Apple's rumored television is 'the elephant in the room' at CES 2012 - Page 2

I haven't been here long, but I can already tell that the writers and editors of this website have an EXTREME level of bias towards Apple. They make every single headline seem as if Apple is the reason everything in the tech world is happening. YES, Apple have changed the game a bit and the quality of competitor's products has gone up significantly, but TV's have been evolving since they were invented. The new OLED technology and Crystal LED displays are not out of fear of Apple, it's normal competition to have the next big thing. Apple have absolutely nothing to do with this.

This site is getting really stupid and the admins should be ashamed of themselves. You want to give us information, give us information that is unbiased and fair.

You dont' get it. It's rectangular with a centered display in a black frame. Sure there is some patent infringment in it!!!

NO.


Agreed, particularly when Apple wouldn't use them anyway.

Sorry, there is a very good chance all the products at CES this year would look exactly the same with or without the rumor about Apple producing a TV. These manufactures are in no way responding to these rumors, they are simply doing what they always do.

Beyond announcements of agreements with major textbook publishers in expanding the iBooks library and highlighting iTunes University, Apple may take the wraps off the rumored tv at next week's education event. Deeply rooted in digital learning, Apple has been working on a new display that brings elearning into the digital hub of the living room and classroom. Apple TV was merely a "hobby" as it was originally intended to deliver educational content into the home environment eliminating the confines of one individual in front of a 24 computer screen. Access to movies and individuals iTunes music library were secondary features that simply had mass appeal at no additional cost.

While Smartboard has dominated this arena for several decades, Apple will unveil 42 and 55 inch LCD 1080p HDTV with the integrated A5 chipset (the company hired several LCD engineers last year). Building upon the rapid adoption of iPads in the classroom and the addition of mirror displaying in the iPad2, Apple moved up its release date seeing demand for an iBoard. Displays will include its signature front-end camera found on all Apple products allowing users to connect classrooms even further through FaceTime. Look to next Thursdays event for more on how Apple continues to revolutionize the education environment.

Okay, this reads like a press release or standard rumor post, you have one post, and there's no link. Could you expound on why you think these things?


Yeah, because the TV has always been equated with learning. "Plop down in front of the TV," parents in the 50s used to say, "it's time for some education!"


So a digital chalkboard. No.

…

I'M A COMPLETE IDIOT. Why didn't I see this before? What in the world have I been thinking?!

Apple's going to keep making the Apple TV exactly like it is. It'll get an A6 chip, full 1080p, better-looking software, the whole works. That's the Apple TV, and that's all it will ever be.

But they might actually do a large display. Steve Jobs hates TV. He always has. "You sit in front of the TV to turn your mind off."

I know everyone's sick of theories on this, but I've not ever put mine in the hat:

"Finally cracked TV" means Steve finally figured out a way to make educational content distributable in a TV-esque format.

I don't see as you have any evidence of this (or perhaps you don't understand the use of the term "bias."


Here it seems you don't have any idea what the term "elephant in the room" means.

Hint: It doesn't imply copying, or that the developments in technology at this years CES have anything to do with Apple per se. It just means that in the authors view the prospect of Apple *maybe* developing a TV is perhaps on weighing some of the exhibitors minds even though they aren't actually talking about it.

Sony thinking? That's an oxymoron.


If you subscribe to basic cable and have no additional components such as Blu-ray, DVR, or video game connected to your TV set, then I agree. OTOH, if you are like most people in the First World who live indoors and have multiple home entertainment components connected to their TV sets, then TV sucks big time.

Let us begin with the multiplicity of remote control handsets. If you believe that a universal remote eliminates the need to keep track of all of the individual remotes, then you learn that certain essential features of each individual remote are unsupported on each universal remote. The best control set of any component in your living room is the control set of your TV. However, the your cable company wants to transfer control from your TV set to its set top box. The Federal Government mandated that the cable companies offer a device that allows you to access all programming without the STB. In cooperation with TV set manufacturers, they developed CableCard. Unfortunately CableCard is not supported by manufacturers on many of their sets and the cable providers drag their feet about offering it to customers with CableCard-compatible TV sets.

So yeah, I would say that TV sucks.

I agree. Apple may partner with a TV vendor to create a simple TV with JUST ONE HDMI input and no remote to complete the package.

I think that one question is: what it the remote for this device? Is it a touch pad, an iPad, an iPod touch.

The real change is NO channels, just icons for programs, the ability to pre-deliver content to the device and only release the Fairplay keys when it is 'released' and to use a P2P network to reduce the distribution costs for TV programs.

Apple forcing LEGAL torrenting on the television and movie industry by forcing FairPlay keys

THAT is the Apple we know and love. THAT is the Apple that secured iTunes Store deals in 2003. THAT is the Apple I want to see come back.

Tim Cook: "Look, here's the deal. You think you're being killed by torrenters. You're wrong, but that doesn't matter. We're going to offer you a system where people can legally torrent your movies and shows through iTunes."

All studios: ""

Tim Cook: "Accept or we'll just do it anyway."

I completely agree with this. It seems like even just over the last few months it has gotten a lot worse. I like Apple, I buy lots of their products, and I like to read rumors and news about their upcoming products, but I'm not so blind as to believe that everything advancement and innovation in the tech world is a product of Apple or a response to Apple.

It's as if these people have learned nothing during the last decade of iPods and iTunes and iPhones... IT'S NOT ABOUT SPECS. It's about usability. Make it fun to use and people will want it. Or, give it the best specs ever and watch as people flock to competitors whose products are more fun to use. This is why Apple wins.

When Apple finally does introduce an Apple TV, they won't go on and on about specs. They'll show us how easy it is to use and how fun it is to own.

I think the main differentiators will be the lack of cables (other than the power cable) to the screen unit, and a simple apple TV like remote. Siri will probably be part of it, but that will not be a huge differentiator in the long run. Voice control sucks, even Siri, IMHO, is only so good.... Talking at inanimate objects? There has to be more!
The image will get to the TV in the same way you can play videos off of the iPhone or iPad on a screen connected to Apple TV. There will likely be a "base station" that the cable box, DVD/blue ray player etc can plug into. These devices will not be the emphasis, though. It will be TV on demand, heck so many people already watch DVR only, so kicking live TV out, is the obvious evolutionary progression, and will be revolutionary concept for the industry. It will all work very similar to the current Apple TV, just better, more broadly implementable.
I, frankly, can't wait to get rid of the cable salad going to my TV's multiple inputs. It is so retarded, I can't believe it will take a Steve Jobs project to solve this problem. But than again, as Steve often said, committees designing stuff at most companies are boneheads, and can't act on the obvious if it kicks them in the face...(very paraphrased...)

Fair.

What currently sucks is the complication of getting digital content onto TVs. Mess of cables, switching input sources, etc.

I'm sure Apple can make it easier. However, my biggest doubt is whether their "clean and intuitive" solution will work well with devices outside of their ecosystem (e.g. PS3). My guess is that they're expecting you to do your gaming on iOS only (using an iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch as a controller).

Competing? With what new 'game changing' technology? Answer is that there has been no innovative technical game changers over the last few years. Can you actually stand in front of the wall of LCD's at any given big box and see a discernible difference, no matter which quality you are looking at? What's the difference between the $1500 set and the $3000 set? You either have to be a gear head to know, or need to ask a sales associate, as most of them don't know because you can't see the difference looking at it head on most of the time.

So yeah, voice control, real and reliable system integration, and a holistic home experience with all one's devices is a driving force indeed.

Old Microsoft FUD:

"We're working on something nearly as good as that. It won't be ready for a year and a half, but we're such a big company and they're such a small company that you'd be wise to wait for our product instead of buying theirs now. Because we'll be around forever. Those pipsqueak upstarts might go out of business at any moment just because they're too small to live or something. And our product will work with Exchange."

New Apple FUD:

"No. There isn't a good go-to-market plan for that. Next question."

This all reminds me of a famous "Wrong-Way Corrigan who just didn't get that the software is the thing - not the hardware.

"Weve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. Theyre not going to just walk in.
Palm CEO Ed Colligan, commenting on then-rumored Apple iPhone, 16 Nov 2006

...and the beat goes on...

I remember that well. I also remember the RIM CEOs saying something similar but cannot find the quote.

It's fun to watch Apple force people to innovate.

LOL. So true. The Apple FUD is a fiction created by the rumor mill, and Walter "loose lips" Isaacson. Apple famously says nothing about future products until the day they are unveiled.

EDIT: Microsoft FUD: Windows 8 on tablets. The marketing message at CES seemed to be: here's how great Windows 8 will be, but please don't stop buying Windows 7 today!

I think Google TV might end up as the standard for Smart TV and I'm not so sure what Apple can do about it.

Apple's best bet at this point may be just focusing on the "Apple TV" add-on box and maybe some kind of standard that allows it to hijack the TV it is connected to.

Another option would be opening up some of their iOS features (like AirPlay, Facetime, iMessage etc) so these can be added into new smart TVs.

Just throwing this out there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX3y7O_TOew

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQfNm..._order&list=UL

history would see to agree with you on the whole :-)


as for apple in the tv space i don't see it..

It's a bit simplistic to say "Apple, therefore competitors innovate." Apple's successes may be a motivation, but being innovative isn't something as simple as waiting to be motivated. It's something you either get or don't get. Innovation isn't something we're taught in schools. It's an interesting topic in and of itself, but simply being motivated to be innovative doesn't make one innovative.

Ok, I agree with the problems, but it's not the TV's fault. Put another way, how would an Apple TV solve any of that? Unless Apple starts making their own game consoles, blu-ray players, and builds their own cable network, you are still going to have those same issues with an Apple device...multiple remotes, switching sources, crappy CableCards.

I agree that the TV experience sucks, but that has more to do with the sources of content. Could Apple flex it's muscle and get some sort of licensing agreements with the content providers which would then allow them to integrate it into an AppleTV? Sure. But you shouldn't need a TV from Apple, only an AppleTV box to connect to your TV. And if that content offering isn't robust enough, you'll still have to deal wtih the cable company and their CableCards. And you'll still need to have a way to switch sources when you want to play your blu-ray disc because you know there is no way Apple will make a blu-ray player. I guarantee I can switch inputs on my current TV faster than you'd ever be able to on an Apple minimalist remote, digging down into menus to find the Sources list.

I'm sure Apple could make some improvements, and they can certainly make it prettier. But I struggle with how they can solve the issues you listed unless they start making all those devices and offering all those services themselves.

In all of the rumors about this fabled TV from Apple, nobody has dared even guess at what it's features might be that would make it another must-have device from Apple. And there is certainly nothing that couldn't be integrated into Apple's set-up AppleTV, not requiring us to purchase whole new TVs to use.

1 - Stores (iTunes, iOS apps)
2 - iSight camera for FaceTime
3 - iCloud integration
4 - WiFi in addition to Ethernet port.
5 - AirPlay support.

Basically, it will be AppleTV integrated into a flat-screen television with the primary connection intended the internet (WiFi or ethernet). Obviously, you will still be able to connect directly to a cable box, but that is not what Apple wants. Apple has said the AppleTV is a hobby device, which means it is more of a beta/test/plqce-holder product than an actual product. Now that their data center is active and iCloud is up-and-running, Apple can get serious and turn the AppleTV into an Apple TV.

Given.


So you're flopped on the couch, Cheetos crumbs down your front, only wearing boxers (applies to both genders), when you suddenly get a video call from your cousin on the top of the Eiffel Tower, showing you the view. Or just someone you know in any location for any reason.

And you'd feel like what?

I don't think any TV needs a webcam.


Givens.


How's this better than me being allowed to use whatever TV I want that has whatever quality panel I want and plug in an Apple TV?


That somehow HAS to have its own panel built in?

Count me in with the group that thinks Steve Jobs' comments were misdirection.

It seems so unlikely to me that Apple would get into the game of producing TVs when it seems most of the interesting stuff could be contained to a set-top box. The screen is just a big monitor, reflecting whatever is being fed into it. What's to innovate there? With TVs, the interesting stuff is the content and the systems you can connect to it, not the hardware. It's a big flat screen. Who cares what company makes it?

Apple comes out with 4k resolution TV.

What about the lack of 4k broadcast?

It'll play iTunes content (tv & movies).

What about time shifting with a DVR?

It'll play iTunes content whenever you want.

What about gaming?

It'll play iTunes/iOS apps & games.

What about a universal remote?

Siri. Or iPad or iPhone.

All the pieces are already here. All the Apple television is, is a high resolution (4k) monitor with the current little $99 Apple TV box contents embedded inside (and upgraded from iOS 4.x to 6.0). Nothing radical. How can people not see this?

No one can match this.

I don't see Apple producing a TV ever. If they DO, I don't see them settling for anything less than Super Hi-Vision. And then they wouldn't have to an upgrade ever, because nothing higher than SHV can ever be resolved by the human eye.


HAH AHA H AH AH A HA HA H AH 720p HAHA HA HA HA HA H AH AH AH

Frigging horribly-converted 720p, at that.


Oh yeah. THIS is the future of TV. ONLY what you want and whenever you want it.


Eh, no. They don't really work for that.


HEY. TV. *loud sounds* GO TO THE OTHER SHOW *continued loud sounds* HEY, ah screw it, I'll just use my iPad like a sane person would.

All the pieces are already here. All the Apple television is, is a high resolution (4k) monitor with the current little $99 Apple TV box contents embedded inside (and upgraded from iOS 4.x to 6.0). Nothing radical.


"Maybe I just want the little box? I'll choose whatever panel I want since Apple doesn't often choose the right ones. Oh, and I own a TV already. Several, in fact. As does everyone else in the country. I'm not spending thousands when I could just spend $200."

I'm sorry, exactly how many 4k TVs do you have?

Apple Retina TV.

Itunes Retina content.


Siri currently only does speech recognition. What if it did voice recognition? Only your voice would control your tv.

All right, are there any voice recognition companies that actually work these days? I'm talking the same level of quality that Nuance brings to speech recognition.

Also, we seem to be ignoring the big thing. Maybe I don't want my television perpetually connected to the Internet for Siri. Unless Apple is willing to load it up with all the software required for Siri processing

Of course, I still don't buy the whole 'making a television' bit.

Remember Apple took that charge a while back for investing in "display technology"? 4k fits perfectly into the timeline.

Apple TVs have been hack to run arbitrary iOS apps recently. Did you read about how all of Apple's apps displayed fine on a tv monitor?

Siri's still in beta--what is Apple holding back? Voice recognition.

All the pieces fit together.

Dream big if you wish.

I'll dream realistically.

It's just like the iPhone and iPad Retina displays. HD tv scales up pixel perfect to 4k resolution, doesn't it?

Sharp just announced a 4k tv at CES. Isn't Sharp rumored to be Apple's display partner?

Nothing wacky here. It all fits together.

Of course, they heard a rumor, decided to make a TV, did much research, created a concept, built the concept, created the final product, all of this in a few months just to face a non-existing Apple television... Give me a break.

Of course not. They have no idea what Apple is actually going to do, so all they did was release exactly what they were going to release anyway.

Since they were asked about the competition, they commented on it.

What, you expected them to say, "We're terrified of what Apple's going to release. Even if they don't release a television to compete, if they do release SOMETHING, it's going to be leagues better than anything we have. We have absolutely no clue what they're doing, but history shows that they always do things that no one ever expects and it takes us years to catch up."? Come off it. They have to give the standard line, "We're not worried; anything they can do will just be what we've been doing for years; they're nothing special", etc.

It's called the Concept Electronics Show isn't it?!?


Well of course the 'boxes' vary too much around the world for Apple to easily address this area. The SmartTV is the area Apple can go...

I don't know what brand of tv (display) you have but everyone I've ever seen/used lags horribly when using the UI. Apple has clear strengths in UI and that alone on just the display part is massively appealing to me.


No way will it be 4k for many many years, there's precious few 1080p broadcasts at the moment and we're not exactly flush with RF bandwidth for such channels. You can't make more bandwidth, only explorer better technologies to use the RFs you have.

Alternatively who would pay for the trunk and local loop infrastructure to support even 1080p streaming? Parts of the UK have no broadband and there are a vast number of ISPs offering only a few GB download limits per month even SD ITVplayer/iPlayer/4OD isnt feasible for all.

iOS apps make no sense on a TV. iOS apps lever sensors such as gps, gyro etc, multitouch input and often just snippets of data on small displays. An Apple TV would support AirPlay of course but running current iOS software wouldn't work. There's no reason why it could have specify apps.

This article looks rather empty. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it is missing. Maybe a quote from a book. But when I read an article in AI about TVs I subconsciously know that the article is complete.

I'll let you know when I crack it.

Jokes aside, I think that unless Apple got content deals it is going to try to replace the set top box. I imagine a TV where you just connect the cable and the apple tv set it in a beautiful interface.