If apple wants to rule my digital world

[From A Buick 8]

A tuner in the Apple TV, for me, would be useless since my cable company, Comcast, uses a digital system that requires an external box or a Multistream CableCard to receive anything. And unless Apple built an Apple TV with a CableCard slot, the tuner would remain unused.

Good post, I cut cable back in October ( and I will never go back), one of the big reasons is they are forcing us to use one of their box's.

 

[hitekalex]

First the design of the ATV, I think anyone who has ever owned an ATV has always wished for a TV tuner in it. Well my design would have a TV tuner and DVR functionality it would come in either 64 or 128 gig flash memory versions.

Tuner support will eventually come to ATV, but not in the way you think. It will be via an app from from a third-party (most likely Elgato) giving ATV access to networked tuners, like HD HomeRun.

"EyeTV for Apple TV" will offer full support for usual DVR functions - watch/pause/rewind live TV, and possibly support recordings to separate computers. But there will never be a built-in tuner inside of ATV, or large amount of local storage.. And frankly, there is no need for it, as software/networked tuner approach is a lot more flexibe, can work with a variety of tuners in different regions, and doesn't require changes to ATV hardware.

Of course, in order for this to happen - Apple needs to open up ATV to third party apps.. But it will happen, check back in about 12 months.

 

[neko girl]

Having seen my dad go through this, I think I'd change a couple things:
-Make it easier for him to put in his Netflix password
-Add closed captioning on Netflix movies and TV shows (at least closed captioning that's available on Netflix streaming/DVDs)

Apart from that I think I'd get an Apple TV if it had support for Hulu.

Being able to add XBMC to it seems like a good thing, at least as long as Apple allows it.

 

[powerman]

My biggest problem with your idea is that there is not much on tv to watch. Many channels but not much I watch. Mostly reruns. Why would i want to pay more for capability that i will never use. I do not have cable and have watched one tv series on my atv, and it cost about one month of cable, and I have been watching it for 2 months with about the same amount to go. I would use it for some gaming, and internet video. Live sports would be great.
I like to see my photos and would like an easy way to watch home videos. I think combining the apple tv and airport extreme/time machine would be a better idea than adding a tv tuner.

 

[mstrze]

Personally, I want voice recognition on my TV because wherever I am my controller is not.

For example, if I am at the computer and the controller is on the lounge, I want to say "TV: Change Input HDMI3" so it switches the TV to ATV2 and I can play video or music from iTunes to the TV.

Or, since I have an Airport Express as well so that I can watch the cricket and the wife listens to music instead of the commentary, to turn it back to TV sound on my HIFI when something exciting happens and I want to hear, I want to say "HIFI: Change Input Digital In" and after that "HIFI: Change Input Auxiliary" to return to the AE.

Voice recognition for common basic commands would be useful on all the devices. eg Volume Up, Volume Down, Channel Up, Channel 10, Menu, TV Guide, Fast Forward, Pause, TV Off, Mute, etc.

Maybe Logitech can add voice recognition to their Harmony range.

You are probably one of the few who actually want voice response over pushing buttons.

Nothing makes me (and most people I talk to) angrier is getting a voice response system when calling a company. Please, just let me use a keypad...I don't want to have to speak my problem out loud to a computer.

You REALLY would rather speak a command then push a button?

 

[stuartmeyers]

You REALLY would rather speak a command then push a button?

Yes, absolutely. It is inevitable? With a limited number of commands and improving technology it will happen. I agree that some voice systems are rubbish but like the tablet, sooner or later someone will get it right.

In regards to ATV having a TV tuner, for me the ATV2 is a peripheral and I would prefer my Panasonic HDD recorder and Hifi to have Airplay.

 

[newagemac]

I just want an Apple TV with a composite input 🙁

I have multiple TVs in the house, and besides the 50" 3DTV, one of them is an older 54" projection SDTV that works much better for gaming. Would love to be able to stream video to it, because 480i/p content and DVD-rips actually look lot better on it than on the newer TV (on which it looks pixellated), and the TV can't be used for anything other than gaming in its current state (I cancelled cable and stream everything).

A PS3 would work to stream to it, but that's $299 to stream to an older TV...

Hey, I think I found a solution to this problem. I'll post my experiences once I test it out Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

[mstrze]

Yes, absolutely. It is inevitable? With a limited number of commands and improving technology it will happen. I agree that some voice systems are rubbish but like the tablet, sooner or later someone will get it right.

I just can't imagine talking myself horse just flipping through the channels to find something to watch. "up channel...up channel...up channel..."...especially in situations where you want to be quiet...like when someone else is sleeping and you have the volume down. Or when there is a lot of ambient noise..like when many people are in the room.

All-encompassing commands like "watch a disc"...perhaps or "switch to HDMI1" might be tolerable and functional, but volume control and channel changing is used far too frequently to make a voice command the ideal method of control.

Sure, some voice recognition will be used someday...and probably body-movement recognition, but I can't imagine you will be able to completely do away with pressing some sort of handheld device to get your entertainment system to perform for you.

Even in your post, you are asking Logitech to build voice recognition into its remotes. You REALLY would rather say "volume up" 3 times into the remote instead of simply holding down the volume button for a few seconds???

 

[rayward]

I just can't imagine talking myself horse just flipping through the channels to find something to watch. "up channel...up channel...up channel..."...especially in situations where you want to be quiet...like when someone else is sleeping and you have the volume down. Or when there is a lot of ambient noise..like when many people are in the room.

All-encompassing commands like "watch a disc"...perhaps or "switch to HDMI1" might be tolerable and functional, but volume control and channel changing is used far too frequently to make a voice command the ideal method of control.

Sure, some voice recognition will be used someday...and probably body-movement recognition, but I can't imagine you will be able to completely do away with pressing some sort of handheld device to get your entertainment system to perform for you.

Even in your post, you are asking Logitech to build voice recognition into its remotes. You REALLY would rather say "volume up" 3 times into the remote instead of simply holding down the volume button for a few seconds???

My BMW has both voice and manual controls for the entertainment, navigation and climate control systems. The infamous iDrive control is pretty clunky, but the physical controls for the climate control and entertainment system are fantastic. The voice command system does a great job of recognising commands and, more impressively, proper nouns taken from the nav system or my phone directory - no pre-recording required.

My annoyance with the voice command system is that it will cancel out the moment you touch a physical control. I'd like it to stay active, so that I can use the knobs or my voice as best suits the job in hand. For example, I can speak a street name and, if there are multiple options, a list will pop up on the screen. If I scroll to the street I want with the iDrive wheel, it cancels voice command and forces me to complete the entry by hand. I'd much prefer it to stay active for subsequent entries so that I can speak the street number, instead of having to scroll back and forth with the iDrive wheel to select the digits.

In summary, a system that combines voice and physical controls for a home theatre would be great. You would use the buttons for things like surfing, changing the volume, fast forward and rewind, but might choose to use voice commands to turn it on/off or switch inputs. Flexibility is the key.