Samsung wouldn't bat an eyelid at Apple asking them to supply any of their tech, all they care about is that Apple have billions to blow, and they could be on the receiving end of it.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Television Set Rumors Revived, To Launch in 2011?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Samsung wouldn't bat an eyelid at Apple asking them to supply any of their tech, all they care about is that Apple have billions to blow, and they could be on the receiving end of it.
Essentially every hardware product that Apple makes has update-able firmware. Why do you think Apple would produce a $2k TV that doesn't have update-able firmware?
One possibility is that Apple would provide a simple remote like the current one for Apple TV but push users toward an iPhone/iPad app with fuller functionality.
That reference is to an article from 2006, when plasmas were more predominant at the higher end of the market than they are now.
Why do you think Apple would only do one or the other? I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple license AirPlay to TV manufacturers whether there is an Apple-branded TV or not.
Last edited:
Yap, but no firmware upgrade can make a device intended to play only 720p H.264 MP play 1080p H.264 HP if the hardware can't do that
Blow Netflix away?
I agree, the best way to “blow Netflix away,” with that service’s massive selection, is Apple’s existing solution: bundle Netflix support!
Although, typically, a TV has lower image quality—especially DPI—making it cheaper than a quality computer monitor of the same size (but less suitable for conventional computing).
So an existing 27” LED Cinema Display with 2560x1440 (much more than HD) could be expensive overkill in the living room. A lower-image-quality, but larger-diagonal, screen sounds more sensible.
(Although I’m skeptical of this rumor anyway, unless it’s just more “hobby” experimentation. Apple already has a box that works pretty painlessly with existing TVs, after all. And a TV is decor; it’s furniture. Some would love the style and size Apple offered, but Apple’s product just couldn’t fit with every setting. And that limits the market.)
I agree, the best way to “blow Netflix away,” with that service’s massive selection, is Apple’s existing solution: bundle Netflix support!
Although, typically, a TV has lower image quality—especially DPI—making it cheaper than a quality computer monitor of the same size (but less suitable for conventional computing).
So an existing 27” LED Cinema Display with 2560x1440 (much more than HD) could be expensive overkill in the living room. A lower-image-quality, but larger-diagonal, screen sounds more sensible.
(Although I’m skeptical of this rumor anyway, unless it’s just more “hobby” experimentation. Apple already has a box that works pretty painlessly with existing TVs, after all. And a TV is decor; it’s furniture. Some would love the style and size
Last edited:
I don't think Apple will partner with Samsung on this. A partnership with Sony could make sense though...
-voice control
-video recording
-cover flow on video iPod
Apple does stuff like this all the time.
Not in my house
There may be a market for apple to sell such an integrated TV to, but not my house. I don't mind buying a new $99 AppleTV every other year when the hardware needs refreshing (faster chips, more memory, faster video processing), but I'm not going to buy a new 52" TV screen every other year. And I don't want to get stuck when the technology is changing so fast each year.
Jim
There may be a market for apple to sell such an integrated TV to, but not my house. I don't mind buying a new $99 AppleTV every other year when the hardware needs refreshing (faster chips, more memory, faster video processing), but I'm not going to buy a new 52" TV screen every other year. And I don't want to get stuck when the technology is changing so fast each year.
Jim
Trump em all
All they really have to do is take the Apple TV and add an HDMI pass through input to it, so that they way you hook it up is _between_ your regular cable TV box and the TV. Normally, it is just a pass through, but when it is time to show something on the Apple TV (for example AirPlay-ing something to it from your iPad) it takes over the TV without you having to switch anything.
In the current scheme, the Apple TV is a second input device. Changing it as above moves it not only to the first tier, but it actually trumps the old first tier device (cable) by being able to cut into it at will.
Selling actual TVs is not a winning strategy. There are too many screen sizes, too many display technologies to maintain. Don't take over the display itself, take over the main input to the display.
All they really have to do is take the Apple TV and add an HDMI pass through input to it, so that they way you hook it up is _between_ your regular cable TV box and the TV. Normally, it is just a pass through, but when it is time to show something on the Apple TV (for example AirPlay-ing something to it from your iPad) it takes over the TV without you having to switch anything.
In the current scheme, the Apple TV is a second input device. Changing it as above moves it not only to the first tier, but it actually trumps the old first tier device (cable) by being able to cut into it at will.
Selling actual TVs is not a winning strategy. There are too many screen sizes, too many display technologies to maintain. Don't take over the display itself, take over the main input to the display.
This.
Apple already makes "TV's". A refresh of the Cinema Display line with larger sizes and built in AppleTV's would essentially launch Apple into the TV market.
Another option would be for Apple to partner with existing TV makers and build AppleTV chips into those. Televisions don't have a high profit margin because they're so expensive to transport and warehouse and feature expensive components. Allowing existing manufacturers to take on that burden while still promoting Apple's ecosystem is a win-win.
In expanding the adoption of AppleTV by bundling it into other manufacturer's tv's, Apple would benefit in the sale of iOS devices like iPads and iPhones and in iTunes sales.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8J2)
"Subsidized set-top boxes have squashed innovation because no one wants to pay for separate boxes...ask TiVo, Roku, us, Google in a few months. The set-top box needs to be torn up and redesigned to get people things they way they want them."
I agree about it being a pain to buy a separate box, especially for multiple TVs, but I have to say I live the apple tv 2.
"Subsidized set-top boxes have squashed innovation because no one wants to pay for separate boxes...ask TiVo, Roku, us, Google in a few months. The set-top box needs to be torn up and redesigned to get people things they way they want them."
I agree about it being a pain to buy a separate box, especially for multiple TVs, but I have to say I live the apple tv 2.
problem
Plasma .. are you joking ... big , heavy, hot .... LCD or LED is the future .. sorry plasma.
I love my Apple TV and I dont see why Apple would want to turn a TV into a sudo itunes / Apple TV.
I would much much rather see a small $99 box revamped and updated so I could plug it into the TV , or in my case my 8ft HD projector wall screen !!!
I dont see the sense in Apple getting into TV's. The current Apple TV fits ANY household no matter what their TV or projector choice. If they get into actual TV's how many sizes are they going to have to stock to keep everyone happy .. I just cant see the point.
Every 2 years when you could happily go and buy the next greatest updated $99 Apple TV but if you had an actual "Apple LCD TV" it is out of date and people aren't going to go upgrade their TV every couple of years.
I dont see it happening.
Plasma .. are you joking ... big , heavy, hot .... LCD or LED is the future .. sorry plasma.
I love my Apple TV and I dont see why Apple would want to turn a TV into a sudo itunes / Apple TV.
I would much much rather see a small $99 box revamped and updated so I could plug it into the TV , or in my case my 8ft HD projector wall screen !!!
I dont see the sense in Apple getting into TV's. The current Apple TV fits ANY household no matter what their TV or projector choice. If they get into actual TV's how many sizes are they going to have to stock to keep everyone happy .. I just cant see the point.
Every 2 years when you could happily go and buy the next greatest updated $99 Apple TV but if you had an actual "Apple LCD TV" it is out of date and people aren't going to go upgrade their TV every couple of years.
I dont see it happening.
But that's not because it's an Apple TV. That's true of any 720P TV.
I'm not saying Apple will come out with one TV model and never improve the specs in future updates. I'm just saying if you don't want to buy an Apple-branded TV, it shouldn't be because you're worried that you'll have to buy a new one to get software improvements.
Apple typically makes software improvements backward compatible up to the point that the software improvements don't function well with older hardware/processors.
This would be one Apple product I'd pass on. I like to keep my TVs for at least 3 years, ideally 5. IOS devices older than about 2 years are either not supported or painfully slow so I wouldn't trust Apple with such a substantial investment. A phone is one thing but a $$$$ television is another. Besides which, I doubt Apple would go with Plasma tech which is the only way aside from projectors to get large sized TVs and having bought a 64" Sammy a couple of months ago, I wouldn't go any smaller.