“While PC makers still believe the PC should be the center of the digital home, cable and telecom companies champion smarter set-top boxes and services. Companies such as Akimbo, Digeo, and Digital Deck also offer various twists on this theme, delivering a digital centerpiece for controlling, managing, sharing, and viewing all types of digital content,” Tim Bajarin writes for PC Magazine.
Bajarin writes, “Now Apple is extending its digital lifestyle concept to the TV, with Apple TV. I find this move by Apple very interesting and potentially important to the market because of the impact it may have on consumer trends. Of course, Apple is not the first to try to extend Mac/PC content to the living room; in fact, it’s five years late. Microsoft’s Windows Media Center has been doing this since 2002 with mixed results, and various other media adapters have come to market since then and gotten only minimal consumer acceptance.”
Bajarin writes, “On the other hand, you could say the same for Apple’s late entry into the MP3 space. Though MP3 players had been around since 1997, Apple’s iconic player didn’t arrive until 2002. The iPod’s design and simpler, easy-to-use interface has propelled it to a market share of more than 70 percent.”
Bajarin writes, “Although I don’t expect Apple to have quite the same spectacular results with its Apple TV product, the market impact may be similar to that of the iPod. Apple TV could make moving computer content around the house another mainstream digital activity.”
Full article, with mention of “Apple’s not-so-secret weapon: using its own retail stores to demonstrate how the product will work to mainstream consumers,” here.
Related articles:
Bear Stearns: Apple TV and iPhone have changed the Apple story for the better – February 21, 2007
Deutsche Bank: Apple TV could take 30% of set-top box market within a few years – February 21, 2007
How do Apple TV and Elgato’s EyeTV work together? – February 16, 2007
Apple embraces casual gaming; iPhone, Apple TV to join iPod as gaming devices – February 09, 2007
Former GM of Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade: Apple TV to become video game console – February 08, 2007
ZDNet’s Graham: Apple TV hits a number of sweet spots, poised to make a big impact – January 25, 2007
Is Apple out to kill cable television? – January 25, 2007
RUMOR: Apple TV sales blowing away Apple’s internal expectations – January 25, 2007
Steve Jobs: Apple TV is the ‘DVD player for the 21st century’ – January 22, 2007
Apple TV beats out iPod, hits top spot on Apple Store sales chart – January 19, 2007
Report: first batch of 100,000 Apple TVs to ship this month – January 11, 2007
Steve Jobs moves to control the living room with Apple TV – January 10, 2007
Analyst Bajarin: Apple’s iPhone and Apple TV are industry game changers – January 09, 2007
Apple premieres Apple TV: movies, TV shows, music & photos on your big screen TV – January 09, 2007
RUMOR: Apple may enter video game market – December 05, 2006
Could Apple become king of game consoles? – September 26, 2006
The concept just sucks. Who wants to watch a TV in the shape of an Apple?
I mean, come on….
I’m quite surprised how, slowly but surely, the Apple TV is gaining more and more mind-share among the the tech journalists.
It’s almost as if it’s coming up fast on the inside lane, and getting ready to overtake the iPhone.
Though I was not initially excited by Apple TV, it might prove more interesting than I expect.
Just as I did not think the iPod was all that important, it was not until after I got one that I realize how wonderful it is to have music in my life with such ease … with the simple interface, large storage capacity, and iTunes making the difference…
It will be interesting to see where Apple TV goes…
I hope that the TV will eventually:
1) support most, if not all, video formats including DiVX.
2) add DVR functionality. That would make it unbeatable.
3) play streaming DVD’s from the computer. (or, I’ll just have to rip ’em. Doh!)
Hopefully Apple will add more functionality with software updates.
i meant the TV. Dang!
Wow, are you dense. Apple TV is not the TV itself. It will be a new cable network that showcases apples. For instance, there will be documentaries on red delicious, granny smith, apple juice, and may even co-star the pear. There will also be new game shows like “Apple or No Apple”, “Who Wants to Eat an Apple”, and “Apple of Fortune”. It will be scintillating TV.
This will definitely take time to develop, as there are a lot of factors that make this a more difficult sell than the iPod was.
Broadband usage is one factor, especially if Apple improves the resolution of the video offerings. Anyone with less than cable modems will face long download times for these large files. Amazingly, there are still millions of people using dial up, forget about DSL.
The bigger issue is the newness of 802.11.N for wireless streaming. Anyone with less than a 6 month old Mac will need to also buy a new wireless router, which ups the price of this concept substantially.
You really need widespread adoption of some underlying technology before this can take off.
If you look at the iPod example, it really only took off when it was made compatible with USB instead of FireWire only. Despite the fact that you could add FireWire to any windows box for $40 or $50, people wouldn’t have done it just so they could get an iPod.
I’m just glad that my whole house is wired for 10/100 ethernet so I don’t have to worry about replacing my wireless router.
The interesting point hre is how the cable companies are shooting themselves in the foot by not cooperating with Tivo and TTG. If you can’t record movies from cable, then the option of downloading them from iTunes becomes more appealing. Movie Studios win either way, but HBO etc will lose…
Apple’s “secret weapon” is that they aren’t afraid to be the last to the party. The first company to release a product doesn’t necessarily gain the greatest market share – look at the iPod. Apple released their Apple TV now because it makes sense now – all the pieces are in place. Mafia$oft always wants to be the first in these new areas, but their execution sucks! They have no idea what consumers want or need.
Well, Toby, the Apple TV is close to reality. It’s damn near tangible. People should start receiving their shipments in the coming weeks.
The iPhone, though demonstrated, still feels kind of like a pipe dream, a mass hallucination, almost!
A large chunk of the population won’t — can’t — consider AppleTV until Apple decides to allow users to turn on and off the closed-caption information originally available for all their movie and TV programming. The Mac has been a leader in accessibility in the past, but there are 30 million people in the US who need and rely on closed captions to enjoy movies, DVDs and TV shows. In fact, it’s been federal law since the late 1980s that programs on cable and broadcast be captioned. I’m not sure why Apple TV is exempt from these laws, but a class-action suit may be just around the corner.
AFAIK, none of the video programming currently offered via iTunes has closed captions available. Certainly, there’s no way to view them within iTunes. And I’m not going to rush out and spend $300 just to see IF the captions can be accessed via the TV set. And until they work this out, Mac-loving wife (who’s deaf) and I will have no choice but NOT to buy this product, as much as we’d otherwise love it.
AppleTV. Yawn.
Wake me when Apple ships something useful, like OSX 10.5.
I need to watch downloaded video in my living room like a grapefruit needs a fire extinguisher. Less, actually.
If the damn thing had a DVD player built-in, then maybe I could see devoting space to it. As it is, it is the stupidest waste of $299 short of contributing to George W’s presidential library.
Informed, your low-cal breakfast is on fire…
@ informed,
Yea, I kinda agree. This Apple TV needs to grow up a lot before I even consider buying one. Just wait a year or two or three. Like the iPhone, I am a little tired of hearing about it too.
George W’s presidential library will have nothing but crack pipes, comic books and homosexual porn mags in it…might be worth a visit?
i heard that in George W’s presidential library both books have already been colored in!
I need to watch downloaded video in my living room like a grapefruit needs a fire extinguisher. Less, actually.
—
Wow. That was clever.
Timeshifting TV shows and movies.. yea, that’ll never catch on.
In virtually all the stories about Apple TV I read about size, the wireless protocols, the USB disk port… etc, etc etc.. Nothing but tech features and how they compare to the tech features of other media routers. What I DON”T see is review of the FrontRow user experience for accessing media, and comparisons of FrontRow vs whatever UI is supplied by competitors.
Please, reviewers and pundits, give us the end-to-end review. The whole enchilada.
American Apple
Why would I use Apple TV over hooking a Mac Mini to my TV? Aside from price.
@ mike
While I agree that time shifting is great, and has changed the way many watch video programming, I happen to know a guy that’s in the television ratings business, kind of a Neilson competitor. According to him, the vast majority of people still watch programming when it’s aired. And by vast majority I mean upwards of 90% of the US population.
It’s slowly catching on, but not there yet. Maybe TV will help in that regard.
Magic word: served, as in how I like my TV served, a la carté.
critic said:
…
Broadband usage is one factor, especially if Apple improves the resolution of the video offerings. Anyone with less than cable modems will face long download times for these large files. Amazingly, there are still millions of people using dial up, forget about DSL.
…
Apple TV decouples itself from the bandwidth problem. If you already have content locally it works fine. As the bandwidth problem is resolved in the coming years, Apple TV will simply get even better. BTW, I suspect that Apple is planning with its partners — hint, at least Google — to solve the bandwidth problem. The oligopolists who control the Internet pipes and screw consumers are being set up for extinction.
Where AppleTV will make massive waves is when:
AppleTV connects directly to iTunes (like it does not for movie trailers), for movie purhcase AND rentals.
Revenue for purchased movies over rentals is about 2-1, but consider the average movie purchase price of $16, vs. $4 for a rental, and it quickly becomes evident that the majority of activity is from renters.
In other words, everyone rents, not all people buy.
Being able to rent a movie directly from the living-room and view, then purchase after viewing if desired (as it is temp. stored on the 40 GB HD), is huge.
Renting directly from the living-room is what will make AppleTV become the iPod of the living-room.
the ipod arrived in 2001
My Apple TV expected ship date: 28 FEB. Arrival date: 6 March. Can’t wait…
MikeK,
When ripping your DVD’s for use on Apple TV you can rip them with subtitles if you wish.