Macworld2009: tv Predictions

[hitekalex]

They work well for games on their own screen because you are looking down at your fingers.

Yeah, I think iPhone gaming capabilities are generally overhyped and I am yet to find an iPhone game that's playable for an extended period of time. The whole novelty of accelerometer / screen tapping thing wears out very quick.. I think hard buttons are really essential for good gaming experience.

But we're getting off topic..

 

[BoulderBum]

but it will make controlling fast-paced games a miserable experience.

I agree the Apple TV/ iPod controllers wouldn't make sense for "fast-paced games" like "Gears of War" or "Tony Hawk", but I contend it would work perfectly well for things like "Cooking Mama" or "Enigmo", where milliseconds of latency don't really matter.

That aside, I don't understand why anyone would WANT to use iPhone as a game controller.

What makes it appealing is that you have devices with built-in high resolution, multi-touch screens with accelerometers, WiFi, speakers and, in the case of the iPhone, a microphone. If you think outside the box and don't view it as a "controller" in the conventional sense, then things get interesting.

Picture an experience where you download a quiz game from the Apple TV App Store, you choose "Start Game" from your iPod Touch and iPod screen becomes a controller with buttons 1, 2 and 3 which you can push to answer multiple-choice questions. Each press results in the speaker on the iPod sounding "bing" to the first person who gets the question right.

You decide to choose a different "cooking" game and your iPod displays a bowl of batter you stir with your finger then pour via the accelerometer into the cake mold on your TV.

You then decide for a change of pace with some racing and your iPod displays the image of a steering wheel with gas and brake pedals on either horizontal end for your thumbs. You can race down the on-TV track, steering with the accelerometer as the speaker in your iPod "controller" makes engine roars and tire screeches.

You then notice a "pirate" game just became popular on the App Store, which you download and discover that it turns your iPod into an image of a cannon where every tilt you make aims a cursor on-screen at a distant ship. Tap your cannon and the speaker sounds "boom" as the cannonball hurls toward its target.

I, for one, think there are some pretty cool possibilities with such a system if you use your imagination!

 

[BoulderBum]

Yeah, I think iPhone gaming capabilities are generally overhyped and I am yet to find an iPhone game that's playable for an extended period of time.

The App Store just cracked 300 MILLION downloads, and most of those are games.

Granted, they are .99c mini-games that you play for an hour, then never again, but that's perfect for the "Wii" type of casual gamer who typically just wants to spend 15 minutes playing a round of golf before getting on with their busy lives.

I personally like Enigmo, Super Monkey Ball, Kroll, BIA and the refreshingly cheap tChess Lite (even though I usually beat it on its hardest setting).

 

[Michael CM1]

Yeah, I think iPhone gaming capabilities are generally overhyped and I am yet to find an iPhone game that's playable for an extended period of time. The whole novelty of accelerometer / screen tapping thing wears out very quick.. I think hard buttons are really essential for good gaming experience.

But we're getting off topic..

You realize how important buttons are for games when you play Virtual Console games. Some of the best longevity games are stuff like most of the Super Mario games, The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, etc. We're way too used to using buttons to do everything by tilting (plus it probably wears on your wrists if you do it long enough). I like a lot of the games on the iPhone, but it's not some Nintendo DS competitor. It makes the games on other phones look stupid, but it's not a DS.

As far as ATV doing video games, um, maybe they could do video right first? I just want the darn thing to act like iTunes in a box with a remote that's worth $19 (does anybody realize those all-in-one universal remotes with actual buttons cost about $10?). An SDK would be a good idea for apps like Netflix streaming and possibly stuff like a TV guide or something. But Apple needs to get the video stuff working before they do other stuff on it.

 

[BoulderBum]

You realize how important buttons are for games when you play Virtual Console games. Some of the best longevity games are stuff like most of the Super Mario games, The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, etc. We're way too used to using buttons to do everything by tilting (plus it probably wears on your wrists if you do it long enough).

I think you have a point that those games wouldn't work with iPod controller idea, but I think you have to consider the Wii. It's the hottest selling console out there (I think it's still sold out most locations after all these years), it's operated by "tilting" the controls around, and some of the best games are take 5 minutes to play a round (Wii Sports, Wario Smooth Moves).

 

[mcdj]

AppleVision!

32" OLED screen
Integrated cable card
802.11N
250GB SSD DVR
Blu-Ray/DVD
SafariTV (part of OSXtv)

Complete with Bluetooth keyboard and Nano remote...

 

[virus7]

AppleVision!

32" OLED screen
Integrated cable card
802.11N
250GB SSD DVR
Blu-Ray/DVD
SafariTV (part of OSXtv)

Complete with Bluetooth keyboard and Nano remote...

while that looks cool and all i'm not willing (and I am sure a lot of others) to downsize my TV. Besides the life of a TV is typically longer than a computer, so I don't see it as a good move to integrate the 2.

I'd rather see a 20" version with touchscreen for my kitchen.

 

[kiranmk2]

Can someone explain why all the votes add up to over 130%?

 

[Purpdust]

beacuse some poeple Picked more than one option?

 

[kiranmk2]

surely it should be 100x(number of votes in category/total number of votes)? therefore it doesn't matter how many things you vote for

 

[drakeshipway]

i hope that it's just sofware 3.0,
cause i'm getting tv for christmas.

haha, but i'd love to see iphone integration.

 

[bilbo--baggins]

I think Apple should hedge their bets with the Apple TV.

Keep the current 40GB model (or with some minor improvements to processor speed, hard drive etc) but keep it cheap (probably make it cheaper) - primarily to boost the iTunes movie rental business which has huge potential. Most of all make it a bit snappier and a lot more stable/reliable than it currently is (I get sick of restarting my Apple TV, most days).

Also bring out a premium model with some of the additional features commonly requested such as larger hard drives, bluetooth for wireless keyboards, web access, games, TV tuner/PVR.

Without a 2 tiered offering it's a no win situation. They either charge too much to get mass appeal, or they keep the features too limited to satisfy the hard core users or to capture the imagination of the tech news journalists.

 

[Billy Boo Bob]

What can be integrated between iPhone and aTV beyond Remote control app?

I'd like to see the iPhone/iTouch become an AirTunes target. You could stream the sound from your TV to your phone/touch and use the headphones for when you need private/quiet viewing.

Would come in handy even without the TV in play... Just to have it be an AirTunes target for iTunes from your computer would be cool. Cordless headphones for your computer. Actually it would be nice to have it stream audio for anything you run (selectable as audio output device in System Prefs), not just iTunes.

 

[Sol]

I would like to see a DVD drive added, but I think Jobs has a Jones for ditching optical media. I think he's 100 percent nuts (or at least a good 10 years early) on this. Blu-ray Disc players are sinking below ATV's price, DVDs are often cheaper than iTunes Store downloads (quite unlike the CD vs. AAC battle), and HD movies aren't going to be any different.

An Apple-brand Blue-Ray player would be good value with the Apple TV software running on it but I think a cheaper model should also be offered. Perhaps the Blue-Ray drive could be external and designed to sit under the Apple TV, ideally powered from the USB port like the MacBook Air's SuperDrive.

I don't think the Digital TV tuner idea is at odds with the iTunes model. There is never going to be one digital video format that caters to all needs. D-TV is good for local content and daily viewing. iTunes purchases and rentals are good for people looking for something specifically like a movie or a particular episode of a TV series. You Tube is good for random stuff. Blue Ray and DVD are good for maximum quality and personal video libraries. Every format has a different function and there is no reason the Apple TV can't cater to all those needs.

 

[Sol]

I'd like to see the iPhone/iTouch become an AirTunes target. You could stream the sound from your TV to your phone/touch and use the headphones for when you need private/quiet viewing.

Good idea. It would probably drain the battery but if it is late-night viewing you would only need it for a couple of hours.

 

[jfull15]

I think we'll see the AppleTV update at WWDC. There might be HDD updates but they won't be mentioned in the keynote, or it will be a quick one-slide thing.

 

[gettingmy1stmac]

how about

dvr functionality?

 

[harley3k]

More than 24hr rental time.

I'd be happiest with a longer than 24 hour rental time for movies.
I use mine all the time and that's the thing that annoys me the most.

 

[harley3k]

Dvr?

dvr functionality?

Why do people always mention this?
The device has no video-input ports.
And recording HD content would take a lot more processing power, unless you added a cablecard slot / and then there's the support such a device would require connecting it to all the different cable providers...providing guide data.

Tivo has yet to make a consistent profit, Windows Media Centers have never really caught on like MS wanted, and TV providers all offer their own DVRs. Just from a market perspective a DVR seems like the worst idea for apple to jump into.

 

[queshy]

interesting thread. it's really anybody's game...I say no mention. I think ATV is still in the growing phase. In Canada though, iTunes has pretty much no TV shows so I can't see how it would take off here.

 

[gettingmy1stmac]

Why do people always mention this?
The device has no video-input ports.
And recording HD content would take a lot more processing power, unless you added a cablecard slot / and then there's the support such a device would require connecting it to all the different cable providers...providing guide data.

Tivo has yet to make a consistent profit, Windows Media Centers have never really caught on like MS wanted, and TV providers all offer their own DVRs. Just from a market perspective a DVR seems like the worst idea for apple to jump into.

people mention it because it's a good idea...

Since Apple is a hardware company, maybe they could integrate dvr functionality into the Apple TV without a subscription service??? Then it's a hardware only sale (which is what apple is in business to do).

 

[harley3k]

people mention it because it's a good idea...

Since Apple is a hardware company, maybe they could integrate dvr functionality into the Apple TV without a subscription service??? Then it's a hardware only sale (which is what apple is in business to do).

I still think it's a bad idea for reasons I mentioned.
I'd love it if they proved me wrong though. My Tivo is great, but no one does an interface design like Apple.

 

[FaasNat]

people mention it because it's a good idea...

Since Apple is a hardware company, maybe they could integrate dvr functionality into the Apple TV without a subscription service??? Then it's a hardware only sale (which is what apple is in business to do).

I don't see it becoming a traditional DVR device where it gets its content from a cable company. Apple would probably prefer you get it off the iTMS.

I'd expect they'd give unlimited access to rent iTMS TV content for a monthly fee or -- as I could only wish for -- free access with a couple 30 sec commercial spots (like Hulu). To me that'd make more sense from a "DVR" standpoint as it'll still generate some sort of revenue through iTunes....

 

[Kurfer]

I agree that Apple may be working on "Just in case" technology and patenting their ideas, but the way the ship is sailing, Apple is working towards replacing – not complementing – the live TV model with an internet streaming model. They've done it very successfully with iTunes, they just need to improve on the tv itself to make it more attractive to mainstream users.

I think that your storage bumps are sensible predictions. 40GB is too low for the HD future that Apple is aiming for.

It sucks that they can't just allow us to attached external drives to the thing to expand the storage.

 

[Tilpots]

Why do people always mention this?
The device has no video-input ports.
And recording HD content would take a lot more processing power, unless you added a cablecard slot / and then there's the support such a device would require connecting it to all the different cable providers...providing guide data.

Tivo has yet to make a consistent profit, Windows Media Centers have never really caught on like MS wanted, and TV providers all offer their own DVRs. Just from a market perspective a DVR seems like the worst idea for apple to jump into.

Don't forget free OTA digital TV. It doesn't need to record cable as long as it could record the stuff you get for free from the big networks. Everything else you could buy from iTunes, so they're happy too.