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Apple Provides Sneak Peak Of Media Center

Is this really anythign new ?

Please excuse me if I am missing something totally obvious here as I am a relatively new convert to Apple.

This looks like a nice little solution but I am not sure its anything revoloutionary. I currently have an airport express in the bedroom connected to an eyehome unit that does the same job as far as i can see.

Granted it cannot handle Purchased itunes songs ( which i can stream out of the airport directly though) and I guess therfore wont play itunes movies - but that is an apple restriction on ElGato.

As far as TV goes though, this setup with an EyeTV 200 attached to the computer is effectively the Tivo Killer I keep hearing talk of - I certainly chose this route after discovering that the tivo lifetime licenses were not available any more and not wanting another bill every month.

The apple box also would not work for me (as far as I could see) as I use a regular old TV in the bedroom without component inputs - just rca and s video.

Plus I get the benefit of the airport express extending my wireless network into the bedroom so laptop access is great throughout the house now.

Seems that downloaded movies arent going to be big in this house if i need to replace current hardware with something so similar that wont drive my TV (and who knows if it will pick up eyeTV programs either ) just to watch the purchased movies.

So can someone enlighten me what was so different about the Eyehome and airport express combo that makes this new box so great ? ( I am really open to being convinced - dont usually have a problem talking myself ito new toys)


Current setup Will be even better when this 700 G4 gets replaced by the new 24" imac arriving Friday ....... wasnt supposed to ship until the 18th !!!! Im Stoked

Drew
 
Anybody else a little suspicious of just "802.11"...I'm thinking it's got to be 802.11n otherwise they would specify extreme. (Which means new adapters for computers on existing technology)

Also the small matter of the interface (which I love)...I reckon that's the "new" FrontRow interface we'll be gettign in Leopard which is nice to look forward to!

Uber
 
No DVR function, thank God for ElGato!

I agree, they most likely left out the DVR function because of the movie and television studios. Why would someone want to 'buy' an older movie for $10 when you can record it via EyeTV and edit out the commercials and the transfer it to your iTunes (which is exactly what the new version of EyeTV does!).

No wonder Apple made EyeTV unbundle it from Front Row... At least I can still record, edit out commercials and transfer to iTunes!! Who needs Tivo anymore!!

Christopher Powers

gugy said:
I think Apple had to compromise to be able to get TV shows on itunes pledging not to have a pvr to networks.
Elgato is here and they are good, so it's just a matter to buy it and use it to stream videos to your TV via ITV.
Click to expand...
 
It looks like iTV will be Apple's way of doing what Microsoft's pika extenders do for Windows Media Center. I think this is smart.....hate to break it to some of you but most people do not want a computer in the LR. A quiet CE device that is networked to a computer you already have..... thats as far as we are going to be able to push the mainstream just now.
 
ftaok said:
Here's what I would like Apple to do. Open up Front Row so that companies like el gato can integrate their eyeTV software into the Front Row system. That way, I can have a Mac sitting in the office with an eyeTV box to record HD programming off of cable. Then, I could have an iTV in my living room to play the recorded material onto my 46" LCD HDTV (which I haven't bought yet).
Click to expand...

Seems to me this could be done without Apple having to open up Front Row. If Elgato added some sort of "export recording to iTunes Video Library" option (that also deletes the original file after export completes), you could have your stuff recording on your mac and ready to stream to iTV. I'd imagine you could also set up some sort of Smart Playlist in iTunes to show unwatched recordings that carries over to the iTV interface.
 
danielwsmithee said:
I have to disagree with many of the comments on this thread. I think this is an ideal device. I don't want a computer connected to my TV I want to gain access to the content on my computer on my TV. It is two different ways of looking at these products.

As far as not having a DVR/tuner that should be done on your computer. The products available from elgato eyeTV etc. are already excellent and probably much better then Apple could start up and hope to compete with. EyeTV is already compatible with iTunes and the iPod, and it will be for this too. You just have to realize that the recording is going to happen at your computer not your TV. I really think the combination of eyeTV, iTunes and iTV is going to be much better then any competitors MCE etc.

It all goes back to Apple's philosophy of making the computer the center of your digital life. The TV is just a tool now to view what you have on your computer.

This does also offer one advantage over the mini besides price component video.
Click to expand...

Ditto.
I think the idea is brilliant if it work flawlessly. If the wireless transmission is great then this will be a killer product.
Why not buy Elgato, They make good stuff and Apple do not have to worry about networks being mad at them for making a dvr.
Guys this is the future.
It seems that will stream HDTV content, so I have my Elgato recording my favorite show in HDTV than it streams it to my flat panel and I can control it from my couch without having to go back to my computer on the other room.
I can access the itunes store, see my photos listen my music, etc.
What else you guys want?
 
I think this is a great product from Apple and shows great foresight. SJ and Apple recognise that they can't surplant the TV from the living room.

And for everyone already moaning over a 'beta', I dont even know what to say to you. There is a reason it is not being released today. Is it perfect yet? No. Is it complete? No. Will it be able to record TV shows? Who knows? But its good to bear in mind that this is not a final product, and seems to me like its FAR from being done.

Overall, good job by Apple. It's definitely a move in the right direction.
 
Hit the nail on the head

200paul said:
There's no need for DVR functionality. Apple will replace your cable subscription. You just subsribe to the shows you want and al la carte other shows after that. Networks will probably even do the season premieres free to get you hooked or add sponsor the shows to make them free. TV on demand is obviously the next wave - even the cable companies know it and have on demand etc. I mean not to be racist but I'm happy to stop paying comcast for the 10+ stations that are in languages I don't even speak. I barely speak english - hahaha.

In conclusion - its the same data - just different timing.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with this. This is the perfect device for Apple to start selling subscriptions to shows to replace cable. A la cart cable legislation is picking up steam and this will put iTunes in the cable business. Think about how many households have iPods, now compare that number to the HUGE number of houses that have cable. Wouldn't you rather pay for only the shows that you watch?

The think that worries me is that there is no mention of this device being able to play non-iTunes movies. What about if you back up a DVD to your computer. Can you play it on this? We'll have to wait and see.
 
maxspivak said:
But at what quality??? Q1 2007 is as late as end of March. HD-DVD came out in April 2006, and BluRay in -- what -- May? So almost a year later Apple introduces a device that will play *near* (i.e. lower than) DVD-quality when the market is finally warming up to HD quality disks.
Click to expand...
Dude did you miss the coverage. This thing plays HD. He played Incredibles in HD. Just because the content they are offering now is 480p does not mean that it will be 6 months from now when this is released. Also the HDMI and component connectors would be pointless if it was not HD.
 
alexdrinan said:
Seems to me this could be done without Apple having to open up Front Row. If Elgato added some sort of "export recording to iTunes Video Library" option (that also deletes the original file after export completes), you could have your stuff recording on your mac and ready to stream to iTV. I'd imagine you could also set up some sort of Smart Playlist in iTunes to show unwatched recordings that carries over to the iTV interface.
Click to expand...
It's already there they call it export to iPod.
 
This may be a great piece of hardware but until they lower download prices, be they buy or rent, I'm not really interested. This box makes the Apple offering more interesting than Amazon but the ability to rent for $4 makes the Amazon offering far more economical. Neither one will replace my Netflix account but the Amazon service comes alot closer...Anyone who pays these prices without extras or physical media is a fool IMO...
 
iTV?

If this is all iTV is going to offer for $249 then forget it.

I'll just use a cable to hook my laptop to my TV.

Voila! I just replaced iTV for less than $5.00.
 
So would "iTV" run OS X or just Front Row? What kind of processor? Old PowerPC's perhaps?
 
Drewnrupe said:
Please excuse me if I am missing something totally obvious here as I am a relatively new convert to Apple.

This looks like a nice little solution but I am not sure its anything revoloutionary. I currently have an airport express in the bedroom connected to an eyehome unit that does the same job as far as i can see.
Click to expand...
You are right it does nearly the same job. A few differences, one you pointed out the eyeHome can't play copy protected files. The other this thing plays HD not SD like the eyeHome.

My guess is elgato will not offer the eyeHome once this comes out.
 
I've been coming to MacRumors since maybe 2001, but this product has finally inspired me to register. Welcome, iTV - I can't wait til you're part of our living room.

I'm posting with a request too, because there are so many excellent writers on here. Please, someone needs to write a site/blog about getting media ready for the forthcoming iTV. My iTunes and iPhoto libraries are just a mess, and I have stuff on DVD that I don't have a clear idea of how to rip and catalog. If you have a good "system," create a how-to guide, please!
 
digitalbiker said:
If this is all iTV is going to offer for $249 then forget it.

I'll just use a cable to hook my laptop to my TV.

Voila! I just replaced iTV for less than $5.00.
Click to expand...
Price for me $1099 cheapest MacBook plus $5 cable $1104. I think I'll take the $249.
 
Phat Elvis said:
I totally agree with this. This is the perfect device for Apple to start selling subscriptions to shows to replace cable. A la cart cable legislation is picking up steam and this will put iTunes in the cable business. Think about how many households have iPods, now compare that number to the HUGE number of houses that have cable. Wouldn't you rather pay for only the shows that you watch?
Click to expand...

I don't think any of these services will ever replace cable. Maybe the "premium" packages that offer ondemand and DVR etc., but never just plain old cable TV. Sometimes you want to just turn on the TV and flip around to see what's on, beyond just the local channels you can pick up with an antenna.
 
danielwsmithee said:
Dude did you miss the coverage. This thing plays HD. He played Incredibles in HD. Just because the content they are offering now is 480p does not mean that it will be 6 months from now when this is released. Also the HDMI and component connectors would be pointless if it was not HD.
Click to expand...

Exactly. In the end, we only had a sneak peak, and dont know much.

I will say that we were shown the back ports, so I doubt there is going to be any other inputs/outputs added.

This IS the iPod of home theater. Just read back in this thread about people who have this unit beat: "Ive got a chipped xBox that does the same" "My xbox 360 and Windows MCE can do this" "All I need is x, y, and z to do this much better" There were MP3 players before the ipod; the ipod made it simple for AVERAGE users; we on here generally dont represent average users.

Buy it, plug it in, it works. No keyboard, no booting up, etc etc. A computer on a TV makes things more complicated.
 
maxspivak said:
But at what quality??? Q1 2007 is as late as end of March. HD-DVD came out in April 2006, and BluRay in -- what -- May? So almost a year later Apple introduces a device that will play *near* (i.e. lower than) DVD-quality when the market is finally warming up to HD quality disks.

Regular DVD is 480i. Say that near-dvd quality is 420i. It will look like crap on that "big screen plasma" Jobs talked about.

He's marketing it to someone who will plug it into a $5K+ TV. At that price point, give us HD playback, both optical and streaming/downloaded, legally. I'd be happy to pay double or triple for a box that does it smoothly.
Click to expand...

Agreed. If it can't do HD, I'll pass.

-Sean
 
Close But No Banana

Now see its a step in the right direction to be sure. There will be features announced which will make it more attractive

But unless they add the ability to attach a hard drive or something to hold content on then this isn't going to sell at all.

You probably forget that iTunes TV shows are not available nowhere else in the world except the US. Neither are the films for the time being. so what do we have to watch in the rest of the world? Nada!

I really want this to be better for launch. Lets see what happens eh?
 
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