Comments on: How to Fix the Apple TV

By: Apple TV: Slowly Dissolving Into Uselessness | Webomatica - Entertainment and Tech Digest

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:40:44 +0000

[...] all the above ideas have been bandied about here and elsewhere for months. It’s pretty clear Apple needs to update the Apple TV in a bold way or kill [...]

By: The Decade in Online Video, Part 2: Time to Upload

The Decade in Online Video, Part 2: Time to Upload — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 07:04:00 +0000

[...] remarkable moments in 2007 included Steve Jobs getting a new hobby in form of the Apple TV device as well as a foul-mouthed little girl starring in the inaugural [...]

By: LA REVUE TFO » Archive du blog » RIP AppleTV, Hello AppleTV

LA REVUE TFO » Archive du blog » RIP AppleTV, Hello AppleTV — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:00:15 +0000

[...] finally admitting that the company did a poor job with the Apple TV, Steve Jobs in his Macworld keynote today unveiled a totally new interface with loads of [...]

By: RIP Apple TV, Hello Apple TV « NewTeeVee

RIP Apple TV, Hello Apple TV « NewTeeVee — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 04:00:58 +0000

[...] finally admitting that the company did a poor job with the Apple TV, Steve Jobs in his Macworld keynote today unveiled a totally new interface with loads of [...]

By: MediaGuruNYC

MediaGuruNYC — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:39:58 +0000

Am I the only one who would like to receive the iTunes Radio streams on my Apple TV?

By: Zatz Not Funny!»Blog Archive » Apple TV - Worst Product of 2007?

Zatz Not Funny!»Blog Archive » Apple TV - Worst Product of 2007? — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 17:43:22 +0000

[...] sitting still and has some ideas how to invigorate this platform. (Macworld 2008, anyone?) If not, NewTeeVee offers a few suggestions to “fix” Apple [...]

By: David

David — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 18:01:47 +0000

I think you guys are missing the main point – very few consumers have any desire or inclination to connect their TVs to their computers right now. The Apple TV and similar products attempt to address a problem that simply doesn’t exist. Successful devices generally address an unmet desire on the part of the consumer. Now if Apple’s marketing apparatus were to “create” the perception of a problem in some way, in other words, to create a market from next to nothing, then AppleTV might have a fighting chance IMO. But in the absence of this, these will remain niche products for the forseeable future.

In focus group sessions that I’ve attended (i.e. behind the 2 way mirror), if the moderator asks the participants about connecting their TV screens to their computers, we see nothing but blank stares.

By: tech-talk.biz » Blog Archive » Video: Linux MCE vs Microsoft MCE and other alternatives

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:36:54 +0000

[...] On the other side, other options fighting to be the center of home entertainment have significant flaws: – apart from the infamous red circle of death, the Xbox 360 does not support Xvid and Divx, so a big part of my media library in my PC can not be accessed from the Xbox 360 in the living room – PS3. No support either from Xvid and DivX. The interesting alternative is to install Linux on the PS3, and use VLC to watch your media – Wii, is not really an option as a Media Extender. You can only receive streamed video by installing ORB on your streaming PC, set videos to transcode to flash, and access them from the Opera browser in the Wii. Low quality video and no convenient access to library – KiSS Players. Not a bad option, but until recently the SW to install on your PC was not Vista compatible – Apple TV. No Xvid, nor DivX, and no games…Nice design but nothing else. Not taken seriously by Apple. [...]

By: David Mullings

David Mullings — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 12:56:36 +0000

Personally I saw no reason to buy the Apple TV when a Mac Mini with little cable provided a far better experience in every way – Joost, Hulu, a browser to check out all sorts of other video – so much better than an Apple TV or hooking up my Macbook Pro to the tv.

My only concern is that Apple has traditionally been VERY concerned about the perception of their brand – and that is admirable – but they have dropped the ball on this product and it is hurting their image among non-Mac users who see this is a taste test for the company’s other products.

Message Apple – fix the Apple TV because it hurts your brand if you don’t.

By: Don Reisinger

Don Reisinger — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 03:30:22 +0000

I notice that everyone here mentions that Apple should allow us to hack the Apple TV. And while I would love to do that myself, I think we all know that Apple won’t do anything of the sort.

Will the company turn a blind eye as it has in the past? Probably. But don’t ever look for Apple to embrace hacking — it would set a dangerous precedent.

Oh and movie rentals? Who cares. Let’s see if it works for Vudu before we start spreading the idea that Apple can create a great movie rental experience.

By: lantzn

lantzn — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:44:37 +0000

As mentioned the Apple can play all the other video formats with very little effort (hack).

What I want is MOVIE RENTALS! I want to browse the iTMS for movies and watch them now. This would make the box sell like hotcakes.

By: Doug Petrosky

Doug Petrosky — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:44:09 +0000

Apple already supports the MP3 of Digital Video….It is called MP4. Specifically, H.264 which Flash is switching to, YouTube is switching to and even Microsoft is switching to. Even DirectTV and some of the cable providers are moving that direction.

Moving Apple TV forward takes very few changes.

1) Content, get more of it.
2) Content, get higher quality.
3) Content, allow for rentals.

Other nice features would be:

1) Enable the USB port for additional storage.
2) Allow for 3rd party plug-ins like YouTube did as long as they will encode h.264 like YouTube.
3) Enable the iTunes Music Store on AppleTV
4) Allow for users to book mark web selections (in the same way widgets are created and make them available through a VNC style link to allow for any streaming video content to be viewed on your tv.

By: pwb

pwb — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:28:04 +0000

There are some horrible suggestions on this thread.

The Apple TV is close. It’s biggest problem is what content can be played on it. Right now we are limited to 1) video purchased through iTunes, 2) YouTube and 3) miscellaneous video such as ripped DVDs.

What Apple TV needs is one or more of the following: 1) ad-supported, free video such as that available at CBS.com, Hulu and AOL Video, 2) pay-per-view and 3) Netflix-style subscription-based video.

Regarding “Step 1″ above, it is possible to browse iTunes and watch video that is being streamed from your Mac (and not stored on the Apple TV). Apple needs to make this more apparent and make it work a bit better.

By: magu

magu — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:35:13 +0000

It really needs to be hacked to become functional. Add Sapphire and the experience changes completely.

By: adang001

adang001 — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:49:06 +0000

We just featured an article covering the Apple TV, to see where it was heading and what could be done about it. Check it out:

http://theappleblog.com/2007/12/05/apple-tv-the-third-cousin-once-removed/

But in all honesty, I don’t see it marketed as a Mac Mini for the TV with USB support, because you might as well buy a Mac Mini then, nor do I see a DVR coming to it, only because it takes away from a purchase to own model. I think with a rental subscription Apple could turn things around, but it’s all speculation. Check out the article, see what other people commented.

By: Matt_

Matt_ — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:31:54 +0000

A hacked Apple TV can Run Joost and other Apps .

Message to Apple ….open up your DRMed locked down box and the damn thing might sell .

http://www.appletvhacks.net/2007/04/01/mac-os-x-running-on-apple-tv/