Wher is the obvious iPod companion
So where is my home stereo iPod with an iPod style remote, a CD Drive and coming in at 40, 60, and 80gb levels. Give it an Aqua-style TV interface, some sexy white lucite casing, and AirPort serving capability and you are set. Forget heavy duty processing power, just make it enough to serve out MP3s.
Tarun
Tarun
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But if Apple were to make a home entertainment device, would it be just for Audio? Why not add Tivo-like functionally and a DVD recorder?
It would be an all-in-one COMPLETE home entertainment system which you could sync, control, and program with your Mac.
Sure beats having to buy a separate DVD player, surround sound stereo, and Tivo. The device would save space and do cool things like audio streaming, although it would cost money.
Most of what you ask for is already present in a Mac, so why replicate it in a new box? That would complicate the construction and increase the cost.
It would be more elegant to keep the data on a Mac and only move stuff to the box. Kind of like how the Mac with iTunes is needed to store your library of music while only a portion of it actually moves to the iPod as you need it. Since the box would have a processor, the data could travel compressed so it wouldn't require as much bandwidth.
So I guess that doesn't answer your question at all.
An all-in-one entertainment system just sounds like something Apple should do. Apple likes to integrate and simplify things, and home entertainment systems could seriously use some Apple ease of use. You shouldn't have to fiddle with four different remotes in order to watch a movie. The TV, the Tivo, the Stereo, the DVD player need to be integrated, so they all just work together.
Computers do not make a entertainment systems redundant, them makes them more useful.
Imagine a device which could play music and broadcast audio (CD, MP3, SuperCD, DVD) to every computer in your house.
Wouldn't it be great if your Tivo could burn shows to a DVD or send them to your computer for permanent storage?
Wouldn't it be cool if you could create smart playlists of your favorite movies and sitcoms?
How many people won't find it useful to set a Tivo schedule with iCal?
There are dozens of ways in which a computer can enhance the value of an entertainment system. These are just some ideas. I could list more like the ability for parents to monitor TV access from the computer with the click of a button.
Apple could seriously do things with a home entertainment system that other vendors like Sony can only dream of.
<strong>The problem is few people want to use their PC as a DVD player or a Tivo. A PC is out of place next to a television and couldn't fit in many cabinets.
An all-in-one entertainment system just sounds like something Apple should do. Apple likes to integrate and simplify things, and home entertainment systems could seriously use some Apple ease of use. You shouldn't have to fiddle with four different remotes in order to watch a movie. The TV, the Tivo, the Stereo, the DVD player need to be integrated, so they all just work together.
Computers do not make a entertainment systems redundant, them makes them more useful.
Imagine a device which could play music and broadcast audio (CD, MP3, SuperCD, DVD) to every computer in your house.
Wouldn't it be great if your Tivo could burn shows to a DVD or send them to your computer for permanent storage?
Wouldn't it be cool if you could create smart playlists of your favorite movies and sitcoms?
How many people won't find it useful to set a Tivo schedule with iCal?
There are dozens of ways in which a computer can enhance the value of an entertainment system. These are just some ideas. I could list more like the ability for parents to monitor TV access from the computer with the click of a button.
Apple could seriously do things with a home entertainment system that other vendors like Sony can only dream of.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I think you're right, but I can't see them releasing anything of this nature. It seems to me that there is no clear 'need' to be addressed.
People aren't really sure what they want. Unlike the iPod which addresses a clear and simple issue, people want to take their music with them.