Probably not until there is a real reason to upgrade it.
Real HD movies, Blueray quality, or something similar. Games?
Who knows.
Real HD movies, Blueray quality, or something similar. Games?
Who knows.
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When will we see an Apple TV update?
- Thread starter Shiner
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I think BluRay will be king until the next encoding standard comes along - but then the ion/1080p H264 won't be powerful enough any more. Look at DVD - it had to keep MPEG II as that was the standard. In a similar way, BluRay has to stick to either MPEG II, H264 or VC-1. If a new standard came out that allowed a 1080p to fit to 2GB/hour then downloads would quickly surpass BluRay in terms of quality. Then people need to nail down things like seemless branching in m4v etc files to give a DVD/BRD-like experience and start adding commentaries and we're all sorted. Till then I'll probably rent most films and buy the best ones of Blu.
Not holding my breath for AppleTV upgrade.
Two things I want:
Larger storage and ability to hook up external drives for unlimited storage
1080p support
Right now Mac Mini is a winner with Plex for me because the two things above, it's more expensive and a bit overkill for just a HTPC, but there is no other option for a Mac solution, I guess.
I believe the main reason AppleTV did not took over is mostly because the fight between Apple and networks. Apple had a big advantage on the music industry because iTunes and iPod but the same can't be said about the movie/tv industry. For me that's the main reason we keep hearing AppleTV is a Hobby from Steve Jobs.
Two things I want:
Larger storage and ability to hook up external drives for unlimited storage
1080p support
Right now Mac Mini is a winner with Plex for me because the two things above, it's more expensive and a bit overkill for just a HTPC, but there is no other option for a Mac solution, I guess.
I believe the main reason AppleTV did not took over is mostly because the fight between Apple and networks. Apple had a big advantage on the music industry because iTunes and iPod but the same can't be said about the movie/tv industry. For me that's the main reason we keep hearing AppleTV is a Hobby from Steve Jobs.
Well, I hope they do update it. Like others, USB storage would be a major plus...
I have a 720P plasma so 1080P won't matter to me for another 6 or 9 years when I buy a new tv. In the meantime, my biggest request is cheaper iTunes prices and/or free ad supported content.
I finally tried aTVFlash - just yesterday in fact. Hated it and promptly asked for a refund. Clunky. Slow. A mashup of unrelated, confusing applications all with different quirks and interfaces. To their credit, they refunded my purchase without fuss, though.
Apple... please. USB storage and ad supported content... that's all I want.
I have a 720P plasma so 1080P won't matter to me for another 6 or 9 years when I buy a new tv. In the meantime, my biggest request is cheaper iTunes prices and/or free ad supported content.
I finally tried aTVFlash - just yesterday in fact. Hated it and promptly asked for a refund. Clunky. Slow. A mashup of unrelated, confusing applications all with different quirks and interfaces. To their credit, they refunded my purchase without fuss, though.
Apple... please. USB storage and ad supported content... that's all I want.
Apple... please. USB storage and ad supported content... that's all I want.
And the ability to sync podcast subscriptions across multiple computers. I hate it when I find good podcasts to listen to while at work and then have to write down their names so I can find them on the ATV or on one of my home computers. Seriously, it can't be that hard to do.
Sync issues go away when you have centralized storage. Your data getting stranded is exactly why companies moved to Network and then SAN storage.
It's about time people realize their issues are not uncommon with the business of 10 to 20 years ago regarding accessing data.
It's about time people realize their issues are not uncommon with the business of 10 to 20 years ago regarding accessing data.
Agreed. I love technology and tried all the latest gadgets for my computer and entertainment system. Guess what simple always works the best. My wife loves my server and has really changed the way she views my projects. Her laptop and desktop automatically backup and we stream all of our music and movies to all ATV's and my computers. Syncing is annoying streaming is nice.
i don't think that Apple can release a new ATV with 1080 support without taking out the hard-drive.
the price for upgrading the actual processor to handle 1080 would cost $$$.
the only reason Apple would add 1080 support is because people would freak out if they didn't. from more than 5 feet away on even a per say, 50" LCD - 1080p is barely noticeable over 720p.
when lighting (in the room itself) and viewing angles are taken into account - i don't think it's really worth it (unless it comes to gaming of course).
IMO the ATV is dead :/
the price for upgrading the actual processor to handle 1080 would cost $$$.
the only reason Apple would add 1080 support is because people would freak out if they didn't. from more than 5 feet away on even a per say, 50" LCD - 1080p is barely noticeable over 720p.
when lighting (in the room itself) and viewing angles are taken into account - i don't think it's really worth it (unless it comes to gaming of course).
IMO the ATV is dead :/
Re-read my post. I was talking about syncing my podcast subscription list on my work computer with my home computer. In this case, there's no way my "sync issues go away" with network storage. But thanks for the helpful comment.
Well that depends on whether Apple chooses to keep X86 binary compatability. The current Apple TV is a mini computer with a Pentium M processor and a Nvidia Geforce Go 7300.
Ask yourself how many Blu-ray players have the same build.
Goosegg.
That's because Blu-ray players use SoC chips from Broadcom and other vendors tailored for video playback. This enables better performance and cooler operation.
Apple really hasn't leveraged the fact that the Apple TV is based on computer hardware which tells me they just may move to a SoC based system.
Take the nextgen iPhone/iPod Touch platform. Remove the expensive NAND memory and screen. Those guts with a little modification will support 720p video or maybe 1080p video.
Apple could be making a play to take the Apple TV to an ARM processor design and since the Apple TV doesn't need to run anything that isn't already running on ARM they could make the transition easy.
Quicktime X runs on the iPhone
Webkit/Safari runs on the iPhone
OS X runs on the iPhone.
Couple this info with the fact that they are close to an ARM licensee and rumors of them being an Imagination licensee for PowerVR graphics(along with their investment in millions into Imagination) puts Apple in the position to easily create a device that is cheaper and cooler than the current hardware and a device that could easily handle 1080p video.
Remember if Blu-ray players are $250 and they have to use an expensive optical drive Apple's ability to deliver a $199 AppleTV with a bit of NAND for buffering and all the rest of the trimming would be easy.
Gotcha...subscription list syncing is a whole new ball of wax. That info should be able to be tagged to your Apple ID with end user approval.
Considering the crappy OS that AppleTV has had (and it hasn't gotten much better), I'm still standing behind my "integrate it with a BD player" idea. Give me a BD player with Netflix, Hulu and ATV capabilities and I'm set for a decade. Samsung and LG already do half that. I love the ATV possibilities, but a software update maybe every 6 months and no price cuts despite aging hardware...c'mon.
It's almost as if Apple haven't twigged that people want centralised storage. When I was younger, their model was fine. My computer (the only one) - all my music, photos, movies etc stored on it and accessible through excellent filing software (such as iPhoto and iTunes). Now, however I have multiple computers and if I start a family, will get even more. Apple's current scheme is software - you need the relevant app open to share. There needs to be a centralised storage system that everyone can share/sync to and new versions of the software to cope with a centalised store. So if you rip music to your computer, it gets synced to the server, the aTV syncs/streams from the server, you can look at other the household's photo collection etc. If the current "passcode" system is good enough for the music/film industries in the current setup, it should work with a server too.
Something along the lines of a stacked time machine that uses one drive for client backups and then extra drives to act as the data store...
Bingo!
I'm integrating families so by summer there will be 2 computer using adults and potentially two computer using children. I don't share computers and frankly dealing with multiple iTunes libraries alone is a pain (and waste of space) I'll be getting an iPhone and Time Capsule this summer and I'm hoping that Apple picks up on the enthusiasm behind Windows Home Server and delivers a Mac version.
The ideal network is coming together.
Airport Extreme/Time Capsule
Apple TV
Macs
missing piece is an Apple savvy central storage device.
I agree completely. The only thing I want to add is I currently have a HP mediasmart server and it does fill the role with some work. I know it is not apple but it saves me space and allows for backups with time machine, itunes streaming and much cheaper than what apple wants for storage space.
I'm giving Apple a year to deliver something and then I'm either getting a Mediasmart or building a NAS based solution.
In a year you will be sitting pretty even if apple does not make a home server. Prices will be down for NAs.
Go BD BUT Rent from Netflix
Why buy @ ~$35/BD when you get youself on a BD Netflix plan about $18/mo? No need to worry about media, rent as often as you like with no restrictions.
OR you could go down the route of renting from other cloud based companies, Apple TV (iTunes), Amazon at $3-5/BD movie and get raped that way...
Renting from Netflix at this time is the best cost savings and best source for BD's for your dollar.
Why buy @ ~$35/BD when you get youself on a BD Netflix plan about $18/mo? No need to worry about media, rent as often as you like with no restrictions.
OR you could go down the route of renting from other cloud based companies, Apple TV (iTunes), Amazon at $3-5/BD movie and get raped that way...
Renting from Netflix at this time is the best cost savings and best source for BD's for your dollar.
1080p Supported
The latest Apple TV supports 1080p: http://www.apple.com/appletv/specs.html
I guess you have a 1st gen...
There is even a firmware update to other gens: http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-med...160gb/4505-6739_7-32463364.html?tag=mncol;lst
The latest Apple TV supports 1080p: http://www.apple.com/appletv/specs.html
I guess you have a 1st gen...
There is even a firmware update to other gens: http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-med...160gb/4505-6739_7-32463364.html?tag=mncol;lst
Supports 1080 TV's
The Apple TV can be used on TV's that support 1080p. But when you look at the video it outputs, the max is 720p.
From the linked site under video formats supported: "(maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps..."
The Apple TV can be used on TV's that support 1080p. But when you look at the video it outputs, the max is 720p.
From the linked site under video formats supported: "(maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps..."
hehe You are in denial that Blu-Ray *is* laserdisc, all over again. Dead format.
/edit: And in your last paragraph you talk about DVD audio being pushed with higher sound quality, this has already happened and failed. DVD-Audio / SACD / Dolby Digital TrueHD / etc are all niche formats that will never succeed mass market.
I love the high tech goodies (and I still have the laserdisc collection to prove it) but none of these will succeed mass-market. It just isn't going to happen. Blu-Ray is destined to be a niche, 'videophile' high end theater hobbyist format, just like Laserdisc was.
I'm not wholely convinced that BluRay is king. The premium that they charge for it doesn't seem to be overwhelming the market. Lots of people just want to spend $10 and get a regular DVD - not HD. Yes, BluRay is king of the HD market, but I don't know if people fully desire the premium they have to pay for HD content.