With MWSF right around the corner, I thought we should have a dedicated iTV thread. I personally am very interested in the concept, and pretty anxious to see what's behind the $300 price point. Here are some things to consider:
-Release date? When will we be able to rush apple.com and place our orders?
-The name iTV- Steve said it was a working name, but what will it be called in the end?
-Hard Drive? I read reports a month or so ago about the liklihood of a hard drive being included. I wouldn't be surprised, as $300 is a little much to ask for a glorified 802.11n router with component outs.
-Front Row 2.0? I imagine that the iTV will have an updated version of Front Row. Maybe a little quicker, more streamlined.
-Slimmed down OSX? How is the iTV going to select wireless networks, select a single machine to stream from, adjust network settings, playback settings, etc.?? I'm very interested to see how this works.
-Connectivity for an external hard drive? I don't see this as necessary as the whole idea is to stream media from a networked machine, but it could be useful.
-HDMI output? Would be great, to maintain a digital signal the whole way through (origin hard drive to television set)
-Integration with iPod/iPod video? I'm not so sure how this would work. Theoretically, if you own an iTV you also own a computer from which you're streaming media... why not just connect your ipod to that computer? Maybe any connectivity will simply allow you to play media from an ipod, with no syncing possible.
-HDDVD/Bluray player? Unlikely with the given price point, but who knows. Will it even be able to play DVDs?
-Easy DVD ripping and cataloging solution? Also unlikely... I can only imagine the lawsuits from the MPAA that would follow.
-Full iTunes/iPhoto/iMovie streaming capabilities through Front Row 2.0? I should hope so. I'd love to be able to stream full resolution photos from my G5 downstairs to the plasma in the living room.
-Supported file formats? Undoubtedly it will be able to play .mov, .mp4, .mp3, .aac, .aiff. But will it be able to play avi's or protected aac's? And how will you authorize it to play your protected video and music files? And will the iTV count as another machine in your 5 allowable authorizations?
-Any functions other than media streaming? Maybe a slimmed-down ichat? or the ability to add an iSight for video chatting via your television?
-Steve announced that it would operate on 802.11 technology. Presumably, high definition media would require N-protocol. As we've seen, Apple has already been distributing crippled 802.11n wireless cards that will likely require a small firmware update to open up full use of the N protocol. Will Apple also release an updated 802.11n airport card for us pre-intel mac users, or will we be tethered to it via ethernet?
Of course, this is all speculation at this point. But what are your thoughts? What is possible, and what's likely? $100,000,000 to whomever guesses all the specs spot-on.*
*Note: Your $100,000,000 prize will be 100% taxed.
EDIT: Thanks to Maxwell Smart for the pictures link.
This last pictures answers some of the above questions. Looks like the settings are accessed in a very iPodly way.
