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January 10, 2008

speculation

In the future, the Apple TV takes center stage

Posted Jan. 10, ’08, 1:00 PM PT by Aayush Arya
Category | Apple » Speculation

An Apple TV worldIn a well thought out column for the mothership, Christopher Breen paints a vision of the future in which Apple refines its media centric devices and invades your living room, intermingling with your daily activities and becoming an indispensable part of your life. He likens the harsh criticism that the Apple TV has received from almost all technology pundits to the flak taken by the iPod when it was launched by Apple in 2001.

Mr Breen believes that once Apple fixes the obvious shortcomings of the current version of the device and brings in better integration with other Apple devices like the iPhone and services like the iTunes Store, there will be no stopping the growth and mass acceptance of this product. I must admit that, though it sounds a little too fantastic, his ideas for the future send a funny tingling sensation down my spine. Who wouldn’t like the idea of having your TV order your pizza for you without your having to move a muscle, after all! Could we really be living in such a world one day, and soon?


14 Comments

fletcher Author Profile Page said:

I would probably own an AppleTV except for their decision to only provide component output. My SDTV even has component input, but I've never been able to get a good picture through it.

I would love to cancel my cable and switch to over-the-air for local channels, supplemented with iTunes purchases, but the selection just is not there yet to make that possible. It was getting close before NBC pulled out.

Chris does provide an interesting scenario. I can't see all of it coming true. But, a good cheap movie rental service and HD content would probaby be enough for me to get an Apple TV (and an HDTV to hook it up to).

January 10, 2008 1:36 PM
Vinh said:

I've been wanting an Apple TV for several months now. I've got a ton of content sitting on an external drive wanting to be streamed out to my tv. I'm hoping Apple does something with this product.

January 10, 2008 1:47 PM
PT said:

Hopefully the future will offer something faster than 1.5 Mbps DSL at a reasonable price.

January 10, 2008 4:49 PM
Paul said:

This is a great product now. I have no regreats about buying one. Hell I bought two. And will probably buy a third to supplement out family mini van. People, live in the now. No it is not an end all be all but it sure is a sweet ride.

January 10, 2008 7:58 PM
Woody said:

Um, fletcher, AppleTV has component and HDMI output. Were you hoping for composite maybe? ;)

If all the movie rental stuff for iTunes will work with AppleTV, and I can't imagine it not, then I see an AppleTV in my future.

January 10, 2008 8:16 PM
H said:

MAKE NO MISTAKE, anyone that gets behind Amazon’s MP3 service will DOOM us all to higher music download prices in the long run. The whole reason that this has come about is that Steve Jobs/Apple have refused to budge on pricing; which they can get away with because at the moment Apple/iTunes has most of the market share they have leverage over the studios.

With their nose’s out of joint, the record companies have employed the Big Business heavy handed technique of undercutting your competition to crucify them and gain market share (with Amazon). Amazon obviously have been a willing partner in this attempted coup, and will have bent right over and said when the time comes you can do what you want.

Don’t forget that it has been Apple/iTunes that has been trying to champion DRM-free music and lower prices and yet all the record companies seem to want to do is undermine iTunes’s market dominance. Had Apple said ‘Yeah charge what you want’ I’m sure Amazon wouldn’t have even been given a look in.

If that day does come about that Amazon de-throne’s iTunes it will be a very said day for all of us because there will be nothing stopping the record companies from charging whatever they want.

January 11, 2008 1:49 AM
Hywel said:

This is nothing like the flak that the iPod took. The iPod was ready when it was launched, the Apple TV was not. I felt compelled to buy an iPod in the day of release (gen 1), it's still working, and I have no real need to change it.

The Apple TV has potential, but it remains in early adopter territory. In the UK, this is likely to continue, because even if movie rentals are announced next week, this will probably be a US-only feature for another year or more.

Apple could also take a leaf out of Sony's book and add DIVX support (without having to hack the box)

January 11, 2008 3:28 AM
harrisis said:

I think new AppleTV might be the next big keynote.

Apple is in the blu-ray camp but hasnt done anything with it. So we must be expecting a blu-ray quicktime somepoint soon. And with the recent HD-DVD group changes, the war is moving on. And Apple could make a big difference with an AppleTV with blu-ray, and 1080. Think an apple PS3, cost a little less than the PS3 as it doesnt play games, but could do all the existing streaming, but add the drive. Thats the winner right there. IMO.

January 11, 2008 5:09 AM
Tom Author Profile Page said:

I believe that Apple tv will soon become one of our favorite Apple consumer user products. One thing that could surely help is for Apple to produce a consumer friendly mass network attached storage unit like the one that HP just released. One with 4 or 5 hot swappable bays with storage for the masses of High Definition Movies from personal downloaded movies from personal collections or from purchased movies from iTunes Store. I have been waiting patiently for this to come to hand. All this is possible with the networking capabilities of Airport Extreme Bases. If anyone has any influence with Apple Exec's they should really put some pressure on them. This could be a Great Feature for Apple to implement. Thanks for listening to my rant.

January 11, 2008 6:18 AM
Tom Author Profile Page said:

I personally believe Apple has the chance to accomplish this and more. One thing Apple should consider is to produce a Network Attached Storage Server like the New Hewlitt Packard models with 4 or 5 hot swappable bays to store High Definition Programs or Movies from everyones personal DVD or Blue Ray collections to downloaded movies and shows from the iTunes Music Store. This type of storage could be accessed from anywhere there is an internet connection for your personal use. Also with the capabilities of Airport Extreme and Apple TV and your Favorite Mac the possibilities are Endless. If anyone at Apple here's my rant Please get this kind of system in the works for the good of the people and Apple.

January 11, 2008 6:29 AM
Freak said:

ATv isn't nearly as compelling a device as the iPod was/is.

$300 is alot of dough just so I can rent movies (next week) from my couch for a higher price than Netflix or Redbox machines.

Most with iPods can already play music on their stereos. Hell with a dock you watch video and look at photos from some.

ATV is still a device without a market.

January 11, 2008 7:12 AM
macuser fan no. 3 million and 10 said:

Q: if i play a movie from my computer via an Apple TV, can I get 5;1 SURROUND SOUND?

If there's no SURROUND SOUND immersion it rather defeats the main point of dvd - ?

January 11, 2008 7:27 AM
fletcher Author Profile Page said:

Umm, yes Woody, I have one of those "standard definition" televisions that, crazy as it sounds, doesn't have HDMI.

I want component output. The composite inputs on this TV just don't seem to work. The color goes all wonky.

January 11, 2008 8:47 AM
lorem ipsum said:

Heh heh -- you said wonky.

I actually owned an ATV for a few days. I won it. I couldn't figure out what good it would me, so I traded back to the Apple Store for an iPhone for my wife. We're much happier now.

January 11, 2008 12:05 PM

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