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The $100 cloud-based AppleTV
- Thread starter BlizzardBomb
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I think it's a mock up as no one as seen it yet.
I'm loving the idea tho. Very good news!
(if true)I really hope we don't lose the streaming from iTunes functionality. I don't mind no on-board storage, but I need to be able to get stuff from my Mac down to my TV and have no interest in trying to put all my ripped movies on the cloud with my sad DSL connection.
Otherwise, sounds awesome.
Otherwise, sounds awesome.
Just saw this on Engadget. Hell of a scoop for Josh Topolsky.
From a hobby to a weapon of war. At $100 dollars this could be really big.
A much more achievable strategy than trying to tie in deals with US and international cable companies or have another big unwieldly box (a la google).
Just when we thought next week had no surprises...
From a hobby to a weapon of war. At $100 dollars this could be really big.
A much more achievable strategy than trying to tie in deals with US and international cable companies or have another big unwieldly box (a la google).
Just when we thought next week had no surprises...
This is something that makes a lot of sense to me and seems to be a logical development for Apple. iTunes is a massive advantage for Apple and taking it to the cloud would give them such a big selling point in the market it's hard to overstate just how big a jump forward it would be. Your entire content library, available on-demand to any iTunes-aware device with an internet connection with Genius working alongside for new media based on purchasing habbits? Not to mention having the ability to store it all locally if you wanted to? I really don't see how Google or even Microsoft could step up and match that right now, they just don't have the service or relationships or brand name (or combination thereof) that Apple do. Add on a subscription service (which, again, would make a great deal of sense if Apple are moving iTunes to a full cloud solution) and you've got a real monster ready to go.
The problem, of course, is not just the technical side but the content providers. They've been dragging their heels on stuff like this for a while now so it'll be interesting to see what Apple can do to get them to move. If they manage it though this could genuinely be the product that breaks through in the living room of the average consumer, especially if they price point is anything like accurate (plus with that hardware the box could be the size of.... well the size of an iPhone board without the screen or battery, especially if they off-shored the power supply).
I don't think you'll see this for a while though... maybe September at the traditional Apple media event? Would be a HELL of a selling point wouldn't it - iTunes in the cloud, your iPod Touch on wi-fi can access every song, tv show and movie ever created (and available on iTunes) and, oh yes one more thing... here's the same experience for your living room.
The problem, of course, is not just the technical side but the content providers. They've been dragging their heels on stuff like this for a while now so it'll be interesting to see what Apple can do to get them to move. If they manage it though this could genuinely be the product that breaks through in the living room of the average consumer, especially if they price point is anything like accurate (plus with that hardware the box could be the size of.... well the size of an iPhone board without the screen or battery, especially if they off-shored the power supply).
I don't think you'll see this for a while though... maybe September at the traditional Apple media event? Would be a HELL of a selling point wouldn't it - iTunes in the cloud, your iPod Touch on wi-fi can access every song, tv show and movie ever created (and available on iTunes) and, oh yes one more thing... here's the same experience for your living room.
If this were to support Netflix, I would be all over it. If it doesn't, it won't have any advantage to someone who has an Xbox, PS3, or computer...
here's the problem:
a large majority of the US still has broad band that is too slow to support HD streaming. This is why I have concerns about the "cloud".
Maybe with the 16 GB is will be able to download and nice large buffer before it plays but thats a pretty big inconvenience. With the current, model, you can download everything and store it locally...playing it whenever you want. This model works well even with slow dsl.
Also, here's a biggie...netflix is an app now on the ipad...app for the new atv? They need it...or their rentals need to get a lot cheaper.
a large majority of the US still has broad band that is too slow to support HD streaming. This is why I have concerns about the "cloud".
Maybe with the 16 GB is will be able to download and nice large buffer before it plays but thats a pretty big inconvenience. With the current, model, you can download everything and store it locally...playing it whenever you want. This model works well even with slow dsl.
Also, here's a biggie...netflix is an app now on the ipad...app for the new atv? They need it...or their rentals need to get a lot cheaper.
I really like this idea.
With
's new server farm in NC, they are going to be opening up a plethora of products to stream it all.
The problem I see with it is this: MM is still weak at best, and iDisk is spotty as well. They MUST focus on cleaning up the streaming process so we can all enjoy the products to their fullest intent.
Goodbye all DVD drives in lappy's- IMO
With
's new server farm in NC, they are going to be opening up a plethora of products to stream it all.The problem I see with it is this: MM is still weak at best, and iDisk is spotty as well. They MUST focus on cleaning up the streaming process so we can all enjoy the products to their fullest intent.
Goodbye all DVD drives in lappy's- IMO
I don't like the idea of cloud based storage.
Give me local storage of my content and I'm very interested.
iTunes in the cloud is still a long way off. Not enough people have 24/7 access to the internet.
Give me local storage of my content and I'm very interested.
iTunes in the cloud is still a long way off. Not enough people have 24/7 access to the internet.
Not a problem at all as the initial market is likely to be the tech savy who don't have connection issues. If it expands over time into the consumer market (which it very well could) then it'll expand in-line with improvements in internet speed. There's something like 25% of the US that has >5Mb broadband right now and that's a VAST market to try and crack.
As for netflix, as I said above what if iTunes came out with a subscription service? Just a thought mind...
Sorry but... why do you assume that they'd move iTunes away from the desktop? That infastructure is already in place and is vital to backup and manage iPod, iPhone and iPad devices. If they were going to bring the cloud into iTunes it'd be a case of expanding it. After all right now your iTunes account lives 'in the cloud' to an extent anyway, log on to any iTunes account and you can download purchased content, apps etc (once you've authorised the PC of course). All they're basically doing (sorry for gross technical simplification that's about to happen) is changing from downloading and then playing locally to streaming.
Steve is gutted that you just called his September 'one more thing'!
I do also agree that it will be interesting to see how Apple deals with Apps given that the Netflix App would compete head on with this on a TV screen. With seemingly every branch of Apple's business facing antitrust/anticompetitive complaints, can they justify blocking Netflix?
True, if its a closed system and knowing apple it will be then your locked into itunes and only itunes. Netflix rules
I love this idea and feel that my purchase of a 16GB wifi+3G iPad is more justified than a 32GB wifi only (and 32GB wifi +3G)
While I love the idea of a new Apple TV. I'm hoping this cloud based storage isn't going to replace the streaming function of the Apple TV. I have all my media stored on an external hd that is connected to my computer losing the streaming feature would be a huge blow...
I just don't get a comfortable feeling having to rely on cloud based storage for the Apple TV.
I just don't get a comfortable feeling having to rely on cloud based storage for the Apple TV.
If they give you the option to d/l or stream then I'm fine with that. Nothing lives in the cloud right now. You download it to your computer and sync it to your iDevices. Your account data is in the cloud but nothing else is.
People who push for streaming must live in some very nice places for internet. Here in Tulsa, Oklahoma I have 25Mbps broadband internet. But less then 30 miles from my house people are still forced to use dial up. Streaming content is still years off for the majority of the country.
iTunes in the cloud as an add on to iTunes is okay. But moving everyone to the cloud as the only option is a terrible idea. Streaming and Subscription models have never worked.
Thinking about this some more, I can see parallels to Apple's Airport and Airport Express.
People already using ATV will not want to take a step down from 500Gb to 16Gb storage, even with cloud access- what would happen to all their stored and purchased content?
I can see two parallel systems, with the one talked about here, the portable or 'lite' model.
PS MR now has the thread continuing here: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=9991880&posted=1#post9991880
People already using ATV will not want to take a step down from 500Gb to 16Gb storage, even with cloud access- what would happen to all their stored and purchased content?
I can see two parallel systems, with the one talked about here, the portable or 'lite' model.
PS MR now has the thread continuing here: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=9991880&posted=1#post9991880
I honestly don't think they'd block it. Why would they after all, they'll still be making a profit on the hardware and we've seen instances (spotify springs to mind) when Apple have been quite happy to let competing services on the app store.
Uh, yeah, sorry if I wasn't clear but I was refering to your account info.
As for the rest, it makes ZERO sense for Apple to move away from the desktop model they currently use. It's FAR too much of a shift and has way too many problems associated with it. Anyone that thinks they might do that in the short term hasn't thought things through properly to be frank. And the big barrier to subscription models has tended to be ease of use and choice rather than anything else. If Apple can bring a subscription service to market which a) works on any device with that iTunes account, b) has access to the vast majority of content already available on iTunes and c) has Apple's usual software design ease-of-use then it'll work. Remember it's dropping that service into the iTunes store which is already a well-established product where people are willing to spend money on digital content.
If it only has a single output (presumably HDMI) then that kills all of us who have optical input on our receivers. No go for me.
