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Future of Apple TV!!! (speculation)
- Thread starter ClassicMac247
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you pretty much summed it up.. apologies if my post wasn't really clear. right now apple TV is a periph. in 5 years it should be built in.... I don't see why not. It's not like it's a scanner periph where only small margin of computer consumer would want one. Apple's iMac is imaged and developed as an all in one device that plays music, movies, iLife, airport express etc etc. why not stick Apple TV inside the iMac.
One other advantage is that you don't have to burn one of your iTunes authorizations to play back DRM'd music on them.
In my situation, I have five machines already authorized to my iTunes account but can then still playback music and video on my three Apple TVs as well.
Kevin
In my situation, I have five machines already authorized to my iTunes account but can then still playback music and video on my three Apple TVs as well.
Well it is in a way with Front Row.
Kevin
Personally, I feel that the iMac is/won't be a suitable replacement for the aTV. The reason is that the iMac has a small screen. Most people (well people that I know) don't want their living room TV to be a 24" job.
The mini form factor would be a better device for connecting to a TV. Maybe a Mac mini+ that has component and HDMI outputs instead of DVI. Maybe a wider case to match typical DVD players and other AV components. I just don't know if there's a market for an OS X machine specifically designed to be connected to an HDTV.
ft
Because, as ftaok suggests, only geeks -- er, um technology enthusiasts -- will care about this. This is something routinely missed on this forum, probably because most of us are geeks!
"Normal" people don't want to watch TV and movies on a computer screen, and certainly wouldn't dream of setting up and configuring a computer to run home entertainment in their living rooms. We're talking about a population here that 10-15 years ago had 12:00 flashing on their VCRs because they weren't able to figure out how to set the time! What Joe Average wants is something dead-simple to operate--a black box like a DVD player or cable box. And he wants to watch his media in the living room on his new 42" or 50" plasma TV. Hence, the 
TV. Hence the X-Box. Apple know full well that if they want to become a major force in digital media distribution, they need a consumer-friendly bridge to the home theater. Whether they actually desire this is debatable--many people think iTMS exists only to boost iPod sales--but I believe that their experience with the iTMS has opened their eyes to the possibility that they could become a major player in what will certainly be the dominant form of media distribution in the future. (What about HD-DVD and Blueray? Forget it--the battle is already over, and both sides have lost. These will never be more than specialty niche products--more like Laserdisc than the DVD.)
So the
TV is not so much about hardware strategy as it is about creating a new business model. But of course, this is in an embryonic stage right now; the current generation hardware will certainly be improved, and it is crucial that they get HD content up on iTMS. Microsoft has shamefully jumped ahead of them in this regard with X-Box Live. So they need to get cracking--in fairness they've been a little distracted this year with the iPhone, the iMac refresh, and Leopard--but to answer the original question, I think the TV will soon change from "hobby" status to core development area, and its successors will be an important part of Apple's future.I too find myself waiting to buy into ATV. I actually did leave feedback through their website, although I'm not sure how much good it will do.
My two main issues with it right now are:
1) No support for surround audio codecs (DD5.1 and DTS - let's not even get into next gen formats right now...)
2) Necessity to have a client running even if your iT database resides on a network storage device (although I suppose internal is an option...)
...this actually beggs the question - can one ATV access directly content from another ATV?! I never thought to ask this, but I imagine the answer is no.
Honestly, I don't think Apple would have put the product out at all if they didn't/don't intent to stick with it - at least for the foreseable future. 2-3 years perhaps?
Honestly, it's a lot like Ferrari. I don't know the order, but they likely knew they could build a great car. For whatever reason they released their F360, only to follow it up with a better model a few years later at a higher cost - F360 CS. That was then followed by the F430 as the next true model. No, a few years after that was released they announced the F430 SF. More money, and more power!
I know computers don't exactly follow this paradime, but if Apple has indeed committed to ATV, I don't think it's a stretch that they decided to release the current model with the intent to release a better one later down the road. Heck, they may already have had it in house, or at least the specs! Now we're left asking, was the HD bump v1.5 or 2.0?
My two main issues with it right now are:
1) No support for surround audio codecs (DD5.1 and DTS - let's not even get into next gen formats right now...)
2) Necessity to have a client running even if your iT database resides on a network storage device (although I suppose internal is an option...)
...this actually beggs the question - can one ATV access directly content from another ATV?! I never thought to ask this, but I imagine the answer is no.
Honestly, I don't think Apple would have put the product out at all if they didn't/don't intent to stick with it - at least for the foreseable future. 2-3 years perhaps?
Honestly, it's a lot like Ferrari. I don't know the order, but they likely knew they could build a great car. For whatever reason they released their F360, only to follow it up with a better model a few years later at a higher cost - F360 CS. That was then followed by the F430 as the next true model. No, a few years after that was released they announced the F430 SF. More money, and more power!
I know computers don't exactly follow this paradime, but if Apple has indeed committed to ATV, I don't think it's a stretch that they decided to release the current model with the intent to release a better one later down the road. Heck, they may already have had it in house, or at least the specs! Now we're left asking, was the HD bump v1.5 or 2.0?
That completely misses the point of aTV. You can't just build it into a mac, the whole point is to have a cheap little box that you can have next to your tv, in a separate room from your computer. And they already have front row in macs, I don't see what would be "built in" to macs that's not there already.
Again, that makes no sense. The whole point of aTV is being a separate unit, otherwise you'd have to have your computer in the living room next to your TV. It's like saying a TV remote would be better if it were built into the TV.
I havent seen anyone else suggest this, so if someone has... well sorry...
But, something that would bring me on board, and perhaps a broader range of "simpler" users, like me... would be to actually run my cable tv into Apple TV, and be able to browse through television stations with coverflow, or something similar - on top of being able to use it as it currently exists. Apple can figure out how, i'm sure.
But, something that would bring me on board, and perhaps a broader range of "simpler" users, like me... would be to actually run my cable tv into Apple TV, and be able to browse through television stations with coverflow, or something similar - on top of being able to use it as it currently exists. Apple can figure out how, i'm sure.
I think there was something out there that already does this. I think it would show screen shots of every consecutive channel (programable) at 30 second intervals. I don't remember what it's called, or what service you could get it through. Perhaps one of the cable companies.
That could be modified to be coverflow like, but honestly whenever I'm flipping through guides on cable/sat it tends to lag when you do the page +/- function. If this is a matter of the processor in the unit, that is something I'm sure a PC/ATV update could handle. However, to be frank this isn't something I'd want from my cable/sat box, letalone an ATV unit.
Edit: Now if we're talking saved/dvred content, then I could see the utility since it isn't in realtime. Although I think I'd still rather just use Tivo.
Sick of cover flow concept...
Cover flow this, cover flow that, remember the good old days when that was just a viewing option/feature on iTunes? I have had iphones and ipod touchs and they make me sick everytime i see cover flow. it was cool when it was an option, now its forced upon us on even our ipods!!! You have to admit it can get annoying, very cool, but getting old quick. Please apple, dont incorporate it heavily into any new apple tv product!
Cover flow this, cover flow that, remember the good old days when that was just a viewing option/feature on iTunes? I have had iphones and ipod touchs and they make me sick everytime i see cover flow. it was cool when it was an option, now its forced upon us on even our ipods!!!
You have to admit it can get annoying, very cool, but getting old quick. Please apple, dont incorporate it heavily into any new apple tv product!Think about the evolution of the iPod too
It took nearly a year for the 2nd iPod that was compatible with windows to emerge. That's when the iPod really took off. And there's not nearly the demand for a home media manager as a next generation walkman. Apple TV's day will come when Apple starts to expand its capabilities and offer more options to consumers. I'll be shocked if we dont get bargain rentals/subscription (killer app) in the next few months. We also need more macs that can store and stream a library of movies. Your average mac can hold about 100 hours of high quality h.264 assuming it has a decent # of apps and documents on it. That is really not much. I think it will never be the ipod, but it has potential to be a success maybe next year it will ramp up.
It took nearly a year for the 2nd iPod that was compatible with windows to emerge. That's when the iPod really took off. And there's not nearly the demand for a home media manager as a next generation walkman. Apple TV's day will come when Apple starts to expand its capabilities and offer more options to consumers. I'll be shocked if we dont get bargain rentals/subscription (killer app) in the next few months. We also need more macs that can store and stream a library of movies. Your average mac can hold about 100 hours of high quality h.264 assuming it has a decent # of apps and documents on it. That is really not much. I think it will never be the ipod, but it has potential to be a success maybe next year it will ramp up.
Cover flow this, cover flow that, remember the good old days when that was just a viewing option/feature on iTunes? I have had iphones and ipod touchs and they make me sick everytime i see cover flow. it was cool when it was an option, now its forced upon us on even our ipods!!!
coverflow is not forced at all. in all cases (iTunes, leopard, iPhone, and iPods) you can choose to view in cover flow if you want, but it is not forced.
The whole point of the ATV is to wirelessly move your content FROM your computer TO your tv. Unless you can hookup your comptuer to your TV, why would they combine both?
You can install the ATV OS on your iMac and boot from it. Then what? You have a glorified FrontRow but no way to get the content to your TV...
Cover flow this, cover flow that, remember the good old days when that was just a viewing option/feature on iTunes? I have had iphones and ipod touchs and they make me sick everytime i see cover flow. it was cool when it was an option, now its forced upon us on even our ipods!!!
I used to get a bit annoyed by Apple putting cover flow into everything, it really bugged me when I saw that it was going into the Finder? on Leopard? I though, "WTHell is Jobs thinking?" When I got my iPod Classic and used it to surf through some songs I started to come over to it, and grow to like it. I wouldn't use it for any normal music playing, but it's a breath taking relief from that outdated iPod UI of the 5G iPod and previous models. If I am just browsing, cover flow is awesome, especially when you have all of your album art.
I think I may even grow to use it in the finder when looking through photos or graphic files I have that can show me previews of some kind. That was one of Tiger's weakest links, previews. There weren't any in most circumstances and when there was it wasn't much help because you had to have your icons huge in order to benefit from it. With cover flow in the finder, (and if I can set certain windows/files to view only in CF) using previews of certain files may just be a great new way to search for my files.
As for the Apple TV, I will always say that Apple should just kill off the Mac Mini and combine the two. The mini is a great machine, as is the Apple TV, but both have their problems, and both problems can be solved by combining the two. The ATV would become a much more powerful computer and the Mini would become a much more powerful media box. Give the Apple TV a bigger HDD, an optical drive, and a regular computer UI and BAM! Instant hit. Let the 3rd party devos cook up the DVR software and the ATV would be a hit at $400.
I finally put my
TV in my bedroom. I have a Tivo in my home theater. It is great with Amazon Unbox and Yahoo.After Leopard's release today, I do see them as converging EVERYTHING together.
I can see an updated
TV/Mini converged computer. A bluetooth adapter (for keyboards and game controllers) for the current TV, then the "fun" begins.Imagine developers making a widget or small app or game that, after you download from iTunes (for free or for a fee), you can use on:
Any Mac
Any newer iPod (Classic, Touch, 3rd Gen Nano)
Any
TVAny iPhone
Now that would be awesome. Buy a TV episode, and you can now REALLY watch it on any device. Check the weather, stocks, or your Notes? Same...
The weather widget I think is my most used app. I check weather on my Tivo with Yahoo!, but would LOVE to have that app on my
TV...From 2002-2006 I worked for a company that was in this space -- streaming content from your PC to a set-top box, it was called Digital5.
I joined the company because when you think about it, people are getting more and more digital content and want to enjoy it on their big screen TVs, home theaters, good amplifiers, etc. They have MP3s they buy from iTunes and similar stores or rip from CDs, they have digital pictures they take with their cameras, and digital video is starting to happen. And now everybody has a home network. Apple didn't invent this stuff folks, there is a wide world of such devices that go by the name and standards of UPnP and DLNA. I think my company was ahead of its time, but it ran out of money and went out of business.
Apple senses the same thing with Apple TV (in fact, I had heard that Apple hired the team from one of our competitors to do the Apple TV). But I think it's still an idea ahead of its time. The big problem Digital5 had was content -- you need it. Apple has it, and it's still struggling. Steve Jobs recently called Apple TV a "hobby" not a "business". Many people think something will happen but it might still be too early. Everybody knows online distribution is the future, and everyone knows the personal computer is pushing its way into the living room.
I have an Apple TV and I ended up using it to stream my lossless music collection sitting on my Mac Mini into my bedroom sound system. It's the only set top device I know of that will play ALAC. Here's what I think is wrong with it:
(1) No true 1080p (it's scaled 540), 720p max isn't good enough in today's market.
(2) No dolby digital on the digital output. Why the hell do they downmix it? People like me are hooking the Apple TV to a home theater receiver.
(3) Movie rentals (I think Apple is working on this). I refuse to buy movies on iTunes because they are inferior quality to a DVD and cost as much, I'd rather get the DVD. XBox Live already has HD movies available for downloaded rentals, Apple needs to follow suit. There are already movie rental download devices like Vudu and Amazon Unbox, Apple will follow.
(4) Bigger hard disks. They made a good move by increasing from 40gb to 160, but keep going.
(5) Add more formats -- AVI/Divx, Matroska, etc.
(6) Support industry-standard UPnP in addition to Apple's proprietary Rendesvous.
(7) Consider TV tuning/PVR. Becomes a problem for those of us with HD cable boxes.
I joined the company because when you think about it, people are getting more and more digital content and want to enjoy it on their big screen TVs, home theaters, good amplifiers, etc. They have MP3s they buy from iTunes and similar stores or rip from CDs, they have digital pictures they take with their cameras, and digital video is starting to happen. And now everybody has a home network. Apple didn't invent this stuff folks, there is a wide world of such devices that go by the name and standards of UPnP and DLNA. I think my company was ahead of its time, but it ran out of money and went out of business.
Apple senses the same thing with Apple TV (in fact, I had heard that Apple hired the team from one of our competitors to do the Apple TV). But I think it's still an idea ahead of its time. The big problem Digital5 had was content -- you need it. Apple has it, and it's still struggling. Steve Jobs recently called Apple TV a "hobby" not a "business". Many people think something will happen but it might still be too early. Everybody knows online distribution is the future, and everyone knows the personal computer is pushing its way into the living room.
I have an Apple TV and I ended up using it to stream my lossless music collection sitting on my Mac Mini into my bedroom sound system. It's the only set top device I know of that will play ALAC. Here's what I think is wrong with it:
(1) No true 1080p (it's scaled 540), 720p max isn't good enough in today's market.
(2) No dolby digital on the digital output. Why the hell do they downmix it? People like me are hooking the Apple TV to a home theater receiver.
(3) Movie rentals (I think Apple is working on this). I refuse to buy movies on iTunes because they are inferior quality to a DVD and cost as much, I'd rather get the DVD. XBox Live already has HD movies available for downloaded rentals, Apple needs to follow suit. There are already movie rental download devices like Vudu and Amazon Unbox, Apple will follow.
(4) Bigger hard disks. They made a good move by increasing from 40gb to 160, but keep going.
(5) Add more formats -- AVI/Divx, Matroska, etc.
(6) Support industry-standard UPnP in addition to Apple's proprietary Rendesvous.
(7) Consider TV tuning/PVR. Becomes a problem for those of us with HD cable boxes.