“Apple Inc. made its biggest move yet into the living room on Wednesday by starting shipments of the Apple TV box, a gizmo that lets people take music, photos and video stored on a computer and play them on a television screen,” Duncan Martell reports for Reuters.
“The small silver box with a white Apple logo costs $299 and can store up to 50 hours of video, 9,000 songs, 25,000 photos or a combination thereof. It is available this week at Apple’s online store, retail stores, and also from resellers,” Martell reports.
MacDailyNews Take: We see this is almost every article: can store up to 50 hours of video, blah, blah, blah. Yes, but in reality, the “storage” is unlimited as the Apple TV streams from multiple computers. Your storage capacity is what you have on whichever computer to which your Apple TV syncs plus up to five additional computers! Unless you turn off your computers or disconnect it from the network, don’t worry about the size of Apple TV’s onboard drive: it’s there for syncing, not storage per se. Walt Mossberg said it best earlier today, “In our tests, it worked great, and we can easily recommend it for people who are yearning for a simple way to show on their big TVs all that stuff trapped on their computers. We tried it with various combinations of Windows and Mac computers, with movies, photos, TV shows, video clips and music. And we didn’t even use the fastest wireless network it can handle. It performed flawlessly… The only downside of streaming as compared to syncing is that you can’t stream photos. These can appear only through synchronization. Apple plans to enable photo streaming later.”
Martell continues, “Apple TV has garnered some positive early reviews, including one by Wall Street Journal technology columnist Walt Mossberg, who said the wireless box was easy to install and simple to use… One of the chief complaints is that the Apple TV does not — at least for now — record TV shows, which means it cannot replace digital video recorders like the TiVo.”
MacDailyNews Take: Ahh, but there’s the rub. What difference is it to the end user whether they pay for cable/TiVo and record “Lost” to a traditional DVR or whether they pay Apple to download “Lost?” Answer: there is little difference. Depending on your content consumption, Apple TV may be more or less expensive, but it delivers the exact same result: watch what you want, when you want*. It’s as simple as that.
*Right now, satellite or cable + DVR obviously offers a greater range of programming than iTunes Store, but that distinction is becoming less and less important as Apple’s library grows. Also a video/audio quality difference exists – cable/satellite delivers HDTV with Surround Sound, Apple doesn’t – but the question remains as to how much of the audience that quality difference actually matters. Apple has already proven that compressed music sells well. For those who haven’t yet seen them, Apple’s iTunes TV Shows and movies are surprisingly watchable on big screen displays. [UPDATED: 6:05pm EDT: Added comments on vid/aud quality as per Allen’s comments below.]
MacDailyNews Note: All local U.S. TV stations are broadcasting their DTV signals for FREE over-the-air today. Stick an antenna on that new big screen HDTV of yours to see what’s there – you might be surprised. You might also look at your satellite/cable bill in a new light. More info about DTV here.
Martell continues, “‘It’s Apple’s first major foray into the living room,’ said Shannon Cross, an analyst at Cross Research. ‘I expect many more products to come that expand Apple’s reach beyond this initial Apple TV.'”
“Apple TV works with the iTunes digital jukebox that runs on either Macintosh or Windows computers, and with the integration of the two, gives users access to more than 400 movies, 350 TV shows in near-DVD quality, more than 4 million songs, 5,000 music videos and myriad podcasts and audio books,” Martell reports. “While iTunes is by far the largest online store for digital content, Apple TV also offers a limited ability to stream other content from the Web, such as film trailers and song previews. Analysts expect Apple to expand selectively the amount of content that users can stream straight from the Internet.”
Full article here.
Related articles:
Mossberg hands-on with Apple TV: ‘beautiful design, easy-to-use, classic Apple: simple and elegant’ – March 21, 2007
Apple TV projected to surpass TiVo, Netflix – March 20, 2007
Former Microsoft ‘Enthusiast Evangelist’ Gartenberg looks at impact of Apple TV – March 20, 2007
Apple TV ships – March 20, 2007
Apple shares rise on positive Apple TV analyst comments – March 19, 2007
Analysts: Apple to ride Apple TV + iTunes ‘Trojan horse’ into living room – March 19, 2007
Will Apple TV be even bigger than iPhone? – March 19, 2007
Apple adds 720p Apple TV high-definition export mode to QuickTime – March 19, 2007
Apple planning to buy Miglia to add DVR capabilities to iTunes and Apple TV? – March 17, 2007
Miglia debuts TVMAX+ Mac PVR, TV tuner, content provider for iPod, iPhone or Apple TV – March 16, 2007
Piper Jaffray expects 2 million Apple TV units to be sold in 2007 – March 16, 2007
Apple TV ships – March 15, 2007
Solution providers expect Apple TV to be hot seller – March 15, 2007
Apple TV could help kill traditional TV ads – March 14, 2007
Apple TV manufacturing ramp up to begin as early as today – March 12, 2007
Why Apple TV is more important than iPhone – March 12, 2007
Apple TV concept may eventually catch on with consumers – March 12, 2007
Apple CFO talks Apple TV, iPhone, Leopard and retail (link to full transcript) – March 07, 2007
PC Magazine: Why Apple TV matters – February 23, 2007
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
‘Reuters: Apple makes biggest move yet into living rooms with Apple TV’
In an unrelated story, Microsoft continues to make movement in the bathroom with the Zune…
“What difference is it to the end user whether they pay for cable/TiVo and record “Lost” to a traditional DVR or whether they pay Apple to download “Lost?” Answer: there is no difference. Depending on your content consumption, Apple TV may be more or less expensive, but it delivers the exact same result: watch what you want, when you want*. It’s as simple as that.”
Uh, it’s all about cost. Duh. Apple TV needs to add DVR because otherwise I’d be spending a fortune every month for my shows!
think the issue is not whther iTunes is more content than cable/DVR – i would stop subscription to cable/DVR and but th efew showsthat i watch off iTunes ina hardbeat if somehow i can watch the news, live sports etc on it.
not a “lay”-up just yet
Use your PC or MAc to do DVR… Then stream it to your Apple TV. Easy, right?
There are many boxes and USB sticks to do DVR now for both Apple and PC, and many of the software supports iPod Video and with Quikctime Pro Apple TV extended resolution HD 720p format. Create the content on your Mac or PC and stream it to your Apple TV!
And have your mac/pc hooked to the TV all the time ? Doesn’t make sense
My only question is how will iTunes Store video material (since all of it is only at 640×480) look an an HDTV?
Why does the Apple TV require a 720p widescreen HDTV when the iTunes Store’s own video content available doesn’t even come close to being that high resolution?
but wait…
What part of the following did you not understand?
MacDailyNews Note: All local U.S. TV stations are broadcasting their DTV signals for FREE over-the-air today. Stick an antenna on that new big screen HDTV of yours to see what’s there – you might be surprised. You might also look at your satellite/cable bill in a new light. More info about DTV here.
MDN Take “What difference is it to the end user whether they pay for cable/TiVo and record “Lost” to a traditional DVR or whether they pay Apple to download “Lost?” Answer: there is no difference.”
—————–
MDN sorry, nice try, but you’re definitely wrong here..
If I pay for cable/TiVo to record “Lost” I can record it in high definition with 5:1 Digital Dolby Surround. If I pay Apple to download “Lost” I will only be getting “near dvd quality” with only stereo audio.. That is the biggest complaint with Apple Tv in my book, the quality of content stinks. Especially for the target market that Apple is aiming for which is widescreen tv owners. Most people who own a widescreen tv want HD and surround.
^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^
…….And by the way, I do realize that you said “traditional dvr,” but since both Time Warner cable and Direct TV satelite both offer HD DVR’s for free there really is a big difference.
@ Allen
You are not drinking enough Kool-Aide, young man.
To paraphrase a zealot from an older thread: “AppleTV is the best solution on the planet” for a problem/situation that few people care about.
I, for one, lose sleep every night because I can’t stream low-res internet crap onto my high-end television. Oh, and I really need to replace my cable television and “buy”** individual TV shows.
**”buy” is in quotes because video purchased from iTunes is hardly “owned” by the fool who “buys” it. It can’t be burned to DVD, and is subject to the DRM whims of Apple and its content providers.
But ignore that, and charge up your credit card. Apple has some nice Strawberry-flavored Kool-Aide for those who surpass dollar amounts of their cable bills with video purchases they don’t really own.
In the long run, the competition in the market between cable/satellite and iTunes/iTV will come down to this — do you want to pay a lump sum monthly to have access to a smorgasbord of programming, a lot of which you will never watch and for which you need to know when particular programs will be broadcast, or do you want to pay to have access to single programs when you want to watch them, even though you might have to pay more on a per-program basis and have to know in advance what you want? The recent stories about declining sales of CDs versus growing sales of MP3s provide the relevant analogy; Apple is betting that the same will be true for television and movie programs. Each side of the industry will try to make their sales/service model a little more like the other (Pay-For-View on the cable/satellite side; subscription and rental options on the iTunes side [perhaps]), but the basic models will remain different.
Well,
We did an informal audit of what we were watching on TV recently. Like about an hour of network TV/ quarter, 2 netflix movies/ week. Sometimes I buy the 16 pak of the daily show. So here we are, paying $50-/ month for 200 channels we don’t watch. We now use my Macbook to connect to our 42″ TV & digitally to the stereo. I checked on iTunes and guess what? The Nature & Nat’l Geographic shows we watch from time to time are available as podcasts- FREE! And when I want to watch them. . .
So, without even owning an Apple TV, we canned 188 channels and now will pay 9-/ month. So We save $600- year- That buys a lot of iTunes content. . .
According to Gizmodo (who now has many unboxing photos of the Apple TV), the Apple Tv is designed to be an “iPod for your TV”. Sync/stream content from your iTunes enabled Macs or PC around your house. Your TV now has its own video iPod (a.k.a. Apple TV). It is not meant to encode or do everything, just serve up content from iTunes on your Macs or PCs well, in a user friendly, pleasant easy-to-use interface.
@ Macbones:
Nice audit. For you, this time-consuming act of perusing the iTunes store and downloading individual shows or series may be a good idea.
Personally, when I actually sit and watch TV, I scan CSPAN(s), NASA, History Channel, Discovery, Science, I monitor several news stations, and I occasionally have the guilty pleasure of watching a mini-marathon of some TV show I would NEVER buy (e.g.: “The X-Files,” “Law and Order,” or “M.A.S.H.”)
That is why your cost/benefit analysis is unique to you. I would hazard a guess that 97% of television consumers are closer to me than to you.
But I certainly do appreciate your excellent choices! (The Daily Show/Colbert Report/Countdown with Olbermann and baseball are the ONLY reasons I still pay $$$ to Comcast). Otherwise, local TV is still almost free.
More power to you.
I’m becoming a bit concerned about Airport Express NOT being updated. My concern is that Apple TV will be considered a replacement for the Airport Express’s ability to get content to a home theater system and that there would no longer be a need for the AE. That would, of course, ignore the advantages of AE in price and in being able to extend a full size Airport’s signal. If this is not the case, I find this extended delay in updating the AE (to include the “N” protocol) to be…confusing.
Use your PC or MAc to do DVR… Then stream it to your Apple TV. Easy, right?
Unfortunately no. It’s too convoluted.
This consumer for one wants a direct DVD-to-iTunes import. Better yet, a direct DVD-to-TV import.
And this consumer wants to use the TV as a movie iPod, not a iTMS client (not yet, anyway…).
Maybe I’m just in the minority.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”raspberry” style=”border:0;” />
MDN Take, “What difference is it to the end user whether they pay for cable/TiVo and record “Lost” to a traditional DVR or whether they pay Apple to download “Lost?” Answer: there is no difference.”
Sorry MDN, BIG difference. No Kool-Aid for me either. Very few of the sports shows, Science Channel shows, PBS and BBC British mysteries and many, many other things I watch are available in iTunes. Indeed iTunes only has a very small fraction of all the shows shown on cable every day. They have the mass market shows but not the more eclectic (and frankly more intellectually stimulating) shows. Without TIVO or its equivalent there is no opportunity to watch those shows other than when they are broadcast. I expect Apple will add DVR and other features to Apple TV with time, and/or they will expand their iTunes library sufficiently to include the kinds of shows II’m interested in, but until they do I my money will be earning interest in the bank.
I think that Paul Johnson & Macbones said it best. Apple TV is causing confusion in the minds of many because they don’t understand what it is trying to accomplish. I don’t think Apple wants to supplement and work with your cable provider. I think they want to REPLACE them.
For some people, cable is by far the best solution. They watch lots of TV and lots of channels.
But many people watch much less TV and much more Internet content. Those people can buy Apple TV and ditch their cable provider.
And don’t underestimate free podcasts. They are in their infancy now, but think of them as the new radio/TV streaming free into your TV via Apple TV.
nothing to watch,
Can you say MediaFork?
” consumer for one wants a direct DVD-to-iTunes import. Better yet, a direct DVD-to-TV import.”
maybe it’s a geek thing (always looking for the most convoluted solution), but.. dude.. put your dvd in your dvd player.
@ Mike “but.. dude.. put your dvd in your dvd player.”
……………
I think what he’s trying to stay is that he wants an easy way to rent dvd’s and the steal… er.. I mean store them in iTunes/Apple TV.
<for people who are yearning for a simple way to show on their big TVs all that stuff trapped on their computers>
ALL that stuff? Not quite Walter. No DivX, no DVD images etc. Only stuff that iTunes plays. What I want is a box that will stream my Mac’s audio and video output to my big TV and a small bluetooth pad/keyboard to remotely control it. THEN… I would have a way to show ALL the stuff that’s trapped on my computer.
For me, I will use my AppleTV to “lounge” with my content. Currently I use my iPod to mainly listen to podcasts in my car during my commute. I want to be able to listen to podcasts, music, watch some tv shows, video podcasts, ripped movies, etc, from the comfort of my couch, not sitting on a chair in front of the desktop. I’m not too concerned about quality. If I want quality I will watch the dvd through the DVD player on the projector in the basement. When I want to lounge and browse my content, I will use AppleTV in the living room.
@ macbones… way to go.
Just got my AppleTV delivered! I didn’t pay for fast shipping, but it got here (Columbus, OH) from China in 2 days! Can’t wait to get home.