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Apple TV 4 do you want a USB port?

C

Che Castro

macrumors 603
Original poster
May 21, 2009
6,009
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for external storage

Media or apps , maybe apps and games installing and running from external drive is out of the question , I know android consoles you can do that
So let's keep it to your own media videos/music/pictures on a external drive

Do you want the atv4 to have a USB port or you don't care ?
 
Che Castro said:
for external storage

Media or apps , maybe apps and games installing and running from external drive is out of the question , I know android consoles you can do that
So let's keep it to your own media videos/music/pictures on a external drive

Do you want the atv4 to have a USB port or you don't care ?
Click to expand...

Dont care... Just give us NAS/DLNA support!!!
 
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Yes, at least one "normal" USB port would facilitate the opportunity for select apps to leverage add-on hardware. For example, there are some who want an :apple:TV to also be a local (not cloud-based) DVR. Others want to be able to add a disc player so that it can also play disc-based media. Some want local over-the-air tuners for local HD (without reprocessing and probably over-compression to stream the locals). Some (maybe even many) want local storage so they can turn off that computer and/or take the computer out of the home and still have a working :apple:TV for others in the household. Some want to use wired game controllers to beat any wireless lag. Etc. Companies like Elgato that already make USB tuners and DVR functionality that leverage USB hardware could deliver on such wants.

Another faction does NOT want such functionality (unless Apple decides to build any of it in and then it will be passionately embraced and one of the most touted reasons that make this a "must upgrade" :rolleyes: ). From their perspective, it's a "why pay for something I'll never use" issue (ignoring that others may want such features... that there are more opinions and wants in the world of Apple product consumers than just their own).

So with a simple, cheap USB port or two, both factions could get what they want. More importantly, THAT :apple:TV would be that much more versatile in terms of the potential to evolve it in many ways beyond where software apps alone can take it. I'd personally LOVE to see THAT :apple:TV come to market (even at double or triple the price of some "pro"-tagged version that includes some normal USB ports)... but I don't expect it.
 
It already has a USB port, just not a normalized (fully functional) one. Normalizing the one it already has would go a long way.

I agree about getting "local" storage through a home network NAS (like Time Capsule) too but would prefer that to be more flexible so that any NAS storage could be used instead of Time Capsule. Even the largest TC storage is not sufficient for everyone.
 
I use both, TM for the device backup and Synology for a store of all my files/film/music.
But it would be nice to have a USB or SDcard for local content too.
 
If the OS/software inside could take over managing media from iTunes, then yes. I have a small NAS that does a lot of my storage for that now, but it requires iTunes to be running and obviously the computer to be on. I'd love to see iTunes work with the Apple TV to create a Media Library that syncs via iCloud. The updates involving iTunes for Apple Music have done a lot of that.

If you could set up the Apple TV to download your shows and save them in whatever storage path you choose -- options for each media type -- I would mess myself.
 
Andreasweiz said:
Dont care... Just give us NAS/DLNA support!!!
Click to expand...

Just give us an app store, and then any app can support DLNA, or whatever other means of access our data on our computers or NAS or wiFi enabled external hard drives. Once an app can get data wirelessly, and manage its own prefetching and caching, USB is less important.
 
Apple already makes an iTunes server, it's called the Mac Mini. ;)

Seems to me that they are headed in a different direction with the Apple TV though. They want all your media on their own servers where they have complete control over it. This doesn't interest me because I live in back in the woods and can't get anything better than slow Verizon DSL here. I stopped watching regular TV when I moved here in 2006 because I can't get cable. Best thing that ever happened to me. I have a large iTunes library and use a Mini as a server for my two Apple TV's and MacBook Air.

This works fine for me with the current generation AppleTV, but I wish it could take advantage of the full capacity of gigabit ethernet so there would be less latency. A USB port for a local hard drive would be great, but I really doubt that Apple will offer that.
 
Che Castro said:
for external storage

Media or apps , maybe apps and games installing and running from external drive is out of the question , I know android consoles you can do that
So let's keep it to your own media videos/music/pictures on a external drive

Do you want the atv4 to have a USB port or you don't care ?
Click to expand...

For media storage, and for FaceTime camera\mic.
 
The question you need to ask is 'would a USB port increase or decrease Apple's revenue stream?'
If a USB port allows offline storage, would Apple still be able to charge a premium for additional internal storage? No. Reduced revenue stream.
'Would USB offline storage enable you to play back content that was not purchased through iTunes?' If the answer is yes then reduced revenue stream.
'Would USB port for hardware generate additional revenue? Possible, but mostly only if the port could be configured only to accept 'made for Apple' certified devices.
Personally I think a USB may reduce Apple's revenue stream so I think it's unlikely.
 
What I'd really like to see is an Apple TV which I could plug an external hard drive into that I could have synced with my iTunes music library. Then I'd like to be able to browse said library from my iPhone or iPad and play music through my HiFi without having to turn on my tv screen. Then I could have my collection of lossless music on a terabyte drive and immediately accessible. However, none of this music was purchase via iTunes so I can't see Apple facilitating such a feature.
 
Apple hates ports with cables, so I believe it will not happen and honestly I learned to live without USB ports.
 
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