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iTV To Go 'Beyond Streaming'?

islanders said:
it seems like most people are dying for HD over here. <snip> I don’t think anyone anticipated the demand for HD. People watch programs they normally wouldn’t if it’s HD.
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It's possible to both be quite right here. HD is underestimated, but having greater demand than expected is a separate issue to overall market size.

Anyway, as you say... there are 2 separate markets - the 2 evolutions of PayTV are "on demand", and HD (or both together). People who have invested in a top notch TV will easily pay for HD players (like an iTV-HD). Others may just want to watch what they want, when they want it.

If Apple only releases a HD system, and it costs a premium, I won't end up buying it. I'd be paying for a premium that I couldn't take advantage of. And besides, at the moment the iTS sells 640x480 anyway.

islanders said:
Digital 480p isn’t bad, but it’s 4:3 aspect.
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Really, is that what you're doing in the US?

We've got Digital 576i in Australia as our standard definition, but it's in the 16:9 aspect ratio. Apple can choose whatever combination they want, I'm sure.
 
GregA said:
It's possible to both be quite right here. HD is underestimated, but having greater demand than expected is a separate issue to overall market size.

Anyway, as you say... there are 2 separate markets - the 2 evolutions of PayTV are "on demand", and HD (or both together). People who have invested in a top notch TV will easily pay for HD players (like an iTV-HD). Others may just want to watch what they want, when they want it.

If Apple only releases a HD system, and it costs a premium, I won't end up buying it. I'd be paying for a premium that I couldn't take advantage of. And besides, at the moment the iTS sells 640x480 anyway.

Really, is that what you're doing in the US?

We've got Digital 576i in Australia as our standard definition, but it's in the 16:9 aspect ratio. Apple can choose whatever combination they want, I'm sure.
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At least our TV's aren't upside down :D :cool: ;)
 
I think a lot of you are expecting way too much on the "iTV" and will be very disappointed when it gets released.

1. DVR Functionality?
Nope, I don't see it. Don't see it happening EVER. This places iTV in direct competition with Cable and Satellite providers, which (imho) is a losing battle. A good example is Tivo. While, Tivo is still lauded in the industry and consumers as having the "best DVR interface/UI," it's still not selling well to consumers. Why? Cable and Satellite providers are providing DVRs and a MUCH lower cost, and even though their UI/interface sucks terribly, because of the LOW COST, the Cable/Satellite boxes are outselling Tivos.

On Demand. This category amongst cable companies are expanding very rapidly and offering free content left and right. Good example is HBO, nearly *ALL* of their shows are On Demand now which is instant access to all of their shows. Generally speaking (for people who use HBO On Demand), this has been extremely popular, maybe this is why HBO is still not being sold on iTunes? Why download when you have access to nearly all of the HBO content for free and instantaneous?


2. Remote Desktop viewer?
Nope, don't see this at all either. If this were a Mac world only, MAYBE I could see this happening, but the harsh reality is that we live in a primarily Windows world. I really don't see Apple moving into utilizing Remote Desktop on Windows machines THROUGH iTV.

You have to remember that unlike iMac, Mac Pro, Macbooks, etc, the iTV will have to satisfy Windows users as well.


What do I see the iTV for? Streaming media, a glorified IP TV box, an easier way to bring the iPod to the living room. I really don't see it doing anything else. I'm hoping that I'm wrong.

w00master
 
w00master said:
I think a lot of you are expecting way too much on the "iTV" and will be very disappointed when it gets released.

1. DVR Functionality?
Nope, I don't see it. Don't see it happening EVER. This places iTV in direct competition with Cable and Satellite providers, which (imho) is a losing battle. A good example is Tivo. While, Tivo is still lauded in the industry and consumers as having the "best DVR interface/UI," it's still not selling well to consumers. Why? Cable and Satellite providers are providing DVRs and a MUCH lower cost, and even though their UI/interface sucks terribly, because of the LOW COST, the Cable/Satellite boxes are outselling Tivos.

On Demand. This category amongst cable companies are expanding very rapidly and offering free content left and right. Good example is HBO, nearly *ALL* of their shows are On Demand now which is instant access to all of their shows. Generally speaking (for people who use HBO On Demand), this has been extremely popular, maybe this is why HBO is still not being sold on iTunes? Why download when you have access to nearly all of the HBO content for free and instantaneous?


2. Remote Desktop viewer?
Nope, don't see this at all either. If this were a Mac world only, MAYBE I could see this happening, but the harsh reality is that we live in a primarily Windows world. I really don't see Apple moving into utilizing Remote Desktop on Windows machines THROUGH iTV.

You have to remember that unlike iMac, Mac Pro, Macbooks, etc, the iTV will have to satisfy Windows users as well.


What do I see the iTV for? Streaming media, a glorified IP TV box, an easier way to bring the iPod to the living room. I really don't see it doing anything else. I'm hoping that I'm wrong.

w00master
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I would be only be disappointed if I purchased the device and it wasn’t up to my expectations.

If it has incredibly limited features and offers no value and no one buys it, I don’t care.

I have all those features in my living room right now. VOD, HD DVR, (which is the same thing as TiVo, as Comcast will be using a TiVo next year for the DVR)

Just because some of us are speculating on what we would be of value to us, HD, less commercials, a more useful bandwidth, doesn’t mean we are expecting to see any of this next week.
 
I'm still not toally sold on the whole iTv thing. Hopefully an apple TV would have one of these built in. $299 seems very expensive for such low quality files.
 
w00master said:
What do I see the iTV for? Streaming media, a glorified IP TV box, an easier way to bring the iPod to the living room. I really don't see it doing anything else. I'm hoping that I'm wrong.
Click to expand...

This is how iTV was originally presented, at least from what I recall, accessing your iTunes/iPhoto content on a TV. There's a hint there may be more, but I don't think so.

My interest is the convenience of not having to plug my iBook into the TV and then mount the media drive inside the MacPro located upstairs, to watch some family movies or something I've downloaded. This certainly isn't convenient for the rest of the family.

I've been shoving everything Music/Video related into iTunes, which has made access loads easier/quicker from both the iBook and my wife's Windows XP laptop (using iTunes) - but it's still not on the TV, without cables etc (and no remote)

Unfortunately I've also noticed that not all movies/video-podcasts are shared properly, some are fixed by re-importing, some by re-tagging with 'lostify', but others are stubborn - this 'bug' needs fixing!
 
w00master said:
I think a lot of you are expecting way too much on the "iTV" and will be very disappointed when it gets released.

What do I see the iTV for? Streaming media, a glorified IP TV box, an easier way to bring the iPod to the living room. I really don't see it doing anything else. I'm hoping that I'm wrong.

w00master
Click to expand...

Which would be totally fine with me, I just NEED HD content. On that note...I wonder if I could transfer my standard def purchases into HD ones.:confused:
 
w00master said:
On Demand. This category amongst cable companies are expanding very rapidly and offering free content left and right. Good example is HBO, nearly *ALL* of their shows are On Demand now which is instant access to all of their shows. Generally speaking (for people who use HBO On Demand), this has been extremely popular, maybe this is why HBO is still not being sold on iTunes? Why download when you have access to nearly all of the HBO content for free and instantaneous?
Click to expand...
That's interesting. Apple doesn't have a subscription model - so this kind of service isn't on iTunes.

But it is something iTunes/iTV would be able to easily do (technically). I could subscribe to HBO On Demand for $10/mth (or whatever) without paying for a full cable service.

I guess the problem with a subscription model is, for now, the cost of bandwidth to Apple. A bittorrent-like sharing system might solve that.
 
GregA said:
I guess the problem with a subscription model is, for now, the cost of bandwidth to Apple. A bittorrent-like sharing system might solve that.
Click to expand...

.. they could just use a similar setup as their Podcast listings... Apple lists em, for free so far, but the podcasters host the files.
 
Danksi said:
.. they could just use a similar setup as their Podcast listings... Apple lists em, for free so far, but the podcasters host the files.
Click to expand...
True, as long as there is a payment model that works too (for stuff like HBO On Demand). I would prefer to have a single bill for all subscriptions, but if I'm only watching a couple then I could pay them directly.

Of course, if I'm downloading direct from the provider, then someone still has to pay to provide shows (there's a specific cost for each show downloaded). Till now, the purchase model has ensured people pay a larger price per show, and only download once - while a subscription model would be a smaller price per show and it's feasible that some subscribers will watch the same thing again a week later. The download fee becomes a larger portion of the cost.

If Apple released a bittorrent model, it would move the upload cost to subscribers, who often pay nothing for uploads. TWiT reckons it costs Apple 25c/song for a download ... if they're right this would be a significant saving to Apple. If iTunes goes Bittorrent it might fundamentally change usage patterns of the net.

On another note, this would allow Apple to offer a 'backup' of everyone's purchased music and shows - which just means you can re-download them anytime you want rather than store them locally.
 
I don't think HD content is going to make it unless Apple compresses the mess out of it like DirecTV does. You may get 1080i but it will pixelate with any quick movement. That's one of the problems with digital media. It can be manipulated in so many ways that many consumers won't realize they're getting junk because one measure of performance like resolution will be stellar.
 
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