Apple Television Set Rumors Revived, To Launch in 2011?

[jamied95]

So, let me get this straight, they want to buy some Samsung TVs, and stick a label with an Apple over the 'Samsung'?

Right.

 

[xnu]

Apple to license it to Sony? Sony TVs with Apple iOS built in? Perhaps another brand. If Apple decides to license it to one or more TV makers, wow, could be great for the industry and Apple.

 

[motulist]

The only way this rumor is remotely true is if Apple has worked out a deal with one or more TV manufactures to have the AppleTV hardware/software built right into the TVs themselves in the same way that many new TVs have built in NetFlix clients.

 

[Bubba Satori]

PLasma? you must be kidding. LED or LCD yes but plasma No

Why do you hate iMirror technology.
It's like getting two shows for the price of one.
The show on the Plasma and all the reflections around the room. Magic.
A $1,500 tv with a $4,000 Apple sticker on it.

 

[8CoreWhore]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8G4 Safari/6533.18.5)

I've said it before and I'll say it again. This will happen so get ready.

 

[gatearray]

I don't see this quote in the original MR post, but here it is from the article...

a former Apple executive spilled the beans on the project, saying*”you’ll go into an Apple retail store and be able to walk out with a TV. It’s perfect.”

What's so perfect about this scenario, exactly???

Is it the Apple Store guy helping me bring a 50" TV out to my car, or perhaps for Apple, it's perfect to dedicate significant Apple Store shelf space to such a low margin commodity item like a television set that people buy once every 5 years!?!?


Two words for all of this: utter ****ing nonsense. Alright, three words.

 

[MacinDoc]

Well said, gatearray.

The iOS tech gets outdated much more quickly than the TV tech, so it seems like a match made in hell. As others have said, no way do I want to upgrade a $2000 TV just to get the latest in connectivity. On top of that, getting into a low-margin price-chopping consumer-driven market like TVs is very contrary to Apple's typical business model. i just can't see this happening, this year or at any time in the future.

 

[Maury]

So let me get this straight - Apple can "barely" (by iOS device standards) sell the $99 Apple TV, but they are going to roll out actual TVs?

Not happening. Just keep adding features (*cough* apps *cough*) to the $99 ATV and they'll move.

Seriously.

I tried the ATV2, got lent one for free (says a lot doesn't it?) so I could compare it to my ATV1. There's no comparison.

For one thing, I really can see the difference in the menus between 1080 and 720. Perhaps my TV has crappy downscaling, but still, ugly.

For another, where's the TV menu? Am I doing something wrong?

NetFlix is great, but I have to say that I think the interface on the PS3 is actually better. Not better looking, but easier to use. Everything is "up front" as opposed to under a menu layer.

But the really big problem is that you can no longer "slave" it to a machine. When you said that you wanted to sync from machine XXX, all of that content appeared in the ATVs menus. That was true even if you didn't actually sync the content. In the ATV2, this content appears under the Computers menu, which requires me to navigate down through the menus into my machine. It's WAY less convenient.

So I'm returning the free unit (that says a lot too, no?). I'll wait for the ATV3 to see if it's any better.

 

[Obi-Wan Kubrick]

I am against the idea of a TV with an Apple TV built in, mostly because I think the industry is adding far to many extra features that raise the price. I want a 52" LED TV without built in netflix, pandora, or the 5 other services built in. What if in 5 years ago Pandora or etc isn't offered through my TV anymore?

On the other hand I would love to see a TV designed by Jon Ives.

 

[Maury]

Wait...

"Subsidized set-top boxes have squashed innovation because no one wants to pay for separate boxes...ask TiVo, Roku, us, Google in a few months."

Ok, but ask Nintendo, MS and Sony and you'll get a different answer.

The problem isn't the box, it's the content. Give me an ATV with App Store and I'll be all over that thing. Especially when they get the CBC app and I can ditch cable.

 

[bit density]

What I'd like to see is a standard expansion module on the back of the TV. Then you could insert an Apple TV, Roku, Direct TV, TIVO, or Cable box unit into the slot. the Width and connector would be standard and it would add whatever functionality. This allows one to upgrade their Apple TV, without replacing a perfectly fine TV.

You mean an HDMI port?

 

[gkarris]

Well, here's Sony's with Android/Google built-in:

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...-1&identifier=S_SonyInternetTV#googleTVSet_40

(40" - $799, 46" - $1,199)

I would imagine it would just be an A4 chip with iOS instead...

I use projectors (or old tube TV's... ), so I haven't been in the market for an LCD and don't know what the general prices for these things are....

 

[djrobsd]

And all the fanboys will be lining up to get their 40 inch AppleTV for only $2999, 50 inch for $3999 and 60 inch for $4999....

Pass.

 

[jmcrutch]

I don't think it will happen, but if it does, it'll be manufactured by ...


LG.


Apple will likely license much of iOS and Airplay to run inside any TV that a manufacturer want's to build, much the same way that Netflix is included in TV's today. Oh, and it will be pretty. And the remote will be touchscreen and the best one you've ever used.

 

[roland.g]

Unless Apple puts a decent webcam in the bezel, potentially with a panning gyro and some zooming capability, to bring FaceTime to the Living Room, forget it. That's where I expect TV and Apple TV to go. Forget computers, iPads and iPhones, we want to see family on friends in our Living Rooms.

 

[KanosWRX]

Let's see 100 dollars for a little box i can hook up to anything or $2000 dollars for a new 50" tv to replace my 50" tv I already paid for. Hm let's see, yep stupidest idea evar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Little boxes are cool and cheap big tvs people buy once every 5-10 years. Apple would be stupid to do this!

 

[tjewey]

No TV, but large iPad/Apple TV

Everyone is fixated with "TV". Apple will never do a TV as their direction is streaming. People are starting to get rid of their cable so the natural progression is a screen with the capabilities of the iPad/Apple TV. I will bet that their next big product (within the next few years) will be a 38" - 45" iPad/AppleTV hybrid. It will be a very thin touch screen, and stream your music, movies and TV shows. You heard it here first!!!!

 

[buckers]

Something odd about this concept. Can't see this happening, personally.

 

[iMacThere4Iam]

Think how long the lines outside the Apple Stores will be on release day, since everyone will bring a handcart and a large friend.

 

[Friscohoya]

Only way they make this work is if they can somehow turn the set top model on its head and subsidize the actual tv. If the price point is sub $1000 and 45"-50" they have a winner. If they can knock it down to around $500 people will sell whatever they got to get one of these. Imagine your cable company giving you a tv along with your a la carte subscrition service.

 

[Saladinos]

So let me get this straight - Apple can "barely" (by iOS device standards) sell the $99 Apple TV, but they are going to roll out actual TVs?

Not happening. Just keep adding features (*cough* apps *cough*) to the $99 ATV and they'll move.

They may be looking at it as an easier thing to market, as the article pointed out. Netflix and other VOD services are being integrated directly in to the TV, which makes buying another box a more difficult sell.

The current Apple solution doesn't "just work". Their integrated competitors' do.

 

[dashiel]

I used to think this but the more i see airplay the more i think they want the ipad too hold the apps and the Apple Tv be nothing more than a mirroring device.

Agreed. AirPlay is what I think Jobs was alluding to when he talked about blowing up the set-top box. You’ll never do an end-run around the Cable and Satellite fiefdoms so you cut them out of the picture.

What I think is far more likely, and possibly what this rumor is muddling up, is the inclusion of AirPlay capable chipsets in televisions, obviating the need to buy an AppleTV.

 

[Oletros]

But that's not because it's an Apple TV. That's true of any 720P TV.

Well, it's true for any hardware. This is the reason I don't think embedding anything to a TV is something game changing

 

[nutmac]

I, for one, would welcome Apple-branded TV. Of course, Apple would have to get many things right. But the potentials:

• A large display available all the time for mirroring iPhone/iPad wirelessly without pushing a single button. Full screen sweep gesture from iPhone/iPad to TV would automatically trigger mirroring.
• Full Apple user experience, from changing channels, setup, to watching various contents.
• Beautiful physical design.

 

[mdatwood]

Blow Netflix away? Lets see, all I can eat streaming and as many DVDs as I can watch , mail and watch for $9.00 a month. Ya, good luck with beating that.

We have a winner, close the thread.

ATV + iTunes currently cannot compete with Netflix at all. Now if Apple brings out streaming and/or unlimited rentals for a fixed monthly price they might have something.