What is the Future of our Apple TVs.

[JarMedia]

Now that the iPad is available and it has blown away most users.
What is going to be the future of our TV's?
Keeping the iPad in mind, what would you like to see added or improved on the TV?

 

[stealthman1]

I've had my Tv since the first day and it has never worked right and I had given up on it ever actually being useful. Today I bought an Airport Extreme. My Tv jumped onto the 5ghz network and I'm finally in Tv heaven. Holy crap, this is what I always dreamed it could be. Buffer for five seconds, never a stutter to come, chapter advance instantaneous, damn! What can they do with it? Expand the store and bring live events to it. I love y iPad but three of us ain't watching Josey Wales on an iPad!. Gotta go, 2012 HD is ready to watch....

 

[jaw04005]

Since getting my iPad, I'm even more confident that an iPhone OS-based Apple TV is in the pipeline.

The Quicktime X-based Videos.app could easily be translated to the Apple TV. The autogenerated chapter thumbnails are fantastic. The speed you get with a SOC is great too. Everything is instant.

iPhone OS is very much the future of Apple's media devices.

 

[ipedro]

I like the possibility of iPad's media apps being translated into tv but we must remember that it was made to be navigated via touch. So far, tv is not.

I've always thought the best UI for tv would utilize a click wheel.

 

[nuckinfutz]

Yes I'm pretty sure the next Apple TV will be Iphone OS based as well.

I expect to see a basic remote included and then some pretty snazzy iPhone and iPad remotes as well.

Gaming needs to become a driving force behind the next Apple TV. Just because it has TV in it's name doesn't mean it has to be motion pictures. Gaming would be huge along with Game Center support.

Imagine Words With Friends on a 50" HDTV display? Nice.

 

[Bevz]

I like the possibility of iPad's media apps being translated into tv but we must remember that it was made to be navigated via touch. So far, tv is not.

I've always thought the best UI for tv would utilize a click wheel.

+1

Even though i agree it would make sense for lots of reasons to have iPhone OS on the ATV; the fact it's touch based makes me think it won't ever be.
I really don't know what the future holds for the machine, i think it would be madness for apple to drop it, but i fear they might. Mini's are an alternative; all Apple need to do for some people is put a HDMI socket it in the Mini and they're sold, but i will always think that is simply overkill... There are so many people like me that just want a cheap little box that sits under the telly that the whole family can use to play content... As someone has already said, you can't get the whole family around an iPad to watch a film... My 4 year old can work ATV... That's the real power of the machine. Long may it live... (Fingers Crossed!)

 

[Gubbz]

For the best remote, why not look at the Apple Magic Mouse, a multi-touch sensitive surface that could adapt to whatever is happening on screen...

 

[trip1ex]

What is going to be the future of our TV's?

 

[zedsdead]

Based on Tim Cooks constant comments that Apple is continuing to invest in the Apple TV, there will eventually be a product update. When, who knows? I'm guessing some time next year, but you never know. This year would be better.

 

[kiranmk2]

It seems fairly clear Apple are waiting for the content deals to be signed before proceeding with a new machine and software. Apple aren't stupid - an ATV based around the A4 chip supporting 1080p output and running iTunes onboard (allowing streaming from NAS units and streaming/syncing to PCs/Macs/ipods etc) would absolutely clean up in the media streamer market. However, until the deals look like being finalised it doesn't really make sense to release new hardware tied to the existed software. If a new IphoneOS-based ATV came out I'd snap it up straight away and either sell the original or move it to the bedroom - after all, it's still good at what it does. And those ipad screens posted earlier would work just as well on a remote-driven device - they definitely have a 10' interface.

Sadly, until Fox, Warner, Sony, Universal and Paramount agree terms (lets face it, Disney will be on board) I don't think we'll see new hardware unless Intel or nVidia actually stop production of the Crofton or 7300Go chips.

 

[ARF900]

The TV is kinda nice if you hack it. You can actually use hulu or boxee on it. and netflix.

 

[themanfromvlad]

You should sell your ATVs on craigslist as soon as possible, while they still have value.

 

[nuckinfutz]

You should sell your ATVs on craigslist as soon as possible, while they still have value.

Yeah sell it to me for ....$50

 

[ceraz]

Future is simple .... just add HD 1080p hardware support, in the form of:

1) A daughther card for the current device (Like Broadcom Crystal HD mini-PCI but apple approved), or
2) A new box at the same cost

Stay easily hackable, I'm starting to get annoyed with the closing Apple "eco-system"

 

[dbwie]

I'm not sure that the TV needs major changes to hardware, or adopting the iPhone OS. With the iPhone/iPad driving H.264 and HTTP streaming at the expense of flash, I think that TV has the potential for a vastly expanded amount of content offering without the need to hack it. With Apple's acquisition of Lala, it will be interesting to see how the TV is impacted, since it is a good device for streaming media from the iTunes ecosystem.