U.S. Cable Companies Reportedly Assessing Potential Infrastructure Impact of 'Imminent' Apple TV Product

[diagnostics247]

I hope this helps force the hand of content providers to make a full investment in fiber optic networks.

[izyreal]

My favorite rumor surfaces once more!!! Now I have to start looking into home equity loans again... just in case I need to be able to afford to pay for an Apple TV.

*edit*
I am not seriously considering taking a home equity loan... Not for an Apple TV, or anything else. The above post is meant to imply that I expect any Apple television to be quite expensive. Never fear you people that take everything at face value, I will pay in cash!... Probably nickels!!

Clue: Winky Face = = I'm joking

[Darth.Titan]

This again? I believe Steve made the comment about "cracking" the TV just to troll everyone after he checked out.

Apple making a TV just doesn't make sense. An add-on box like AppleTV? Sure. An actual television set? Not so much. There's no way Apple could compete in the current television market with the thin margins, variety of models, and price points. If Apple tries to get into the TV game, I believe that it will be one of their occasional missteps.

I'm fully prepared to be proven wrong, but I'll believe it when I see it.

[macchiato2009]

another rumor to save the AAPL stock after suddenly collapsing over the past weeks

[TheHateMachine]

Originally Posted by ziggyonice

I want time shifting.

I want to be able to watch any show I want. At anytime. Anywhere.

I don't want to have to subscribe to cable for this very reason — television companies hate time shifting. They want you to watch TV on their schedule.

I want to subscribe to channels on an a la carte basis. I want to pay a couple bucks per month for an ESPN "app" and a couple others, through my Apple ID. I then want to watch the content live or on-demand, my choice. None of those "package deals" crap. I don't need to pay for 300+ channels I don't watch.

This is the future. Hopefully Apple brings it.

There is some awesome DVR and place shifting techs out there already. As for the a la carte basis. This isn't really a problem where the blame can be solely pinned on the re broadcasters. The programmers stuff their lamer channels and force bundling on the re broadcasters... then the FCC is in on everything and has some mandates. I believe Dish Network used to offer a la carte along with their regular bundles and due to the FCC and programmers they ended up being forced to a bundled only model outside of "premium" channels.

[AndyR]

Can safely say that if Apple do make a TV, it'll be the thinnest TV available

[SaaGua]

When they talk about the impact to infrastructure, it sounds just like Cell Networks bitching about how smartphones, video conferencing and even text messages are going to overload their networks...

So are we gonna see the end of unlimited cable??? LOL

Cable networks already compress the signal way too much and cram way too much unnecessary channels through the pipes, we get pixellated and freezing pictures... Is it gonna get worse???

[bketchum]

A loopy idea: Perhaps Apple is planning to give away their Apple TVs. Get more people in their ecosystem, recoup on media sales/rental revenue, get them buying other Apple devices.

[basesloaded190]

Originally Posted by bketchum

A loopy idea: Perhaps Apple is planning to give away their Apple TVs. Get more people in their ecosystem, recoup on media sales/rental revenue, get them buying other Apple devices.

Thanks for the laugh!

This is Apple, not Amazon

[spacehog371]

Originally Posted by Patriot24

Apple left a rather large hole in their release schedule when they moved iPads to Fall (assuming they keep a yearly release cycle from here on out).

Old Schedule:
Spring: iPads
Summer: Macs
Fall: iPhone

New Schedule:
Spring: ?
Summer: OS X & Devices
Fall: iOS & Devices

Given the current state of product updates, what are they going to release in the Spring?

<Queue rampant speculation>

Bingo. I have suspected for awhile that they were opening up the spring for another product. Didn't know what it would be, but wouldn't make sense not to introduce another product to take the spring announcement.

[jessica.]

"Imminent" oh please.
Moving right along ...

[iScott428]

as it would force cable companies to increase their network capacity to handle such demands as on-demand HD streams from users of the new Apple product.

^^^This. What the HELL are cable companies waiting for. AT&T, Version, Sprint etc are now finally building out networks that are catching up with demand. How amount Comcast, Time Warner, ... maybe...just maybe try and think ahead here and just build out the capacity prior a company releasing a product that belongs in this decade. Please the consumer is begging for a better service. What is going to happen when 2K or 4K TV's go mainstream, companies doesn't even have the proper capacity to stream 1080P yet, were at 720 and have been crawwwwwllllling for a while now. Ahhhh rant over.

[Rocketman]

Good ole cable is "better" than DSL, Fiber, or 4G for media serving, the most demanding application. This world needs 50% more cable build out even if the overbearing government pays for it.

Rocketman

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I want to buy just the channels/shows I want for a fraction of what I pay now.

I want them commercial-free and on-demand.

By design, I want to thrust Apple in as a new middleman so that Apple can make their big cut.

And I want the broadband providers (who is probably my cable company who likes making whatever they make from the system "as is") to just roll over and let Apple take that revenue while Apple's solution will be entirely dependent on the cable company's broadband pipes.

And I don't want my broadband bill to rise to make up for the decline of the cable TV subscription revenues as we all switch over to this new model.

And I want the production companies that make the shows to somehow be able to keep making the shows at the same high quality I like even though the revenue stream would likely be cut by 85% or more.

And I want brand new shows that I can't tell if I like or not to be piloted anyway- even when there would be no source of revenue for them until people like me could decide to buy them- so that all television production doesn't end with this new al-a-carte, commercial-free model. I want the entrepreneurs who take the big risks associated with piloting brand new shows to just go for it anyway... even though this amps up the risks far greater than they've ever been before.

Oh yeah. I also want local news and live events like sports included (but I won't think about how the sports get funded in this commercial-free new model where we consumers pay less than about 15% of what we pay now).

Every thread on this topic is the same. We all want a LOT for a fraction of the cost. We want Apple to handsomely benefit with us. And we want the Cable/Satt and Production companies to take the huge hit and have it all somehow work. Think!

Did you know that last year, about $650 per U.S. household in OPM (other people's money) flowed through the system "as is" from commercial revenue, the vast majority of that from commercials none of us ever saw... most running on those hundreds of channels we never watch? That's $54/month for EVERY HOUSEHOLD that someone else (the companies paying for those commercials) is subsidizing for us... money that motivates the creation of new shows and contributes to the quality of the shows that "I" would like to retain in this new model. Kill that off and it either gets made up for by who- Apple or us- in this new model OR the quality of all production must come way down to meet the new revenue flows we think we collectively covet. Again, think!

[iGrip]

Whatever they come up with, the content owners had better get on board, or they will find that the boat has left the dock without them. Apple is going to own the living room, and will supply all the stuff we see on all our screens.

The sooner, the better!

[LizKat]

Originally Posted by diagnostics247

I hope this helps force the hand of content providers to make a full investment in fiber optic networks.

Coast to coast fiber to the home? I don't know about that. Think they're still busy trying to suppress municipal roll-your-own networks. They are seriously dog-in-manger on this stuff. They don't want to make the capital investment but they don't want anyone else to lose patience and step into the breach. It's exasperating.

[iGrip]

Originally Posted by shulerg

^^^this. Down 11 again today and trading at a ridiculously low 11x earnings.

Expect resistance at $450.

[lilo777]

Originally Posted by iGrip

Whatever they come up with, the content owners had better get on board, or they will find that the boat has left the dock without them. Apple is going to own the living room, and will supply all the stuff we see on all our screens.

The sooner, the better!

iPhone - 13.9% of the smart phone market (Q3 numbers)
iPad - 60% (and falling fast)
OS/X - around 6% (Worldwide)
TV - 0%

Should content providers really care?

[unplugme71]

if Apple does this, I see cable companies tiering their data plans like phone carriers are right now. I get so many warnings about going over my 250GB limit. Sadly, 250GB isn't much when

1) You are also a windows user, so are other people in your house. Downloading updates for 2-3 computers can put a decent toll on usage.

2) You watch/stream at least 2-3 movies a week from iTunes, download 15-25 songs per month, update your apps regularly, read 2-3 books per month, etc.

3) Download software (because discs are so last decade).

4) Online gameplay, while not much, does add up, especially with PS3 and Wii having regular software updates, game patches, etc.


Carriers are gonna fall behind if someone comes up with a smarter solution to watching tv. Unless they have innovations ready,b ut aren't releasing anything.

[Fishticks]

I wish they'll do better in improving TV as in "improving" smarthphones with iPhone 5+iOS6+Maps...

[Popeye206]

I hope it's thin!

[willcapellaro]

To all the haters and nonbelievers (both here and employed at Apple), let me just say that there's a huge market in hotel TVs. Bear with me. Heres's the outline of my vision:

- Partner with a manufacturer to product a few models of pretty-good TV with the Apple TV interface embedded. Have a range of value and high end products. Think about this like it's AirPlay speakers, not a iMac.
- Update the Apple TV interface so it is more "single serving" friendly, guest accounts, cloud enabled
- Allow AirPlay from mobile devices (push that standard and let Android / Winphone use it too) and make it as easy as possible. To make this work for multiple rooms, may need to validate which device is talking to which (QR code?).
- Slowly (but faster than now) make inroads with networks, content providers, and bundlers
- Allow this to sell your brand and your content partners experience
- Extend the experience to other "public" screens - airplanes comes to mind

I personally wouldn't update until my plasma bites the dust, but I would use this extensively when I travel. I can't remember the last time I turned on a hotel TV, it's such an inconsistent experience.

It would also be a big plus if they allowed their TV offering to play audio without the screen on. If I push audio over airplay, let it just be audio (or let me choose to use the screen or have a screensaver). That would be smart.

Bluetooth remote would be sweet too.

[ddehr026]

Originally Posted by ziggyonice

I want time shifting.

I want to be able to watch any show I want. At anytime. Anywhere.

I don't want to have to subscribe to cable for this very reason — television companies hate time shifting. They want you to watch TV on their schedule.

I want to subscribe to channels on an a la carte basis. I want to pay a couple bucks per month for an ESPN "app" and a couple others, through my Apple ID. I then want to watch the content live or on-demand, my choice. None of those "package deals" crap. I don't need to pay for 300+ channels I don't watch.

This is the future. Hopefully Apple brings it.

I would pay a hefty premium for a device that accomplished this. Period.

[CWallace]

Beyond network infrastructure, what about bandwidth caps?

I believe Comcast is the most generous at around 250GB per month, but I have seen some members note they have caps 1/10th that or even less.

Of course, the cable companies can raise the performance and caps - and charge more money for it. Which would kind of defeat the savings bit...

[BaldiMac]

Originally Posted by lilo777

iPhone - 13.9% of the smart phone market (Q3 numbers)
iPad - 60% (and falling fast)
OS/X - around 6% (Worldwide)
TV - 0%

Should content providers really care?

You can sure cherry pick numbers with the best of them! Global numbers are awfully convenient when we are discussing the impact on the US cable industry.

Close to (more than) 50% of activations among the top 3 US cellular carriers. 12% of US PC market and growing. Higher percentages among wealthier demographics.