Do You Think Apple Really Needs To Make An HDTV? [Let's Talk]

Buster

Information about the fabled iTV has been bouncing around the rumor-mill for a few years now. Supposedly, Apple is going to build an HDTV that has a ton of cool features, such as Siri, FaceTime, iTunes Streaming, iCloud and the works. It's a dream device. Like a big ass iPad you can mount on your wall to watch the series finale of Breaking Bad on.

The iTV was supposed to launch at some point this year, but we haven't seen any hardware leaks for it, and now the rumor is that Apple won't launch it until 2013. But does Apple really need to make an HDTV? Would a really awesome Apple TV style set-top box for cable companies be a better, cheaper, option than trying to get an iTV into every home? We can see the benefits on both side of the coin, but we're really curious to hear what you guys think. Should Apple just come out with an improved Apple TV instead of an iTV? Or do something else entirely?

Wayne Luke

Can't really seem to care. Televisions are commodity items and I'll just go buy the least expensive model that suits my needs. Most people buy cheap knockoff televisions on Black Friday for $200. Since they won't be streaming DirecTV programming and will probably cost more for programming in the long run, I doubt it will be a game changer in the long run.

RaptorOO7

This would be the next Apple mistep in the market. They simply won't get their standard 30%++ margins they expect to make (which are closer to 40-50%). They don't own anything innovative in when it comes to a TV and making a larger monitor isn't enough.

TV's are not something consumers buy every 2-3 years, they buy a new one every 7-10 years and Apple has a forced upgrade cycle of 3 years where they won't support beyond N+2. This would make their large screen devices seem outdated quickly.

I will say that yes if they build it users will buy it, pay the over priced premium just to say they own one. Personally anything less than 55" isn't worth looking at and Apple won't go that big to start.

Now Apple could focus on building their own content play and maybe buy DirecTV or Dish Network and put the AppleTV (box) in that way and push it out. Users would gladly go that route and have "streaming" media from their iCloud content, iTunes market and stream other live content. Now that would be a play and they have the cash. Plus they could use Dish Networks LTE spectrum play to get into the mobile broadband market and build out their own platform.

One more thought, with ISP's going with data caps streaming is going to become an issue and as Apple makes the media play, streaming into the home you can expect more ISP's to hit their users for it just like Comcast does against Netflix but not XFinity (which is theirs).

popeyoni

I think enhancing the little Apple TV box is the way to go. I don't think making an actual TV set is a good idea. For me to buy one, it would have to be vastly superior to anything out there.

Ed_Kel

YES THEY DO! Apple has dominated every market they have entered and/or created and in many aspects, they are sitting pretty for years to come. The one area of technology that Apple hasn't succeeded in yet is the television. They have shown interest in obviating the need for a set-top cable box and I'm sure they have conceived thought and perhaps even prototype d an HDTV. From a financial aspect, the ATV is enough. But the very heart and soul of Apple needs this win and if they actively pursue an HDTV, they'll win big.

Frank Lowney

Too much has been made of the statement attributed to the late Steve Jobs re TV is his biography. He was always the master of misdirection so why would he be any different toward the end of his life. He needed to jerk us around just one last time and, as usual, it worked!

wytchkraft_corp

I think there's no need. With the Apple TV they can get all the amazing iTunes content on almost any TV set already, plus Apple TV can also stream Netflix content and other online services so, as a market penetration move, Apple TV is rather successful. I don't see the point of making hardware for the TV industry other than may be bringing FaceTime to a bigger screen…

Patrick O'Neill

If Apple ads networks to it ATV, that would be great. A buy-by-channel service. I don't watch all of the channels I have on my UVerse subscription, so if I could just bu the channels I want, that would be great.

Bruce Schrock

I'm thinking that if they release the TV they're going to package the modern day living room activities into one box kinda like Microsoft is doing with the xbox live. And possibly bring stuff that's not around yet.

We already have this stuff in several different devices on screen.
Live television
counsel gaming
netflix(on demand movies)
program recording
music
New features would include...
facetime
internet browsing?
apps that work with mobile iOS

And one model I have in mind is Apple providing the television programming through internet streaming. Buying the content through apple would allow them to sell the device at or near production cost just as they do with the iPad and iPod. And thus keeping the price down.

aepxc

Television is where the puck was 30 years ago.

There's definitely some scope for a large, shared (with family, friends, co-workers, etc...) screen going forward, but it is not going to be the primary screen on which content is consumed... and the upgrade cycle of the screen part will be much, much, much slower than the upgrade cycle of the 'logic' part.

So, if Apple really wants to, it can indeed bump up it's Thunderbolt display to 42"+ (or something), but just provide a tray in the rear to dock the separately sold (and usable with other large screens) Apple TV.

An integrated smart TV, however, would be the final straw indicating that Apple has lost it post-Steve.

Tallest_Skil

No, of course not. There's nothing that a $2,000 TV can do that a $99 box can't do better. And since there is NO REASON for the Apple TV to have its own App Store where random people on the street can make apps for the platform, it has even less of a point.

Reinvent television the same way you reinvented music, Apple. Only the content creators need "apps" (channels/shows) on the Apple TV. Box.

NJaw

The Apple TV is a good step forward for Apple. The price is reasonable and if they expand the content available, I think it will become even more popular. You can plug it into any HDTV, so you don't have to replace your whole TV. Siri would be a good addition. Maybe just adding a mic to the existing remote would work.

John Howell

I've got an awesome HD Apple TV now!
It's my 2008 Mac Mini bolted to the back of my Sony Bravia and a Logitec univeral remote and a logitec keyboard with a built in track pad.
The Mini runs a PLEX front end, and has access to 3 TB of streamed TVshows and Movies in a mix of 720p and 1080p formats streamed from my PLEX nedia server (this streams over the internet too.
For live TV, I can use the TVs built in tuner, if I want to record something, I tag it in EyeTV. This records and automatically exports to where the plexserver picks it up and indexes it.


Total cost, under NZ$900. How is Apple going to get even close to this?

reag89

Yes they do!
I don't think they'll make just a TV though they'll obviously market a cheaper box as well for those who are happy with their current TV's. They'll market the HDTV as being able to do Facetime and other things that wouldn't be possible if you just had the box as a way to sway consumers into paying extra and replacing their current TVs.

But the way we watch TV is changing and is becoming more focused on getting your content on demand via the internet and it seems that a lot of TV manufacturers are confused and don't really have any guidance as to what they should do. By Apple creating an HDTV they'll set a new standard for watching TV as they did with how we use our mobile phones. Yes they have already started with the Apple Tvs but they keep labeling it as a "hobby" which tells me that they must be working on something much bigger behind the scenes..

Anyways thats what I reckon

rkaratekidpt

I really don't think they have to make a TV, but i would LOVE to see how an apple TV set would look

menithings

Yes. Apple should absolutely make a full fledged TV. Like the smartphone before iPhone, the current smart TV is a confusing mess. There are multiple remotes, hundreds of buttons, and too many devices to switch between. Apple is just the company to consolodate everything into a single, simple, elegant and breakthrough appliance. A set-top box is incapable of delivering a truly industry disrupting technology. Here is my vision of a full iTV (or whatever it'll be called):

- ALWAYS ON: The TV will always be on and sleep to conserve power when not in use, just like an iPAD. When you walk in the house all you do is give it a command via voice, hand gesture, or remote gesture to activate it.
- BUTTONLESS REMOTE. The remote will simply be a single touch surface, like a handheld trackpad. No need for a hundred buttons. Everything can be navigated with gestures. Alternate control includes voice and hand/body gestures.
- IT'S ALSO A VIDEOGAME CONSOLE: Downloadable 3rd party apps + gesture control + A(x) processor = Game console to rival Wii U, Playstation and XBox.
- IT"S ALSO A COMPUTER: Gesture and voiced based Safari browser make it the perfect shared internet browser. Plus 3rd party apps make it a powerful social computer system.
- IT"S ALSO A STEREO. With quality built-in speakers and a persistent connection to iTunes Match and iDevices, the iTV will also be the perfect home stereo system.
- IT"S ALSO A VIDEOPHONE: Built in FaceTime camera is a no brainer.
- It will eventually to glassless 3D. Not in it's first generation, but it will come. I guarantee it.
- IT"S AN THE ENTIRE LIVING ROOM ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM IN ONE DEVICE. One screen. One button-less remote. Voice and hand/body gesture input. It replaces Blu-Ray/DVD, CD player/Stereo, Videogame console, TV, cable box, DVR, internet set-top box, and even the home computer.

Now tell me you don't want something like that.

ccc

TV is the screen that is missing in Apple ecosystem.

I believe Apple should create an 40" iMac with TV and Set top box capabilities (via software). It will not be a solution to replace all STB (ex. the ones with physical cards for conditional access) but will allow apple to create a new standard for tv user interface, integrating Siri (to simplify the remote control and for real time subtitle translation) and Social capabilities.

technochick

Hell no. A larger sized, retina high Hz refresh Cinema Display with HDMI sure.

But a tv no. Focus on the little black box and iTunes content deals, getting Extras to work in iOS etc.

technochick

Tallest_Skil said:

. Only the content creators need "apps" (channels/shows) on the Apple TV. Box.

they don't really need that if the store can be leverage with more consumer friendly deals

rajat_mac

They really need to come out with a TV which syncs with all other i devices. In the words of Tim Cook, they only make products where they can control the technology. If they just make a set top box, they have no control on technology the way different TV manufacturers will display. That's the reason, Apple made their own high def monitors rather than relying on PC or LCD makers because Apple wanted end to end seamless user experience the way Apple wants consumer to experience it. Next big thing from Apple stable has to be a TV.

Mathieu Wacowich

No need for an actual tv, the apple tv is already here. I don't know about other countries, but up here in Canada we have most of our major networks streaming content from their own apps. I just airplay the content from my ipad to the apple tv. The only set back is that I get shows I watch a day after they have aired on traditional cable. The delay is likely due to current deals that the networks have with the cable companies. Once the market grows and these contracts expire I can see a shift happening where the networks will premier content online. The old model of selling advertising will still be around so I don't see what the hold up will be unless revenue streams from cable companies are so huge that they couldn't give them up. Then again the majors are available over the air so I don't think the cable revenue stream is that significant. Same goes for HBO, once they figure out how to monetize their content direct from the people there will be in app purchases, apple will take their cut, and the cable companies will evolve into simply being internet service providers gouging customers for downloaded bits. But I know nothing I these things. I am merely speculating.

Btw the Harmony remote (I have the 650i) is awesome. If you want a smart tv viewing experience - its starts with picking up a smart remote.

Finally, hope that this democratization of tv will result in the abolition of all the junk tv shows that get produced just to fill air time.