PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 now fuller rivals to Apple TV
Microsoft and Sony maneuvers at the Electronic Entertainment Expo now turn their respective Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles into stronger media hubs , and more direct challengers to Apple TV.
The additional competition first surfaced on Monday, when Microsoft said it would sign on with Netflix.
Gamers with both an Xbox Live Gold subscription and a Netflix account will have the option this fall of streaming an unlimited number of movies and TV shows from the movie provider's Watch Instantly online service, bypassing the need to download the entire video to disk while still having control over pausing and skipping through content. The feature will also give Netflix customers a unique social component that lets as many as eight Xbox Live members watch a movie at the same time.
On top of the video service, the company has also revamped the Xbox 360 interface with a design that will seem familiar to users of iTunes' Cover Flow interface and has struck a deal with NBC-Universal to host its movies and TV shows -- a move that emphasizes the rift between Apple and the studio, which was forcefully split from iTunes after neither company could come to terms on variable pricing.
Meanwhile, Sony itself has also kicked off the release of its first video service for its own game system: The PlayStation Store is on Tuesday carrying movies and TV shows from Sony, Apple's close partner Disney, as well as Fox, MGM, Paramount, and several other studios.
The service from the outset is largely comparable to services from Apple and others and offers TV show purchases for $1.99 per episode as well as movies for between $9.99 and $19.99 depending on the title; movies are also available to rent for between $2.99 and $3.99. Sony offers a choice between standard and high-definition versions and is one of the few to offer HD for TV shows.
Both Microsoft and Sony's efforts put even greater strain on Apple TV, which has struggled to gain a foothold in the marketplace and has been consciously talked down for its role as the "fourth leg" in Apple's product lineup. Simultaneously, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have both sold millions of units while frequently offering media playback (with the exception of the PlayStation's Blu-ray) only as a secondary feature.
The additional competition first surfaced on Monday, when Microsoft said it would sign on with Netflix.
Gamers with both an Xbox Live Gold subscription and a Netflix account will have the option this fall of streaming an unlimited number of movies and TV shows from the movie provider's Watch Instantly online service, bypassing the need to download the entire video to disk while still having control over pausing and skipping through content. The feature will also give Netflix customers a unique social component that lets as many as eight Xbox Live members watch a movie at the same time.
On top of the video service, the company has also revamped the Xbox 360 interface with a design that will seem familiar to users of iTunes' Cover Flow interface and has struck a deal with NBC-Universal to host its movies and TV shows -- a move that emphasizes the rift between Apple and the studio, which was forcefully split from iTunes after neither company could come to terms on variable pricing.
Meanwhile, Sony itself has also kicked off the release of its first video service for its own game system: The PlayStation Store is on Tuesday carrying movies and TV shows from Sony, Apple's close partner Disney, as well as Fox, MGM, Paramount, and several other studios.
The service from the outset is largely comparable to services from Apple and others and offers TV show purchases for $1.99 per episode as well as movies for between $9.99 and $19.99 depending on the title; movies are also available to rent for between $2.99 and $3.99. Sony offers a choice between standard and high-definition versions and is one of the few to offer HD for TV shows.
Both Microsoft and Sony's efforts put even greater strain on Apple TV, which has struggled to gain a foothold in the marketplace and has been consciously talked down for its role as the "fourth leg" in Apple's product lineup. Simultaneously, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have both sold millions of units while frequently offering media playback (with the exception of the PlayStation's Blu-ray) only as a secondary feature.
Comments
I can't see Parents using their kids PS3 to rent movies, kid is not gonna like it because he/she will want to play, so Parents will just get Apple TV for their own use.
2. To fight back, Apple just have to make Apple TV compatible with Games and other Apps and make Apple Remote into a Wii like pointer with Accelerometer.
2. To fight back, Apple just have to make Apple TV compatible with Games and other Apps and make Apple Remote into a Wii like pointer with Accelerometer.
I've been playing with both my old and new iPhones, and I'm starting to realize, The iPhone is going to render the PSP, DS, etc. Obsolete. It's just much more intuative, and as soon as there are better games for it, It is going to blow them out of the playing field. It's quite possible that this could happen with ATV as well.
Problem solved
1. I don't see XBox nor PS3 to be a competitors to Apple TV. Maybe its just me or not, but I see Apple TV targeted towards Family Audience and XBOX and PS3 towards younger generation and teenagers.
I can't see Parents using their kids PS3 to rent movies, kid is not gonna like it because he/she will want to play, so Parents will just get Apple TV for their own use.
2. To fight back, Apple just have to make Apple TV compatible with Games and other Apps and make Apple Remote into a Wii like pointer with Accelerometer.
Not necessarily. I got my PS3 primarily as a Blu-Ray player. I am 35 and absolutely suck at video games.
I do agree with your point number 2, but the iPhone/iPod touch is TOO expensive to be used as an everyday remote.
I don't know about Xbox 360, but the PSN store has been improved but it still isn't as easy to navigate than then the Apple TV. And the Sony Wallet thing is a pain to use.
1. I don't see XBox nor PS3 to be a competitors to Apple TV.
I don't see it as competitors either. PS3 has a Blu-ray player which plays all my DVD's too.
Not necessarily. I got my PS3 primarily as a Blu-Ray player. I am 35 and absolutely suck at video games.
I do agree with your point number 2, but the iPhone/iPod touch is TOO expensive to be used as an everyday remote.
I don't know about Xbox 360, but the PSN store has been improved but it still isn't as easy to navigate than then the Apple TV. And the Sony Wallet thing is a pain to use.
The PS3 system is better than the 360 system in terms of money, at least Sony puts the prices in terms of actual currency. Microsoft's system is that you buy points, and everything you bought was noted in terms of points. I think it's 80 points to a dollar.
I understand what you mean by the wallet system, but I understand why they used it. What it is is you can give family members a certain amount of money in the system without just giving them the credit card or bank card, or having to buy a card from a store.
All Apple really needs to do to counter the 360 Netflix move is to license the Netflix player, it's supposedly available to license from all comers. Apple's library and Netflix's library supposedly doesn't overlap much anyway.
I have no use for the AppleTV now. It doesn't have enough features to make it worth it... and the fact that you have to hack it to get it to play DivX files is nothing but a pain and it's main flaw in my opinion. And yes I know you can convert the DivX movies to mp4, but that is a complete waste of time.
Unless it gets a DV-R and the ability to play files other than mp4, I would say AppleTV is dead in the water after these features from Sony and Microsoft.
1.
I can't see Parents using their kids PS3 to rent movies, kid is not gonna like it because he/she will want to play, so Parents will just get Apple TV for their own use.
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Actually, the PS3 is the top selling Blu-Ray player available..
It NEEDS at minimum to be able to play EVERY POPULAR VIDEO FORMAT. Let developers write applications or plugins for it that extend it's functionality. Open the USB port up for external HDDs or peripherals like a TV tuner.
Integrate a Blu-ray driver, especially while the market is just starting! I'm sure in just a few days, Apple's employees could come up with some great new innovative ideas to better the AppleTV...
Secondly, they need to get NBC/Universal back into the iTunes stores, along with any other remaining studios, and BOLSTER THE CATALOG! There is no reason why I shouldn't be able to find just about any possible movie on iTunes! They should budge more on variable pricing if they have to, but push back harder on the BS 24-hour limit, and get that extended out to 3-days.
1. I don't see XBox nor PS3 to be a competitors to Apple TV. Maybe its just me or not, but I see Apple TV targeted towards Family Audience and XBOX and PS3 towards younger generation and teenagers. I can't see Parents using their kids PS3 to rent movies, kid is not gonna like it because he/she will want to play, so Parents will just get Apple TV for their own use.
The problem with that idea is that a large amount of the "kids" you speak of are 18-40. The Playstation has turned out to be a great media device, the primary reason I purchased it as I'm not a huge gamer. I wanted a Blu-ray drive, and this thing has been perfect. Not only is the Blu-ray player excellent, but I stream movies and podcasts from a computer upstairs via WiFi (using uPnP - windows media player 11). Now I will be able to rent downloaded movies? perfect. Apparently, the xBox360 can do much of this and more, but it DOESN'T have a Blu-ray player, WiFi is $100 extra, and noisy as hell. I can't even tell when the Playstation 3 is turned on it's so quiet in my "entertainment table".
For the usually proprietary, Hollywood friendly Sony, it's also quite extraordinary that the PS3 supports Divx/XVid/H264/Mpeg2/Mpeg4. Also, a user-removable harddrive unlock the xBox 360. You can easily pop in a 250 or 320GB 2.5"!
It's definitely not as polished or as intuitive to access/rent media as the AppleTV, but unfortunately for Apple, it's good enough to keep me from buying one.
QUOTE=GuyInFlorida;1279188]Not necessarily. I got my PS3 primarily as a Blu-Ray player. I am 35 and absolutely suck at video games. I don't know about Xbox 360, but the PSN store has been improved but it still isn't as easy to navigate than then the Apple TV. And the Sony Wallet thing is a pain to use.[/QUOTE]
Yep I agree. It's not as polished as the AppleTV, but the PS3 is quite capable as a networked media player! And many who own it are adults who purchased it for the BR player and media functionality.
I bought a PS3 mainly for Blu-Ray and games. I was thinking about getting an AppleTV, but then I realized that the PS3 plays DivX movies. You can put your movie files on a simple thumb drive pop it in, and start playing them straight from the thumb drive.
I have no use for the AppleTV now. It doesn't have enough features to make it worth it... and the fact that you have to hack it to get it to play DivX files is nothing but a pain and it's main flaw in my opinion. And yes I know you can convert the DivX movies to mp4, but that is a complete waste of time.
Unless it gets a DV-R and the ability to play files other than mp4, I would say AppleTV is dead in the water after these features from Sony and Microsoft.
Not a chance.. As Apple has proven time and time again, It's not just features, it's the software. The iTunes integration alone offers something those other devices will never be able to offer. Add to that the portability with the content via iPods, iPhones, Macs and PCs.. You certainly can't take a tv show you bought on your XBox 360 with you on your Blackberry, but you CAN take a tv show you bought on iTunes/Apple Tv with you on your iPod/iPhone.. That is a huge benefit only available within the Apple ecosystem..
I think for the AppleTV to compete well, they need to open it up! It NEEDS at minimum to be able to play EVERY VIDEO FORMAT.
It won't happen.
Apple's intent is to create a de facto standard with video content on the web using Quicktime/H.264. The one way to create a standard is to disable the ability to play other formats... And since Apple is such a dominant force in mobile devices, they have a better chance at doing this than any other.
Not a chance.. It's not just features, it's the software. The iTunes integration alone offers something those other devices will never be able to offer. Add to that the portability with the content via iPods, iPhones, Macs and PCs..
Being able to play material from my iTunes on my TV is not worth $229 to me. And it's not going to be worth it to a lot of people considering how the economy is going. Apple has already scaled back it's push of AppleTV. The writing is on the wall. It might stick around, but the promise it had has died out because Apple was slow to add features and get rid of their love of proprietary formats.
The only people who will buy this are apple fanatics or people who are computer illiterate and can only deal with something when it's beyond easy. AppleTV has lost almost all of it's sex appeal in the consumer media player market over the past year.
I think for the AppleTV to compete well, they need to open it up, and make significant changes.
It NEEDS at minimum to be able to play EVERY POPULAR VIDEO FORMAT. Let developers write applications or plugins for it that extend it's functionality. Open the USB port up for external HDDs or peripherals like a TV tuner.
Integrate a Blu-ray driver, especially while the market is just starting! I'm sure in just a few days, Apple's employees could come up with some great new innovative ideas to better the AppleTV...
Secondly, they need to get NBC/Universal back into the iTunes stores, along with any other remaining studios, and BOLSTER THE CATALOG! There is no reason why I shouldn't be able to find just about any possible movie on iTunes! They should budge more on variable pricing if they have to, but push back harder on the BS 24-hour limit, and get that extended out to 3-days.
Well, your first point is at odds with your second point. As it is, NBC Universal is unhappy with the lack of action by Apple to not play (or remove) pirated copies of its video from the iPod/iPhone/AppleTV. And now you propose that AppleTV play more formats, which would include the more popular formats used for video pirating...
Being able to play material from my iTunes on my TV is not worth $229 to me. And it's not going to be worth it to a lot of people considering how the economy is going. Apple has already scaled back it's push of AppleTV. The writing is on the wall. It might stick around, but the promise it had has died out because Apple was slow to add features and get rid of their love of proprietary formats.
The only people who will buy this are apple fanatics or people who are computer illiterate and can only deal with something when it's beyond easy. AppleTV has lost almost all of it's sex appeal in the consumer media player market over the past year.
According to whom?
Last I heard iTunes was renting 50 thousand movies a day. Far more than any other service.
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=88012
According to whom?
Last I heard iTunes was renting 50 thousand movies a day. Far more than any other service.
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=88012
Get back to me in 3 months when sony and microsoft are renting 100,000+ a day each and the amounts keep going up.
I bought a PS3 mainly for Blu-Ray and games. I was thinking about getting an AppleTV, but then I realized that the PS3 plays DivX movies. You can put your movie files on a simple thumb drive pop it in, and start playing them straight from the thumb drive.
I have no use for the AppleTV now. It doesn't have enough features to make it worth it... and the fact that you have to hack it to get it to play DivX files is nothing but a pain and it's main flaw in my opinion. And yes I know you can convert the DivX movies to mp4, but that is a complete waste of time.
Unless it gets a DV-R and the ability to play files other than mp4, I would say AppleTV is dead in the water after these features from Sony and Microsoft.
AppleTV is not dead in the water because it can't do what you (and thousands of others) want it to do.
Like most things Apple, it does what it does very well and very simply.
Based on every review I have ever seen (just my own research) the interface is easier to use than any other living room media player.
If you have technical nouse, then there are heaps of other options. But for Apple to sell a product to make a profit, the AppleTV will sell them boxes which will be used to rent movies and buy TV shows easily and from the comfort of the couch with a 6 button remote.
My parents can do it!
Get back to me in 3 months when sony and microsoft are renting 100,000+ a day each and the amounts keep going up.
Ummm, Okay... I'll iCal it..
So, I see that you registered here on AI today.... Who do you work for Sony or Microsoft?
According to whom?
Last I heard iTunes was renting 50 thousand movies a day. Far more than any other service.
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=88012
It is interesting how Apple will release numbers when they are impressive, like the 50,000 a day and the iPhone numbers but they won't say how the AppleTV is selling. Maybe if people know AppleTV was doing well, people might buy it with confidence the product won't be discontinued.