Apple's Television Future

*Dreaming*

Am hoping for an actual Apple HD/3DTV with Siri. I think if they can master the ability of having a microphone on a remote control, then perhaps that (for those quiet, relaxed moments at home) you can just speak to your TV instead of punching in commands on the remote.

It would also be good with questions like "Is the Manchester United game on telly tonight?", then you could use Reminders to set to record a show or just... Remind you.

There is a fifth camp. Your poll does not take into account any changes on the television landscape since 2007. Siri is a huge development that will only get larger in the future. However, Siri has little to no effect on the success or failure of Apple's reentry into the television set market. The new element is free Mobile Digital Television, which allows receipt of live broadcast digital TV on a mobile or handheld device. The US standard is ATSC-M/H. There are dedicated MDTV receivers. However, the majority of MDTV receivers are expected to be cell phones and digital tablets. With the purchase of a dongle, you may receive MDTV broadcasts on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. However, Apple's competitors will add this functionality as a standard feature of their devices. I am convinced that Apple devices will also include ATSC-M/H as a standard feature.

How does this inform speculation about Apple's reentry into the living room/den TV market? It makes Apple's reentry more likely but it does not make reentry certain by any means. An Apple line of HDTV sets would most certainly run iOS, bringing with it the plethora of iOS apps. Samsung's line of Smart TVs already look like iPad copycats. One would not expect a multi-touch display on an Apple TV set, but its remote control would undoubtedly be an iOS multi-touch device.

The challenges are what they have always been. Most Americans receive their TV programming via cable. Cable is a morass of local franchises that adhere to numerous standards in various stages of development. However, all forms of paid access to TV--cable and satellite--are declining. Households are switching to over-the-air and the Internet for programming. An Apple solution to the fractured nature of cable TV delivery might be to declare cable dead. A better solution would be for Apple to motivate the cable companies to finally agree on a single standard for each type of programming.

A TV with Siri makes zero sense.

It makes a ton of sense. The most frustrating aspect of TVs is the remote. Have you seen this the remote on the Sony Internet TV. Its pure rubbish.

"Siri find me all netflix movies with Gweneth Paltrow."

"Siri play Iron Man 2"

"Siri play the world series."


See how easy that is. Way better than futzing around with a remote. A remote might be better for scrolling the channel guide but I bet Apple can improve that with Siri as well.

I cannot disagree with you more. You don't have to spend the money for a Sony Internet TV to get a rubbish remote from the company. Rubbish remotes are now a Sony trademark.

My iPhone 4S is on order, so I can't be sure. However, it is my understanding that Siri does not require the prompt word like the Mac voice command system from back in the day. That said, modern full-size HDTVs support 5.1 or 7.1 multichannel sound. Shouting voice commands at a TV in that environment would not be a pleasant experience.

However, an iOS-based remote control could revolutionize the device. Just a few possibilities:

• Integration of TV Guide, ZAP2it, Titan TV, or cable guide app with channel change function.
• True universal remote. Near perfect emulation of manufacturer's remote control via downloadable device-specific virtual remote control app for each device in your entertainment system. No need to manually pair the universal remote with each controlled device.
• Siri on the remote. No need to shout.

It makes zero sense. My gut tells me Apple would never do that.

As an *optional* extra having an iOS remote app that could take voice commands and translate them to TV instructions, perhaps. Perhaps. I do however believe the standard way to control this TV would be with the hardware remote that comes bundled with it. That remote better be Bluetooth tough. IR sucks.

Tallest, Mr. Me and Ireland.

Blue tooth headset for siri to interact with the tv. The tv remote *is* a friction point in the tv experience. If a Apple are going to release a tv they will attack this problem. I have an ATV and the click wheel type remote that comes with it isn't the answer. Searching for things is cumbersome. Siri will make search easy because it understands natural language. I think Apple will leverage this across multiple devices.

You do understand that Apple abandoned the BlueTooth headset business, don't you? Please name a planet on which you believe that Apple would use a BlueTooth headset as an integral part of its device strategy.

As for your point that the remote control is a friction point, well Duh! However, this does not mean the imperative to change it is so great that Apple would introduce a stupid replacement. The fact that many homes have five or more devices from different vendors all connected to their entertainment systems and that their cable systems provides hundreds if not thousands of channels means that complexity is inevitable.

However, the complexity of devices in 2011 will not be solved by the technology of 2007. I am convinced that Apple will support ATSC-M/H in the near future--perhaps as soon as the iPhone 5 or the iPad 3. You can already view cable casts on your iPad, iPhone, and competing devices. ATSC-M/H free over-the-air broadcasts are receivable using third-party dongles. Third-party apps are available to convert your iOS device into a remote control for Samsung Smart TVs, Verizon FiOS, Comcast XFINITY, and other devices and services. Click wheels and universal remotes with dedicated hardware keys are relics of the past. To realize the technology that I discussed in my last post, Apple need only embrace and extend the present.

Actually I did not know that. I guess Apple could release a new one but I will admit that the lack of an Apple bletooth headset does conflict with my vision.



Jez, you'd have thought my idea was a personal attack on you or something.



Great solution *IF* everyone has an iOS device. Then again I guess Apple could bundle an inexpensive iPod touch with each Apple HDTV.

Time will tell.

When posting about future technology, it is helpful to know something about past and present technology.


In my first post on this thread, I proffered that the remote control would by an iOS device. Conceivably this could be an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. However, it could be a new iOS device that is used primarily as a remote control but is so much more.


... if you can tell time.

I think that Jobs went to his grave with a classic misdirection gambit, and everybody is falling for it.

And watch Samsung sue the pants outta them as soon as they get their TV out. "THE TV IS A RECTANGLE. TOTALLY STOLE FROM US. WE HAD APPS ON OUR TVS FIRST, etc."

So....it......would....be.....like....Kinect?

In whose opinion? In my opinion: no camera, no SiRi.

Yeah, that would make iTV so "jazzy". Please guys, stop with this Siri ridiculousness.

I'm looking for a system that allows channel memory to be programmed with computer software like you can with ham radios. You can put your channels in the order you want, assign names to each and completely remove everything you do not want to appear. Upload it to the receiver. I recently switched from Time Warner to Direct TV. Nothing worse than having the few channels you want to watch be spread out and separated by dozens of channels (and their many duplicates) that you wish weren't there. And Direct TV even does it backwards when you want to block channels. Horrible set up that is aggravating.
If Apple can come out with something that let's me set things up the way I want and can reduce the lag time when switching channels (Direct TV takes forever) I would consider an Apple television.

You're thinking too much about it. He's telling the truth.