Apple survey prelude to Apple TV revamp?
Apple appears to be preparing to get serious about Apple TV.
Apple is fishing around for more information about how people are using their Apple TVs.
(Credit: CNET Networks)The company's link between the computer and the big-screen television has long been considered a "hobby" in the eyes of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, at least when viewed against major projects like the Mac, the iPod, and the iPhone. But signs have been growing that Apple is thinking about making a more significant investment behind Apple TV.
The most recent tip was a survey that Apple conducted online on Tuesday, which has since disappeared from the company's Web site although was captured by AppleInsider. In that survey, Apple asked Apple TV owners a number of questions about the sources of video they are watching on the device, as well as asking owners to describe the one thing they would change about the device.
Apple TV's shortcomings are well documented: it can't play DVDs, it can't connect to your cable or satellite service, and it doesn't have a browser for accessing the millions of Internet videos that can't be found on YouTube. But sales have nonetheless picked up in the year since Apple decided to open up the device to movie rentals through the iTunes Store, instead of requiring owners to purchase movies.
During Apple's last earnings conference call, COO Tim Cook noted that Apple TV sales in its first fiscal quarter were three times greater than the quarter a year ago, without breaking out the exact number, of course. But he also said "... let me be clear. We still consider this a hobby. It is clear that the movie rental business has really helped Apple TV and there are more and more customers that want to try it."
Connecting the television to the Internet and home networks in a simple manner is a dream that has eluded the tech industry for a very long time. More and more devices like the Apple TV and the Roku media player are taking a stab at this market with increasing interest from consumers, but no one seems to have hit on the magic combination of features, services and price just yet.
Once Apple gets the next big steps out of the way--the launch of Mac OS X Snow Leopard and a probable mid-year iPhone launch--tweaking the Apple TV might be a good strategy heading into the holiday season.
Last week, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster wrote that Apple is planning on adding TiVo-like DVR capabilities to a new version of Apple TV later this year, and Sanford Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi predicted Apple would find a way to incorporate the Tru2way software into a future Apple TV in order to let it communicate with cable networks. While the latter seems like a bit of a stretch--Apple often likes to go its own way when it comes to fledgling industry standards--opening up Apple TV to video sources other than just the iTunes Store and YouTube could make it a much more interesting device.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
Roku and other boxes are looking far more compelling to those who know them and they're getting great word-of-mouth. Oh, and they're cheap.
Also Boxee is still in alpha, I believe, and it allows you to stream your iTunes music, other television websites (i.e. Hulu, CBS.com, TheWB.com) as well as browse Flickr.
Granted, Apple TV looks sleeker, but it's far behind in the feature department.
?I think the whole category is still a hobby right now,? Jobs said, in response to an analysts question about Apple TV. ?I don?t think anyone has succeeded at it, and the experimentation has even slowed down lately. Some of the people who were doing some things in that area have sort of faded away.?
?Given the economic conditions and the VC funding outlook, I think it will continue to be a hobby in 2009,? added Jobs.
So is Jobs also an idiot?
??NOT?? It's really very easy. And you don't need an expensive box like the Apple TV. All you need is a $25 cable. It's a lot easier on a PC. Some Macs just don't have the proper connections. Maybe Apple likes it that way.
[CNET editor's note: Prohibited spam deleted.]
But guess what right now don't you kinga need a computer to even use the Apple TV, so zipity zap makes sense, you are retarded though. Don't be so quick to jump in and directly insult somebody unless you have something that actually makes sense. Just calm down
AppleTV today is exactly what it was intended to be. The DVD player of the future with some new media access built in too (podcasts and youtube). The only thing holding it back is better agreements with the studios and that appears to be coming together. Already the movie selection rivals any brick and mortar stores and the catalog is growing quickly.
I love my AppleTV!
It'll sure look a hell of alot better streaming movies over hdmi than my current s-video setup.
1. It is too expensive for what you get, particularly when you are going to be paying money to the iTunes Store to buy content for it.
2. Films are not available to rent for it quickly enough - they need to be inline with the likes of Blockbuster's stores.
3. Films that were available one day may not be available the next due to these bizarre "exclusivity" deals despite the fact that you can rent/buy them from a "bricks 'n' mortar" store.
I really am not bothered about the likes of DVR or DVD playback simply because I have devices that already do this quite nicely and therefore I don't want to pay for functionality that I already own. Rather I just want the AppleTV to do what it is meant to do better than anything else and at a reasonable price. It's just a shame that Apple won't let me tell them this because I haven't already bought an AppleTV.
My XBox streams Netflix to my 37" widesreen in HD.
My XBox streams from my Windows Homeserver
My XBox streams from my Windows Media Center 2005 (which is connected to a 52" widescreen)
I considered the AppleTV way before I considered the Xbox. But once I read reviews (in 2006) on what the Apple TV couldn't and still can't do, I built my Media Center. The Xbox was purchased later to allow a second TV to connect to the Media Center's content. Once the Media Center's content became seriously large, I built the Home Server (2.5 Terabytes of storage).
So if AppleTV would have been a blockbuster right from the start, think of all the time and money I would have spent on building a Mac-centered or Mac-themed home entertainment network. If Apple would have treated the video streaming idea less like a hobby, perhaps they would have sold more Macs to me as I supported my "hobby". The "hobby" attitude cost Apple thousands of my dollars (which went to Newegg & M$. No hard feelings Apple ;)
FYI...I own ZERO Xbox games, I bought it only to stream video. Now the Xbox fanboys can hate on me too!
Now, I'm not knocking what you've achieved, but there is something to be said for a single box at a single price allowing you to rent or buy movies/shows directly through your TV (as well as other types of media).
/
There is something to be said about a single device that does all of the above but that single box most certainly is not the Apple TV.
Yes, I've spent lots of money. All hardware and software were standard 'off the shelf' PC parts and M$ OS's. There weren't 'numerous upgrades' so to speak. Like I said in my post, if AppleTV had been able to do what the Xbox or Media Center can do, I would have went with AppleTV. Heck, I would have populated my whole house with AppleTVs if that were the case. But Apple and AppleTV fell short. So I live in a M$ house, because of AppleTV's shortcomings.
I agree with your comment about a single box solution. My Xbox is my single box for movies/tv via the internet. A PC is not needed for this function. My setup, with a server and Media Center PC, is to enhance the media available to my single box. Just like a Mac would be used to enhance an AppleTV streaming scenario.
- by Azzuro10 March 9, 2009 12:09 AM PDT
- You can buy a DVD player for peanuts, your TV or cable company has the tuner - so I don't think that needs to be changed. The only thing I would find useful about a DVD player is if it could rip your existing DVDs and store it - aghhh but thats illegal. The Apple TV hardware is all it really needs to be. The software needs to be updated to handle more media formats and its all about content and refining the robustness of its user interface and controls. I am not sure whether you can plug in a bigger hard-drive via its USB input - if it can, then i have no probs with its existing hard drive capacity either. But yes, extra USB inputs would also be nice - particularly at the front.
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