Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Could YouTube Be the Killer-App for Apple's iTV?

Posted by Zonk on from the the-dnd-psas-in-the-living-room dept.

mrspin writes "With Macworld Expo just over a week away, many expect Apple CEO Steve Jobs to announce further details (and the availability) of the company's yet to be released set-top-box, codenamed iTV. Powered by something similar to Apple's Front Row media center software, the iTV is designed to get the media content that's housed on a Mac (music, movies, and photos), streamed to the living room television. However, with its built-in wireless networking (suspected to be the faster 802.11n), why not bypass the Mac and have the iTV connect directly to the Internet? The combination of iTunes and DRM-free MP3s provided the 'killer app' for the iPod. YouTube could well do the same for Apple's soon-to-be released set-top box."

22 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. wireless LAN broadband by ATAMAH · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Why not bypass the Mac..." - because local area networking (even 802.11) is quite a bit faster than your average broadband line? Therefore the videos on a mac could be in high resolution/high quality ones, as opposed to stuff on youtube and such.

  2. not youtube, but another by macadamia_harold · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The combination of iTunes and DRM-free MP3s provided the 'killer app' for the iPod. YouTube could well do the same for Apple's soon-to-be released set-top box.

    The killer app won't be YouTube, but a youtube-like service that actually hosts full-length episodes. For example, NBC puts up their own shows for viewing on their website, 24hrs after they air. Other networks are starting to do this as well. To aggregate this content into one place for consumption by iTV owners will be the trick. Throw in a dash of quasi-legal bittorrent downloads, and you've got a winner.

    --
    Push Button, Receive Bacon
    1. Re:not youtube, but another by Rocketship+Underpant · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I agree it won't be YouTube for a number of reasons. The quality and suitability of content are too variable; the social networking aspect that draws people to specific videos is missing without the computer side; YouTube video quality is awful; and YouTube's pipe is too slow (I can never play movies without pausing and caching, and I have 54 mb fibre, more than 10x the standard US broadband connection).

      The killer apps will be probably be nice Mac apps (like Xtorrent) that automate movie downloading and streaming, making things easy for the user.

      --
      He who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.
    2. Re:not youtube, but another by jacksonj04 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Would it not be easier to just expand the content available in iTunes (More TV, and please include the UK as well) and make iTV talk to that instead of a whole new system? The infrastructure is there, and having an always on Mac downloading the latest episodes independently of the iTV will make streaming over a network much faster.

      My money is on Apple to become the first company to get the hang of housewide media networks. All they need is for the media producers to realise that they have potential access to a huge market by playing along, because I know damn well that I won't mind paying a couple of dollars and episode to download, keep, and watch whenever I want.

      --
      How many people can read hex if only you and dead people can read hex?
    3. Re:not youtube, but another by jellomizer · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well I don't see watching YouTube stuff on TV. iTune TV Shows and the such are designed for TV. You sit down and watch. You Tube requires you to search select watch for a couple of minutes and switch to an other one. TV is not designed to be interactive. That is why they are 50" screens sitting at the other end of your room with speakers all around you (Ideal situation) It is ment for your to sit in your most comfortable chair or couch and just sit and relax for 1/2 hour. YouTube is designed for small screens sitting in a small chair hunched over the screen looking at some clips for a couple of minutes and switch to an other one.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  3. Why buy one? by Deag · · Score: 2, Insightful

    From my / slashdot reader's perspective, not general consumers: It would have to be kinda cheap wouldn't it? I mean all the new consoles have some sort of ability to do this as far as I know. Some involves a bit of configuration on the pc but it works (programs like tversity are getting better at streaming anything you want to your console, youtube included). So if a wii is 250 and an xbox 360 is 350, this itv thing better be under 100 before it would be viable to this audience.

    1. Re:Why buy one? by slide-rule · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Except that the one thing we've finally established is that the slashdot demographic, taken as an average, exists completely outside of any commercially oriented target market. No reason Apple (or anyone) should even bother reading our comments for their own research purposes. As for the iTV thing: last we really heard back in the Fall developer conference (?) was that it will be $299. Personally, I think its great: nice concept, nice form factor / styling, and all the usual Apple QA being done. I have already budgeted for it.

  4. iTV? by evilbessie · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I don't somehow think it will be called iTV as in the UK this is used by "Independant Television". So another branding using this name for a television service would probably not be allowed or cause confusion with consumers.

    1. Re:iTV? by dotbenjamin · · Score: 2, Funny

      Whether they can legally use the name isn't really the point.

      In the UK, ITV is channel 3 in most places. It's one of the most popular free channels, and has been around for over half a century. In our television-obsessed nation, no Apple product is gonna usurp the abbreviation iTV in our collective consiousness.

      Calling a set top box iTV is like bringing out a new digital radio receiver box and calling it the bBC.

      --
      Nothing like blowing your own trumpet.
  5. PS3 by News+for+nerds · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why buy this Apple set-top box when another set-top box called PS3 can happily browse YouTube on its web browser?

    1. Re:PS3 by paniq · · Score: 2, Informative

      So can the Wii, just tried it.

      --
      Do not trust this signature.
  6. Why all the hub-bub over YouTube? by rindeee · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I don't get it. So you can watch crap quality videos of other people or ripped content. How is this at all appealing for a set-top box? Give me DVD quality full length movies and TV shows on demand. That's something worth having. So far as I'm concerned, a Mac Mini with a fat external hard-drive, Hand Brake installed and the FrontRow remote is the set top box for me. If I want to watch some retarded YouTube content, I'll grab the wireless keyboard, open firefox and watch it.

  7. DRM-Free? by halex-ab · · Score: 2, Funny

    The combination of iTunes and DRM-free MP3s provided the 'killer app' for the iPod. Since when was iTunes legally providing DRM-free music?
    1. Re:DRM-Free? by oohshiny · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Since when was iTunes legally providing DRM-free music?

      The iTunes store isn't, but the iTunes software is: when you rip your CDs. All the music I have is DRM free, and it's all music that I paid for.

  8. YouTube also has the high quality somewhere by Peter+Bonte · · Score: 3, Interesting

    All YouTube clips get downgraded to the familiar size and quality we know now but they keep the original content on servers unused, same for Google's movies and other sites. Streaming them in high quality to the iTV would make the big difference, it all depends how well they can handle the enormous data transfers.

  9. Re:*Sigh* by LordVader717 · · Score: 2, Informative

    No, the point is that the iPod can play DRM-free music, wheras the Sony alternatives, at least at the time, couldn't. (The software slapped DRM all over your files as soon as you imported them).

  10. XBMC has this by lthown · · Score: 4, Informative

    The last few builds of Xbox Media Center have included a add-on script for Youtube watching (that's where I first saw the "Pachelbel Rant"), not to mention the Launch.com one for music video watching. Incidentally, have you noticed that "pre-owned" Xbox1s are down to $99. So we're talking no DRM, expandability and you can get the hardware for just under $100.

  11. YouTube just isn't suited for TV viewing by evilgrug · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I've watched a fair amount of YouTube content via my TV (both with the Wii's internet browser and the Xbox's XBMC) and it really is nothing more than a gimmick. In its current state (low resolution and bitrate, 10 minute length restriction), YouTube is only really suited for PC use, ie "check out this video" links being passed via forums and IMs.

    No one is seriously going to sit down in front of their TV and "watch YouTube", and it's hardly going to convince owners to buy a $250 device. Apple's store, on the other hand, if they actually managed to secure content from studios other than Disney, is another story.

  12. Re:it's not about "innovation" by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 2, Informative

    If Apple can come up with a box that (a) can control external boxes, (b) has an EPG equivalent in functionality to Tivo, and (c) has HD capture via component it'll clean up (especially in this country where Tivo died in 2002 and we were left with the crappy DVR wannabe Sky+).

    The third one is the killer. No MCE box currently available will do that.

  13. Flash video? You're joking right? by trimbo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why would I want to spend $2000 on an HDTV, another $500-$1K or whatever iTV will cost, to watch crappy Flash Video? The novelty will wear off when the new season of "24" starts.

    The killer app for any of these set top boxes is well compressed HD programming on demand. Right now on Xbox Live, HD movies run about 6 GB, which takes a long time to download at 1.5 Mbs or even a cable modem's top speed of 8 Mbs.

    Comcast, on the other hand, has the bandwidth and set-top boxes to deliver HD on demand right now. I'm not sure how Apple is going to compete against this unless they have some awesome new codec to do it. Comcast has already rendered the Tivo Series 3 POA (Pointless On Arrival). Comcast's HD DVR solution, while crappy, is $10 a month; the HD Tivo is $800 plus another $20 a month for dual CableCards and can't do on demand HD at any point. When I click on an HD movie using Comcast's On Demand, it plays within a second or two. I'm just don't see Apple--or Microsoft, or Tivo or anyone--competing in the face of this bandwidth juggarnaut, even if their equipment is superficially nicer to use.

  14. Been done. by goldcd · · Score: 2, Informative

    I have an old Xbox with Xbox Media Centre - and I can play all the YouTube stuff I want on my TV.
    As a person able to do this I can tell you:
    a) You don't want to sit on your couch f'in about with millions of crappy little clips.
    b) The crappy little clips look REALLY crappy on a big TV.

    Proper IPTV is here and will only grow. Multicast handles all the broadcast stuff, what we need is a P2P addon that'll handle the OnDemand stuff (I don't just mean conventional PayPerView, I mean providerless YouTube style stuff) and I want a nice Open front end that'll let me view all this on anything (and if MS will support it in MCE2, then I'll buy MCE2)

  15. Re:iTV's been beaten to it... by natd · · Score: 2, Insightful
    By your argument there was no market for the Airport Express or similar.

    The iTV, to me, is worth putting beside my Wii, my Neuston (and quite possible PS3 once they come down in price in AU) simply because it promises to be a seamless consumer experience. Well integrated to both your local library and an online source (in this case we're speculating YouTube), which anyone can use much like they can use the cable and DVD boxes to watch stuff.

    I've had a http://www.neuston.com/en/mc500.php Neuston for about 3 years but still use my Airport Express for music to the living room Hi-Fi. I'm even willing to either walk down the hall to my PC or pop open my notebook to turn on or change music in preference to fighting with the Neuston remote http://www.neuston.com/Images/MC500/MC500_in_10.jp g and 'technically good enough' software interface. The cheaper (than projected iTV price) Neuston has been doing the network streaming of video for years too, but it just isn't good enough to be bothered with.

    The iTV will do for Video what Airport Express does for music but WITH a decent 'on TV' software interface and remote. Just like the iPod, they aren't the first on the market with the general idea, but they will be the first to do it RIGHT.

    --
    Only big ligs use sigs.