“The obvious bets [for Apple’s “It’s Showtime” special media event this Tuesday] have been an iPod-enabled cell phone, and what I suspect is a gimmie: the already well discussed larger screened iPod combo with iTunes Movie Store download,” The Big Picture writes.
“Let’s fantasize a bit about what might be more intriguing options: Looking at their iMac line up, the 24 inch model with Front Row software got me thinking: Sure, that’s fine for a dorm room, but what about the rest of the TV consuming country? They want bigger and bigger screens,” The Big Picture writes.
“Here’s what I want: make me a 40″ version of an iMac. Bring this in so it only costs marginally more than other flat screens — figure $3500. (Eventually, roll out a 50 or even a 60-inch version for $4500 – $6000 clams),” The Big Picture writes. “Build in all of the Front Row software controls into a full function remote control — TV, DVD, music, etc. Then (just for laughs), build in a DVR or TiVo for that matter.”
The Big Picture writes, “Apple would have a break out hit, and take total control of the digital living room like no one else has been able to.”
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Crave at CNET: Apple’s gorgeous 24-inch iMac should tempt you to switch – September 07, 2006
Mossberg: Apple makes ‘best desktop computer on the market’ iMac even more attractive – September 07, 2006
Apple iMac line gets 64-bit Intel Core 2 Duo processors; pricing starts at $999; new 24-inch model – September 06, 2006
Digital Trends Review: Apple iMac 17-inch Core Duo ‘silent, beautiful, very fast and reliable’ – July 12, 2006
Seattle Times: Apple iMac is ‘so beautiful with its simple, yet elegant design’ – July 08, 2006
Wired names best media center: Apple 20-inch iMac with Front Row – June 08, 2006
Review: Apple’s new iMac Core Duo ‘an outstanding feat of engineering, a high-precision instrument’ – February 16, 2006
Apple iMac the finest, most reliable, stable, elegant and intuitive personal computer available – February 14, 2006
Review: Apple 20-inch iMac Core Duo 2.0GHz – February 06, 2006
BusinessWeek: Apple’s new iMac Core Duo is an iMac on Steroids – February 02, 2006
Thurrott: ‘I highly recommend Apple’s new Intel-based iMac’ – January 31, 2006
Thurrott: ‘Nothing on Windows approaches the quality of Apple’s iLife ’06’ – January 31, 2006
Computerworld: Apple’s MacBook Pro ‘fast, really fast – looks like a real winner’ – January 28, 2006
InfoWorld: Apple perfects the desktop personal computer with new iMac Core Duo – January 25, 2006
PC Magazine review gives Apple iMac Intel Core Duo 4.5 out of 5 stars – January 20, 2006
Mossberg: New Intel-based iMac the best consumer desktop with the best OS and best software bundle – January 18, 2006
The Big Picture get the big picture.
Plus apple bluetooth keyboard and mouse…. across the room computing. Me like.
I think a 40″ iMac would be stupid! I guess they have never sat in front of the 30″ ACD…even that can be overwhelming…
I’d rather have 61 inches, and would settle for no less.
Uhhh, I’d hardly call the iPod-enabled cell phone an “obvious bet” for the event.
How friggin brilliant!
A complete Apple entertainment home. I’m game.
But will this turn Apple into one of those “too huge” companies that everyone despises?
Hey Ryan,
I think the point to a large screen like that would be to mount it on your wall and use it as a TV as well. Its not like you would be sitting right in front of the thing.
60″ Screen? No way, still far too expensive. Dentists
only at the mo.
The runaway hit would be the multifunction device aka iPhone. Every trendy in the world is gunna want one of those. It’ll be the phone to be seen with at every bus stop in London and even elsewhere.
New iPods and nanos.
Film downloads.
Apple is about lifestyle products for the masses…
The 30″ Cinema Display is overwhelming for the first 30 minutes you actually use one…then it’s indispensable.
Combine with resolution independence in Mac OS X Leopard and, well…it’s gonna happen.
Although I think the 30″ and larger iCinema Displays w/ Macs built in will be the aluminum enclosure. No reason for the Leon chin at that size, plus, I bet the plastics they use for iMacs just won’t scale that big.
MDN MW: “future”
but I thought size didn’t matter. Or are women lying to us? (well not me anyway)
Hmmm got same MW on two different posts?!?!?
Leno chin.
Sorry Leon.
THis guy obviously has not been an Apple fan long enough to know that Apple generally announces about 75% less than the rumor mills predict..
I 60′ Big Mac? Can we have Ronald McDonald sign onboard for this?
I’d love a 37″ iMac, and they might sell. But a bigger market would be to allow a retrofit to the huge numbers of people that already have a plasma or LCD, and that brings us back to the Mini. If Apple made an add on unit with larger hard drive and tuner with analog inputs or a stand alone with similiar specs, then yes they could easily set the standard.
I’ve been saying this for about 3 years now. Apple isn’t going to take control of the living room until they have a real display solution, which means 42 inches or more. If Apple really wanted to knock the movie store out of the park, this needs to happen on Tuesday. It would require 3 things: 1) Available movies – a no brainer; 2) A wall mountable display for the living room; and 3) a universal converter of some sort that allows television signals to play on the display. My gut tells me this is exactly what’s happening. What would make a whole lot of sense is for the display to also have an iSight camera built into it so a user (or the whole family) could video conference with other users/families right from their living room (just like Back to the Future II). All of this is easily within Apple’s reach. Of course there will be an updated iPod, too, but this pales in comparison.
Waiting with fingers crossed.
I was thinking about that a few days ago. What if the earlier rumors are right about the MacTV thing? That probably is the direction computers are going, but this is better than having a computer as a periphal that hooks up to your TV (Like what everyone wanted the Mac Mini to be). Can you imagine how cool it would be to have Mac OS X built into your TV, and just go to front row when you want to get rid of the computer aspect?
oh, yeah. A cablecard slot, too.
Totally daft idea. When I buy a 60″ TV I expect it to last 15 years or so. When I buy a computer, I expect 5 years at best – and more like 3. I’d never waste money on a 60″ iMac. Too many design compromises and too much to go wrong. Far better (and no more expensive) to buy a quality LCD or Plasma display from a manufacturer who knows how to make good TV’s and then plug a Mac Mini into it if I want Frontrow functionality. That way, I can upgrade the Mini every 3 years to keep pace with the ever increasing hardware demands of MacOS whilst retaining my high quality screen.
I’d be happy if Apple just got a clue and put a HDMI connector on their unit and rolled a decent set of PCR functions. If that would allow me to tape over the air HDTV. They have to get that before they can even think of putting it into a high dollar display. Roll the PVR and then worry about screen size. Heck the current Cinema display don’t even currently have a second input so they can pull duty as a HD ready display! This entire article is a fantasy and completely unrealistic.
And 60″ is only going to happen with rear projection. The current crop of LCD direct view in the 40-46″ range still isn’t quite ready for prime time if PQ and film like motion is desired. Refresh rates just are’nt quite there.
I think that Big Picture has more money than sense. Computers and televisions are designed for distinctly different user behaviors. Computing requires active user participation versus passively watching television. Does Big Picture really need to purchase the power of a desktop to satisfy his or her television viewing? A home entertainment center involves an small, integrated machine requiring simple programming with a sufficiently large hard drive to store content for viewing or burning at the user’s convenience. Something about the size of Mac mini, perhaps.
Besides, you can’t watch TV programming and compute on the same machine at the same time. It is better to get a large screen TV that functions solely as a TV, and get a desktop with one to two 20-inch, 24-inch, or 30-inch monitors. This way you and your honey can independently browse the web, send and receive emails, do online finances, make movies, burn CDs and DVDs, update the website, edit the monograph and Keynote presentation, AND watch TV at the same time.
Anyhow, I don’t subscribe to either cable or satellite TV programming and see no need for one, along as I have to subsidize programming I don’t watch or won’t watch.
Apple would have to tread lightly in coming out with their own branded HDTV media center. If they went after the whole market, they would create enemies of the high tech display vendors. And many of those vendors make other computer components needed by Apple.
Just using the 24″ screen iMac to introduce a media center product might work, as it is limited to a small market segment. But if Apple does that, they should announce plans to cooperate with all screen vendors, probably with something on the order of a Mac Mini. This will create a win/win game for Apple and its ecosystem partners.
I would also love to see Apple announce a part to be designed into third party displays which provide some real value added for the customer, while locking in the vendors into Apple’s home media architecture. Perhaps, such a chip, at a minimum, would merely define the model of the screen and its capabilities to better interface to Apple’s media center. Or it could be much more – but I have not given that a lot of thought as to what might make sense here.
I love the ideas of an enormous iMac– for the novelty factor alone. But as it was said above, computers are not future-proof enough to make a large iMac practical– unless, of course, the processor and stuff were modular and could be switched out later on– Apple would sell a new “brain” that you swap whenever you want. Seems pretty unlikely, though.
Apple to announce Dual Quad Mac Pro’s Sept. 12
Prepare to be blown away.
They will not; instead they will introduce new displays. How brilliant they will introduce a 40″ display that will be revolutionary. Why? Because those display’s will have an AirPort Video on board. Like all display’s will in the future. Think Simple!
Gimme Gimme! I will start saving my money now!
let the winning begin:
Nothing that Apple announces will please everyone. I for one am already unhappy with what they’ll announce on Tuesday
my spelling has to go, I meant whinning, sorry
No. You meant whining.
This is what I want to happen on Tuesday – Leopard. I know the odds are greatly against it, but how cool would it be if it comes out super earlier then expected.
You people are on crack!
Selling $2500 – $4500 large screen tv’s is NOT going to enable Apple to dominate the living room…
However, selling a $200 Airport video express which enables iTMS content to stream to any tv that people already own will…
And as far as Apple incorporating TiVo like functiionality… well, you can forget about that too. As long as Apple sells televsion episodes for $1.99 at the iTMS, Macs equipped with a PVR won’t happen. It would compete directly with their iTMS TV show business model…
Wow RC
How did you know I was sitting down?
RC is right. People won’t dump all their existing stuff– they need something like Airport Express A/V to add new value to it all. What’s old becomes new again– that’s thinking different.
Apple could certainly get into the all-in-one computer / TV / DVR market. Basically the cost would have to be competitive with existing TVs. However would they sell enough of them to make it worthwhile. You need a wide distribution to sell a lot of units. Also the units will have to interoperate with cable and satellite boxes. Personally I can’t see it hapening (yet). Maybe in 2 years once LCD prices drop lower.
What Apple can do easily is expand the iTMS service for movies etc and increase the intergration of mac / iPod and tv.
Also the idea of having music on your phone is not a silly any more, given that the flash memory is so cheap and has ever increasing capacity and mimimal energy requirements. The question is can Apple make something that the networks will take up, or will Nokia, Moto, LG etc conspire to lock them out. Apple will probably need to give the networks some financial incentive (i.e. pricing) to make this work. It is very easy for a network to lock out a phone and say they do not support it. A MVNO may br the way to go but that requires a lot of cash up front to initiate.
In a way Apple needs to take M$ approach in allowing other companies to join with their technology.
Here’s a perfect solution:
Mac mini with Bluetooth (for wireless use of keyboard/mouse)
New Front Row remote (Bluetooth)
Airport Express AV (for wireless transmission of videos from existing computer)
Will work with any TV, not just folks with plasma/LCD (some of us aren’t quite ready to upgrade yet).
Got to admit, I’d love to play Sims 2 on a 42 inch screen…
Just waiting for the home theater MiniMac, so that I can use it with my new 50” Pioneer Elite Plasma Pro. Wot a pickture!
MW-paid–as in –I paid a bit for it.
I agree with people about wanting to keep the TV longer than a built-in computer component.
But what if the computer component is replaceable. Imagine a large screen TV with a Mac Mini-sized slot in the side. All the connections are on the rear of the Mac Mini with the DVD on the front. Slide it in and you have a full Mac media centre, remove it and it is just a TV, upgrade it and you have the latest technology.
Want to take all your iTMS movies to a friend’s house? Slide out the MacMini and take it with you to either plug into their 60″ Mac TV.
What is MW? People keep referring to it?
Bad idea. Putting a computer in a large HDTV is a stupid idea. You will keep the TV longer than you will keep the computer, a lot longer. There is really no reason to do this. Being able to stream your video content to the TV or connect a computer is a better solution, and in the end make Apple more money.
I don’t see Apple selling a TV either. They want to make money, a lot of it. HDTV is a cut-throat market that is over crowded. I don’t think Apple would make enough for them to consider this. No doubt an Apple 42″ Cinema would be sweet, but it aint going to happen. Pumping your iMac Front Row interface to your HDTV is a more realistic and viable an option. My 2cents.
What is..
Magic Word.
MW: Magic Word:
The word one has to translate from image to text to verify that that ‘person’ is not actually a computer. It is at the bottom of the comment entry box at the bottom of the page.
It’s a common security measure around the ‘net.
Goddamn it, I agree with Reality Check twice…what’s going on?
More likely, if there are Apple large-screen HDTV’s on Tuesday, they will work WITH a Mac to stream video content through a built-in Airport receiver. That way, Apple will get to sell the Mac and the TV, not a TV that is also a Mac.
For customers who already have a suitable HDTV, Apple will offer a device to handle the Airport reception and work with their existing TV… like how the current Airport Express works with audio, but more elaborate, with a remote control and an on-screen interface.
If they roll that out with the iTunes video store announcement and larger screen iPod device (and the rumored “metal” iPod nano), it will be the most memorable Apple press conference of all time.
“Goddamn it, I agree with Reality Check twice…what’s going on?”
Hold on there–I’d LOVE for someone to show me ANY flat panel display technology that is capable of more than 5 years, let alone 15. RealityCheck is smokin’ sumpin’ on that one.
Bu tin his defense, I also share a preference for separate components–but we are in the minority there. Most people want it to “just work”
However, he is correct about a big market for Airport Video–it’s just not the only market. 42, 50, or 60 LCD iMacs would fly out of the stores if the content pipeline is ready. Blu-Ray, anyone?
I agree with the separate box plus screen. Also, Apple must integrate TV into the system, right there in Front Row.
http;//web.mac.com/simon_elliott/
I’m for a smart wireless iTunes node that can drive a plasma or LCD display and receive content from multiple shared iTunes computers, any that are in the vicinity with sharing turned on. Bonjour (zero config) sharing makes it possible. A smart caching algorithm combined with an inbuilt hard disk could endow a remote express node with virtually instantaneous playback response.
As long as Apple sells content, they’ll never include the PVR features. But they will allow and assist a 3rd party (like El Gato) with adding the capability to the Mac platform.
Amazon clearly tried to steal Apples thunder or at least get their paddle in the water before Apple wipes Amazons ass clean.
As an AAPL share holder, I’m sure hoping Apple has something more to annoucne than just downloadable movies. Lord, please let there be more.
$3500 for a 40 incher?! You can buy a Westinghouse 1080p 42 incher monitor for less than $2000 at reputable places like Crutchfield’s.
Figuring out a convenient way to hook it into your computer will be Apple’s play.
Apple, as always, will provide the easiest and cleanest soloution to home entertainment. Roll on Tuesday. Simple and elegant plus total integration will stun everyone. . . . iPod share 14%? just watch the next two quarters.
The article says:
“Lots of buzz in Macland today as Apple gets upgraded by UBS, and tacks on $3 beans.”
What is a bean, and why does Apple get $3 ones?
Apple won’t enter the HDTV market because Apple doesn’t manufacture LCD’s. They’d essentially be buying the LCD’s from other manufacturers and branding them as Apple Tv’s..
Computers and iPods are different, even if the components are made by other manufacturers, Apple makes them unique through software.. Tv’s don’t use software, so other than adding a pretty tv case or housing to LCD’s there is nothing that Apple can add to the technology that Sony, Sharp or other manufacturers can’t.
Apple will introduce an Airport Express Movie while using a Sony Bravia TV. So no Apple TV. No TV reception or DVR capability in the AE Movie. Why? Because Apple has a laser focus on Internet-based content delivery via iTunes.
Now most HD TVs still only have one HDMI port, so the AE Movie will have a port to connect another device to it. The AE Movie will also have adapters for connecting to analog TVs.
Maybe for next year’s Christmas, Apple will sell a TV with an iTunes processor in it. That TV will connect directly over the Web to get, store, and playback content. It will run its version of “iTunes/Front Row” in the same way that the iPod runs its version of “iTunes”. Why not today?
Because Apple needs to jump-start Internet-based content delivery. And it needs to focus people on its low-cost ($200-$300) solution. And to do that, it needs to use the TVs and computers that people already own today.
Then again, maybe Apple will surprise me and introduce both!
Airport Express Showtime!
Not Airport Express Movie.
I don’t see the point. Youall seem to be forgetting the MiniMac. I have a 50 inch plasma with a MiniMac 1.5 Ghz G4 but I have a 1.67Ghz dual core Intel with front row already there. The plasma cost me $2400 including tax (Zenith) My only problem is the MiniMac doesnt support the true 16X9 aspect ratio. I have hooked to this an EyeTV 500 and a 300Gb hard drive. My HD replays are actually the size of a 37inch diag. screen but I can live with it for now. my entire set up cost less than $3500 including a bluetooth wireless keyboard with 2 button mouse that I can use for Windows apps in bootcamp when I install the dual core. Currently I have some stock trading software that only runs on windows. I’m currently beta testing crossover on my Mac Book so maybe I wont need windows at all. So far not a complete success but I’ll keep plugging.
Pretty interesting idea, too bad its not original. That particular rumour originally hit the airwaves about a year or so ago. Part of the new wave of “flood the rumour sites with outrageous inflated products to make what Apple actually releases seem pale by comparison” the FUDsters have started spewing. Kind of a positive FUD if that’s possible.
The Mac mini was updated on Wednesday with no HDMI connectors and no PVR and you all still think another will be introduced this Tuesday? Fat chance.
Airport Express A/V is Apple’s solution, not the mini or a PVR set-top box. Apple wants to make it easy for everyone to buy movies from iTunes, not just Mac users. Airport Express A/V will allow this.
An Airport Express A/V is the right solution. But in order for it to be a big hit, Apple has to sell videos that are of DVD quality. 320×240 won’t work.
And a storage system like the Xserve RAID, but for your home entertainment center would be sweet too. Gotta store those movies somewhere.
Given that Amazon is doing DVD-quality, Apple would be insane not to match at least that.
Jobs has already said people don’t want their computers in the living room. Apple has never said the Mac mini is for the living room or a home entertainment center; they’ve always said it is a low-cost entry for those who already own monitors and keyboards (namely, PC users).
Jobs has said people want to watch movies on a TV in the living room. And iTunes on a computer is the connection to the Internet, which will become the primary path for content delivery, usurping cable/broadcast TV and radio, and packaged DVDs and CDs. (Additionally, for those consumers who want to go beyond just consumption, the Mac and iLife are the solutions for digital content creation.)
Given both these points, the solution looks to be an Airport Express for video.
I think the Mac mini has so far served to confuse competitors regarding Apple’s direction.
Us apartment dwellers mostly have no choice — my iMac is in my living room (which is why I’m glad it looks so gorgeous — beige boxes would clash with my early American IKEA decor). I don’t mind an all-in-one computer, but I’d prefer a separate solution for the TV so I don’t have to go out and spend money on a new TV quite yet…
Reality Check is right – the idea of a 60″ iMac is ludicrous. People buy TVs and use them for the next 10 years. That’s not true of computers.
It makes far more sense for Apple to release Airport Express A/V. Just as the current Express allows you to pipe music wireless to your expensive speakers, the new Airport would have an HDMI port that allows you to pipe HD-quality movies to any large screen that has an HDMI port.
The catch is, you’d need to still have a Mac to control the Express. But it’s about as wise for Apple to get into manufacturing TVs as it would be for it to start making digital cameras again. There are already so many TV makers who spend scads of R&D coming out with ever-better TVs that Apple would have to double its own R&D budget just to keep up.
It doesn’t make sense for Apple to try to compete against companies like Phillips, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony in the TV market because Apple simply doesn’t have the resources. You don’t see Apple competing against Canon, Nikon, Casio, and Olympus in the camera market anymore, either.
The reason being, all these companies spend billions of dollars a year just coming out with new models of cameras and TVs. They all make world-class products. Apple would be ill-served trying to compete with established players in a market where the products are already super-high quality. Sure, Apple could surely come out with a decent TV, but the return-on-investment equation just doesn’t work out because no matter how good the Apple TV is, there will be dozens of models that are just as good or better.
The situation is not the same in the digital music player space, where the competition is clueless, or the PC space, where the competition is clueless. That’s why the Mac and iPod are doing so well these days, if you think about it. Apple would have a much harder time competing in the TV market, just as it came to the same conclusion after killing the QuickTake digital camera line.
This is a good reason for an Apple phone, though, because the competition is still clueless when it comes to phone design.