PiperJaffray sees new Apple products as positives, but insignificant

[AppleInsider]

Following Apple's media event this afternoon, analysts for research and investment firm PiperJaffray said the new product introduced at the event show continued innovation, but are not likely to offer a material additive to expectations for the company's 2006 fiscal year.

"[Apple] announced two new/updated products, both of which were primarily expected by the Street," analyst Gene Munster wrote. "Our take on the event is that the release of these new products is a positive, given we did not have them factored into our model, but the Street was generally looking for more product releases, or at least more significant products to be announced today."

While the analyst believes the iPod Hi-Fi and Mac mini will be strong products for Apple, he said neither are likely to materially impact his firm's model for fiscal year 2006.

Reflecting on the new Mac mini product line, Munster said the integration of Front Row is another step towards making the compact computer a home media center hub.

"While the new Mac mini can be hooked into a television, we believe the eventual integration of AirPort for wireless video transfer will provide Apple with all the pieces to make a push into the living room," he wrote. "Looking at the overall Mac line, with the Intel based Mac mini, half of all Macs offered by Apple now have an Intel processor."

Munster also commented on the iPod Hi-Fi boombox, which he noted was also "generally expected by Apple rumor sites and the Street after several articles came out indicating the iPod Hi-Fi was coming soon."

The analyst pointed out that the $349 iPod Hi-Fi is unique in that it features a simplistic remote, but is priced higher than other iPod speaker systems in the market, which typically retail between $200-$300.

"Between the iPod Hi-Fi and some new iPod cases, it appears Apple is trying to directly capture more of the revenue that is being generated by the "iPod economy" that the company has created," Munster concluded.

Nevertheless, PiperJaffray maintained its "Outperform" rating on Apple shares with a price target of $103.

Note: The new Mac mini does include built-in AirPort wireless capabilities, contrary to comments made by the analyst. It appears that he is referring to an AirPort base station that can accept wireless video data in addition to audio, hence allowing video content to be broadcast wireless from a Mac to a TV.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[solsun]

Originally posted by AppleInsider


"While the new Mac mini can be hooked into a television, we believe the eventual integration of AirPort for wireless video transfer will provide Apple with all the pieces to make a push into the living room," he wrote.\AppleInsider.com ][/url][/

I don't believe this is correct.. The new Mac Mini with DVI output and Front Row software has become a bona fide media center..

Imagine the mini hooked up to a 42" hi-def LCD tv with a bluetooth keyboard on the coffee table.. You could shop the iTMS for a movie or tv show to download and then bam, swith to front row with the included remote and begin watching your purchase without ever having to drive to a video store or leave the couch..

Also there have been lots of complaints about the integrated graphics on the mini, but there is a logical explanation..

Apple is obviously trying to market the mini as a media center... Using integrated video with shared memory is the only way to keep costs at $600 yet still allow the graphics engine to use as much Ram as needed for movies and HD video content...

Movies are the next step for Apple folks.. Hi-def movies require A LOT of video RAM.. Apple is certainly not going to include a 256 mb graphics card in a Mini and still be able keep the price at $600... Integrated video with shared Ram was the solution...

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally posted by solsun
I don't believe this is correct.. The new Mac Mini with DVI output and Front Row software has become a bona fide media center..

Imagine the mini hooked up to a 42" hi-def LCD tv with a bluetooth keyboard on the coffee table.. You could shop the iTMS for a movie or tv show to download and then bam, swith to front row with the included remote and begin watching your purchase without ever having to drive to a video store or leave the couch..

Also there have been lots of complaints about the integrated graphics on the mini, but there is a logical explanation..

Apple is obviously trying to market the mini as a media center... Using integrated video with shared memory is the only way to keep costs at $600 yet still allow the graphics engine to use as much Ram as needed for movies and HD video content...

Movies are the next step for Apple folks.. Hi-def movies require A LOT of video RAM.. Apple is certainly not going to include a 256 mb graphics card in a Mini and still be able keep the price at $600... Integrated video with shared Ram was the solution...

Imagine your TV not working as planned with that H.264 encoded HD DVD that won't produce the necessary framerates to make the Mac mini a bonafide media center for your home theatre.

[Robin Hood]

Dude, the Mac mini has neither a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player. That being said, the GMA950 GPU can decode two 1080p video streams in real time!

[onlooker]

I predicted the Mini in here before any of those a$$ holes.

[mk14]

Where is the quicktime stream of the keynote?
On a side note, http://stream.apple.akadns.net/ keeps on switching back and forth between "Apple Special Event - October 2005" and "404 Not Found". The keynote stream coming up?!?

[mark2005]

Although I had my hopes up too high (need to wait some more!), I think these are steps in the right direction, though not home runs. I need to keep reminding myself that Apple moves one step at a time, taking into account technology, market, and price points.

So now we have wireless network sharing of not only music, but photos, and video throughout the house, but it requires a Mac mini at each TV (for photos and video, whereas music only required an Airport express at the speakers). I hope the day is coming soon when that $600 Mac mini can be replaced by a $200-$250 Airport video express.

And now we have a remote control for an iPod docked to the iPod Hi-Fi. I hope the day is coming soon when the iPod itself is the wireless source and wireless remote for wireless-enabled iPod Hi-Fi.

[mk14]

Dude, the Mac mini has neither a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player. That being said, the GMA950 GPU can decode two 1080p video streams in real time!

No computer currently has a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player, or even a HDMI or DVI+HDCP output.
Though I guess that'll be coming with the next revision. Probably no HD-DVD, but Blu-ray (Apple is in the Blu-ray Association).
Why do the licensing rules of HD-DVD and Blu-ray forbid combining both into one drive??? - they are so similar, the same decoder chip could easily handle both. This is so consumer-unfriendly.

[JohnnySmith]

Originally posted by mk14
Why do the licensing rules of HD-DVD and Blu-ray forbid combining both into one drive??? - they are so similar, the same decoder chip could easily handle both. This is so consumer-unfriendly.

I think it has something to do with men in suits putting their lips around wads of cash and moving their heads back and forth while they get behind a consumer and move in a fast thrusting motion.

[mk14]

I think it has something to do with men in suits putting their lips around wads of cash and moving their heads back and forth while they get behind a consumer and move in a fast thrusting motion.

I know . This was more like a rethorical question....
But why not, they could have had double-drives cost 1.5 times as much, paying the vendor like a normal drive and covering licensing costs for both. Wouldn't that be best for everyone?

[solsun]

Originally posted by mdriftmeyer
Imagine your TV not working as planned with that H.264 encoded HD DVD that won't produce the necessary framerates to make the Mac mini a bonafide media center for your home theatre.

I was talking about a future Apple movie service not dvd's...

[nagromme]

Macs gaining Intel chips is the MOST significant thing to happen in years, and the low-end Mac is certainly a major model to take part in that.

It's not surprise by now, but it IS "significant."

And yes, according to Apple.com, AirPort Extreme IS standard even on the low-end Mini--video Bonjour and all.

[JeffDM]

Originally posted by Robin Hood
Dude, the Mac mini has neither a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player. That being said, the GMA950 GPU can decode two 1080p video streams in real time!

The overview page seems to say that it can handle two streams like you say, but it says nothing about this H.264, it might only be true for MPEG-2.

http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/gma950/

I'd like to know how well it can handle H.264, I am almost certain that the 1.66 Duo can decode one 1080p H.264 stream, though I would like to see it verified, and to know whether the Solo model can handle it too.

[melgross]

This article needs correction. The bottom is wrong when it says that Airport extemem isn't built-in. It very clearly is, according to Apple's page.

"Built-in 54-Mbps AirPort Extreme wireless networking (based on 802.11g standard)
Built-in Bluetooth 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) up to 3 Mbps"

Link:

http://www.apple.com/macmini/whatsinside.html

[melgross]

Originally posted by JeffDM
The overview page seems to say that it can handle two streams like you say, but it says nothing about this H.264, it might only be true for MPEG-2.

http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/gma950/

I'd like to know how well it can handle H.264, I am almost certain that the 1.66 Duo can decode one 1080p H.264 stream, though I would like to see it verified, and to know whether the Solo model can handle it too.

I'm having problems finding information I know is out there. The Black Hole of the Internet.

[1984]

Originally posted by solsun
I don't believe this is correct.. The new Mac Mini with DVI output and Front Row software has become a bona fide media center..

Media Center Lite. Sadly, Microsoft leads the pack here. Not as elegant looking but far more content choices and playback options.

Imagine the mini hooked up to a 42" hi-def LCD tv with a bluetooth keyboard on the coffee table.. You could shop the iTMS for a movie or tv show to download and then bam, swith to front row with the included remote and begin watching your purchase without ever having to drive to a video store or leave the couch..

Imagine how crappy that 320x240 movie or tv show purchased off iTMS will look on that 42" hi-def LCD tv.

[1984]

Originally posted by JeffDM
The overview page seems to say that it can handle two streams like you say, but it says nothing about this H.264, it might only be true for MPEG-2.

http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/gma950/

I'd like to know how well it can handle H.264, I am almost certain that the 1.66 Duo can decode one 1080p H.264 stream, though I would like to see it verified, and to know whether the Solo model can handle it too.

I do not believe the GMA950 accelerates MPEG4/H.264 at all so that will significantly bog down the processor. I would hold off on purchasing one until someone tests this first hand. I certainly wouldn't mess around with a single core version.

[Louzer]

Originally posted by solsun
I don't believe this is correct.. The new Mac Mini with DVI output and Front Row software has become a bona fide media center..

Imagine the mini hooked up to a 42" hi-def LCD tv with a bluetooth keyboard on the coffee table.. You could shop the iTMS for a movie or tv show to download and then bam, swith to front row with the included remote and begin watching your purchase without ever having to drive to a video store or leave the couch..

OK, I'm imagining it. And right now it kind of blows. First, those videos from iTMS look crappy on my 20" monitor. Can't wait to see it hooked up to my 65" TV.

Second, my TV doesn't support DVI standard. So I need component video for that output. Hey, where's the component video output???

Third, I don't want to be buying/downloading TV shows from the iTMS. I've got a TV. I've got satellite. Hey, let me RECORD the shows directly, without having to buy everything piecemeal! Can't do that yet, either.

Originally posted by solsun
Also there have been lots of complaints about the integrated graphics on the mini, but there is a logical explanation..

Apple is obviously trying to market the mini as a media center... Using integrated video with shared memory is the only way to keep costs at $600 yet still allow the graphics engine to use as much Ram as needed for movies and HD video content...

Of course! That seems so obvious now that you say it. I just forgot how crappy Apple's marketing is. So when they don't say a blasted thing about this computer being your media hub, that new media center device we've all been hearing about, etc, I should have known that what they really were doing was actually marketing it as a media center! Man, its so subtle to be non-existent!

Originally posted by solsun
Movies are the next step for Apple folks.. Hi-def movies require A LOT of video RAM.. Apple is certainly not going to include a 256 mb graphics card in a Mini and still be able keep the price at $600... Integrated video with shared Ram was the solution...

OK, except if movies require a lot of video ram, won't they require (a) a lot of RAM, and (b) a LOT of hard disk space??? Unless you're going to be just downloading, watching, and then tossing away you're paid for content (I mean, if you recorded it, deleting after watching makes sense. But I have trouble throwing away something that I specifically paid money for). Are we supposed to be now adding a boatload of ugly external storage to our oh so pretty media center?

[minderbinder]

Originally posted by mdriftmeyer
Imagine your TV not working as planned with that H.264 encoded HD DVD that won't produce the necessary framerates to make the Mac mini a bonafide media center for your home theatre.

Isn't that a moot point since the mini doesn't include HD DVD *hardware*? Which it can't, since they're aren't ANY shipping yet.

HD is a long way off in the consumer space, this is a great box for the vast majority of people who are still using plain old TV.

Can anyone find more specifics on what codecs are accelerated by the 950 gpu?

[crees!]

Originally posted by 1984
Imagine how crappy that 320x240 movie or tv show purchased off iTMS will look on that 42" hi-def LCD tv.

Actually they look near perfect TV quality on my 15" PB fullscreen.

[JeffDM]

Originally posted by crees!
Actually they look near perfect TV quality on my 15" PB fullscreen.

Depending on circumstances, iTunes video can be better than TV, though not as good as my satellite subscription. The fact that it's available right away without ads is a selling point, but my issue is that iTunes doesn't look DVD quality. My money is reserved for DVDs, I don't care to spend a bit more for lower quality.

[solsun]

Originally posted by Louzer
OK, I'm imagining it. And right now it kind of blows. First, those videos from iTMS look crappy on my 20" monitor. Can't wait to see it hooked up to my 65" TV.

Second, my TV doesn't support DVI standard. So I need component video for that output. Hey, where's the component video output???

Third, I don't want to be buying/downloading TV shows from the iTMS. I've got a TV. I've got satellite. Hey, let me RECORD the shows directly, without having to buy everything piecemeal! Can't do that yet, either.



Of course! That seems so obvious now that you say it. I just forgot how crappy Apple's marketing is. So when they don't say a blasted thing about this computer being your media hub, that new media center device we've all been hearing about, etc, I should have known that what they really were doing was actually marketing it as a media center! Man, its so subtle to be non-existent!



OK, except if movies require a lot of video ram, won't they require (a) a lot of RAM, and (b) a LOT of hard disk space??? Unless you're going to be just downloading, watching, and then tossing away you're paid for content (I mean, if you recorded it, deleting after watching makes sense. But I have trouble throwing away something that I specifically paid money for). Are we supposed to be now adding a boatload of ugly external storage to our oh so pretty media center?

Firstly, I'm not talking about the current 320x240 clips that are currently available.. Those are intended for the iPod.

I"m talking about future plans for an Apple movie service where the purchased or rented content will be streamed using Apple's new caching technology.. The files will never reside on the hard drive.

Second, Can't help you if your tv doesn't support DVI standard.. However, Most HD tv's released in the past year do support DVI.

Third, the mini or any Mac will never include PVR funtionality... Apple is in the business of selling content on the iTMS... They'd be shooting themselves in the foot and pissing off all of their network partners if they offered PVR/DVR functionality..

The Mac Mini is the first step... With Front Row, a remote, DVI output and Digital in and out for connection to 5:1.. The living room is obviously where Apple is headed with the mini.

Movies and streaming content are next.

[jasenj1]

Originally posted by 1984
Media Center Lite. Sadly, Microsoft leads the pack here. Not as elegant looking but far more content choices and playback options.

Sounds very similar to what people said about the iPod and iTunes Music Store - and I think we know how that turned out.

Apple seems to have mastered the art of not giving customers too much choice. For the savvy, choice is good and important. For the non-savvy, choice means confusion and a chance that things won't "just work".

I expect Apple will get their customer base used to playing iTunes Movie Store videos on the various devices that support it - the mini being the best device for TV output at the moment. And then later introduce another step up the feature ladder.

You can bet that in their labs they have all kinds of hi-tech toys. But they trickle them out at a pace that won't overwhelm "average" consumers.

- Jasen.

[melgross]

Originally posted by Louzer
OK, I'm imagining it. And right now it kind of blows. First, those videos from iTMS look crappy on my 20" monitor. Can't wait to see it hooked up to my 65" TV.

Second, my TV doesn't support DVI standard. So I need component video for that output. Hey, where's the component video output???

Third, I don't want to be buying/downloading TV shows from the iTMS. I've got a TV. I've got satellite. Hey, let me RECORD the shows directly, without having to buy everything piecemeal! Can't do that yet, either.



Of course! That seems so obvious now that you say it. I just forgot how crappy Apple's marketing is. So when they don't say a blasted thing about this computer being your media hub, that new media center device we've all been hearing about, etc, I should have known that what they really were doing was actually marketing it as a media center! Man, its so subtle to be non-existent!



OK, except if movies require a lot of video ram, won't they require (a) a lot of RAM, and (b) a LOT of hard disk space??? Unless you're going to be just downloading, watching, and then tossing away you're paid for content (I mean, if you recorded it, deleting after watching makes sense. But I have trouble throwing away something that I specifically paid money for). Are we supposed to be now adding a boatload of ugly external storage to our oh so pretty media center?

Movies don't require a lot of video RAM. They are flat models. each frame of standard def uses only about 330KB of memory. Scale up from there. What people are forgetting is that 2D is easy. The 950 chip does up to 2500 x 1500. RAM use is not a problem. Storing an entire movie on your HD is a different matter. There are a lot of frames in that 90 minute movie.

But there are attractive solutions for that.