Apple is shipping its long-awaited AppleTV today, and from everything that I’ve read, instead of being the final step in getting computer video to the TV, it’s actually a huge disappointment in that regard.
Rather than taking this opportunity to seize what is still a wide-open market, Apple has instead opted to go after a narrow market share: the people who have downloaded videos, etc over iTunes. That’s it.
While people whose entire existence is defined by what Apple puts out in its stores will be happy; those of us who love Apple’s technology and design and would like to use that acumen to access the whole wide world of internet video will be disappointed.
The example that everybody will use, of course, is YouTube; but that’s just part of it. I want a set-top device that will let me watch the Battlestar Galactica deleted scenes on Sci-Fi and the Star Trek: New Voyages episodes and the digitization of a VHS tape of kittens wrestling that we taped in 1986. So while I don’t get as nervous in the the iTunes store as others, I don’t want a box that limits me to the content deals that Apple has made.
What I want — and I doubt that I’m alone here — is a single box that will let me play any type of digital video on my TV whenever I want. Which, come to think of it, I actually have right now, since I’ve repurposed an old laptop to do just that, but that has different issues — most specifically the lack of an actual remote control and the fact that it’s using S-Video and RCA cables to connect.
So I am totally willing to invest in a device that combines all of these features:
- Any type of digital video — which means that it needs to be able to see a list of videos on my network, as well as access web pages.
- Digital outputs to the TV & Receiver (but also lower-tech outputs for backwards compatibility).
- Ease of user interface. It should be able to be controlled via mouse and keyboard and/or a remote.
But AppleTV: not so much that device. Too bad. What a missed opportunity!
The device you seek is already here and has been for YEARS, it’s called a Modded Xbox running Xbox Media Center, it allows for moving movies and TV shows to the xbox hard drive, streaming things off your PC or Mac network, and even showing pictures, surfing the web, and hundreds of other great things.
Kelvington, that may be the case but the average consumer doesn’t want to spend $300+ on a device then have to mod it themselves (potentially voiding the warranty). There’s a real opening for Microsoft to release the product Apple hasn’t released. If not, Apple might just beat Microsoft at their own game (getting it right in the second release).
I agree with Jim on this one. I don’t think this was completely thought out, unless the intent by Apple was to show the content providers this really nifty device and then the deals would start to flow. I guess that remains to be seen.
My other concern is legacy storage. If I download a movie off iTunes today, but I want to keep it and watch it in 5 years, why can’t I burn it to a DVD? These videos take up space, and until the terabyte is the size of an iPod, it requires too many extra devices.
I get the feeling that Apple is taking the iPod approach with Apple TV. They’re focusing on user experience and ease of use. I haven’t seen a single positive review from a serious technology website, as their audience wants a broad range of capabilities. But my guess is that Apple isn’t going after that demographic. By starting out with a narrow focus and keeping things simple, Apple may be able to entice a lot of folks who would be turned off by a more capable but more complex offering.
I would be surprised if the feature set of Apple TV stays static for long, but I also don’t see them offering the vast panopoly of features TV geeks clamor for. Adding features adds complexity and makes it tougher to sell to the millions of average consumers Apple is targeting.
Hee. I’m a TV Geek! Erik, that’s a very interesting point.
But I wonder that in this day and age, wouldn’t at least DVR capabilities be part of the mix for what the non-early-adopters would want? I
Don’t forget you can watch podcasts on it…
and with CastCluster you can watch files on your local disk or on youtube:
http://castcluster.blogspot.com/
still in development…