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TUAW says "Is the Apple TV being replaced?"
- Thread starter frankiepdx
- Start date
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Last night I was thinking, might it be smarter to work out a deal with Tivo to connect up with iTunes?
Or, maybe for full on into the DVR market WITHOUT monthly subscriptions.
Either way, I dont think the Apple TV worked quite how they had hoped.
Or, maybe for full on into the DVR market WITHOUT monthly subscriptions.
Either way, I dont think the Apple TV worked quite how they had hoped.
Try telling the TV networks that you're going to enable their potential iTunes customers to record their content for free.... and see how many of those TV networks keep their content on iTunes.
A DVR goes against the iTunes ecosystem business model. You and I'd love to have it but we can't have both a DVR and a healthy iTunes store. I'd rather have the latter.
Makes sense that it's just the marketing materials - the movie "Cars" is featured and that's a bit old at this point...
Apple's website is more up to date than the store materials:
http://www.apple.com/appletv/
Makes sense that it's time to update the store materials as well...
Apple's website is more up to date than the store materials:
http://www.apple.com/appletv/
Makes sense that it's time to update the store materials as well...
Yeah, the Networks pulled all the content from cable and satellite subscribers and all those damn Tivo owners...
Please find a new argument, this one is soooo wrong.The ecosystem thing again, too? The iTunes business model = sell more hardware. That's it.
DVR is on the horizon for Apple, maybe just not this Tuesday.
Agree.Maybe they are combining theTV with the TimeCapsule which is what should have happened a long time ago.
Yes it would.
As multimedia storage requirements increase this would make sense.
Who knows, maybe we will see a small NAS type device that combines the Timecapsule and Apple TV functions.
Apple Sales Source
Why this would even be reported erroneously as a rumor is just irresponsible on TAUWs part.
I get weekly eMails from Apple through service source and sales web including the eMail reported in this thread. At no point in the email did Apple ever hint at anything other than, "Please take down these marketing materials because the material and the licenses they advertise expire on such and such a date."
In fact, having worked in retail for over 25 years, this is an extremely common thing to do from almost ever vendor. The exact same kind of communication occurred when the ads featuring the Chinese basketball player and the actor that played mini-me expired. We were requested to take down the card board cutouts and destroy them.
TAUWs reporting this as "rumor" was a blatant attempt to grab attention. Shame on them!
Why this would even be reported erroneously as a rumor is just irresponsible on TAUWs part.
I get weekly eMails from Apple through service source and sales web including the eMail reported in this thread. At no point in the email did Apple ever hint at anything other than, "Please take down these marketing materials because the material and the licenses they advertise expire on such and such a date."
In fact, having worked in retail for over 25 years, this is an extremely common thing to do from almost ever vendor. The exact same kind of communication occurred when the ads featuring the Chinese basketball player and the actor that played mini-me expired. We were requested to take down the card board cutouts and destroy them.
TAUWs reporting this as "rumor" was a blatant attempt to grab attention. Shame on them!
Since when?
Target is an authorized Apple reseller for the AppleTV? Not in my state it isn't.
Target is an authorized Apple reseller for the AppleTV? Not in my state it isn't.
What's sad is this is the only (although fake) rumor to come up about the Apple TV in months.
What's going on with this product? Why wasn't the software updated to support iTunes 8's HD labeling? You can't stream content to the device without getting duplicate entries for the SD and HD versions of each TV episode. Not to mention not being able to purchase TV shows on the device or the lack of Genius play list support.
Ridiculous on Apple's part.
What's going on with this product? Why wasn't the software updated to support iTunes 8's HD labeling? You can't stream content to the device without getting duplicate entries for the SD and HD versions of each TV episode. Not to mention not being able to purchase TV shows on the device or the lack of Genius play list support.
Ridiculous on Apple's part.
Well, aside from this rumor being shown to be a misunderstanding
Although BluRay won the format war against HD-DVD, that war went on for too long and it's becoming apparent that both will lose in the end as a media format. Adoption has been slow and digital online distribution is beginning to take hold.
Most people are happy with their DVD collection. Without the online features of BluRay 2.0 being heavily advertised, the majority of consumers can't see the benefit and aren't adopting the technology with the critical mass that is needed to make it a success. By the time 2.0 is finalized and the prices come down enough to satisfy the broader market, digital distribution will already be in people's homes with devices that are quite inexpensive to make.
I'm skipping BluRay and have gone straight to
If anything, the next
I think you are right on this. I'm in the process of ripping my entire DVD collection via Handbrake to iTunes. ITunes 8 gives me a "netflix" look for my library but having the ability to watch when I want, on what I want (iPhone, iPod, my MacMini or thru AppleTV).
Having first purchased VHS, then Laserdisc and now DVD's, I look at the price of Blueray movies at Target for upwards of $25-50 and I just think to myself...nope, I've been there and done that.
I'm much more interested in high quality digital downloads that I can can then move from AppleTV or iMac to laptop or iPhone without the time and effort of ripping a DVD.
I've got to believe that a software update is not too far around the corner for AppleTV. HD sync and playback support, genius playlists and would they finally let me shuffle my Music Videos!
here's hoping for 1080p
might not be any use to apple right now, but it woul dbe useful in the future. and i know a lot of other people as well as myself are holding out onTV until this happens. i would have bought one awhile ago, had it not been for this. i don't want to buy one and have to replace it a year or two down the road because i want more.
might not be any use to apple right now, but it woul dbe useful in the future. and i know a lot of other people as well as myself are holding out on
TV until this happens. i would have bought one awhile ago, had it not been for this. i don't want to buy one and have to replace it a year or two down the road because i want more.
The ATV isn't going anywhere. They released the iPhone remote software for it, and continue to update it frequently. That at least shows some commitment.
I'm not a fan of the AppleTV anyway. The idea of streaming your iTunes content to your TV is cool, but most consumers don't use iTunes enough to make the ATV a must-have. I've only started buying movies from iTunes recently, and I'm still not sure about it. Prices are too high, there aren't any HD movies, and you can't burn them to DVD-Video. I bought Goodfellas the other day for £6.99 from iTunes, when I can buy it for £3 from a store. I paid extra for the convenience of downloading and the iPhone transfer, but I don't know if it's worth paying more than double for that. If Apple wants to make ATV more attractive, they need to make the iTunes store more attractive, and start getting people used to buying digital media. In the UK at least, people still think 'movie store' rather than 'iTunes' for movies.
That said, I do like the ATV interface. I'd really like that for Front Row. I hate Leopard's FR - it's better than Tiger, but still nowhere near as good as the WMC I used to use. ATV take 2 is better than Leopard's FR, albeit still not as good as WMC in my opinion.
I'm not a fan of the AppleTV anyway. The idea of streaming your iTunes content to your TV is cool, but most consumers don't use iTunes enough to make the ATV a must-have. I've only started buying movies from iTunes recently, and I'm still not sure about it. Prices are too high, there aren't any HD movies, and you can't burn them to DVD-Video. I bought Goodfellas the other day for £6.99 from iTunes, when I can buy it for £3 from a store. I paid extra for the convenience of downloading and the iPhone transfer, but I don't know if it's worth paying more than double for that. If Apple wants to make ATV more attractive, they need to make the iTunes store more attractive, and start getting people used to buying digital media. In the UK at least, people still think 'movie store' rather than 'iTunes' for movies.
That said, I do like the ATV interface. I'd really like that for Front Row. I hate Leopard's FR - it's better than Tiger, but still nowhere near as good as the WMC I used to use. ATV take 2 is better than Leopard's FR, albeit still not as good as WMC in my opinion.
Frequently is a relative term. The Apple TV has only had one major software update in its 18 month product lifetime.
There have been a few minor updates:
7/07 - 1.1 firmware (added YouTube support only)
2/08 - 2.0 firmware (Take 2 redesign, added rentals, store, etc)
3/08 - 2.0.1 firmware (bug fixes, added genre support)
7/08 - 2.1 firmware (added iPhone Remote, Wish List and MobileMe support)
It's not as full featured as Windows Media Center. However, Microsoft has all but abandoned Windows Media Center in favor of a more vertical approach—such as the XBOX 360, AT&T U-Verse and MediaRoom.
They even moved the entire WMC team off of Media Center for an entire year to work on Zune.
WMC had so much potential, but Vista's been out for two years and there have been no major updates to Vista Media Center.
I'm afraid it's been delegated to the same status as other failed Microsoft technologies like "Smart Displays".
Thurott has said on Windows Weekly they don't even mention it anymore as if there's little active development.
This may be nothing, but it piqued my curiosity. The "major product transition" Apple mentioned in their last quarterly conference call turned out to only be a minor iPod update that left me thinking "Is that it?!?" Maybe there's a little something more coming...
Apple TV is my favorite gadget in the universe (and I have many, including an iPhone 3G) and I'm almost amazed it hasn't caught fire like the iPod did. I figured the "major product transition" would have been some Apple TV update (maybe integrating the Wii-like remote they patented and transitioning it into a casual gaming platform with an App Store).
Digital downloads and on-demand content are the future, and I'm sure Apple will do whatever they can to own movies and TV shows like they own digital music.
An Apple TV revamp would make sense to bolster languishing sales and own the future of video distribution at a time when XBox 360, PS3, Amazon and others are catching up with Apple in terms of online rentals and movie services.
Apple TV is my favorite gadget in the universe (and I have many, including an iPhone 3G) and I'm almost amazed it hasn't caught fire like the iPod did. I figured the "major product transition" would have been some Apple TV update (maybe integrating the Wii-like remote they patented and transitioning it into a casual gaming platform with an App Store).
Digital downloads and on-demand content are the future, and I'm sure Apple will do whatever they can to own movies and TV shows like they own digital music.
An Apple TV revamp would make sense to bolster languishing sales and own the future of video distribution at a time when XBox 360, PS3, Amazon and others are catching up with Apple in terms of online rentals and movie services.
J
jmadlena
Guest
Yeah, the Networks pulled all the content from cable and satellite subscribers and all those damn Tivo owners...
Maybe it's because the cable and satellite companies don't sell TV shows at $1.99 and $2.99 a pop? Streaming shows is all that they do, that is how they make money and how the networks make money.
Apple is nothing like that. They want to sell it, not give it away. If Apple sold a DVR, then why would anyone purchase shows from the iTunes store? Only if they happened to miss an episode and the show wasn't on for another few months. That and older shows. But taking away new shows is a big hit on revenue.
Also, the iTunes store business model is to sell more hardware AND break even. If they just wanted to sell hardware they would price the shows at next to nothing while still paying the networks the wholesale price.
I will agree that eventually Apple would like to release a DVR, if they could make it work in tandem with the iTunes store. But it would be very difficult to do that because all of the content providers pretty much hate Apple for their power in the market; they aren't going to let them do anything to reduce their profits.
This is absolutely in line with Fry's "1 per household" promotion for MBs that ends EXACTLY on 30/9...new MBs and Apple TV anyone?
someone mentioned earlier the fusion of Time Capsule and AppleTV. I think this is an excellent idea. I have long maintained that the current Apple Universe requires lots of hard drives/storage - and a fair degree of duplication.
Right now, Apple's central place of storage is your computer. That is where the biggest drive is. Everything else gets built from there - iPod, iPhone, Touch, ATV. However, the bulk of your file in terms of size is video and backup. Why not centralize that into some sort of "Apple Home Server?"
There are a lot of benefits. You don't have to have the computer on to stream video/audio. You are more efficient with available disk space. You have both Time Machine and shared server space to go with your iTunes Library/server.
Apple could add a multi-disk option for RAID1 or RAID5. You are talking about a device where you need availability and some sort of peace of mind - especially if your backups are on it!
It goes next to the TV where the cable Internet comes into the house - that would be convenient for a lot of people.
Right now, Apple's central place of storage is your computer. That is where the biggest drive is. Everything else gets built from there - iPod, iPhone, Touch, ATV. However, the bulk of your file in terms of size is video and backup. Why not centralize that into some sort of "Apple Home Server?"
There are a lot of benefits. You don't have to have the computer on to stream video/audio. You are more efficient with available disk space. You have both Time Machine and shared server space to go with your iTunes Library/server.
Apple could add a multi-disk option for RAID1 or RAID5. You are talking about a device where you need availability and some sort of peace of mind - especially if your backups are on it!
It goes next to the TV where the cable Internet comes into the house - that would be convenient for a lot of people.
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Thank you Arn for all that you do by researching the rumors. This really would have been as shock if it were true.
Thank you Arn for all that you do by researching the rumors. This really would have been as shock if it were true.
uuuum... i work at a apple reseller store in PR and we haven't heard or been told of anything like this.
Maybe you just didn't see it.
Tell that to Elgato.