iCloud seen as further evidence of Apple television coming late 2012

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  • Reply 21 of 107
    pendergastpendergast Posts: 1,358member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Shaun, UK View Post


    It's would be simpler to make the AppleTV another device in the iCloud ecosystem so you could download music/movies/photos/games from your iCloud onto the AppleTV box, rather than having to play them from an iPod/iPad/iPhone. Make AppleTV more of a home media server with hard drive again for local content and internet connection for streaming content. Replace your DVD and Cable box.



    No, don't add an HDD. Just allow streaming content to the AppleTV from iCloud, much like AppleTV currently streams everything else. Don't make it the centerpiece, make it the conduit to your media.



    The centerpiece is the cloud.
  • Reply 22 of 107
    originalgoriginalg Posts: 383member
    I don't think Apple needs to make their own TV to get into this market. Apple TV can go a lot further than where it is now, they just need to get the piece of the puzzle to get the momentum going.



    I think this piece is going to be gaming. I've had this idea ever since the latest black boxed ATV came out since it runs iOS, but I'm not a game dev. If ATV can be powerful enough to act has a host 'console' like device for casual gaming, this can get momentum going. Here's the idea: I have an ATV and I can host a game. My example would be Hungry Hungry Hippos (you can look up this game if you don't remember it from your childhood ) Now when ever any of my friends come over with an iDevice, those devices can act as controllers. The point of the game is to be a hippo and run around to eat as many things as possible. You can use the accelerometer for controls, and the display can show your current score, plus an eat button. All the player's hippos will be displayed on the TV, you play in timed rounds, etc. You can even have special power-up that you can invoke from your iDevice screen, etc.



    It's a simple concept, but this is something along the line of what Apple can do. It gets all owners deeper into the eco-system, drives more sales of iDevices since they're required if you want to play too, can be really cost-effective to get going (most people have an iDevice an a $100 ATV is cheaper than a Wii) and you can have lots of people playing. Once you get the ATV in the living room, you can also push the 'no more need for cable providers, use our service' mentality instead. This starts with the younger generation as they're always willing to go with newer technology.



    Thoughts?
  • Reply 23 of 107
    pmzpmz Posts: 3,433member
    Gene Miss the boat entirely, please explain to me how it makes sense for Apple to build a television screen?



    -They accomplish everything necessary through the AppleTV box, which can be updated every year with new hardware/features, and people will actually BUY IT.



    -Why would anyone ever buy a massively overpriced Apple television screen? It's just a screen, and most it can be is 1080p with a frigging webcam. Stupid!



    -let's see, $5,000 for an Apple 50" Display (with internals that will be obsolete/refreshed in 12 months, LOL)



    Or



    $900 for a normal tv that's just as good + $99 for AppleTV.



    Hmm, not sure which I'd go for, Gene. It's not like its the dumbest frigging thing I've ever heard...oh wait, yes it is.



    What a moron.
  • Reply 24 of 107
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by troehl View Post


    The key to me is the integration and the simplicity of using a single remote. [...] if Apple were to offer an app store you would want to be able to hit a button on your remote to pop up a list of available apps and switch between them no matter what TV source you are watching and without having to juggle a handful of remotes!



    That's the problem as I see it and why I think Apple has described it as a hobby up until now. To get that kind of integration they either need to get inside a cable box or inside the TV.



    We know it isn't going to be the cable box, so it must be the TV.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Pendergast View Post


    Monitors don't typically range in size the ways TVs do.



    It would make more sense for Apple to continue to sell the AppleTV and possible license the tech to OEMs, then sell popular models in the Apple Store.



    Apple doesn't license their tech.
  • Reply 25 of 107
    It is Vizio. Wholly owned. Beautiful sets, Bluetooth enabled. 98 button control which can be easily duplicated with Apple Remote with existing Vizio software. Only thing missing from current internet offerings is the Apple TV button. Ex Apple engineers.
  • Reply 26 of 107
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Pendergast View Post


    The centerpiece is the cloud.



    Not for me, it won't ever be. Keep that as a feature, not a requirement.
  • Reply 27 of 107
    The removal of Front Row from Mac OS X Lion is another evidence of Apple TV.



    If Apple wants to enter the TV market, they need to reinvent it. And the most critical piece to reinvent is the remote control.



    So Apple may innovate a little with the screen itself, but what must be completely new is the remote control system. Maybe something along the lines of the Wii U?
  • Reply 28 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post


    Please, some one answer me what an Apple-branded TV would do which my current HDTV and AppleTV couldn't do?



    facetime
  • Reply 29 of 107
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OllieWallieWhiskers View Post


    facetime



    You really want people talking to you when you're cocked back in your La-Z-Boy, a gallon of Cheetos powder down your front, pants hanging open?



    Okay.
  • Reply 30 of 107
    pokepoke Posts: 506member
    The main problem with the Apple HDTV idea is that people don't update their TVs that often. If Apple releases an A5-based HDTV with an App Store this year, then developers (and Apple) will be stuck supporting it for the next 10 years. Your phone and tablet, which you update more frequently, will have a better processor than your TV. It makes no sense. With the $99 Apple TV you can update every year for the best experience.
  • Reply 31 of 107
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    The more I think about it there are several ways Apple could go with making an actual television.



    The Trial Balloon: They could make a low volume device to see if consumers were interested in the idea of an integrated solution. This would include quite a lot of tech, and make insignificant profits, but might be a springboard on to something else.



    The Luxury Market: They could compete directly with B&O for the luxury end of the TV market. This would entail selling a fairly vanilla TV product, with integrated ATV perhaps, but with focus on a really beautiful encasement.



    The iOS invasion: A full blown wifi iOS TV that uses either an iPhone, an iPad, an iPodTouch or a cheap dedicated touch panel remote to control it. This would be a mass market product with relatively small margins, but designed to get iOS into the home in a big way.



    If Apple's aim is defensive here than they'd go either the first or second route. If they are going disruptive then they'd go with option 3.
  • Reply 32 of 107
    jasenj1jasenj1 Posts: 923member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by troehl View Post


    The problem with Apple TV is that it is yet another device that needs to be connected to your home theater and adds yet another remote that you need to be manage. I know that in my system if I want to watch a movie on my Apple TV it takes me three remotes to get everything set up right. And all those iOS devices out there that support AirPlay have the same problem... if I send a movie from my iPad to my Apple TV I still have to use those three remotes to get everything set up right before I'll see it.



    You need one of these.



    I think it's been well established before that the TV market is commoditized with thin margins. Not the kind of market Apple plays in - but the same could be said for the Windows PC market, but Apple still makes lots of money on Macs.



    Another problem I have with an Apple TV is that the TV is frequently just a display device connected to a much larger home theater system - at least at the high-end, which is where Apple likes to play. Receiver, amps, Blu-ray, game systems, lots of different speakers, etc. And all of those have multiple products that people like for different reasons. Yes, an Apple branded TV with aTV built in could be a decent television. But there's no way Apple is going to manufacture their own panels, and all the panel makers sell their own TVs.



    The one angle I see this making any sense is the "if you're serious about software you make your own hardware" mantra. Apple could control the entire UI for the TV and content on the TV. Integrated iTunes with a NetFlix like subscription plan could put a serious hurt on NetFlix. Toss in the powerful hardware iOS has coupled with games and you could have a contender.



    But I really don't see why they'd bother. An HDMI connector from an aTV is not that hard. And displays last far longer than computer CPUs. But the same argument has been made about the iMac, and look how long it took Apple to release the Mac mini.



    - Jasen.
  • Reply 33 of 107
    Apple will make a TV with zero inputs & one optical audio output. and it will be glorious.

    bring it home, plug in the power, plug in the audio, turn it on, enter your appleid/password, done.
  • Reply 34 of 107
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by poke View Post


    The main problem with the Apple HDTV idea is that people don't update their TVs that often. If Apple releases an A5-based HDTV with an App Store this year, then developers (and Apple) will be stuck supporting it for the next 10 years. Your phone and tablet, which you update more frequently, will have a better processor than your TV. It makes no sense. With the $99 Apple TV you can update every year for the best experience.



    Yes, but there's a fundamental difference between a TV and an iPad, which is that the TV isn't a portable device so it doesn't have to be power efficient in the same way. It would be fairly easy for them to throw in enough CPU/GPU to still be viable in 10 years time- after all the PS3 is still more powerful than an iPhone.
  • Reply 35 of 107
    Apple may add some software innovation to the TV but what about hardware? Sure I want all my iOS devices working seamlessly, imagine looking at a website or a video on your iPad and then wirelessly beaming it to your TV to share with others. You could even have apps designed just for iTV and iPad/iPhone. For example, ESPN can make an app that knows what sports event you watching and automatically give you all the stats on your iPad. We could even have our guides/DVR on our iPads so we don't have to pull it up over our current show we watching... There are endless possibilities that can be done with the software part here, but I still want Apple to bring something to the hardware of todays TVs.



    I have the 58' Panasonic Viera 3D TV that had the best 2D HD picture of 2010, now I am not gonna sell that and buy an Apple branded TV unless the TV has some bad ass features. Using Samsung components and just throwing in software and Apple logo won't do it for me. Plus I don't want to go below 50' anymore.



    We'll just have to wait and see.
  • Reply 36 of 107
    richysrichys Posts: 160member
    It would be far easier if Apple just licensed AirPlay (with video) to a bunch of TV manufacturers.



    That way, anyone with an iDevice gets to show whatever content (including apps -- see Real Racing) from the iTunes/iCloud ecosystem on their TV.



    Apple get cash with almost zero risk. Apple sell more iDevices. TV makers get a little sprinkling of fairy dust. Everyone a winner!
  • Reply 37 of 107
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    You really want people talking to you when you're cocked back in your La-Z-Boy, a gallon of Cheetos powder down your front, pants hanging open?



    Okay.



    Thanks. Now our non-US members have an even more repulsive stereotypical image of Americans.
  • Reply 38 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    Thanks. Now our non-US members have an even more repulsive stereotypical image of Americans.



    how do you know he's american?
  • Reply 39 of 107
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jasenj1 View Post


    I think it's been well established before that the TV market is commoditized with thin margins. Not the kind of market Apple plays in - but the same could be said for the Windows PC market, but Apple still makes lots of money on Macs.



    Even if Apple decided that they couldn't achieve large margins in the TV market they might still choose to enter it, if they felt it was supporting another market in which they do. Consider the iTunes store, margins there are tiny, but Apple puts a lot of effort into it because it supports their iPods/iPads/iPhones. Or their application software like Pages - again not big profit centre for them, but it supports their Mac sales.



    So if they had a plan by which an HDTV would help entrench iPad/iPhone in the consumer market they might do it, even if it was expected to only break-even.



    Quote:

    But there's no way Apple is going to manufacture their own panels, and all the panel makers sell their own TVs.



    Yes but not all TV makers build their own panels. I don't think Apple would find it hard to get a supplier for high quality TV panels, any more than it has a problem getting suppliers for phone or tablet or laptop or desktop.



    Quote:

    But I really don't see why they'd bother.



    The main reason to my mind why they might bother is if they think that the consumer PC market is doomed the way that they saw that long term the dedicated mp3 player market was doomed. If smart TVs are destined to replace desktop PCs in the home then it makes sense for them to get into that market and cannibalize themselves, rather than let somebody else do it.
  • Reply 40 of 107
    brutus009brutus009 Posts: 356member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    You really want people talking to you when you're cocked back in your La-Z-Boy, a gallon of Cheetos powder down your front, pants hanging open?



    Okay.



    Have you seen idiocracy?

    Seriously, seamless facetime in your living room is the first excellent reason I have heard for an Apple TV.



    Also, the comment about reinventing the remote is probably dead on. That's where we need innovation.
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