OK, first off, I'll warn you that this will be a long post, with nothing other than my personal speculations on an Apple TV set... So, here goes:
I'd like to share my opinions on why it makes sense for Apple to make a TV, and how they could pull it off. Probably not this year, maybe not the next, but at some point I believe they will. Let's look at why:
People are saying that "it's a different market", "Apple don't have experience in the TV market", etc. Well, 10 years ago Apple didn't have experience in the music market. 5 years ago they didn't have experience in the mobile phone market. That didn't stop them from revolutionizing both. If they see a market, lack of experience won't stop them - on the contrary, they will use their lack of experience to their own force, and create something that isn't plagued with "but that's how we've always done" thinking like their competitors.
But why would Apple want to join the tv market? Well, for one, they are running low on markets to revolutionize. They already made the one-button phone. Zero-button phone won't be a revolution - simply put, they won't be able to revolutionize the same market twice - which is why with the iPad, they created a new market, instead of revolutionizing an already existing market. What Apple does best, is to look at a market where something is missing, or just isn't working properly, and deliver what's missing. I believe something is missing in the TV market (and I was actually involved in a project that never made it t market, that was supposed to deliver just that).
Then some people are saying that they won't be able to compete with the low price points of many tv's today. Well, they won't have to. Apple don't make low end computers, they don't make low end phones - they won't make low-end TV's either. All major manufacturers have 3000$ TV's on the market. Apple need to compete with those, not with 399$ sets. Sure, some will pass, just like some pass on Mac computers because of price. But I'm quite sure that there are plenty left behind to create a profitable market.
What Apple have done in the past, especially with the iPhone, is to look at the market, point out all the things that are wrong with it, and then try to change that. Phones are cluttered with buttons? We'll get rid of buttons. CD's are a hassle, they get scratched, you never have them where you need them? We'll get rid of CD's. Etc etc. There are lots of things in the TV market that Apple could get rid of. In no particular order:
1: Cumbersome setup, partly because of increasingly varying distribution channels.
2: Cluttered menu systems. Who the f... needs three different noise reduction settings, four different sharpness controls, 3D color management (that don't make sense without measuring equipment anyway), etc?
3: Poor image quality. Yeah, I know, you're all very happy with your tv's, and think they deliver great pictures. But they DON'T! Yours might be less crappy than the other ones, but compared to the quality that today's technology COULD deliver if handled properly, almost all tv's are complete crap, especially if you haven't had it professionally calibrated (but even so, there are still major improvements to be had, even with todays tech). You simply don't know what you're missing.
4: Poor audio quality. Hallelujah, my new tv is 7 mm thick. Yeah, and so is the audio. If image quality is poor, audio quality REALLY suck.
5: Poor remote controls. Almost all TV's on the market have crappy, lightweight and cluttered remotes.
One area they WON'T change much however, is design. There are lots of options today that are slim, unobtrusive and stylish designs. If Samsung's TV is 7 mm, it won't change much if Apple's is 5 mm.
However, let's look at what can be done. 1: Setup. Why do people assume that an Apple TV set would be an ATV in a display? Surely, we should consider the ATV as a "learning curve", an Apple TV set would be a redesign, with a user interface designed specifically for that purpose, not just an ATV and a display. And of course, all of this will not happen until Apple have made deals with enough content providers, that they will be able to deliver the content needed, without the need for cable, sattelite services etc. These deals are imho the only thing holding Apple back.
2: Cluttered menu systems. You don't need picture controls if the image looks good, you don't need audio controls if the audio sounds good, you don't need tuner setup if there is no tuner. Hell, why do we even need a menu system? Think outside of the box, people!
3: Image quality. This actually goes hand in hand with the lack of picture controls: The best possible picture quality is delivering exactly what was created in the studio, period (plus auto-adjusing brightness based on ambient light). We don't need sharpness, noise reduction, color controls etc, we have control over the source material, remember? And Apple do know what they're doing in the studio's - most of them are using their software! Sure, some people will say "but I want to decide for myself how much color I want in the picture". No, you don't. I've been calibrating TV's for a living for several years, and I've _not once_ shown a near-accurate picture to a customer, and NOT have the customer say that the picture looks stunning. Accurate pictures will appeal to everyone - as long as the set doesn't stand among 50 "screamers" from Samsung, Sony etc with "dynamic" settings. Shown by itself, an accurate picture rocks, and it shouldn't be neccessary to calibrate the tv, to get there - it's a manufacturer decision.
4: Audio quality. Assuming that they can get away with not being as slim as the competition, Apple should be able to deliver very decent audio quality. Remember the Tomlinson Holman hiring?
5: Remote control. Oh, you must have seen this coming. The reason we don't need a menu system, is that the menu system is on the remote. We don't need no stinkin' remote, we need an iPad! Flicking through TV guides and movie catalogues, maybe even watching a trailer or two on your iPad, while your spouse is watching the news on the TV uninterrupted of your browsing - how can you beat that? Sure, it will work with iPhone or iPod touch, and sure you can probably use the Apple remote which is probably what will be included if you really want to skimp out, but the iPad is really what completes the Apple TV ecosystem, and changes the experience completely.
To sum up: iTunes delivery system + great out-of-the-box audio/video quality + simple setup + iPad control system = one very cool TV. Even if it IS two inches thick to make room for speakers.
And yes, with apps and the right hardware, you could get some of the way with current offerings from different companies, but noone makes it as accessible as Apple could -provided they get the content deals in place, of course.
And the kicker: No apps. Yes, I'm serious. Apps on TV's don't work. Apps on iPads do. Why would you want to look at the weather on your tv, when you can do it right on your iPad? Much more convenient.
Using Samsung panels??? Hope not! Ive just returned 2 46" D7000's because the LED light bleed and clouding of those screens was just too much. Horrendous quality for what was a lot of money.
Samsung makes good panels and bad panels. For some reason, they don't seem to like putting the good panels into their own tv sets. The panels used by for instance Bang & Olufsen are great panels (although B&O have made choices in the picture processing that I don't quite agree with). A lot of people seem to think that putting Samsung panels in, or even having Samsung manufacture the whole set, equals just slapping an Apple logo on the front of an existing Samsung TV set. It doesn't work that way.
BTW, Samsung don't need to "give up" on their own TV strategies, to deliver parts to Apple. They WILL however copy-paste everything they can from an Apple TV set, whether they actually deliver the hardware or not. That's how they work.
