Apple Television Set to Include Siri and Face-Tracking iSight for FaceTime Calls?

[justperry]

Originally Posted by mdntcallr

Not sure if i am loving built in cameras. Especially when the NSA in Wired magazine came out and admitted they tap virtually everything.

So, because there are very little protections for locking down the built in cam/mics, i hate the privacy intrusions. ie, Google has gone on record they can turn on cams/mics remotely on computers which are on its websites.

ie someone can watch/listen to people via the camera in their own home.

So, until privacy protections are put into place.... a bit worried about the implications.

Don't believe me:

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...tacenter/all/1

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/2...as_largest_and

http://www.knowthelies.com/node/7124

There's a solution for this called Tape

[ocb]

"The Apple HDTV makes FaceTime calls using the built-in iSight camera. The camera is sophisticated, with facial recognition and the ability to zoom into the user’s face and follow them as they walk around the room."

So, do you *really* want Apple's hardware in the middle of your living room, recognizing who TF you are and following you around the room? For sure it'll keep a handy track of *everything* you watch. Guaranteed to have Facebook and Tw@tter integration, and mandatory iCloud account - so Apple can share your viewing habits automatically with yourFacebook buddies (and advertisers)...

"Like" that? #FAIL.... This is the company that doesn't do timely security updates (Flashback), and then buries issues as deeply in it's tech site as possible....

I've had an AppleTV 1st Gen for about 18 months. Needless to say, Apple's approach to content delivery is not their strong point. On top of that, I'm not a US resident, so a fair number of the features are unavailable to me.

I think I'll be sticking to Sony.

[Blakjack]

Originally Posted by Tones2

Um..Samsung ALREADY has this face recognition, voice control, and gesture control:

http://www.samsung.com/us/2012-smart-tv/#navigation

So who's copying who?

To me, its not copying if you do it better.

Plus, you cant tell me that people havent been thinking of these ideas for decades. Thats why we have star trek and all these other futuristic films. Ideas majority of the time arent new. As time passes, things evolve and we are eventually able to bring our ideas into fruition. Just because you are the first to actually bring a physical product(idea) to market doesnt mean you should own it....especially if yours sucks compared to the guy who does it after you.

[nickgri]

We need to be in control of security ourselves a lot and yes a piece of tape on a velcro will allow us to cover the camera if needed-probably MOST of the time, and set security to not allow any video out to the cloud unless authorized.
I had written to Steve Jobs long ago my idea that (not sure if he listened) the simplest feature needed yet not yet done is to offer a "Bookmark" feature. If we are watching an ad and want to get the product or more info- the remote should offer that option-go to it now or later! The ad people will have to pay for each click through-worth many millions-this is what they want you to do-GO to their site DUH - why have the ad people and Apple not gotten this? Send me some money for the idea when you do!

[Konrad9]

Originally Posted by BvizioN

It's all BS, sorry to say. I do own 3 Apple products, and only one of them is a mobile, the iPhone. I buy from Apple because their products simpy work without giving me headache. I am a bit too old to care about being cool with Apple products. And many people out there feel the same.

There are people that are the exception to the rule, I'd bet most people on this forum don't buy them to publicly show off.

They most certainly do show off to the other people on this forum, however.

[prowlmedia]

If apple do do a Television it needs to have a swappable CPU section.

Like an Apple TV to slot in.

It's a big investment to have go obsolete...

[jman240]

Originally Posted by kiljoy616

So how does it really work, anyone has one that can say its worth the price, it all looks good on photoshop all of it.

Saw the Samsung version here actually http://revision3.com/tekzilla/google-drive#rev3Player

[SBlue1]

This is one of those things that will never come to life.

[tido2012]

I feel your pain. I'm moving from my 18mb/s to a new place where I'll be getting an advertised 3mb/s. So in reality I'll be at 2. Not looking forward to saving money this way. Hell I'd rather cut back on money spent going out on the weekends than try and save money by cutting down on my internet bill. FML. As for your comment on 3D...yep it blows. My parents wanted to buy one until we tried it out at the store. Between the glasses you have to wear being uncomfortable (especially if you already wear glasses) and the post converted 3D crap it really doesn't make any sense. Also, I would never trade my 110" projected for a 55" 3D.

Originally Posted by shandyman

yea, i am on a new estate (it's about 2 years old) and we only get 2-2.5 Meg, it's crap!



3D must just go away. majority of it is post converted, so it's not even proper.

[animatedude]

let's get real guys!

40' iPanel which look exactly like the Apple Cinema Display but only bigger with built-in iTunes and Apple logo will be enough reason for most of us over here to get rid of our SONY bravias.

it's sad but true.

[ftaok]

Originally Posted by animatedude

let's get real guys!

40' iPanel which look exactly like the Apple Cinema Display but only bigger with built-in iTunes and Apple logo will be enough reason for most of us over here to get rid of our SONY bravias.

it's sad but true.

Apple would never come to market with an HDTV if iTunes were the only differentiating factor over other TVs. There's gotta be more than that ... and Apple knows it.

[animatedude]

Originally Posted by ftaok

Apple would never come to market with an HDTV if iTunes were the only differentiating factor over other TVs. There's gotta be more than that ... and Apple knows it.

i agree but you are faced with the facts that both the current Apple TV and the Thunderbolt Display will have to evolve some how in the future, it would make sense if at least the next Thunderbolt Display came in with Apple TV built-in ....not necessary call it iPanel or iTV.

don't you see this coming?

[nobickering]

Just a few thoughts:

1. Steve Jobs has expressed his frustration with BluRay on many occasions.
2. Apple already has a device with 2048x1536 resolutions.
3. Sharp reportedly has a 2560x1600 IZGO display and a 3840x2160 LCD display.

Putting some of these thoughts together, Apple is one of the companies best positioned to deliver content at a resolution much higher than BluRay.

a) If I could watch a movie or sports game on my iPad at 2048x1536, I'd pay for that.
b) If they'd up the resolution to 3840x2160 this would make for an awesome home theater setup.
c) They have strong ties to Disney. The whole living room/TV/kids combination offers an interesting angle.

And before you beat me up about average Internet speed and the file sizes for high-res content. I know, I know. That's why they have been at work to improve H.264 compression. See link:

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...0p_videos.html

All makes sense to me now - - in a LiquidMetal casing. 

[KnightWRX]

Originally Posted by nobickering

Just a few thoughts:

1. Steve Jobs has expressed his frustration with BluRay on many occasions.
2. Apple already has a device with 2048x1536 resolutions.
3. Sharp reportedly has a 2560x1600 IZGO display and a 3840x2160 LCD display.

Putting some of these thoughts together, Apple is one of the companies best positioned to deliver content at a resolution much higher than BluRay.

a) If I could watch a movie or sports game on my iPad at 2048x1536, I'd pay for that.
b) If they'd up the resolution to 3840x2160 this would make for an awesome home theater setup.
c) They have strong ties to Disney. The whole living room/TV/kids combination offers an interesting angle.

And before you beat me up about average Internet speed and the file sizes for high-res content. I know, I know. That's why they have been at work to improve H.264 compression. See link:

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...0p_videos.html

All makes sense to me now - - in a LiquidMetal casing. 

So you'd rather pay for overcompressed high resolution content than properly encoded H.264 content at 1920x1080 that looks just perfect ?

Remember folks, Blu-ray also uses H.264. It benefits from any compression enhancements made to the encoders. So essentially, your 4k content that is completely inexistant wouldn't be better if it used the same encoders as blu-ray.

Blu-ray in H.264 with lossless audio is already 30-45 mbps streams. A 4k stream (basically 4 times the pixels) of the same quality would require about 4 times the bandwidth, audio notwithstanding. That's 120-180 mbps sustained...

So even with better "compression", you'd still need quite the Internet connection. So distributing 4k content is best left to physical media. Considering you'd require about 200 Gigs for it, the best media would be...

And LiquidMetal... why ? Aluminium is much more widespread thus probably much cheaper. What benefits do you think LiquidMetal brings that would justify the added cost and complexity ?

[bmunge]

I'm curious to see if Siri could be integrated with the cable providers. If you think about it, the current way of clicking through a list of 400+ channels is completely ridiculous. I can't wait until I can give verbal commands like:

What movies are playing this week in the evenings after 7?
What comedies are showing Saturday?
Record the new Tosh episode this Tuesday.
Open the bayside doors.

[ftaok]

Originally Posted by animatedude

i agree but you are faced with the facts that both the current Apple TV and the Thunderbolt Display will have to evolve some how in the future, it would make sense if at least the next Thunderbolt Display came in with Apple TV built-in ....not necessary call it iPanel or iTV.

don't you see this coming?

No, not really. I don't think the current aTV or the TBDisplay needs to evolve in this fashion at all. I have yet to see someone who really wants a convergence between the computer and the TV, so why would anyone need a TBDisplay to morph into a TV? Right now, all of the current "apps" that are on the smart TVs are content based stuff. Netflix, Hulu, MLB, Angry Birds, etc. Not too many people clamouring for Photoshop and Excel on the TV.

Anyways, I'm not saying that Apple will or won't make an HDTV. I'm just saying that if they do, expect it to be a major change in the way that we watch TV. It'll be a huge disruption to the current status quo of sending $100/month to your cable/sat provider of choice. Alas - I'm not optimistic that this could ever happen, with all of the interests involved.

Originally Posted by bmunge

I'm curious to see if Siri could be integrated with the cable providers. If you think about it, the current way of clicking through a list of 400+ channels is completely ridiculous. I can't wait until I can give verbal commands like:

What movies are playing this week in the evenings after 7?
What comedies are showing Saturday?
Record the new Tosh episode this Tuesday.
Open the bayside doors.

If you think about it, this is what GoogleTV is. Everything is connected to the GoogleTV and the GTV box is connected to "input 1". You do everything through the GTV box, and with the help of Google's search engine, everything you asked for (except the baydoor) is accomplished through the keyboard remote.

The next interation of this type of device would incorporate voice commands, gestures, and facial recognition. Adding something like Siri would just make the interface more "human" and intuitive.

I still think Apple's idea would have to be bigger than this too.

[Mr Bigs]

Originally Posted by byke

I wonder how long after it released Samsung will offer something similar with the exact same features but with a rounder bezel claiming its completely different?

Samsung already makes smart tv's so Apple is jumping on the bandwagon.

[tbrinkma]

Originally Posted by Tones2

Viewing a 55" 1080p TV at about 9 feet. Text looks pretty bad but readable. I have the same resolution on my 23" PC monitor viewing at 2-3 feet that the TV has at 55" has viewing at 9 feet. I'm using an HDMI cable for PC connection and using native HDTV resolution 1920 x 1080 on the pc. Even at nine feet, I don't see how it can compensate for that low of pixel density, despite what any chart says. I can see the pixels.

Tony

You've got *something* odd going on then, because a 55" 1080p display should be 'retina' quality as close as about 7'2". Either you're not running at you're display's native resolution for some reason, or you're over-estimating your viewing distance.

If the 'text looks pretty bad but readable', my guess would be the former. A sizable number of '720p' (and some '1080p') displays actually have a slightly higher actual resolution for some reason. It's not so noticeable with normal TV, but text can cause issues. See if the TV reports higher resolutions to your computer, and see if that resolves the issue. (This is more common with '720p' sets, which commonly are 1388x768 [WXVGA] instead of 1280x720, but I have seen a few '1080p' sets which have a similar increase for whatever reason.)

Here's a good link to do the calculations for you...
http://bhtooefr.org/displaycalc.htm

[louis Fashion]

Originally Posted by unknownart

Topmounter is a mocking mocker who mocks the mock-ups.

I mock him.

[Che Castro]

Originally Posted by cgriffis753

"Who are you?"

"I'm TV's Reckoning!"

There's a storm coming

[diamond.g]

Toshiba has 4K for about $10k. I would be curious to see if Apple bring 4K for less than $5k

[foodog]

Originally Posted by Konrad9

No, I use it to develop for iOS.

Love the herpy mcderpy fanboy response to me saying Apple makes good products but most people only buy them to show off, as most people here have every apple product they own listed in their signature.

I am totally bragging about my Apple ][+

[Konrad9]

Originally Posted by foodog

I am totally bragging about my Apple ][+

Sigh.

[nobickering]

Originally Posted by KnightWRX

So you'd rather pay for overcompressed high resolution content than properly encoded H.264 content at 1920x1080 that looks just perfect ?

I agree with your point. However, when Steve Jobs doesn't like something, he's usually working on a way to kill it.

Originally Posted by KnightWRX

Remember folks, Blu-ray also uses H.264.

Overlooked that one. Thanks.

Originally Posted by KnightWRX

So distributing 4k content is best left to physical media.

Now here's an idea. I doubt Apple would go into physical media distribution. But they are on the Blu-ray board, I believe. So how about a new Blu-ray HD standard and apple devices are the only ones that can display that resolution?

Also, a higher resolution 3D display may have some applications we haven't thought of yet...

I just feel like something is up with so many companies working on higher resolution displays right now.

Originally Posted by KnightWRX

And LiquidMetal... why ?

LOL. I threw that one in just for fun. Would definitely make this thing a lot more expensive.

As far as I know LiquidMetal would be lighter (at multiples of the price) then aluminum. The only other thing is the coolness "Design Different" factor.

[Rocketman]

Originally Posted by KnightWRX

Remember folks, Blu-ray also uses H.264.

H.264 is one thing. Its DRM is another and its media format is yet another. One of them was a "bag of hurt" that eclipsed the others.

Is there a 4K optical disc format for commercial yet or is it just multiple BR discs?

Rocketman