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PC magazine believes Apple will abandon the ATV

D

dmm219

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 25, 2008
416
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http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2348430,00.asp

Now, I don't agree at all with this guy when it comes to his analysis of the set top box industry, he obviously doesn't have his facts straight (ie, his 360 netflix comment is about a year late). AND its...PC mag.com...

However, I do agree, that if we don't here something about the ATV by september...it is pretty much history. That's not to say that they don't have some total new device that will leverage iTunes on the TV (like a new media center)...but the ATV, in its current incarnation, that we all own and use today, is about to die completely. If there is an update...it will require all new hardware we will all have to buy. I doubt there will be an ATV 3.0 that would be useful on current ATVs at this point.

That being said, I'm still totally happy with my ATV...The idea and execution were great, the advertising and price point were awful...that probably killed it.
 
?

How can this guy make the argument that PS3 is better than the ATV for on demand content? ATV is alot easier to stream all your content to and with movie rentals and purchase ability through Itunes it seems like a no-brainer. I am not familiar with the xbox 360 so I wont comment on that but what is this guy talking about????
 
He also says that most people use the ATV for music only. Really? Maybe I'm in the minority, but I use mine pretty heavily for movies and TV shows as well. In fact, it's probably a 65/35 movies/music split.

I do think, however, that Apple's lack of attention to the ATV means that something big is in the works. Apple has been pretty aggressive in the whole iTMS thing, and I just don't see them abandoning the ATV at precisely the time when other companies are realizing that there is a market for media extenders. Most of them have problems of one sort or another, however (mainly UI issues), and this is Apple's forte - design something that does what other products on the market already do, but make it better, easier, and more aesthetically pleasing.

If Apple does abandon the ATV as we currently know it, it will be because they have something bigger and better in the works.
 
Bcos17 said:
How can this guy make the argument that PS3 is better than the ATV for on demand content? ATV is alot easier to stream all your content to and with movie rentals and purchase ability through Itunes it seems like a no-brainer. I am not familiar with the xbox 360 so I wont comment on that but what is this guy talking about????
Click to expand...

The xbox 360 has been able to stream netflix for a long time now. My only complaint is you have to have a gold membership to do it. But thats M$ for you.

Streaming content to the 360 works on a mac, but it has hic-ups every once in a while. There is no album art. No descriptions, etc etc. You cannot organize your media very well, but this is because of connect 360.

If i had the money i would buy a apple tv. But right now i'm happy with my PM g4 media server and my 360.
 
He's right - both PS3 (and to a lesser extent) Xbox 360 are miles ahead of Apple TV in getting content to you at a good price.

My PS3 is the main device I use to get my content to my TV. It plays back all of the formats that Apple TV does and also does DivX and it's a pretty good gaming system too. But more importantly to me, I bought the PlayTV add on for it and it is now basically what you Americans would call Tivo, except there are no monthly charges. I can watch, record, pause and rewind Live TV all from the same device I use to watch my downloaded videos and play my games. It plays Blu Ray discs and DVDs as well, so I don't need a separate player for those.

Sony also today just launched Vidzone, a free service which lets PS3 owners access a library of music videos in full. No fees to watch - just choose one and view it for free. It's £1.29 per video on Apple TV.

Xbox 360 is also looking very promising. Netflix seems to bet a great service for those who live in the right countries. They also recently did a deal with Sky (the UK satellite broadcaster owned by the same company as Fox and DirecTV) to have Live TV plus a library of on demand movies and TV shows right on the console.

Unless Apple is able to match these features I can't see them going anywhere with Apple TV.
 
Apple TV was introduced at an iPod Special Event in September 2006. It was announced as a product at Macworld in January 2007, and it was updated to Take Two at Macworld in January 2008. It's never been mentioned at WWDC, as that's not the right venue.

Apple TV is not a developer platform. WWDC is a developer's conference.

"No Apple TV: This aimless product is, I believe, officially destined to go nowhere. Apple wants people to use it to view a library of film and television content from iTunes on their TVs, but I think most people use it for music. There are so many better options for on-demand video anyway, such as the Netflix Player by Roku, the Sony PS3, and, of course, the Xbox 360, which will soon provide access to Netflix Watch Instantly movies directly through the gaming console. Apple left talk of the set-top box out of this event, and I expect it'll soon walk away from it altogether."

I think the author is misinformed. The Apple TV will be updated in September at the next iPod event.

It's not going away for three reasons:

1. Apple discussed at WWDC its primary goal for Snow Leopard was to unify the Mac, iPhone, iPod and Apple TV platforms.

2. Apple TV is Apple's only living room device.

3. Apple TV's sales were up 300 percent in Q1 '09 over Q1 '08 without a price drop or major software upgrade.

Additionally, Snow Leopard includes two new features for Apple TV owners, a new export/sharing wizard in QuickTime X and the ability for your AirPort or Time Capsule to wake your Mac up to sync with Apple TV. So, Apple is still building out O/S features to be used in conjunction with the Apple TV.

Like every product, you have to decide which product suits your needs best. If you already have one of the major gaming consoles, Apple TV may not be for you.
 
jaw04005 said:
Like every product, you have to decide which product suits your needs best. If you already have one of the major gaming consoles, Apple TV may not be for you.
Click to expand...

Where I live Apple TV is much more expensive than Xbox 360. I don't see what reasons there are to buy it over the console.

Also, who cares if you can use one of Apple's overpriced and underperforming routers to "wake" your computer to play the content? The fact that you need the computer on in the first place is a massive failing of the device.

On my PS3 I can connect any USB drive or insert a data DVD or CD and play (and copy) content from that. Why doesn't Apple TV do this?
 
There were rumors about Apple looking into the Atom/Ion chipset:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/635006/

But obviously, no NetBook yet, and the Mini isn't using it. This leaves the new version of AppleTV.

Probably smaller, use HDMI (adapter for VGA or DVI) only. $199... Can play 1080p.

Apple will continue to sell 720p videos for older AppleTV users...

AFA dying off - that's what they said about the Mini... (and FW on the MacBooks)... :)
 
There are tons of Apple TV vs. PS3 threads. I suggest you do a search if you want to continue to debate the two platform's media capabilities. At this point, it's been argued ad nauseam.
 
jaw04005 said:
Apple TV was introduced at an iPod Special Event in September 2006. It was announced as a product at Macworld in January 2007, and it was updated to Take Two at Macworld in January 2008. It's never been mentioned at WWDC, as that's not the right venue.

Apple TV is not a developer platform. WWDC is a developer's conference.

"No Apple TV: This aimless product is, I believe, officially destined to go nowhere. Apple wants people to use it to view a library of film and television content from iTunes on their TVs, but I think most people use it for music. There are so many better options for on-demand video anyway, such as the Netflix Player by Roku, the Sony PS3, and, of course, the Xbox 360, which will soon provide access to Netflix Watch Instantly movies directly through the gaming console. Apple left talk of the set-top box out of this event, and I expect it'll soon walk away from it altogether."

I think the author is misinformed. The Apple TV will be updated in September at the next iPod event.

It's not going away for three reasons:

1. Apple discussed at WWDC its primary goal for Snow Leopard was to unify the Mac, iPhone, iPod and Apple TV platforms.

2. Apple TV is Apple's only living room device.

3. Apple TV's sales were up 300 percent in Q1 '09 over Q1 '08 without a price drop or major software upgrade.

Additionally, Snow Leopard includes two new features for Apple TV owners, a new export/sharing wizard in QuickTime X and the ability for your AirPort or Time Capsule to wake your Mac up to sync with Apple TV. So, Apple is still building out O/S features to be used in conjunction with the Apple TV.

Like every product, you have to decide which product suits your needs best. If you already have one of the major gaming consoles, Apple TV may not be for you.
Click to expand...

This is interesting info I did not know...thanks...
 
jaw04005 said:
Apple TV was introduced at an iPod Special Event in September 2006. It was announced as a product at Macworld in January 2007, and it was updated to Take Two at Macworld in January 2008. It's never been mentioned at WWDC, as that's not the right venue.

Apple TV is not a developer platform. WWDC is a developer's conference.
Click to expand...

I and many other folks were hoping for a mention of an ATV App Store at WWDC. This would have been the event to unveil it. With no mention, looks like it's not in the cards this round.

As far as the article goes, I think it was pretty much crap.
 
neiltc13 said:
Where I live Apple TV is much more expensive than Xbox 360. I don't see what reasons there are to buy it over the console.

Also, who cares if you can use one of Apple's overpriced and underperforming routers to "wake" your computer to play the content? The fact that you need the computer on in the first place is a massive failing of the device.

On my PS3 I can connect any USB drive or insert a data DVD or CD and play (and copy) content from that. Why doesn't Apple TV do this?
Click to expand...

1. The 360 (w HD) is still more expensive than ATV in the states...

2. Waking up is useful for those with macbooks mostly...not a big deal for me. As for needing a computer, you need to research the ATV a bit more, it does not need a computer, it gives you a choice to use one if you want (however, the ATV's HD can be limiting in this config)

3. It should, and probably will in the future.

4. PS3 is still grossly overpriced compared to just about everything out there. I'd love to have one, no way I'm buying one until it gets closer to $250. THIS is the massive failing of the PS3 (no one can argue the impressive specs of the PS3)
 
Apple just recently promoted the AppleTV as a Father's day gift. Hardly the sign of impending doom if they are still promoting it.
 
savar said:
Let's be honest, the next Apple TV should BE a TV.
Click to expand...

I disagree. I think Apple should license their Apple TV platform to current TV manufacturers like Microsoft's doing with Media Center.

A built-in Apple TV to your next Samsung HDTV would be killer. They're already pumping out so-called "smart TVs" anyway with ethernet ports, wireless, etc.
 
jaw04005 said:
....the ability for your AirPort or Time Capsule to wake your Mac up to sync with Apple TV.
Click to expand...

I am VERY excited about this. Last week i was thinking how cool it would be for the apple tv or another media device to wake the computer up. I wish my xbox 360 would do it. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
 
Right now, I run an XBox 360 from my iMac, using 360 Connect software. While I do not have a lot of video on my Mac, that will change in the future (I have about 150 laserdiscs I have to rip before my player goes belly up). The XBox interface, while improved withthe last upgrade, still leaves a lot to be desired. Scrolling through a long artists list is tedious.

I would like to go with the Apple TV/iPod Touch remote set up when I get back to work. I am getting a lot of use out of the XBox, as a DVD player and media streamer, the only real downside is the amount of fan noise the Box makes.
 
I've had mine since launch in 2007 and I've been using it regularly since day 1 mainly to watch tv shows and movies and occasionally streaming music and some YouTube. I think it's great for what it does and will continue to use it until it craps out.

But after 2.5 years, I think Apple has abandoned it. I would be very surprised to see something about :apple:tv this Sep or 2010 CES. What would be the next "new" feature for an upgrade? :confused:
 
What I don't fully understand is why there is no DVR feature to the Apple TV? I'm using media center (which is great) but if Apple introduced DVR support I would definitely think about switching over.

Are there obvious reasons why ATV doesn't have DVR support that I'm missing?
 
1) The appletv is the easiest to use device for multimedia on the big screen period. 360 and Ps3 are gaming consoles and should stick with that (one being way too loud for living room use, and the other no coverart, and horrible interface)...

2) Apple is doing so well with Itunes, Music, Movies, Tv shows, applications, they cannot just give up in the living room, no way.

3) Having my iphone and several appletvs throughout the house synced to one itunes library on my imac is amazing, and I hope that apple continues to update the Appletv, please Apple!

4) Apps on the appletv including games would be sweet. Yes, they won't compare to 360 or ps3 games, but the iphone games are better than psp games (trust me I have both)

Mo
 
I'd be very frustrated if ATV gets dumped. I've been using it for a long time, I've left DVD's in the dust, and have made a significant investment in storage and digital media...and lots of TIME. (not saying my apple tv suddenly disappears, it'd just be very lame if they dumped it)
 
ppilone said:
What I don't fully understand is why there is no DVR feature to the Apple TV? I'm using media center (which is great) but if Apple introduced DVR support I would definitely think about switching over.

Are there obvious reasons why ATV doesn't have DVR support that I'm missing?
Click to expand...

None whatsoever, especially since Apple has some nice DVR patents that they haven't used yet.

I say Apple TV software 3.0 will include them, along with the first hardware update... EVER.

Something nice. Something that can do 1080p without breaking a sweat, with hard drive options at 250 and 500 GB. :cool:
 
I agree that their are other devices that can play a wide variety of formats, and yes the 360 and ps3 play 1080 content with no issues. Setting aside the user interface, I use the apple tv because it integrates in with my mac household. I dont have to worry that a movie or tv show I buy on one of my apple tv's wont play on my iphone or sync over to my ipod. As with everything mac it just works. The only thing I want from the apple tv is some small widgets like a clock, weather, ect. , integrated iPhone remote support to navigate the interface like you can on the Apple remote, and the ability to move rentals from the Apple tv to your mac(this feature may be available but I cant find it).
 
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