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Apple Set Top Box?

PVR's will lead to bad things

What will happen when a larger portion of the TV watching public has access to, and uses, PVRs? I'll tell you what will happen, people will start skipping commercials.

What happens then when advertisers realize that people are skipping their commercials? Someone will figure out a way to make it so you can't skip a commercial.

Or worse...

Pop-up ads on your TV screen!
 
Product Placement...

I'm not at all against product placement in the shows that I watch. Hey you never know, If I would see some products being used in more real life (scripted) situations, I just might buy'em. Seeing a "TV/Movie star" drinking a can of soda or eating a certain food, just might get people to buy it. And hey you know that you'd see the lovely Macintosh Computer all over the freakin' place. I mean out in the open and not with masking tape over the logo (freakin' VH1).

'Beaver
 
Skipping Commercials = Spoiled Youth...

It is kinda funny...We are so used to watching stuff from our Ulitmate TV that, my son, who is Two, will be watchin' Disney or Scooby Doo and when the commercial comes on he'll freak out... thinkin' his show is done or somethin' He now know to go to remote and skip it. It's probably not the most healthy thing, but it is they way we watch TV.

'Beaver
 
Re: Skipping Commercials = Spoiled Youth...

Originally posted by Screamingbeaver
my son, who is Two
Click to expand...

Next time my wife starts talking about children, I'm going to think of your screen name and the fact that you have a two year old kid...

That should keep me rational.
 
Mac enabled PVR?

Someone raised a great point comparing game boxes with Moxi/Set-up boxes. At present, there is no business model available for sellers of PVR's, except for maybe something on the order of $10/mo subscription services. That is a severe limiter given the up front cost of the box itself because it might take an awfully long time to start making money, let alone margin.

This is why I feel the better way for Apple and other computer makers to enter this market is via peripherals. Rather than sell a full-blown PVR with CPU, RAM, hard drive, etc., leverage all of that in one's existing PC, supplemented with a 2nd hard drive and probably another CPU.

I'd like to see a peripheral with a Firewire connection to the Mac. The peripheral would terminate the coax cable or satellite connection, and, it would feed it to the Mac in a useful form. A second hard drive, may be a must.

The televisions and speakers throughout the home would have simple boxes that enable them to send/receive data to/from the Mac.

Suffice it to say, there is a wide array of options for connectivity. I don't want to spend much time in this post on it, however. Connectivity could range from simple cabling to wireless approaches that would be more expensive.

Back to these 'simple boxes', they would consist of very cheap electronics that enables the conversion of the cable or satellite or recorded media (from your Mac) to the televisions and speakers. They might also possess encryption capabilities so that DVD's could be remotely played. And finally, these 'simple boxes' would have some kind of IR or RF transceiver (or just a receiver).

Icing on the cake might be some kind of a tablet that contains only enough graphics to speak with the Mac and display control content, maybe even entertainment content. The idea here is a thin client.

Summarizing, if I were Apple, I'd be researching an approach that leverages expensive components from the Mac, adding only the cost of peripherals, connectivity, and the 'simple boxes' to enable our PVR dreams.

Eirik
 
POP-UP ADS

MCRAIN,

I know what you mean. In a few years, the stupid logos that Direct puts on the lower right corner of my screen identifying the station has expanded from an intermitent watermark, to a constant glaring distraction, and now they are animating ads for their own programing AS WE WATCH THE FREAKING SHOWS !

I have tried to find a name to complain to re. these abuses ( I would never buy a TV with an ad etched onto the picture tube face ! ) but to no avail.

One example of a great ad is the new one for WHEEL WITH HANDLES exerciser. I actually saved it to show it to my friends --- it's a riot !!!

Imagine an open "freelance" market where manufacturers run ad contests for folks who use FCP, Photoshop, etc. to submit ads for their products. The winners get paid lotsa dough , we get great, fun ads in blocks and sales go up without our blood pressure doing same.

Just a thot.

---gooddog
 
eirik;

I totally agree. Formac is making very similar boxes; and if you had a PC (insert hysterical laughter here) you could build a setup you describe via a few third parties. (Im not to sure about the tablet.... they have them at the vegas electronic expos; but im not sure that anyone makes them yet.)

The formac boxes have their pros and cons from what I have seen... a little bit of audio sync problems and i beleive that they cant be viewed full screen.

Keep an eye on apple... Im sure before too long they will release something along these lines.... its all part of the hub. and after those two announcments I dont think the wait will be too long.

C-
 
Would it really be that difficult for Apple to make a device that bridges the gap between my computer, my television and my stereo?

We have iTunes and iPhoto on the computer but no EASY way to get them to the living room.

My vision of a set-top-box from Apple would be a massive hard disk device (100 GB or so) which easily connects to my TV and Stereo. It would be a storage device for all my MP3s and photos as well as a video recorder. It would use airport to communicate with my computer (ie downloading playlists from iTunes as well as a "Play List" from iPhoto) but would use firewire for transferring the bulk of the content from my computer to the hardrive. I would be able to control the PVR portion from a remote control, my computer, or the internet via iTools. And I should be able to easily add additional storage as needed.

Not too much to ask now is it?
 
Eirik's idea is very similar to my own. There's no end of possibilities to what you can do in the home entertainment arena. Just as PVRs are revolutionizing how some people watch TV these days, a mac-connected digital lifestyle device could revolutionize it even further. The Broadband Internet + Home Network + Smart PVR/Computer + Digital Cable/Satellite combo could completely change the way people amuse themselves. The only difficult part is finding a good system for content producers to be compensated (via various methods of advertising and/or various payment methods) and convincing them to change their intractable ways.

The notion of a television channel or radio station could become completely obsolete, while independently-created playlists would flourish and fan interaction would rise. Syndication options and limitations would dramatically improve, while "Networks" would have new flexibility for scaling their offerings up and down. TV providers could deliver shows in a far more efficient manner, allowing them to easily deliver more real-time content like sports. Shows could be delivered as Pay-per-view, subscription, and/or advertising-supported depending on viewer choice, content could be dynamic and user-specific, and restricting content for children would become trivial. Public Access could explode.

That's just a sampling of what's possible. The thing to remember now is: You may go to your computer to turn your brain on, and your TV to turn your brain off, but there's no reason it has to stay that way. Greater flexibility for producers, providers, and consumers in entertainment can only be a good thing, and all it takes is a couple devices and a little imagination to make it so.
 
This whole philosophy of "you go to your computer to turn your brain on, and your TV to turn your brain off" I don't believe to be entirely true.

Computer:
How many here have found themselves in a mindless web surfin' session where you're totally zoned out to the world, to awaken only to find you've wasted precious time that could have been spent doing other things. I consider that turning my mind off... to a point. Don't get me wrong, I use the 'net everyday to conduct business and get valuable information. Its one of my most powerful tools.

TV:
I do enjoy my mindless TV sitcoms and Comedy/Action Motion Pictures, but TV can spark your brain to think as well. There is a great deal of learning and educational television for kids, and I watch TechTV. I usually watch The Screen Savers everyday....To learn, as well as be entertained.

My two cents for what its worth.
'Beaver
 
PVR's are cool, but...

Apple is not going to get into this market anytime soon.

Why would they? In what way would an Apple-branded PVR offer any advantages over the other already existing systems? It's not as if you interact with an operating system to any significant degree with a PVR, and for the most part, that aspect of the PVR is dictated by the service company; TIVO or Ultimate TV for the most part. There is just no compelling reason to buy one over the other, since basically, they provide similar functionality. So, there is really no aspect of the experience that is substantially enhanced by an Apple brand.

I am in the market for a PVR. I've tested my friends units, and for the most part, the basic offerings are sufficient for my needs. Sure, it would be great if I could combine a PVR with a DVD burner, so that I can save my favorite programs; but the reality is that there is a ton of legalities that need to be worked out before this will become a reality.

MS is running down the road of the "smart house" with increased fervor. But I ask you, in what way do I need to manage my refrigerator through a network or a computer? Does this really provide me with some distinct benefit? I've owned my current refrigerator for 3 years, and have never adjusted the setting once. I don't see this great Jetson's-like-future that others talk about with regards to the digital lifestyle.

Face it, beyond the Desktop and Laptop, the next foray of computing is the truly mobile device market. Apple has yet to mine the depths of what is possible in this field. There's no way they will skip over this to attempt to enter the Television domain.

All things in time...No Apple branded PVR (or similar devices) for at least 5 years.
 
Whats this...?

Hey people, what is this?

I found this at slashdot.com
"There's something very interesting on Apple's Japanese site. CaptyTV is part of Apple's 'Digital Hub', and it's a USB analog-to-digital video converter. A rough translatation from the site says talks about TiVo-like functionality, looking up program listings on the internet and recording at a certain time. It also talks about dumping your archived videos to DVD with the iMac's & PowerMac's SuperDrive. Sounds very cool, I hope it makes it over to this side of the world." And is that an external SuperDrive there on the sidebar? "

http://www.apple.co.jp/digitalhub/captytv/index.html

Too wierd...?
 
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