Apple Introduces Updated Apple TV with Netflix Integration, TV Show Rentals

[Bizmax]

Apple...if you want to really dominate gaming do the following: Have ATV play game apps. Push the game to your tv from your iphone, itouch, or ipad and use the device as your keyboard/joystick.

Can you say family fun with multiple devices for say a family fued type game or scene it....that woud also drive multiple devices per home....Steve you can thank me later or let me be apart of the roll out?

 

[JAT]

How do you measure success? I am not aware of any published sales numbers on the Apple TV and I still don't know a single person that owns one. But again, I don't know what Apple or you consider to be the "it's successful" metric.

He was being sarcastic. Hence the CAPS and smiley.

 

[Appleoholic]

...

 

[Bizmax]

You can save to your content on your computer and use wi fi to stream to your TV. What is the big deal that you can't save content on your ATV?

 

[utazdevl]

I think the big thing that is being missed here is that you will be able to stream content direct from an iOS device to the AppleTV. That's huge.

Not so huge, just sounds like it.

Think about it, how did you get that content onto the iOS device. You either bought it via iTunes store (which automatically puts it on your computer at next sync), or you took it from your computer and synced it to your iOS device.

Either way, sync AppleTV to your computer and you have the exact same thing!!! Your computer and AppleTV even pick up where you left off watching!

This demo was all flash, made to make people say "Oooooh, coooool!" without their realizing they already had this.

 

[Gaijin de Moscu]

that's because you probably don't have kids

Yep. Some movies in my collection have been watched close to 100 times over the last 10 years. 3 kids of different ages...

The old ATV was IDEAL for this - even the 3 year-old was able to find her favourite flicks and watch them... without having to go to my study to wake up my iMac every time she wanted to watch Dora the Explorer.

 

[Žalgiris]

I'm throwing away my WD TV HD Live. At last something that works for a good price.

 

[farmboy]

Apple FYI

$99 does NOT equal £99.

So why is Apple TV £99 over in the UK where the current exchange rate makes that $152.

I WILL NOT BE RIPPED OFF. I WILL NOT BE BUYING AN APPLE TV.

Do we have to do this every time? It's the added cost of exporting and your VAT, which is included in your cost. The prices in the US are without state and local taxes. Can we please never have to go through this again?

 

[Crashing Bore]

Waited all that time for this? For $30 more I can buy an LG blu-ray player on Amazon that streams Netflix and a Ethernet cable to hardwire it. Through Apple I can "rent" HD network shows that I can watch for free. fail.

 

[Appleoholic]

Do we have to do this every time? It's the added cost of exporting and your VAT, which is included in your cost. The prices in the US are without state and local taxes. Can we please never have to go through this again?

This.

 

[PhoneI]

Please tell me again how this is better than my Mac Mini Media Center which is also small, cool and quiet,

Can play any media I want and is not limited to Apple centric codecs through software like Movist,

Has a better GUI through software like Plex,

Gives me full the full web experience,

and though I can connect a wireless keyboard, there is nothing like controlling it using my iPad or iPhone as a remote with TouchPad.

Not to mention, I can buy and own all of my content. Yes storage may present some challenges but I'm happy to own my content forever and watch it as many times as I want.

Is this setup more than $99?

 

[Bizmax]

Yep. Some movies in my collection have been watched close to 100 times over the last 10 years. 3 kids of different ages...

The old ATV was IDEAL for this - even the 3 year-old was able to find her favourite flicks and watch them... without having to go to my study to wake up my iMac every time she wanted to watch Dora the Explorer.

Can't you just buy it through your device (say an ipad) have it forever and simply push it to your TV? Cause if you have kids like me you need the Princess and the Frog on the ipad, especially on Monday Nights (Football)

 

[JediZenMaster]

This new ATV works for me! I rarely watch most newer movies more than once. And i'm impressed with the 99 dollar price point! I bet this will move ATV's like crack on a corner

 

[dmm219]

1. Google stock goes through the roof...

2. Kevin Rose is having a terrible week...his digg update has been a disaster...and he's been quoted everywhere that the new ATV will "change everything". If it can't get an ATV owner to upgrade...it ain't gonna change anything...

 

[Žalgiris]

This new ATV works for me! I rarely watch most newer movies more than once. And i'm impressed with the 99 dollar price point! I bet this will move ATV's like crack on a corner

Yep and movies or tv shows you like you can always buy on DVD or Bluray or even iTunes.

 

[NT1440]

1. Google stock goes through the roof...

2. Kevin Rose is having a terrible week...his digg update has been a disaster...and he's been quoted everywhere that the new ATV will "change everything". If it can't get an ATV owner to upgrade...it ain't gonna change anything...

I guess we'll wait and see the sales numbers.

 

[err404]

Disappointed that the new rental functionality, not to mention Netflix won't be coming to those of us who spent the money on the original one. Hopefully at least we get the more permissive rental windows for movies....

From what I can tell, you will still get the new pricing for TV shows with the original Apple TV. The $.99 TV Show rentals can happen via iTunes and sync to any iDevice. What you wont get is the on-demand streaming, so you will need to wait longer for the show to download/buffer, just like it always has.
see the official Apple iTunes page for the new pricing.

 

[notabadname]

Before a product like this is released lots and lots of market research is done to determine if it is something that people are going to purchase or not.

That is why the 1st Gen AppleTV has done so well?

I love Apple products (and have many of them), but Job's motivation on the AppleTV is not to have the best product, as much as (IMO) it is to capture a revenue stream. Apple gets zilch from my blu-ray purchase. He wants Macs to only be able to provide an HD experience that provides Apple a revenue stream. Dell is not in the media distribution market, therefore they include blu-ray options on their systems and HDMI connections on many of their computer monitors so they can multi-task with PS3s/XBoxs and blu-ray players. They are making the most versatile hardware for the consumer, without interest in protecting a separate revenue stream. Apple, with some of the most expensive computers on the market (and arguably best) clearly are cutting out an obvious capability that encroaches on their fountain of wealth - iTunes and being a media "middle man" or distribution node.

The use of my blu-rays is unrestricted. I can loan it to my friends, take it to their home for dinner, trade it for another title, sell it on eBay. An iTunes download (and the other streaming services) are very limited. If you buy, you are limited on the computers you can use it, and it can not practically leave your home, other than on a laptop or iPad - any your your friends will not be impressed if that is how you take the movie over for viewing. Try watching it in your car. Hard drive crash? Have fun backing up your library. My 200 blu-rays probably comprise 5TB of data. I am confident they would be around 25 years from now, just like my DVD's are after 15 years. Sales of blu-rays continue to increase, as do sales of players. A majority of America is still not savvy on steaming and setting up networks. But any american can easily see and buy an affordable 50 inch HD screen at Wal-mart, as well as a blu-ray player for as little as $99. And movies now can easily be found for as little as $9.99 on blu-ray.

Apple makes a lot of truly great products. This is not one of them.

 

[penx]

Price comparison - 24 Season 8


Buy on Amazon.com = $38.99
Buy RRP = $49.99

Rent once on iTunes = $23.76 (61% of Amazon purchase price)
Rent twice on iTunes = $47.52 (almost as much as DVD RRP!)


$0.99 is a complete rip off for a rental. I think they should be aiming for around 10% of DVD retail price, 20-30% maximum.

 

[ttate90303]

Was really hoping for iOS and Apps - would have been much more useful. Still a hobby for Apple I guess. Also seems that those of us with older 1080i TV's will miss out on this due to no component video connections. Still getting great use out of a nice 65" HDTV with gorgeous image but it only handles component video.

 

[gotchan]

No, I'm skeptical about the Apple TV. The rental system is more expensive than you realize, as well. 99 cents for one episode seems cheap, but it means one season will cost you about 22 bucks. Watch the season again some other time, you paid 44 bucks in total, which means you would've been better off buying it in the store. If you were allowed to keep your episodes for 99 cents, then it would be revolutionary.

In my market, HD Digital TV costs ~$80 per month for a package that includes network (ABC, CBS, NBC, CBC, CTV, PBS) and cable (Discovery, National Geographic, HBO, Showcase, etc) channels. Movies channels are extra. Pay-per-view access is extra. You need to buy or rent an HD-PVR which the cable company can disable remotely at any time, erasing all your saved programs. Plus, most channels have commercials. AppleTV isn't competing with services that sell you programs or movies. It's competing with services that rent you access to a whole bunch of programs or movies you are never going to watch even once and which have a lot of commercials in them. I could watch two programs per day every day and still come out cheaper than a cable package.

 

[monty77]

Do we have to do this every time? It's the added cost of exporting and your VAT, which is included in your cost. The prices in the US are without state and local taxes. Can we please never have to go through this again?

They're imported to the USA too, they're not built there!

Even once you extract sales tax from the equation they're still ~15% pricier in the UK and I can see why people get in a flap about it.

M

 

[paradox00]

1. Google stock goes through the roof...

2. Kevin Rose is having a terrible week...his digg update has been a disaster...and he's been quoted everywhere that the new ATV will "change everything". If it can't get an ATV owner to upgrade...it ain't gonna change anything...

To paraphrase Steve Jobs, not many people have Apple TV, but those who do love it.

Now in theory with this new price point, many many more people will buy Apple TV and love it. Only time will tell.

 

[sinsin07]

Was really hoping for iOS and Apps - would have been much more useful. Still a hobby for Apple I guess. Also seems that those of us with older 1080i TV's will miss out on this due to no component video connections. Still getting great use out of a nice 65" HDTV with gorgeous image but it only handles component video.

Component to HDMI converter. Problem solved.

 

[iowamensan]

Boooo to Apple!

Streaming only on the AppleTV? Why, oh gawd, why?

I want storage! Why you may ask? So I don't need to have my main Mac online just to serve up a movie!

Is that too much to ask for? I want my movies STORED by the AppleTV. Streaming does NOT always work 100%. If I'm using my Mac for work in my study, why should I suffer with disk and network activity being chewed up so the kids can watch a movie downstairs?

I have a pile of Disney DVDs. I rip them, and load them onto the iPad for the kids. But streaming off the iPad to the TV isn't a viable solution either. If I'm streaming a movie, I can't use the iPad! Two devices for one task? Why, Steve, why?

There's a USB port on the AppleTV. Would it be so hard to allow us to plug in a drive and save a local copy for FAST, RELIABLE access? You know, kinda like yesterday's AppleTV? (Okay, it had an internal drive, but you know what I mean)

Sign...I was hoping for something better than this. I won't be buying one.

Streaming works pretty darn close to 100%... I've had my TV now for 3 years I think, and there still isn't one thing on the internal drive. I have an old G4 PowerMac in my basement I got for free with a few external drives plugged into it streaming to my tv upstairs. (Ethernet from G4 to router next to it, wireless G from router to TV upstairs. The only time it quits working seems to be when iTunes pops up a software update message, then I usually have to close that message. Otherwise it plays numerous children's videos all day long, and the occasional TV show or movie in the evening.