode of the same show, then the final menu does show the info.)
 
I hope for the following:

(1) Stability and smoothness via both the interface and the remote app (seems a lot of Apple products are suffering from this lately).

(2) DVR, with all the Apple patent technologies about exporting to iPod and control via the internet etc...

(3) Touch remote for the unit itself via bluetooth.

(4) Safari, to be controlled by touch remote (what is displayed on the remote displays on screen (zooming, pinching, tapping etc...).

(5) App Store for Apple TV.

(6) More of an iTunes thing - video rental subscription service.

(7) 1080p, although, this is not a major need at the current time, though it would be nice.

(8) Better streaming performance - The Apple Tv streaming also is not up to par. I have a full Wireless N setup, but SD material being streamed cannot fast-foward without stopping after about 25-50 seconds.

(9) Blu-Ray Drive - This would be VERY useful to get people who want to get Blu-Ray into buying the Apple TV. Once they have the unit, people will still rent and download things from iTunes, but it will massively help sales penetrate the market better.

(10) DVD player (if not Blu-Ray) OR iTunes needs to be able to import dvd's into the new Anamorphic Format w/ DD 5.1. Most people will never use Handbrake or other options to convert their libraries. Digital music went mainstream because it was easily to rip cd's. People will not replace their dvd player unless they can still watch their dvd's. Either option, to include one, or allow protected copy's to be injected into iTunes will work. But without this, the Apple TV will always be a hobby, not a 4th leg of Apple's business.

Wow that would be a very "loaded" device! Assuming all of this could be delivered (except #10- which I believe would be illegal unless the DVD copy protection could be maintained exactly as it is on the DVD), I'd be interested in knowing how much people would pay for this :apple:TV.
 
Do you think that there will be an Apple TV update on Tuesday. After all, the Apple TV is an iPod, and this is an iPod event, so isn't this possible? What do you think features will be? Finally 1080P?? More storage space?? What do you think?

I sure hope it's updated. Possible, yes. Likely...
 
Wow that would be a very "loaded" device! Assuming all of this could be delivered (except #10- which I believe would be illegal unless the DVD copy protection could be maintained exactly as it is on the DVD), I'd be interested in knowing how much people would pay for this :apple:TV.

They could have two versions:

(1) Fully loaded w/ Blu-Ray & DVR
(2) Base model

As for the DVD import, I'm sure Apple could work out a deal with the movie executives as long as the copy protection is maintained and turned into the DRM currently used from the iTunes Store and the Digital Copies found on some DVD's nowadays.

As for the other stuff, most of it is updates to iTunes and bug fixes.
 
If there was an update I think it'd be more focused on bettering the AppleTV's media organization. I think a sign of this is the 'Remote' app that Apple released. It's music is much more organized than that of the iPhone's interface. This leads me to believe that if there was an update they would add multiple viewing styles of your movie collection (coverflow, grid view, list view), and TV Show's organized much better.
 
I hope to hell a fix is released soon (like it was for iTunes) for the funky display of non-English characters in song tag info.
 
I think that any update will be limited to software and, maybe hard drive size. There doesn't appear too much they ca. Do right now on the hardware side without exploding the price point and they need to kelp Apple TV cheap to move product.

You will alonost certainly see a software update to accomodate the new iTunes 8. Certainly something for HD TV shows. Maybe AVI capability (like mp3 on iPod, for strategic purposes) - but I wouldn't hold my breath.
 
I hope for the following:

(1) Stability and smoothness via both the interface and the remote app (seems a lot of Apple products are suffering from this lately).

(2) DVR, with all the Apple patent technologies about exporting to iPod and control via the internet etc...

(3) Touch remote for the unit itself via bluetooth.

(4) Safari, to be controlled by touch remote (what is displayed on the remote displays on screen (zooming, pinching, tapping etc...).

(5) App Store for Apple TV.

(6) More of an iTunes thing - video rental subscription service.

(7) 1080p, although, this is not a major need at the current time, though it would be nice.

(8) Better streaming performance - The Apple Tv streaming also is not up to par. I have a full Wireless N setup, but SD material being streamed cannot fast-foward without stopping after about 25-50 seconds.

(9) Blu-Ray Drive - This would be VERY useful to get people who want to get Blu-Ray into buying the Apple TV. Once they have the unit, people will still rent and download things from iTunes, but it will massively help sales penetrate the market better.

(10) DVD player (if not Blu-Ray) OR iTunes needs to be able to import dvd's into the new Anamorphic Format w/ DD 5.1. Most people will never use Handbrake or other options to convert their libraries. Digital music went mainstream because it was easily to rip cd's. People will not replace their dvd player unless they can still watch their dvd's. Either option, to include one, or allow protected copy's to be injected into iTunes will work. But without this, the Apple TV will always be a hobby, not a 4th leg of Apple's business.

OK, using the above and since no one has answered, the "what would pay for this :apple:TV?" question with a price, let me take a shot at pricing it.

Let's think about an :apple:TV base price similar to now: $329 (given the new feature set, I assume the larger hard drive model is needed). Deduct $100 from my total if you disagree.

For #1, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10, let's add $0 since much of that is software enhancements, and/or billable separately (#6) and/or involving negotiating deals with content providers who might get paid for their concessions to actually do that via separate billables (maybe some kind of per-disc fee to allow the DVD to be "imported" into iTunes).

#2. Add about $170, for a 2 HD tuner DVR (ala Elgato HDHomeRun).

#3. Add about $200, for a touch screen remote (a paired down featureset of an ipod touch)

#7. Add about $100, for a hardware revision to be able to provide this, beefing up the guts of :apple:TV to be able to yield smooth 1080p playback (note given 1080p filesizes, this also supports probably not be able to live with the 40Gb base model, as offered in the first assumption).

#9. Add about $250, for a slim (as Apple would want it) BlueRay non-recordable, or maybe $350+ for a recordable BlueRay drive (I'll assume the former).

Lets tally: $329 + $170 + $200 + $100 + $250 = :apple:TV Deluxe at only $1049. My guess is that Apple would deduct the $50 to hit the $999 mark. But others might guess that a combined device could have a heavier discount (but this is Apple you know) or perhaps it would launch with a premium for having all this in one box. Would anybody imagine Apple pricing this box much lower than about $799?

And would you buy it for $999 or so?

While we're at it, why not add the other big :apple:TV wishes:
11. normalize the USB port so that multiple hard drives can be added
12. give this :apple:TV "central server storage" capabilities so that it can hold a household iphoto, itunes, etc. library that is shared by all Macs & Windows machines in the house
12b. make a product like Time Capsule that can be the central backup for this "server" so that if this :apple:TV crashes, you can still get back all your media.

I estimate all 3 as $0 dollars since that would be software enhancements (with additional billables in related requirements- such as actually adding storage (#12) and backup storage (#13) to the device).

So again, I ask, who is ready to pay about $999 or so for that :apple:TV?
 
I doubt anything will be updated on the 9th, AppleTV-wise, but I'd say the number one thing I'd like to see is legal dvd ripping. Of course, the studios would never allow this as they make a significant portion of their cash selling dvd's, and Sony in particular would have a fit. It'll be at least five years before the world begins to catch up with the idea of the AppleTV.
 
software update...

I think it's possible that there will be a software update for :apple:TV on Sept 9, but I doubt there will be hardware changes. The software update might add new functionality, such as Safari web browser.

As for hardware changes, I would like to see Apple borrow from it's Xserve design, and make a basic AppleTV device that could sit on top of my A/V receiver, but have a modular design with hot swappable bays for hard drive storage, an upgradable wired/wireless networking card, and a slide-in DVD or Blu-Ray drive. However, given Apple's history of not making consumer level systems that are expandable, I'm not holding my breath for this.
 
Despite what many people want, all of us here know that Apple's financial model of :apple:TV depends on people buying shows and movies** so we won't see a DVR or BluRay player. I'll offer some more sensible predictions for the next upgrade:

• iTunes 8 specific features
- Movie and TV subscription service
- iMovie integration

• Further Social Networking integration
- YouTube Live (Google is known to be talking about live video becoming available via YouTube this year)
- Social Networking add ons: Facebook, MySpace

• Dashboard Widgets, WebClips or WebApps
There's a possibility of integrating Dashboard or an :apple:TV Web App system.
A full blown browser isn't practical as demonstrated by the hacked variety of :apple:TV. For the big screen and couch setting, a more passive browser is necessary. RSS + Dashboard widgets fit this model quite well.

I'm looking forward to Tuesday as the appearance of iTunes 8 will have inevitable repercussions on :apple:TV.


** The financial model that I speak of in this case would be interrupted if people no longer purchased content due to the availability of a disc player and TV recording abilities. TV networks and movie studios would have no incentive to keep their content on iTunes and the whole :apple:TV model would fall apart.
 
So again, I ask, who is ready to pay about $999 or so for that :apple:TV?
If it works flawlessly and if it's not DRM'ed to death, add me. :D

If the device would be the size of a standard HiFi thingie a normal sized BR drive would be sufficent (substract 110$). Do not add a touch remote (substract 200$) but make it optional. = 689$ Only one device instead of a (hacked) Apple TV, PS3 (for BR) and HD satelite receiver.

Won't happen. :(
 
If it works flawlessly and if it's not DRM'ed to death, add me. :D

If the device would be the size of a standard HiFi thingie a normal sized BR drive would be sufficent (substract 110$). Do not add a touch remote (substract 200$) but make it optional. = 689$ Only one device instead of a (hacked) Apple TV, PS3 (for BR) and HD satelite receiver.

Won't happen. :(

Yes, I'd probably buy that one too. And that would make 2 of us. I bet Apple could sell about 200 of them (which is the root of the problem).
 
Yes, I'd probably buy that one too. And that would make 2 of us. I bet Apple could sell about 200 of them (which is the root of the problem).
Don't know, my problem is i'm looking for something that can play BR, act as a HDTV DVR and plays .mkv, m4v and so on (and it should not run windows). The gadget you mentioned is a bargain if you compare it to the price of: ATV + PS3 + HDTV DVR (eg. Dreambox 800 only with one tuner...).
 
After all, the Apple TV is an iPod...

How is it an iPod? Because it supports iTunes? Does that mean my G5 is an iPod? And my Powerbook? My crappy old Acer PC notebook has iTunes too...another iPod? Wow, I have a lot of iPods.
 
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