Next-Generation iMac to Potentially Offer Television Functionality?

[ctdonath]

It is multi-homing to your media connections, such as cable, broadcast, satellite as well as internet via fiber, copper, wireless and in a pinch (power outage), dial-up. One box all control. Have we arrived yet?

GoogleTV took a shot at that. Failed, it seems. Not sure how "oh, but it was just missing..." will cure whatever ailed it.

Perusing this thread, I'm amused at my own reaction of "oh, wait...I don't need such a thing because my TV has supplanted all 'TV' experience."

I still contend what everyone is missing in this subject is the brain dead couch potato experience of "here we are now, entertain us". All the current options require too much thought & effort for when the audience doesn't want or have the IQ required to use the tool set.

 

[blitzkrieg79]

Wow, isn't Apple late to the game. My Toshiba Infinia way back in 1996 had TV functionality built in. Come to think of it. That computer way way ahead of its time with a lot of cool multimedia features.

http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/1996_09/pr1101.htm

 

[robjulo]

No, since everything will be Siri-driven, they won't include even a keyboard and a mouse in the package, bringing the price of the base iMac down to $1000.

So you can say Seinfeld 5 times before Siri finally understands you.

 

[couto27]

i have a led 24" samsung monitor fx24 with tv tuner in the kitchen, I'm using it has tv only, its nice because it only use 30w, rather than 200w of normal led.

but...

has a horrendous image in cable tv, everytime i need to use it with a laptop or desktop i need to put the right definitions for computer use, its not worth it, too much hassle.

not even the pip feature make it a good deal.

computer monitor are for computers with right colors and settings.
tv screens are for tvs with their black screen and best image.

mixing both settings in one set, it will never delivery the best image possible.

 

[Porco]

The thing about high-DPI screens is that it needs high-DPI source.

The evidence is that Apple doesn't agree with that statement at all when it comes to TV/video/movies etc. They obviously don't care very much about it, or we'd have full Blu-ray support from them.

 

[iMikeT]

I watch TV shows on my iMac. Hence, my 2011 iMac all ready offers me television functionality.

 

[C00rDiNaT0r]

I still contend what everyone is missing in this subject is the brain dead couch potato experience of "here we are now, entertain us". All the current options require too much thought & effort for when the audience doesn't want or have the IQ required to use the tool set.

I think you've nailed it. IMO this is why the GoogleTV isn't doing so well. If we bought an "iTV" to replace our existing TV, we've already worked hard enough to afford one. We shouldn't need to work harder to figure out how to watch shows/movies on it.

A successful iTV needs to excel in 2 things:

1) know what you want to watch
2) deliver

It is crucial that the iTV lets me watch the baseball game that's happening right now, without having me trying to figure out what channel it is on and/or searching for the channel number, like we currently do with our TVs. It also needs to know I want to watch a specific episode of The Simpsons, with the least amount of browsing and key-pressing, so it will be easier than doing it through the current AppleTV.

 

[Yinmay]

Give me a 32" iMac with proper UI and font size scalability so I can comfortably read from a couple meters away, and that'd be the perfect (bedroom) TV for me.

Who needs Apple TV services integration on iMac when you can already access the full iTunes software and the "real" Netflix/Hulu websites?

Also reintroduce the video input functionality that pre-Thunderbolt 27" iMac had so I can use it as an external display for another device (cable box, xbox, blu-ray, etc).

A 47" or 55" Apple TV? No thanks.

 

[mayhone1]

Give me a 32" iMac with proper UI and font size scalability so I can comfortably read from a couple meters away, and that'd be the perfect (bedroom) TV for me.

Who needs Apple TV services integration on iMac when you can already access the full iTunes software and the "real" Netflix/Hulu websites?

Also reintroduce the video input functionality that pre-Thunderbolt 27" iMac had so I can use it as an external display for another device (cable box, xbox, blu-ray, etc).

A 47" or 55" Apple TV? No thanks.

I completely agree with this!

 

[MacSince1990]

 

[stracky]

TV in iMac = Elgato for $100.
X2 elgatos = picture in picture.
this has been around for years.

what would be nice is having a 30/32 inch iMac pro

Make Pro's are a waste of money unless your into some very hefty pro video edits. All I want a massive screen - thats its, more screen realestate, 2 monitors doesnt really cut it as whats the point if your image has a 5cm gap in the middle?

 

[eye]

I LOVE the tv rumors. They keep getting dumber and further away from anything that cold make Apple a profit.

 

[MacFly123]

Apple will integrate TV functionality into the new Xserve machines due in Febtober.

-Adam Kempenich, Analyst

Apple will do away with buttons of any sort by the middle of 2012.

- David Leblond, Analyst

The iPad will fail because it's just a giant iPod Touch.
- All analysts, early 2010

new iPad due september '11
Richard Allen, Analyst

Haha love it Many of us here would be much more accurate than anal-ysts for sure!

It's definitely interesting, but I'm not sure if I buy it.

An ideal location to place a desktop would not be the ideal location for TV. If they can bring this to the iMac via software update then that's great, but I'd still have a "real" TV.

Not sure this makes any sense. Apple has actually moved in the opposite direction. They axed Front Row in Lion and rewrote the Apple TV software for iOS instead of OS X. They would need a complete redesign if this were the case, and if Siri is to be the main UI differentiator as assumed why would they start on the Mac when it is already compiled and running on iOS? They would have to rewrite Siri all over. This is evidenced by the fact that Apple JUST posted 2 job listings for someone to do EXACTLY THAT, port Siri to other platforms like the Mac!

This is all bogus. People want a real TV and Apple will start with real TVs that run iOS which ALREADY has Siri!

 

[adder7712]

Haha love it Many of us here would be much more accurate than anal-ysts for sure!

2012 MacBook Pros will get Retina OLED displays.
- John Doe, Analyst.

 

[TheEddiePShow]

I hope this isn't true. I might have to sell my iMac to pay for rent lol. And when I get another iMac, I'd like it to have better hardware in it to make it run better and not just the ability to watch tv.

 

[BTW]

Makes total sense as a way to dip their toes into the market. We've already been using ours as a television with Netflix and Hulu.

 

[Cruzer442]

I don't know anybody who's desktop is in position where they'd want to watch television on it. Five TV's in my house not one is where I'd want my computer to be either.

 

[MacFlorida]

I hope it’s a 60 inch or bigger iMac !!

 

[AidenShaw]

Windows Media Center works, though that might be one setup wizard too many for some people.

Isn't that always the problem? Windows Media Center will do what you want - but you have to tell it what you want. Apple stuff, on the other hand, tells you what you want. No setup, but no option to tell it that you don't want the default.

Most times I watch streamed movies (iTunes or NetFlix) via Apple TV. But at 720p with usually lots artifacts (due to compression much more than 720p).

Yes - over-compressed 720p does not deserve to be called "HD".

... but for select movies, I prefer Bluray, where I CANNOT see any artifacts: LOTR:EE, any Pixar or other visually stunning movies.

Yes - BD beauty.

Oh look, a story I'm not interested in! I'll just skip ov...

NO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING FINGER?

DON'T... CLICK...

ARGGGHHHHHHH

WHY...

Ok finger. You got what you want. I'm going to say something negative in the thread to spite you though.

LOL - post of the week. If you don't want some articles - just don't read them!

I wonder if you'll still be able to use a "box" to receive premium channels from a provider, or if this "tuner" concept is strictly provided by Apple via iCloud and they will provide the content.... (well- it is Apple.. I think I already know the answer to that one)

Yes, it is Apple. Expect to pay per show, and pay twice if you want to watch it a second time.

Compression is pretty heavy on iTunes stuff, HD looks decent though, I would never say bad

Itunes HD doesn't look "bad" compared to YouTube - but compared to BD it's artifact-laden crap.

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

If you add store openings to your list, I am in.

Agree - store openings are as boring as seeing people's user-agent strings at the top of every post.

Same question over and over. Same answer: Not cost effective. You're far better off getting a seperate player/burner. That would cost far less than what Apple would have to charge to design and fit it into their iMac chassis.

Now that BD-ROM drives are available at retail for less than $50, why is it that Apple would need to charge "far more"?

The thing about high-DPI screens is that it needs high-DPI source.

And your ISP will add a hyper-surcharge for downloading those sources.

Pictures of that quality are not coming over my internet connection anytime soon.

See the comment immediately above....

So you can say Seinfeld 5 times before Siri finally understands you.

And when you say it the 3rd time someone is going to smack you for being annoying.

Oh, for the Good Old Days of Rude Cellphone Gabbers

5 Tips for Using Apple's Siri Without Annoying People

 

[nlawson1]

I personally think that this is the better option for the apple tv, I mean having a mac mini hooked up to a basic big screen probably gives you more than a future apple tv would and probably cost a lot less.

As the apple tv stands, I would never buy that or anything like it - way to constrictive. If I had wanted to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade - no deal! But with my iMac, searched the web, found someone streaming it - done deal. Same for live games, movies (Crackle is awesome!), tv shows, and on and on - because the web has everything. The fact that every company constricts the typical user from access to the web says something - that if you have the entire web on a tv - you DON'T need their box.

 

[Treeman574]

So could this replace the need for Eye TV style products?

 

[katanna]

Can we do rid of these stupid analyst threads please? Oh and the court case threads. Neither are interesting.

I have no problem with analyst threads, my problem is that the headline is misleading. Instead of saying "Next-Generation iMac to Potentially Offer Television Functionality" it should say "Some Random Analyst Made Something Up About Apple". Problem solved.

Matthew

 

[ersatzplanet]

If this will run on an iMac then it will run on a Mac Mini that I can plug into the TV I already own. I could run the touch interface from my iPad or iPhone "remote" Why would I want to by a new TV?

 

[MattInOz]

Here you go turn your iMac into TV with a tiny plastic nub.

Buy two do picture in picture.

 

[MythicFrost]

I read "Next-Generation iMac to" and got excited thinking we had some leak about the next generation iMacs, and then I see "television functionality"... meh.