Yeah, right. I watch crappy 480p movies from NetFlix on an 50" HD TV and after 5 minutes I have completely forgotten about the image quality. That won't even cross my mind unless the picture is blocky. Most people I know can't even tell the difference.
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Samsung Underestimating Apple's Potential Impact on Television Market?
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Yeah, right. I watch crappy 480p movies from NetFlix on an 50" HD TV and after 5 minutes I have completely forgotten about the image quality. That won't even cross my mind unless the picture is blocky. Most people I know can't even tell the difference.
By that logic Windows is a better product than OS X because it's got more people using it.
Samsung have a huge amount of marketing and are a lot bigger in terms of customer confidence than Panasonic and Pioneer. I myself own a Samsung TV and two Samsung screens? Why? Because not only are they very good quality, but they are a decent price. I've also got a Toshiba TV, which is a pile of crap and was more expensive.
If Apple TV is done well, it will remain a niche product for a long time. Most people in the upper demographic range, don't maintain their fitness and fun active lifestyle, by sitting on the couch.
I disagree. I think most TV consumers...just take the thing out of the box and plug it into whatever STB they have and go...wow. Very few people bother to a) read the manual b) research the best color settings c) place the TV in an optimal viewing location d) have the set professionally calibrated.
Even fewer people have surround sound or any kind of Home Theater solution were they can have access to the same media collection they might have on their computer or iPad.
If Apple can merge all these features into a single system with only ONE remote control consumers will go nuts. Apple will most certainly be able to source components from the various TV manufacturing supply chains to assemble a TV with picture quality that will suffice for 99% of the people who are not 'Videophiles'.
most people you know should get their eyes checked them. The different between 480p and 720p is pretty big.
And you don't think Apple has already addressed this?
Apple knows people don't buy a new TV every few years...which means that most likely there will be some sort of tech in it that you probably upgrade every few years if you want to.
Not really. You'd be surprised on what the average user thinks looks good vs what is really good looking.
Many believe bigger and brighter is good enough until they are shown a side by side comparison.
My GF father didn't realize his new 55" TV was hooked up via composite connections (via verizon installer) and when I came over to see the picture, I told him how ****** it looked. He thought it looked amazing. So after making sure his settings were correct, I looked at the back of the box and saw how they used composite connectors. We ran down to the store, got an HDMI cable and the rest they say is history.
The majority of people are like him. They don't know what refresh rate is, contrast ratio, black levels, i vs p, 480,720,1080, 4k.
Anytime I'm in Best Buy just checking out TV's and I overhear people talking about buying a crappy TV, I make sure I tell them about all the above so they at least can try to make an educated decision and show them the TV with a good picture feed in. (which pisses me off about stores...feeding in SD signals). I even had a BB Magnolia rep say I should get a job there. Every TV should have a BR-Ray feed in for comparison at least.
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Many of Panasonic plasmas were cheaper and had arguably had better image qualities than similarly priced LCDs. Yet they still struggled in sales because of various other factors.
Specs have never made the difference... EVER.
Here are some examples:
- nintendo 64 - technically superior - lost marketshare to much older systems (but hung around due to unique advantages)
- sega dreamcast - technically superior - catastrophic failure
- MiniDisc - technically superior - slow failure
- Memory Stick - superior at the time - failure (unless you use Sony products)
- Betamax - technically superior - we all know how that went
- Windows CE devices - technically superior - but a joke
- Palm VII - technically superior - failure (despite having a legitimately useful feature)
- APPLE NEWTON - technically superior on every level - failure
- Bernouilli Disc - technically superior in multiple ways - failure
let's come up with some more, shall we?
Excellent post Mr. Blue.
But people do tend to be able to decern, and value, image quality pretty well. So I think the apply TV will need to be visually equal to leaders like samsung. But I doubt they'll have a problem with that... The question will be, how much more will they pay for the apple usability convenience.
Not even sound for most AV enthousiasts...
For me, my TV only has a single HDMI input coming into it and the speakers are turned off.
Well, I have an ethernet cable for firmware updates...
First off, the Apple set will be more than just a television, it will likely be running iOS, and hopefully have apps, etc. Second, for anyone who is willing to adopt a new product, the price will be more-or-less meaningless. 7 years ago I paid $1400 for a 26" LCD Samsung. It's still going strong. I would pay that again for a TV that does more than just plug in to someone else's content provider (cable). I turned off my cable over a year ago, and I'm never looking back. There are too many easy and cheap services available to catch the shows I want to watch. Even commercial ads are waning in my house (YouTube & Hulu are the exceptions).
You do realise Samsung know exactly what research would have gone into an Apple Television Set.
Who supplies Apple with screens?
Today they say they're not concerned... Tomorrow they will start to copy every aspect of the Apple TV... and life goes on on Tech World
Personally, the quality of my iMac 27 is already enough for me... make it 62" big, running iOS, a dedicated TV application with TiVO features, Streaming from iTunes/Hulu/Netflix... including from Live Channels with a monthly subscription (under $30) and I'm done... regardless how good the quality could be on a Samsung, Pioneer, Sony, etc...
It's more about TV Experience than TV Quality only...
Spid
Personally, the quality of my iMac 27 is already enough for me... make it 62" big, running iOS, a dedicated TV application with TiVO features, Streaming from iTunes/Hulu/Netflix... including from Live Channels with a monthly subscription (under $30) and I'm done... regardless how good the quality could be on a Samsung, Pioneer, Sony, etc...
It's more about TV Experience than TV Quality only...
Spid
I don't think Apple will succeed in the television manufacturing market. I appreciate they are generally very clever in reinventing things and that content is the way forward with televisions. But, everyone knows that. Thats already happening. Its about who does it best, first. Google had a bad first attempt and I dont believe they will succeed. It could be a complete unknown. Then its about, who acquires them. If Apple do, people will rave about how Apple triumphed. Many of Apples 'big ideas' didnt originate from Apple.
Samsung in my opinion has made a dumb statement for two reason:
1. They still assume that next TV set leap is in the hardware, and as far the market has went major losses were due in pursue that goal.
2. They assume that because of Apple are not producing hardware has no saying in the matter. Beside that if Apple would offer $$$ to buy hardware from Samsung - as they usually do - I doubt they would turn down the offer.
I though it was quite obvious that the paradigm of the TV is quite obsolete, and that PCs are interactive, content providers on demand television sets, and the two should somehow be integrated.
1. They still assume that next TV set leap is in the hardware, and as far the market has went major losses were due in pursue that goal.
2. They assume that because of Apple are not producing hardware has no saying in the matter. Beside that if Apple would offer $$$ to buy hardware from Samsung - as they usually do - I doubt they would turn down the offer.
I though it was quite obvious that the paradigm of the TV is quite obsolete, and that PCs are interactive, content providers on demand television sets, and the two should somehow be integrated.
The D7000 is a pretty sweet tv, I'll give them that. I would REALLY like to see Apple introduce a tv with a small bezel like the Sammy D7000
People questioning why would Apple enter this market
This is a bit simplified but:
Apple's supply chain gives it 3-5% savings compared to competitors
Majority of apple TVs will be sold through apple own retail channel another 10-15% saved
Apple does not operate on borrowed capital so another 3-5% saved
Apple can purchase parts prepaying for year+ in advance another 5%
So at a price when sammy would make 0 apple will make 21%-30%
This does not account for content revenue
This does not account for Apple's ability to charge a premium even if it will be modest 10%
This is a bit simplified but:
Apple's supply chain gives it 3-5% savings compared to competitors
Majority of apple TVs will be sold through apple own retail channel another 10-15% saved
Apple does not operate on borrowed capital so another 3-5% saved
Apple can purchase parts prepaying for year+ in advance another 5%
So at a price when sammy would make 0 apple will make 21%-30%
This does not account for content revenue
This does not account for Apple's ability to charge a premium even if it will be modest 10%
Your post highlights the big problem and difference. Apple released a new model each year.
The TV market is VERY different to what Apple are used to. Unlike computers and phones, TV's last a lot longer.
The Apple TV is going to just become another 'viewing' device like the iPhone & iPad & iMac...wherever you are, you will have an option to see your iTunes content.
And that is why that their iTV most likely will have some sort of 'upgradable' option on it where you slide in a new 'brain' and take out the old one.
What usually changes in the iPhone or iPad....chipset, camera, memory, storage, iOS. The screen upgrade is a one time upgrade and won't change again unless they move to some sort of 3D or 4K resolution in 5 years or so. So with each iOS that comes out...it's really more or less about the A# chip set. If you can upgrade that every so often in the TV, then the TV is just the display shell with the camera in it.
Who knows...maybe your iPhone or iPod or iPad will plug directly into it...
How do you know Samsung isn't playing dumb, waiting to release something game changing?
Did you know that you can turn off the interpolation in the menu settings to get rid of the plastic look?
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I got a 50" G20 1 year ago for mess than EUR900. Hard to beat on PQ. Hard to beat on price...
I got a 50" G20 1 year ago for mess than EUR900. Hard to beat on PQ. Hard to beat on price...
There is nothing wrong with TV's per say, they all work fine and most of them have great picture quality.
And there are tons of add ons for TV's to do many things.
However what is broken is content delivery and content navigation.
This is what needs to be fixed by someone.
And I would put my money on Apple when it comes to out of box thinking.
It's just like iPhones, there was nothing wrong with cell phones doing the basic thing making calls but beyond that is where Apple innovated.
The same goes for music and the iPod and computer and the iPad and the iMac.
This is where Apple shines and leaves everyone in the dust.
All these companies can't think past of what we have now besides small evolutionary steps.
If Apple decides to enter this market it will be one of those face palm moments for everyone else thinking why did we not see this.
But I'm not sold on the idea of Apple entering this segment just yet.
And there are tons of add ons for TV's to do many things.
However what is broken is content delivery and content navigation.
This is what needs to be fixed by someone.
And I would put my money on Apple when it comes to out of box thinking.
It's just like iPhones, there was nothing wrong with cell phones doing the basic thing making calls but beyond that is where Apple innovated.
The same goes for music and the iPod and computer and the iPad and the iMac.
This is where Apple shines and leaves everyone in the dust.
All these companies can't think past of what we have now besides small evolutionary steps.
If Apple decides to enter this market it will be one of those face palm moments for everyone else thinking why did we not see this.
But I'm not sold on the idea of Apple entering this segment just yet.