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New Apple TV at WWDC

Give me full fledged iOS apps and therefore internal storage, h265 support, and a proper GPU for gaming iOS style, and support for controllers. Then I'll sell my current Mac Mini that is running as media center.
 
MacsRgr8 said:
I wonder if Apple is sitting on the fence here: keep the Apple TV a media-streaming box thus keeping it low-cost, or go for the inevitable gaming console once more storage, better CPU / GPU and app support arrive?
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why not both?

Keep the $69 box for basic streaming, add a $99 - $150 box with more robust specs.

Would love to see an apple video game controller, but they'll probably just highlight the 3rd party Mfi Controllers.
 
ButteryScrollin said:
why not both?

Keep the $69 box for basic streaming, add a $99 - $150 box with more robust specs.

Would love to see an apple video game controller, but they'll probably just highlight the 3rd party Mfi Controllers.
Click to expand...

I expect the more robust TV to be in the $200 - $250 range.
A8 or later processor, 64 GB / 128 GB storage, i.e. a high-end iPad but without the display built in.
 
Why do people want to converge a streaming box and a gaming box? I feel like they are so different, and serve different markets, that they should not be converged.

I want my streaming box to be minimalist, low power, highly reliable, and so simple that my grandma can use it. It can be forgiven for having older chips, and less bells and whistles.

I want my gaming console to have GPU power and more power. Since my grandma, or anyone like her, won't be using it, it can be forgiven for being less reliable and more complex. Since I probably will be turning it on only when I use it, it can also be forgiven for being power hungry and heat intensive, with fans.

The two should not be mixed.
 
oneMadRssn said:
Why do people want to converge a streaming box and a gaming box? I feel like they are so different, and serve different markets, that they should not be converged.

I want my streaming box to be minimalist, low power, highly reliable, and so simple that my grandma can use it. It can be forgiven for having older chips, and less bells and whistles.

I want my gaming console to have GPU power and more power. Since my grandma, or anyone like her, won't be using it, it can be forgiven for being less reliable and more complex. Since I probably will be turning it on only when I use it, it can also be forgiven for being power hungry and heat intensive, with fans.

The two should not be mixed.
Click to expand...

Why do people want to converge a phone with an internet communication device?
Before the iPhone a smartphone sounded ridiculous. Nokia tried it with the Communicator but no consumer wanted it.
Once Apple launched the iPhone, suddenly everyone wanted the phone and internet communication device. Once it's done right, you'll want one.

IMHO, the same can be achieved with an  TV. Done right with the right apps, you'll want the streaming box / gaming box.
But it must be done right. There lies the challenge.
 
MacsRgr8 said:
Why do people want to converge a phone with an internet communication device?
Before the iPhone a smartphone sounded ridiculous. Nokia tried it with the Communicator but no consumer wanted it.
Once Apple launched the iPhone, suddenly everyone wanted the phone and internet communication device. Once it's done right, you'll want one.

IMHO, the same can be achieved with an  TV. Done right with the right apps, you'll want the streaming box / gaming box.
But it must be done right. There lies the challenge.
Click to expand...

As an aside, I think Palm deserves the most credit for bringing a converged phone/internet device to the masses, not Apple. At least I was jealous of people who had Palm phones with an internet browser and apps, years before the iPhone. However, that is neither here nor there as to your point.

Converging a cell phone with PDA functionality was certainly an invention, but it was logical and not as much of a convergence as people think. First, both there was lots of overlapping technical requirements. For both to be useful, both needed some form of two-way radio communication, both needed a means for robust text input, both needed to be power efficient, to name a few. By merging the two, there were lots of efficiency gains as well. Each needs a battery, a screen, a processor, a radio controller, an antenna, etc. These components can be shared between the functions and therefore duplicates can be eliminated. Further, in terms of functionality, the differences were minor, and in fact it wasn't even so much a convergence as merely adding a phone application to the PDA.

The present AppleTV plus gaming situation is different. The technical requirements don't overlap as much, and in some areas are actually opposite of each other. Power efficiency versus powerful GPU.

It reminds me of those dorm-room frig/microwave combinations that are sold to college kids. One needs to make things cold, another needs to make things hot. There is really no better way to converge the two other than just bolting one to the top of the other. There is no gain in efficiency because there are no duplicate components that can be shared instead.
 
oneMadRssn said:
Why do people want to converge a streaming box and a gaming box? I feel like they are so different, and serve different markets, that they should not be converged.

I want my streaming box to be minimalist, low power, highly reliable, and so simple that my grandma can use it. It can be forgiven for having older chips, and less bells and whistles.

I want my gaming console to have GPU power and more power. Since my grandma, or anyone like her, won't be using it, it can be forgiven for being less reliable and more complex. Since I probably will be turning it on only when I use it, it can also be forgiven for being power hungry and heat intensive, with fans.

The two should not be mixed.
Click to expand...

I agree that I don't want gaming as part of :apple:TV but I would like a serious processor in it. I'd be more than happy to pay extra for a snappier TV experience.
 
oneMadRssn said:
Why do people want to converge a streaming box and a gaming box? I feel like they are so different, and serve different markets, that they should not be converged.

I want my streaming box to be minimalist, low power, highly reliable, and so simple that my grandma can use it. It can be forgiven for having older chips, and less bells and whistles.

I want my gaming console to have GPU power and more power. Since my grandma, or anyone like her, won't be using it, it can be forgiven for being less reliable and more complex. Since I probably will be turning it on only when I use it, it can also be forgiven for being power hungry and heat intensive, with fans.

The two should not be mixed.
Click to expand...
THIS already exists. Apple TV 3. Done.

Streaming only, previous generation CPU. Done. Your wish is reality.
 
Gaming in AppleTV land.

I don't think the AppleTV has to be a standalone gaming console to play in that territory and be useful. If you can port-in or wirelessly stream your portable iOS or OS X device and use a wireless gaming controller with the AppleTV, it will serve as a simple multifunctional device at a very competitive price point vs. the big consoles and big console games.

Plus it gives iOS developers a whole new space to play in. In-game purchases of AppleTV extensions for existing iOS games to make use of (for example) multiplayer gaming with multiple gaming controllers.

As the processing power of all chips increases, the competitive play is to create and establish a presence in new landscapes. Once upon a time, the idea of an addictive, compelling phone game was ridiculous. Well eventually, sticking your iDevice into an AppleTV and playing fun 4-player games is going to be possible.

Nobody else is there.
 
The problem with just being a streaming proxy for gaming is lag. Any game that includes reaction and/or timing is going to suffer from that otherwise imperceptible delay between being generated on the original device and displayed on the remote screen. If you still wanted to go that route, I'd suggest thinking more in terms of the game essentially uploading itself to the ATV's streaming buffer space and actually running on the ATV, but controlled from the hosting iOS device.

In any event, I can easily see Apple making multiple variants of the Apple TV with the entry-level version being similar to what we have today and the higher-end units having more storage and possibly even beefier processing power to handle gaming. Not sure if they're going to go there, but it's possible.

For June announcements, here's what I expect:

  • Two-tier hardware solutions with a basic streaming box at $69 and a more powerful option anywhere between $99 and $199.
  • Redesign of the underlying ATV software so that it is more like platform plus applications instead of the current single application that it is now. (Which would allow a channel/app store model that is currently impractical from a technical standpoint.)
  • A lot of emphasis on content options. The level of detail provided will likely still be somewhat vague as deals will still be in progress.

I really wouldn't hold my breath for too much more than that - which would actually still be quite a bit, honestly. Announcing this at WWDC makes much more sense if they're opening it up to 3rd-party apps/channels via the "store" model. I figure that a June announcement would be followed by a late-August or early-September release (timing based on getting those units out there in time for the start of the traditional fall TV season).
 
Tanax said:
Why are people so obsessed over Live TV?
Click to expand...

Would make it a lot easier to cut the cable or ditch the dish, especially if there was OTA DVR capability. Yeah, you can get that with TiVo but it's $15 a month *and* has separate hardware which requires multiple remotes (or programming something like a Harmony).

I for one would be all over an Apple TV if it had a way to hook into OTA tuners with a DVR capability when an external disk is attached.
 
I have an AppleTV and love it...
My entire movie collection is on a 3TB drive and I can't remember the last time I used my DVD Player. This is the main reason I have the AppleTV...it's a nice UI and can do this with very little effort.

That being said, I don't understand the reason behind adding all of these channels. My AppleTV is hooked up to a TV...that TV has cable. Why would I ever watch CNN on my AppleTV when I can avoid a step and just watch it through Cable? You need a cable provider to access it on AppleTV so I don't understand the point?

I've known people to cancel cable and just use ATV with Netflix, Hulu+, etc..and then just ala-carte seasons of shows they watch that aren't available through those services. By the time they're done doing this ala-carte, it's basically the same price of just keeping cable.

I'd love to get rid of my cable provider but watching live sports is a must and I have so many different shows scattered throughout different networks. I just don't see how much I'd save (if any) to get rid of my cable provider (especially since I'd still need the internet service)
 
I will pay up to 200 dollars for a somewhat larger box that has USB 3, a full on iOS with app store and messaging/social stuff, A8X chip, 64 or 128gb of storage and support for iOS gaming controllers. something that would be like a stripped down gaming console / full on media hub.
 
I put of buying an AppleTV for ages thinking there would be an update. Finally gave up waiting and got one 3 months ago and now they're updating it - typical!

The biggest plus for me would be if the new box has someone way to directly access a USB drive or NAS. Will be holding off on purchasing a Mac Mini until I know the answer to that one.

On the app front I'm less bothered about being able to get games and more hopeful it will open up AppleTV to more content providers. For a start it would be nice not to have to change the country setting from UK every time I want to access WWE Network!
 
The price cut is clearing out the channels to make room for a new model at $99

----------

Why doesn't Apple take it up a notch and port the Apple TV software over to a Mac mini? Just thinking...
 
I am beginning to think that in addition to Apple TV 4, Apple may finally unveil full-pledge television sets at WWDC.

Just about every new televisions on the market are smart TV. Even the lowest end TV sets sold at Costco (e.g., $190 32" Visio) have WiFi and Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, etc.

Apple fans will probably buy Apple TV "Digital Media Adapter" anyway, if only for iTunes integration and AirPlay Mirroring. But I suspect most people won't. If Apple wants to stay relevant in the living room, they have a little choice but to make television sets.
 
bkenyon53 said:
I have an AppleTV and love it...
My entire movie collection is on a 3TB drive and I can't remember the last time I used my DVD Player. This is the main reason I have the AppleTV...it's a nice UI and can do this with very little effort.

That being said, I don't understand the reason behind adding all of these channels. My AppleTV is hooked up to a TV...that TV has cable. Why would I ever watch CNN on my AppleTV when I can avoid a step and just watch it through Cable? You need a cable provider to access it on AppleTV so I don't understand the point?

I've known people to cancel cable and just use ATV with Netflix, Hulu+, etc..and then just ala-carte seasons of shows they watch that aren't available through those services. By the time they're done doing this ala-carte, it's basically the same price of just keeping cable.

I'd love to get rid of my cable provider but watching live sports is a must and I have so many different shows scattered throughout different networks. I just don't see how much I'd save (if any) to get rid of my cable provider (especially since I'd still need the internet service)
Click to expand...

The new channels, if as described, will mean you don't necessarily need cable. It may actually be a al carte TV.
 
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