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Apple TV To Be Revamped
An anonymous reader writes: This Wednesday, Apple is hosting an event in San Francisco to announce updated versions of some of its products. One device getting a lot of the attention will be the Apple TV, which has languished for several years without significant changes. Apple is making a renewed push for the living room. The company has expanded its partnerships with TV studios over the past few years, launched its own streaming music service, and also made inroads on gaming. The new Apple TV will try to do all these things, including support for apps. It will also reportedly feature universal search: "Essentially, you'll be able to search for a show or movie once, and see results from all sorts of different sources." A side effect of this ambitious goal is that the device will more than double in cost, going from $70 to $150.
You mean like owners of Roku and Tivo boxes have been able to do months/years?
Apple is trying to reproduce its success from the cellphone market in the set top box. Bring out features that were already available on competing platforms and charge a premium for them. Obviously, the reason for Apple TV's lack of success is that its price was too low.
<Just waiting for the Apple fanboys to mod me down!>
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
Apple rumors are more PR releases than made up fantasies these days.
citation needed...
"It wasn't reporting a steady stream of passwords, search terms, and just generally overheard words while listening for "Siri" back to Apple for passing through their corporate analysis and sales partitioning algorithms, and NSA's computers in those mysterious buildings whose costs rival the Apollo program and Manhattan project.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
The App Store on the Apple TV should be just as revolutionary as it was on the iPhone 3 when it came out. Instead of making a deal with Apple or Comcast or Roku to get your content on TV, you'll just write an app. This should open up TV to a whole new universe of niche providers and accelerate the trend of shrinking audiences for cable and broadcast shows.
I'm looking forward to all the new choices.
well, go back to ars and slashdot articles posted within the month leading up to an apple event and see how accurate said rumors have been
I can tell they have havent shocked me at an event in ages with something that didnt "leak"
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
Why would anyone who already has a laptop want to own a TV at all? If you can answer this, you can answer why a laptop owner might want to watch content on a TV instead of a laptop.
broad "predictions" that were nothing more than probable steps Apple might take... rumours ;)
The linked New York Times article mentions that it will need an internet connection.
You know, I heard the Amazon Fire TV devices, Roku, and Chromecast also list an Internet connection as a requirement. I wonder why...
If someone is decideing between a Roku or an Apple TV based on a $80 price differential then they probably can't affort to buy shows anyhow. What matters is what's the easiest thing to use , gives you great results, and doesn't become an on-line attack vector in your home because you left it unpatched. For example, I bought my Amazon firestick because it delivered the content I wanted in the most simple way and it keeps it self updated and patched. It's not over complicated. I don't want something that can do everything like a chromeStick or an XBMC home sever. I want something that does just what I want extremely well.
What's the one thing I'd like for my Amazon fire stick that it doens't have is to be able to access the apple iTunes movie store. When you can plan in advance, downloading the movie rather that real time streaming is likely to achieve much better outcomes when my connection is overloaded. Paying a $1 extra for that is usually worth it to me.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
Seriously, you can't see why anyone would, then Apple must be wrong, I mean they were wrong about their smartphone, it barely sold any at all before they quit making it.
We have a Apple TV and are extremely happy with it, like most Apple products is it not very customizable, so instead of customizing it, we watch TV on it. My wife and I are retired, and we enjoy things that just work and don't require fiddling with. We have also tried Plex, and FireTV and find the Apple to be more to our liking. It may also have to do with being able to watch our 300+ movie library stored on my MacOSX and served up via iTune family sharing.
The new TV (assuming there even is one) providing App support could be cool, and iPhones and iPads are already used for more gaming by casual gamers (only a couple hundred million - barely any market at all). So, if the TV could play those same iPad games from the App store, we will certain play a few - also, since games bought on the App Store are mostly family sharing enabled, I expect we will be able to play all those games we already have on the new TV - yup, I expect you are right though, Apple has blown it again.
I have a laptop and a TV. I watch content on the TV because it's BIGGER and has better sound. I read slashdot on the laptop because the TV doesn't have a keyboard or browser. Sure, I could use the TV as a monitor, but then I wouldn't be able to watch TV!
Right now I'm watching a college football game. Who in their right mind would choose to watch something like that on a tiny laptop screen when there's a huge TV right here in the living room?
They are two separate tools. Each can do something the other one can't do.
"The linked New York Times article mentions that it will need an internet connection. "
It already does.
Bit of an omission at this point in the game I think.
Why would anyone who already has a laptop want to own a TV at all?
Because for watching TV, a TV is generally the best device for that...
Nothing like sitting on the couch, chilling out, watching a 70" TV with your family together. Everyone sitting huddled around a laptop? That doesn't sound very social.
I think the bigger issue is that those devices are coming down in price - AppleTV is going up. All have versions available in the ~$40 range, and all work pretty well. I can't imagine an AppleTV doing anything that my FireTV doesn't already do for cheaper.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
I can... it'll make more profit for AAPL.
You don't have to make a deal with Roku to be in their platform, just write an app.
First of all, do you know Brightscript? I don't know many people that do...
Now compare that with the number of people who know the iOS SDK.
Also on Roku you are just making a "Channel", not an app. You don't have much in the way of a controller. You don't have any integration with media (iOS apps can be built to read and do things with all iTunes media). The Roku SDK is very content-presentation centric, instead of being an app with the full breadth of capability we've come to expect from mobile apps.
I like the Roku box but to say it has "apps" in the same sense as HOPEFULLY the AppleTV does (we still do not know for sure if the AppleTV has apps this time, it's been expected for years now) is to ignore all practical factors at work. I had looked before at platforms to build apps for TV but all of them were really limited compared to mobile app SDK's.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
It's the same as Roku. Why spend an extra $200 to get as smart TV when you can spend $100 for the Roku? Apple TV is the same, except they're being a bit goofy for going after TV deals directly instead of just allowing plugins of any sort.
thats the exact thought process i went through a few months back when i bought my new TV> fir the same display panel, in the same exterior case, with the same remote - 180 bucks more for the smart tv vs the display only version. a 50$ roku stick was the final piece.
in the end i now can turn any hdmi capable display into a smart device, and i saved a good amount of money
I realize im raving about the roku on this thread, just a happy customer, nothing more
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
You are just a stupid troll.
And yet Apple sells a lot more now than when Jobs was alive. Go figure.
I can't imagine an AppleTV doing anything that my FireTV doesn't already do for cheaper.
Well that's just a sign of a limited imagination.
I realize im raving about the roku on this thread, just a happy customer, nothing more
I wouldn't really call it a "Roku Rave" since you can replace the name of the device with any number of other devices just as easily. It could a happy Amazon FireTV, Apple TV, or even smart Blu-Ray player owner. The best part being you can replace from malfunction, upgrade, or change the "smarts" down the line without throwing out what might be a perfectly fine HD screen in the process. Or position the device someplace were it can get better network connectivity compared to where your HDTV screen need to be tilted. With radio/bluetooth remotes on some devices there no reason it has to be right there under/beside the screen.
Can i host my own content on my own server with having to use iTunes?
"Eve of Destruction", it's not just for old hippies anymore...
It is a bit misleading to say that the price has doubled. While the ATV is currently at $69, it has traditionally sold at $99. The $30 drop was in anticipation of its originally scheduled debut in late Spring, which got delayed.
So it is more like a 50% increase than a 100%+ increase.
The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.
agreed. it goes back to the "leanback experience" that people have talked about.
Sure, I could use the TV as a monitor, but then I wouldn't be able to watch TV!
That's why your TV has more than one input. Plug an RPi, NUC, or other small computer into one video input, and plug your other TV sources into another video input. It's the same way people can play Double Dragon Warrior or Body Harvest Moon on a PlayBox, press a couple buttons, and be watching Monday Night Sportsball on ESPN.* On the other hand:
Right now I'm watching a college football game. Who in their right mind would choose to watch something like that on a tiny laptop screen when there's a huge TV right here in the living room?
Because someone else in the household wants to watch another show broadcast at the same time.
* "Extremely Stupid People's Network", according to Mad
People do not want a box to hook up to their idiot box, they want an idiot box that will do all of it for them
SeaFox makes a good point that if you have a nice display, you might not want to throw it out when your receiver breaks or becomes obsolete, and it's easier to orient an external receiver for good Wi-Fi reception than to do so with a display.
smarter TVs mean the game console is also dying
How well do "smarter TVs" work with two to four remote controls? How responsive are they to player actions on said remote controls? And how does one load a game onto them while living in an area with harshly capped Internet? For those who live too far from the DSLAM, cellular and satellite Internet are often the only options, and they tend to cap home users on the order of 10 GB per month. The major consoles, on the other hand, support loading games through discs.
Umm... Do you mean assassinations?
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
the Apple TV will have an App Store. [...] You don't get that with a Roku.
Roku apps are called channels. There are plenty of them, some unlisted (so that they don't show up in the channel store if they don't have to), and there's no $99 per year fee to develop your own channel.
Give me a doohickey that I can plug into my TV's HDMI/USB/Firewire/whatever port. This doohickey lets me stream whatever from my PC to my TV. Wanna watch a show? Fine. Wanna listen to music? Fine. Wanna put a DVD into the PC DVD drive and watch on my 60" TV? Fine. Wanna play a game? Urm, I can see how that could be a problem.
Why would anyone who already has a laptop want to own a TV at all?....
Because there is more than one person living in my household. I guess I could just give every family member a laptop for movie night. But then we might as well be asking, why would anyone who has instant-messanging want to have a face to face conversation at all?
Not really. The article was far too-well written compared to the typical /. submission. That should be your first clue that it might be written by a PR person as an advertisement.
nt