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Munster: An Apple TV Set by 2011

If apple goes down this road, it will bankrupt them.

No way this will happen.

They can't compete in this market.

They don't even want to. TVs are a race to the bottom, no matter what features they have, because flat-screen tech is so fast-moving and so relatively immature.

Not a chance.
 
jlanganki said:
I wouldn't mind if Apple TV added Netflix streaming and Hulu.com support. It won't happen though because they're competitors. Therefore, I hope the Roku player adds Hulu.com support, then it would be complete.
Click to expand...

Roku player should add iTunes and Hulu support. THEN it would be complete.

BTW - I LOVE my Roku.
 
DELLsFan said:
I couldn't give a rats tail what the cable companies think. I pay way too much for cable service. THEY are the ones that have enjoyed regional monopolies in towns throughout the years. THEY are the ones who have resisted consumer attempts to order channels a la carte - instead; forcing their packages on customers. THEY are the ones who fought tooth and nail to prevent the cable cards and integration of services like TIVO - instead; forcing their crappy DVR bricks onto customers. THEY are the ones charging extra for multiple cable boxes and remotes per account. THEY are the ones who haven't figured out what DRM has done to the Record Labels.

I say - let the cable companies die a painful bankruptcy and bring on my new and improved Apple TV service. 😀
Click to expand...

You pay too much for cable service because they keep adding channels, but as they add channels, I can still only watch 1 thing at a time.

I agree that they've fought against CableCard/OCAP, but I think they're beginning to realize whats happening. They're starting to come around.

A la carte will never happen because while the cable company would charge you per channel, do you think the content providers will all of a sudden accept less money? What gives you the idea that they would be OK with materially changing their agreements with cable and satellite companies to accept less money? They'll come in and say that the cable company will hand over $3 per subscriber for ESPN whether they subscribe to it in a la carte or not. Does your cable company have the guts to ditch all the ESPN sports channels? The Disney Channel? No they don't. A la carte will not save anyone any money.

Remember, its not just cable companies that you should be mad at. Be mad at Cisco/Scientific Atlanta or Motorola for charging per-unit fees that the Cable co passes on to you, be mad at Viacom, ESPN/Disney/ABC for the huge annual price hikes they force on customers.
 
jlanganki said:
This guy has zero understanding of Apple. TVs are a commodity, they're interchangeable. Apple doesn't sell commodities. I do think they'll add more features to Apple TV over time, but they would never go beyond that and sell an actual TV. That's just a dumb idea.
Click to expand...
You may have ZERO understanding of what a commodity is OR what Apple may or may not do.

Tvs, stereos, mp3 players.... even toasters and clock radios... these are NOT commodities. Commodities are things for which there is little possibility of differentiation across producers, and for which the market has determine a standard price based on demand.

Especially with electronics, there are wild differences amongst producers/manufacturers, and huge price differences in relation to any number of factors. In the electronics field, "transistors" or "Flash ram" are commodities, not he gadgets themselves.

No, Apple will likely produce a TV at some point, but like their Bluetooth headset and HiFi stereo system, they may or may not choose to continue the uncharacteristic offering (in a crowded field), if its not in their best interest to do so. While mp3 players may be ubiquitous, Apple continues to perform as the market leader, regardless of the feature parity achieved (or not) by their competitors.

Don't believe the hype that sticking an Apple logo on something will be all it needs to command legions of people to buy it in droves. If Apple thought that, they'd be out of business (evidenced by the amount of time and effort they'd invested in their products). Apple needs to move quickly to sunset any offerings it makes now or in the future, that do not appear to hold its own in the marketplace.

~ CB
 
Hmmm - here's my take

I seriously doubt Apple would actually produce a set, as in a LCD, plasma or other forms. However, I do think they will unleash a major upgrade to the Apple TV product. Here's my expectations and wishlist...

Inputs
--------------------
CableCard slot
Coaxial In
HDMI (BluRay input, etc. - as I doubt they will ever produce a BluRay player)
Gigabit Ethernet
USB

Outputs
--------------------
HDMI
Component Video Out
Digital Audio Out

In The Box
--------------------
SuperDrive
1TB HDD or 2TB HDD
HDTV Dual Tuner

Software/Features
--------------------
DVR
DVD Player
Everything AppleTV does currently
Web Browser
Mobile Me access to DVR schedule, etc.
Is NOT paired with iTunes on PC or Mac to manage library, acts as media server
Burn CDs & DVDs
Rip CDs & DVDs

Accessories
--------------------
A real remote, not that piddly little Apple remote (but the iPhone Remote app is nice)

I absolutely HATE my ComCast DVR and would love to be able to own my own device like the one spec'd above instead.
 
Ugh, just add HDMI with digital sound passthrough to the mac mini and we'll take it from there. (Okay you can boost the on board video while you at it)
 
I did my own marketing class project on this in college. Ah, the memories. Good to see I was right, bad to know I'm not getting paid.
 
Conceptual Mockup

I just saw the analyst conceptual mockup and it looks like a 55" iPhone with a home button as the only control on the device. Shiny:apple:
 
Does Munster really think iTunes customers are going to give up their perfectly good HDTV sets to buy an Apple-branded set? Get real.

If anything, Apple may partner with a major TV manufacturer to include the Apple TV software built-in. However, there is no chance in hell they're going into the TV business.

Even this is doubtful, since Apple seems incapable of working as a partner with anyone (HP iPod failed, Motorola ROKR failed, Bandai Pipen failed, etc) on a product.
 
I have been hearing this crap for years.

The market is so saturate and with minimal profit margins and huge competition for low prices. So not happening.

Just move on.
 
I've yet to see a compelling reason that Apple would get into the all-in-one TV market.
Not only are monitors a commodity (i.e. low margin... not Apple's ball o'wax), but all-in-one's are an idiotic product to begin with. Monitor, I/O, receiver, and DVR technologies do not change at the same rate. Why buy (or sell) a product that locks consumers into upgrading based purely on the most expensive component? If I've sunk $2000 into an all-in-one, I'm far less likely to upgrade any individual component, and that doesn't serve anyone well.

Also, just how do 50" + TVs fit into the Apple Store model? Enormous investment and expansion needed in floor, display, and warehouse space, plus infrastructure to facilitate deliveries.

I call BS on this.
 
It's silly. Anyone can make wild predictions, with the hope that one lucky shot will result in a "visionary" label.
 
jaw04005 said:
Even this is doubtful, since Apple seems incapable of working as a partner with anyone (HP iPod failed, Motorola ROKR failed, Bandai Pipen failed, etc) on a product.
Click to expand...

Yeah... remember that huge failure in partnering with AT&T?
oh, right...
 
Slow MacRumors month.... considering next months keynote. Unless Steve or Phil releases something very new or different I would say even :apple: is suffering from the US retail market. No matter what the numbers say which I don't know how the computer company is doing the iPhone is rocking the charts. Steve please don't forget that you make computers🙄
 
GQB said:
Yeah... remember that huge failure in partnering with AT&T?
oh, right...
Click to expand...

AT&T wasn't Apple's development partner on the iPhone. They didn't help produce it or create it. In fact, AT&T has acknowledged that their agreement with Apple let Apple do it all. It's a service exclusivity agreement. That's completely different than having someone partner with you on the development of a product.
 
ErikMadsen said:
I seriously doubt Apple would actually produce a set, as in a LCD, plasma or other forms. However, I do think they will unleash a major upgrade to the Apple TV product. Here's my expectations and wishlist...

Inputs
--------------------
CableCard slot
Coaxial In
HDMI (BluRay input, etc. - as I doubt they will ever produce a BluRay player)
Gigabit Ethernet
USB

Outputs
--------------------
HDMI
Component Video Out
Digital Audio Out

In The Box
--------------------
SuperDrive
1TB HDD or 2TB HDD
HDTV Dual Tuner

Software/Features
--------------------
DVR
DVD Player
Everything AppleTV does currently
Web Browser
Mobile Me access to DVR schedule, etc.
Is NOT paired with iTunes on PC or Mac to manage library, acts as media server
Burn CDs & DVDs
Rip CDs & DVDs

Accessories
--------------------
A real remote, not that piddly little Apple remote (but the iPhone Remote app is nice)

I absolutely HATE my ComCast DVR and would love to be able to own my own device like the one spec'd above instead.
Click to expand...

So basically you want a Mac Mini with an external hard drive and an eyeTV for the cableCard and Coax.

netdoc66 said:
I just saw the analyst conceptual mockup and it looks like a 55" iPhone with a home button as the only control on the device. Shiny:apple:
Click to expand...

55" multitouch TV? Gimme gimme! 😀
 
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