“Ever since Steve Jobs gave us a sneak peak at Apple’s internal iTV project at 2006’s ‘Showtime’event, we’ve been waiting for Apple’s pioneering set-top box to mature,” Michael Simon writes for Macworld. “Officially released just moments before the iPhone, Apple TV was designed to be the magical gadget that bridged the gap between the small screens on our mobile devices and the giant ones in our living rooms, wirelessly delivering our music, movies and photos to a place where they could look and sound their best.”
“At the time, Jobs triumphantly declared that the square box ‘completes the story’ that started with the iPod,” Simon writes. “But we know now the story didn’t end there: With the dawn of the iPhone, iPad and now Apple Watch, our digital lives have become far greater than the things that entertain us. But the box that sits under our TVs hasn’t really evolved with it.”
Simon writes, “For most of us, Apple TV is little more than the ‘hobby’ Apple has positioned it to be—a fun way to stream media and games without the hassle of wires or extra components—but it could very well be on its way to becoming the command center for our homes.”
The difficulty is that with music they just got publishers to sell the same product but in digital form (plus individual tracks), but the process of buying and getting something for your money was essentially unchanged. Streaming is still shaking out because it’s a new market, companies don’t know how to quantify the money they receive, the public are learning what they’re using and what they want to spend.
TV is difficult because it’s essentially a mix of broadcast and pre-owned material, and in turn the stuff that is broadcast is a mix of old and new and live and pre-recorded. Putting stuff online is difficult because of internet speeds varying so much, and the way things are paid for being so different. Traditional channels don’t really translate and with so many different sources it’s hard to know what everyone needs/wants and putting something together to fit that.
Forget broadcast, if you were to just pay for the exclusive content on all the online services (Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Yahoo, etc) you’re not exactly talking low cost, and that’s without live sport which is generally the most expensive and complicated in terms of who has rights to what.
I think there will be a lot of missteps and false starts as services come and go before online really comes of age.
The only way online TV will work is if people get to choose only the channels they want to watch. If it is the same old package deals then nothing has changed and it will still be to expensive. A true online cable breaker will have to do ala cart services that include local channels and HD at no extra charge. That will be the brand that will kick ass on the online TV business at a lower rate than cable. Asking a lot but if this doesn’t happen then nothing has changed and there will be no break through.
“If it is the same old package deals then nothing has changed and it will still be to expensive.”
What assurance is there that the ability to cherry-pick your favorite channels will be any cheaper than cable’s current menu? I’d be really surprised if a new a la carte service were to be substantially cheaper than the packages we put up with today.
A la carte will indeed be significantly more expensive. I do not doubt that whatever Apple comes up with, that it will also be significantly more expensive than the usual cable bundle. My only request- please include a really decent tuner for OTA in the new Apple TV and a way to record.
How about, ‘hey, I’d like to watch this show (not this channel) right now.’
Presently, On Demand allows this from cable systems, but not everything. A subscription system is far from ideal, but a choice system, at least for real-time viewing and time-shifted viewing, would be nice.
If they don’t change the UI for TV then it could get very ugly. It is becoming a chore to scroll through dozens of icons just to find the one you’re looking for. Not sure what the solution is, because the TV service providers haven’t been any better. Perhaps using voice commands with Siri would work, I don’t know. Just know that it needs to be changed.
Kavok, turn off the icons/channels you don’t use. Move the ones you watch a lot at the top. Some people are not aware they can do that. Now you are.
I’m absolutely looking forward to what Apple will be introducing. If they do it right, I’m ready to finish dumping cable. Other things needed to be in place first. Now they are. Just waiting for Apple…
The difficulty is that with music they just got publishers to sell the same product but in digital form (plus individual tracks), but the process of buying and getting something for your money was essentially unchanged. Streaming is still shaking out because it’s a new market, companies don’t know how to quantify the money they receive, the public are learning what they’re using and what they want to spend.
TV is difficult because it’s essentially a mix of broadcast and pre-owned material, and in turn the stuff that is broadcast is a mix of old and new and live and pre-recorded. Putting stuff online is difficult because of internet speeds varying so much, and the way things are paid for being so different. Traditional channels don’t really translate and with so many different sources it’s hard to know what everyone needs/wants and putting something together to fit that.
Forget broadcast, if you were to just pay for the exclusive content on all the online services (Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Yahoo, etc) you’re not exactly talking low cost, and that’s without live sport which is generally the most expensive and complicated in terms of who has rights to what.
I think there will be a lot of missteps and false starts as services come and go before online really comes of age.
Include two gamepads and enable an Apple TV apps store and it will be a smash hit.
The only way online TV will work is if people get to choose only the channels they want to watch. If it is the same old package deals then nothing has changed and it will still be to expensive. A true online cable breaker will have to do ala cart services that include local channels and HD at no extra charge. That will be the brand that will kick ass on the online TV business at a lower rate than cable. Asking a lot but if this doesn’t happen then nothing has changed and there will be no break through.
“If it is the same old package deals then nothing has changed and it will still be to expensive.”
What assurance is there that the ability to cherry-pick your favorite channels will be any cheaper than cable’s current menu? I’d be really surprised if a new a la carte service were to be substantially cheaper than the packages we put up with today.
A la carte will indeed be significantly more expensive. I do not doubt that whatever Apple comes up with, that it will also be significantly more expensive than the usual cable bundle. My only request- please include a really decent tuner for OTA in the new Apple TV and a way to record.
Channels are so old school.
What we need is a la carte, never having to tediously search for the source of the show or the movie.
How about, ‘hey, I’d like to watch this show (not this channel) right now.’
Presently, On Demand allows this from cable systems, but not everything. A subscription system is far from ideal, but a choice system, at least for real-time viewing and time-shifted viewing, would be nice.
If they don’t change the UI for TV then it could get very ugly. It is becoming a chore to scroll through dozens of icons just to find the one you’re looking for. Not sure what the solution is, because the TV service providers haven’t been any better. Perhaps using voice commands with Siri would work, I don’t know. Just know that it needs to be changed.
Kavok, turn off the icons/channels you don’t use. Move the ones you watch a lot at the top. Some people are not aware they can do that. Now you are.
I’m absolutely looking forward to what Apple will be introducing. If they do it right, I’m ready to finish dumping cable. Other things needed to be in place first. Now they are. Just waiting for Apple…