Sure, but I want all of this in one place. When I go to "movies", all the movies on the machines in my house should just be there. I shouldn't have to go to "computers", let alone some other program entirely. Apple's all about "just work", and it doesn't.
Ive is refining the design. The next gentv will be an alyouminium sphere with a diameter of precisely 100 mm. There will be no connector ports or indicators of any kind and it will sit in a alyouminium charging bowl. Accessory wax fruit apples, bananas and grapes will be available to complete the set. It still won't support 4K, but Tim Cook says stay tuned...
Oh good lord.... It's 2017, not 2013. People are buying 4K TVs in droves, and considering that is about all that will be available soon it will soon dominate all TV purchases--if it has not already. That ".001%" comment was just plain absurd and smacks of blind justification.
More than .001% of people have 4K HDR sets. You're not worth the time of the day considering you pull stats out your rear.
Uh... "content is the major issue right now not resolution or High Dynamic Range." Learn how logic works, maybe?
What does Echo have to do with Instant Video?
"If Amazon only wanted to promote their own Fire TV, then why is Prime Instant Video on other boxes like Roku?"
Bingo! By asking that question, you are starting to get it. Amazon has stopped Apple and Google from selling on Amazon because they need to slow both of them as much as possible to try and grab mindshare. Keep going down the path of analysis that focuses on ecosystems and you'll understand it is not about any of them being greedy, it's about them realizing the home is the next battleground for mindshare, hence anything that encourages people to use a customer's device is seen as a negative. Roku, LOL, they are a bit hardware company, they are no threat to Amazon or the others as they have no ecosystem like Apple and Google and Amazon.
"Now you get it. Apple TV does not have a web browser, so there's no way on that device to jump out and purchase videos directly (i.e. by not having to pay Apple for in-app purchases).
Instead, the user has to go find a real computer or tablet, sign into Amazon, and purchase the media there... then come back to their ATV. Amazon does not want that."
I am sorry KD, you don't understand how this works. In fact, if you used ATV you'd realize you have it backwards. You say "Amazon doesn't want that, " but that's exactly what they want as you evidently forgot that they wrote Apps for Amazon Prime for the iPad and iPhone! And for Kindle, etc. It was Amazon who disabled the ability to purchase from their Apps because they wanted their customers to sign in to Amazon directly to avoid paying Apple a percentage of the sales! Amazon is fine with this and continues to update and enhance their Prime Apps for the iPhone and iPad, but when they decided to make a big play for the in home experience, e.g., Echo, they could have done the exact same thing they did with the iPhone and iPad apps, everyone was happy with it, but they knew that if they built an app for Apple TV, then there would be less incentive to buy an Echo. Starting to make sense, isn't it? Going back to your original question "What does Echo have to do with Prime Instant Video?" this really answers it doesn't it.
"As for your misguided eBay analogy, eBay provides listing and auction services which require servers. Using the Amazon app does not involve Apple servers in any way shape or form. It's just like with Apple Pay: Apple wants a percentage for doing nothing."
Whoa! Slow down. I get it that to a lay person, it may seem like Apple is "doing nothing," and without going into a lot of tech discussion, I think it's safe to say that even though you and just click and slide around an app and think that's all there is to it, I can assure you that there are literally billions of dollars worth of software and hardware, yes servers, that are necessary to make that happen. There's also a whole business structure that most people don't think of, financial services, card services, personnel, overhead, daily operations, etc., that again cost billions of dollars in overhead. So, yes KD, there is a huge cost in running a platform for Apps. That's why only the very largest tech companies in the world, e.g., Apple, Google, etc., can possibly put them together.
"Apple is only hurting themselves by this (yes) greedy policy. Apple Pay has fewer banks, and ATV is bypassed by many buyers for boxes like Roku"
Hopefully the above cleared up why Roku isn't seen as a threat like Apple is. As far as "fewer banks," you need to read up on what is happening. Banks are jumping on board right and left to be part of Apple Pay. There are thousands of them and more sign up everyday, because they get to offer their customers a great benefit and be on a multi-billion dollar platform that none of them could ever dream of building for a tiny amount (15 cents per $100 sale !). Read what they say, Apple Pay has eliminated most fraud when its used, which more than makes up the tiny amount. They also say that the customer benefit is more than worth it. Apple Pay is about to launch in Taiwan, and already most of the major card issuers have eagerly signed up.
Again KD, I am not sure where your antipathy for Apple comes from, but it is blinding your objectivity. Apple is far from perfect, but I'd encourage you to let go of whatever is causing you to have so much bitterness to a corporation, especially as there is so much to celebrate such as the success of Apple Pay which is free to consumers and merchants and makes a big difference in protecting against fraud and loss of privacy; it's why a million people around the world are happily signing up, not to mention the work they are doing for handicapped accessibility, the environment, etc.
This nonsense of justifying lack of even 4K on the ATV4 due to limited (but growing) HDR content/sales is ridiculous. While HDR may or may not take off 4K is not going anywhere. The current Amazon Fire TV came out at nearly the same time as the Apple TV 4 and it supports 4K, and would have been laughed at if it didn't. The Fire TV doesn't support HDR and it did get some criticism for that. Somehow Apple gets a pass for not even having 4K... okay.
Now before you start in about the comment asking for Apple to update the ATV now with 4K and HDR, of course that would be expected today. But in late 2015 it should have had at least 4K.
Mike
