Comments on: Tuning in to Apple TV 3.0

By: I Pee Freely

I Pee Freely — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:42:53 +0000

All these comments saying oh it does not need this it does not need that. Philip Elmer-DeWitt is spot on the money here people. Listen up! If it had all these features, I like you would be lining up in droves to get one of these bad boys…. Bring it on!!

By: kawa, Warsaw, Poland

kawa, Warsaw, Poland — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 08:45:08 +0000

Apple will never add Blue-Ray Drive to AppleTV. Apple wants you to buy your movies in iTunes.

By: Ralph, Seattle, WA

Ralph, Seattle, WA — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:18:21 +0000

@ Justin, St. Paul, MN stated "ATV should be able to download my podcasts automatically since it’s online all the time." No need to download, Justin because podcasts are immediately available on demand on Apple TV via streaming.

By: Alan, Syracuse, NY

Alan, Syracuse, NY — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:13:49 +0000

@ Mother, Germantown, MD wrote: "It seems odd to think that people who are currently watching TV over the air, a clearly low tech approach…"

Anything but, Mother: The quality of over-the-air HDTV clearly exceeds that of satellite or cable signals. Get that antenna back up!

By: Don, Toronto, ON

Don, Toronto, ON — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:06:18 +0000

@ Emmy, Germantown, TN wrote: "I don’t have much use for the AppleTV as it currently stands." Do you rent movies? Do you take digital pictures? Do you ever watch YouTube videos or video podcasts? Have you ever missed an episode of a favorite TV show? If so, you have more use for Apple TV than you realize…

By: Don, Toronto, ON

Don, Toronto, ON — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:02:23 +0000

@Alex NY NY: You wrote that "[ independent and foreign films ] is where netflix is still hard to beat and more convenient." Hard to beat the variety, perhaps but nothing is more convenient than movie rentals via Apple TV. If you have a broadband connection even HD movies (with true multi-channel audio) are viewable just a few minutes after pressing "OK".

You also stated that "if you 'rent' a movie trough iTunes, you need of watching within a short time lap before it expire." Not true–you have up to 30 days to begin watching the rental. Once you start, you have 24 hours (or 48 hours in Canada and the UK) to finish watching it. If you simply pause the movie, you can resume watching it at any time, even months later.

Finally, you mentioned that, "with net flix you can get 3 blue ray movies at the time for 13.99." HD rentals from Apple TV are $4.99, just 33 cents more than the Netflix offer you mentioned and you don't have to rent multiple movies to get that price.

By: Justin, St. Paul, MN

Justin, St. Paul, MN — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:33:29 +0000

I am a huge Apple fan, and I own an Apple TV 2. I enjoy the high quality video output, the fact that I was able to rip all of my DVD collection to Apple TV (albeit using Handbrake and not an Apple product), etc. However, I would argue that Apple TV will not be practical for most consumers until it provides the following features out-of-box, with no hacking required:

1) ATV should be able to download my podcasts automatically since it's online all the time

2) ATV needs a bigger hard drive (500gb or 1tb) so it can store more movie files and perhaps also function as a backup device like Time Capsule

3) ATV needs to support more file formats

4) I do NOT believe ATV needs to include a DVD or Blu-ray player because for most of us who buy a shiny, expensive tech toy like ATV, physical media was dead a long time ago

5) Most importantly, Apple NEEDS to include an IPTV application like Joost out of the box. Some may argue that offering free content on the ATV will cause Apple to lose money from iTunes sales. I strongly disagree. I would argue that with the inclusion of a free IPTV service like Joost, sales of the ATV hardware itself will increase dramatically and offset any losses from iTunes. Since applications like Joost offer on-demand (but limited) TV programming, users would still turn to iTunes to purchase music, rent/buy movies, and perhaps still rent their favorite shows. I have already hacked my ATV and have Joost running on it, and consequently I was able to get rid of my cable TV subscription. I watch programs on Joost a lot of the time, but also rent movies through iTunes. If Apple were serious about ATV, they would realize that this model makes business sense and incorporate free IPTV on their device.

By: Mother, Germantown, MD

Mother, Germantown, MD — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:26:19 +0000

It seems odd to think that people who are currently watching TV over the air, a clearly low tech approach, are going to jump from that to Apple TV, a high tech approach. I do not see that demographic driving sales of Apple TV

By: Emmy, Germantown, TN

Emmy, Germantown, TN — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:42:30 +0000

If Apple added an HD DVR I'd be the first person in line to buy one (or maybe I'd buy three). I don't have much use for the AppleTV as it currently stands, unfortunately. Add a DVR and it becomes one of the most used electronic devices in my house as soon as it's installed.

Tivo and the Cable-Sat Companies need some real competition. They jerk customers around with inferior product quality, stupid navigation and menu interface tangles, and most of all, moronic hardware and software feature omissions that blatantly demonstrate their butt-kissing of media corps.

Apple could easily design a superior product all the way around. Blindfolded. With one hand tied behind their backs.

By: CranHead, Waterloo, ON

CranHead, Waterloo, ON — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:48:23 +0000

This is actually what I was calling for after hearing the last conference call. What was the new product that would drive down margins so much and be an revision of an existing product? They have no reason to drastically kill iPod margins to the extent required for match the guidance. They referred to early product cycles with high prices but followed with reduced margin as time progressed. They still referred to ATV as a hobby, but how long would Apple keep playing with a 'hobby? They only hobby until they learn enough or the market is ready enough for the big move. The margin will be razor thin here but worthwhile as moving into the living room will have a tremendous halo effect. There will be features that make having a Mac, iPod, or iPhone great with the new ATV. Apple will touch so many new homes that doors will open for all their products!

Only problem is I've been convinced by others this isn't for Sept! Well, if not now, I guess I can wait until January. You can't have world domination in a day.