“Here’s a novel theory: The Internet-connected HDTV Apple is rumored to have in the pipeline will be preceded by another device that will pave the way for it,” John Paczkowski reports for AllThingsD.
“A new iMac with integrated TV functionality,” Paczkowski reports. “That’s the latest speculation from Wedge Partners’s Brian Blair, who believes there will be a step between the Apple TV and the Apple Television.”
Paczkowski reports, “‘We believe Apple’s redesign of the iMac in the first half of 2012 will likely usher in some … TV capability into the iMac offering first, effectively taking the high end and larger screens of the iMac line and pushing it toward the TV market by integrating Apple TV and iCloud features into a slimmer all-in-one PC,’ Blair writes. ‘Apple could effectively start with what they already have on the manufacturing line and slowly push their offering from 27 inches and scale up from there to 32 inches and then move on to the 42, 50 and 55 inch market.'”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “JES42” for the heads up.]
MacTV was a flop, if I remember right.
So?
Lots of things were flops when the then current situation wasn’t right for it. Doesn’t mean it never will be, otherwise the car would never have happened after the disasters of 18th century steam wagons.
I own both the 1st and 2nd generation AppleTVs and both are hooked up to HDTVs in my house. I also have a Mac mini with the HDTV cable connected to my HDTV set. So, Apple puts a cable input port (or offers a USB adapter) and a software or apps and we are ready ANY TIME APPLE WANTS TO OFFER IT. (Yes, Tim Cook, I am now talking to you. What is the problem with this? Add Siri and offer a USB connected iSight and Blu Ray drive and Steve Jobs “Hub” is done. Hello, it is time.)
My MBP is already my TV. I simply connect the Thunderbolt adapter to my 52″ HDTV. Then use Hippo Lite on my iPhone as a touchpad. The sky is the limit.
My old Power Mac G5 is my media server hooked up to the VGA port on my TV.
When I want to watch in a different room my MacBook Air does the trick.
55″ iMac… and I thought my 27″ was huge…
+1 !
I have said just this in previous posts on the subject… An iMac with Eyetv is already here as proof of concept… I use the combination now with great success… Add Siri and a few tweaks and if will blow every other tv offering out of the water…. And price will be right where it needs to be to do to tv market what Apple is now famous for… Enter and dominate
The EyeMac.
I still have a Firewire 200 tuner.
Hoping to get an HD this year, but want it via Thunderbolt rather than USB.
EyeTV is great. I don’t see why Apple would simply add a tuner. You can already do that with EyeTV and El Gato probably offers more options than Apple would.
I don’t see them doing this unless they can also address the licensing of content. Otherwise what does it do for Apple? Nothing. For people who won’t watch TV on the iMac the costs go up. For people who would watch they duplicate something they can already do.
It could be that there are prototypes out there that have been spotted.
I doubt we’ll see anything like EyeTV recording in an Apple TV. Apple could have had that capability in the AppleTV from the beginning. They didn’t.
Why? Because it would compete with iTunes.
Apple wants people to buy/rent content via iTunes, not record it from OTA (cable or whatever) for later viewing. Why would anyone rent this week’s episode of their favorite show that they missed, when they could set up to record it in advance?
Where “novel” means “stupid”.
This guy must be reading my posts on the Whirlpool forums. I suggested this last week…
Given that a lot of people are now using outsized displays for video work and even to work on large spreadsheets it’s not a big stretch (pun intended) to imagine 32″ and 37″ iMacs right now although pixel density at desktop distances may be an issue.
But having a 1080p 40 ” display iMac a few metres away would be cool. Add in a BT keyboard with an integrated trackpad on your lap and goodbye desk!
Also plenty of space for expansion slots so goodbye MacPro…
Rumors. Not enough hours in the day- I’ll wait…
What if the Apple Televisino is a toaster?
Then I’ll have 2 pieces light with cherry jam.
Then they better have a screen saver with flying toasters.
Uh… didn’t I say this like 2 weeks ago?
No one needs a massive desktop computer.. Apple makes the thinnest lightest laptops on the market. So whither the iMac? Make it a TV! The iMac can be disconnected and hooked up to the wall, 20 inch, 30 inch, 40 inch 50 inch. How complicated is that?
Actually, with iPads, I think the laptop market is going to take the hit. Not the iMacs. I do 90% of my computing on my iPad. When I need more horsepower, I’d rather spend my money on an iMac that an laptop. I just don’t see laptops in my computing future.
No one needs a massive desktop computer?
Just because YOU don’t need one doesn’t mean others don’t. I work in the graphics industry. Sorry, I need a big screen–attached to a computer that has a lot of power.
Who’s no one?? I love my iPad but I do high end professional work on my Mac Pro running Maya, Zbrush, Vue Infinite, Photoshop, Indesign, Final Cut Pro, Nuke and other programs that require a powerful system. I use a 42″ LG TV as my monitor, have 7TB of storage and 16GB of RAM.
Everyone has different computing needs. Including professionals.
They should coin a word for analysts who write articles like this, speculating about Apple’s plans and trying to predict their products. I’m reminded of the “Kremlinologists” who tried to guess correctly at what was being decided behind closed doors in the Soviet Union.
“Appleologists”? Sounds too much like “apologists”.
——RM
Appledonglers?
Appledomus?
Dumbassshitheads?
This rumor nonsense is really just too much to take. Honestly, where do they get these rumors from? Why are they even necessary? Nothing but stupid speculation.
The rumors on Apple television become more and more stupid – just look at the display resolution of a 27 inch iMac, or imagine a 55 inch display on your desktop and this desktop in front of your couch. This makes absolutely no sense.
The whole TV market is extremely difficult at the moment and there are no margins to earn even if Apple can offer a better product. Sony as one of the TV pioneers loses money in the last 6 continuous years and and they already try to make television more “intelligent”, but this might not be the right solution, because TV as an entertainment device has to stay easy to use and long hardware live cycles goes not so well with Moores Law in CPU development. Better invest in good picture quality and let do the rest AppleTV. 99 dollars is cheap enough to upgrade this connectivity box every 2 years and you stay always up to date with computing performance and standards.
Apple TV goes absolutely into the right direction, add a little more graphic power to “Airplay” games, upgrade to 1080p FullHD resolution for better picture quality especially with photos and keynote presentations and integrate the CEC Interface for commanding regular TV sets over the HMDI interface and you have the perfect missing link between traditional TV and modern Internet Computing.
iBAT?
That would be really stupid. An iMac still needs to use an Intel chip (at least for the next few years). It needs much better graphics performance, compared to a TV. It would be a waste for running an HDTV, even a “smart” one.
HDTV screens are meant to be viewed from across a room, not from about two feet away like a computer screen. 1920×1080 is “1080p.” At 55 inches, the pixels would be HUGE. It would be about 40 PPI (pixels per inch). That’s fine for an HDTV screen because it is usually viewed from six (or more) feet away (at least three times further away than computer screen). In contrast, the current iMac 27-inch display is about 109 PPI.
In addition to pixel size, you can’t use a huge screen close up. The screen is flat. Even with the current 27-inch screen, viewed from about two feet away, there is a significant different in viewing angle from something that is straight ahead (at the middle of the screen) and something that is at a corner. There is also a difference is distance, requiring the eyes to change focus as it moves across the screen. Using a 55-inch screen at computer screen distance would be very uncomfortable. If you need that much screen real estate, get a 27-inch external display (or several) and angle each screen toward your head’s location.
Apple optimizes the hardware and software for specific purposes. That’s why there is an OS for Mac and a separate OS for iPad/iPhone (plus one for the current Apple TV). The “Apple TV” will use an A5 (plus supporting hardware) and a version of iOS that is optimized for being a TV.
Perhaps the iChest, a combo ice chest, big ass table and tv/ laptop. Flip up the lid/big ass table and, bam, you got your screen. Has wheels and a handle, great for tailgating.
“But having a 1080p 40 ” display iMac a few metres away would be cool. Add in a BT keyboard with an integrated trackpad on your lap and goodbye desk!”
Sounds familiar; 40″ Sony Bravia, (check), Mac Mini, w/1.1Tb internal storage/4Gb RAM, (check), BT keyboard/Trackpad, (check). Just what I have downstairs at the moment.
That’s a pretty nice setup! You’ve got me thinking about doing the same thing…
Pretty much what we have in our living room right now. In fact my wife is using it more and more for her regular computer use while the 20″ iMac in her office goes unused. She surfs, watches tv (via elgato eyetv) and checks her email.
She used to think this idea was silly. If this keeps up, pretty soon I won’t be able to pry it out of her hands. 🙂
At least it was a fresh take… but no
This might be interesting. Especially if there will be airplay enabled flatscreens.
I expect the iTV to have a mac in it. I’ve had a mac mini hooked up to my tv for a couple of years now, running Plex, and it gives me everything these other boxes do and more, since I can run any mac app on it. The only thing missing is airshare, but since all my mobile files originate from my network anyway, that’s not something I really need.
I expect the iTV to have a mac in it. I’ve had a mac mini hooked up to my tv for a couple of years now, running Plex, and it gives me everything these other boxes do and more, since I can run any mac app on it. The only thing missing is airplay, but since all my mobile files originate from my network anyway, that’s not something I really need.
If Apple’s display has anything more than a power cord and weighs more than 20 lbs them I’m not interested. All signals from a controller can be connected by WiFi. Today you can buy 55″ TVs that are less than 50 lbs. the only display innovation needed is something that big and light with very low power required so that it can be put in a frame of my choice and easily hung wherever I want it. The rest/controller just needs to be in the area of the wifi which could be integrated with it. Anything else is old technology.
Off Topic: When and why did the Apple store reduce the BTO for the iMac? Used to be that you can check off more video ram for the graphics card. What are we stuck with 512 MB to 1 GB or 1 to 2 GB?
Apple TV will be a beefed up and enlarged iPad running whatever software is needed for the job. It will be thin and beautiful and will include Siri. (Suck on it Dr Ablow).
I haven’t heard any reports that an Apple TV will be a Mac computer. That adds too much to the price for the functionality of a TV. You want a computer? Hook your Air, Mini, MBP, or MP to the TV.
I think an Apple TV will be an iPad with next gen A-something chip with Siri, running the guts of an ordinary TV
Well, if YOU haven’t heard, it must not be true.
Let’s look at how Apple makes great and successful products. 1.They make high quality, reasonably priced products that can be operated very easily.
2. Generally they have been able to operate in the higher price range because people are willing to pay for the better utility.
3. They have gradually been able to expand the number of outlets so that the product can be very easily to find in shops and online.
All of these criteria are possible with a Apple designed TV. Assuming they have sorted out the interface and compatibility with cable and satellite feeds, their biggest problem will be distribution. People buy TVs at consumer electronic stores or places like Costcos. Will Apple be able to sell through those?
Since the price for these items will be in the 1000’s then the risk is high for Apple.