Apple to release iTV video streaming box in 2007
By Conrad Quilty-Harper 
posted September 12th 2006 2:14PM
posted September 12th 2006 2:14PM
posted September 12th 2006 2:14PM
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So Apple releases a set-top box that can play 75 downloadable movies at 640x480 resolution for $300.
Tell me where the exciting part of this is.
Needing XPMCE is pretty much the most frustrating part of the 360, because I can think of no good reason why they couldn't have patched the functionality into XP, as they did with mp3 and picture sharing.
As someone else mentioned, though, I'd much rather make a media pc. $300 for a shoddy PC, $200 for a bigger HD, "acquire" MCE, and I'd be good to go for barely much more than this.
Yeah, you'll be able to watch all those Disney new releases since Jobs was so arrogant he pissed off all the other studios. The only reason Disney hung in there was because Jobs was on the BOD.
Other Jason,
You are right and I am not too big of a fanboy to admit being wrong. I do own a 360 but not a media center pc. Unfortunately, a lot of other people don't either so either way, both companies are getting peoples money.
media center pc and an extender accomplishes all of this and since most vista versions have MCE built in, i can see nextgen extenders killing the iTV i mean only the 360 starts to take advantage of the new vista MCE.
Why pay for tv shows when you can just record them with the MCE?
Component video, or HDMI... What about crappy TV's that have only an RCA or Svideo input? No love for them?
me grimlock no happy. me grimlock smash itv. me grimlock want pvr capabilities. no like proprietary codecs. me grimlock not afford tivo series 3 HD.
HP has already in the market a 37" LCD HDTV with an integrated Digital media Receiver.
It allows you to stream photos, music, and HD TV from your PC to the TV. It has built-in ethernet, and IEEE 802.11a/b/g.
You can also connect directly to Internet services, such as Snapfish and Life365 without a PC.
Check out the SLC3760N MediaSmart TV.
Mosquito Control,
So what you're saying is, if you lie cheat and steal, you'll end up spending more money for a shoddy pc and hard drive, than if you bought the iTV.
I'm sold...
Also...
@DBX00
The iPod video does have a fast forward and rewind feature. Just click the select button and use the wheel to FF and RWD.
i think alot of people are not understaning what apple is trying to do. this is NOT ment to be a meadia center, like the xbox 360 is atteamting to be, itv is just a way to play all the content that you have within itunes on your tv, thats all. if i'm not mistaken this has been something people have been wanting ever since itunes added video. i know that there are lots of things you can purchace that will do this job but, like most things apple makes, your not buying it for what it dose but rather for how well it dose it.
Excuse me, but since when has mce, or any Microsoft solution for that matter, been able to record anything from Directv? Or for that matter, digital cable?
AFAIK, never.
Since I have directv, those tunercards are worthless. Which is exactly why Apple hasn't released a HTPC yet. Plus, why even bother with a $1000 HTPC when a tivo does a better job of dvr? Other than the geek-cred.
And to everyone bitching about Apple proprietary formats... wtf is wmv? Oh that's right, it's Microsoft's proprietary format. And since when does the iPod or iTunes require you to use DRMed AAC only? Oh that's right, NEVER.
fyi, since mpeg4 is largely based on quicktime, seems that Apple is the LESS proprietary format.
I love how anything from Apple is "proprietary" but anything from Microsoft (playsforsure, wmv, activex, msjava, etc.) somehow isn't. pfft.
Question: as a Mac owner who currently uses XBMC and a modded Xbox to stream downloaded video content from the computer to the HDTV, should I be excited about this?
Can I take a video that I download off of the net and import it into my iTunes library, which would then (in theory -- I know this product hasn't been released yet) let me stream it to the iTV? Let's assume said video was H.264 or could be converted to it fairly easily.
And yes, I have a 360 too, but Connect360 only lets you stream audio -- no video. If you aren't operating with the latest and greatest Windows XP Media Center thing-a-ma-jig then the Xbox 360, quite frankly, sucks as a media extender. It's pretty damned good at letting me play video game football, though. (go Eagles!)
This looks like that "asteroid" device that Apple went ballistic over when info was leaked...
Wasn't that about a year ago? Interesting to see Apple's development cycle for a new product.
As others have pointed out, ipodTV is just a wireless media extender. There's nothing special about it at all -- it merely connects to your IPod or existing Mac for content. It offers similar functionality that you can get with the Dlink DSM-320 for $150 cheaper.
It'll only start to make some sense as the ITunes Movie Store fills up... But even then, there's holes. I wanna be able to easily play clips from YouTube, Google Video, etc... Suppose there's probably neat integration with ITunes so you can watch / listen to your podcasts.
For a couple hundred more, you'd have more flexibility with a Mac Mini & front row... And yeah, add a tuner.
I was planning to do exactly this by pairing my iMac with the PS3 I plan to purchase. Create videos, burn movies on my imac to store on the PS3 hard drive and stream music, pictures etc... from the imac to the PS3 via wi-fi.
The iTV was preannounced because MORE people will be willing to buy movies from the iTunes store NOW than if they thought there would be no way for them to view it on their nice home theater system easily in the future.
Really, all announcing this box now does is ensure a higher adoption rate of movies via the iTunes store.
We won't know the final specs until Q1 2007. I expect there will be another surprise or two for us all in the final iTV announcement then.
I bought a DVI to HDMI cable for 15 bucks.
Search engines are a wonderful thing.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060105-5913.html
Well, if the optical audio out allowes for surround, and I can play near every video format on earth, then I'll consider the iTV. Looks nice though.
I'm wondering, could this new iPod functionality be added by firmware? Besides of course the brighter screen/better battery life.
Sure would like to be able to search.
It is a missing element in the Apple iPod empire but overall it's not something shocking. However it was necessarily to have something like this.
Their strength here is that for the totally technology absent minded person everything Apple's given them so far integrates seamlessly into their lives. Now with the iTV they don't need to know how to setup a home theater pc, or mod their old xbox to have xbmc(my personal choice), or get the invasive xbox360 and have a media center pc. Apple's stuff just seems to fit for them without any effort on their part. Technology has become integrated to where people don't think about it at all, but can instead focus on the benefits the technology provides.
I already pay over $1.99 per episode with cable (if I divide my cable-tv bill by the number of shows that I watch). Seriously, I could buy 20 complete 13-episode tv-series on iTunes for the cost of my cable tv subscription! This device is all I need to say bye-bye to cable-tv.
Season passes are $10 or more, right? So you're paying over $200 for cable? And I thought my cable bill was high.
@ rip
¨Excuse me, but since when has mce, or any Microsoft solution for that matter, been able to record anything from Directv? Or for that matter, digital cable?¨
I can do that on my media center laptop, its easy. I have NTL digital cable, it connects to my tv through, rca, scart or the old antena connection. I have rca, and antenna in, or i could get scart/svideo and use the svideo in.
I have a wire that has an infra red transmitter on the end, i change channel with the media center remote control and it sends the signal to the ntl digital set top box and changes the channel, I click record and it records. Its really as easy as pie and everything you need comes as standard with some laptops, qosmio for instance.
I dont have high def in connection, but i could still record the new high def channels, just in ordinary definition. High def and digital cable are two different things though, soon to become one i spose when enough people have the tvs.
If it's true that this will only play apple DRM videos then apple just missed a nice market. I have a 360 and Microsoft missed the bus. Instead they went for the jet engine...that's what I hear everytime I turn it on.
Why can't PC makers be concerned with the noise level of the products they make? I don't want to hear my PC or game console. It'd be relatively cheap for them to add the necessary heat pipes/silent & large fans to make this a reality.
Of course then you have Apple that's overly concerned with their products being quiet, and the result is the inadequately vented Macbook that will leave welts on your leg.
Okay... This whole thing has turned into a huge flamewar.
Most of the Apple people aren't realising that when they are bashing their US$300 iTV device against the PC (with either XP/MCE or Media Player 11, both work for this) and a XBox360 (also can be got for US$300), that they still need their Mac or PC to make it all work.
I really don't get what all you fanboys (on either side) get so blinded by. If your PC can play it through either MCE or MediaPlayer 11, you can play it through to your Xbox360 (and at lesser resolution on an old XBox as well). Therefore you don't need to pay to upgrade to MCE. You can just upgrade to MediaPlayer 11. The windows MediaConnect tool is a free download from MS.
Now the nice thing here comes for Apple users, who may not have PC's. Anything that can be played through quicktime (which excludes DRM'd WMV/WMA content at the moment, and several other DRM'd filetypes) can be played on the iTV, when streamed from your existing PC (running quicktime/iTunes) or from your Mac (running quicktime/iTunes). This is the SAME THING as the PC. Just with the Mac it will look "Cooler" and "Just Work".
You fanboys on both sides have got your heads screwed on way too tight. Take off your blinders and see that their or options on both sides (and to other directions too) that will allow all of this to be done. Each one has its losses (xbox + XP = no fairplay DRM'd stuff, iTV = no WMV/WMA DRM'd stuff) and each one has its bonuses (Massive amount of content source choices and CODEC's that work with XP pcs and MediaPlayer vs Smooth Intuitiveness and control of Apple)
Doubtful any of you will read this far that will actually listen to me. It is still worth a shot.
I think many have overlooked this product’s true features. WIRELESS. If you can wirelessly display the desktop of the PowerBook, it is worth every dollar. ..If it only extends the iTunes interface, it the cost is debatable, however people will be happy because it is wireless and may be easy to configure.
I doubt that I will buy all of my shows on iTunes, but someone made a good point. If I did buy all the shows that I watch I would save money compared to what I am paying. But you would have to determine the value of being able to mindlessly change channels when you are unsure what you want to watch.
I'm a fan of Apple's design and generally they are able to take a pre-existing product (like an MP3 player) and make it sleeker and easier to use. Now the "but": Why would I pay $299 for an iTV, when an Xbox360 is equally sleek and easy to use, does everything the iTV box will do plus plays HD games, allows me to chat via video, voice and text with friends? This really seems like Apple doing a "me too" after Microsoft and doing it pretty poorly. If they could convert the Mac Mini into a Wii like console with this functionality, then maybe (should Apple buy Nintendo?) Chances are Apple would sell a Aii type device for $600+ dollars (that's what the Mini alone costs...hard to see them wanting to make low margins on any hardware), in that case I would get an Xbox 360, the new HD drive Microsoft is coming out with and have a more powerful machine that puts out higher quality video.
Still, Apple will probably sell quite a few and make a serious margin on a $299 box with a low performance CPU/GPU, a little memory and a few converter chips. Remember too, that Apple's going to want to sell you an overpriced Mac to go with your iTV. By the time you're out of the Apple store you'll probably be out $2000 (more if they sell you on the whole experience and sell you a video iPod (with a screen inferior to lots of other players). $2000 buys you something like 8 years of a Netflix subscription, or a media center PC ($600), Xbox ($299) and 4 1/2 years of Netflix, a new HDTV monitor, or a lot of Xbox 360 games.
As much as I like Apple, the iTV isn't something I'd fall for. Netflix and others need to come up with an advertising campaign like this:
iTV: Hi, I'm an iTV.
Netflix mailer: Hi, I'm Netflix.
iTV: You can watch movies with me. I cost only $299
Netflix mailer: you can watch movies with me too, but I only cost $20 a month for as many movies as you want.
[a couple other actors come on screen]
Netflix mailer: Who are they?
iTV: Oh, he's a Mac and she's an iPod, aren't they good looking?
Netflix mailer: Yes, but why are they here?
iTV: I need the Mac to provide the movies and she's here because she just makes the whole experience better.
Netflix mailer: So, how much do you all cost?
iTV: Oh, around $2000
Netflix mailer: So, how many movies do you guys give me for that $2000?
iTV: None.
[another actor walks on screen]
Netflix mailer: So, who's he?
iTV: He's iTunes.
Netflix mailer: What's he here for?
iTV: He's here to collect another $15 for each movie and $1.99 for each TV episode.
[Another actor walks on screen]
iTV: Who's that?
Netflix mailer: He's a DVR.
iTV: What does he do?
Netflix: He records and saves all the TV you want to watch for free.
iTV: He doesn't charge $1.99 an hour?
Netflix: No, he saves it for free.
iTV: Well, what do the customers do with all of that extra money if it doesn't go to you and your CEO? How does your CEO afford all of his black silk turtlenecks?
fadeout with last comment:
Netflix mailer: I think that my customers use the extra money to buy Xbox 360 so they can do everything you can do plus play some pretty cool games.
>Sacri
Or, get a DVI to HDMI cable and use your TV as a monitor. No need to "stream." This applies for macs, pcs, everything. There is no need to get a 360, or mce, or iTV. If you have a computer, with DRM content on it, just use your TV as a monitor. Your vid card will do HDTV content easily, also.
I think the shortcomings of the iTV is proof enough that Apple seriously needs to buy TiVo, cut out the foreplay, and kick Microsoft completely out of the living room once and for all.
And for those that say that Apple would never roll a DVR since they want people to buy video and tv shows from iTunes, I raise that assertion by pointing out that the iPod does not require users to only use iTunes purchased music. Same type of argument refuted.
An Apple owned TiVo would bring out a Series3 TiVo based around the Mac Mini platform but have CableCard access for the same price (or less with economies-of-scale), and probably without the subscription cost (unless bundled with a souped up .Mac account). Not to mention it would natively encode in H.264, not MPEG2 or VC-1.
I think people are kind of missing the point of this device. The demographic for the iTV isn't us. It's not for the geeks who whip together a custom media pc solution using spare parts and bailing twine. It's for people who have A machine that stays in "The Computer Room(TM)" who want a way to use that newfangled music and movies they downloaded and want it to "just work".
There also seem to be an awful lot of assumptions concerning exactly how it will work, and the reality is we don't know. In general, Apple has been pretty good about supporting multiple formats as well as providing methods to add formats they don't out of the box. We don't know what other methods they're going to provide to create or display content.
What we do know is that it has an HDMI port, and a Component video port, both of which tend to be aimed at higher resolution and quality output. It seems like a reasonable assumption from that this means they're going to be implementing some high resolution solutions in the course of time.
Final comment before I shut up: it is more than a little hypocritical to complain about the (entirely unmitigated) idea that Apple will insist on their proprietary formats, and then cite your ability to stream Windows Media formatted files to your Xbox 360 via a Windows XP-only application as a clearly better solution.
Someone earlier was harshing on Steve for "pissing off" the other movie studios, leaving only Disney as the lone movie download supplier. I'm sure he did make them angry -- because he wouldn't agree to their BS pricing schemes. They saw how Steve leveled the playing field with music downloads and defeated attempts to introduce tiered pricing. They don't want to get locked into a fixed price like the record industries; they want to retain some control and not let Apple dictate terms. The studios are anxious to make a buck on legal downloads but they're afraid of cannibalizing DVD sales, so they want to keep download prices high. Which is total crap -- why pay $15 to download just the main feature when I can buy the full DVD for the same or less? IMHO even the Apple prices are too high now, even $9 for older titles (Deep Discount DVD, anyone?)
If anything, SJ has tried to keep prices low and resist the big companies' attempts to gouge us further. They may only have one studio now, but remember they only had a couple networks on board for TV downloads at first too -- and look where they're at now. If movie downloads take off, it's only a matter of time before the other studios step back from their own lame attempts (Movielink? Hello?) and start begging for a piece of the iTunes pie...
This sounds like a Slashdot conversation.
Of course there are lots of ways to playback media on a TV from a PC. But none of these work seamlessly with a digitial media marketplace that offers high quality content. Their almost flawless implementation of this experience (from purchase through consumption) is what made them the leader.
pete
IF THEY DONT GIVE A TRUE TV TUNER, THEY BETTER ALLOW YOU TO HOOK SOMETHING UP VIA USB AT THE LEAST!!!!!!!!!!!
other than that, sounds like a decent product :)
st
You guys seem to miss that none of you are the target market for this device. It's for all the iPod loving masses who love simplicty, elegance and ease of use. Not Ogg-craving Slashdot boys.
Comparing the Xbox 360 to this:
1) You'll need to buy a $100 wireless adapter to match the featureset if you want wireless (you can get away with a cheaper bridge if so desire)
2) You'll need a PC with Windows Media Center at this point.. unless you plan on upgrading to Vista. WMP11 w/ XP DOES NOT stream video.
3) You are choosing WMV over apples video format.
4) You get a gaming system ;)
The products certainly are comparable.. I was personally appauled at the CRAP support for video playback on the Xbox 360. There's no technical reason I shouldn't be able to just drop a USB hard drive on my 360 and play back any old video file.. good lord.. I've beeen playing every format under the sun (non-HD at least) on my modified Xbox for YEARS now with 10 times better interfaces...
The Xbox 360 is such a waste of hardware when it comes ot it's media features.. the requirement of MCE is a marketing ploy and nothing else.. trying to sell MCE PC's.. I hate crap like that.
This deally doesn't interest me too much... unless Apple does start offering TV shows in HD that stream over this thing.. then it might get me to buy it.
Good point Navstar.
For the mainstream audience, this is going to be a fantastic device. If it doesn't already include features (like DVR, etc.) on release, they will be added in upcoming editions. Realize Apple is also a business and has to keep in mind who it is competing with (the cable companies - which offer DVR services and also control a significant amount of broadband access which Apple would require to deliver it's content).
In time though, it will all come to fruition. CNN, Fox, etc. already offer podcasts on iTunes, and will probably offer a video cast as well (and someday, their entire actual programming schedule). However, the cable companies are there to contend with for now, so it will take time.
About TV-tuners and PVRs... Maybe the iTV doesn't have those features because Apple sees iTV+iTunes as an alternative to cable-tv and PVRs.
And I welcome an alternative to cable-tv. I'm sick of subscribing to cable. Cable forces me to buy all these channels, most of which I don't watch. I prefer the idea of buying only the shows that I watch.
And the price isn't too bad when you compare it to cable...
iTV ($299) + iTunes ($10 per tv-series per year)
verses
TiVo & TiVo service ($200/year) + Cable-tv ($300/year)
Assuming you already have a PC and broadband internet access, iTV+iTunes is cheaper than cable-tv+TiVo, especially over a few years.
This looks to me to be Airport Express part 2- An easy way for people to play their downloaded videos from itunes (for their ipods) on their TVs, without much fuss. The airport express does the same thing for itunes audio.
If it were $100, it'd possibly sell a lot. At $300, it won't sell many unless it has more features than just this.
I'm not sure why someone would want to stream content from an MCE PC to an Xbox 360; why wouldn't you have that PC already connected to the tv in the 1st place? Unless you're talking about streaming it from a PC (connected to a tv alredy) to a different tv.
"iTV: Well, what do the customers do with all of that extra money if it doesn't go to you and your CEO? How does your CEO afford all of his black silk turtlenecks?"
steve jobs is paid $1 a year.
and that's not a typo. $1.
Methinks a Mac Mini connected DIRECTLY to the TV would be a better way to go even if yer a cheapskate like me and using a SD TV, I'm fiddling with an old PB Lombard for Watching Video Podcasts like Diggnation on my TV right now as I'm SICK of Burning DVD's to COMFORTABLY watch my Video Podcasts. Having said this, WHY NOT just plug yer iPod Video into yer TV(I don't own one but would spend the $300 on that before this widget)
For $50 I'd buy this not $299
Also why not use the Mac Mini and that Miglia unit, they're like $179 and allow HD capture thru yer USB2
Haven't seen it in action but looks like a thumb drive on steroids to me ;-)
Well they better not market this in the UK.
There is a tv channel called ITV. And not long ago they did a digtal servce. So there may be some kind of trademarks getting broken here.
1. plug the itv in to your AV amp (etc) and the wireless connection to your mac (PC?) will just work. Nothing else to do.
2. You can import just about any video including windows media into your itunes: just choose import in itunes! Then stream away. Nothing else to do.
3. all those home movies and photos we edit on our macs can also be viewed on our tvs without burning dvds.
4. some of us, myself included, have HD video cameras. We can edit them on the mac (PC), but until blueray etc gets cheap, the only way to watch them on a tv is to send the edited movie back to the HD camera and record it onto a blank tape and then plug the camera into the tv. NOW we can just stream it. Nothing else to do.
Apple really do make stuff that just works.
iTV is streaming technology so why would it record tv???? If you want to record tv record it onto your computer and keep it in you digital library (iTunes). Isn't that the whole point? 1 media library you can enjoy in multiple places with no hassle.
waddo
http://www.waddo.net/
phi is right, the only reason to pre-announce this is so people know how they will be able to play their movies on their shiny new HDTVs.
On the other hand, it doesn't make much sense with the 640x480 resolution of the current download format. they have got to have better plans than that. anyone thinking about this for 15 minutes can come up with a better plan, in fact.
So there are one or more missing pieces here.
How does the DRM work for these things? Will I be able to still play these movies in 10 years, given that I buy a new machine ever year? I am a collector...
A lot of people who own imacs and other mac desktops have their computer in a seperate room. This device gives you the ability to stream Media wirelessly to your television (a question i get asked a lot).
Also, as it appears to based around the front row interface all videos will play wether they are itunes or not as they play through quicktime. all that is needed is the apropriate codecs.
The USB port will probably be for external storage to store the media if you want as leopard now has Time machine, I forsee an Apple branded hard drive.
I can not believe all the dumb comments aroun here. People, you are just not getting the big picture.
Follow me on this:
- TV Tuner: now that's a redudancy. "iTV" is to be connect to a TV with a TV Tuner of its own. Now, why the hell would they put a TV Tuner in "iTV"?
- Setup: "iTV" is not supposed to substitute all the other things you have on you setup (set top box, dvd player, stereo system, etc). It is another thing to get into that setup and it is intended to bring all your media stuff from your computer to your big screen, wirelessly!
- media types: "iTV" is the way to stream every kind of media you have in your PC (downloaded media from iTunes, ripped music from your CD's, photos and every other kind of movies you just put in the "movies" folder on your hard drive... just like the way we do it today with Front Row... you have access to all your media, not just the one you bought from iTunes.
- Resolution: in Europe as in the US, people with Big Flat Screens keep watching TV Standard Definition media upscaled to fill all that real state and they DO NOT complain about it. So, why would they give a dam about the 640x480 iTunes resolution? It is just Standard Definition for NTSC (and just a bit lower than PAL). It works just fine for a Big Flat Screen.
Why the other approaches never took off:
- no one wants a complex computer wooked up to their big flat screen because it is just to complex to use (PC with Media Center from MS)
- other streaming devices don't have a simple way of gethering all your media. Apple's secret here is iTunes. They have been preparing this for more than 4 years now... They built iTunes to become the jukebox for all your media... and now is time to just stream it to your big flat tv in your livin room... and all you'll need is to get a beatifull-$299-worth-of-tecnology litle gadget, connect it to the wall and your flat screen or set top box and you're done!
And you will use your PC or Mac to buy whatever you want whenever you want. iTunes has been selling 1 Milion videos per week (!!). That shows that people really care about convenience.
This is the right way and the right moment to do it. And Apple is going to get in to your living room the same way it did in to your pocket four years ago.
PS: do expect the ability for iTunes to rip your DVD's to your hard drive... and then access them through the Front Row interface in "iTV"
And you can quote me on this ;)
No cable integration or TV Tuner Card? Call me old fashioned but I still think the Tivo pardigm has some energy left in it.
http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/1059/hp_x5400_media
And they better upgrade the iTunes video quality, because I'm not going to watch 320x240 highly compressed poor quality video on my HDTV.
Sorry to double post but:
Who here actually wants to download HD movies?
Even at 720p you're going to be looking at more than 4.5 gigs for a 90 minute program. Average movie run time over the years has creeped up actually into the 110 minute area. So we'll just say 5 gigs per movie. At the normalish cable internet speeds of 1 Gbps that means you'll finish downloading in about 14 hours. In 20 minutes I could drive to Circuit City, buy an HDDVD and put it in the tray.
TV shows... maybe. But until we can resolve the bandwidth distribution problem physical media is still the way to go in my opinion on delivery. That or a tuner card.
Let's look at Battlestar Galactica as an example:
$1.99 x 4 = $8 per month. Content is extremely low quality and takes about 45 minutes to download.
Cable: $13.75 per month. Content is in 480p. and takes 60 minutes to "Download". Plus all of your other favorite shows for free. Also you can "Download" a full HD show such as BSG from UniversalHD in an hour.