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"iTV Might Be Awesome, But It’s Not What We Really Want"

Apple isn't going to get into an appliance business where hardware sales are needed to make money. I've been saying this for a while, they can't get content deals right now..the itv is a no go, at present.
 
turbobass said:
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/14/itv-might-be-awesome-but-its-not-what-we-really-want/

I am honestly torn about this. To be honest it seems like M$ has the best "convergence" device right now with the Xbox...is there a broad market share for Apple TV and iTV to offer more than that at an attractive price point?
Click to expand...

ATVs are small, quiet, and I can afford to have one on every TV in my home (just two, really). I am not interested in XBOX gaming, and I use iPhoto which means when I upload my camera photos to my computer they are available on my big screen tv automatically without any further action from me.

So, for my needs, the ATV is superior to the XBOX in that it does what I need/want more efficiently and for far less money.

To each their own.
 
h00ligan said:
Apple isn't going to get into an appliance business where hardware sales are needed to make money. I've been saying this for a while, they can't get content deals right now..the itv is a no go, at present.
Click to expand...

Um, Apple makes the vast majority of its money from hardware.

Completely agree on the second point.
 
I don't think the XBOX is the best example of an all in one box for TV...

However, the Sony Playstation 3 is. The machine has wireless connectivity, HDMI out standard, Blu Ray capabilities, one of the best upconverters on the market for DVD on the market. USB support, internet browser, netflix connectivity, many other market shares including NHL Center Ice, MLB Baseball, NFL, Movie Rentals, streaming music, photo connectivity, and many programs to allow the device to see your computer.

then you have the gaming aspect. Add to that the ability for remotes, Playstation 7.1 headphones, keyboards... The list goes on and on.

If the Apple TV had Netflix, iTunes sync and allowed internet it would be more of a complete usable system.

I think the iTV will be just that. Netflix, iOS apps, iPhone/iPod touch remote capable, 1080p with airplay coming from your iPhone, iPad and the mac. I can see the ability to airplay things like keynote, imovie and other programs being a cool feature. Not to mention, I can see the app store appearing, and allowing things like games (angry birds, etc) to be bought and played on the TV. I can see the ability to open all types of cloud based content from pages, to keynote, to music, pictures, videos, apps... It all makes sense.

We'll see though. If they were smart, I would make the iTunes account in the TV allow for you to scan previously purchased DVDs using your mac, and allow access to your movies you already own, with no extra cost and at full 1080p quality (if available). This would allow anyone with a broken disc (kids) or to have a digital backup, without taking up computer disk space... Do it in the cloud.
 
Oh i agree whole heartedly. In fact i also believed apple should not attempt to get into the cell phone market as it was already saturated and very competitive. I also think the ipad is a mistake after all the netbook market sells a fully functioning pc at a fraction of the price which runs a complete os, not a mobile os. They should also not try to make an all-in-one pc either as those are unupgradable. Should i continue on things apple has done wrong that made them a $600 billion dollar company? I think i'll reserve judgement on this one. Call me crazy but they might know what they are doing at this point ;)
 
turbobass said:
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/14/itv-might-be-awesome-but-its-not-what-we-really-want/

I am honestly torn about this. To be honest it seems like M$ has the best "convergence" device right now with the Xbox...is there a broad market share for Apple TV and iTV to offer more than that at an attractive price point?
Click to expand...

I have an Xbox (and PS3, and Wii, And AppleTV), and I personally wouldn't call the 360 a good convergence device. It doesn't have the Bluray support of the PS3. The fans are too loud for music/video use. It lacks the 'instant on' of an ATV. It's awkward to navigate a large music/video collection using the game controller or remote (there may be tablet options like the iPad Remote app, but I've never seen/used them). Plus I hate the way the Xbox UI is increasingly becoming an advertising billboard. I spent hundreds on 2 Xbox consoles and thousands on games, why do I still have to see that crap? It doesn't have a media "push" ability like Airplay.

Of course, it is much, much better than an ATV at games, certainly! If I HAD TO pick one device for media & gaming, I'd go with the PS3. Otherwise, I'd go with the 360 for games and and ATV (or similar Roku/Boxee) device for media.
 
jwm2 said:
Oh i agree whole heartedly. In fact i also believed apple should not attempt to get into the cell phone market as it was already saturated and very competitive. I also think the ipad is a mistake after all the netbook market sells a fully functioning pc at a fraction of the price which runs a complete os, not a mobile os. They should also not try to make an all-in-one pc either as those are unupgradable. Should i continue on things apple has done wrong that made them a $600 billion dollar company? I think i'll reserve judgement on this one. Call me crazy but they might know what they are doing at this point ;)
Click to expand...

Best post ever.....
 
For me Apple Tv is more than a hobby device. We have three in our home, and the one in the main room allows us to airplay music directly through our surround sound system in the great room, or outside on our deck through the split reciever we have. I use it to watch MLB baseball, the kids can watch itunes movies without worrying about dvd's... the airplay funcionality is more amazing than most people understand...

Honestly, for me the only thing missing is a hulu plus app...
 
so I'm curious how you can claim a product/service that doesn't even exist to consumers at all, is "NOT WHAT WE WANT?"

How do you know it's not what we want, when you don't even know what IT is yet?
 
xxBURT0Nxx said:
so I'm curious how you can claim a product/service that doesn't even exist to consumers at all, is "NOT WHAT WE WANT?"

How do you know it's not what we want, when you don't even know what IT is yet?
Click to expand...

It's not him claiming it, it's the author of the article. And he's pretty clear with what "we don't really want" is to be tied down to cable companies based on the assumption that no matter what Apple does, we still have to pay for a bundle of channels and not pick and choose as we like. You know, it would just be a cosmetic improvement - which is not what we really want.

Personally I think he's wrong though, I don't think Apple will release an Apple TV set if they can't really change they way we choose what to pay for.
 
kaputsport said:
I don't think the XBOX is the best example of an all in one box for TV...

However, the Sony Playstation 3 is. The machine has wireless connectivity,
Click to expand...

while most of your points are accurate this one isn't. Any Xbox made since a year ago automatically has wifi connectivity.
 
jwm2 said:
Oh i agree whole heartedly. In fact i also believed apple should not attempt to get into the cell phone market as it was already saturated and very competitive. I also think the ipad is a mistake after all the netbook market sells a fully functioning pc at a fraction of the price which runs a complete os, not a mobile os. They should also not try to make an all-in-one pc either as those are unupgradable. Should i continue on things apple has done wrong that made them a $600 billion dollar company? I think i'll reserve judgement on this one. Call me crazy but they might know what they are doing at this point ;)
Click to expand...

HA! Awesome.

I believe many still think of Apple as that little "other guy" of '90's. Head over heals revenue gains over recent years unlike anyone else in the tech industry and we still hear the same old stale declarations: "nobody wants to tied to the Apple ecosystem", "nobody wants to pay the Apple premium", "nobody will pay for ease-of-use over features", etc., etc.
 
It's not what we want? - Consumers/Reviewers don't have a clue of what the device even is?
But when it does arrive, I'm pretty sure we'll all find a way of needing it.
 
frunkis54 said:
while most of your points are accurate this one isn't. Any Xbox made since a year ago automatically has wifi connectivity.
Click to expand...

Eh, I was unimpressed by Sony's video marketplace though the huge HDDs are nice. Still dealing with a tiny OG X360 HDD that makes it almost unusable these days :mad::mad:

Time to spend more $$!! Lol

----------
xxBURT0Nxx said:
How do you know it's not what we want, when you don't even know what IT is yet?
Click to expand...
Stay off of macrumors then, maybe?
 
Im sure an iTV would be nice but Im feeling it would be more appealing to buy a gorgeous 55"HDTV on sale + aTV3 than it is to buy a retail price Apple Brand TV.
 
xxBURT0Nxx said:
It's one thing to comment on a rumor....

saying a product that doesn't even exist is "not what we want" is absolutely absurd.
Click to expand...
Well, he didn't say the product is not what we want. He said what we don't want is to be equally tied down to the cable companies as we are today. Did you read the article?
 
Why would iTV not be what you want ? they show great shows, and offer a real alternative to the BBC as a terrestrial TV channel


.....

oh ... you meant the Apple TV Set is not what you want....

iTV - A UK terrestrial TV station

:apple:TV - A small box that connects to your TV and lets you stream iTunes content to it, maybe someday integrated into a TV set, but its never going to be called iTV.
 
kaputsport said:
If the Apple TV had Netflix, iTunes sync and allowed internet it would be more of a complete usable system.
Click to expand...

Just so we're all clear, the Apple TV does have Netflix, lets you access iTunes media from the cloud or from your computers (home sharing), and it does have limited connectivity to the Internet for YouTube, Vimeo, etc.

What it does not have is a web browser (and I'm not sure I'd really be keen for it). Though the ability to play video from TV station websites (like the Boxee Box does) would be really cool. As would the ability to play and access files from DLNA devices instead of relying on Apple-only protocols. For example, I can share music from a PC running iTunes, but not from an "iTunes compatible" (mt-daapd or DLNA) NAS.

My ideal Apple TV would be everything the existing box does now, plus:
- watch streaming TV from various internet sources (with a program guide like Boxee Box)
- playback shared media from NAS-based servers (even if support was limited to Apple products like Time Capsule, it's still far better than forcing me to keep a computer on)
- watch live TV via a built-in ATSC tuner, or support for networked TV tuners like HDHomeRun

(Hey, I can wish, right?)

If Apple could package that all together for even $199 I'd buy one for every TV in my house.
 
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