Today I got a responce from Luck Kanthatham. He has written a blog about opening the AppleTV. It is a good post, giving a good deeper description of how Apple may open the AppleTV product.
See it at http://appletvsource.com/content/view/464/
But, I also had a lot to say about this post (I actually got up on my Soap Box and started to rant.) I will reprint my comment here for reference.
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Hi Lucky,
Thanks for your comments on my Blog Post, “AppleTV will be a new beginning at MacWorld” at
http://www.crafted.com.au/blog/2007/12/25/appletv-will-be-a-new-beginning-at-macworld/
I thought I would come over to your site and have a look. Your article is good and follows exactly what I describe as a new beginning. A few comments however.
If the AppleTV is to have a new beginning, it must be a more open one. Apple/Steve, however, is VERY unlikely to make writting external modules for it available. It goes against his master of business modems which is to lead everyone to use Itunes. So, any idea that makes Itunes an option is much less likely to happen. (But a agree with this premise very much. Its another blog post.)
Using a third party for HD-TV-tuner (Which would include DVR functionality. Same thing really) HAS to be supported from Apple. Selling a Media box as a Media Centre which uses another companies tech is simply not a very workable business decision. Either they would have to buy the company and make it their own, or write their own.
The MacMINI is actually much more along the lines of what the new AppleTV shold be. IT MUST INCLUDE A DVD DRIVE. (HD-DVD/BlueRay would be good but to early and to expensive. Its a future upgrade of USB addon. Also see a very old article “Blu-ray Disc (BD) will inevitability be the winner” at http://www.crafted.com.au/blog/2007/06/20/blue-disk-bd-will-inevitablely-be-the-winner/ which in Australia, DB is killing HD-DVD.)
Also, 720p is stupid. It needs to be 1080p out of the box, just like my cheap Video Camera these days. Its silly the AppleTV cannot support video stright out of my AVCHD video camera. Its the future of recording video.
DivX support is a MUST. Really this is the a big reason why, those who are purchasing these devices are purchasing them. It may be all for the wrong reason, but I think the market has realised that trying to stop this has had no effect. It has only confusd and frustrated the market, making it harder for real uptake of this technology to happen. And the truth is, they market needs these devices out there and accepted by the consumers. This will in turn bring them to start adopting online practices where they pay (Reasonable costs) to get access to the shows they love and want to support. Right now, all the past proprietory implementations has encouraged those who do take this step, and disconver if a far better experience, to turn towards getting this content any way they can. It is like a drug, and really many are ending up on Torrent sites eventually.
In real terms, we need the public to look at the AppleTV as the most convenient applicance they have ever seen. Ie.
It has to replace the DVD player.
The DigitAL-TV-Tuner / DVR (Or VHS/DVD recoder)
The Enterteinmanet centre, including Playing your music, looking at Photos, and viewing Digital Video files from any source. (AVCHD Video Camera, Itunes, Torrents etc)
This means it needs a full function remote. This is where apple annoys me in some ways.
Initially we had the one button mouse. “Because it’s less confusing”. I took this to mean, apple thought its users where stupid. Cannot control more then one finger at a time. Now we have this NEW mouse from apple, which it a complete deaster. It is actually a 3 button mouse, but you would only know this if shown.
I mention this as the small remote that comes with AppleTV. Sure it looks cool, but really, functionality is in the toilet.
Entertainment system are not simple, and as such, you cannot expect a 5 button remote to be functional.
Right now, AppleTV is up against the Xbox360. Here in Austuralia the street pice (After Christmas) is $450. Gee thats CHEAP! And it does DivX (Including Xvid which the PS3 does not) out of the box. It can be a media centre and watch TV too, but this is moronic. Microsoft trying to make more money out of you. Plus, it does play the best console games you can get. (But I am not a gamer so I don;t really care. Still, nice to have for kids etc.)
You are very right that the bxo in your living room needs to be a system unto itself. It shoudl nto NEED a coputer to make it work. Sure, it may make it easier, but in any cases, it should work by itself.
I could go on, but that enough for today.
James
2 responses so far ↓
1 Philip Hodgetts // Dec 27, 2007 at 11:00 am
Don’t have to be much of an Apple watcher to be able to state fairly confidently, that there won’t be a DVD (or bluish) drive in PVR functions in Apple TV. Nor for there to be support for codecs beyond what Apple provides for QuickTime itself.
I’m not arguing either way whether or not these would be good things or not just that they won’t happen because Apple’s vision for the future of the living room is iTunes based.
As for my opinions on what’s desirable – install all the Perian codecs and WMV player components so all media can be played. Allow said files (.avi or .mov or .mp4) to be passed from the iTunes on the host computer to the Apple TV. I have no interest in DVD Player functionality (I’d prefer to rip DVDs I own to a file on the server and watch via Apple TV) Ditto I have no interest in PVR functions because I have no service to record. (Not even Over the Air.)
Reduced pricing might be a good idea though.
Philip
2 JamieG // Dec 27, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Philip,
Yes I understand where you are coming from and why you think these feature will not be part of any new AppleTV, however, Steve does not have the choice anymore. Xbox360 and PS3 do it. It has to match the feature. Otherwise, it will be hit hard on sales because of this.
You love your AppleTV which is hacked to do all this. I have been doing it for 2 years before you even felt this future. (XBMC is quite OLD you know)
I agree Apple sees the living room as an Itunes domainted area. However, people are getting smart enough not to let any tech completely dominate their living room. And can you imagine if EVERYONE drove Fords.
They may have convinced everyone to listen to there Ipods, however, I cannot see the incombant players letting this happen for Video. The past actions of NBC etc show this. And sure its not a good short term decision, but for them it is probably a better long term one.
Also, “Ihave no interest in a DVD player” you say. Everyone I know seems to have a few. So I see them being interested. (Your not the average consumer Philip)
Also if your going to have a Digital Tuner, a PVR comes free with that… And your going to want to have a digital tuner for real time streaming content as we have been using since TV started. Its a good model, efective and cheap for what it does. So its not going to fo away. (News Sports etc)
I agree price IS a big issue. Apple should be giving them away if they want to keep all the proprietory technology that forces Itunes on people. And they just might do that. Its getting to that stage where they may have to. If they expect to reach a similar dominance in the big screen market. (But really I think that boat has gone. XboxLive etc are doing very well and with all this Microsoft IPTV tech coming out. But then It can also go the other way. To much choice, to many standards.)
Its an interesting future.
James
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