Any mention if the ATV could stream all of my tv shows and movies that I have purchased without streaming from my computer? Thanks
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iCloud for ATV?
- Thread starter legaleye3000
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No. The only feature of iCloud for AppleTV that I heard mentioned had to do with photos in the Photo Stream.
I'm surprised - after all the talk about moving the digital hub to the cloud, iTunes and Apple TV are the very definition of home digital hub.
Even if all they did was allow the iTunes catalog (not necessarily the media content) to reside in the cloud, it would untether the Apple TV from having to have a Mac running iTunes powered on 24 hours a day. Cloud iTunes catalog + NAS is a much more cloud-friendly and elegant solution, and opens the doors for extending the rental model they currently have.
Even if all they did was allow the iTunes catalog (not necessarily the media content) to reside in the cloud, it would untether the Apple TV from having to have a Mac running iTunes powered on 24 hours a day. Cloud iTunes catalog + NAS is a much more cloud-friendly and elegant solution, and opens the doors for extending the rental model they currently have.
I think they might be working on this but don't have the rights from the movie studio. If you open the iTunes app on the iPhone you can't download Movies, or tv shows you have previously purchased, but you can music videos, and music. I just don't think they have the movie studios on board for the whole multiple downloads yet. Hopefully they will in the future.
It's licensing. Apple don't have deals in place for streaming it seems. As such this isn't their call to make.
I'd also bet that even if they do get the music industry to agree to streaming during the next year, the TV/movie industry is going to hold back for far far longer.
I suspect that will be coming within a year. It seems the tv and movie people are further behind than the music people in understanding/accepting the digital download way of thinking.
It's not just a case of backwards thinking. Unlike the record industry, sports, TV and movies are bound up in existing licensing deals with content providers such as cable operators and HBO that greatly restrict other forms of dissemination. These companies are the primary customers for visual media. We as cable subscribers are merely secondary customers. Those of us who aren't cable customers aren't even that; we're gnats.
A lot will have to change before your TV is even at that point that your iPod was five years ago.
I really don't see why it couldn't be offered, at least for purchases or rentals made via iTunes.
Having a users current movie library, which may NOT have been purchases on iTunes I can see being a problem. After all, how to know if that user didn't just illegally download them from elsewhere and re-encode them to fit Apple's standard video method?
But stuff bought or rented from iTunes? What's the real problem there?
In fact, it would cut down on piracy.
How?
Because you'd have to have actually bought or rented the movie or TV show, and it would have to be on your account. If it's not on your account, you don't get access to it.
Or is it just the multiple use interface that studios are worried about? Because, honestly...that'd be kinda dumb, especially if you actually bought it and cannot illegally share it as it would be saved totally on the cloud, where only YOU have access to it, and where it can be checked to make sure you actually purchased it in the first place.
Having a users current movie library, which may NOT have been purchases on iTunes I can see being a problem. After all, how to know if that user didn't just illegally download them from elsewhere and re-encode them to fit Apple's standard video method?
But stuff bought or rented from iTunes? What's the real problem there?
In fact, it would cut down on piracy.
How?
Because you'd have to have actually bought or rented the movie or TV show, and it would have to be on your account. If it's not on your account, you don't get access to it.
Or is it just the multiple use interface that studios are worried about? Because, honestly...that'd be kinda dumb, especially if you actually bought it and cannot illegally share it as it would be saved totally on the cloud, where only YOU have access to it, and where it can be checked to make sure you actually purchased it in the first place.
OK, then how does Apple know that the music you have in your library and are requesting to use in iTunes Match isn't pirated? I'm sure anyone who has a library 5-10 years old has at least a couple of songs downloaded from Limewire or Napster.
Answer: They don't. (or they might figure it out so watch your backs if you have ever pirated!)
I think the record companies requested the $25/year as a realization that some of the songs will be pirated in this scheme and this helps them still gain some income from the deal. Same thing would go for movies, although I would think it would be much, MUCH more expensive due to the sheer size and volume of movies that are out there. There would probably be a lot more files being archived in the cloud and therefore a pretty steep movie/tv shows charge for iTunes Match for video...maybe $100 or more a year?
But I wholeheartedly agree that right now, they could allow 'streaming' of any previously iTunes purchased TV shows or movies. Simple to do.