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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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140318-airplay_tangled.jpg


Bloomberg reports that Apple is considering licensing its AirPlay technology to consumer electronics companies for integration into their products to enable users to stream video content directly to devices such as televisions. Such implementations would bypass the need for a separate set-top box like the Apple TV for streaming video from iOS devices to TVs.
Under the plan, Apple would license its AirPlay software to consumer-electronics makers that could use it in devices for streaming movies, TV shows and other video content, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous because the plans haven’t been made public. Apple now only licenses AirPlay for streaming audio. Devices that could be used for video may be available this year, one of the people said.

An expanded AirPlay would let users stream programming wirelessly from an Apple mobile device to a TV that carries the technology. That may spur wider use of Apple’s services and devices in consumers’ living rooms.
Apple has already licensed AirPlay to consumer electronics companies such as Pioneer for the purposes of streaming audio from iOS devices directly to receivers and other home audio equipment, with Bloomberg noting that licensees pay Apple $4 for each AirPlay-enabled component sold.

BridgeCo, Apple's partner for deploying AirPlay on a consumer electronics basis for audio, is also interested in video implementations, and an extension of AirPlay licensing to include video could be a major boon to television manufacturers and customers. At the same time, the move could bolster Apple's efforts to move both its products and its iTunes Store content into consumers' living rooms.

Article Link: Apple Seeking to License AirPlay for Video Streaming?
 

iLoveiTunes

macrumors 6502
Feb 26, 2011
268
512
I thought other players were also offering such technology... Hows airplay any different ? :cool:

Unless they want to copyright the term "AirPlay"
 

tbobmccoy

macrumors 6502a
Jul 24, 2007
967
216
Austin, TX
I don't buy it; Apple offers the Apple TV for $99 which provides AirPlay. I don't think they'll license out the software; Apple has too many negative experiences with licensing out software... :cool:
 

HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
If the goal of Apple software is to sell Apple hardware, wouldn't it make more sense to give the airplay licenses away rather than trying to sell them?

  1. Free is a very appealing price motivating more TV makers to adopt the standard.
  2. It's a TV benefit that only works with Apple iDevices.
  3. Sell more iDevices so TV buyers can take advantage of the feature.

"Now with airplay" seems too far down the benefit list to drive many sales of TVs. I doubt it would be touted in any mainstream way- just as another line item of something else the TV can do. I don't picture people choosing to buy new TVs because they come with that particular benefit.

I don't find fault with the concept at all- it would be great for airplay to work with TV's without having an :apple:TV middle man requirement. I just question the sensibility of trying to make money on this particular thing, when entrenchment might yield far more revenues on the iDevice sales side.
 

smaffei

macrumors 6502a
Jun 5, 2003
594
1,899
maybe if...

...it worked reliably from my Mac Mini (2010) to my iPad 2 without saying "you are not authorized to play this video" every other time, I would care.
 

Popeye206

macrumors 68040
Sep 6, 2007
3,148
836
NE PA USA
Wow... I'm surprised that the comments are all over the place.

Seems simple and like a logical move for Apple to expand the AirPlay for video too.

It's obvious that Apple is trying to go wireless for everything, music, printing, and now video. Makes sense and would be a huge advantage for Apple devices.

BTW... licensing does not necessarily mean $'s have to be paid by the OEM. Apple could license this at no charge or a minimal charge to cover their support and administration. Just like any software vendor does.
 

ghostlines

macrumors regular
Feb 3, 2010
154
13
Amsterdam
Sounds good

Nice that Apple want's to play nice with other electronics companies. Although I don't think the AppleTV costs much the less stuff needed the better. I guess this is just one of the many steps that will be taken to make this year 'the year of the iPad" :cool:
 

hismikeness

macrumors regular
Jun 2, 2009
177
0
Streaming straight to a TV would be nice. I have a TV dedicated to movie watching, so if I could stream without having any other device (ATV2) hooked to it, not only could I use the ATV2 for another TV, but I wouldn't have anything on the cabinet appearing unsightly.
 

retroactiv

macrumors newbie
Jan 21, 2011
22
0
No surprise...

Why anyone would be surprised by this move is beyond me. It makes sense for all parties involved.

Apple makes $4 on each product sold, and manufacturers are able to add a feature that most people have the ability to actually use and will want.

It's a win-win.
 

goobot

macrumors 603
Jun 26, 2009
6,476
4,360
long island NY
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

And this will help apple how? People aren't gana buy iOS devices for airplay but will for the atv.
 

dashiel

macrumors 6502a
Nov 12, 2003
876
0
I'm fairly certain AirPlay is actually a standard that Apple has licensed from another company which is why there were already a few receivers on the market that supported or could be updated to support AirPlay.

// edit never mind. Misremembered an article where a company had already gained access to AirPlay streaming protocols.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...together_with_bridgeco_to_launch_airplay.html
 
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derrickearl

macrumors newbie
Jan 7, 2008
23
0
Website Navigation

This would support why Apple TV never made it in the top navigation bar on Apple.com like the other iOS devices. They'll also license AirPlay video for all receiver manufactures. Then DVD player will disappear and manufactures will sell a box like APple TV that also serves up solutions from other software companies. Changing the source will be like changing the channel - see what Apple has on, see what Google has on, see what Netflix is playing, see what's on Red Box and so on. Thoughts?
 

OllyW

Moderator
Staff member
Oct 11, 2005
17,196
6,799
The Black Country, England
I'm fairly certain AirPlay is actually a standard that Apple has licensed from another company which is why there were already a few receivers on the market that supported or could be updated to support AirPlay.

You must confusing it with something else. AirPlay is Apple's updated version of AirTunes which has been around for years.
 

MacManTexas56

macrumors 68020
Apr 4, 2005
2,496
384
how bout let's make sure that airplay video playback works first before you try to license it out. has not work from day 1 on my appletv
 

strabes

macrumors regular
May 12, 2010
109
0
If the goal of Apple software is to sell Apple hardware, wouldn't it make more sense to give the airplay licenses away rather than trying to sell them?

  1. Free is a very appealing price motivating more TV makers to adopt the standard.
  2. It's a TV benefit that only works with Apple iDevices.
  3. Sell more iDevices so TV buyers can take advantage of the feature.

"Now with airplay" seems too far down the benefit list to drive many sales of TVs. I doubt it would be touted in any mainstream way- just as another line item of something else the TV can do. I don't picture people choosing to buy new TVs because they come with that particular benefit.

I don't find fault with the concept at all- it would be great for airplay to work with TV's without having an :apple:TV middle man requirement. I just question the sensibility of trying to make money on this particular thing, when entrenchment might yield far more revenues on the iDevice sales side.

Having AirPlay built in would be nice because it would eliminate the need to have an ATV in the first place. I use Air Video to stream movies via AirPlay to my ATV but it would be one less device I'd have to buy (in the future). On the other hand, having the Apple TV allows for easy updates to the technology and ensures compatibility. I can just imagine calling Panasonic or Samsung saying "airplay isn't working with my TV." What a nightmare that would be.

While they're at it, why don't they just integrate the whole Apple TV GUI into the TV and get rid of the crappy TV GUIs?
 
Last edited:

bbeagle

macrumors 68040
Oct 19, 2010
3,539
2,972
Buffalo, NY
This would greatly improve the usability of airplay, in my opinion.

Imagine you had your TV on some random channel, while surfing the internet on your iPad. If your TV supported AirPlay, then you could just click the Airplay button on your iPad, and the random channel would be changed to the Airplay content. You wouldn't have to change the tuners over to Apple TV. Much more convenient.
 
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