I believe the USB port on the back of iTV is for attaching external storage.
I have a strong feeling that Apple is going to start selling external hard drives soon.
Perhaps even a small RAID unit designed for the SOHO market.
Time Machine could back up files to this networked RAID which is optionally attached to an iTV.
iTV could also access the contents of the RAID unit for always available content even when no laptops are home.
USB is a crappy way to add large storage. That doesn't mean that it won't be used for that. But, I'm not so sure.
At first, I didn't believe that a HD could be included because of power supply issues (it's internal, so must be weak), size, and price. But, prices continue to drop, drives are getting larger, and faster, and power may not be an issue, depending on what Apple is intending.
If Apple puts a 1.8" drive inside, then size and power are no longer an issue. The size of the drive could be enough if Apple isn't intending it to store your collection.
I just pointed out that unlike the Airport, which is a true hardware device, the article points out that this isn't. It doesn't have to be separately downloadable to be so. One might as well say that a computer is just a hardware solution because the OS comes with it.
*hands in air* I give up. I surrender. The point I was trying to make, that iTV *INCLUDES* a hardware component, and is not *SOLELY* a software solution, as the one aegisdesign pointed to, was apparently lost on all.
In my funny head, I guess that if I buy a box, I pull a device out of it, and set it up, that it is hardware, regardless of what software may or may not be running on it, or firmware may or may not let it, you know, *work*. Mea culpa.
*hands in air* I give up. I surrender. The point I was trying to make, that iTV *INCLUDES* a hardware component, and is not *SOLELY* a software solution, as the one aegisdesign pointed to, was apparently lost on all.
In my funny head, I guess that if I buy a box, I pull a device out of it, and set it up, that it is hardware, regardless of what software may or may not be running on it. Mea culpa.
1) Will you be able to have all the accounts from all iTunes libraries on your LAN available for streaming to your iTV? If so, how will it deal with duplicate content?
2) Will there be an iTV sharing pane in iTunes to choose which playlists or types of content you which to share, if any, from an individual account to iTV?
3) Will there be a way to turn on a process that allows access to an account's iTunes library even when the account is not logged in?
4) Will you be able to have multiple iTVs on the same iTunes library? If, so will you be able to limit content to different iTVs (i.e.: parental controls)?
5) Will iTunes for Windows be able to utilize iTV as its function is more like a wireless iPod than a media server?
1) Will you be able to have all the accounts from all iTunes libraries on your LAN available for streaming to your iTV? If so, how will it deal with duplicate content?
2) Will there be an iTV sharing pane in iTunes to choose which playlists or types of content you which to share, if any, from an individual account to iTV?
3) Will there be a way to turn on a process that allows access to an account's iTunes library even when the account is not logged in?
4) Will you be able to have multiple iTVs on the same iTunes library? If, so will you be able to limit content to different iTVs (i.e.: parental controls)?
5) Will iTunes for Windows be able to utilize iTV as its function is more like a wireless iPod than a media server?
If it has a hard drive, it doesn't need to 'stream' HD content real-time. Abd XVid/DiVX content could be supported, if you can install any of the Quicktime extensions that support them. But that's the bigger question, can you get to the internal OS on this thing.
There's no indication that the internal OS needs to be anything more than what the iPod does.
Quote:
Except its not going to support any video format except Apple's format, so it won't be possible to get those windows only formats to your TV.
Unless converted to some iTunes compatible format...like how iTunes can convert unprotected WMA files.
Quote:
And iTV is not "hardware", its "hardware" and "software". It'll run OS X and, most likely, Front Page to deal with the computer/media/etc. I doubt seriously if its just going to take a video stream and just play it. There's just too much "What? But the video stream is accessible and can be pirated by everyone around! We can't let people do that!". The box has to be able to control the media, not just stream it. Otherwise, rewind/pause/etc will just have too much of a delay to it.
Well given that very little hardware is just hardware and no software (even in the embedded world) its somewhat true but:
1) There's no reason to run a OS X in iTV. RTXC Quadros seems more likely given the limited needs for iTV and they already have a lot of experience with it.
2) Front Row isn't all that complex...it's a UI. Front ROW.
3) All iTV has to do is decrypt the FairPlay encryption and send the decrypted data to HDMI (for encryption again) securely. FF and Rewind features can be done server side. Responsiveness depends on the network and how much buffering is needed. I suspect that Draft-N will be a requirement to make this reliably not suck.
I'm relatively new to Mac platform, so please forgive my ignorance. [first post - yippee!]
Do you think iTV will include some sort of base station for wireless (i.e. a complete end-to-end solution) or will you still need to buy an AirPort base station? I've been putting off buying the base station because I was thinking (hoping) that they might soon offer a base station that uses 808.11 N rather than G. I am hoping that iTV will allow me to simultaneously stream video, music, etc, but also establish a wireless network so I can connect my work laptop with my iMac.
1) Will you be able to have all the accounts from all iTunes libraries on your LAN available for streaming to your iTV? If so, how will it deal with duplicate content?
2) Will there be an iTV sharing pane in iTunes to choose which playlists or types of content you which to share, if any, from an individual account to iTV?
3) Will there be a way to turn on a process that allows access to an account's iTunes library even when the account is not logged in?
4) Will you be able to have multiple iTVs on the same iTunes library? If, so will you be able to limit content to different iTVs (i.e.: parental controls)?
5) Will iTunes for Windows be able to utilize iTV as its function is more like a wireless iPod than a media server?
I hope that finally Apple will unify the iTunes library for all users on a system or even for your entire private network, essentially storing everything in a single database giving each user an individual view allowing for parental controls and a further partitioning of your media assets. This will also solve the handling of duplicates as there won't be any.
I'm relatively new to Mac platform, so please forgive my ignorance. [first post - yippee!]
Do you think iTV will include some sort of base station for wireless (i.e. a complete end-to-end solution) or will you still need to buy an AirPort base station? I've been putting off buying the base station because I was thinking (hoping) that they might soon offer a base station that uses 808.11 N rather than G. I am hoping that iTV will allow me to simultaneously stream video, music, etc, but also establish a wireless network so I can connect my work laptop with my iMac.
You'll need a wireless router (i.e. an airport base station type device) for connecting your computer to the internet (if you wish to do this wirelessly), but not for connecting your computer to your TV (which is what iTV will be for). I doubt that the iTV will also act as a wireless internet router.
Following a personal preview of the device, Walt Disney chief executive and personal friend of Jobs, Robert Iger, disclosed that each unit will also include a "small hard drive" that will allow for some local content storage.
Back when this was originally reported there was some discussion about whether this guy knows what he's talking about. He sounded like a non-techy making up an explanation of how the system _might_ work.
I hope/believe that the iTV will not have a hard drive. Each display in one's home should not require it's own hard drive. Instead, each display simply needs a network connection.
Networked media players are cheaper, easier to use, and smaller. Attaching local storage to every display is simply not a good idea.
You'll need a wireless router (i.e. an airport base station type device) for connecting your computer to the internet (if you wish to do this wirelessly), but not for connecting your computer to your TV (which is what iTV will be for). I doubt that the iTV will also act as a wireless internet router.
You'll need a wireless router (i.e. an airport base station type device) for connecting your computer to the internet (if you wish to do this wirelessly), but not for connecting your computer to your TV (which is what iTV will be for). I doubt that the iTV will also act as a wireless internet router.
I'd be surprised if it *doesn't*, to be honest. What better way to establish a beachhead in the video market, than to say "Buy *our* 801.11N WiFi router, and look at what else you get!"
I'd be surprised if it *doesn't*, to be honest. What better way to establish a beachhead in the video market, than to say "Buy *our* 801.11N WiFi router, and look at what else you get!"
Um...because I don't run my ethernet network to my TV? My G router sits in my little closet in the basement where the FiOS line comes in...
Um...because I don't run my ethernet network to my TV? My G router sits in my little closet in the basement where the FiOS line comes in...
Eh, good point. Put it this way - the amount of extra overhead required to turn an 802.11N client (with an existing Enet port) to an 802.11N router is a bit of extra software. I'd be surprised if it weren't thrown in as a gimme.
Eh, good point. Put it this way - the amount of extra overhead required to turn an 802.11N client (with an existing Enet port) to an 802.11N router is a bit of extra software. I'd be surprised if it weren't thrown in as a gimme.
Well, it would be nice as a bridge. So you can plug your xbox or whatever into it...might need a small switch for all the potentially networkable devices around the TV but not having to spend extra on a bridge makes it a nice feature.
Comments
I believe the USB port on the back of iTV is for attaching external storage.
I have a strong feeling that Apple is going to start selling external hard drives soon.
Perhaps even a small RAID unit designed for the SOHO market.
Time Machine could back up files to this networked RAID which is optionally attached to an iTV.
iTV could also access the contents of the RAID unit for always available content even when no laptops are home.
USB is a crappy way to add large storage. That doesn't mean that it won't be used for that. But, I'm not so sure.
At first, I didn't believe that a HD could be included because of power supply issues (it's internal, so must be weak), size, and price. But, prices continue to drop, drives are getting larger, and faster, and power may not be an issue, depending on what Apple is intending.
If Apple puts a 1.8" drive inside, then size and power are no longer an issue. The size of the drive could be enough if Apple isn't intending it to store your collection.
I just pointed out that unlike the Airport, which is a true hardware device, the article points out that this isn't. It doesn't have to be separately downloadable to be so. One might as well say that a computer is just a hardware solution because the OS comes with it.
*hands in air* I give up. I surrender. The point I was trying to make, that iTV *INCLUDES* a hardware component, and is not *SOLELY* a software solution, as the one aegisdesign pointed to, was apparently lost on all.
In my funny head, I guess that if I buy a box, I pull a device out of it, and set it up, that it is hardware, regardless of what software may or may not be running on it, or firmware may or may not let it, you know, *work*. Mea culpa.
*hands in air* I give up. I surrender. The point I was trying to make, that iTV *INCLUDES* a hardware component, and is not *SOLELY* a software solution, as the one aegisdesign pointed to, was apparently lost on all.
In my funny head, I guess that if I buy a box, I pull a device out of it, and set it up, that it is hardware, regardless of what software may or may not be running on it. Mea culpa.
All is forgiven!
We love you still.
1) Will you be able to have all the accounts from all iTunes libraries on your LAN available for streaming to your iTV? If so, how will it deal with duplicate content?
2) Will there be an iTV sharing pane in iTunes to choose which playlists or types of content you which to share, if any, from an individual account to iTV?
3) Will there be a way to turn on a process that allows access to an account's iTunes library even when the account is not logged in?
4) Will you be able to have multiple iTVs on the same iTunes library? If, so will you be able to limit content to different iTVs (i.e.: parental controls)?
5) Will iTunes for Windows be able to utilize iTV as its function is more like a wireless iPod than a media server?
QUESTIONS:
1) Will you be able to have all the accounts from all iTunes libraries on your LAN available for streaming to your iTV? If so, how will it deal with duplicate content?
2) Will there be an iTV sharing pane in iTunes to choose which playlists or types of content you which to share, if any, from an individual account to iTV?
3) Will there be a way to turn on a process that allows access to an account's iTunes library even when the account is not logged in?
4) Will you be able to have multiple iTVs on the same iTunes library? If, so will you be able to limit content to different iTVs (i.e.: parental controls)?
5) Will iTunes for Windows be able to utilize iTV as its function is more like a wireless iPod than a media server?
You should repeat these questions on the 9th.
You should repeat these questions on the 9th.
Hopefully, all will be answered on the 9th. I look forward to MWSF more than XMas and NYE. I need a life!
You should repeat these questions on the 9th.
Preferably sometime **AFTER** 1:00PM ET
Dave
If it has a hard drive, it doesn't need to 'stream' HD content real-time. Abd XVid/DiVX content could be supported, if you can install any of the Quicktime extensions that support them. But that's the bigger question, can you get to the internal OS on this thing.
There's no indication that the internal OS needs to be anything more than what the iPod does.
Except its not going to support any video format except Apple's format, so it won't be possible to get those windows only formats to your TV.
Unless converted to some iTunes compatible format...like how iTunes can convert unprotected WMA files.
And iTV is not "hardware", its "hardware" and "software". It'll run OS X and, most likely, Front Page to deal with the computer/media/etc. I doubt seriously if its just going to take a video stream and just play it. There's just too much "What? But the video stream is accessible and can be pirated by everyone around! We can't let people do that!". The box has to be able to control the media, not just stream it. Otherwise, rewind/pause/etc will just have too much of a delay to it.
Well given that very little hardware is just hardware and no software (even in the embedded world) its somewhat true but:
1) There's no reason to run a OS X in iTV. RTXC Quadros seems more likely given the limited needs for iTV and they already have a lot of experience with it.
2) Front Row isn't all that complex...it's a UI. Front ROW.
3) All iTV has to do is decrypt the FairPlay encryption and send the decrypted data to HDMI (for encryption again) securely. FF and Rewind features can be done server side. Responsiveness depends on the network and how much buffering is needed. I suspect that Draft-N will be a requirement to make this reliably not suck.
Vinea
Do you think iTV will include some sort of base station for wireless (i.e. a complete end-to-end solution) or will you still need to buy an AirPort base station? I've been putting off buying the base station because I was thinking (hoping) that they might soon offer a base station that uses 808.11 N rather than G. I am hoping that iTV will allow me to simultaneously stream video, music, etc, but also establish a wireless network so I can connect my work laptop with my iMac.
QUESTIONS:
1) Will you be able to have all the accounts from all iTunes libraries on your LAN available for streaming to your iTV? If so, how will it deal with duplicate content?
2) Will there be an iTV sharing pane in iTunes to choose which playlists or types of content you which to share, if any, from an individual account to iTV?
3) Will there be a way to turn on a process that allows access to an account's iTunes library even when the account is not logged in?
4) Will you be able to have multiple iTVs on the same iTunes library? If, so will you be able to limit content to different iTVs (i.e.: parental controls)?
5) Will iTunes for Windows be able to utilize iTV as its function is more like a wireless iPod than a media server?
I hope that finally Apple will unify the iTunes library for all users on a system or even for your entire private network, essentially storing everything in a single database giving each user an individual view allowing for parental controls and a further partitioning of your media assets. This will also solve the handling of duplicates as there won't be any.
I'm relatively new to Mac platform, so please forgive my ignorance. [first post - yippee!]
Do you think iTV will include some sort of base station for wireless (i.e. a complete end-to-end solution) or will you still need to buy an AirPort base station? I've been putting off buying the base station because I was thinking (hoping) that they might soon offer a base station that uses 808.11 N rather than G. I am hoping that iTV will allow me to simultaneously stream video, music, etc, but also establish a wireless network so I can connect my work laptop with my iMac.
You'll need a wireless router (i.e. an airport base station type device) for connecting your computer to the internet (if you wish to do this wirelessly), but not for connecting your computer to your TV (which is what iTV will be for). I doubt that the iTV will also act as a wireless internet router.
Following a personal preview of the device, Walt Disney chief executive and personal friend of Jobs, Robert Iger, disclosed that each unit will also include a "small hard drive" that will allow for some local content storage.
Back when this was originally reported there was some discussion about whether this guy knows what he's talking about. He sounded like a non-techy making up an explanation of how the system _might_ work.
I hope/believe that the iTV will not have a hard drive. Each display in one's home should not require it's own hard drive. Instead, each display simply needs a network connection.
Networked media players are cheaper, easier to use, and smaller. Attaching local storage to every display is simply not a good idea.
You'll need a wireless router (i.e. an airport base station type device) for connecting your computer to the internet (if you wish to do this wirelessly), but not for connecting your computer to your TV (which is what iTV will be for). I doubt that the iTV will also act as a wireless internet router.
I think it will just need a wireless card.
You'll need a wireless router (i.e. an airport base station type device) for connecting your computer to the internet (if you wish to do this wirelessly), but not for connecting your computer to your TV (which is what iTV will be for). I doubt that the iTV will also act as a wireless internet router.
I'd be surprised if it *doesn't*, to be honest. What better way to establish a beachhead in the video market, than to say "Buy *our* 801.11N WiFi router, and look at what else you get!"
I'd be surprised if it *doesn't*, to be honest. What better way to establish a beachhead in the video market, than to say "Buy *our* 801.11N WiFi router, and look at what else you get!"
Um...because I don't run my ethernet network to my TV? My G router sits in my little closet in the basement where the FiOS line comes in...
Vinea
Um...because I don't run my ethernet network to my TV? My G router sits in my little closet in the basement where the FiOS line comes in...
Vinea
'tis true.
Um...because I don't run my ethernet network to my TV? My G router sits in my little closet in the basement where the FiOS line comes in...
Eh, good point. Put it this way - the amount of extra overhead required to turn an 802.11N client (with an existing Enet port) to an 802.11N router is a bit of extra software. I'd be surprised if it weren't thrown in as a gimme.
Eh, good point. Put it this way - the amount of extra overhead required to turn an 802.11N client (with an existing Enet port) to an 802.11N router is a bit of extra software. I'd be surprised if it weren't thrown in as a gimme.
Well, it would be nice as a bridge. So you can plug your xbox or whatever into it...might need a small switch for all the potentially networkable devices around the TV but not having to spend extra on a bridge makes it a nice feature.
Vinea
That's too bad, because I get broadband through my cable, and my router sits right next to my TV.
My TV is on a different floor. I wired the house for 1 GB E. I'm not sure if I'm interested in wireless yet.