Front Row = Birth of Mac Media Center
Wow, look at the screenshots and tour of Front Row. The interface totally reminds me of Tivo. This is the beginning of the convergence. The remote implies living room. This is great, being with basic current Mac media and work out the kinks, and when the HDTV/cable card and iTunes video store get up and running, look out.
Couple of questions
Is the remote bluetooth?
Will Front Row be available as a separate app?
Couple of questions
Is the remote bluetooth?
Will Front Row be available as a separate app?
Comments
Originally posted by blue2kdave
Wow, look at the screenshots and tour of Front Row. The interface totally reminds me of Tivo. This is the beginning of the convergence. The remote implies living room. This is great, being with basic current Mac media and work out the kinks, and when the HDTV/cable card and iTunes video store get up and running, look out.
Couple of questions
Is the remote bluetooth?
Will Front Row be available as a separate app?
You can buy the remote separately, and in the blurb for it on the shop pages, it mentions using it with both the iPod (with universal dock) and a Mac. However, it lists the items in the box that you get with the remote and a CD (with Front Row) isn't listed. Thus I am guessing Front Row is actually part of iTunes 6 (maybe?) and that the remote will just work. Also a dongle for infrared isn't included, so I will go out on a limb and say it's infrared for iPod dock and bluetooth for Mac.
Why they couldn't make the dock bluetooth I don't know...
I will be buying a remote as soon as I can, this is just the little low priced gadget I need to prevent the purchase of a new iPod.
Yes it looks SWEET.
I was planning on hooking up my mini to my HDTV when it's time to replace that unit (Soon). I was trying to think of what I could use for the remote.
I sooo hope this is available to purchase separately.
That way we can pull up our recorded TV shows from EyeTV.
Originally posted by badtz
Hopefully Apple will let third party developers [like El Gato (EyeTV)] tap into this system.
That way we can pull up our recorded TV shows from EyeTV.
I wish that was the case but I doubt that would happen. Who would buy the
tv shows from iTunes when you can just tivo them on your mac. Tivo-like
functionality from the get go would have been awesome. Even a standard TV
tuner to watch live tv would be great. I wonder why Apple went the other
way with this? I could see a lot more hardware sales with a tuner/tivo
functionality instead of watching the same episode of Desparate Housewives
over & over. (The hot latina on that show is worth a couple extra viewings
though.)
Look at the front of the iPod Universal Dock - black plastic window = IR.
Where's the IR receiver on the iMac?
The CCD used in the iSight is IR sensitive. Voila. Does double duty as IR port.
Originally posted by Kickaha
Remote is IR.
Look at the front of the iPod Universal Dock - black plastic window = IR.
Where's the IR receiver on the iMac?
The CCD used in the iSight is IR sensitive. Voila. Does double duty as IR port.
Yes I realise about the black face, but it could be bluetooth as well, that was what I was getting at.
This is such a shame. Bluetooth makes perfect sense, as most Macs come with it as standard and all can have it as an option. £19 to have media center functions would be a bargain.
Also the shop page for it is slightly misleading. It mentions using the remote with Mac, and doesn't say that you need a new iMac G5, unlike the bit for use with iPods where it says you need the new universal iPod dock...
PS. It looks very un-Apple-like with the big black on top - had it been bluetooth it could have been just one colour...
If he buys an iMac can he hook it up to his 50" Plasma. (please say yes!).
He also has a 1TB firewire drive with about 200 dvd/tv series on.
Front Row would be brilliant for something like this. Throw away your dvd player!
Dobby.
Front Row looks like Apple's attempt at Media Centre - and much better I might add.
In what way would one consider Front Row better than Windows Media Center? (Aside from the fact that one is made by Apple and one is made by Microsoft.)
Front Row is a joke compared to WindowsMCE and a really depressing one at that.
They aren't even the same type of app. WindowsMCE is all about convergence, Front Row is a glorified slideshow app.
Which isn't to say that I wouldn't LOVE to have a PVR in an Apple box, but except for that... what really is the difference?
All I had to do was hit the Windows key on the keyboard and I had a windows desktop in front of me I could use to check e-mail, surf the web or do whatever else I wanted. All from a recliner in the living room.
To get back to MCE just hit the giant green button on the remote.
WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU APPLE!?
Saying, "It's just Front Row w/ PVR" is like dismissing the graphical UI with "It's just DOS with some pictures".
The whole point of the convergence app is to tie into the television, the center of the modern family. PVR is the whole point. Why should I have to shunt my guests into a separate room to show them a slideshow of vacation pictures? Why do they have to all stand around a computer screen? Why can't I just get them straight off my television where they can sit on the couch?
Front Row is the answer to a question no one has asked.
People don't want Front Row, they want an Apple equivalent of WindowsMCE. Without PVR functionality there's no point even bothering.
I'm probably one of very few, but I actually find this insulting. The only remotely exciting part of any of these announcements is the digital delivery of TV shows through iTMS. That's all that's worth being excited about.
Like the CD-R, Apple is years behind the curve and Front Row is a joke. And to make it worse, it's tied inextricably to a friggin' 20" LCD monitor that costs $1700.
It's a joke.
Give Front Row PVR functionality, put it in a Mac mini-ish package with a cablecard and HDMI/Component out. This is not rocket science. If Microsoft was able to do it years ago why can't Apple do it?
But I guarantee you when they do start trying to catch up everyone will pretend they invented it.
Further...
My experience with MCE taught me that a separate computer is absolutely necessary. The set-top box is not a replacement, it is a different animal entirely. This is something Apple needs to understand.
Only single people will be able to get by with one computer hooked up to a TV.
Originally posted by groverat
Give Front Row PVR functionality, put it in a Mac mini-ish package with a cablecard and HDMI/Component out. This is not rocket science. If Microsoft was able to do it years ago why can't Apple do it?
One thing we do know is Apple are lacking. Not in software, but hardware. Once we get Intel chips, Apple will have enough power to do H.264 decoding and PVR solutions. What they have done is slowly start, and using the familiar iPod layout for FrontRow to make it easy for anyone (especially iPod users) to pick up and use.
For Macworld in January I'd like to guess that FrontRow will come with iLife '06, the Mac mini will get a beefier (than a G4) Intel processor, and a way to connect the Apple Remote into any Mac will come.
Originally posted by groverat
Why does h.264 matter?
Because they've been pushing it for the past year now.
And this is the year of HD...
'rat, I'm sorry, but when I read your description above, I see PVR + Mac mini + BT keyboard and a gyro mouse. That's really all. I don't see convergence as you're stating it, I see just a PC+PVR that's being viewed through a TV instead of a monitor. I don't see that as revolutionary, just changing the display and having the input be wireless.
Yeah, I think that tying Front Row to an iMac is a silly limitation as well, but I don't think it's exactly a long-term plan.
You're right that a PVR functionality is the key to getting this in the living room, but the problem that I see with that is getting the inputs correct. The hardware with that is the problem, always has been. MCE is just a software package, so the HW vendors can provide an assortment of connects, and there will be enough market for most of them to survive. Apple doesn't have that luxury, I don't think. The last time I can remember a single custom port being offered for a variety of connections based on consumer needs was the GeoPort, and you remember how well that worked.
I don't see convergence as you're stating it, I see just a PC+PVR that's being viewed through a TV instead of a monitor. I don't see that as revolutionary, just changing the display and having the input be wireless.
I'd like to leave the "r" word out of it, if it's all the same to you.
If WinMCE (especially with MCE Extender out to Xbox or Xbox360) isn't convergence I'd love to know what would possibly be considered "convergence".
But away from the world of meaningless buzzwords?
There is no connection problem.
Put DVI on the back and offer adapters to HDMI, composite, component or coax (ship HDMI & component standard).
Put a dual-tuner w/ coax for input from a cable/sat box.
There is no technological reason Apple cannot do what Microsoft & HP & Scientific Atlanta have been doing for years.
If anything Apple has the luxury of providing a uniform solution. Microsoft has to support a hojillion different pieces of hardware, Apple can get away with whatever number they want.
They are not doing it because, for whatever reason, they don't want to.
Unless there's something I don't already know, there is no reason to hold everything back because of 802.11g's insufficient bandwidth for streaming HD. Do what you can do now and offer a 802.11n USB2.0 adapter later on.
The market is here now and has been for a long while now. Every day Apple waits is another day Microsoft uses to get even further ahead than it already is.
Maybe Jobs never intends to enter the home theater PC game.
Originally posted by groverat
If WinMCE (especially with MCE Extender out to Xbox or Xbox360) isn't convergence I'd love to know what would possibly be considered "convergence".
You lost me on this... I guess I don't see the difference between pics/music/vids/computing on MCE and pics/music/vids/computing in Front Row. Only thing missing is PVR, which arguably could be handled by an eyeTV (and/or BitTorrent) for now until Apple gets their shit togther.
What else does Media Center do? Explain what you mean when you say "convergence"...
So, IMO use with any other mac would require either an iSight update, or a new built-in iSight.
I personally am waiting for the new Powerbooks, and I'll be PISS'T if Frontrow isn't included. =P
- Xidius
Originally posted by groverat
I don't need to go to the website because I've actually used WinMCE quite a bit. Just a month ago I was taking refuge from a hurricane in a house with a 37" HD CRT, using MCE with a bluetooth keyboard and gyroscopic mouse, streaming a home video of the littlest son walking for the first time from a PC on the other side of the house via 802.11g while recording college football from digital cable, downloading a movie to watch later (we had a Hurricane margaRITA party) and listening to NPR streaming over the web.
All I had to do was hit the Windows key on the keyboard and I had a windows desktop in front of me I could use to check e-mail, surf the web or do whatever else I wanted. All from a recliner in the living room.
To get back to MCE just hit the giant green button on the remote.
WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU APPLE!?
Saying, "It's just Front Row w/ PVR" is like dismissing the graphical UI with "It's just DOS with some pictures".
The whole point of the convergence app is to tie into the television, the center of the modern family. PVR is the whole point. Why should I have to shunt my guests into a separate room to show them a slideshow of vacation pictures? Why do they have to all stand around a computer screen? Why can't I just get them straight off my television where they can sit on the couch?
Front Row is the answer to a question no one has asked.
People don't want Front Row, they want an Apple equivalent of WindowsMCE. Without PVR functionality there's no point even bothering.
I'm probably one of very few, but I actually find this insulting. The only remotely exciting part of any of these announcements is the digital delivery of TV shows through iTMS. That's all that's worth being excited about.
Like the CD-R, Apple is years behind the curve and Front Row is a joke. And to make it worse, it's tied inextricably to a friggin' 20" LCD monitor that costs $1700.
It's a joke.
Give Front Row PVR functionality, put it in a Mac mini-ish package with a cablecard and HDMI/Component out. This is not rocket science. If Microsoft was able to do it years ago why can't Apple do it?
But I guarantee you when they do start trying to catch up everyone will pretend they invented it.
Further...
My experience with MCE taught me that a separate computer is absolutely necessary. The set-top box is not a replacement, it is a different animal entirely. This is something Apple needs to understand.
Only single people will be able to get by with one computer hooked up to a TV.
Apple will *never* add PVR...what you're asking will never happen.
Apple is here to push H.264 and the iTMS.
Sorry to disappoint you but Apple thinks TV is dying/dead. What you'll see in the next couple years is more shows available on the iTMS, higher resolution downloads of TV shows and movies as broadband becomes more prominent and as HD get bigger.
Apple doesn't want to invade your living room or TV room as some call it. Apple *isn't* behind the curve...they're ahead of it...maybe too far ahead considering how expensive the components are at the moment.
The new iMac just reinforces something I've be predicting for over 2 years now:
One day, Apple will sell cheap large flatscreens with the whole computer behind it and everything integrated into it. You'll be able to hook these onto walls of your house. They'll all have an iSight/mic built-in. All the computers you buy will be connected via WiFi. Anything from any computer will be streamable to other computers. HD space and CPU time will be shareable. Telephony needs and TV needs will be handled via the internet.
Apple doesn't have the solution some people *now*...but will in the future. One thing is clear to me now, though, they won't try keep TV alive. It's an ancient technology that is just recently trying to poorly mimic what computers have been doing for several years.