Revamped Apple TV to Offer Netflix Streaming?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2010/08/31/revamped-apple-tv-to-offer-netflix-streaming/)


http://images.macrumors.com/article/2010/08/31/170239-apple_tv_front.jpg

Bloomberg reports (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-31/apple-said-to-plan-netflix-streaming-service-on-new-tv-product.html) that Apple will be introducing a revamped Apple TV at tomorrow's media event, and that the new device will offer Netflix movie streaming. Netflix offers a subscription service allowing customers to receive DVDs and Blu-ray discs by mail while also accessing a library of streaming content through an increasing array of compatible devices such as TiVos, DVD players, and gaming consoles. Netflix currently offers free applications for other iOS devices to allow subscribers to access streaming content on the go.Apple Inc., preparing to announce a new set-top box that delivers TV to consumers, will include movies from Netflix Inc., according to three people with knowledge of the plans.

The streaming service would be available on the revamped version of Apple TV, due to be introduced tomorrow in San Francisco, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. Users would pay a subscription fee to Netflix for the service, the people said.According to the report, the revamped Apple TV will carry the $99 price tag that has been rumored for some time.

In addition to the Apple TV, Bloomberg's sources claim that Apple tomorrow will introduce updated iTunes functionality, as well as a new iPod touch with higher-resolution display, presumably matching the iPhone 4's Retina display.

Article Link: Revamped Apple TV to Offer Netflix Streaming? (http://www.macrumors.com/2010/08/31/revamped-apple-tv-to-offer-netflix-streaming/)

[Consultant]

If it has iOS then 100% chance.

[gramirez2012]

I'm in!

[zedsdead]

Excellent news! I was getting worried we wouldnt see a new apple tv tomorrow.

This is likely just an app for it that will be demonstrated.

[gugy]

Nice, BUT:

1080p
External drive support for unlimited local storage

[Peace]

If it has IOS on it you will be able to stream from a lot of apps. Not just Netflix.

[batmccoy]

Well, hope there's more to the new Apple TV than that.

[note235]

i like that

[rosalindavenue]

This could explain today's Roku price drop (http://goo.gl/dLrB). And this would be FANTASTIC if I could replace my Roku box with one that would stream my photos and music to my entertainment system for only $99.

[Cave Man]

Netflix streaming pretty much sucks. Poor compression leading to lots of pixelation, unresponsive ff/rew and no Dolby Digital (or DTS) 5.1. No thanks. I'd even keep crappy iTunes rentals over that junk.

[Stuipdboy1000]

I think I'm more excited about the Apple TV (iTV) than any of the iPod related announcements. Unless they release a new iLife with some super cool new features.

[markfc]

I probably shouldn't telling be you this but for UK buyers it will also have the iPlayer app to watch BBC repeats...

Not out till dec in UK

[MCIowaRulz]

"Drool"
Though i'm buying at rev 2;)

[balamw]

This doesn't seem particularly surprising if it is an iOS device and can run either the iPad or iPhone's Netflix app.

I already have NetFlix integration in my TiVo and Samsung Blu Ray player but am on a limited plan that won't stream to these devices. The unlimited plan is calling my name.

B

[Stuipdboy1000]

I probably shouldn't telling be you this but for UK buyers it will also have the iPlayer app to watch BBC repeats...

Not out till dec in UK

And we should believe you because...?

[Lesser Evets]

Apple TV and this whole streaming TV/download stuff is getting close to good-enough-to-buy.

We'll see what they unleash tomorrow. If it ISN'T some pathetitech with pixelation and crud download times, and the prices of shows come down a tad, I'll most likely buy. Soon it will be the must-have device, but will it be tomorrow?

[cube]

Buy a Blu Ray player and use Netflix over the post.

What's the point of an HDTV if you're going to feed it crappy video?

[Greydog]

Ok maybe I am missing someting here. Why would Apple promote Netflix w/ the release of a new AppleTV which would compete directly with it's own iTunes store movie and video downloads? What does Apple get?

Unless there is seriously better graphics horsepower under the hood of this new box, I don't see many people flocking to this.

[azentropy]

Apple charges $49 for a stinking cable to connect an iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch! A complete product for $99?? If it happens - great, but I just don't see it...

[Cynicalone]

New Apple TV with Netflix...?

I don't know if Apple would come out the gate with a service pre-installed to compete with the the iTunes Store.

[skeep5]

Uh yeah if it's running iOS then it will definitely be able to use the netflix app duh. I watch movies on my iPhone all the time now. However, I'm already streaming netflix on the Wii, so iTV better have some other reasons for me to sign up. :apple:

[tasset]

If it has full bore iOS with streaming apps and games, Apple has my money.
If they try to temper/cripple this to give iTunes rentals a headstart or an olive branch to the media/cable companies I will pass and be disappointed.

[macfan881]

Netflix streaming pretty much sucks. Poor compression leading to lots of pixelation, unresponsive ff/rew and no Dolby Digital (or DTS) 5.1. No thanks. I'd even keep crappy iTunes rentals over that junk.

Are you blind granted netflix is no Blu Ray but there HD streaming is pretty darn good if you ask me it looks alot better than iTunes and that is not streaming. I'll buy this day 1 when this come out with yesterdays news that Xbox Live is going to be 60 a year I may ditch my xbox as my entertainment streaming system and use my PS3/:apple:TV from now on.

[bdkennedy1]

Streaming from Netflix is awesome, but they don't have a lot of TV shows.

[macfan881]

New Apple TV with Netflix...?

I don't know if Apple would come out the gate with a service pre-installed to compete with the the iTunes Store.

Trust me Netflix doesnt come with in a 10 Ft radious of iTunes even with there new Paramount deal if i wanna watch Iron Man 2 id rather would pay the 2.99 to rent on iTunes than wait 90 days for it to come on netflix.

[thewireman]

As long they offers subtitles, I'm in.

[markfc]

And we should believe you because...?

Let's just say I look after some very interesting servers...;-)

[uraniumwilly]

Netflix streaming pretty much sucks. Poor compression leading to lots of pixelation, unresponsive ff/rew and no Dolby Digital (or DTS) 5.1.

I had the exact same experience. Although, if I can download a movie and then watch it without all of the artifacts and sound problems, that would be fine.

[iphone1105]

Ok maybe I am missing someting here. Why would Apple promote Netflix w/ the release of a new AppleTV which would compete directly with it's own iTunes store movie and video downloads? What does Apple get?

Unless there is seriously better graphics horsepower under the hood of this new box, I don't see many people flocking to this.

How does it compete? iTunes allows you to buy, Netflix rent, and Instant watch is only available for a period of time....so don't see really how they compete, two completely different things....if I buy something, use iTunes, I can't buy anything from Netflix....

[Robin4]

Netflix just spent a lot of money acquiring the rights to content from Paramount, MGM, etc. That is an incredible amount of top-notch movies.
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/netflix-to-stream-films-from-paramount-lionsgate-mgm/?scp=4&sq=Netflix&st=cse

I bet this is tied to tomorrow's announcement.

[b-rad g]

Will it be able to stream Hulu Plus?

[mattster16]

I just bought a new blu-ray player to replace my existing one specifically just to get netflix streaming. That'll be returned if this rumor comes true...

[iphone1105]

I had the exact same experience. Although, if I can download a movie and then watch it without all of the artifacts and sound problems, that would be fine.

Maybe you just need better pipes man! My picture quality is pretty awesome when streaming from my 360 or iPhone.

And to the other dude, you can keep dreaming you'll be able to cache a film, that was a great laugh....keep dreamin homey!

[Arcus]

Sigh....What about the ISPs that limit the amount you can download per month. I really wish these big guys (Apple , Netflix) would lobby to do something about it....whatever that may be.

[DavidLeblond]

Netflix? *yawn* Even my Wii streams Netflix. Don't wake me up unless it streams Hulu Plus.

[nelmat]

Nice, BUT:

1080p
External drive support for unlimited local storage

No content provider streams 1080 content - there isn't the bandwidth available to do this. That's why no one is doing it, and why there is no need to output from a device that displays streamed content.

Apple seem to be creating a device focussed on streaming media from the internet/cloud and local storage/network - so if you want unlimited storage, attach a huge external hard drive to your mac to use for your itunes library. Simples.

[tarproductions]

If so, count me in!

[mattster16]

Netflix streaming pretty much sucks. Poor compression leading to lots of pixelation, unresponsive ff/rew and no Dolby Digital (or DTS) 5.1. No thanks. I'd even keep crappy iTunes rentals over that junk.

It's not all that bad. Some of the HD content looks decent (and I'm not one of those people who tries to claim Blu-Ray is hardly any better than DVD) for something that is streaming over the internet. I agree about the lack of anything other than stereo audio. Using Dolby PLII or DTS NEO:6 on my receiver though the audio is decent. It's plenty adequate for TV series, documentaries or old/non-action movies.

[nelmat]

I just bought a new blu-ray player to replace my existing one specifically just to get netflix streaming. That'll be returned if this rumor comes true...

But what about playing your blu-rays? No way this will hit the device tomorrow. or ever.

[nelmat]

Well, hope there's more to the new Apple TV than that.

Pointless comment. No, of course Apple are going to launch a product specifically (and uniquely) to run netflix. Anything intelligent to contribute?

[mattster16]

But what about playing your blu-rays? No way this will hit the device tomorrow. or ever.

I already had a blu-ray player, just not an internet content compatible one. I've got 45 days before I need to return the new one though..so I'll bide my time :)

[atomicbatteries]

big deal, who doesn't offer netflix streaming these days, no biggie there!

[paradox00]

It looks like some analysts (and psoters) are just now coming to the realization of what Apple TV running iOS and having an app store would really mean.

[macrumors12345]

But not particularly useful to those of us that already have a TiVo (which supports Netflix streaming).

[nelmat]

Buy a Blu Ray player and use Netflix over the post.

What's the point of an HDTV if you're going to feed it crappy video?

Or maybe, there is no way to stream anything about 720 currently, but when the content becomes available this should be a simple firmware update. Don't forget that Apple haven't actually announced that this thing only provides 720, it's all speculation. But in the absence of ANY 1080 streaming content currently available, it would serve no point.

[GeekLawyer]

Streaming from Netflix is awesome, but they don't have a lot of TV shows.True, especially current stuff. But if it's full-bore iOS, Hulu+ won't be far behind. Which seems to have a lot of support up-thead. :)

And maybe they'll cobble something together on cheap(er) episode rentals.

I'm excited to see what tomorrow brings.

[nelmat]

Will it be able to stream Hulu Plus?

If this thing runs iOS, than a Hulu App should work no issue. Along with iPlayer, vimeo etc. etc.

[newagemac]

Ok maybe I am missing someting here. Why would Apple promote Netflix w/ the release of a new AppleTV which would compete directly with it's own iTunes store movie and video downloads? What does Apple get?

Unless there is seriously better graphics horsepower under the hood of this new box, I don't see many people flocking to this.

Why do people keep asking this question? Apple makes their money on the hardware. The itunes store is just a means to an end. It makes them very little money and they are fine with that as long as it remains a seller of the ipods, iphones, and ipads.

And this is nothing new. The App Store has had netflix, hulu plus, amazon, and hundreds of other competitors to itunes for quite a while. Competing with the itunes store for music, movies, books, and pretty much every else the itunes store sells. They just want to make the itunes store as best as it can be because that increases the chance you'll buy their hardware.

That's also why they don't mind lowering the price of TV shows and movies. They're not really in it to profit from content. At least not directly.

[ChrisGonzales90]

If it has IOS on it you will be able to stream from a lot of apps. Not just Netflix.

Yeah but this is about netflix, (hence the topic title) when the current Apple TV does not.

I never had a problem streaming netflix. But then again I dont have crappy internet or stealing off the neighbors.

[Treats]

As long as it plays betamax, I'm in.


Srsly though, if it can stream avis from my mac and do netflix, I'd probably get one.

[MurphyM]

I'd say about 80% of my Netflix queue isn't available for streaming.

The selection is slim.

[sansabar]

If this is true I will have an HD Roku for sale tomorrow. The only time I have had quality issues with netflix was when I was having network issues or 4 computers were all downloading the 10.6.4 update at the same time. And I don't have a surround sound system so stereo sound is just fine with me.

[Cave Man]

Are you blind

No, I'm not blind. Are you?

granted netflix is no Blu Ray but there HD streaming is pretty darn good if you ask me it looks alot better than iTunes and that is not streaming.

If it works for you, great. But Netflix has been pretty piss-poor every time I've tried it. In fact, I've never been able to make it through an entire movie because of the pixelation issues.

[podvisual]

please make this compatible with the older Atv models...

[gugy]

No content provider streams 1080 content - there isn't the bandwidth available to do this. That's why no one is doing it, and why there is no need to output from a device that displays streamed content.

Apple seem to be creating a device focussed on streaming media from the internet/cloud and local storage/network - so if you want unlimited storage, attach a huge external hard drive to your mac to use for your itunes library. Simples.

I am not talking about streaming from content providers but my own stuff.
Blu-ray rips and my home movies.
Look it's not a big deal. Roku, WD Live and few other boxes offer 1080p.
Now storage, sure I can get a MacMini but why pay $700+ to have two simple features that AppleTV can offer without a sweat? Sure, maybe Apple wants me to fork that money for a MacMini HTPC, but no thanks.

My point is, I love what is rumored about the new AppleTV, just hope adding two features that should be there in the first place will make this product a great thing for all folks.

[newamiga]

http://www.plexapp.com/ios.html

I think this is the answer to all of the deficiencies Apple will have in the initial release. This app will let you stream from any Mac running the Plex server component in your house. This is the killer app for the new Apple TV.. assuming of course the new Apple TV is announced and it is in fact iOS based. Finally the ability for Apple TV to stream Video_TS files without having to hack your box.:D

[elmo151]

Buy a Blu Ray player and use Netflix over the post.

What's the point of an HDTV if you're going to feed it crappy video?

1. there are 15000 movies available on demand. Not 2-3 a week
2. the video feed is good. I use a Roku for my feed and I love it.

[nelmat]

I already had a blu-ray player, just not an internet content compatible one. I've got 45 days before I need to return the new one though..so I'll bide my time :)

Gotcha. My big criticism of appleTV is the blu-ray absence. I don't want to watch blu-ray on my desk-top/laptop, but I do on my HDTV - this device HAS to replace a box and add new functionality, I'm not prepared to stick another box under the tv - but if this thing had blu-ray, or the option of an external blu-ray drive that stacked nicely with it, I'd buy without hesitation. Until 1080 streamed content and movie downloads are readily available, the announcement of the death of physical media is premature.

The lack of streaming content for those outside America leaves this dead in the water over here in Europe. I know Apple can't dictate how producers/studios distribute their content internationally (as much as they'd like to) but in the UK we don't have Hulu, Vimeo or any of the others (legally, anyway). iPlayer is fantastic, but the BBC isn't exactly full of feature films and great american series.

I'm not criticising Apple on this front, it's out of their hands, but until this stale mate is broken, this type of device is full of unrealised potential. I'd like to have one during the process of that potential being realised, but without a blu-ray drive, I simply don't have another £x to spend on a toy.

No Dexter, no deal.

:)

[w00master]

No, I'm not blind. Are you?



If it works for you, great. But Netflix has been pretty piss-poor every time I've tried it. In fact, I've never been able to make it through an entire movie because of the pixelation issues.

To be fair, I noticed that you're from Germany, so it could be the difference between the US Market vs. Europe.

Netflix for me is rather smooth. There's a reason why Netflix streaming is extremely popular in the US. For the US market, it's simply awesome.

w00master

[smacsteve]

Nobody seems to be asking the obvious question... Where will us early adopters be left? Out to dry I hope not. If the new iOS (if in fact that is what it will be) will be able to be upgraded to our devices or if we'll have to pay the same $99 fee to upgrade? I would hope they would be will to recognize that we've been their guinea pig and give a credit or trade in offer. Time will tell I guess.

[mddharma]

if I could stream my mkv selection to it as well. I currently use a WDTV and having been mulling over getting the WDTV Plus which stream netflix. However, I would really like to stream my 4 2tb drives. It is a pain to keep moving drives with the WDTV as I can only get two to work at a time. Now, hopefully Apple will allow some other formats on this new itv and then I would be all set. Has anyone here streamed to an apple tv with MKV files?

[OllyW]

Is Netflix only available in the USA & Canada?


That'll come in useful. :rolleyes:

[ChrisGonzales90]

There is also RedBox. $1 a night or $1.50 for blu-ray. Many are located at Mcdonalds and thry sometimes give out free movie rentals.

Is Netflix only available in the USA & Canada?


That'll come in useful.


Yep. I don't see why you guys need it.

[paradox00]

Is Netflix only available in the USA & Canada?


That'll come in useful. :rolleyes:

It's not in Canada yet :(

Coming soon though :)

Hopefully other countries get some love too.

[zedsdead]

Nobody seems to be asking the obvious question... Where will us early adopters be left? Out to dry I hope not. If the new iOS (if in fact that is what it will be) will be able to be upgraded to our devices or if we'll have to pay the same $99 fee to upgrade? I would hope they would be will to recognize that we've been their guinea pig and give a credit or trade in offer. Time will tell I guess.

Dollar for dollar i got more use out of my apple tv than any other apple product. Had it since it came out, and they had had two major software updates which did not require money.

Also, the current Apple TVs would still perform there functions entirely the way they did.

I would be happy to pay for a new unit though, since the hardware is so outdated.

[nelmat]

I am not talking about streaming from content providers but my own stuff.
Blu-ray rips and my home movies.
Look it's not a big deal. Roku, WD Live and few other boxes offer 1080p.
Now storage, sure I can get a MacMini but why pay $700+ to have two simple features that AppleTV can offer without a sweat? Sure, maybe Apple wants me to fork that money for a MacMini HTPC, but no thanks.

My point is, I love what is rumored about the new AppleTV, just hope adding two features that should be there in the first place will make this product a great thing for all folks.

The problem here is that your blu-ray rips aren't legal and, so Apple can't be seen to support them. The other boxes you mention might be able to theoretically stream 1080 from content providers, but currently NO content provider streams 1080. The digital copies of movies provided with major movie purchases aren't full HD.

This is a device to stream from your existing computers - mac or windows (the current apple tv already does this) so the size of storage is dictated by your existing capacity, not the box itself - that's why the price point is rumoured to be so low.

I do agree with you, i'm just saying that if this is about a streaming device with a low price point, I understand why 1080 and the large hard drive aren't there. You can use a less powerful processor, less ram, and therefore less heat issues/smaller form factor possibility.

I would just LOVE to see the option of a blu-ray drive for this new iteration, but I suspect it simply will never happen, although I'd love to be wrong.

[arkmannj]

No content provider streams 1080 content - there isn't the bandwidth available to do this. That's why no one is doing it, and why there is no need to output from a device that displays streamed content.

Apple seem to be creating a device focussed on streaming media from the internet/cloud and local storage/network - so if you want unlimited storage, attach a huge external hard drive to your mac to use for your itunes library. Simples.

I'd prefer a drive connected to the device too.
I don't want everything streaming, be it from the cloud or within my own home.
If this turns out to be a streaming only kinda device I'd save my pennies for another Mac mini instead

[nelmat]

Nobody seems to be asking the obvious question... Where will us early adopters be left? Out to dry I hope not. If the new iOS (if in fact that is what it will be) will be able to be upgraded to our devices or if we'll have to pay the same $99 fee to upgrade? I would hope they would be will to recognize that we've been their guinea pig and give a credit or trade in offer. Time will tell I guess.

Why - does the current appleTV not work, doing exactly what it said it would do? In which case, there's no cause for complaint.

Why should anyone have the next gen of a device free of charge? My brother loves his appleTV, it was relatively inexpensive and he's had two years out of it, and still going strong. There's no sense of guinea pig about his current set up - it works, he loves it.

New devices are released all the time, it doesn't give the owners of the legacy models the right to a free upgrade.

EDIT: Apple charge for a new machine each time you upgrade, so the chances of a discount for an existing owner are zero.

[nelmat]

I'd prefer a drive connected to the device too.
I don't want everything streaming, be it from the cloud or within my own home.
If this turns out to be a streaming only kinda device I'd save my pennies for another Mac mini instead

I suspect (again not disagreeing with you) that this entire keynote is going to be about streaming and the magical 'cloud'. Wi-fi on iPods, streaming iTunes, the cloud etc. etc. - this is a device for wireless connectivity and streaming and that's how apple are going to sell and control it.

[deviant]

iTV only for USA? lol . Do you actually think Apple is so stupid ?

[nelmat]

iTV only for USA? lol . Do you actually think Apple is so stupid ?

It's not the box that's primarily US only, it's the content. Hulu, Netflix etc. don't stream outside the USA. It's going to take a while for content providers to allow international streaming. I'm hoping for some major studio announcements tomorrow, think I might be left wanting though.

[OllyW]

iTV only for USA? lol . Do you actually think Apple is so stupid ?

We've already got ITV (http://www.itv.com/) in the UK. :p

[TimTheEnchanter]

There is also RedBox. $1 a night or $1.50 for blu-ray. Many are located at Mcdonalds and thry sometimes give out free movie rentals.

Yep. I don't see why you guys need it.

I found redbox to be incredibly expensive in comparison to netflix.

INFOGRAPHIC: http://www.rentersinsurance.org/netflix/

Netflix is not as convenient if you want a movie now, that's redbox's only benefit. As far as quality goes, streaming isn't bad but not as good as DVD of course, but in most cases it's fine. For those things I want HD, I get the DVD or BR disk sent.

I'm just hoping (a snowball's chance in hell) that they'll include TiVo-like recording capabilities so I can replace that box and payment.

IMHO :)

[macfan881]

No, I'm not blind. Are you?



If it works for you, great. But Netflix has been pretty piss-poor every time I've tried it. In fact, I've never been able to make it through an entire movie because of the pixelation issues.

No I'm not what is your Down/up speed i get 10Mb Down 1up and it works great

if you have anything under 5Mb thats gonna be a issue.

[Mattsasa]

If new apple tv runs iOS. doesn't iOS mean bluetooth keyboards, and bluetooth devices, and software like this: safari, mail, pages, keynote, itunes, imovie, games, ibooks, possible some iLife apps.


Then couldn't apple put this in a bundle for like $300 with remote, keyboard, mouse, preinstalled software, maybe bump up some hardware, and make it a nettop desktop computer?

[newagemac]

if I could stream my mkv selection to it as well. I currently use a WDTV and having been mulling over getting the WDTV Plus which stream netflix. However, I would really like to stream my 4 2tb drives. It is a pain to keep moving drives with the WDTV as I can only get two to work at a time. Now, hopefully Apple will allow some other formats on this new itv and then I would be all set. Has anyone here streamed to an apple tv with MKV files?

Not to an Apple TV but I have streamed MKV files to an iphone and an ipad with the Air Video app on the App Store and it is awesome! Plays pretty much any format you can throw at it. If the new Apple TV is gonna run iOS your days of worrying about what format the video is in may be over.

As a matter of fact, this might just be the first box that can play ANYTHING of importance since it will still probably be the only box that can play DRM itunes stuff. A $99 device combined with the Netflix app, Hulu Plus, the new Plex iOS app, Air Video app, and etc. should make it a killer buy.

[Dr Kevorkian94]

this is not too big of a surprise but still awesome

[Mad.Rider]

Ok maybe I am missing someting here. Why would Apple promote Netflix w/ the release of a new AppleTV which would compete directly with it's own iTunes store movie and video downloads? What does Apple get?

Antitrust...

[newamiga]

http://www.plexapp.com/ios.html

I think this is the answer to all of the deficiencies Apple will have in the initial release. This app will let you stream from any Mac running the Plex server component in your house. This is the killer app for the new Apple TV.. assuming of course the new Apple TV is announced and it is in fact iOS based. Finally the ability for Apple TV to stream Video_TS files without having to hack your box.:D

Ok I amend my post.. apparently the Plex app on the phone wont stream video_TS files. It works fine with ripped MPEG-4 files and even a MKV of a blu ray rip of Star Trek.

[nelmat]

If new apple tv runs iOS. doesn't iOS mean bluetooth keyboards, and bluetooth devices, and software like this: safari, mail, pages, keynote, itunes, imovie, games, ibooks, possible some iLife apps.


Then couldn't apple put this in a bundle for like $300 with remote, keyboard, mouse, preinstalled software, maybe bump up some hardware, and make it a nettop desktop computer?

They could, but they won't. Cannibalisation of mini sales. Plus the iOS doesn't have a full file system, so isn't a full computer in the traditional sense (also underpowered for any significant processing draw). But I do see this supporting a blu-tooth keyboard.

[lilo777]

So, iTV is going to be similar to Roku, less than WD TV Live and much less than Windows Media Center. Still might be useful for some. I wonder if it will work with universal remote though. Otherwise it'll be downgrade even compared to Roku.

[nelmat]

Ok maybe I am missing someting here. Why would Apple promote Netflix w/ the release of a new AppleTV which would compete directly with it's own iTunes store movie and video downloads? What does Apple get?

Publicity and lot more content to announce tomorrow.

Unless there is seriously better graphics horsepower under the hood of this new box, I don't see many people flocking to this.

Why is "seriously better" graphics horsepower needed to stream web content or run existing iOS applications?

[Peace]

Or maybe, there is no way to stream anything about 720 currently, but when the content becomes available this should be a simple firmware update. Don't forget that Apple haven't actually announced that this thing only provides 720, it's all speculation. But in the absence of ANY 1080 streaming content currently available, it would serve no point.

TRUE HD 1080P has a bitrate of around 33,000K. That is a LOT of bandwidth. If the typical household had that kind of bandwidth they would stream it. But they don't because hardly anybody has 100MB internet.

[nelmat]

So, iTV is going to be similar to Roku, less than WD TV Live and much less than Windows Media Center. Still might be useful for some. I wonder if it will work with universal remote though. Otherwise it'll be downgrade even compared to Roku.

Windows media center and Roku don't run apps, unless I'm much mistaken? I think the remote will be something extremely clever, the big challenge Apple need to overcome in bringing the iOS to a non-touch-screen.

[nelmat]

TRUE HD 1080P has a bitrate of around 33,000K. That is a LOT of bandwidth. If the typical household had that kind of bandwidth they would stream it. But they don't because hardly anybody has 100MB internet.

...and therefore a good reason to keep the price-point low and only put "just enough" into this device at this stage. Redundant capacity in a $99 device makes no sense when trying to keep it inexpensive.

[deviant]

It's not the box that's primarily US only, it's the content. Hulu, Netflix etc. don't stream outside the USA. It's going to take a while for content providers to allow international streaming. I'm hoping for some major studio announcements tomorrow, think I might be left wanting though.

I know WHY they can't stream outside US. My point was that Apple is not so dumb to sell devices that can only be used within US.
The first and second apple tv were ok for us here in europe, cause they worked with iTunes (although i don't know anybody who owns one hehe). But just STREAMING device (netflix "powered") just for US. Nah. ************.
Anyway , apple is never gonna beat mac mini + plex 0.9 + plex .9 iOs.NEVAH :D

[anjonjp]

Technologically speaking this is a great way forward if the rumour is to be believed. For certain markets like Japan, the move to a streaming centred device versus a hard drive device is a big step backwards. The obvious reason being that the media content available to us is severely limited. Unless Apple partner with a locally based streaming company or simply add movies to iTunes, then this device will be all but useless. Apple is surely aware of this, so I actually do wonder if the rumour is accurate. Unless Apple is happy to sell the new Apple TV in limited markets only of course.

[AZREOSpecialist]

If new apple tv runs iOS. doesn't iOS mean bluetooth keyboards, and bluetooth devices, and software like this: safari, mail, pages, keynote, itunes, imovie, games, ibooks, possible some iLife apps.


Then couldn't apple put this in a bundle for like $300 with remote, keyboard, mouse, preinstalled software, maybe bump up some hardware, and make it a nettop desktop computer?

It's too bad Apple puts no emphasis on market share.

[mytakeontech]

I see some business articles related to Apple on any other business site and suddenly I think this must have been posted on MR too. Then I refresh MR RSS feeds and boom...the article is there :)

MR must be scanning the web for Apple articles. Once found just write a short synopsis on MR and link that to the original site. eReporting!

[Mattsasa]

They could, but they won't. Cannibalisation of mini sales. Plus the iOS doesn't have a full file system, so isn't a full computer in the traditional sense (also underpowered for any significant processing draw). But I do see this supporting a blu-tooth keyboard.

your right it wouldn't be a full computer, but I don't think its underpowered, it just needs to be as strong as like a first gen iphone/ipod touch right.

[marksman]

This would make me buy one for sure. I already own a Roku and I love it. It cost me $99 when I bought it. I have been debating buying another one for a while now for use in another room.

If the Apple TV supports netflix streaming, it would give me a reason to buy one, especially for the pricetag. Anything else it did would be nice... Until now I saw no reason or purpose to buy one.

[nelmat]

It's too bad Apple puts no emphasis on market share.

Nope. Which is why the dominate the mp3 player sector, are on their way to dominating the smartphone sector, just wiped the competition in tablet computing out of existence and are the market leaders in digital media sales?

Market share != success

Apple are now worth more than Microsoft. Apple have 9 - 10% of the market, Microsoft have 80 - 90 % - who is the more successful?

[lilo777]

Windows media center and Roku don't run apps, unless I'm much mistaken? I think the remote will be something extremely clever, the big challenge Apple need to overcome in bringing the iOS to a non-touch-screen.

WMC does not run apps indeed but Windows does :) As long as PC is connected to TV it's all that matters. In reality though I do not think that people want to run any apps on TV. The two obvious uses for TV are TV content and games. Anything else is available on computer, iPad, phone etc. TV is probably the least convenient option for running other types of apps.

[nelmat]

your right it wouldn't be a full computer, but I don't think its underpowered, it just needs to be as strong as like a first gen iphone/ipod touch right.

Not if it wants to run microsoft office, adobe software or any high-end CAD package, 64 bit software, multi-track audio editing/recording, video editing...

iOS isn't intended as a desktop/laptop replacement, it's for the app store and content consumption with light creation thrown in. This will no doubt have the iPhone/iPad processor in it and tiny amounts of RAM - it's all about low cost, sell as many units as possible and then try and convince the studio to release content once the boxes have sold a few million units.

[addicted44]

Ok maybe I am missing someting here. Why would Apple promote Netflix w/ the release of a new AppleTV which would compete directly with it's own iTunes store movie and video downloads? What does Apple get?

Unless there is seriously better graphics horsepower under the hood of this new box, I don't see many people flocking to this.

Ummm....Sales of the "iTV"?

Apple effectively makes no money from any of the iTunes Store. This is not just pie in the sky statements, but clearly visible facts in their Annual Reports. If you lay out their revenues from all their SW and media Stores on a pie chart with other revenues, that slice is barely going to be visible.

Apple only provides media as a service, making it easy for iPod/iPhone/iPad owners to get content to consume on their devices, encouraging them to buy those devices.

[sinsin07]

Netflix streaming pretty much sucks for me.

Corrected that for you.


My bandwidth sucks so I get Poor compression leading to lots of pixelation,

Call your cable company, this is where the issue is.


I get such poor speed that my Netflix has unresponsive ff/rew

Don't worry. No charge.

[nelmat]

WMC does not run apps indeed but Windows does :) As long as PC is connected to TV it's all that matters. In reality though I do not think that people want to run any apps on TV. The two obvious uses for TV are TV content and games. Anything else is available on computer, iPad, phone etc. TV is probably the least convenient option for running other types of apps.

That's not the point though - I can connect a mini to the TV - the point is that WMC does not run apps or have access to an app store, the iTV will. So there's why it has more functionality than WMC. (A game is an application btw). I'd very much like to run apps on my tv - news tickers, in-video content, type my blog, view interactive PDFs and browse the net. The killer app would be facetime with the re-introduction of the external iSight camera.

[nelmat]

I know WHY they can't stream outside US. My point was that Apple is not so dumb to sell devices that can only be used within US.
The first and second apple tv were ok for us here in europe, cause they worked with iTunes (although i don't know anybody who owns one hehe). But just STREAMING device (netflix "powered") just for US. Nah. ************.
Anyway , apple is never gonna beat mac mini + plex 0.9 + plex .9 iOs.NEVAH :D

They will. You have a short memory. International roll out takes time, but it will come just as with the early days of iTunes. My bro has an original appleTV, it's fab and he streams lots of content from the house macs and windows machines, most of it not purchased from iTunes.

BTW, i read a quarterly report and did some math - the Apple TV had sold over 6 million units, over half of these outside the US, so plenty of people have them. it's actually one of the biggest selling devices of it's type.

[WiiDSmoker]

If it can do MT2S, DTS/Doby HD Audio, and 1080P I'll buy several for the house

[sswanky]

If true, sold. I was just thinking about getting a Roku device for the bedroom. I'd rather have Apple tv w/Netflix.

[ChrisGonzales90]

There are an awful lot of brits (and other nationalities) working for apple in development, marketing and research. Fortunately the attitude of american is a little less inward-looking than the US population. Jonathan Ive is most definitely british and he's done as much to shape Apple in the last ten years as Steve Jobs. It's an international company. Welcome to the world.

PS. I really don't want to move the US. Your cell networks and broadband provision are so far behind the rest of the world it's laughable.

CDMA is pretty good. Remember, the reason the iphone gets so much pad press is because the bloggers and such are from the New York and San Fransisco area. Plus with us we hgave a 10 digit pone numbers, not 20 digits

but yeah, theres much more to life then cell phones.

as for Johnny ive, I only found out hes british untill recently and to be honest his i can handle, the rest are like nails on a chalkboard.

[nelmat]

If it can do MT2S, DTS/Doby HD Audio, and 1080P I'll buy several for the house

I think surround sound via an optical out is a possible - BUT no joy with 1080 - that content doesn't exist in the wireless/streaming world.

[deviant]

They will. You have a short memory. International roll out takes time, but it will come just as with the early days of iTunes. My bro has an original appleTV, it's fab and he streams lots of content from the house macs and windows machines, most of it not purchased from iTunes.

BTW, i read a quarterly report and did some math - the Apple TV had sold over 6 million units, over half of these outside the US, so plenty of people have them. it's actually one of the biggest selling devices of it's type.

When have they released the first apple tv ? Where are all the tv shows and movies in italian ? LOL ? international roll out ? Never happened here.(Personally i don't care.Dubbed movies and tvshows ? Not for me.But, just for the sake of argument)
Don't get me wrong.I love apple,i own plenty of their devices.But A a streaming netflix apple tv .. That doesn't make sense.I bet ya anything this ain't gonna happen.Will see tomorrow ? I guess so. Let's wait till tomorrow. Somebody's going to be disappointed.

BTW, i'm happy for your brother. Is his apple tv able to stream 1080p content ? What about dts 5.1 ? Ha ? . What about MKV's ? Mp4 just sucks. My mini do all those things. Yes it cost me 300-400 bucks more. But who cares.I love quality.Not crappy 720p with what ? AAC audio ? lol.

[paradox00]

WMC does not run apps indeed but Windows does :) As long as PC is connected to TV it's all that matters. In reality though I do not think that people want to run any apps on TV. The two obvious uses for TV are TV content and games. Anything else is available on computer, iPad, phone etc. TV is probably the least convenient option for running other types of apps.

You said way less than WMC, not way less than an HTPC. Honestly, if I was running an HTPC, WMC wouldn't be the software I used.

[rmatthewware]

Good, my Roku keeps breaking down. I'd love to replace it with something that has places I can go for actual tech support. I was thinking about getting the Apple TV anyway, but this definitely sweetens the pot.

[steve-p]

I'm very happy with my current Apple TV. That doesn't necessarily mean I won't buy a new one though, if it does new useful things that the original one doesn't. I'll be keeping the current one for it's present use feeding a high end audio system with synced lossless music via digital out though. If I just wanted to stream music, I would probably have bought something else. The syncing side of it is easy to use, and works well. Losing local storage is a backward step for my purposes.

[nelmat]

CDMA is pretty good. Remember, the reason the iphone gets so much pad press is because the bloggers and such are from the New York and San Fransisco area. Plus with us we hgave a 10 digit pone numbers, not 20 digits

but yeah, theres much more to life then cell phones.

as for Johnny ive, I only found out hes british untill recently and to be honest his i can handle, the rest are like nails on a chalkboard.

Who has 20 digit phone numbers? remember, we don't have start by dialling international codes - yours are long for us too type too from this side of the pond.

CDMA is OK, but we had 3G as standard years ahead of you guys, our average broadband speed is faster and more of the country is covered by the 3G network, we also have (free) wi-fi coverage across nearly every major city and town.

I' not talking about bloggers and press (ignored those for years) I[m talking about real world experience over there, my colleagues states side have appalling telecoms service compared to the UK in both arizona, washington state and san francisco...

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Or maybe, there is no way to stream anything about 720 currently, but when the content becomes available this should be a simple firmware update. Don't forget that Apple haven't actually announced that this thing only provides 720, it's all speculation. But in the absence of ANY 1080 streaming content currently available, it would serve no point.

...except that we can use Apple's iMovie to read in 1080i/p from camcorders, render it and play it in Quicktime, store it in iTunes and play it there too. But we have no :apple:TV way to go from iTunes to the 1080HDTV.

We don't have to have 1080p streaming content to warrant a 1080p :apple:TV. Apple gives us the tools for free with any new Mac to make our own 1080p content. Besides, the hardware has to lead before the content makes any sense to show up. A studio could put 1080p Avatar for :apple:TV in the iTunes store today, but if there's no :apple:TV's that can play it, it will completely fail as a "will they buy 1080p test?"

Get lots of 1080p :apple:TV's into homes and the content will quickly follow. Pressure the pipes with greater demand and they will expand. Accept limitations and the pipes won't expand. Etc.

[nelmat]

You said way less than WMC, not way less than an HTPC. Honestly, if I was running an HTPC, WMC wouldn't be the software I used.

I was drawing direct comparison to WMC - WMC does not have as many features/functionality as apple/iTV - end of. Who mentioned HTPC?

[goobot]

too many things coming this september. im runnin out of money!!!

[paradox00]

I was drawing direct comparison to WMC - WMC does not have as many features/functionality as apple/iTV - end of. Who mentioned HTPC?

I didn't quote you. I quoted lilo777.

[WiiDSmoker]

I think surround sound via an optical out is a possible - BUT no joy with 1080 - that content doesn't exist in the wireless/streaming world.

Surround sound is through HDMI. You can't do optical for high end audio codecs. And yes 1080P does stream just fine on my home network with CAT6 cords and my WD TV HD Live Plus. Not to be mean, but everything you said was wrong =/

[gugy]

The problem here is that your blu-ray rips aren't legal and, so Apple can't be seen to support them. The other boxes you mention might be able to theoretically stream 1080 from content providers, but currently NO content provider streams 1080. The digital copies of movies provided with major movie purchases aren't full HD.

This is a device to stream from your existing computers - mac or windows (the current apple tv already does this) so the size of storage is dictated by your existing capacity, not the box itself - that's why the price point is rumoured to be so low.

I do agree with you, i'm just saying that if this is about a streaming device with a low price point, I understand why 1080 and the large hard drive aren't there. You can use a less powerful processor, less ram, and therefore less heat issues/smaller form factor possibility.

I would just LOVE to see the option of a blu-ray drive for this new iteration, but I suspect it simply will never happen, although I'd love to be wrong.

I understand what you are saying.
The truth is...AppleTV is just another fancy way to consume iTunes content.
That's too bad because adding few simple features would turn this thing into something much better.
Maybe I could be wrong tomorrow. Let's hope for the best.

[nelmat]

...except that we can use Apple's iMovie to read in 1080i/p from camcorders, render it and play it in Quicktime, store it in iTunes and play it there too. But we have no :apple:TV way to go from iTunes to the 1080HDTV.

We don't have to have 1080p streaming content to warrant a 1080p :apple:TV. Apple gives us the tools for free with any new Mac to make our own 1080p content. Besides, the hardware has to lead before the content makes any sense to show up. A studio could put 1080p Avatar for :apple:TV in the iTunes store today, but if there's no :apple:TV's that can play it, it will completely fail as a "will they buy 1080p test?"

Get lots of 1080p :apple:TV's into homes and the content will quickly follow. Pressure the pipes with greater demand and they will expand. Accept limitations and the pipes won't expand. Etc.

Nope, as you've said, the capacity needs to be there - the studios have to see the demand. The telecoms companies have to expand capacity and remove streaming limits. That is not going to happen in the first 18 months of this device being released.

Your example re. avatar would use up a lot of people's bandwidth for the month. This is chicken and egg, Apple are merely making headway preparing the plate to serve your omelette. And when the omelette turns into roast chicken, they'll have a bigger plate ready and waiting for release.

[nelmat]

I understand what you are saying.
The truth is...AppleTV is just another fancy way to consume iTunes content.
That's too bad because adding few simple features would turn this thing into something much better.
Maybe I could be wrong tomorrow. Let's hope for the best.

The existing apple TV already does that - this is about iOS and apps integration - that is FAR more than streaming iTunes content...

[jamesnajera]

iOS -> Netflix App -> iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, (iTV)

[Torrijos]

iOS -> Netflix App -> iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, (iTV)

Exactly, most rumors these days are pretty ridiculous...

[nelmat]

When have they released the first apple tv ? Where are all the tv shows and movies in italian ? LOL ? international roll out ? Never happened here.(Personally i don't care.Dubbed movies and tvshows ? Not for me.But, just for the sake of argument)
Don't get me wrong.I love apple,i own plenty of their devices.But A a streaming netflix apple tv .. That doesn't make sense.I bet ya anything this ain't gonna happen.Will see tomorrow ? I guess so. Let's wait till tomorrow. Somebody's going to be disappointed.

BTW, i'm happy for your brother. Is his apple tv able to stream 1080p content ? What about dts 5.1 ? Ha ? . What about MKV's ? Mp4 just sucks. My mini do all those things. Yes it cost me 300-400 bucks more. But who cares.I love quality.Not crappy 720p with what ? AAC audio ? lol.

Think you miss the point, on many fronts. Nothing to stop you streaming your local language content and rips to your apple TV for the last few years. Oh, and he has 5.1 surround on his AppleTV. There is an iTunes store in Italy, just checked, so what is your gripe?

[lilo777]

I was drawing direct comparison to WMC - WMC does not have as many features/functionality as apple/iTV - end of. Who mentioned HTPC?

I do not think we can separate the two, can we? Is not PC the only way to run WMC? Unless one uses WMC extender (like XBOX), PC has to be connected to TV. Frankly, I think this is the way to go for living room entertainment. PC can do everything: gaming, storage, PVR, apps, TV/video/audio streaming, you name it. Why bother will all the individual pieces?

[pmjoe]

Netflix offers a subscription service allowing customers to receive DVDs and Blu-ray discs by mail while also accessing a library of streaming content through an increasing array of compatible devices such as TiVos, DVD players, and gaming consoles.
Did MacRumors intentionally leave out that you can buy a Blu-ray player that does all this for ~$150, and have been able to for some time now???

I posted what Apple needed to do software-wise with the Apple TV years ago, and they still have not caught up yet (and 1080p in 2010 is a no-brainer too).

[deviant]

Think you miss the point, on many fronts. Nothing to stop you streaming your local language content and rips to your apple TV for the last few years. Oh, and he has 5.1 surround on his AppleTV. There is an iTunes store in Italy, just checked, so what is your gripe?

U said it will take a while for netflix to stream content internationally.
There IS itunes store here in italy.Can u see any movies or tvshows there ? NO. And it ain't gonna happen with netflix as well.So making a device that can be sold just in US is stupid (stupid business decision)
Anyway,you ignored all my arguments about ITV netflix,so i repeat.We will see tomorrow.Do what i'm doing. Just wait a while.

5.1 surround is not the answer.I asked about FIRST - definition ,second - about AUDIO CODEC,not if it's surround or whatever.
U're just seeing what u wanna see,and ignoring the rest.Personally,i don't give a heck.Be happy with what makes you happy.
If it's lol 720p apple tv which can play just their mp4 or mov files,good for ya!

[HobeSoundDarryl]

...and therefore a good reason to keep the price-point low and only put "just enough" into this device at this stage. Redundant capacity in a $99 device makes no sense when trying to keep it inexpensive.

What redundant capacity? I would bet the 1080p graphic processor would be cheaper than a 720p (max) processor. Why? Who really wants to build 720p MAX into their video devices any more?

Apple could build in 1080p chips, probably pocket a bit of extra profit, and continue to feed those happy with 720p all the 720p they want at the very maximum quality it can be seen. It's easy to use higher quality graphics hardware to display lower quality graphics software.

But that doesn't work the other way.

So if Apple wants to sell this to EVERYONE, they should build it so that the "1080p or bust" crowd gets what they want too. Who cares if 1080p content isn't available in the iTunes store yet? Who cares if some people's bandwidth couldn't handle it? Etc. If we wait until all the related problems are addressed before the hardware shows up, we're in for a very long wait.

On the other hand, build it in and let creative people find solutions that work for them. Apple sells more units that way.

[canyonblue737]

"Drool"
Though i'm buying at rev 2;)

This is revision 2. ;)

[rikers_mailbox]

i hope this supposed iOS update for AppleTV makes the dang thing run cooler. AppleTV run ridiculously HOT. Too hot.

Netflix streaming on the AppleTV would be nice, but I am satisfied with the Netflix streaming on the Wii. The quality isn't the best, but it's surprisingly good and my gf doesn't have any problems starting it up and navigating the menus. The Wii-mote is about as intuitive as remote controls get.

[WiiDSmoker]

This is revision 2. ;)

More like a re-try

[Mattie Num Nums]

Netflix is good option. Luckily, my XBOX 360 has been doing it for some time now.

[bruceleroy]

Not really a Big Deal as Ps3 Xbox,Nintendo Wii and my iphone all already do this...but what the dealbreaker will be is FACETIME..Im telling you guys its coming to apple tv....

[Ugg]

I'll buy one for sure.

[kiranmk2]

I wonder if Apple is being very clever here - by allowing apps they are effectively letting the broadcasters sort out all the rights issues and producing their own apps. I'm sure Apple will insist on taking a small cut of any subscriptions paid to the broadcasters for acting as the middleman. If they're really clever, they'll offer to host the content on that new data centre and charge the broadcasters for bandwidth to make a bit more profit without having to do much work.

I think 1080p is pretty much guaranteed in hardware - after all, Blu Ray players are down to £50 in the UK and they have a single chip to not only decode the high bit-rate h264 video, but also decrypt the DRM (which takes a fair bit of processing power). Basically any ARM chip with a dedicated video accelerator will not break any sweat on 1080p (I recall even the iPhone 3GS could playback 1080p files when jailbroken). Apple may restrict the resolution, but why would they - people are building up 1080p home video collections now. Apple have always simplified technical terms for consumer devices - they will market it as HD so people can buy "HD" movies and playback their HD camcorder footage.

What I'd really like to see is the new model running an itunes server that can serve up media/sync to other devices thus, all the old ATV owners (like myself) who bought a new model would be able to use the new model to serve up media from a NAS to the older model, effectively boosting the storage to whatever size NAS you can get. That would be a nice tip of the hat to the current gen owners.

I agree that fullHD movies from the iTunes store are a few years away. Probably when the next video codec comes out - a 20GB BluRay file will probably shrink to 10-12GB with the same quality and thats when things will get interesting...

[Neodym]

[...]I think the remote will be something extremely clever, the big challenge Apple need to overcome in bringing the iOS to a non-touch-screen.
Exactly what i was thinking. If the upcoming AppleTV would match the lineup they probably make it unibody - this (and some capacitors, Ram and CPU chips inside) will probably make up for the speculative 99$ alone. There would be no financial buffer left for a "clever remote", letting alone the amount of programming work to the iOS.

Unless Apple would go out of their usual way and subsidize AppleTV massively (planning to earn the money on the content), this "AppleTV" might be nothing more than a simple, beefed-up iPhone/iTouch universal dock in Aluminum (maybe bigger in size to allow for using the iPad) and with A/V ports directly poking out of the housing (instead of needing an A/V cable for the dock connector as with the universal dock), bundled with some special software for streaming.

With such a setup the iOS could stay unchanged (=> no need for yet another code branch within the iOS world) and there'd be no need for some complex and thus expensive remote, as any existing iOS device would already sport all that's necessary (similar to the introduction of the Mac mini - only that the new slogan would be "bring your own iOS device").

With millions and millions of iPhones, iPads and iPod touches already sold worldwide, the potential customer basis would be more than sufficient. People who don't own an iOS device by now could be motivated to eventually buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad.

And it would be like always - people would shout at Apple for the high price for a "simple docking unit deluxe" and for ripping off people, self-appointed experts would explain why this concept could never fly due to noone buying a unit that needs an additional iOS device to function properly, while Apple would sell this like sliced bread, earning a comfortable margin per device...

[kimble3]

If it has IOS on it you will be able to stream from a lot of apps. Not just Netflix.

This is the key to understanding the rumor. I don't think Netflix will ship with the device. But if it runs a version of iOS such that you can download apps on it then Netflix already has an app ready to go that can do that. Or possibly they've been given early access and have an update ready to go.

I think the iTV is going to be like an iPod Touch without the screen and battery making it much cheaper to build. The only real question is how the device will be controlled. Hopefully not with an Apple Remote!

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Your example re. <1080p> avatar would use up a lot of people's bandwidth for the month. This is chicken and egg, Apple are merely making headway preparing the plate to serve your omelette. And when the omelette turns into roast chicken, they'll have a bigger plate ready and waiting for release.

So what changes in the future? Does bandwidth magically expand? Because the owners of the bandwidth are not going to cut profits to install major upgrades when they are the only show in town (or one of two shows, and the other matches their price, sells video subscriptions, and also has little to no incentive to expand bandwidth).

Get 1080p :apple:TVs into lots of homes. As the numbers grow, studios will be seduced to test 1080i/p content in the iTunes store. No 1080p :apple:TVs in homes means NO seduction. We've had 720p for 4 years now. The world of video has moved on. Hopefully, Apple will too.

Else, they'll sell less :apple:TV units, only to those who accept "720p is good enough", "until there is content in the iTunes store", "until nation-wide bandwidth is upgraded for 1080p", etc. All excuses, begging to fuel sales of other solutions for those desiring a true head-to-head challenge for BD, satt/cable set top boxes, HD Tivo, WD HD boxes, and so on.

Until the bandwidth owners feel the pressure, they don't "waste" money on nation-wide infrastructure expansion. Recall how AT&T's first reaction to being called out on limited 3G coverage by Verizon was to try to sue Verizon into stopping (the ads)- not sink a lot of cash into massively expanding their 3G bandwidth. Even now, they run their "97% coverage" commercials, not mentioning that that coverage includes a lot of 2G "edge" instead of 3G. And aren't these some of the very same companies in charge of many people's broadband connection (along with other companies that have a lot to lose if the public finds a good alternative to their lucrative cableTV plans)?

[johnnyfiive]

As long as it plays betamax, I'm in.


Srsly though, if it can stream avis from my mac and do netflix, I'd probably get one.

I want to be able to stream mkv and avi files. If it does that, I'll buy it just for that (if its $99).

[Mitch1984]

Would it be cool if the new Apple TV could replace needing a SkyHD box and a bluray player, it would be awesome if it did it all.

[Silverlink]

Big deal, why do i need another device that plays netflix when I can use my TiVo, wii or iPad.

Wake me up when Apple allows us to record shows and authorize them for use on our iOS device of preference.

(I know, ain't gonna happen)

[ChrisGonzales90]

Would it be cool if the new Apple TV could replace a bluray player, it would be awesome if it did it all.

No. It would not,

[ashawley]

Thing I never get is people are always talking about the TV as if that's all it does: TV.

It's about 50/50 for me using it for music and for TV. Mostly music probably. Controls all the speakers in my house what with Airport Extremes and remote speakers...I can turn off and on different rooms all from my iPhone Remote App. My entire library from anywhere inside or outside the house. That's bliss.

Don't get how people miss this feature. Now, if only they would add iTunes visualizations to it! Then I'd be a happier guy...but the TV is genius as it is - even without the over-hyped 1080P.

[HiRez]

Netflix streaming pretty much sucks. Poor compression leading to lots of pixelation, unresponsive ff/rew and no Dolby Digital (or DTS) 5.1. No thanks. I'd even keep crappy iTunes rentals over that junk.

Wow, I have the total opposite experience, I love Netflix streaming. FF/RW is a little unresponsive on TiVo, but some of that has to do with the TiVo controls, I find it to work very well on iPad and the new iPhone app using touch-based UI. And the more recent encoding look pretty excellent. There's SOME encoding artifacts, but not much more than you see on HD cable. Looks mighty good on a 50" plasma, although of course it depends on the the source, like I said the more recent HD encodings look a lot better than some of the early ones from a couple years ago. I personally don't see the lack of multichannel surround as a deal-breaker, but yeah, it would be nice to have it. Not sure if that something that can be added later to the stream or if the hardware would need to be modified.

I'd actually love to see Apple and Netflix get together instead of competing, that would be a media powerhouse.

[mytakeontech]

If I know Apple well, iTV is nothing but a kind of Mac Mini sort of brick that will have ports to connect it to TV.

AppStore will be available on iTV as iTV OS will be iOS.

Now you can download whatever you want from AppStore and watch on your TV! This is iTV! Obviously you can download Netflix, ABC etc. Apps too!

[vslo]

How much storage will have the new Apple tv ?
For 99 bucks I cant see a 160GB capacity.

[Bevz]

Dollar for dollar i got more use out of my apple tv than any other apple product. Had it since it came out, and they had had two major software updates which did not require money.

Also, the current Apple TVs would still perform there functions entirely the way they did.

I would be happy to pay for a new unit though, since the hardware is so outdated.

+1 had mine since it was released. Been barely turned off since then and used daily, and heavily by me and my family. I've definately had my monies worth. Happy to spend a few extra notes to get a new one if it did enough extra... Actually really looking forward to tomorrow. Fingers crossed :)

[HiRez]

How much storage will have the new Apple tv ?
For 99 bucks I cant see a 160GB capacity.

The rumors say it'll have hardly any, mostly likely just a flash memory based buffer of a few gigs. All going towards live streaming.

[richman555]

I hope they continue to support the old Apple TV as well. By the sounds of it, it should be just as capable as this $99 version.

[HobeSoundDarryl]

How much storage will have the new Apple tv ?
For 99 bucks I cant see a 160GB capacity.

The rumors are that it will have virtually NO storage- everything streams from storage attached to your computer or via broadband Internet.

However, I hope we can attach local storage or use home network storage... and of big sizes if so desired.

[Mattsasa]

Not if it wants to run microsoft office, adobe software or any high-end CAD package, 64 bit software, multi-track audio editing/recording, video editing...

iOS isn't intended as a desktop/laptop replacement, it's for the app store and content consumption with light creation thrown in. This will no doubt have the iPhone/iPad processor in it and tiny amounts of RAM - it's all about low cost, sell as many units as possible and then try and convince the studio to release content once the boxes have sold a few million units.

well of course not! but there are tons of consumers that just need, mail, web, music, video, word processing!

[richman555]

How much storage will have the new Apple tv ?
For 99 bucks I cant see a 160GB capacity.

I don't think it matters how much storage the device has. The current Apple TV streams just fine directly from iTunes. Just make sure your Mac or PC has enough disk space or get an external drive like I did. It works just fine.

[Appleoholic]

Great news for America/Canada but what about the rest of us?

[MacFly123]

I am so excited. I wasn't getting my hopes up for a new Apple TV tomorrow but this makes me a little optimistic again :)

This better just be a Netflix app because I don't want to be forced to use Netflix! :mad: Probably is, and Apple will highlight the app like they just did last time at the iPhone 4 event.

[OllyW]

Great news for America/Canada but what about the rest of us?

We get the Apple movie trailers and YouTube. ;)

[marksman]

Netflix streaming pretty much sucks. Poor compression leading to lots of pixelation, unresponsive ff/rew and no Dolby Digital (or DTS) 5.1. No thanks. I'd even keep crappy iTunes rentals over that junk.

How much storage will have the new Apple tv ?
For 99 bucks I cant see a 160GB capacity.

Probably very little storage. It is not likely going to be that kind of device.

Streaming content is the future. Everyone duplicating the same content 1 billion times is not the future.

[akornstein]

Netflix? *yawn* Even my Wii streams Netflix. Don't wake me up unless it streams Hulu Plus.

It's going to stream Hulu Plus as well as long as it runs on iOS. The possibilities of this thing are really going to be endless.

[bit density]

For $149 dollars I can get a HD DVD/Bluray wireless with Netflix and other apps box at Costco.

There had seriously be something better than this.

[ipedro]

I hope they continue to support the old Apple TV as well. By the sounds of it, it should be just as capable as this $99 version.

iOS runs on the ARM platform, the existing generation AppleTV has an Intel chip. I very much doubt that the new AppleTV's OS will run on the first generation.

Obsolescence is a fact of life, and as an early AppleTV adopter, I'm willing to deal with that. I got 3 years out of this baby, got my full money's worth and now I'm ready for the next gen.

[HobeSoundDarryl]

iOS runs on the ARM platform, the existing generation AppleTV has an Intel chip. I very much doubt that the new AppleTV's OS will run on the first generation.

Obsolescence is a fact of life, and as an early AppleTV adopter, I'm willing to deal with that. I got 3 years out of this baby, got my full money's worth and now I'm ready for the next gen.

Agreed (I've got 2 :apple:TV's). Let's just hope that the new generation is hardware superior to the one from 2006. If iTV maxes out at 720p, I'll be massively disappointed (and I could care less about iTunes store 1080p content or the issues with broadband pipes).

If Jobs/Apple sees BD as DOA, they need to roll out something that competes on the bigger benefits of BD. Don't and watch a lot more BD players sell vs. iTVs. Even the dummies can grasp the simpler concepts of 1080p > 720p, especially with all the marketing pitching 1080p as "true HD" or "full HD".

[vslo]

Probably very little storage. It is not likely going to be that kind of device.

Streaming content is the future. Everyone duplicating the same content 1 billion times is not the future.

But I still can watch movies or animes that I download from my iMac and watch them in my hd tv, right ?

[kimble3]

iOS runs on the ARM platform, the existing generation AppleTV has an Intel chip. I very much doubt that the new AppleTV's OS will run on the first generation.

Obsolescence is a fact of life, and as an early AppleTV adopter, I'm willing to deal with that. I got 3 years out of this baby, got my full money's worth and now I'm ready for the next gen.

No big deal... iOS is basically OS X with a custom application layer on top of it. Supporting Intel is not a big problem at all.

[Appleoholic]

We get the Apple movie trailers and YouTube. ;)

Yeah, Apple treat us real good...

[HobeSoundDarryl]

But I still can watch movies or animes that I download from my iMac and watch them in my hd tv, right ?

That kind of thing should be no trouble. If you can do it now, the new one should still do it too.

[Mitch1984]

No. It would not,

Sorry I meant a blu ray player and a sky hd box, would beat having 3 devices under the tv.

[ipedro]

No big deal... iOS is basically OS X with a custom application layer on top of it. Supporting Intel is not a big problem at all.

It is a big deal. Supporting an entirely different architecture is a big deal. Apple is known to look to the future and whoever wants to be on the Apple train needs to keep up. I highly doubt that Apple would dedicate resources to a 3 year old obsolete device. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I'm being realistic.

I'm aware this may be an inappropriate comparison but I'll use it anyway: Supporting the AppleTV with an entirely new OS designed for completely different hardware is like Apple offering iOS for Newtons.

[Robin4]

Has anyone checked iTunes? They have a section on NFL games, ie. 2010 Giants season, follow your team with condensed games huh?

Am I reading this right, should I celebrate?

[FearNo1]

Netflix > hulu plus

Netflix? *yawn* Even my Wii streams Netflix. Don't wake me up unless it streams Hulu Plus.

[lukecro]

I want to be able to stream mkv and avi files. If it does that, I'll buy it just for that (if its $99).

+1

I've got a WD TV Live box that I love, and although it's user interface isn't perfect, it plays just about everything (It can't handle as many video file types as good 'ol VLC player on a Mac or MS PC, but for a set-top box it easily tackles a lot of video formats, including MKV, AVI, some WMV, MP4, MP3, photo files, etc.; handles 1080 video content like a dream; lots of audio codecs; even VIDEO_TS folders). And the new WD TV Live Plus can stream Netflix too (currently I'm using a Wii for Netflix streaming). I've been debating whether or not to replace my current WD with the WD Plus or wait for the fabled Boxee Box (I was also hoping the Popbox was gonna rock, but I'm not hearing great things about that anymore). . . .

But I'd buy an Apple TV right away instead, IF it can do everything the WD TV Live Plus can do (and/or what the Boxee Box promises it can do) + has iTunes integration (buying/renting videos from the iTunes store; streaming movies/music/photos from my Mac's iTunes library). Heck, I'd pay a lot more than $99 for something like that.

But if the iTV can't replace my WD TV and the promise of the Boxee Box, then I don't need the extra clutter. I've already got an AirPort Express and an iPod Touch (and Airtunes software) for piping in and controlling my iTunes music library in multiple rooms . . . The Apple TV needs to help me consolidate functionality into one unit, so I can throw out some old tech.

Yeah, yeah, I know -- Apple TV purposely doesn't support any video formats except their own (unless you hack the box) because they want you to purchase content from their store and they're discouraging stolen/bootlegged content. But if the iPod didn't let people play MP3 files, and you could ONLY play DRM'd music content purchased from the iTunes store, how popular would it have become? Apple certainly shouldn't encourage people to steal videos online, but they need to allow MKV and AVI playback in the same way they provided MP3 support for the iPod right from the start. Give the consumer a great video-playback device that can handle all of their files, and they'll finally have an Apple TV that's as popular as the iPod. It's long over due.

Most consumers will end up purchasing/renting a huge chunk of video content from iTunes anyway, just because it's convenient; but if they can't playback the occasional "found"/"borrowed" file (or legally ripped file that was encoded in something other than iTunes), they're just going to be frustrated and will end up with a WD TV or Boxee Box or some new box along these lines instead of a more restrictive Apple TV.

-- End of Rant --

Anyway, if the new Apple TV allows apps, it could be amazing. Netflix app. Hulu app. Boxee app that handles all the <cough> not stolen but-not-Apple content you've got on your Mac and NAS. Video games. Sweet :apple:!

[gugy]

Agreed (I've got 2 :apple:TV's). Let's just hope that the new generation is hardware superior to the one from 2006. If iTV maxes out at 720p, I'll be massively disappointed (and I could care less about iTunes store 1080p content or the issues with broadband pipes).

If Jobs/Apple sees BD as DOA, they need to roll out something that competes on the bigger benefits of BD. Don't and watch a lot more BD players sell vs. iTVs. Even the dummies can grasp the simpler concepts of 1080p > 720p, especially with all the marketing pitching 1080p as "true HD" or "full HD".

I am with you.
Add USB support for external drives, then it will be great device. Simple things can make a huge difference.

[gugy]

But I'd buy an Apple TV right away instead, IF it can do everything the WD TV Live Plus can do

That's right.
I am seriously thinking on WD TV. I just rather stick with an all Apple solution but we'll see.

[JAYnLA]

Netflix streaming pretty much sucks. Poor compression leading to lots of pixelation, unresponsive ff/rew and no Dolby Digital (or DTS) 5.1. No thanks. I'd even keep crappy iTunes rentals over that junk.

I've actually been using Netflix streaming for a while now, and it is spectacular. I'm streaming it to a giant plasma screen and it works perfectly. Are you dial up or something?

The only thing I miss is the 5.1 surround, but hopefully they're working on that.

[dmm219]

Ok maybe I am missing someting here. Why would Apple promote Netflix w/ the release of a new AppleTV which would compete directly with it's own iTunes store movie and video downloads? What does Apple get?

Unless there is seriously better graphics horsepower under the hood of this new box, I don't see many people flocking to this.

You could ask the same question with the IPad or Ipod...just sayin...

[dmm219]

Has anyone checked iTunes? They have a section on NFL games, ie. 2010 Giants season, follow your team with condensed games huh?

Am I reading this right, should I celebrate?

they had this for the 2008 season...for some reason, it was missing last year...

it was ok...the best part is they include the coach pressers at the end...last time it wasn't in HD...

not bad for following your team out of market...

[lilo777]

Has anyone checked iTunes? They have a section on NFL games, ie. 2010 Giants season, follow your team with condensed games huh?

Am I reading this right, should I celebrate?

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_Sunday_Ticket): "Currently, American satellite provider DIRECTV has exclusive rights to NFL Sunday Ticket in the United States until the contract expires at the end of the 2014-15 season."

Sorry to disappoint you.

[Robin4]

Thanks. I guess I'll catch the game with an antenna. I cancelled cable and I worried if I would miss it. I can get the networks for free.

[twoodcc]

it better have it if they want to sell it

[bretm]

Nice, BUT:

1080p
External drive support for unlimited local storage

Wouldn't you rather have 1080i instead of 1080p30? I'd rather have 720p60 over 1080i as well.

Ain't gonna happen.

I have HD cable, and there are currently no stations that I have broadcasting in 1080p. Mostly 1080i or 720p (not sure if it's p60. Probably is)

[gugy]

Wouldn't you rather have 1080i instead of 1080p30? I'd rather have 720p60 over 1080i as well.

Ain't gonna happen.

I have HD cable, and there are currently no stations that I have broadcasting in 1080p. Mostly 1080i or 720p (not sure if it's p60. Probably is)

1080p:
Blu-ray rips
Self created content

1080p capability is not a big deal. Roku and WD TV boxes offer it and they are not that expensive.

[richman555]

People who whine about 1080p ought to know most people cannot stream 1080p content. Also they should know that a digital movie purchase in 1080p would take forever to download and gigs of space per movie. Its just not practical. If you really want and need 1080p stick to the physical media and Blue Ray is your only option.

[macfan881]

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_Sunday_Ticket): "Currently, American satellite provider DIRECTV has exclusive rights to NFL Sunday Ticket in the United States until the contract expires at the end of the 2014-15 season."

Sorry to disappoint you.

actaully the recent NFL Rulling may effect that the most so it could be earlier.

[FearNo1]

M$ streams 1080p movies to XBox360. Looks pretty good but kinda pricey. I am happy with netflix HD, esp when 5.1 surround sound is added.

People who whine about 1080p ought to know most people cannot stream 1080p content. Also they should know that a digital movie purchase in 1080p would take forever to download and gigs of space per movie. Its just not practical. If you really want and need 1080p stick to the physical media and Blue Ray is your only option.

[jamiek88]

if I could stream my mkv selection to it as well. I currently use a WDTV and having been mulling over getting the WDTV Plus which stream netflix. However, I would really like to stream my 4 2tb drives. It is a pain to keep moving drives with the WDTV as I can only get two to work at a time. Now, hopefully Apple will allow some other formats on this new itv and then I would be all set. Has anyone here streamed to an apple tv with MKV files?

My hacked apple tv struggles with MKV files.

It will be because they are all too high a bit rate, not MKV the package itself.

h264 720p is the max really.

the hardware isn't beefy enough, I doubt that support is coming because except blu-ray and predominately illegally downloaded rips of said discs the content isn't there.

[jamiek88]

Dollar for dollar i got more use out of my apple tv than any other apple product. Had it since it came out, and they had had two major software updates which did not require money.

Also, the current Apple TVs would still perform there functions entirely the way they did.

I would be happy to pay for a new unit though, since the hardware is so outdated.

Agreed.

I use it at least once a day, since it was hacked its been really useful and really the 'hack' consists of plugging in a usb thumb drive and rebooting. Simples.

I keep thinking about getting a mac mini (esp since the HDMI port was added) but the only advantage is the ability to play higher bitrate videos and I actually like the appletv software.

its better than frontrow and more user friendly (for the missus) than plex.

[184550]

I'd buy the iTV/ Apple TV in an instant if it supports Netflix streaming.

Here's to hoping this is true.

[HobeSoundDarryl]

People who whine about 1080p ought to know most people cannot stream 1080p content. Also they should know that a digital movie purchase in 1080p would take forever to download and gigs of space per movie. Its just not practical. If you really want and need 1080p stick to the physical media and Blue Ray is your only option.

Why does this just recycle over and over? Most people can't use 4G right now, so should work on an iPhone for the next standard wait until most people can fully utilize it? Most people don't come close to maxing out the graphics cards in their Macs, so why bother putting better ones in? Most people are fine with USB, so why bother with USB3 or light peak? Most people can't even get close to maxing out the hardware in their Macs, so should Apple still be building PowerPC G3 or G4 machines? Most people don't access HTML5 websites, so why bother developing that standard? Most people can't make a movie, so why bother with iMovie? Most people can't record a song, so why bother with garageband? Most people can't use all the features of OS X 10.1, so why bother with 10.7? Most people don't use Macs or OS X, so why bother with making more of them? Most people can't max out most everything they own technology-wise, so why bother progressing at all?

Or do these "most people" only apply to the anti-1080p argument?

A 1080p chipset likely won't cost one dime more to build in than one that maxes out at 720p. Until there are lots of little boxes hooked to HDTVs capable of playing 1080p, there is NO enticement whatsoever to test 1080i or 1080p content for :apple:TVs in the iTunes store. The "720p is good enough" crowd loses nothing if a 1080p iTV is rolled out; their 720p content will play to it's fullest potential on hardware capable of 1080p playback.

And until broadband pipes are pressured, there is little reason to work on widening them. And until consumer storage demands go way up, there is little reason to work on much bigger & better consumer storage solutions.

Once upon a time "640K is about all the memory we'll ever need". Once upon a time a 65GB hard drive cost more than a Mac Mini and seemed enormous. Once upon a time, a 56K modem was "crazy fast". Etc. :apple:TV needs to move along. You don't defeat BD with lower quality picture and weaker sound, nor locked down distribution hooked to iTunes only, nor hobby paced evolutions. It's time to get something that is a real, valid competitor for BD, one that wins on the head-to-head obvious stuff AND works well with our iTunes-based systems. Give the world something they buy like they've bought iPods & iPhones, and the Studios will beat a path to our door with 1080i and 1080p content rentals.

If we have to wait until "most people" can stream 1080p, store 1080p, etc, we won't get there for a very long time... and BD boxes will entrench, while :apple:TVs remain a hobby. Apple needs to lead... not wait on all the other players to completely oil the cogs in every way.

[Mjmar]

What happens to current apple tv owners?

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I doubt that support is coming because except blu-ray and predominately illegally downloaded rips of said discs the content isn't there.

Have you ever seen 1080i and 1080p camcorders? They've been around for at least 4 years. iMovie can read the home movies you shoot, and render them as a 1080i/p file that Quicktime will play, and that can be stored right in iTunes (and played there too).

Have you ever seen 1080i/p YouTube files?

Have you ever seen 1080i/p podcast video?

It can't come unless the hardware is sold on which to play it. Someday, we'll have holographic players, but if the holographic experiences were added to iTunes today, would they sell like crazy? Of course not, until you have the players (hardware) in place, there is no buyers to prove such stuff can be sold profitably.

There's lots of 1080i content, which via Elgato and similar, can easily be captured on a Mac, saved as a 1080i quicktime file, stored in iTunes and played on our HDTVs... if only the last link the chain could pump them from iTunes to those TVs.

You don't like 1080i/p, no sweat. A 1080p iTV will still play your 720p content to it's maximum potential. But a 720p max iTV cannot make it work the other way. The 720p'ers lose nothing if a 1080p iTV is launched. Why you bother trying to shoot down the hope of those that do want it makes no sense to me at all.

[HobeSoundDarryl]

What happens to current apple tv owners?

It's very likely that we have to buy new :apple:TVs. But the old ones should keep working just as well as they do today. If it does everything you like, no need to buy a new one. If a new one has features you want, buy it for those features and enjoy the old one for whatever it does for you. Or give the old one away to someone as a great gift.

[mambodancer]

For $149 dollars I can get a HD DVD/Bluray wireless with Netflix and other apps box at Costco.

There had seriously be something better than this.

True. I did exactly the same thing. Bought a Sony Bluray player with built in wifi and support for netflix among other services. Bought the Bluray versions of King Kong and Avatar. Sorry to say though, the Sony interface leaves a lot to be desired. It's slow and clunky and feels like it was designed by committee. Even the Bluray app for the iPhone stinks. It all "feels" like it was designed poorly by Windows developers (which I know can design good interfaces if they want to). So IF the new AppleTV does in fact support an iOS app store with netflix streaming and queue management and ordering, connects to my iTunes library, and lets me play games that I can purchase, I'll probably get rid of the bluray player and say good bye forever (or nearly so) to buying physical copies of movies ever again. I'll just stick the two Bluray movies in the same boxes with my Laserdisc and DVD collection (gotta find a way to sell those things. Hate to just throw them away.)

[phillipjfry]

if it also comes with hulu capabilities the cable tv connection is severed! :D

[jamiek88]

HobeSoundDarryl:

dude, all I said is 'I doubt it is coming'.


Hardly trying 'to shoot down the hope'.

[HobeSoundDarryl]

HobeSoundDarryl:

dude, all I said is 'I doubt it is coming'.

Hardly trying 'to shoot down the hope'.

dude, it's what you stuck on after the "I doubt it is coming" that casts those hungry for it with either crooks of BD rippers, as if no other sources of 1080i/p are available.

I will grant you though that some of my response is fueled by seeing that same kind of stuff slung over and over again by others. Jobs' reality distortion field seems to really work well on some people.

[mambodancer]

if it also comes with hulu capabilities the cable tv connection is severed! :D

Really? How? If I discontinue Comcast Cable here's what happens.

1) My bill goes down by $5 per month
2) They down grade my internet service from 12Mb to 6Mb unless I want to pay a premium which will cost me more than the $5/month I'm not really saving in 1)

Folks, you can not disconnect your cable from your internet if both services are from the same provider without some kind of penalty that makes doing this, well, not worth doing. Comcast wants to deliver Cable TV for long as it possibly can. They do not want to have you watch content over the internet. It F's with their old way of doing business.

Finally, if any Comcast customers actually have just STAND ALONE internet with no other bundled services that cost less than Internet plus Cable TV without a performance penalty, I would personally love to hear how you got that and what it is costing you and who you had to call. Thanks.

[bagelche]

I haven't seen much discussion of it, but I'm gonna wildly limb out here and say that it'll be an updated Airport Express. Essentially headless it will be hidden out of the way (not a set top box per se), controlled via any iOS device with a revamped Remote app. At $99 that's on par with the express, which hasn't been updated in a few years. Millions of people have iOS devices and a new device with a small screen will be a gateway remote for those who need one.

why not?

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I haven't seen much discussion of it, but I'm gonna wildly limb out here and say that it'll be an updated Airport Express. Essentially headless it will be hidden out of the way (not a set top box per se), controlled via any iOS device with a revamped Remote app. At $99 that's on par with the express, which hasn't been updated in a few years. Millions of people have iOS devices and a new device with a small screen will be a gateway remote for those who need one.

why not?

Because if you live with other people, they won't want you to take the "good remote" with you when you leave the house. Does someone really want to dedicate any iDevice as a family remote?

Whatever this thing is, it's got to come with some kind of dedicated remote. Sure, there will be/are apps for iDevices that make them remotes too. But it doesn’t make that much sense- except perhaps to Apple's sales aspirations- for iDevices to be dedicated as family remotes.

Besides, for the many more people in the world that doesn't own Apple iDevices, the proposition would become: buy this iTV for only $99, but the remote to actually do something with it will cost $XXX.

Now, if you're single living alone, that solution could work great for you. But Apple probably wants to sell these to couples & families too. I can imagine something rolling out as a new video-capble Airport Express though.

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Really? How? If I discontinue Comcast Cable here's what happens.

1) My bill goes down by $5 per month
2) They down grade my internet service from 12Mb to 6Mb unless I want to pay a premium which will cost me more than the $5/month I'm not really saving in 1)

Folks, you can not disconnect your cable from your internet if both services are from the same provider without some kind of penalty that makes doing this, well, not worth doing. Comcast wants to deliver Cable TV for long as it possibly can. They do not want to have you watch content over the internet. It F's with their old way of doing business.

Finally, if any Comcast customers actually have just STAND ALONE internet with no other bundled services that cost less than Internet plus Cable TV without a performance penalty, I would personally love to hear how you got that and what it is costing you and who you had to call. Thanks.

And that pretty much sums up why the cable monopolies are in- and dominate- the broadband business. If you ever lived somewhere that had multiple broadband players competing for business, did you notice how quickly they were bought out by the Comcasts, Verizons, Time Warners, AT&T, etc.?

Owning the pipe pretty much means that should something like an Apple TV subscription service threaten the cable revenues, those revenues will be made up with higher broadband fees... or tiered pricing, etc. For some kind of mass streaming thing to work... especially if the service is going to give us all we want and be a lot cheaper than what we pay cable/satt now... Apple would need to find a way to bypass the pipes owned by their (video service) competitors.

I had high hopes a few years ago when the digital TV spectrum auctions were held, because both Apple & Google were rumored to be serious players for that high-bandwidth spectrum. But guess who gobbled up the vast majority of that?

From time to time there is a rumor that Apple might take some of that cash stock pile and buy DISH network. As crazy as it sounds, I can easily imagine replacement (white) dishes on roofs with Apple logos. And it would give Apple a way to flow content from iTunes servers to content consumers quickly... and without touching a Comcast/Verizon/etc. pipe.

That last rumor would also be a way to solve both the live sports and even the local news issues. But it's just a weak rumor that pops from time-to-time.

As long as many people have 1- maybe 2- choices of broadband Internet... and those 1 or 2 choices are also in the video subscription business, I see little chance for alternative solutions like an Apple TV subscription program to ever really take off. Dollars cut from cable bills will just be made up for with broadband price increases.

[kiljoy616]

Throw in there Hulu and I am sold! :D

[jmull]

Pointless comment. No, of course Apple are going to launch a product specifically (and uniquely) to run netflix. Anything intelligent to contribute?

The guy just made a simple statement, surely he wasn't looking for your seething. What are you contributing that is so much more intelligent than the rest of us? Come on, tell. And even if you had something juicy it's no excuse to be rude. :apple:

[mambodancer]

And that pretty much sums up why the cable monopolies are in- and dominate- the broadband business. If you ever lived somewhere that had multiple broadband players competing for business, did you notice how quickly they were bought out by the Comcasts, Verizons, Time Warners, AT&T, etc.?

Owning the pipe pretty much means that should something like an Apple TV subscription service threaten the cable revenues, those revenues will be made up with higher broadband fees... or tiered pricing, etc. For some kind of mass streaming thing to work... especially if the service is going to give us all we want and be a lot cheaper than what we pay cable/satt now... Apple would need to find a way to bypass the pipes owned by their (video service) competitors.

I had high hopes a few years ago when the digital TV spectrum auctions were held, because both Apple & Google were rumored to be serious players for that high-bandwidth spectrum. But guess who gobbled up the vast majority of that?

From time to time there is a rumor that Apple might take some of that cash stock pile and buy DISH network. As crazy as it sounds, I can easily imagine replacement (white) dishes on roofs with Apple logos. And it would give Apple a way to flow content from iTunes servers to content consumers quickly... and without touching a Comcast/Verizon/etc. pipe.

That last rumor would also be a way to solve both the live sports and even the local news issues. But it's just a weak rumor that pops from time-to-time.

As long as many people have 1- maybe 2- choices of broadband Internet... and those 1 or 2 choices are also in the video subscription business, I see little chance for alternative solutions like an Apple TV subscription program to ever really take off. Dollars cut from cable bills will just be made up for with broadband price increases.

Which is also why HULU+ won't work. I declined the beta test and sent a letter back to them explaining that as a Comcast subscriber I was already paying for the content they wanted to stream to me from HULU. It feels like I am paying twice for something I'm already getting through Comcast. All Comcast would have to do is offer an app themselves and that would kill HULU.

BTW, I would really, really love it if someone, Apple, Google, even Microsoft (or a combination of all 3) built a nationwide high speed network using wifi at gigabit speeds to just give the old guard ISP's a big middle finger.

And, like you mentioned, since Comcast and the like own the pipes, why in the world would they invest in infrastructure to deliver high quality 1080p video through the internet when they would rather you pay extra for hi-def content through cable?

[bagelche]

Because if you live with other people, they won't want you to take the "good remote" with you when you leave the house. Does someone really want to dedicate any iDevice as a family remote?

Whatever this thing is, it's got to come with some kind of dedicated remote. Sure, there will be/are apps for iDevices that make them remotes too. But it doesn’t make that much sense- except perhaps to Apple's sales aspirations- for iDevices to be dedicated as family remotes.

Besides, for the many more people in the world that doesn't own Apple iDevices, the proposition would become: buy this iTV for only $99, but the remote to actually do something with it will cost $XXX.

Now, if you're single living alone, that solution could work great for you. But Apple probably wants to sell these to couples & families too. I can imagine something rolling out as a new video-capble Airport Express though.

I think you're largely right; those are all significant hurdles, but not impassable. The trick for me would be making the separate remote $XX rather than $XXX. You wouldn't need to buy it if you already had enough iDevices--the iTV (or whatever it is) would be that much cheaper--more impulse driven. Maybe I hang around the wrong sorts but I am increasingly finding multiple iDevice families, many of whom have no other Apple products. There was a reason I proposed the small device as a gateway one. I think it'd be reasonably priced and people would be more willing to bring other (more expensive and feature-rich) iDevices into their households.

The biggest irk for me in using the remote app is the time of turning on the device, finding/opening the app, waiting for it to connect, then being able to control the remote computer. I think that time would need to be reduced significantly if it's wifi-based while still retaining reasonable battery life.

But still, something's got to be in the future for the Airport Express. Might as well make it interesting.

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I can appreciate your point of view (and even like the idea of a video-capable Airport Express). I do think it would be a huge psychological hurdle though to sell a set-top box and it's remote separately, especially with the remote priced higher than the box.

Sure, it seems like there are lots of people with iDevices, but there are many, many more without them. Apple's sales have been in the millions, not billions. However, there are lots of people on the planet- many more that don't own anything Apple- who own a TV(s).

Your idea might fly better with a special discounted package sans remote, rather than selling all of them without a remote, and making the remote a "sold separately" (and it costs more than the box).

But either way, I (too) would like to see a video-oriented Airport Express sooner than later.

[agendum]

But what about playing your blu-rays? No way this will hit the device tomorrow. or ever.

The iPad already encourages access to Netflix, so Apple has little choice.

Many people thought that Apple might release its own television panel with similar functions built in. That would seem to be an unnecessary investment in display technology when there are many competitors out there who already have the supply chains set up for this.

It makes sense that Apple would want to have a device sitting 'panel-side' of the network because if our Plasma/LCD becomes the viewer interface for iTunes, it can happily co-exist with Netflix for it's rightful share of the music and other market, even if it doesn't control video content. If people move away from their Mac to download content via TV, this becomes a problem without such a device.

Just my thoughts on their marketing logic.

[TheBritishBloke]

I can't see them doing this.. One reason being that they sell the Apple TV internationally, where NetFlix isn't permitted.

[DavidLeblond]

My guess: New Apple TV WILL have Netflix. Netflix is on every other set top box, why not Apple TV? Other apps? No. Because it will be an Apple TV upgrade, no iOS.

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I can't see them doing this.. One reason being that they sell the Apple TV internationally, where NetFlix isn't permitted.

Thinks Apps. Think Netflix App to make this go.

So the problem is that Netflix isn't "there" (in your country). Who is their equivalent in your country? Who is a Netflix-like entity there? Won't they then make their own Netflix-like app? Problem solved (for your country).

No equivalent in some countries? Put on your entrepreneurs hat and start one. There's a LOT of revenue in the Netflix model. Grow it into something, then sell it to a Netflix when they want to enter your space, then live happily ever after.

[Gasu E.]

Netflix streaming pretty much sucks. Poor compression leading to lots of pixelation, unresponsive ff/rew and no Dolby Digital (or DTS) 5.1. No thanks. I'd even keep crappy iTunes rentals over that junk.


I get zero pixelation, and ff/rew is decent. I suspect your own network may be the limitation. In fact, I was initially shocked at just how good the quality is.

[alent1234]

Netflix streaming pretty much sucks. Poor compression leading to lots of pixelation, unresponsive ff/rew and no Dolby Digital (or DTS) 5.1. No thanks. I'd even keep crappy iTunes rentals over that junk.

not on the PS3 it doesn't

[Cander]

Crossing fingers for all this to be true. And then hoping to see Air Video ported to it if there is an App Store to stream the stuff it will not play out of the box.

[Gasu E.]

For $149 dollars I can get a HD DVD/Bluray wireless with Netflix and other apps box at Costco.

There had seriously be something better than this.

How big is the storage drive in your Costco box?

[diamond.g]

How big is the storage drive in your Costco box?

If it supports BD Live at least 1GB...

[kingtj]

Honestly, I already have an iPod classic I keep in my car all the time since it's integrated with its stereo. No need to upgrade or replace that right now. And I have an iPad I'll stick with for any mobile video watching or what-not.

So iPod related announcements don't matter much to me, personally, at the moment.

The AppleTV update could be HUGE for me though, all hinging on how functional they make it. I'm chomping at the bit to cancel my AT&T U-Verse TV subscription and just sign up for cable broadband Internet with no TV package. Between over the air television and ability to stream downloaded movie content from a computer in the house, I hardly see the point in paying for something like cable or satellite TV anymore.

The problem is, in the past, this hasn't been really practical because I've got 2 TVs in the house, plus a projector downstairs to feed content to. The antenna on my roof is only connected to one of the TVs right now, and building computers to serve as media centers for each TV was prohibitively expensive too. A $99 AppleTV box for each TV would be doable, though.

I'd just like to see such things as the ability to stream not only Netflix (though that's a BIG plus), but also to work with sites like Hulu or even Joost, as well as ability to stream content offered online by such folks as NBC or CBS. A media center PC can be set up to do all of that - but not sure if AppleTV with iOS will allow all of it too?



I think I'm more excited about the Apple TV (iTV) than any of the iPod related announcements. Unless they release a new iLife with some super cool new features.

[JeffLebowski41]

What happens to current apple tv owners?

left behind, I hope. I'm interested in this new device if some of these rumors pan out, but not if they need to dumb it down to pander to the lowest common denominator. the current atv is woefully underpowered.

[kingtj]

I'm in Charter Communications territory myself, and with their service, they do give big "bundle discounts". But if I choose to ignore those? I can get strictly a broadband Internet connection from them of 50mbits with no "usage caps" for a flat $130 per month or so.

Currently, I'm paying about $134 a month to have a "200 channel" TV package bundled with Internet running at about 18mbits with AT&T U-Verse.

So I'd save a few dollars a month to more than DOUBLE my Internet speeds if I switched and started just streaming my shows over the net. Granted, there are some more up-front costs involved too, and potentially an ongoing cost for something like a Netflix subscription ... but it still seems more and more like a net benefit to switch if I want all that Internet speed for my dollar.


Really? How? If I discontinue Comcast Cable here's what happens.

1) My bill goes down by $5 per month
2) They down grade my internet service from 12Mb to 6Mb unless I want to pay a premium which will cost me more than the $5/month I'm not really saving in 1)

Folks, you can not disconnect your cable from your internet if both services are from the same provider without some kind of penalty that makes doing this, well, not worth doing. Comcast wants to deliver Cable TV for long as it possibly can. They do not want to have you watch content over the internet. It F's with their old way of doing business.

Finally, if any Comcast customers actually have just STAND ALONE internet with no other bundled services that cost less than Internet plus Cable TV without a performance penalty, I would personally love to hear how you got that and what it is costing you and who you had to call. Thanks.

[bagelche]

I'm gonna wildly limb out here and say that it'll be an updated Airport Express. Essentially headless it will be hidden out of the way (not a set top box per se), controlled via any iOS device with a revamped Remote app. At $99 that's on par with the express, which hasn't been updated in a few years. Millions of people have iOS devices and a new device with a small screen will be a gateway remote for those who need one.


If I may toot my own horn, I didn't do too bad on this guess. Remote is included (duly noted). Still not an iOS device (AFAIK). but many of the features I wanted are there. Liking the new "airplay". Now I need a new TV :rolleyes:

Update: Yep. the Remote App works with this.

[balamw]

Update: Yep. the Remote App works with this.
Where did you see that?

EDIT:

Shame they didn't make it overtly iOS based, though you can bet that at 6W power consumption it is more iPad like than PC like. Probably not an Atom or other x64 processor in there.

I want more info on Airplay. Will it work from all apps? Only media apps? (e.g Pandora and Hulu+ included?) or just Apple's media apps?

Seems like for other content it is still tied to iTunes. Will it have to be "paired" to iTunes like the current :apple:TV? I forget, does Home Sharing require a PIN or just the iTunes account?

B

[pamon]

this is too much like the Roku IMHO. a few more bells and whistles but no storage? c'mon steve