Apple Reportedly Set to Open Up Apple TV to Third-Party Developers at WWDC

[charlituna]

If true, this is WAY bigger news than retina macs. Every network, HBO, movie streaming service, and hulu are going to drop apps immediately.

Or not. Remember these networks etc have to deal with contract issues. Same kind of issues that have blocked most of Fox and a good chunk of Warner Bros from being redownloaded if you bought the movie off iTunes. Same contracts that stop shows from going on iTunes until the disks come out 6 months later because it's considered 'broadcasting' and someone already has an exclusive deal for the second run. And so on

Many of the nets already have apps, as do most of the legit streaming services (in particular Hulu) for iOS and there's zero technical reasons those can't be included already. But there are legal ones.

 

[Believe58]

Apple and Nintendo will team up with the new wii. It is why they are so evasive about when the new wii comes out

 

[markk70]

Lets cut to the chase

I'm not after what the little box can do, I want a bigger solution...The all-in-one TV.

Apple, if you want my $1500 for a 40"+ TV this is what I want:

IOS integrated with built-in Cable box and a subsidy from provider in exchange for a contract - Phone companies can do it, why not cable/satellite? no DVR. The carriers should make all content on-demand and disable the fast forward function to ensure the commercials get played. FF is available on sponsored content. There is no reason why every household should have a 300 gig DVR...it's inefficient.
iCloud movies, TV shows, and music...this should help limit the internal SD memory and drive up thier I could usage.
Appstore – games, email, weather, safari, imessage, etc..
Put the darn WIFI router in the TV. This should also have several Etherenet out ports for printers and the current Apple TV. Convert the existing Apple TVs into dummy terminals as a Cablebox/smart TVs on other Tvs.
Ad a slot loading 3D Blu-ray player. People have shot this down, but it is now accepted as the HD format. Why not?
Passive 3d- I know this is only 720p, but I'm blind and I think affordable passive 3d 1080p is a few years down the road.
Built-in Zwave transmitter – that’s right, home automation. Why not? The technology is not rocket science and they could dominate this market overnight. App developer would go nuts on this one…
Bluetooth 4.0 - game controls, keyboards, etc...
Front facing camera and mic - facetime
Siri

As you can tell, I don’t really want to cut the cord…I just want less boxes and cables. Why should I have a tv with a million HDMI in's so I can switch between boxes? Make the Apple TV be the center of the home load it with the boxes I already have...

I know it seems kinda silly, but could you imagine a TV that had all of those feature? Pretty sweet.

 

[charlituna]

Why not? HBO Go is on iOS, Xbox, I think ps3, etc.

And limited to those that are subscribers to the service via a cable company that allows them to use it.

Why would they bother with an app to see the same stuff your cable service gives you.

For this app to truly be useful you would need to be able to subscribe to the service without needing a cable plan. Which would be awesome but unlikely to happen anytime soon since such nets are in long term contracts with the cable companies.

 

[paradox00]

For those that are worried about the small 8GB storage on the apple TV, I could totally see upgrades to iCloud to allow for "Cloud Apps". This totally makes sense for the apple TV at least considering its supposed to be always connected. This in my opinion is the only way they'll get this to work, cause yea 8gb is too small. Especially considering after firmware and everything else really there is probably about 4gb free space left. Either that or Apple will get really really restrictive about size limitations of apps which does not equal a good thing.

I don't think they'll do iCloud hosted apps. Most apps would be video streaming apps, which aren't large themselves. Apple still sells 8 GB iPhones, so the expectation to install apps on a device of that capacity isn't unheard of, even if iPhone apps are a lower resolution and therefore lower size.

Games need a controller, so the primary app may continue to remain on your iPhone/iPad. If they are installed on Apple TV, more space would be needed, and I'm sure Apple would be happy to sell it to you. We'll probably see multiple capacities of Apple TV moving forward.

 

[ristlin]

If Tim wants to do a 'one more thing' he'll do it. He'll have something in the works that hasn't leaked out to anyone. Something only he and Sir Jony know about. Course it might not 'be real' for a few months if they are keeping it that close. But if that's what's required that's what's required.

But something tells me that he doesn't want to. That was a Steve thing and this isn't Steve's Apple anymore. That kind of showmanship and zing is part of what got everyone focusing on Steve and not the products and that was a bad thing for Apple. Now we have boring Tim and his boring presentations in terms of how he says the words, so everyone focuses on the pretty photos and what he's talking about. Just as he likely wants it. Hell he plays narrator more than anything else and leaves the show to the various members of the teams. Why? To show folks that it is a team and not one man. Something Steve latched onto in the end as well. But not until after Apple took a major plunge because of the star focus on Steve and the media hyping up the idea that he and Apple were the same thing and without him there is no Apple.

Steve latched onto that in the end mostly for his health. He physically couldn't give the entire presentation himself anymore.

These past few presentations have been lackluster and I am afraid it is going to stay that way, not because they want to paint a different picture of Apple, but because they are not capable of that level of showmanship.

 

[So Random]

Hyperbole much? Do you work for Apple marketing? Yeah I'm sure Comcast and DirecTV are quaking in their boots right now.

Uh, no . . .

Do I need to "work for Apple" to consider some of the possibilities, based on what they have *already* done to existing industries where the entrenched players appeared to be impossible to unseat?

People thought the very idea of an iPhone was crazy, never mind having it change literally everything in mobile. People thought the iPad was a crazy idea, and today the question of the PC's future is on the table. You can go all the way back to the iPod.

Current powers in an industry mean absolutely nothing when Apple jumps into the mix. We've already seen this more than once. You can even include iTunes vs. the music industry.

Comcast, DirectTV, all these providers, you name it . . . they're stuff we have to put up with to get what we want. What consumer actually wants to deal with them? Who actually wants them involved? Nobody.

 

[7709876]

Ah thanks. Do they have the drivers for ATI graphic cards working properly?

I am running on a fusion motherboard. I can playback high bitrate 1080p stuff without a single dropped frame.

 

[SockRolid]

Very few 3rd party apps?

I still think Apple might want to limit the number and type of apps on any of their TV products. Just national and local TV networks (and ex-cable and ex-satellite networks), current internet-only video streaming ventures (iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, etc.), all-new internet-only streaming ventures we haven't heard of yet, and a few "premium" games.

With iAd replacing all traditional video-only ads, of course.

On the other hand, it's possible that Apple might allow thousands or hundreds of thousands of apps to be developed for or ported to Apple TV (and any possible HDTV set.) But instead of pages and pages of icons, there could be just one page. Organized for you by Siri. You'd just say something like "Siri - show me news channels. Are there any international breaking news stories?" and maybe "Siri - I want to play Angry Birds."

And if there is a TV App Store, I'd expect it to be totally separate from the iPhone / iPad app store. It doesn't really make any sense to have 3-screen universality does it? Why would you need to have an iPhone / iPad / TV universal app? The control scheme for TV apps, especially games, could be totally different and incompatible with small touch-screen devices.

 

[ThisIsNotMe]

So when does the iPad become 16x9?
Looks like I wont be buying an iPad 3 any time soon.

 

[Rogifan]

Exactly. And then everyone is pissed off at Apple because they didn't live up to rumors propagated by others.

Even now I see news stories/blog postings saying Apple needs to put up or shut up. But it's not Apple driving the constant rumor mill.

 

[tdmac]

Here are my thoughts:

- News makes perfect sense. Apple has two options. One is open the ATV up and that is the ATV itself and not a TV.

- The second is that based on this info, is that Apple is making a display but not a TV. It would be a something like the Apple Thunderbolt display but in large screen versions with HDMI ports as well as thunderbolt port(s). Since most use some sort of cablebox or Sat box for TV anyway so a monitor is all that is needed. If the resolution is able to scale to 4K it would be pretty futureproof. Aside from HDMI updates (If they would be necessary for dub terminal purposes) or maybe these things could be handled via the thunderbolt port. Only other thing missing could be 3D but possible the display could be built with that in mind . This makes more sense and could be produced on a smaller scale for those wanting a very high quality monitor. Although there will probably be some advantage for those buying the Apple monitor over using the ATV with a normal set.

The ATV would update annually and of course would have features released that would push those to upgrading within a 1-2 year cycle. Much like the ipads and iphones.

On board storage is an issue as people have stated. However, this could also be mitigated by using a local computer as the storage device, which is the case if you have it hooked up now to a local machine, and that can serve apps down to the ATV. The 8GB serves as Cache. As other have pointed out, another possibility is running the apps from devices like an iPhone or iPad. cashing apps off an idevice to run on the ATV. There is a side benefit to this. Everyone's screen on the ATV could then be custom tailored to the user based on their iDevice or itunes library.

 

[ericvmazzone]

It would be cool if an iTV app could change the interface of the TV-remote app on my iPhone.

How would an app release by a cable channel in the UK allow you to change the Interface on your iPhone?

iTV is a cable network in the UK.

 

[tuxon86]

I would replace my PS3 in a heartbeat but there is one piece of the puzzle that AppleTV cannot fix. What about all those Blu-rays and DVDs I have. I would love if Apple sold an add on Blu-Ray/DVD unit (similar to the external DVD drive for the Macbook Air). Combine Apple TV apps with an iPhone 5 and AirPlay mirroring (especially game play) and we have a sweet solution and a sweet gaming console.

You can use any external dvd/bluray drive on the market with your mac. I have an external USB enclosure with a LG bluray burner hooked to my i3 iMac and I use it to rip my bluray disk with Handbrake. Works like a charm. I can also burn bluray disk with Roxio.

 

[Rogifan]

Uh, no . . .

Do I need to "work for Apple" to consider some of the possibilities, based on what they have *already* done to existing industries where the entrenched players appeared to be impossible to unseat?

People thought the very idea of an iPhone was crazy, never mind having it change literally everything in mobile. People thought the iPad was a crazy idea, and today the question of the PC's future is on the table. You can go all the way back to the iPod.

Current powers in an industry mean absolutely nothing when Apple jumps into the mix. We've already seen this more than once. You can even include iTunes vs. the music industry.

Comcast, DirectTV, all these providers, you name it . . . they're stuff we have to put up with to get what we want. What consumer actually wants to deal with them? Who actually wants them involved? Nobody.

I've had directv for years now and am very happy with their service. I think the number of people fed up with cable/satellite TV is greatly exaggerated.

 

[ThisIsNotMe]

I would replace my PS3 in a heartbeat but there is one piece of the puzzle that AppleTV cannot fix. What about all those Blu-rays and DVDs I have. I would love if Apple sold an add on Blu-Ray/DVD unit (similar to the external DVD drive for the Macbook Air). Combine Apple TV apps with an iPhone 5 and AirPlay mirroring (especially game play) and we have a sweet solution and a sweet gaming console.

The studios should have a "trade in" program for iTunes digital codes. The they could "refurbish" the disks and sell them again.

 

[d21mike]

And limited to those that are subscribers to the service via a cable company that allows them to use it.

Why would they bother with an app to see the same stuff your cable service gives you.

For this app to truly be useful you would need to be able to subscribe to the service without needing a cable plan. Which would be awesome but unlikely to happen anytime soon since such nets are in long term contracts with the cable companies.

I have to disagree or it would not be on pretty much every other box like Roku, XBOX etc. The reason for the HBO Go on the Apple TV (and every other box) is because you would not need a Cable STB to watch it. I.E. You would save the $6-$10 per month for the Cable STB (for EVERY TV that you do not need the Cable Box for).

 

[tuxon86]

I won't. Not until it supports mkv

Just remux them to m4v, which is quite quick, and that hurdle is gone.

 

[gmfeier]

They had better do it soon...

...and here's why:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-ne...computer/8110?tag=search-results-rivers;item0

 

[Peace]

They're going to need a bigger Apple TV.
Perhaps even with a coax connector.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Comcast, DirectTV, all these providers, you name it . . . they're stuff we have to put up with to get what we want. What consumer actually wants to deal with them? Who actually wants them involved? Nobody.

Who provides your broadband? Are they also sellers of cable TV subscriptions? It doesn't matter if you are right (that nobody wants their cable company involved). As long as the cable TV provider also own the broadband pipe, they'll get theirs. Even if an Apple replacement option could completely replace cable TV revenues, the cable company will just increase the cost for broadband to make up for those losses. Net cost to us? More (because it will still be the same cost for the broadband PLUS whatever Apple's replacement will cost).

I love the dream (too). But the practical reality is that until there is a realistic rumor that would allow those broadband gatekeepers to be cut out of the relationship (meaning direct link from iCloud to us), there is no version of the dream that will allow the cable companies to be jettisoned from the relationship. It's not a factor of just greed either. As public companies, the cable companies are obligated to maximize profits. They don't do that by just handing over the cash cow that is cable TV subscriptions to the likes of Apple or similar... especially when Apple's replacement must depend on cable's broadband pipes.

 

[the8thark]

I believe this is the TV thing Jobs mentioned in his biography. Not a physical TV set. But an update to the TV. So the developers can take it into the future.

Apple making a physical television? Not gonna happen in the foreseeable future in my opinion. All the rumours? Just from people who can't see the glasses on the end of their noses. The believe what they want to believe.

 

[charlituna]

the content owners drive for sales will motivate them to add more and more content to iTunes.

If they were smart they would add more and enhance the quality, timing and pricing already. Forget waiting for Apple to do anything. Especially release a full tv set.

And do one other thing. Publicly announce that they are adding all iTunes etc sales to the budget make good on all tv shows.

The top three reasons folks give for 'justifying' torrents especially for tv shows is timing, price and quality. Then they tag on "I'm not a ratings viewer so it doesn't matter what I do."

Make it so that everyone counts no matter how they view something. A lot of those 'what does it matter' folks will go legit if they feel that they get a vote and all those Firefly, Fringe, Eureka, Terra Nova, Jericho etc cult campaigns will die out because they can have a say in keeping the show on the air from day one by literally putting their money where their mouths are. If a show really sucks so much that Ratings, downloads, streaming etc can't raise enough money to at least cover the budget well you can't blame the networks they gave it more than enough chances.

And fix the other three, especially timing and quality. Those 4 things could do more to cut back piracy than all the lawsuits in the world.

----------

I find it more likely that Apple will update the iOS API to allow developers to program a second screen for their apps.

They already can.

 

[tuxon86]

The problem is, MKV is a container format.

So supporting MVK, in a general sense, means implementing many, many codecs or at least allowing 3rd parties to implement these codecs.

It ALSO means providing the hardware to run these codecs effectively for common video sources.

That's where this idea breaks down. ATV is probably going to need to be expensive (not to mention bigger) to contain the hardware to run the codecs people might want to use with their mkvs and will either have to write (or port) and support a lot of codecs or open the system to let 3rd parties supply those codecs. I can't see Apple doing either of these.

Edit: more likely, is that various 3rd-party apps will provide partial mkv support, based on codecs already included with ATV.

The vast majority of MKV available are just containing h264 avc video which is compatible with the ATV and can be easilly remux in an M4V container. The audio may needs to be processed if it is something other than AC3 or AAC, but that isn't really something that is difficult or time consuming. There is also the question of subtitles which have to be "burned" in for the ATV, but even that is easy with Handbrake.

 

[darkslide29]

So when does the iPad become 16x9?
Looks like I wont be buying an iPad 3 any time soon.

16:9 may be OK for a phone, but it makes for a really awkward experience for a tablet in portrait mode, in my opinion.

However, I see your point. If you do one, why not both..