Apple iTV a Set-Top With Live, On-Demand Content?
Apple's iTV service may involve a web-based DVR for storing and playing live content from cable operators.
The Wall Street Journal is the latest to add to the iTV rumor, with inside sources telling the paper that the device will erase the distinction between live and on-demand content. They claim it will feature a DVR service that stores TV shows in the cloud so that users can start any show at any time, or restart a show minutes after it has begun, similar to Time Warner's Start Over feature.
The paper also reports that Apple has been talking with cable operators, including Time Warner Cable, to let subscribers replace their current set-top boxes with Apple's own solution for live television and other content. The fruity company has also reportedly approached content owners with an outline of what Apples wants the device to do in regards to their media.
Insiders report that some of the proposed new services -- including the web-based DVR -- reside outside the existing rights over TV content cable operators currently have. To make everyone happy, content owners will need to expand the rights of cable operators so that the Apple box can be deployed. Apple may also need to negotiate with content owners to bring past seasons of shows it already offers through iTunes to the set-top box.
Sources report that the relationship between Apple, cable operators and content owners still remain tense, and the company still hasn't sold the idea to operators. It's quest to transform the TV industry thus remains stagnant, as operators and content owners are worried that Apple will dominate this sector just as it has with smartphones and tablets.
Most of what the Wall Street Journal described on Friday is nothing new: a user interface similar to what's offered on the iPhone and iPad, social features embedded on the screen such as sharing shows via Twitter and Facebook, and accessing media through a host of other Apple products. Previous reports have even indicated that Apple wants users to start a show on one device, and pick up on another.
At one time, talk about Apple's rumored iTV stemmed around an actual HDTV with a built-in iOS operating system, Siri and motion sensing technology. That may still indeed be the case given that several people have actually seen this device. But Apple may also be looking to offer a cheaper set-top box, following Google's Google TV efforts of offering both form factors. The set-top box could still contain all the features found in the pricier HDTV model, just without the screen.
The paper reports that talk about the iTV gadget arrives as sales of Apple's current set-top product, the $99 Apple TV, are "picking up but are still small." In the last quarter that ended in June, Apple reportedly sold only 1.3 million units. The device is more like a web streamer than a multimedia cable box, offering some internet video and services like Hulu Plus and Netflix.
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scannall Before the iPhone, the carriers dictated to the phone manufacturers what phones would have, what carrier "goodies" (i.e. bloat) they would ship with, and what they would pay. The iPhone shattered that paradigm. Love or hate Apple, you do have a lot more choice in handsets because that business model was shattered.Reply
There are fewer competitors in any given location for TV service. Plus you have the extra layer of content creators fogging up the picture. But if they can get either DirecTV or Dish to go along with them, like they did with AT&T getting an exclusive then they might be able to break TV service as well. -
Ragnarock I bet this thing will look amazing as with all apple products but i dont think it will sell well because you can get a similar sized TV with the apple TV for a lot less.Reply -
sykozis Something needs to change. Cable TV operators were forced to make CableCARDs available to the general public without the cable box, but there are few compatible devices actually available to consumers for CableCARDs. So, the monopoly that CableCARD regulations were intended to break, still exists thanks to cable box manufacturers. I'll happily support Apple in destroying this monopoly.Reply
RagnarockI bet this thing will look amazing as with all apple products but i dont think it will sell well because you can get a similar sized TV with the apple TV for a lot less.The article isn't talking about a TV at all, rather a device like a cable box that integrates the features of the "Apple TV" device. It also doesn't mention pricing at all, outside of the "Apple TV" device. -
Ragnarock yeah read this wrong i have been hearing rumors of the actual apple Television which i was referring toReply -
sacre otacon72Um I can already do everything listed in the article with my current DVR box. What do I need iTV for? No matter...the iSheep will buy it.Reply
"iSheep" Yes, try and separate yourself from the crowd to make yourself feel higher up than others.
Like a little kid getting mad at another kid for "Liking the red sucker" instead of the blue.
Such a child. Grow up. -
scannall otacon72Baaaaaaaa haha They are iSheep...they over pay for underpowered hardware. Answer me this...what can iTV do that my current DVR not do Mr. iSheep?Reply
Considering these articles are all guesses and conjecture it's fair to say nobody knows.
Oh, and underpowered? Really? http://www.anandtech.com/show/6126/glbenchmark-25-performance-on-ios-and-android-devices -
house70 scannallBefore the iPhone, the carriers dictated to the phone manufacturers what phones would have, what carrier "goodies" (i.e. bloat) they would ship with, and what they would pay. The iPhone shattered that paradigm. Love or hate Apple, you do have a lot more choice in handsets because that business model was shattered.There are fewer competitors in any given location for TV service. Plus you have the extra layer of content creators fogging up the picture. But if they can get either DirecTV or Dish to go along with them, like they did with AT&T getting an exclusive then they might be able to break TV service as well.You are correct, if you add "US" in front of the "carriers". This paradigm has been eliminated in most of the world a long time ago. People have been allowed to bring their own unlocked devices to GSM networks pretty much all over Europe and much of the rest of the world. Just now US is catching up with that, albeit at a very slow pace, given that CDMA networks are pretty much still dominating here, and if a network refuses to register an unlocked phone of their network, the customer is SOL. With GSM, once people realized they can take the card out of one phone and put it in another one, that paradigm ceased to exist. I would give credit to the SIM card system.Reply
Even before Apple, for instance, I have never used a subsidized phone on AT&T. Preferred to buy it unlocked, got the SIM card from the cheapest phone you could get from the carrier and inserted in my unlocked Moto Razr. While on trips to Europe I just removed the card and inserted a locally prepaid one. otacon72Um I can already do everything listed in the article with my current DVR box. What do I need iTV for? No matter...the iSheep will buy it.Please, stop with the name-calling. Not cool. You can make your point without resorting to childish behavior. -
hella-d i agree atacon72, to he-double hokey sticks with apple...Reply
"apples are for pies not computing" - me -
ericburnby otacon72Um I can already do everything listed in the article with my current DVR box. What do I need iTV for? No matter...the iSheep will buy it.Reply
You can record an infinite number of shows as there's no limit to storage. You can also record as many simultaneous shows as you like since the shows aren't streamed to your local DVR for storage on the internal drive. "Recorded" shows are stored in the cloud and are streamed to you when you watch it. This way, shows being "recorded" don't suck up your bandwidth. No more "record up to 2 shows while watching a 3rd" like so many current services do.
That's two I could come up with based on the limited information available so far. -
nitrium Nothing above leads me to believe this will be superior to what eztv already offers. Someone had to say. They are trying to compete with zeropaid, whether they like it or not.Reply