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AT&T to Offer Internet TV on Apple TV?

droz said:
are you seriously quoting an engadget rumor again? come on!!! Engadget is a total joke. I wouldn't read any truth into anything they say anymore.:mad:
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1. engadget [and gizmodo] is such a fun read. the articles are hilarious and the gadget pr0n is unparallelled.

2. you're on a RUMORS forum, so for lack of better comeback: shut up? :p

3. it's incredibly fun to talk and speculate about products that aren't going to bring in pissed off poster's talking about how mac mini's don't have dedicated graphics cards. this is all in good fun and no one but you complained about it.

if you're going to complain about reading technology rumor websites then go somewhere else... ya know... perhaps not dedicated to techology rumors.
 
danielwsmithee said:
The second is how to handle live TV, this could solve the second scenario.

I prefer not having a recorder in the Apple TV, go buy an Elgato device for your Mac and your good to go as far as that is concerned.
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wyatt23 said:
DVR, while pretty awesome, isn't the killer feature. live tv is. though, i do have xbox, so when that comes out, i will absolutely buy iptv. though, i'm a fanboy and anti-MS, so i'd rather go with the "just works" mentality over the "we'll spend any amount of money to get your money" mentality.

with that said, i still love my 360.
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Can you explain why live TV is the killer app? Most people already have cable/satellite and a box to decode it. More and more of these systems are also adding on demand content, and many offer a single box with built in DVR.

Are you advocating the :apple:TV replace my cable box as the cable tuner? I'd then need a separate DVR and Apple would probably be stuck with a limited choice in who your cable provider could be (think Cingular and the iPhone).

Of course it's all a moot point on my end anyway since I don't have any HD TVs in the house (yet).
 
~Shard~ said:
We provide our customers with Motorola VIP boxes currently (non-PVR, but that will change this summer) with component, composite and HDMI connections. Yes, it is Ethernet in. CAT5 is required for the 10/100 network although in our new developments as well as fibre we're starting to run CAT7 as well - it only make sense.
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if apple were to implement something like this, would 802.11n be sufficient enough if someone didn't want to connect via ethernet?
 
chrisgeleven said:
You know, the one thing that holds me back from going the AppleTV route and ditching cable tv is the lack of live content. I can't do without sports (which in my area are all on cable-only channels) and local news.

Wouldn't it be great to subscribe to a limited number of "live" channels? Say ESPN, your local TV networks, NESN, etc.
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:apple:TV = cable killer.

I thought that during the keynote when Steve Jobs unveiled it because cable is such a big target, the networks are looking for ways to recoup lost advertising dollars from declining ratings, and Apple has content relationships. It looks like a pretty good bet now.

AT&T will either have to untangle from Direct TV or figure out a way for Direct TV to co-exist with Apple.

EDIT:

And Napster, good grief. I'm sure AT&T has already taken steps to dump that deal.
 
atszyman said:
Can you explain why live TV is the killer app? Most people already have cable/satellite and a box to decode it. More and more of these systems are also adding on demand content, and many offer a single box with built in DVR.

Are you advocating the :apple:TV replace my cable box as the cable tuner? I'd then need a separate DVR and Apple would probably be stuck with a limited choice in who your cable provider could be (think Cingular and the iPhone).

Of course it's all a moot point on my end anyway since I don't have any HD TVs in the house (yet).
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it's the killer feature to me because like chrisgeleven i'm big on sports. i also really watch adult swim. i'd like to cut all ties with cable providers, plus i live at two houses... one at school and one at home 250 miles apart. i'd love to just buy internet and have a cellphone... [preferably an iphone and IPTV from at&t:D ].. plug it in and anywhere i have internet, i have live tv.

that's my killer feature. DVR is cool, really cool, but it's not a necessity to me. i'd rather a DVD player in :apple: TV than DVR. though that's a moot point as well.

if apple were to add dvr functionality later on, that'd be swell, and i'd use it alot... but right now DVR is just another service i have to pay for, when i could just watch tv as i usually do.
 
atszyman said:
Are you advocating the :apple:TV replace my cable box as the cable tuner? I'd then need a separate DVR and Apple would probably be stuck with a limited choice in who your cable provider could be (think Cingular and the iPhone).
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You would not need the DVR if :apple:TV allowed you to watch on demand the things that you would have recorded. A lot of the not-unless-there's-a-DVR comments don't take into account that Apple may have something better up its sleeve.

Why DVR this week's episode of "Desperate Housewives" if you can just pull up ABC on :apple:TV and play it?
 
SWEET! a dream come true... i submitted an internet story that made the front page of my favorite website! all while at work.... i can't wait to tell mom. lol
 
wyatt23 said:
if apple were to implement something like this, would 802.11n be sufficient enough if someone didn't want to connect via ethernet?
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In theory, yes. 802.11n is supposed to be able to deliver sustained rates of 100-200 Mbps, peak rates of 540 Mbps and a theoretical top rate of around 600 MBps last I heard. This is either planned or in theory though - the technology is still in its infancy in many respects, so just keep that in mind.
 
Honestly, I have one service with comcast and thats cable.
everything else, home phone, internet, and cell are all At&t.
Without a doubt we'd be dropping comcast in favor of doing this, then also probably buying a couple more :apple: TV's for the house
 
gphoto said:
Exactly, and I might actually consider buying it.
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I would definitely have to re-evaluate my current stance on the AppleTV as well if something like this became a reality, but I'm still not sure if I'd buy one... Regardless, I'm very curious to see how this product evolves and how successful it becomes.
 
If this rumor is true, this could be huge. Cable Co's are among the most reviled in any industry, because they are basically a monopoly in any given area. Where I live, I have the choice between crappy local cable (horrible service, no HD, very limited line-up, no on-demand, expensive, etc), or satellite. I chose DirecTV, but at close to $100/month, it is pricey (granted, I get a really sweet package, HD, HBO, etc).

I'd love to be able to drop it entirely, and an a la carte plan (ie channel subscriptions), and augment with iTMS purchases.

You have to imagine that MS is working on a similar plan with their XBox 360 environment, and I'm sure Google is going to do something with all that dark fiber they own.

I'd be very, very nervous if I was in the cable business.
 
Porchland said:
You would not need the DVR if :apple:TV allowed you to watch on demand the things that you would have recorded. A lot of the not-unless-there's-a-DVR comments don't take into account that Apple may have something better up its sleeve.

Why DVR this week's episode of "Desperate Housewives" if you can just pull up ABC on :apple:TV and play it?
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Can't you already download Desperate Housewives in iTunes and watch it on your :apple:TV?

wyatt23 said:
it's the killer feature to me because like chrisgeleven i'm big on sports. i also really watch adult swim. i'd like to cut all ties with cable providers, plus i live at two houses... one at school and one at home 250 miles apart. i'd love to just buy internet and have a cellphone... [preferably an iphone and IPTV from at&t:D ].. plug it in and anywhere i have internet, i have live tv.

that's my killer feature. DVR is cool, really cool, but it's not a necessity to me. i'd rather a DVD player in :apple: TV than DVR. though that's a moot point as well.

if apple were to add dvr functionality later on, that'd be swell, and i'd use it alot... but right now DVR is just another service i have to pay for, when i could just watch tv as i usually do.
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So you're basically advocating all broadcasters make all their shows available via iTunes in as little time as possible?

While a cool idea it smacks of the a la carte cable companies that many people would like to see where you can select only the channels you want to watch and pay only for a few channels rather than the 100+ you have to buy now. For the moment Apple would be better off with a good sized HD and the ability to DVR live TV to avoid having to deal with the wrath of the cable companies. What do you think would happen if Cable companies viewed :apple:TV as a threat? Do you think we'd still see any network TV shows in iTunes? Most networks would rip their content from iTunes immediately since the bulk of their distribution is through the cable providers not Apple.
 
It'd be interesting to see how Comcast would react if I dropped their cable TV but kept their internet service... would my IP TV feed get de-prioritized? :rolleyes:

This'd be great because, unlike with music, most of us really do want a subscription service to browse what's on TV since that's what we're all used to. I just can't see making the current iTunes television model my sole source for TV content.

This is another reason net neutrality is a good thing, IMO.
 
IPTV is awesome

As a recently new subscriber to AT&T UVerse I can tell you it works just as well as cable. When they installed the service I've got 21Mbps going to my DVR and 6 Mbps for my internet. Now what's interesting is that the technician also told me I've got capability up to 60 Mbps!!! 60?!?! Just for interest purposes 21Mbps is enough for 2 HD streams or 4 SD streams.

I'm not sure how much they'd charge or whatever but the current UVerse pricing is very competitive and, at least for me, quite cheaper than the equivalent cable offer.
 
Porchland said:
You would not need the DVR if :apple:TV allowed you to watch on demand the things that you would have recorded. A lot of the not-unless-there's-a-DVR comments don't take into account that Apple may have something better up its sleeve.
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Precisely. Its funny how much difficulty people have letting go of old paradigms, isn't it? IPTV essentially will move the DVR functionality to the server side. Events (e.g., sports) can be streamed "live" over the internet, and simultaneously stored on the server for later viewing on-demand.

The other intriguing potential of IPTV is that it can free us from the monopoly/ duopoly of our local cable/ sat providers. Imagine being able to select content from dozens or hundreds of providers around the world! You no longer would be limited to what the cable or sat provider chooses to carry, and you could potentially pay only for what you actually watch.
 
It would SOOO rule if I was able to ditch my cable company alltogether in favor of an internet TV option.
If they can make it fully digital, have all the HD options, and easy to use, then they can have something that will totally take over the industry. It will take a couple years to get there, I'm sure, but this is very exciting!
 
Westside guy said:
This'd be great because, unlike with music, most of us really do want a subscription service to browse what's on TV since that's what we're all used to. I just can't see making the current iTunes television model my sole source for TV content.
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Na yo, the internet is killing television among the young. They still watch the same number of hours, but they do internet at the same time, and internet is increasingly taking up the majority of their attention.
 
~Shard~ said:
I would definitely have to re-evaluate my current stance on the AppleTV as well if something like this became a reality, but I'm still not sure if I'd buy one... Regardless, I'm very curious to see how this product evolves and how successful it becomes.
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It just keeps getting better and better, with YouTube, probable HD content on iTunes, then maybe IPTV. Obviously, many people are not satisfied with the ATV now, but after a few more rounds of upgrades, it will be pretty sweet, and many more people will be satisfied enough to buy.

Edit: Actually, none of these upgrades have actually happened yet, but are either likely or confirmed.
 
VideoFreek said:
The other intriguing potential of IPTV is that it can free us from the monopoly/ duopoly of our local cable/ sat providers. Imagine being able to select content from dozens or hundreds of providers around the world! You no longer would be limited to what the cable or sat provider chooses to carry, and you could potentially pay only for what you actually watch.
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But who would provide the hookup at your house? You'd still pay comcast for the data over the coax.
 
atszyman said:
Most networks would rip their content from iTunes immediately since the bulk of their distribution is through the cable providers not Apple.
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Ahhh, just like the record companies ripped their content from iTunes since the bulk of their distribution is through retailers and Amazon?

I don't think so. What the networks would looove to do is "monetize" every viewing by charging a per-view fee, and IPTV would enable such a business model. They'd also regain value that is today captured by the cable companies, by adopting essentially a direct-to-consumer model. If consumer acceptance is there, the networks will be all over this, because they'll see the chance to make more money.
 
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