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Sorry, the vast percentage of consumers are not going to swap out a TV every 2-3 years to add features, especially when the large bulk of the Smart features can be had with a $75 Roku box.

No need to apologize. If you could truly read the future you'd be somewhere else living you life rather than sitting in front of a computer pretending you know what people are going to do the future.
 
I just upgraded my 26" CRT TV, purchased in 1996, in the bedroom to a 32" LCD TV. I'm on the bleeding edge, man! :p

:D wow, you sure stuck with CRT a while..I'll bet you're loving that flat panel...Now try watching a CRT...it will give you an instant headache...I couldn't give my last one away....must have been 8 years ago..a top of the range Philips 32 it weighed a ton.

In the end a buddy took it for his daughter who had just left home. She even refused it, preferring a tiny LCD !
 
The MOST PEOPLE are stupid. I have a 5 year old Macbook Pro, 2010 Mac Pro (which I upgraded from Dual G5), I skip every other generation of iphone, have a 5 year old ipod and an original iPad. People who upgrade every year just want the newest shiny thing to puff their chest out, they don't NEED that crap. I bet 99% of the people who upgrade their computer every year have ZERO need to actually do so.

i upgrade because i have the $$$ to upgrade.

when youre counting pennies, you have to watch what you spend.

i upgrade my iphone every release date and update my ipad every release date.
i wont upgrade my apple tv 2 YET due to no jailbroken apple tv 3.
no mac laptop for me. i dont use my laptop besides to surf the web with a mouse.
 
I wonder if the software updates will make the TV slow to change channels, much like iOS 5 ruined my iPhone 4 experience and iOS 4 ruined my iPhone 3G.
 
Yeah I'm pretty excited about the rumors of apple launching a "retina display/Siri/iTunes integrated/whatever else tv" And yeah I'll probably go out and get it. I currently own an HP Branded 32'' tv. And it's like from 2005, and it works like a charm, it was built by sharp.

I don't believe one needs to research to know that people don't just go out changing their tv's every year like most people do with their ipods/ipads/even macbooks/ and everything apple for that matter.

So what do you think Apple's plan for the TV business is? Somewhat like the Mac Pro?( and by that I mean it's the least they seem to care about when it comes to updating ) I mean people screw their Tv's to walls, do whole room changes to hook it up, it even feels like a pain just talking about it...

So.. Yearly change or maybe 2-3 years refresh?

Thoughts >>>

My thoughts: Revenue not through the sales of the ATV but via the content / Ads.
 
i upgrade because i have the $$$ to upgrade.

when youre counting pennies, you have to watch what you spend.

i upgrade my iphone every release date and update my ipad every release date.
i wont upgrade my apple tv 2 YET due to no jailbroken apple tv 3.
no mac laptop for me. i dont use my laptop besides to surf the web with a mouse.

I don't upgrade because I have no need. I make 6 figures, don't own a car and rent an apartment. I have plenty of disposable income but I'd like to retire by 50 to travel the world and that is a better use of my money than new computers every year. Priorities.
 
Um,TV manufacturers release new/updated models every year.You're saying Apple shouldn't??

All other TV manufacturers are on a yearly upgrade cycle. I'm not sure Apple would have to be, but I'm also not sure there is a reason why it would be unusual either.

With the advent of so called Smart TV now there's a wider feature-set that users may be accustomed to and 3 years will make a big difference in the "smart" capabilities of the TV.

Ding! Its about 'smart TV' features. My 2-3 year old Samsung is perfectly good as a TV and as a display for other devices, but the built-in "Smart" features were superseded by new models within a year, with no upgrade path. There have been a few firmware patches (but no significant extra features) and maybe 2-3 new "Apps" that have appeared over its lifetime.

So, while you may be fuming that your first-gen iPad won't be getting iOS 6, the 2 major OS upgrades (and no immediate prospect of getting frozen out of the App store) its had over its lifetime is substantially better than the typical "smart TV".

Also, have you seen the typical level of UI design on TVs and other AV equipment? Apple aren't perfect, but they could eat a handful of ROM chips and puke a better UI than the typical AV product. Why, for example, are they still producing remotes with a gazillion buttons when they could have on-screen menus? Why, when they produce iOS remote control Apps, do they simply re-create the existing 'static' remote instead of adding information displays and mode-sensitive controls? If Apple produce a TV I'd seriously consider it provided:

(a) it had a few Aux HDMI inputs - I don't want to throw away my disc players and PVR just yet.

(b) In the UK, BBC iPlayer is a must - and maybe YouView if it takes off (its a worthy attempt to integrate all the catch-up/ipTV services into something coherent, but has been delayed so long that it might be doomed).

(c) it doesn't have a huge icon for US baseball games stuck on the top-level menu with no option of removing it.

Of course, what would make more sense than a TV with an integrated AppleTV is a big dumb monitor with half-a-dozen HDMI inputs (and maybe a sound system) into which you could plug your $99 AppleTV and other gizmos.
 
Why would they? In recent times the only incentive to buying a new TV was largely size or adding a second unit.

With the advent of so called Smart TV now there's a wider feature-set that users may be accustomed to and 3 years will make a big difference in the "smart" capabilities of the TV.

Which is all the more reason to keep the 'smart' part of the TV as a small, inexpensive, easily swapped out component. Much like the current :apple:TV.

If Apple really is doing a TV, it's probably not going to be the 'smart' part of it that makes it 'OMG special amazing!'. On the other hand, I've go absolutely no idea what else it could be, since for the most part a TV is a TV. (But then, the iPhone certainly wasn't what most people expected before it was announced, so what do we know? :p )
 
I don't know a single person who is on a 2-3 year cycle to upgrade their TVs.

Agreed. I'm hoping to get 10 years out of the Sony Bravia flatscreen I bought in 2006. It still works and looks great - why would I replace it?

----------

Sorry, the vast percentage of consumers are not going to swap out a TV every 2-3 years to add features, especially when the large bulk of the Smart features can be had with a $75 Roku box.

Exactly. To me, a TV is just a monitor that I can plug various devices into. I might want to upgrade those devices periodically to get new features or content, but not the display.
 
I still think a set top box is the way to go, like the current ATV. Let me pick my display (a display should be just that, a display. It shouldn't come with built in components because the screen will far outlast the components inside. Plus, I would be much more willing to pay for a new set top box ever year or two than a TV every two or three, or even four years.
 
this could be the most pointless thread of all time

why does sony and samsung make TVs than based on your same arguement?


so apple should only make things that people replace annually? thats pretty funny
 
Which is all the more reason to keep the 'smart' part of the TV as a small, inexpensive, easily swapped out component. Much like the current :apple:TV.

If Apple really is doing a TV, it's probably not going to be the 'smart' part of it that makes it 'OMG special amazing!'. On the other hand, I've go absolutely no idea what else it could be, since for the most part a TV is a TV. (But then, the iPhone certainly wasn't what most people expected before it was announced, so what do we know? :p )

That's the challenge. To me the Apple HDTV has to be more than just an Apple TV integrated into the chassis. It has to offer some fundamental advantages that simply aren't possible with a STB.
 
Come on, tell the truth: if Apple makes a toilet, you and I are upgrading it every year.
Truth isn't relevant to an imagined scenario.

The MOST PEOPLE are stupid. I have a 5 year old Macbook Pro, 2010 Mac Pro (which I upgraded from Dual G5), I skip every other generation of iphone, have a 5 year old ipod and an original iPad. People who upgrade every year just want the newest shiny thing to puff their chest out, they don't NEED that crap. I bet 99% of the people who upgrade their computer every year have ZERO need to actually do so.
You don't NEED anything you've listed above. Be careful using need as an argument.

:D wow, you sure stuck with CRT a while..I'll bet you're loving that flat panel...Now try watching a CRT...it will give you an instant headache...
Nonsense. I have an XBR970 and it doesn't give me an instant headache.
 
Before Apple started gaining a large influence over everyone via cellphones, notebooks, and such. Upgrading every year was pretty much unheard of. Now its almost the norm.

Size and installation work, all that stuff doesn't matter. If apple markets it correctly, people will change their mindsets and upgrade TV's every year.

Back in the day when I was rocking a motorola razer, and someone said so are you upgrading your phone next year. I would say, "dude, I just bought this phone last year...what are you crazy??"
 
You don't NEED anything you've listed above. Be careful using need as an argument.

Actually, I do. Unless I want to go back to bartending I absolutely need those things. Maybe not the ipod or iphone, but the computers and ipad I do for work.

Besides, my point was, even if you need a computer to do your job, you don't need the latest and greatest every year.
 
I just hope they support all software features for alot longer then ios devices are supported. they can update it every year hardware wise but make sure there is a way to keep the software current for a lot longer.
 
1st off.....why would anyone buy an apple tv if/when the picture doesnt even match that of a crappy looking led/lcd?

forget about matching the quality of a panny plasma......we know that wont happen.

plasma > led/lcd > apple tv set

this is one item i wouldnt buy. i want the best picture quality, not the best features.
i dont even use my tv's "smart features". theres no point to them.
 
Yeah I'm pretty excited about the rumors of apple launching a "retina display/Siri/iTunes integrated/whatever else tv" And yeah I'll probably go out and get it. I currently own an HP Branded 32'' tv. And it's like from 2005, and it works like a charm, it was built by sharp.

I don't believe one needs to research to know that people don't just go out changing their tv's every year like most people do with their ipods/ipads/even macbooks/ and everything apple for that matter.

So what do you think Apple's plan for the TV business is? Somewhat like the Mac Pro?( and by that I mean it's the least they seem to care about when it comes to updating ) I mean people screw their Tv's to walls, do whole room changes to hook it up, it even feels like a pain just talking about it...

So.. Yearly change or maybe 2-3 years refresh?

Thoughts >>>
Most people change out iPod/iPad/Macbooks every year? You are seriously delusional.

I'm considered a pretty serious geek in my area, my desktop is a Core2 I built in 2006. My iPod is 4yrs old, my iPhone is from 2010, and there is nothing in the rumors that even tickles my interest about the one this fall. This could be a 3-5 year phone for me.

And those times extend drastically for the vast majority of the population who are not into tech gadgets.

The point. If Apple produces a revised TV every year, the choice to buy it is yours alone.
 
I agree with everyone in here

Apple released a yearly TV will not work well. At my house we have LCD's from when they first came out, no plans on upgrading.

I prefer the apple tv how it is now, works perfectly for my needs. If only they could come out with apps like rumored. (even without that I am satisfied with my 100$ box)
 
Apple has basically shown they are a consumer electronics company now, and I'm sure they will behave like one in regards to TVs as well. If you look around the TV marketplace, most companies already do yearly or bi-yearly refreshes to their TV models / lineups, so Apple would be no different there.

As for my TV upgrade cycle? Mine is "the old one broke", and I'm sure some others have that same cycle, yet TVs still manage to sell.
 
Probably a 2-3 year cycle for a HDTV. People don't upgrade every year but that doesn't matter as they don't upgrade their computers every year either.

I got 12 years out of my last Sony Trinitron Wide.

I only bought a new TV when a new broadcast/media technology (HD) required it. Otherwise, I'd have kept that damn thing till it died.
 
Being the recent purchaser of an Apple TV (gen 3), I see more potential in that hardware than I do a full blown TV. With Apple TV, Apple can turn ANY TV into an Apple TV. Samsung is making smart TVs? Apple can say "Who cares? Attach an Apple TV to it and it becomes ours again!"

I switched from a Roku to an Apple TV simply because everything else I do is in iOS and I wanted something that would interface better with all my content. There are others who would do the same. I think the current Apple TV is a terrific little media hub and they should focus their TV efforts on that. If Apple can get the content deals in place that they need, I think that they can disrupt the entire cable industry with a little black hockey puck sized Apple TV.

I think the skeptics are right, and I can't imagine that Apple isn't well aware of that. Who is going to buy a TV a year? Almost nobody.
 
My theory for Apple's business model around an Apple TV would be that they will sell an Apple-branded display panel with an integrated dock for something similar to the current Apple TV box. The box would be useable with any HDTV, but could integrate with the Apple display for a better experience. The box could take advantage of various sensors or a FaceTime camera and allow direct control of the display including power, volume, settings, etc.

This way, you can upgrade the box every few years while keeping the more expensive display around for much longer.
 
Unless there is some great deals on content packaging with the Apple TV I just simply do not see it posing a threat in the market. Of course the same thing was probably said about the iPod, iPad and iPhone.

Content packaging is going to be the key to success since the prices with satellite and especially cable have gotten so ridiculously out of hand.
 
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