Maybe they'll have two tiers for the Apple TV. Apple TV Pro Anyone?

[KittyKatta]

This is pure speculation since we know nothing about it, but how about an Apple TV Pro?

Apple doesn't actually call the current model the Apple TV 2, its just the Apple TV. So after seeing that airplay streaming works for the current AppleTV then I was thinking maybe they'll keep that as the streaming box but also add in an Apple TV PRO which would be app-capable.

This enables them to still charge $99 for the old model which is a very capable product, but also take a swipe at Google TV, XBox, PS3 or Nintendo with a box that does all the streaming and also plays apps and games.

So what do you think? Would you buy an Apple TV Pro? How much would you pay?

 

[chenks]

So what do you think?

no

 

[dXTC]

As promising as a two-tier lineup may seem, I'm going to agree with chenks on this one. Keep the $99 price on a single model because $99 is a pricing "sweet spot", and add 1080p and an App store, perhaps for Hulu or major broadcast channel (ABC/CBS/NBC in the US) live streaming. A couple more Gb of buffer/app memory could help too.

I'm not so sure on the game portion; the Apple Remote's response time is not that quick, and Airplay Mirroring from a Mac would inherently introduce lag.

 

[d21mike]

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If an App Store, maybe memory options like with iPhone and iPad. 16gb, 32gb, 64gb etc. Then you could have local storage for music, pictures and steaming if needed.

 

[KittyKatta]

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If an App Store, maybe memory options like with iPhone and iPad. 16gb, 32gb, 64gb etc. Then you could have local storage for music, pictures and steaming if needed.

Exactly. The AppleTV is fantastic but with no storage memory, 720p and an "adequate" processor its not really going to be much more than it is. And thats perfectly fine for many people but if they go with Apps on TV then you'll need a lot more power which is why a Pro with storage space, remote/controller w Siri Mic, 1080p and an A6 makes sense. I'd gladly spend more because it would do so much more.

People are voting against the idea of tiered AppleTV's but isn't a more functional AppleTV exactly what we want in an Apple branded television set? It seems to make more sense for both Apple and the consumer than Apple actually making TV sets.

 

[marc11]

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If an App Store, maybe memory options like with iPhone and iPad. 16gb, 32gb, 64gb etc. Then you could have local storage for music, pictures and steaming if needed.

Even 64gb is not near enough to meet a HT need, it is just a tease at best. What is the point of putting apps in local memory but everything else on external storage? If it is just for games, then you need to enable some sort of controller or wireless keyboard/trackpad because otherwise it assumes you will have an iDevice to connect to it over airplay, which at that point, what not just use the app on the iDevice over airplay?

IMHO it would be far better to enable the USB port to connect to local storage like we can with the ATV1 than to put in expensive flash memory. This keeps the price down, and allows the user to build a true media center around it with unlimited media storage.

But I suspect this is not the direction Apple is going here, IMHO they want everything on iCloud and streamed, nothing local.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I've said it before: there's no way for Apple to get local storage SIZE right. Whatever they would choose will be "too big"/"overkill" or "too small"/"not enough for my media".

Solution: normalize that USB port so that people can attach whatever size storage they want to it. Those with bigger needs attach bigger storage. Those will smaller needs attach smaller storage. Those that want to stream everything attach nothing. Everybody wins.

Solution #2: NAS storage (using whatever size storage you want attached to your home network).

Solution #3: iCloud (though I personally consider this the weakest choice given the ongoing migration toward tiered bandwidth by Internet providers).

Overall solution: don't build storage (beyond a basic streaming size) in but make it so that individuals wanting to turn that computer off have a way to do that.

 

[KittyKatta]

Even 64gb is not near enough to meet a HT need, it is just a tease at best. What is the point of putting apps in local memory but everything else on external storage? If it is just for games, then you need to enable some sort of controller or wireless keyboard/trackpad because otherwise it assumes you will have an iDevice to connect to it over airplay, which at that point, what not just use the app on the iDevice over airplay?

The onboard storage would be for apps so you can have games and eventually subscription channel apps like Hulu+ or ABC. Media storage would be streamed over the local network and since Apple sells things like the Time Capsule that supports external drives then your network storage is unlimited.