“For three consecutive weeks, the Cupertino-based company has failed to make good on its promissory to restock indirect channel partners with fresh inventory of the existing $99 Apple TV product, say people familiar with matter,” Kasper Jade reports for AppleInsider.
“The new Apple TV model — referenced in pre-releases of Apple’s iOS software as both Apple TV 3,1 and J33 — is expect to feature the same or similar components to Apple’s imminent third-generation iPad,” Jade reports. “An upgraded Apple TV processor could allow for greatly expanded functionality with the set-top box, namely the ability to stream and play back true high-definition 1080p content. Currently, the Apple TV is restricted to 720p resolution for high-definition content.”
Jade reports, “Any upgrade to the Apple TV is likely just a stopgap to keep the device current before Apple dives in to the highly competitive television market. Numerous rumors have pointed toward a full-fledged Apple television set being unveiled no earlier than late this year, and potentially going on sale in early 2013. Even if Apple does release a television later this year, it could coexist with the Apple TV set-top box.”
More information in the full article here.
I still cannot see an actual television set.
me either. but I’m sure they’ve been tinkering with the idea in their r&d.
I also don’t think Apple will produce the TV screens but will likely make a box or the guts for the interface. TV will likely be the heart of it and there will be an iPod / iPd interface extension. Forget Channels, it will be all about content selection and hide source/amp/video monitor function selection to make use easy.
AN Apple TV set isn’t necessary but Ok. I hope they also make a master AppleTV box. The AppleTV that we have now would be viewing nodes in your home HDTV network.
A master AppleTV box would be like the Mac mini with a solid state drive, internet connected, cable jack in put, and maybe the A5 or A6 chip in it. The iOS devices would be the controllers and maybe a FAT iPod touch controller to kill off those Amazon tablet turds.
Will 1080 really make that much difference than 720? If so, will I have to reformat all of my content? I’ll still buy it!
No, given the quality of commercially available streaming content viewed on consumer TV’s at 8′-16′ the difference 720p and 1080p are hardly noticeable (if at all).
And no you won’t have to reformat content it is fairly trivial (done on the fly in hardware) to reformat 720p (and 480p) content to a 1080p output.
ok. I read posts, elsewhere, where people get so intense over this topic.
Not so with video content but if you want to stream photos or keynote presentations and especially text from your iPad/Mac to your HDTV, you will see the differrence very clearly.
And no, lower resolution content will be automatically upscaled by the graphic chip.
Thanks. I’m sure I’ll be buying one.
Perhaps the iPad 3 will have a smaller version ipad that IS the remote, ATV, and iPad, all-in-one.
That way, Apple has just put another iPad in the hands of those who would not normally buy an iPad.
They could call it “iPod”!
Apple is better off sticking with an external device. The current Apple TV is a perfect design. Something similar but upgraded will be awesome.
There are plenty of board rooms with TVs and projectors out there.
Any television made by Apple would surely just be the same hardware as an iPad, or iPhone ie something running iOS. It might have a dedicated remote, but an Apple TV (box) would have that. The important thing is the interface and any content deals. I don’t see how selling an expensive screen (which can only slow adoption) would help them do anything that an inexpensive box couldn’t. With the rise of Airplay, the guts of any Apple TV, or Apple Television become less important anyway since you’d likely just stream stuff from your Mac, or iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch.
A television seems a very expensive way to get into a market which is already established as being even more price driven than the computer market ever was.
Apple producing a television doesn’t make much sense to me. i would think most people interested in getting their TV connected have already have invested a lot of money into purchasing their TV set. i think Apple TV will continue to be something that interfaces with consumers’ existing TV sets.
Apple’s streamed 720p content is (at least) equal to DirecTV 720p and better quality than DirecTV’s 1080i channels, which are downsampled to 1440x1080i and noticeably inferior (specifically, not sharp). AppleTV On Demand movies are $1 cheaper too.
If Apple wanted to improve television, it should start with the content.
Bingo – and distribution. Screens with HDMI input are a commodity, a place Apple won’t go. All these “internet capable” TVs currently in the stores are goofy, non-standard and dysfunctional, not worth a nickel of extra money, as well as being an inventory headache for retailers. They will not prevail and Apple isn’t going there.
Apple TV will remain a set-top connection point for iCloud. Watch the recent iCloud TV ad. It gives a glimpse of the future.
I don’t see Apple as failing in anything. The products can’t be announced until they’re ready to ship. That’s not a failure, that’s the way it is. Just because people want something sooner than later doesn’t mean it’s a failure. All good things come to those that wait. March 7th is only a week away and that’s worth waiting for.
I personally would not buy a Appletv set. I love my ATV2. Although i use it more with the XBMC installed on there then through the ATV menu itself. Simply because i didnt want to store everything in itunes and i didnt want to reformat everything. As it is i can pack up my ATV2 and my NAS drive and go anywhere and plug it into a TV and have all my content.
I am hoping for an ATV3 with true 1080P that will be noticeable on a projection system 120in. Maybe an updated faster interface and who knows what else but with Apple they could make the thing do all kinds of cool stuff
“failed to make good on its promissory ”
An author trying to impress with a fancy word when a simpler one would be better.