FCC Filing Reveals New, Slightly Smaller Apple TV Model

[MacDav]

Originally Posted by HobeSoundDarryl

I don't even think zombie or supernatural Steve could pull that one off. They've seen what happened to their music industry cousins. They'll never want to be as under Apple's thumb as those guys. They'll do anything they can to prevent that from happening. The music deal enriched Apple at the naive music industry's expense. The video side would rather enrich themselves rather than just hand it all over to Apple. Besides some of the key video players control the crucial "last mile" by also owning the broadband business through which Apple's hypothetical super-replacement would have to flow.

I think you are suffering from partial recall. The music industry was being decimated by piracy and there was a need for an honest way to buy music thru online download. Apple stepped in to that vacuum. The iPod success story demonstrates this. Yes, Apple got them by the short hairs, but what would have been the scenario if no one offered this kind of service? We can't really know. Piracy is still rampant, but enough people pay for their music to keep the artists making albums. I have no sympathy for the music executives, they were and are pretty corrupt and took advantage of most artists. The writers now get 1/3 of the cut and if they also self publish they get 2/3 of the cut. This is way better than the way it was before. Yes, Apple gets 1/3 of the cut, but when the music execs were in charge some artists never got a dime.

[Patriot24]

Originally Posted by ChrisTX

Apples idea of reinventing the Apple TV.

The hardware is largely irrelevant here aside from it being able to display 1080p content. If Apple can pull off a great update and enable apps, it is a new ballgame entirely.

Think about what happened to the iPhone when they opened it up for 3rd party apps.

[Roessnakhan]

Originally Posted by bohbot16

Do you ever run into issues with the IR signal that way?

Not at all - which surprised me.

[APlotdevice]

Originally Posted by Roessnakhan

Not at all - which surprised me.

Well near IR does behave just like visible light. Bouncing off the same kind of surfaces.

[blackhand1001]

Originally Posted by nick_elt

Do you have an Apple tv?? The ir remote is a pain in the arse. The remote app which doesnt use ir is a much better option.

The best smart tv remote IMO is the logitech revues google tv keyboard. I don't really like any of the other google tv's remotes.

[olowott]

love the current size, just sits there beautiful

they cud throw in a few colours

i need more apps and functionality apart from reducing it

[Tigger11]

Originally Posted by nick_elt

Why on earth would apple go back to analogue? Hdmi slots are at a premium? I have 5 on my tv. More than enough, i def dont want to go anything less than hd now

First of all I was suggesting adding analog not taking away hdmi, and the majority of hdtvs sold have 3 or fewer hdmi ports. That means an issue adding an Apple TV.

[Tanguyvd]

Originally Posted by CrAkD

yeah we better get apps. theres nothing else to add to it.

euh yes there is: native HDD connection please with USB3 and a thunderbold connection would be nice #notgonnahappen

[Tigger11]

Originally Posted by 2IS

Well.... I doubt they're adding MORE ports on a smaller box.

They are having the FCC hold the external pics until its released, no reason to do that if it has the same ports.

[APlotdevice]

Originally Posted by Tigger11

First of all I was suggesting adding analog not taking away hdmi, and the majority of hdtvs sold have 3 or fewer hdmi ports. That means an issue adding an Apple TV.

An HDMI pass through would be a far better solution to this problem than analog outputs. This way not only would you save a port while maintaining the quality of a digital signal, but it could even do interesting things like overlaying and "transparent" AirPlay.

[iLLUMI]

If its Jailbreakable I'll get one.
If it has 16 gb of NAND flash I'll get one.
If its just a smaller version of the Apple Tv 3 but with faster CPU I won't waste my money.

[Stuipdboy1000]

I'm thinking it'll be released next week with the 128GB iPad. Usually Apple products don't show up in FCC filings until very close to their launch date so I think it's a pretty reasonable guess.

I might pick one up for my bedroom as the one in the family room is being used more and more by other members of the family (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).

[adder7712]

Originally Posted by Tigger11

First of all I was suggesting adding analog not taking away hdmi, and the majority of hdtvs sold have 3 or fewer hdmi ports. That means an issue adding an Apple TV.

The 3 HDTVs that I bought for the last 4 years have 4 HDMI ports.

Plus, I hook up everything to an AVR anyway.

[nick_elt]

Originally Posted by Tigger11

First of all I was suggesting adding analog not taking away hdmi, and the majority of hdtvs sold have 3 or fewer hdmi ports. That means an issue adding an Apple TV.

Thats like apple putting back a floppy drive because there is only 3 usb ports.

[kristoffer4]

Originally Posted by HobeSoundDarryl

I hope you are right. My guess is that they are running short of reject A5 chips so they are going to switch to reject A6s. As such, they can shrink the box a bit further too.

Of course, I'd love for much more. For example:

• native support for BD audio codecs superior to 1992's Dolby Digital
• support for added video horsepower to go fully toe-to-toe with what BD can deliver (these first two are about nullifying the most tangible advantages that BD has over TV even if that quality of content doesn't show up in the store)
• an addition of analog audio out for us zone 2 receiver owners
• normalized USB port for those of us that would like various amounts of local storage (just add whatever we want and sync like we used to with gen "1")
• native support for 24fps and 60fps rather than just 30fps. I've had a 60fps consumer camcorder for about 4 years now. I'd love to be able to see "buttery smooth" playback of 60 over 30. And pretty much all movies are 24fps.
• h.265 support
• pretty open app store for third parties to evolve it into what we would wish it would become (if only Apple would pour it on with this product)

Personally, I don't long for Siri functionality built into it (other than the gimmicky effect, I don't imagine that being a great benefit in the day-to-day usage). I don't imagine all of the video players giving Apple domination over the video business (like their music cousins did over music) so I don't expect the much fantasized-about, commercial-free, much cheaper than "I" pay now, al-a-carte cable TV killer service. And I don't expect 4K "ultra HD" playback hardware but that would be a whopper surprise.

I'd love NAS media storage options. I'd love certain software features that existed in the 2007 edition to be resurrected: stuff like folders for serialized movies (Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, etc), our own movies under "movies", our own TV shows under "TV shows", etc. IMO, there's much more hope in software advances/resurrections than hardware.

Add HDMI CEC and you are home.

[rMBP15]

I want apple tv sets instead!

[Giuly]

Originally Posted by Engadget

While the diagram pictured above doesn't suggest any major changes to the device's appearance, it does list some slightly smaller measurements: 93.78mm square compared to the 98mm of the current model. That's certainly not the biggest of differences, but the measurements in previous Apple FCC filing have been spot on. The model number, A1469, is also one that we haven't seen before, but the documents unfortunately don't offer much else in the way of details (only confirmation of the same WiFi capabilities as the current-gen Apple TV).

According to the filing, the new Apple TV supports 40MHz wide channels on the 5GHz band (aka 150MBit/s, as do the iPhone 5 and the 4th-gen iPad), which the 3rd-gen Apple TV didn't. So, it's "up to 1.5x faster WiFi".

[Topfry]

If its not a major update, maybe there will be a new Bluetooth remote, and the tiny change of size is just to lose the ir receiver. Lower power cost perhaps. But it would be disappointing to find that the fabled "itv" is still so distant.

I also am not convinced that Apple will up the ram unless apps are ready; it would raise the low price point, for one, and doesn't seem that important to just run movies. Although hasn't there always been a curious space for another potential ram module in the internal design?

[Tech198]

Apples just released the 3rd gen, and now a new one is in the works already ?

Maybe its time for Apple to stop playing around with their "hobby", and focus on an Apple television... (assuming they can get content providers to give in)

Whats wrong with the current size ? (Except the fact its a heat magnet)

As IfIxIT reported, i dunno why Apple chose to think a thermal pad to radiate heat to plastic...

No wonder why it heats up... Come to think of it, that's why the Megasafe get hot as well..

Plastic is lighter ya...... but metal would adsorb heat...... Not retain it.

Maybe this could be why on a new Apple TV ? *shrugs*

[Mike MA]

Originally Posted by nick_elt

Do you have an Apple tv?? The ir remote is a pain in the arse. The remote app which doesnt use ir is a much better option.

I agree that the remote is stylish but non-practical. On the other hand, I don't actually want to use my iPhone even for watching movies or television - I mean, the time where you can be offline is quite limited already in our days.

So, a reworked ir remote would be my preference...

[SBlue1]

what a waste of time to shave of a few millimeters of a non-portable device...

[nick_elt]

Originally Posted by Tech198

Apples just released the 3rd gen, and now a new one is in the works already ?

Maybe its time for Apple to stop playing around with their "hobby", and focus on an Apple television... (assuming they can get content providers to give in)

Whats wrong with the current size ? (Except the fact its a heat magnet)

As IfIxIT reported, i dunno why Apple chose to think a thermal pad to radiate heat to plastic...

No wonder why it heats up... Come to think of it, that's why the Megasafe get hot as well..

Plastic is lighter ya...... but metal would adsorb heat...... Not retain it.

Maybe this could be why on a new Apple TV ? *shrugs*

They release one a year. Whats wrong with that? The last one was released last march.

[starfish1]

Here's a potential roadmap to the full apple TV.
Stage one upgrade Apple TV with HDMI passthrough.
Add functionality in the form of Imessage and one or two additional features, Mail, clock (alarms) etc calendars Reminders.Plus possibly a few select independent applications. This on its own would be Major for many homes.
release new iPad/iPhone application to act as better ATV controller.
Overlay on top of HDMI signal.
this allows Apple TV data to be always available independent of the source.

Once content deals are in place update Apple TV to support higher resolution . Change physical format Release to fit into the new full Apple TV Display, which is a high resolution display containing camera and microphone with motion detection (done Apple's way).
Full app store for new apple TV.
continue selling Apple TV lite, without app store.

Apple TV will still function with any HDMI TV input.

New apple TV (full) priced as iPad mini cost (low/high end) which is replaceable (for annual/biannual upgrades?) (old one still useable in spare tv) plus High res HDMI/thunderbolt display. Beautiful Design and additional functionality plus "Apple Sauce" will drive upgrades of existing TV's to Apple on upgrade, People will buy the Apple TV "puck" for their existing TV's First.

Therefore 2 models of apple TV ( one basic, one enhanced with app store and more memory) plus 2 Models of display (different sizes) for them to fit into.

This could put an apple tv into most homes.Locked Into Apple Infrastructure/Store, Competition scrambling to catch up.
Disclaimer, I have no inside Knowledge or information, Just something I would like to see that would in my opinion Suit Apple and Customers.

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Originally Posted by MacDav

I think you are suffering from partial recall. The music industry was being decimated by piracy and there was a need for an honest way to buy music thru online download. Apple stepped in to that vacuum. The iPod success story demonstrates this. Yes, Apple got them by the short hairs, but what would have been the scenario if no one offered this kind of service? We can't really know. Piracy is still rampant, but enough people pay for their music to keep the artists making albums. I have no sympathy for the music executives, they were and are pretty corrupt and took advantage of most artists. The writers now get 1/3 of the cut and if they also self publish they get 2/3 of the cut. This is way better than the way it was before. Yes, Apple gets 1/3 of the cut, but when the music execs were in charge some artists never got a dime.

I never said anything different. I think you're viewing the topic as "Apple saved the music industry" which may- in fact- be true. But it doesn't change what I said about the video guys not wanting to be the next industry to get under Apple's thumb.

I wasn't attacking Apple in that- just pointing out that in hindsight, the music industry likely wishes they had worked this in some other way (and have now spent many years trying to reduce Apple's hold over them). The video guys have the benefit of that hindsight- a very clear view of what happens if you allow Apple to gain domination over your products, pricing, etc. They don't want to repeat what they see as errors made by their music industry cousins.

[JHankwitz]

Originally Posted by OmegaRed1723

I suppose any decrease in size mzy end up costing them less in production, so basically this is a move to improve their margins.

Smaller translates to less cost? In my reality, smaller usually costs more.