I've never owned an Apple TV, but have always loved the Apple TV 2G. I just was always waiting for a better remote (maybe Siri for 3G?) because typing things on that remote takes FOREVER!
The ATV remote app for iOS makes typing things easy. I honestly don't use it that often, but it does work quite well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaun, UK
What we need is some kind of zip technology which compresses the HD film into a very small file that you unzip once downloaded before playing it.
That's what MP4 already is. It's a highly compressed/optimized video format. You can't really compress an MP4 file any more without degrading the video quality.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaun, UK
Or Apple could do a deal with the film studios to add an iTunes copy to each BluRay disk so you can easily rip it into your iTunes library like you can for CDs now.
My problem with that would be that they'd probably compress the PQ more than I'd like. FWIW, an ATV2 is already capable of playing back full-bitrate Blu-ray movies (20GB+ filesize). You need to do it via XBMC (for whatever reason, the video player running under the native ATV2 iOS doesn't perform as well), and you're still limited to 720p output, but the ATV2's A4 chip is already quite capable of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Entropys
You know what would make the apple tv box a super duper device? A matching external HDD that hardly uses any power and can be the iTunes server hub for the household.
I think this is the next logical progression of the AirPort Extreme and TimeCapsule boxes. Put iOS inside those things and an iTunes server.
I'd like them to take it a step further and add support for the HDHomeRun Prime (ethernet connected CableCard tuner) and add DVR functionality as well, where you'd pull up your program guide on your iPhone, iPad, or ATV, but the actual scheduling/recording would occur on the AirPort Extreme/TimeCapsule. TV shows would be recorded directly as MP4 files, so no further conversion would be required to play them back on any of your iOS devices. I'm not holding my breath for this, though, since they likely see TV show rentals/purchases via their iTunes store as their preferred method of dealing with this. But let's face it, if you want to watch live TV (and for something like the Superbowl, that needs to be done live), that's a lot of bandwidth needed to deliver that sort of experience to a lot of people around the country simultaneously, so HDHomeRun Prime / DVR support would be wonderful.
Combine that with a next-gen ATV3 with an updated remote with Siri mic built-in and an optional wireless game controller, and they will have an awesome product.
Well I wasn't saying I'm the rule Shakespeare. I was just stating my Internet speeds :P
Some people that live 20 minutes out of my town don't even have access to high speed internet and have to buy those USB 3G hubs (like Verizon fios) just to get fast Internet. Which is ridiculously because most of those plans have data caps. I get 500GB bandwidth with my ISP, these people might get a couple of gigs.
Does anyone else think that the future Apple TV is in plain sight? in the promo pics embedded in this article? Think of it - I don't recall Apple featuring 3rd party products in its promos.
Best Buy actually made headlines about an Apple television set earlier this month when a speculative customer survey was leaked because it contained references to a 42-inch iOS-based HDTV from Apple. The company responded by pointing out that the survey was a "routine offer effectiveness survey" conducted by a research partner and was strictly hypothetical.
No ATV is punishment for the above.
I expect an ATV update as content or one more thing on March 6.
Well I wasn't saying I'm the rule Shakespeare. I was just stating my Internet speeds :P
Some people that live 20 minutes out of my town don't even have access to high speed internet and have to buy those USB 3G hubs (like Verizon fios) just to get fast Internet. Which is ridiculously because most of those plans have data caps. I get 500GB bandwidth with my ISP, these people might get a couple of gigs.
I somehow have survived on about 12GB per month on iPhone 4/4S 3G tethering. Phone company came on Wednesday and hooked up the land line, hopefully ADSL2+ by Wednesday next week. Long story, but crossing my fingers it will go through this time, it should because it's under the telco's business side rather than consumer. Work is also footing the setup and ongoing bill, so it's a silver lining to the cloud of not being able to get DSL a few months ago.
We'll see. The exchange is about a three minute walk away, so I'm looking forward to at least 5mbps. In various suburbs where I am now, home DSL seems to be pretty decent. I get 250GB on the work plan... Still trying to wrap my head around recreational use of that data that wouldn't involve me not leaving the house.
I actually went to buy another one at Best Buy with some gift cards after Christmas and they were out and I got the feeling this was about to happen and held off ... Phew! I just hope there will be a replacement and this isn't and end of life situation just prior to an iTV!
Well I wasn't saying I'm the rule Shakespeare. I was just stating my Internet speeds :P
Some people that live 20 minutes out of my town don't even have access to high speed internet and have to buy those USB 3G hubs (like Verizon fios) just to get fast Internet. Which is ridiculously because most of those plans have data caps. I get 500GB bandwidth with my ISP, these people might get a couple of gigs.
I am assuming you are not in the USA. Who is your ISP? I like my FiOS 25-30 Mb/s up and down but I'd love even more
Anyone think that new iTV could be used to control apps (incl games) back at another desktop or laptop?
1. via keyboard, controller or magic pad from living room back to Imac in den?
2. I like the iTunes server idea put forth....expand that to document server....run MS office from livingroom....use siri to dictate to MS Word
3. run ios game-shell on desktop mac....so you could play games already stored in iTunes right on big screen tv from the living room? (Read run mac games on Imac, run ios games on iTV directly, all from a controller in your living room...
I have a bet with my son about the iTV becoming the next great game console. 1080p seals the deal in my mind.....all you need is full games to take advantage of retina display and 1080p and Nintendo/Sony/MS could have another competitor.....
Does anyone else think that the future Apple TV is in plain sight? in the promo pics embedded in this article? Think of it - I don't recall Apple featuring 3rd party products in its promos.
Not in the slightest. This is an entirely Photoshop creation. Apple has ALWAYS shown a generic "television" on their Apple TV and Mac Mini pages. This is absolutely not indicative of anything.
Not in the slightest. This is an entirely Photoshop creation. Apple has ALWAYS shown a generic "television" on their Apple TV and Mac Mini pages. This is absolutely not indicative of anything.
Apple. But again, it's meaningless.
Thank you. I was wondering when someone would say this. Must be a lot of new people here today.
I wouldn't mind an extra couple of buttons on the remote for the new TV, though..... the current one, while very zen, is a tad too minimalist. The truth is probably somewhere between the cluttered mess that everyone else puts out and what Apple currently has.
Best Buy Canada is also sold out, and Future Shop (a major electronics chain here in Canada) showed one aTV in stock. That's pretty indicative of a new model coming soon.
Like others here, I haven't bought an aTV (I've always used a Mac mini) but will likely buy the 3rd generation for what it'll probably do, especially since we know MacOS 8 offers AirPlay streaming at the OS level.
Comments
Can't rule out an 'actual' set though...
Jobs dream about being 'Sony' one day have just about come to pass.
Can't wait to see how how this pans out. But I'll be picking up an iPad3 and an ATV3 regardless. Should rock on my 50 inch Panasonic.
Lemon Bon Bon.
I've never owned an Apple TV, but have always loved the Apple TV 2G. I just was always waiting for a better remote (maybe Siri for 3G?) because typing things on that remote takes FOREVER!
The ATV remote app for iOS makes typing things easy. I honestly don't use it that often, but it does work quite well.
What we need is some kind of zip technology which compresses the HD film into a very small file that you unzip once downloaded before playing it.
That's what MP4 already is. It's a highly compressed/optimized video format. You can't really compress an MP4 file any more without degrading the video quality.
Or Apple could do a deal with the film studios to add an iTunes copy to each BluRay disk so you can easily rip it into your iTunes library like you can for CDs now.
My problem with that would be that they'd probably compress the PQ more than I'd like. FWIW, an ATV2 is already capable of playing back full-bitrate Blu-ray movies (20GB+ filesize). You need to do it via XBMC (for whatever reason, the video player running under the native ATV2 iOS doesn't perform as well), and you're still limited to 720p output, but the ATV2's A4 chip is already quite capable of it.
You know what would make the apple tv box a super duper device? A matching external HDD that hardly uses any power and can be the iTunes server hub for the household.
I think this is the next logical progression of the AirPort Extreme and TimeCapsule boxes. Put iOS inside those things and an iTunes server.
I'd like them to take it a step further and add support for the HDHomeRun Prime (ethernet connected CableCard tuner) and add DVR functionality as well, where you'd pull up your program guide on your iPhone, iPad, or ATV, but the actual scheduling/recording would occur on the AirPort Extreme/TimeCapsule. TV shows would be recorded directly as MP4 files, so no further conversion would be required to play them back on any of your iOS devices. I'm not holding my breath for this, though, since they likely see TV show rentals/purchases via their iTunes store as their preferred method of dealing with this. But let's face it, if you want to watch live TV (and for something like the Superbowl, that needs to be done live), that's a lot of bandwidth needed to deliver that sort of experience to a lot of people around the country simultaneously, so HDHomeRun Prime / DVR support would be wonderful.
Combine that with a next-gen ATV3 with an updated remote with Siri mic built-in and an optional wireless game controller, and they will have an awesome product.
That stinks. I definitely have the ability to stream 1080p files. I have 100mbps down with 5mbps upload.
You are the exception, not the rule. Congrats.
You are the exception, not the rule. Congrats.
Well I wasn't saying I'm the rule Shakespeare. I was just stating my Internet speeds :P
Some people that live 20 minutes out of my town don't even have access to high speed internet and have to buy those USB 3G hubs (like Verizon fios) just to get fast Internet. Which is ridiculously because most of those plans have data caps. I get 500GB bandwidth with my ISP, these people might get a couple of gigs.
Does anyone else think that the future Apple TV is in plain sight? in the promo pics embedded in this article? Think of it - I don't recall Apple featuring 3rd party products in its promos.
Are these pics from Apple or Best Buy?
Called the local Apple Store and they said they "won't be getting any until March 7th."
Hmmm, what other event might that coincide with.
Gonna be a big and hopefully great day!
Indeed. On March 7th, in my time zone, March 8th, Mass Effect 3 will be released. I will then play it addictively every chance I get.
Best Buy actually made headlines about an Apple television set earlier this month when a speculative customer survey was leaked because it contained references to a 42-inch iOS-based HDTV from Apple. The company responded by pointing out that the survey was a "routine offer effectiveness survey" conducted by a research partner and was strictly hypothetical.
No ATV is punishment for the above.
I expect an ATV update as content or one more thing on March 6.
Well I wasn't saying I'm the rule Shakespeare. I was just stating my Internet speeds :P
Some people that live 20 minutes out of my town don't even have access to high speed internet and have to buy those USB 3G hubs (like Verizon fios) just to get fast Internet. Which is ridiculously because most of those plans have data caps. I get 500GB bandwidth with my ISP, these people might get a couple of gigs.
I somehow have survived on about 12GB per month on iPhone 4/4S 3G tethering. Phone company came on Wednesday and hooked up the land line, hopefully ADSL2+ by Wednesday next week. Long story, but crossing my fingers it will go through this time, it should because it's under the telco's business side rather than consumer. Work is also footing the setup and ongoing bill, so it's a silver lining to the cloud of not being able to get DSL a few months ago.
We'll see. The exchange is about a three minute walk away, so I'm looking forward to at least 5mbps. In various suburbs where I am now, home DSL seems to be pretty decent. I get 250GB on the work plan... Still trying to wrap my head around recreational use of that data that wouldn't involve me not leaving the house.
Well I wasn't saying I'm the rule Shakespeare. I was just stating my Internet speeds :P
Some people that live 20 minutes out of my town don't even have access to high speed internet and have to buy those USB 3G hubs (like Verizon fios) just to get fast Internet. Which is ridiculously because most of those plans have data caps. I get 500GB bandwidth with my ISP, these people might get a couple of gigs.
I am assuming you are not in the USA. Who is your ISP? I like my FiOS 25-30 Mb/s up and down but I'd love even more
1. via keyboard, controller or magic pad from living room back to Imac in den?
2. I like the iTunes server idea put forth....expand that to document server....run MS office from livingroom....use siri to dictate to MS Word
3. run ios game-shell on desktop mac....so you could play games already stored in iTunes right on big screen tv from the living room? (Read run mac games on Imac, run ios games on iTV directly, all from a controller in your living room...
I have a bet with my son about the iTV becoming the next great game console. 1080p seals the deal in my mind.....all you need is full games to take advantage of retina display and 1080p and Nintendo/Sony/MS could have another competitor.....
Am I crazy?
Does anyone else think that the future Apple TV is in plain sight? in the promo pics embedded in this article? Think of it - I don't recall Apple featuring 3rd party products in its promos.
Not in the slightest. This is an entirely Photoshop creation. Apple has ALWAYS shown a generic "television" on their Apple TV and Mac Mini pages. This is absolutely not indicative of anything.
Are these pics from Apple or Best Buy?
Apple. But again, it's meaningless.
Are these pics from Apple or Best Buy?
These are from Apple. Check the Apple TV product page: http://www.apple.com/appletv/
Not in the slightest. This is an entirely Photoshop creation. Apple has ALWAYS shown a generic "television" on their Apple TV and Mac Mini pages. This is absolutely not indicative of anything.
Apple. But again, it's meaningless.
Thank you. I was wondering when someone would say this. Must be a lot of new people here today.
Apple TV is one of Apple's best kept secrets.
I completely agree. There is almost no electronics product that I can think of which has provided me and my family greater value for money.
A brilliant product, especially for its price.
Like others here, I haven't bought an aTV (I've always used a Mac mini) but will likely buy the 3rd generation for what it'll probably do, especially since we know MacOS 8 offers AirPlay streaming at the OS level.
…we know MacOS 8 offers AirPlay streaming at the OS level.
!!!
I better go crank up my LC II, then.