I don't think the next ATV is going to come out until the tablet comes out. Because the Tablet is going to deliver apps with larger interfaces it's a natural for Apple to coelesce the two together. The Tablet becomes much more powerful if the apps I run on it also work on the new ATV.
Interesting idea, but what apps would people really want on their Apple TVs? Most apps seem optimized for the portable factor of the iPhone, Touch, or soon to be tablet. Games maybe? Anything else I probably can just use my regular iMac computer just as well.
I think most people would want apps like Netflix, Hulu, or other video services. Unfortunately Apple will never allow it since it would compete with their closed iTunes system.
If Apple wants to boost the Apple TV, and get people like me to buy it, they need to open it up. I would like to see:
Better hardware
DVD ripping into iTunes
More codec support
More customization of menus - Add, subtract, modify menus and folders
Maybe even customizable skins like in Plex
Right now the system is too closed. I have no interest in buying stuff from iTunes. It's over priced, full of DRM, is missing subtitles, and no extras. Besides I already own most of the movies and TV shows I like on DVD so there is no way I am going to buy them again.
Hang on there apple. As soon as I'm out of college and working a real job (about 2 years left now) I will be eating Apple TV and Time Capsule right up. Until then it is way too expensive for me
Oh and yea by that time I expect cheaper prices or more open eco system. Maybe update 4.0 will bring that. Otherwise I will have to hack the ATV to be a mac mini and watch hulu on that.
Interesting idea, but what apps would people really want on their Apple TVs? Most apps seem optimized for the portable factor of the iPhone, Touch, or soon to be tablet. Games maybe? Anything else I probably can just use my regular iMac computer just as well.
I think most people would want apps like Netflix, Hulu, or other video services. Unfortunately Apple will never allow it since it would compete with their closed iTunes system.
If Apple wants to boost the Apple TV, and get people like me to buy it, they need to open it up. I would like to see:
Better hardware
DVD ripping into iTunes
More codec support
More customization of menus - Add, subtract, modify menus and folders
Maybe even customizable skins like in Plex
Right now the system is too closed. I have no interest in buying stuff from iTunes. It's over priced, full of DRM, is missing subtitles, and no extras. Besides I already own most of the movies and TV shows I like on DVD so there is no way I am going to buy them again.
It's the same thing that's propelling widgets on TV and more. I think the worst thing about the Apple TV is its name. It does more (and it should) than just become an apparatus that enables the viewing of video. I would hope that the successor to the current Apple TV undergo a name change to something closer to what it really offers.
Apple's forced people to view the product through the lens of what they expect a TV device to be and thus they have opened themselves up to criticism about lack of DVR or DVD rip playback capabilities. Uncharacteristically, Apple has mismarketed this product and further panned it by Jobs' "Hobby" content.
Sell the successor for what it really is. A media device that can fetch Social content, calendar data, weather and much more. Open it up for the many fantastic developers out there and link it with the Tablet and they will once again find success. Apple profits by making the ecosystem work better than other companies offerings. They need to stick with this model.
It's the same thing that's propelling widgets on TV and more. I think the worst thing about the Apple TV is its name. It does more (and it should) than just become an apparatus that enables the viewing of video. I would hope that the successor to the current Apple TV undergo a name change to something closer to what it really offers.
Apple's forced people to view the product through the lens of what they expect a TV device to be and thus they have opened themselves up to criticism about lack of DVR or DVD rip playback capabilities. Uncharacteristically, Apple has mismarketed this product and further panned it by Jobs' "Hobby" content.
Sell the successor for what it really is. A media device that can fetch Social content, calendar data, weather and much more. Open it up for the many fantastic developers out there and link it with the Tablet and they will once again find success. Apple profits by making the ecosystem work better than other companies offerings. They need to stick with this model.
I see what you are saying, but isn't the whole purpose and point of the Apple TV to stream media(video, music, & photos) to the TV from a person's Apple computer?
As far as I can tell it's failing at streaming video. Apple TV won't stream most people's choices of videos without hacks or other work arounds. Apple needs to focus on this aspect of the Apple TV to succeed. Until the Apple TV can be a true media centre most people will not really be interested.
As far as the apps are concerned we have Apple computers, iPhones, Touches, and soon to be tablets. How many more devices do we need to check Facebook, e-mail, or weather? Also unless Apple releases some kind of new super-remote we won't really have any way to control said apps.
I'm not happy with home sharing at all. It still does not centralize content which means I have islands of media all over my home. iTunes 9 Home Sharing is certainly not the kind of innovative tool that we expect from Apple.
I really want to buy an Apple TV but it's hardware is old and slow. I'm looking forward to a ARM based unit that stays much cooler and a lot more functionality in software. I don't really a DVR and I damn sure won't be looking for Blu-ray but I need something that handles iTunes content very well and my own content well.
but of course YOU have to centralize your media on a single drive someplace first. that is true whether you buy a "media server" drive or just set up a new master iTunes library someplace - best choice usually being an external drive.
it's easy. can take overnight for huge libraries. to keep all the metadata, you want to "consolidate libraries." read the instructions in iTunes Help.
That's why streaming is so important. The ideal solution would be a large NAS to centralize media but we're still not there yet.
maybe you are not, but i have all my media happily on a large external drive and it all works just fine on my home LAN for playback on any Mac (and AppleTV if i had one). so i don't know what you are unable to do. i do go through the extra step of converting files into an iTunes recognized format first. TiVo+Toast works great. MpegStreamclip and others work great. so what is your actual constraint?
I like Apple; however, If Apple were put AppleTV up against current game consoles I expect Apple would lose.
It would be a Wii competitor...not the 360 or PS3.
Nintendo would have better games wile the aTV better for media. For casual games it would be good enough and with iPhone and iPod Touch controllers a lot of the accelerometer gameplay based games would work.
Not surprised. The Airport is well built and stylish, but prohibitively expensive. Knock $50 off of it and the 1TB time capsule as well as $100 off the 2TB capsule and they would sell very well.
As for AppleTV. Unless the movie studios permit Apple to give it the ability to import your DVDs, its not going to catch on, especially at $230. In a lineup of integrated multi-use devices, its a one trick pony that requires a separate DVD or Blu-ray player for your current movies, a PVR for recording your shows or games, and video game console if you want to do that. Combine one, two, or all of these features, or integrate it into TVs and it would sell much better.
It better have a Blu-ray player that allows import... DVD is so last decade.... and a 2T hard drive with USB3 external drive support to bolt more storage on... then I might buy it.... and yeah PVR for HD TV content
True but that also means that you are not the target market for Apple TV. SDTV marketshare can only decline so it makes little sense to add support for a format that's fading away rapidly..
Yes, but per my original post, Apple has limited their market by limiting the device to HDTVs. The problem is how long will it take for that market to fully develop. I would estimate that it might take 5 to 10 years to get rid of most SDTVs. That's a long time to wait for your market.
No surprise really. Im a bit of a Mac Fanboy but aTV has completely failed for me and it something that I could so easily waste money on.
First version was great, but the lack of a DVD drive really put me off. I see no point in converting my DVD's and storing them on my computer when there already stored on a DVD. Especially when I find it nicer to look through a DVD rack rather than a boring list on a screen. To me a media center needs to allow me to do everything. The lack of real TV was also a concern.
Second/Third (not sure) version had a horrible interface change. This really put me off, as it's classic Apple "we decide what's best and you go along with it". I liked the old interface and it's part of why people would buy it. The current one has ad's for the latest rentals, yet this is meant to be a premium rate product!
As it stands Apple TV is way behind in my opinion. Games consoles are including subscription TV, even the Nintendo Wii has a BBC iPlayer channel on it now. Where's this for the UK audiance, BBC are putting it on any device that will accept it so it must be Apple not wanting it. To make it sell in the UK at least, I think it should have BBC iPlayer, Blueray drive, and either support for Freeview or Free Sat. That at least would bring it up to the level of other players in the market.
At the moment the only reason I can see to get one is for film rentals, but at it's current price it would just be a waste of money. I would be better off taking out a DVD rental subscription and hardly ever using it.
I would buy one tomorrow if I could guarantee Apple wouldn't bring out a newer an better model shortly after. I'm reading stuff all the time about a new Apple TV on the way, so I'm always hanging on, I know you can't wait forever, but it really feels like a new model is well over due, and I don't want to be stuck with a model that can work with the latest features, I.e something like a wii remote.
If they updated the time on a regular bases like their other products, I would have brought one by now.
No surprise that aTV isn't selling, there's no compelling reason to get it and there are competing boxes that offer much more.
I'd probably buy an aTV if it could stream Hulu, abc.com, netflix, and any other web video. I don't even really think dvd ripping (never gonna happen) or even other codec support is that important, on a new i7 machine handbrake can convert an hour show in about six minutes.
At this point, I'd consider something like a PS3 way before an aTV, it can do bluray (which doesn't interest me at all, but I'll probably get into it at some point just because I don't want to buy any more movies in DVD format), stream netflix, and play other video formats. Not to mention I hear it's not a bad game console, all for not much more than the aTV.
aTV isn't a bad hardware box, it just needs to be able to play back a ton more things. Or a price drop to like $99. Or both.
None of the airports have ever appealed to me, don't really get it.
No compelling reason to get it? How about having whole movie collection stored on your computer, like I have, but I really want to watch my collection in the lounge rather than my desk. There's a compelling reason for you!!!
Apple TV is a bit long on needing a vibrant upgrade. in my belief it needs
1- Larger hard drive 500gb+ option, also ability to add extra storage externally via USB, Firewire or ESata.
2- upgrade 1080p programming to hdtv
3- Open up the Apple TV - allow third party programs and developers, allow Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster, Vudu and others to stream/download content to the device.
4- Apple TV app store- have it be able to be used for alot more. let developers create games, apps and so much more for
5- Videoconferencing - add ability for people to add a cam, hell apple could make a cam. so people can do video calls not just on their computer. but allow it to be used not only with ichat/aol chats, ie Skype app to use it. and who knows. other corporate ways. let Cisco create a app to use on it.
6- Blu-Ray - it is long overdue for apple to support Blu-Ray properly. to be a proper computer company it can't block technology which "competes" with itunes. Mac OS X must be open, as should all of Apple's products. sad to see things end up being more closed and well restricted to what Apple approves only.
7- Bluetooth - have the ability to add alot of extra add on's via this great tech. from headsets, to keyboards and gaming controllers
8- USB port fully functional - if you can add a camera, and external mic and more... why stop there... allow companies to add all sorts of extra devices and be able to build out a properly functional media center / computer apple tv.
9- full internet capability - yes, all my thoughts about making Apple tv capable require full internet capabilities and the ability for it to do oh so much more.
I would be alot happier if i could use my apple tv as a place for all the blu-Ray digital copies i have or maybe even a place to store movies i buy from apple itunes movie store. but do NOT want to keep on my laptop because it would take up too much room in my laptop. or even desktop.
Anyway, it would be awesome to really make more of this device as a proper home media center and computing entertainment center.
All of this is so sensible, and yet so obvious, so it boggles the mind why Apple have barely touched the Apple TV in years.
Where I live in the UK all the major networks now have on demand streaming services, and some (particularly the 'iPlayer' service from the BBC) are on many devices now, such as the PS3, Wii, iPhone (web app), cable PVRs etc. But the Apple TV, which would be a perfect platform to support it, only has an internet radio option. It's pathetic.
Apple need only look at the revews on iTunes for TV shows here to see the same type of comments over and over - "why buy this from iTunes when it's free on iPlayer etc".
It's time Apple, time to venture into the living room for real.
No compelling reason to get it? How about having whole movie collection stored on your computer, like I have, but I really want to watch my collection in the lounge rather than my desk. There's a compelling reason for you!!!
If that's all you want to do, a PS3, Xbox 360, or any one of the numerous streaming devices from Popcorn, Western Digital etc would do the same, and in 1080p.
I got tired of the updating games to keep Hulu accessible and even then the playback wasn't great. So, for just a bit more, I got a Mac Mini and a DVI-HDMI converter cable and haven't looked back. To get the TV to near the capability of the Mini would mean bumping up the price.
Along with the wireless keyboard and mouse and the fact that the remote works with it as well and front row does wonderful with my Itunes content and it plays DVDs and Sirius and so much more.
To me there isn't enough differentiation between the TV and Mini in terms of price to justify the limited feature set of the TV
Comments
It would be nice if a new hardware release was good enough to be a game console as well. Some of those iPhone games might be ok on the big screen.
I like Apple; however, If Apple were put AppleTV up against current game consoles I expect Apple would lose.
I don't think the next ATV is going to come out until the tablet comes out. Because the Tablet is going to deliver apps with larger interfaces it's a natural for Apple to coelesce the two together. The Tablet becomes much more powerful if the apps I run on it also work on the new ATV.
Interesting idea, but what apps would people really want on their Apple TVs? Most apps seem optimized for the portable factor of the iPhone, Touch, or soon to be tablet. Games maybe? Anything else I probably can just use my regular iMac computer just as well.
I think most people would want apps like Netflix, Hulu, or other video services. Unfortunately Apple will never allow it since it would compete with their closed iTunes system.
If Apple wants to boost the Apple TV, and get people like me to buy it, they need to open it up. I would like to see:
Better hardware
DVD ripping into iTunes
More codec support
More customization of menus - Add, subtract, modify menus and folders
Maybe even customizable skins like in Plex
Right now the system is too closed. I have no interest in buying stuff from iTunes. It's over priced, full of DRM, is missing subtitles, and no extras. Besides I already own most of the movies and TV shows I like on DVD so there is no way I am going to buy them again.
Oh and yea by that time I expect cheaper prices or more open eco system. Maybe update 4.0 will bring that. Otherwise I will have to hack the ATV to be a mac mini and watch hulu on that.
Interesting idea, but what apps would people really want on their Apple TVs? Most apps seem optimized for the portable factor of the iPhone, Touch, or soon to be tablet. Games maybe? Anything else I probably can just use my regular iMac computer just as well.
I think most people would want apps like Netflix, Hulu, or other video services. Unfortunately Apple will never allow it since it would compete with their closed iTunes system.
If Apple wants to boost the Apple TV, and get people like me to buy it, they need to open it up. I would like to see:
Better hardware
DVD ripping into iTunes
More codec support
More customization of menus - Add, subtract, modify menus and folders
Maybe even customizable skins like in Plex
Right now the system is too closed. I have no interest in buying stuff from iTunes. It's over priced, full of DRM, is missing subtitles, and no extras. Besides I already own most of the movies and TV shows I like on DVD so there is no way I am going to buy them again.
It's the same thing that's propelling widgets on TV and more. I think the worst thing about the Apple TV is its name. It does more (and it should) than just become an apparatus that enables the viewing of video. I would hope that the successor to the current Apple TV undergo a name change to something closer to what it really offers.
Apple's forced people to view the product through the lens of what they expect a TV device to be and thus they have opened themselves up to criticism about lack of DVR or DVD rip playback capabilities. Uncharacteristically, Apple has mismarketed this product and further panned it by Jobs' "Hobby" content.
Sell the successor for what it really is. A media device that can fetch Social content, calendar data, weather and much more. Open it up for the many fantastic developers out there and link it with the Tablet and they will once again find success. Apple profits by making the ecosystem work better than other companies offerings. They need to stick with this model.
It's the same thing that's propelling widgets on TV and more. I think the worst thing about the Apple TV is its name. It does more (and it should) than just become an apparatus that enables the viewing of video. I would hope that the successor to the current Apple TV undergo a name change to something closer to what it really offers.
Apple's forced people to view the product through the lens of what they expect a TV device to be and thus they have opened themselves up to criticism about lack of DVR or DVD rip playback capabilities. Uncharacteristically, Apple has mismarketed this product and further panned it by Jobs' "Hobby" content.
Sell the successor for what it really is. A media device that can fetch Social content, calendar data, weather and much more. Open it up for the many fantastic developers out there and link it with the Tablet and they will once again find success. Apple profits by making the ecosystem work better than other companies offerings. They need to stick with this model.
I see what you are saying, but isn't the whole purpose and point of the Apple TV to stream media(video, music, & photos) to the TV from a person's Apple computer?
As far as I can tell it's failing at streaming video. Apple TV won't stream most people's choices of videos without hacks or other work arounds. Apple needs to focus on this aspect of the Apple TV to succeed. Until the Apple TV can be a true media centre most people will not really be interested.
As far as the apps are concerned we have Apple computers, iPhones, Touches, and soon to be tablets. How many more devices do we need to check Facebook, e-mail, or weather? Also unless Apple releases some kind of new super-remote we won't really have any way to control said apps.
I'm not happy with home sharing at all. It still does not centralize content which means I have islands of media all over my home. iTunes 9 Home Sharing is certainly not the kind of innovative tool that we expect from Apple.
I really want to buy an Apple TV but it's hardware is old and slow. I'm looking forward to a ARM based unit that stays much cooler and a lot more functionality in software. I don't really a DVR and I damn sure won't be looking for Blu-ray but I need something that handles iTunes content very well and my own content well.
but of course YOU have to centralize your media on a single drive someplace first. that is true whether you buy a "media server" drive or just set up a new master iTunes library someplace - best choice usually being an external drive.
it's easy. can take overnight for huge libraries. to keep all the metadata, you want to "consolidate libraries." read the instructions in iTunes Help.
That's why streaming is so important. The ideal solution would be a large NAS to centralize media but we're still not there yet.
maybe you are not, but i have all my media happily on a large external drive and it all works just fine on my home LAN for playback on any Mac (and AppleTV if i had one). so i don't know what you are unable to do. i do go through the extra step of converting files into an iTunes recognized format first. TiVo+Toast works great. MpegStreamclip and others work great. so what is your actual constraint?
I like Apple; however, If Apple were put AppleTV up against current game consoles I expect Apple would lose.
It would be a Wii competitor...not the 360 or PS3.
Nintendo would have better games wile the aTV better for media. For casual games it would be good enough and with iPhone and iPod Touch controllers a lot of the accelerometer gameplay based games would work.
Not surprised. The Airport is well built and stylish, but prohibitively expensive. Knock $50 off of it and the 1TB time capsule as well as $100 off the 2TB capsule and they would sell very well.
As for AppleTV. Unless the movie studios permit Apple to give it the ability to import your DVDs, its not going to catch on, especially at $230. In a lineup of integrated multi-use devices, its a one trick pony that requires a separate DVD or Blu-ray player for your current movies, a PVR for recording your shows or games, and video game console if you want to do that. Combine one, two, or all of these features, or integrate it into TVs and it would sell much better.
It better have a Blu-ray player that allows import... DVD is so last decade.... and a 2T hard drive with USB3 external drive support to bolt more storage on... then I might buy it.... and yeah PVR for HD TV content
This sounds like a very pricey device... Not gonna happen.
most of this should be done in a device at about the same price. just has to be slightly larger, for hard drive.
the blu-ray could be added on a higher end model. so if people don't want BD, they don't have to get it.
Apple should add an Airport Extreme base station to the Apple TV and drop the price to $179, then kill Airport.
True but that also means that you are not the target market for Apple TV. SDTV marketshare can only decline so it makes little sense to add support for a format that's fading away rapidly..
Yes, but per my original post, Apple has limited their market by limiting the device to HDTVs. The problem is how long will it take for that market to fully develop. I would estimate that it might take 5 to 10 years to get rid of most SDTVs. That's a long time to wait for your market.
Appel TV is useful in countries where you can rent or buy movies and tv shows but in countries like Spain where you can't it's almost useless.
Thanks for realizing that not everyone who owns Apple products live in the US.
First version was great, but the lack of a DVD drive really put me off. I see no point in converting my DVD's and storing them on my computer when there already stored on a DVD. Especially when I find it nicer to look through a DVD rack rather than a boring list on a screen. To me a media center needs to allow me to do everything. The lack of real TV was also a concern.
Second/Third (not sure) version had a horrible interface change. This really put me off, as it's classic Apple "we decide what's best and you go along with it". I liked the old interface and it's part of why people would buy it. The current one has ad's for the latest rentals, yet this is meant to be a premium rate product!
As it stands Apple TV is way behind in my opinion. Games consoles are including subscription TV, even the Nintendo Wii has a BBC iPlayer channel on it now. Where's this for the UK audiance, BBC are putting it on any device that will accept it so it must be Apple not wanting it. To make it sell in the UK at least, I think it should have BBC iPlayer, Blueray drive, and either support for Freeview or Free Sat. That at least would bring it up to the level of other players in the market.
At the moment the only reason I can see to get one is for film rentals, but at it's current price it would just be a waste of money. I would be better off taking out a DVD rental subscription and hardly ever using it.
If they updated the time on a regular bases like their other products, I would have brought one by now.
No surprise that aTV isn't selling, there's no compelling reason to get it and there are competing boxes that offer much more.
I'd probably buy an aTV if it could stream Hulu, abc.com, netflix, and any other web video. I don't even really think dvd ripping (never gonna happen) or even other codec support is that important, on a new i7 machine handbrake can convert an hour show in about six minutes.
At this point, I'd consider something like a PS3 way before an aTV, it can do bluray (which doesn't interest me at all, but I'll probably get into it at some point just because I don't want to buy any more movies in DVD format), stream netflix, and play other video formats. Not to mention I hear it's not a bad game console, all for not much more than the aTV.
aTV isn't a bad hardware box, it just needs to be able to play back a ton more things. Or a price drop to like $99. Or both.
None of the airports have ever appealed to me, don't really get it.
No compelling reason to get it? How about having whole movie collection stored on your computer, like I have, but I really want to watch my collection in the lounge rather than my desk. There's a compelling reason for you!!!
Apple TV is a bit long on needing a vibrant upgrade. in my belief it needs
1- Larger hard drive 500gb+ option, also ability to add extra storage externally via USB, Firewire or ESata.
2- upgrade 1080p programming to hdtv
3- Open up the Apple TV - allow third party programs and developers, allow Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster, Vudu and others to stream/download content to the device.
4- Apple TV app store- have it be able to be used for alot more. let developers create games, apps and so much more for
5- Videoconferencing - add ability for people to add a cam, hell apple could make a cam. so people can do video calls not just on their computer. but allow it to be used not only with ichat/aol chats, ie Skype app to use it. and who knows. other corporate ways. let Cisco create a app to use on it.
6- Blu-Ray - it is long overdue for apple to support Blu-Ray properly. to be a proper computer company it can't block technology which "competes" with itunes. Mac OS X must be open, as should all of Apple's products. sad to see things end up being more closed and well restricted to what Apple approves only.
7- Bluetooth - have the ability to add alot of extra add on's via this great tech. from headsets, to keyboards and gaming controllers
8- USB port fully functional - if you can add a camera, and external mic and more... why stop there... allow companies to add all sorts of extra devices and be able to build out a properly functional media center / computer apple tv.
9- full internet capability - yes, all my thoughts about making Apple tv capable require full internet capabilities and the ability for it to do oh so much more.
I would be alot happier if i could use my apple tv as a place for all the blu-Ray digital copies i have or maybe even a place to store movies i buy from apple itunes movie store. but do NOT want to keep on my laptop because it would take up too much room in my laptop. or even desktop.
Anyway, it would be awesome to really make more of this device as a proper home media center and computing entertainment center.
All of this is so sensible, and yet so obvious, so it boggles the mind why Apple have barely touched the Apple TV in years.
Where I live in the UK all the major networks now have on demand streaming services, and some (particularly the 'iPlayer' service from the BBC) are on many devices now, such as the PS3, Wii, iPhone (web app), cable PVRs etc. But the Apple TV, which would be a perfect platform to support it, only has an internet radio option. It's pathetic.
Apple need only look at the revews on iTunes for TV shows here to see the same type of comments over and over - "why buy this from iTunes when it's free on iPlayer etc".
It's time Apple, time to venture into the living room for real.
No compelling reason to get it? How about having whole movie collection stored on your computer, like I have, but I really want to watch my collection in the lounge rather than my desk. There's a compelling reason for you!!!
If that's all you want to do, a PS3, Xbox 360, or any one of the numerous streaming devices from Popcorn, Western Digital etc would do the same, and in 1080p.
I have a PS3 and although it can see videos stored on my NAS, it has issues with lots of codecs.
About 30% of the time, I have no choice but to watch whatever it is on my computer instead of the big screen :-|
Plus, the PS3 has a huuuge clunky remote, whereas the Apple Remote is so great.
There are many free tools to easily convert video to PS3 friendly formats. Try MKV2VOB and XVID4PSP (don't let the name put you off) for starters.
Along with the wireless keyboard and mouse and the fact that the remote works with it as well and front row does wonderful with my Itunes content and it plays DVDs and Sirius and so much more.
To me there isn't enough differentiation between the TV and Mini in terms of price to justify the limited feature set of the TV