Could Apple TV become iHD in 2012?

More probably to be called iTV if so.

"iHD" sounds like it has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with television.

What's wrong with "Apple TV" whether it's a little box you plug into any TV imaginable (going to happen) or an HDTV itself (stupidest idea ever)?

It makes sense both ways.

Microsoft may own the trademark for iHD

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDi_(interactivity)

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/1...in-television/

I was going to start a thread about this after reading this article, but I figured I post it here. According to the article, an Apple TV (or whatever they decide to call it) is likely in 2012, if not 2013.

Now I had assumed that an "iTV" hardware/software would be integrated into an actual HDTV produced by Apple. I would think that would be the most efficient and innovative product. Ideally, my iTV would have the following:

-Integrated blu-ray player
-Wi-fi for connecting to wireless networks for streaming and playing downloaded content (Netflix, iTunes, YouTube, etc.) as well as for internet access.
-Compatibility with most HDTV providers without use of an outside cable box
-Recording of TV content, both HD and SD, using a simple and concise system (being able to record new episodes of your favorite shows)
-A detailed and organized TVGuide system, that allows you to know when your favorite shows/movies are playing
-Ability to instantly play extra features from TV shows. A lot of shows, like 'The Office' offer "webisodes" or extra content posted on the shows' website. It would be cool to instantly access that extra content after you've watched the most recent episode.
-A revolutionary new remote control. This could be the coolest feature. There has yet to be a truly simple, It could potentially be a small iPad touchscreen, with features like viewing a TVGuide list and touching the show/movie you want to either watch or record without taking up the TV screen. The remote might be the key to accessing that online content that TV shows offer.

I can't wait to see what Apple comes up with!

Welcome.


Bag of hurt. Absolutely wouldn't happen.


Well, yeah. It would have to.


Providers? Oh, the telecoms. It would just work with all of them, not 'most'.


The interface for that certainly needs reinvented. The solutions I've seen are absolutely disgusting.


You're not thinking paradigm-shifting enough.


You're starting to think paradigm-shifting enough.

How come?

The same reason Macs will never ship with Blu-ray drives. OS-level DRM. Discs are also dead. As evidenced by Apple stores relegating their boxed software to two shelves down from two entire bookcases when the stores opened. Eventually (long before the end of next year) they'll stop selling them entirely.

I guess that's why people are standing in line at every Walmart, grocery store and convenience store waiting to rent movies from RedBox. Not everyone can afford high speed internet. It is also not available in all areas. Plus it can actually be easier to simply pick a movie to rent while you are already at the store. Walking out the door, BANG there's RedBox, grab a movie and pop it in.

Plus some people just like to physically handle things. Kind of like making love to your partner instead of just looking at pictures on a screen and pretending.

Well, you go ahead there and make love to your bag of hurt. No one's stopping you from sticking to how the 1990s told you to do things.

What's so bad about owning a physical copy of something?

Absolutely nothing. I personally prefer physical copies over being assured that I've bought it via a little thing that says 'downloaded' on some server thousands of miles away.

Spinning discs, though, are archaic tech. And Blu-ray's DRM is stupid as frick.

iTV is already taken, so I guess it'll be iTV then

I think it will not be a TV, it will be far more than that - a real paradigm shift. TV will be just one of the apps on this device. I think the name will be iView or iScreen or something else that is much more about the format than just one app. ITV will be reserved for the streaming video service that Apple will deliver from their new content deals.

Software is one thing. There is no difference between buying a boxed version of iWork or downloading it over the App Store that gives you access to all your computers.

But physical media is completely different. I could almost guarantee we will never see a Blu-Ray player in an iMac, but in an Apple TV set- if it was not included, that would be a deal killer for me- and I have every Apple everything known to man (see sig). Because here are the facts- a Blu-Ray movie just for video and sound is around 20-30gb (even though the disc is 25 or 50). Movies like Avatar w/ no special features or commentary- the video and sound comprise the entire 50gb. So you are looking at a hard drive of enormous size to house your movies. And of course, you couldn't stream a file that size for years (maybe a decade), because the infrastructure doesn't exist. So while yes, you can wifi stream 1080p- in order to do that, you would have to download the file, then stream it via wifi. And like I said, for true quality, you can only have 40-100 movies downloaded on a 2tb drive (if thats all it has).

So if Apple makes a 1080p TV- who gives a crap, because you won't watch anything in 1080p. Then I will have to attach a Blu-Ray player to the Apple TV in order to take advantage of the 1080p- taking away the beauty and simplicity that an Apple TV would provide.


Blu-Rays are awesome. While getting up and putting a disc in takes time, as well as renting or buying the movie, the quality is worth more than the convenience to me. On a comedy or whatever, quality won't matter, and streaming a movie would be fine, but when you throw in Avatar, Saving private Ryan, etc, I don't want low definition. If you're rocking a 32" with a Home Theatre in a Box sound system- then who cares if its blu ray with 1080p and True HD/Dolby DTS 7.1 or streaming 720p with Dolby Digital 5.1 at best- you won't tell the difference anyways- but for those who have a dedicated media room or a nice setup and want to experience movies in the best possible manner- there is no comparison.

Yep. Exactly. That's reason number six I don't believe Apple will waste their time with an HDTV.


Ooh, do you have a Pippin? An Apple Interactive Television Box? Ooh! Do you have the Macintosh TV?


Someday I'll manage to plug in my Mac Pro to a 1080p TV and compare directly Blu-ray disc playback to my 1080p 4GB rips of movies. Until then, 4GB is perfectly fine and the quality remains amazing.


"True" quality? Blu-ray is incredibly compressed. I don't have much of a means of comparison, as I said, but my 4GB 1080p Blu-ray and HD DVD rips look great at even higher than 1080p playback.

Your 4GB rip isn't near the quality of a Blu-Ray. And while Blu-Ray's video is compressed, the sound rarely is. Trust me... your 4GB "HD rip" would be insanely noticeable on 110"- and nowhere near the video or audio quality as a Blu-Ray. And on a 50" or so, if you were close enough (8 feet away or so), you would be able to noticeably tell as well. 4GB is DVD quality (DVDs are compressed below 4.7gb- the size of a DVD)... sorry to break it to you. Argue all you want that "you" can't tell the difference, but it all depends on your setup. And if your setup was decent, you would notice.

And as far as your "comparison" you don't have- Take 25GB-50GB, and divide it by 4GB. It's that times less compressed. So a 40GB Blu-Ray that doesn't have special features compressed down to 4GB is 10x more compressed. Pretty easy math.

And while you hook your TV up to do a, I'm sure, very "scientific" experiment. Use this chart to determine the distance to view a 1080p TV and be able to tell the difference:



So if you have a 32" TV, you need to be 5 feet close to see the difference, etc. So on my 100" projector screen w/ 1080p projector, I have to be within 20 feet to start noticing the difference. I'm about 12-13 feet back, and it is glorious. And 720p HD whether it be through Apple TV (which I have since moved to my Den), Cable, etc, is EXTREMELY noticeable.


You're a moderator.... you. Seriously?

Numbers do not arbitrarily a "quality definition" make. In no way is my video "DVD quality".


Ah, someone unwilling to listen to any position but their own. Ignore, then, the next bit I've typed but don't ignore the last.


Ah, the famed "chart" that gets to tell me what my eyes can and cannot see. I've missed you.


Having what to do with the quoted section? I geek out about the obscure stuff that Apple did. The Macintosh TV was a cool concept. So sue me?

funniest post you've ever made. Pot... Meet kettle

IHD - really Apple can do better. They could recycle Cinema into iCinema for example.

However I don't think Apple will want to associate the name with traditional TVs. Instead they will choose naming that sets the product apart from the rest of the world. Apples goal will likely be to redefine the industry and you can't do that in terms of the old.

That is they could add BluRay DRM to an iTV withou compromising Mac OS. In a nut shell the required DRM for BluRay adversely impacts any operating system built to support it. Build a version of IOS for ITV and that issue goes away.


Well you do need that connection when you need to install/reinstall.

I don't disagree with you on many points above. However you are coming at this from the past. I'd suggest that Apple is looking at this with an idea about what future devices will be like. I think it is fair to say that anything Apple ships will have far different capabilities than what people expect from a TV. I doubt Apples primary interest is even the movie watching crowd.

As a side note, so far in this thread I've seen very few comments from people that have any imagination what so ever. If this TV ever comes it will come with plenty of features never seen on a TV before. It will not be a single function device at all.

Wants some virtual cheese to go with that virtual wine?

Seriously how many TVs now come with BluRay built in?

I don't really think anybody disagrees with the quality of picture issue. I just don't think there is a lot of incentive for Apple here to support BluRay when boxes to handle that are $99.

How about an Apple Lisa? An Apple AIX server? Or, wait for it, a Skylab prototype? ;^p

Someone really should put together the ultimate Apple Museum, with (at least) one of every Apple computing device made From the original $666.66 Apple DIY kit to the latest & greatest; that would, indeed, be a sight to see!

Come to think of it, that would be a GREAT idea for a new feature at Disney/Epcot! With assorted pairs of animatronic Steves (they would change for each decade represented) to walk us through it all!

I would take the kids to see that!

They could start with this one. . .
http://9to5mac.com/2011/12/05/from-t...-jobs-exhibit/

Cool. Enjoy your fuzzy buffering video and getting raped by your ISP after bandwidth limits go into effect.

Plus, Apple doesn't control distribution of BD movies. They don't want to sell anything that doesn't give them a continuous revenue stream. If Sony or Samsung sell a BD player, they never see another penny from that device. Every iDevice means apps, music, games, etc. constantly being purchased. It may be as low as 99 cents a purchase, but in volume they add up quick.

I have no bandwidth limits. I have no caps. I have no throttling.


Of course not. But they WILL eventually control distribution of 1080p files.

Was that a Linux reference ?

And you never, ever will. We promise. You can trust us.

Signed,

The Phone/Cable Company

Ireland,
I am talking about your signature here:
You disagree? Why? What about video game consoles? What about a Roku? What about a cable box? If it's Apple-only and nothing else, it WILL be a failure. This is a potential TV here, not something Apple-only. Fortunately, they aren't that foolish. But I probably won't buy one anyway. I like Samsung's TVs too much to switch to an LG display.

Dude, several TV's overseas have built-in Blu-Ray. They are very expensive, but they have it. I live in Japan (they love Apple here too) and see this on TV a lot. But I don't disagree with you. Chance in hell it'll have it, AND personally, I don't want it in there!

"Blu-ray is hurt bag, this I know
For Steve Jobs tells me so"

The serious answer is because you can't buy blu-ray discs from the iTunes store.

Edit: Wow, I didn't realize this was a zombie thread and I said pretty much the same thing last year.