Since Apple TV is reported as subscription revenue, I'm sure the 3.0 update will be made available to current Apple TV owners.
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40 GB Apple TV Shipping Date Slips, Leads to Speculation of Updates Next Week
- Thread starter VirtualRain
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Since Apple TV is reported as subscription revenue, I'm sure the 3.0 update will be made available to current Apple TV owners.
adbe-
why would apple "be afraid" of the cable industry? They are too unorganized, FCC watches them like a hawk for collusion, and if appleTV is an utter failure, they can just go back to the massively profitable product lines we're both using right now.
TiVo: now THEY'RE afraid of the cable industry. and apple. and cats.
Apple can play this game 5 different ways, possibly burn through a little cash, but if they hit the pipeline (line the product I'm descriibing) BLAM. big money.
Consider why I don't have Cable: I just want to watch like 4 shows. All 4 shows are available on iTMS - daily show, venture brothers, mad men, and, something different that i've never seen before now and then, so we'll call it wild card. I don't need (or want) CNN & Fox news, Disney channel, QVC, etc. if I could pay 20-30 bucks a month to apple to watch the shows I want to see (they already distribute the others) I get my news from the local stations, Children's programming on PBS, all over the air in HDTV - something that costs over $100 to get from the cable company.
I can watch the evening news, Nova or American Idol, or I can flip on my AppleTV v3 and watch Daily show, or other such delights (now I visit individual websites or Hulu for casual TV)
Am I everyone? no. But I am a male with a decent enough disposable income and I'm aged 25-40. So, I'm just representing the most desirable segment of the market.
Oh, and I have hundreds of DVDs. that I never watch. I regret owning about 50% of them. why would I need them on a hard disk for the once in 5 years that I view them?
I know - lots of people here will disagree, but who represents the market better?
why would apple "be afraid" of the cable industry? They are too unorganized, FCC watches them like a hawk for collusion, and if appleTV is an utter failure, they can just go back to the massively profitable product lines we're both using right now.
TiVo: now THEY'RE afraid of the cable industry. and apple. and cats.
Apple can play this game 5 different ways, possibly burn through a little cash, but if they hit the pipeline (line the product I'm descriibing) BLAM. big money.
Consider why I don't have Cable: I just want to watch like 4 shows. All 4 shows are available on iTMS - daily show, venture brothers, mad men, and, something different that i've never seen before now and then, so we'll call it wild card. I don't need (or want) CNN & Fox news, Disney channel, QVC, etc. if I could pay 20-30 bucks a month to apple to watch the shows I want to see (they already distribute the others) I get my news from the local stations, Children's programming on PBS, all over the air in HDTV - something that costs over $100 to get from the cable company.
I can watch the evening news, Nova or American Idol, or I can flip on my AppleTV v3 and watch Daily show, or other such delights (now I visit individual websites or Hulu for casual TV)
Am I everyone? no. But I am a male with a decent enough disposable income and I'm aged 25-40. So, I'm just representing the most desirable segment of the market.
Oh, and I have hundreds of DVDs. that I never watch. I regret owning about 50% of them. why would I need them on a hard disk for the once in 5 years that I view them?
I know - lots of people here will disagree, but who represents the market better?
So....you want an ATV that you will unplug physically when not in the room? I just don't get this point about the electric. How many of your average consumers give a rat's ass about what the machine is doing with electricity? Sales of the Kill-a-watt aren't that high. Although I did see it in Costco yesterday, maybe they'll go up.
Really all I'd ask for to get me to buy an AppleTV is the following:
-1080p support
-Ability to play other file formats
-Bigger hard drive
And honestly, I don't think any of those would be hard to implement. I don't need a DVR or a BluRay player because I already have both of those.
-1080p support
-Ability to play other file formats
-Bigger hard drive
And honestly, I don't think any of those would be hard to implement. I don't need a DVR or a BluRay player because I already have both of those.
I honestly can't believe that the OS is still based off of Tiger. Now would be a perfect time to update it to SL!!
There seems to be this very wierd 'anger' thread running through all of this in a lot of posts.
The 40G was the initial offering, clearly designed to hold some content locally but mainly intended for connection back to the mother ship for streaming.
Apple almost immediately introduced the 160G to accommodate more local storage, have admittedly let the product languish while they develop their strategy, and will no doubt be release new versions with enormous storage.
I've had the 40G since inception, and, other than the stupid white screening, I think its a great box. Visitors to our home are blown away by our ability to access photos, music, movies, etc with a simple system.
Welcome to the real world of product cycle development.
Sheesh.
1. Blu-ray is in no way dying. It is just starting to catch on, with Blu-ray disc prices finally falling to reasonable levels and players finally dropping below the magical $99 barrier.
DVDs are dying, however, with many companies now liquidating inventories, which is why you are seeing prices of $5 or less on many old movies that companies now know have almost no chance of selling. Even some older yet still popular movies are going for less than $10.
It will be a while before it disappears as a format as the large collections people amass will not be thrown out over night, but as far as new releases being available on DVD, it is just a matter of time (one or two years) when the hottest movies become "Bluray exclusives" and DVDs start disappearing in store shelves.
This will probably happen when a Blu-ray player costs as little as today's DVD players (I would say the $49-range).
2. Physical media is still the best way to transfer large files. No downloaded file will match the quality of Blu-ray until you get to the 15 to 20GB/movie size.
While there is a small % of people who can't tell the difference between full HD and regular DVD (and certainly between 720 and 1080 and different bitrates), a large number of people will clearly be able to tell the difference, enough to make sure that blu-ray survives as a medium for HD movies for HD aficionados and even regular people who just enjoy getting the most out of their expensive HDTVs.
3. A PVR is still useful even if it is only capable of over the air HD. This in a way promotes Apple's goals of competing with cable and satellite providers. They can just say "With us, you can watch, pause, and record live public TV you get for free, and then use the built in iTunes capability to download the shows you want to watch on cable."
This works because if you skip the $60+ cable bill, you can download 30 episodes of shows you do actually watch, commercial free and in great quality. And if you opt for HD, you can get 20 shows per month. All for the same price as cable -- or less (and you get to KEEP the shows afterwards). And if you go on vacation or don't have time to watch TV for a while, you aren't paying a bill for something you are not using.
As for movies, you can rent them for the same price as the local video store, get them in HD, and you don't even have to leave the house or worry about movies being out of stock.
DVDs are dying, however, with many companies now liquidating inventories, which is why you are seeing prices of $5 or less on many old movies that companies now know have almost no chance of selling. Even some older yet still popular movies are going for less than $10.
It will be a while before it disappears as a format as the large collections people amass will not be thrown out over night, but as far as new releases being available on DVD, it is just a matter of time (one or two years) when the hottest movies become "Bluray exclusives" and DVDs start disappearing in store shelves.
This will probably happen when a Blu-ray player costs as little as today's DVD players (I would say the $49-range).
2. Physical media is still the best way to transfer large files. No downloaded file will match the quality of Blu-ray until you get to the 15 to 20GB/movie size.
While there is a small % of people who can't tell the difference between full HD and regular DVD (and certainly between 720 and 1080 and different bitrates), a large number of people will clearly be able to tell the difference, enough to make sure that blu-ray survives as a medium for HD movies for HD aficionados and even regular people who just enjoy getting the most out of their expensive HDTVs.
3. A PVR is still useful even if it is only capable of over the air HD. This in a way promotes Apple's goals of competing with cable and satellite providers. They can just say "With us, you can watch, pause, and record live public TV you get for free, and then use the built in iTunes capability to download the shows you want to watch on cable."
This works because if you skip the $60+ cable bill, you can download 30 episodes of shows you do actually watch, commercial free and in great quality. And if you opt for HD, you can get 20 shows per month. All for the same price as cable -- or less (and you get to KEEP the shows afterwards). And if you go on vacation or don't have time to watch TV for a while, you aren't paying a bill for something you are not using.
As for movies, you can rent them for the same price as the local video store, get them in HD, and you don't even have to leave the house or worry about movies being out of stock.
So you don't have to pay for your cable/satellite in addition to your DVR rental. It can cost me $70-80/mo...
Huh? With the exception of internet over powerline, all of the delivery models you list are provided near exclusively in the US by the very companies you think Apple is going to beat.
Comcast and ATT have *zero* interest in becoming pipes only providers. Value added services are how they make the meat of their income. Just shuffling bits around would be commercial suicide, and they'll fight that prospect *very* hard.
Ignoring the fact that I already addressed this, and you chose to ignore that, there is no guarantee that network neutrality will a) pass, or b) do what you think its going to do.
Indie record labels were well represented on iTunes. What of it? Call me when HBO side-step the wishes of their parent Time Warner, and put content exclusively on iTunes.
Everybody? I wasn't talking about TV shows. I was talking about movies. I was off work yesterday sick, and I went hunting for a film to watch. Nothing that I wanted was available as rental, and a huge chunk of films I checked out weren't even on iTunes.
EyeTV is working fine with SL - the latest release, anyway.
A few more words: news (CNN/MSNBC) and live "entertainment" programs (American Idle[
], etc.)No, I want an ATV that doesn't need a dedicated Mac or PC running iTunes. A stupidly low power device such as the AEBS can run iTunes, and can power any number of ATVs or AirportExpresses around my house.
Since you mention it though, would an easy to access standby option be that much to ask for the ATV?
I don't know where you are... but in most places, Apple has a 14-day return policy. Check your receipt.
I think you misread my post. The media companies are afraid of Apple. They learnt that lesson from the music part of the iTunes store.
Allowing Apple to gain the level of supremacy in video content sales and streaming that they currently hold in the music market is probably not a a prospect that warms the heart of many industry players outside of Cupertino.
.11g streams DVD quality media (with un-re-compressed 5.1 audio) with no problems, I have a few decent HD quality movies that stream fine as well. Plus, the way the system is setup now you prety much have to keep a copy of the file on your computer, too. There's no need for internal storage beyond the 40gb in my opinion... unless they add support for hanging some USB drives of the back. Your digital media library is going to grow over time, so no matter what you buy you will eventually fill it. Without easy, cheap expandability it's pointless. My predictions:
- updated internals - atom CPU, separate hardware based h264/MPEG4 video decoder, more RAM (faster menus!), COOLER running.
- 1080p support (just to appease people with 1080p TVs - I suspect that they won't offer much 1080p content through iTunes for awhile, now will the quality be any better than the 720p at the same, supported bitrates side by side)
- more surround sound format support
- USB drive support
- USB drives available for time machine
- Some sort of method in iTunes 9 to manage the ATC media library directly/separately rather than as a sync'd device
- an advanced remote - something that is between the iPod touch and the little white remote in price and features. Give people without the touch/iPhone 10 second jump back, and some more "advanced" features, plus programmable for volume and TV power, input change, etc.
- iTunes 9 also to start offering better subscription options - get access to X number of TV series and Y movies per month or something like that.
I hope that whatever they do, it either drops the price drops, or it's a mild enough update that the older models are still worth whatever they sell them for in the refurb store.
- updated internals - atom CPU, separate hardware based h264/MPEG4 video decoder, more RAM (faster menus!), COOLER running.
- 1080p support (just to appease people with 1080p TVs - I suspect that they won't offer much 1080p content through iTunes for awhile, now will the quality be any better than the 720p at the same, supported bitrates side by side)
- more surround sound format support
- USB drive support
- USB drives available for time machine
- Some sort of method in iTunes 9 to manage the ATC media library directly/separately rather than as a sync'd device
- an advanced remote - something that is between the iPod touch and the little white remote in price and features. Give people without the touch/iPhone 10 second jump back, and some more "advanced" features, plus programmable for volume and TV power, input change, etc.
- iTunes 9 also to start offering better subscription options - get access to X number of TV series and Y movies per month or something like that.
I hope that whatever they do, it either drops the price drops, or it's a mild enough update that the older models are still worth whatever they sell them for in the refurb store.
Blu-Ray: As much as I would like one, it won't be economically feasible. Adding one would jack up Apple TV's price toward PS3's territory ($300). Apple TV needs to go down in price ($200 or less), not up.
1080p: Many people say 1080p isn't necessary or realistic (aside from trailers and home movies, not much contents available legally), but back when Apple TV first came out, there wasn't much 720p contents either. Slight refresh in CPU and/or GPU should allow 1080p at no cost.
Subscription: Netflix-style subscription is a must, either by striking agreements with content publishers or partnering with Netflix and the likes.
App Store: App Store would be fantastic, for anything from games, social networking, to additional codecs.
Safari: Particularly if it adds Flash for Vimeo, Hulu, etc.
AppleTV as a TV: Although I would jump at the chance of such product, TV is highly saturated market. It is said that Apple does have prototypes, so it is not entirely outside the realm of possibility, but I don't see it happening yet. It would be fantastic if Apple TV gets passthrough audio/video input, however. That would allow Apple TV contents (App Store apps, video, audio) to appear regardless of active video contents (simply connect it between receiver/switcher and TV).
Larger hard disk: Some users stream from another PC or Mac, which is fine. But Apple TV should get larger SATA hard disk for those that prefer faster and dedicated local access. Also, enable external hard disk via USB already (bonus point for DLNA).
Better remote: Although some like simplity of Apple Remote, I would like something that can minimally control the TV (input, power) and audio volume (TV, receiver) as well.
1080p: Many people say 1080p isn't necessary or realistic (aside from trailers and home movies, not much contents available legally), but back when Apple TV first came out, there wasn't much 720p contents either. Slight refresh in CPU and/or GPU should allow 1080p at no cost.
Subscription: Netflix-style subscription is a must, either by striking agreements with content publishers or partnering with Netflix and the likes.
App Store: App Store would be fantastic, for anything from games, social networking, to additional codecs.
Safari: Particularly if it adds Flash for Vimeo, Hulu, etc.
AppleTV as a TV: Although I would jump at the chance of such product, TV is highly saturated market. It is said that Apple does have prototypes, so it is not entirely outside the realm of possibility, but I don't see it happening yet. It would be fantastic if Apple TV gets passthrough audio/video input, however. That would allow Apple TV contents (App Store apps, video, audio) to appear regardless of active video contents (simply connect it between receiver/switcher and TV).
Larger hard disk: Some users stream from another PC or Mac, which is fine. But Apple TV should get larger SATA hard disk for those that prefer faster and dedicated local access. Also, enable external hard disk via USB already (bonus point for DLNA).
Better remote: Although some like simplity of Apple Remote, I would like something that can minimally control the TV (input, power) and audio volume (TV, receiver) as well.
I assumed most people just programmed the ATV to use their normal all-in-one remote.
I actually like the Apple remote. It's remarkably fuss free. However, I dislike having five different remotes on my coffee table, so I use my primary remote with the ATV, or occasionally I'll use an iPod Touch, which is a much nicer experience all round.
+1 to having waited for an update to this device for what seems like forever. 40GB is now laughable, even if they don't encourage all the data be stored on it. Seriously, can you even get a 40GB drive anymore?
I'm very hesitant about an Apple branded TV. I can't really see that happening. In my opinion, leave the big screens to the big boys and just control the content.
I'm very hesitant about an Apple branded TV. I can't really see that happening. In my opinion, leave the big screens to the big boys and just control the content.
Needs web access
I've wanted to buy an AppleTV for a long time, but I won't do it until it has web access for hulu and other free content. This would also allow it to be a Netflix server. I know that this runs into Apple's content domination schemes, but their model in other venues is to have the content (including the OS) drive hardware sales. If they just build the right machine that does not compromise so heavily, then that model can work here as well.
They need to have web access to be a true cable replacement so that people can access web-based sports content (for instance). If they can build a store that has a subscription model that includes sports, then they can really kill cable for people who aren't glued to their TVs.
If they continue to use AppleTV to only serve iTunes store content *and* not put HDMI into the Mac mini, then I won't be buying anything extra from them. Right now I use my MacBook Pro to hook to my TV via a DVI to HDMI cable when I need to stream content to the TV (including Netflix), but it is not a dedicated solution (although it works fine for what it is).
I've wanted to buy an AppleTV for a long time, but I won't do it until it has web access for hulu and other free content. This would also allow it to be a Netflix server. I know that this runs into Apple's content domination schemes, but their model in other venues is to have the content (including the OS) drive hardware sales. If they just build the right machine that does not compromise so heavily, then that model can work here as well.
They need to have web access to be a true cable replacement so that people can access web-based sports content (for instance). If they can build a store that has a subscription model that includes sports, then they can really kill cable for people who aren't glued to their TVs.
If they continue to use AppleTV to only serve iTunes store content *and* not put HDMI into the Mac mini, then I won't be buying anything extra from them. Right now I use my MacBook Pro to hook to my TV via a DVI to HDMI cable when I need to stream content to the TV (including Netflix), but it is not a dedicated solution (although it works fine for what it is).
A few more words: news (CNN/MSNBC) and live "entertainment" programs (American Idle[
HDTV. I have all those things for free. local sports and news. AND! I get the benefit of knowing I do not, in any way shape or form, funnel ANY millionths of a cent of my money to people like Glen Beck and other TV blowhards. I love it! I've never been happier since I turned off my cable.