“Apple is not going to release an Apple-branded TV set,” Will Greenwald writes for PC Magazine. “It will, however, announce a new Apple TV.”
“Apple has been making inroads with networks to add their content to Apple TV. Apple already has its own large library of content from studios and cable companies as piecemeal downloads, and already offers streaming services like Netflix and Hulu Plus, which raises the question: what does Apple want? Services like the Prime Time Anytime DVR feature on the Dish Network Hopper is the key to that,” Greenwald writes. “Apple doesn’t want to simply sell shows as they come out as downloads. It wants to offer a sort of cloud-based DVR system, streaming shows live or with very short delay like most set-top boxes. It’s the one approach to content delivery Apple hasn’t tried with the Apple TV yet.”
Greenwald writes, “Apple is one of the few companies that can do it. It’s in a unique position where it has a lot of clout with content providers and is as active on the entertainment distribution side as it is on the technology side… That’s my prediction. We’ll see in September, but I’m certain that when Apple lifts the curtain during its presentation, it won’t unveil a 40-inch screen.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Carl H.” for the heads up.]
der.
If APPLE can create the God Box which is the only input into the tv and which effectively inputs and outputs everything you need (i.e. audio, cable, internet, power, hard drive, etc), then there is no need to make the screen.
If they cannot do the above without making the screen, THEN they will bundle them together. They’re not there yet.
This is what I and a lot of other people have been saying: no Apple set top hardware, rather channel content through the existing Apple TV utilizing software. The cable companies will most likely mandate some kind of DRM for Apple to pipe their programming through the Apple TV but it will give Apple the “hub” for a variety of content.
It just doesn’t make sense. The only realy improvements they could make are quality of display, design, interface, and content.
Quality of display has value, but ultimately the quality is going to be limited by content – retina display or something similar won’t be of much use.
Design is fine, but not something people are going to pay a lot of money for on its own.
Interface and contents are things they can do with a standalone box – which will be far cheaper for people to buy and for them to make and thus take a chance on.
No solution is going to do away with other standalone boxes overnight so it’s not as if they can come up with some one box solution that does away with all other remotes. A standalone box is the easiest way to seriously get into the game for everybody – and doesn’t mean they can’t launch a television later.
ahh still prepping – and not branded as apple – ahhh ok won’t be known as a Apple tv then
I think they cracked it!!!
OMG!! If I don’t have to record my own show!! .. Every show is recorded!! I can watch anything at any time (at or after its broadcast) then I am buying!!! This solves all that stupid PVR recording crap!! I don’t have to record myself!! Totally awesome!!!!
But will you be able to stop action, skip through comercials and half times, etc? I’ll take my VCR any time if I am forced to give up those things. I like my EyeTV where I can record and edit out anything I want. Then view in HD with no interuption. Unfortunately EyeTV only works with over the air stuff for me but that is a great feature.
I agree! If the streamed shows have forced to watch commercials … like the ABC Player iPad APP … then I’m not as interested. I’d prefer my TiVo then – speaking of which TiVo yesterday announced their working on streaming from your TiVo to iOS device, as well as transfer from your TiVo to iOS services. Record it on my own, then take it with me is something I’m much more interested in.
I have owned PVR’s. I have a Pioneer with a 500gb drive collecting dust. When I have tried to record my shows in the past I found it painful and made mistakes several times.
I also have not watched commercial television in over 4 years. I kid you not.
I even watched the Olympics from an Internet feed and news from a podcasts or iPad app.
I agree with the need to filter out commercials. It’s against the law to watch commercial TV in my house to the point of locking out those channels.
Lets hope the FF button works on Apples’ yet unknown and hypothetical service.
How about “reverse” AirPlay, which would allow you to stream all cable content from the AppleTV to iPhone/iPad while on your home network? I know at least one cable company-Optimum-lets you do this for all channels, while DirecTV does it for a selected number… Of course, Optimum’s UI is terrible and looks like something out of the late 80’s.
Better yet, why not really leverage iCloud and turn AppleTV into a full-on SlingBox competitor and stream your shows/recordings to you, even when not on your home network? Hmm…I guess there might be license issues to work out here, however if the content is being streamed from iCloud and not a home DVR…
But price this for between $99 and $199 and I would buy one! My SlingBox has always been buggy…
Hope it’s this year IF it is an actual TV. I don’t think I can hold the family at bay much longer for replacing the old TV.
Apple is powerless against content providers. Apple is basically the stingiest company in the world so it won’t give up anything to the content providers. The content providers are the greediest entities in the business and they won’t give up anything to Apple. Nothing will be changed and I’ll probably go on using some hard drive-based cable box from a broadband cable company until I die. I’ll likely never live long enough to see one box do it all which would be so simple if the cable companies allowed it to happen.
lol…nice try LB, that’s all a steer can do…try.
Apple can build the best box ever, but they still won’t control the pipe that pulls the data in … you’ll still need to deal with a cable company, a dsl company or a wireless network provider.