New AppleTV's coming? more storage & DVD drive...maybe

[Roy Hobbs]

e next tv is gonna have are the following:
(if it discontinues is another matter)

-More storage
-iTunes Wi-Fi Music store
-Lower pricing
-iPhone support over Wi-Fi or USB
-iPod Support
-5.1 Surround sound
-New design.

just curious why would the TV need iPod and iPhone support??
All of your other points I get, but this makes no sense. Please elaborate

 

[balamw]

DVD's, CD's, Picture CD's and a USB card reader; you don't even need a computer to enjoy the TV.

IMHO what you are describing makes more sense as the missing home server. This would then be an iTunes library server that you could use to stream content to other TV units, Macs/PCs, iPods/iPhones, etc....

I could see the mini turning into something like this...

B

 

[grovertdog]

...Just curious

Other than one earlier post noting the lack of sources (which of course is typical with rumours) I have no idea how to gauge the OP's link. I am currently leaning towards a 160gb refurb, but don't want to make the jump if another TV revision is just around the corner. Particularly, if a revised model passes through DD5.1 audio.

 

[Wanderer]

No Surround and No HD

All I want is DOLBY freakin DIGITAL from my ATV
<SNIP>
Please...DD 5.1 support...pretty please...

That is the reason I don't own one yet. I want HD and real suround sound. Until then, I will live with what I have.

 

[jdechko]

and will certainly will not have a Card reader. Apple NEVER will do a card reader, unless it makes up a new Media card of its own, that I doubt.

I never meant to imply that it would have one. I specifically said "USB" to imply that you'd supply your own card reader. But an Apple-branded, white USB media card reader for $30 would be fair, wouldn't you say.

balamw, that was sort of the point. Apple is well in the fray of the personal media devices. I'd be willing to bet that they've been keeping up with the happenings and the likes of the MS WinHomeServers from HP et. al. The TV, I think, is Apple's starting point as an end-all, be-all media hub. Add in mesh networking via bonjour and it'd be a nice setup. TV talks to other TV's, Airport Expresses and Computers. I'm not sure the Mini and the TV would ever converge into a single device. A home server, specifically the TV, doesn't need the computing power of a C2D, nor all the RAM for multitasking. A simple GPU, H.264 chip and a 1GHz LV chip (isn't that what's in the TV now?) would be plenty provided the HD was large enough.

 

[anti-microsoft]

just curious why would the TV need iPod and iPhone support??
All of your other points I get, but this makes no sense. Please elaborate

It means that if you plug your iPod/iPhone i to the tvs USB port it will hav your iPod/iPhone as a source of podcasts, music, movies, etc... Just like you would do with the computer.

 

[pilotError]

I'm wondering if Apple is just going to exit the market.

There's been a bunch of announcements and shipments from all the Major and Minor DVD vendors where the DVD player has wireless access and supports streaming. In some cases they support Windows Media Center and in others they support iTunes streaming. The big plus here is that they are already a DVD player and support pretty much all the codecs that Apple refuses to open up. Even Microsoft now supports Divx and a few others. They also support 5.1 and in some cases 7.1 sound.

All the new gaming platforms support this now, I wouldn't be surprised to see iTunes being licensed out to these vendors since they could easily outship the Apple TV.

I personally think Apple has too much going on at once and really lost any time to market advantage they had. I really don't see a future here for them unless they jump into the Media Center market with a mini-like product. Their refusal to support all the codecs out there leads me to believe they aren't willing to compromise their eco-system at all. Not a very good thing to do if your a consumer oriented company.

 

[Superman07]

There's been a bunch of announcements and shipments from all the Major and Minor DVD vendors where the DVD player has wireless access and supports streaming. In some cases they support Windows Media Center and in others they support iTunes streaming. The big plus here is that they are already a DVD player and support pretty much all the codecs that Apple refuses to open up. Even Microsoft now supports Divx and a few others. They also support 5.1 and in some cases 7.1 sound.

Such as? Perhaps I've missed something, but I haven't seen any dvd players that support these functions. Especially in the major chain stores that Joe 6-Pack would pick up.

 

[pilotError]

Do a search on engadget for media player and you'll see a handful of them pop up.

There's also the Wii, PS3 and XBox media extenders.

 

[Superman07]

Do a search on engadget for media player and you'll see a handful of them pop up.

There's also the Wii, PS3 and XBox media extenders.

Okay, but how many of those are mainstream? You've limited yourself to a much younger demographic that a) is aware of the various different solutions available and/or b) those thare are focused on the capabilities of the current generation of gaming machines beyond the gaming function!

If it doesn't say Sony, Samsung, Pioneer, LG, etc. most consumers won't know what it is and would pass on it. Furthermore, the chances of finding any of those units in a regular store is very slim. However, the possibility of somebody walking into an Apple store and buying an ATV, I would argue, is much more likely!

 

[pilotError]

D-Link has the DSM-320R
Actiontec (don't know if it has a model number)
Momitsu DVD-V880N

I'm also under the impression that LG is coming out with a version as well. I couldn't find the link/model number, so I'll leave it at that.

Samsung, Pioneer and Sony have been slowly ramping down the DVD market and are starting to push Blu Ray (at least within that circle of companies). Usually the Swiss Knife DVD players are pushed by the smaller players. This is usually what you see in Costco, Target and Walmart.

The general direction of that entire industry is connected hardware. My Onkyo receiver has ethernet and can stream media from Windows media center. Denon can do iTunes. I believe both can do photos and movies as well, since they are AVR's with HDMI outputs. My PS3 and Wii (for my kids mainly) have these capabilities as well. I'm sure each has its limitations at this point.

AppleTV was OK, but I'm sure most consumers at this point in time don't understand what it does.

Put those capabilities in an upscaling DVD player and you have something the mainstream consumer understands.

 

[powerbook911]

I'm confident the Apple TV will not go away. I think we'll see it changes constantly too just as Macs, in their early days.