Things we want in Apple TV, Take Three
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Jul 8, 2008 at 6:23am
While I like the Apple TV, Take Two overall, it’s time that Apple really kicked the device into high gear and made it more than a “hobby.” After all, if Apple is able to dominate the video market with the Apple TV, as it conquered the digital music market with the iPod, Apple could potentially add an additional US$2 to $4 billion a year in “surreptitious” revenue from sales in the U.S. alone, according to a recent report.
And Piper Jaffray Analyst Gene Munster thinks that devices in Apple’s entertainment ecosystem like the iPod and Apple TV will augment the digital lifestyle trend on the Mac side. So what can be found to make the Apple TV live up to its (so far unrealized) potential?
The Seeking Alpha recently ran a list of suggestions that I think are spot on. They include:
° Including a TV tuner and HD-DVR. “One of the most complained about issues regarding the Apple TV is its lack of a basic TV Tuner and an HD-DVR. By adding a TV Tuner and a DVR, the Apple TV will probably become the best alternative to any current set-top box on the market today.”
° Offer wireless syncing and streaming with the iPod Touch and the iPhone. This away “one could load his or her movies on his or her iPhone and take them to a buddy’s house to watch on the telly.” This would also further solidify the Apple ecosystem of the iPod-iTunes-Apple TV. Moreover, one is more likely to be carrying his or her iPhone than a DVD, thus allowing the end user to be able to spontaneously watch their downloaded content at a friend’s house.
° Beef up the iTunes movies offers. Add thing such as the extras you get with DVDs.
° Create a Netflix-like subscription service along with its a la carte offerings it already sustains.
° Allow DVD ripping in a DRM-protected format. “Once again, if Apple could get over the legal hurdles of permitting its customers to do so, Apple should allow the end user to rip their DVD catalogue in DRM-protected files so as to allow the end user to make a quick and easy transition to the Apple TV. For those who have huge DVD catalogues, there is a high incentive to stick with the physical medium.”
° Add a better remote, one with a touch screen, perhaps. Seeking Alpha also recommends adding a Blu-Ray player to the Apple TV. I’m dubious of this until we see if the format is really going to catch on or not.
I’d like to see Apple let you use an Apple TV to rent a standard-definition movie: you can’t transfer an Apple TV-rented movie to your iPod, iPhone, or iTunes library, even though the same movie rented through iTunes can be transferred to any of the other devices. On the other hand, you can only rent the high def movies on your Apple TV, not on, for example, your Mac.
Finally, here are some suggestions I’ve received from Macsimum readers:
° Release a fix for the Apple TV that will allow continuous looping of Music Video playlists. (You are currently limited to viewing one video at a time and are thrown back to the main menu to select another video.)
° Add Streaming Internet Radio.
° Stretch non-widescreen content to full screen. Every widescreen TV has this capability, as do most software media players—including EyeTV on the Mac.
° Add a Bluetooth module for things such as using the iPhone as a smart controller for the Apple TV.
° Simplify the convoluted menu system.
Obviously, Apple isn’t going to do all these things. But there are enough solid suggestions here to make Apple TV, Take Three a real contender.
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Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
