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.
stwf Says:
I have an AppleTV and love it, sure it needs help, but some of your suggestions are way off the mark.
Including a tuner and PVR are pointless unless you include CableCard support, which is very complicated and expensive. Most of the good shows are not transmitted in the clear, and those of us with FIOS tv get nothing in the clear. So as time goes on the clear QAM PVR will become increasing useless.
Having hacked my AppleTV, I’ll tell you it makes it much more useful. Adding support for lots of formats, and having the device act as a server (with external HD) is the best working combination. Though I don’t expect Apple to abandon the iTunes syncing process anytime soon…
Forget bluetooth, the iPhone can already access AppleTV over wifi, at least a hacked AppleTV running VNC. This should be included by Apple, its great and not limited to line of sight.
I agree with adopting the Netflix format, its proven that people will pay for it. This would fix the number one problem with the AppleTV , the ridiculous 24 hour limit on viewing rented movies. It HAS burned me a few times, and I’ll never use it again.
Posted on July 08, 2008
txmacsa Says:
i second the motion to allow continuous play of music videos… at parties who wants to constantly monitor and play one video at a time!
Posted on July 08, 2008
Peter Says:
Actually, I’d be content with just an DVD/BluRay player.
Posted on July 08, 2008
volume buttons that work please Says:
operational volume buttons !
volume button needs to work on the remote !
Posted on July 08, 2008
invalidname Says:
I <a >blogged</a> my suggestion a while back: base the new “Apple TVii” on the iPhone OS, using a Wii-like pointing device, thereby opening up the Apple TV to all the apps on the iPhone App Store.
Posted on July 08, 2008
DAG Says:
1- Get rid of the list-based sync. Drag & drop iPod type file transfer is much faster and better. Apple TV uses the all or nothing list sync system. t sucks- really bad.
2- Since the device is based upon OS X, why can’t the Apple TV play a movie and sync or download at the same time? My Mac can do simultaneous downloads and multi-task apps. The thing has a Pentium-type CPU, so I’m guessing it’s software.
3- Like you said- the interface is a train-wreck and the device needs better remote control. Somebody- please- tell Apple to build a bluetooth module into new Apple TVs and develop an app allowing an iPod Touch or iPhone to be a smart remote for the Apple TV.
4- Put a proper power switch on the thing. Even at sleep (standby) the thing runs hot. Put a power switch on it so we can turn it off.
I still think the perfect Apple TV would be a Mac mini with a real graphics chip and an HDMI output. It would cure most any complaint anyone has with a DVD drive, a full OS, keyboard support, Bluetooth support and the ability to run EyeTV or other DVR software/hardware.
Posted on July 08, 2008
Lantzn Says:
For this 40+ yr old guy I would like a revamp of the movie rental list. The tiny artwork and small fonts are very difficult to read. What’s with all the title duplicates? Are they trying to make their rental library look bigger then it really is? I’ve seen 3-4 spots where the same title/version was listed. They just a waste of space and time.
I like the way the Theater Trailers are listed, alphabetical, large font and artwork. If they did the rentals this way all they’d have to do is add the Preview, Rental and Purchase buttons below the artwork and title summary.
Posted on July 08, 2008
Jim Says:
APPLETV Take 3 needs 1080p compliant video. Right now AppleTV can only output videos at a maximum of 720p (1080i and 1080p can be used for menus) but the processor in AppleTV is not capable of playing 1080i or 1080p compliant HD movies, Apple needs to fix this before they take on anything else.
Posted on July 08, 2008
Greg Says:
- Fix the hang issue with HDMI switches (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7516402)
- Let me choose what menu items appear in each section, and in what order (e.g. put “My Music” at the top and/or hide the other menu items that I don’t care about)
Posted on July 08, 2008
macFanDave Says:
I’d like to see Apple do something like one of the available hacks: essentially make the AppleTV act like WebTV. Get a wireless keyboard and let me surf the Web on my HD TV. A wireless keyboard with a good trackpad and easy pan-and-zoom controls, AppleTV could become that surfing/e-mail tool that so many people use desktops for.
Posted on July 08, 2008
Rhonie's friend Says:
How about a $0.49 “Classic” TV Show of the Day from iTunes featuring any episode of a classic TV show to supplement the Movie of the Week. Then there could be a 49 cent “Classic” Game/Match of the Day from any sport from the past. Thinking outside the box I would like to see the Movie of the Week and Classic TV Show of the Day repeated for content that is not usually offered on the US iTunes Store so maybe we can begin to see international content not available on networks, cable or the US iTunes offerings. Old movie trailers? Old movie posters slideshows? A link to every iPod/iPhone TV ad ever produced? Old iPod posters slideshow? Outdated fossil-like greedy network executives and movie distributors? The internet extends beyond US borders and some will be rewarded if they grow the pie.
Posted on July 08, 2008
Art Says:
* Add folders. Why must I scroll through my hundreds of hilarious videos to find the one I want to play? Folders have been around a while and there is no need to reinvent. Just copy what we already know.
* In fact, the iTunes interface works really well. Why not just make a mini version of that instead of the strange, slow, navigation lists that don’t allow me to move around without going forwards and backwards repeatedly.
* Allow me to surf the web with a browser.
* The movie interface is slow and inefficient. I have a hard time reading the text and viewing the graphics. This area needs a whole new GUI.
* Speed up the interface.
* New remote with more buttons. The clickwheel works for the iPod. At a minimum, give us that interface.
Posted on July 08, 2008
D9 Says:
On a very side note…
Doesn’t this article today feel like the life insurance booth at a car expo? I mean, sure it has its importance, but it seems irrelevant on the same week that the iPhone 3G/MobileMe/App Store is being launched!
/
Posted on July 08, 2008
marcus Stromeyer Says:
u can make a radio playlist and drag the radio channels there and it will appear on ur apple tv and work.
Posted on July 08, 2008
Bizlaw Says:
I find it very hard to believe that one of the most requested additions is a TV tuner and HD-DVR. There’s not much over the air HD shows, and most people with a nice, 1080p flat panel TV are going to have either satellite or cable, so they have to use that box anyway. If AppleTV tries to be a TiVo, it will die like TiVo is dying.
I like the Netflix subscription rental model.
Having a DVD player is really not necessary (isn’t that why you have an AppleTV in the first place?), and adding Blu-Ray would make AppleTV cost at least twice what it does now. Apple will sell five times more AppleTVs without Blu-Ray than with Blu-Ray. I’d love Blu-Ray, but I’m not willing to pay the price yet.
Posted on July 08, 2008
KindredMac Says:
I’ve had my Apple TV for two weeks now and have to say that I have been extremely happy with it. My wife has even fallen in love with it and thought I was crazy when I said I wanted one.
The things I would like to see for Take 3 are purely software based:
- Actual Shut Down function in addition to the Sleep function. Possibly hold down Menu for Shut Down and Play for Sleep.
- Rentals to change to 48 hour period once you start watching and take the 30 day period and pull back to 7 days. Why have a movie sitting there for 30 days?
- Offer a Rental program like Netflix where you pay a constant fee every month of $9.99 and you are allowed to have two movies at a time on the Apple TV, but can watch unlimited amount of movies each month.
- WiFi or BT (possibly through a USB BT dongle in the back?) connection between iPhone/iPod touch and Apple TV where the touch screen acts like high end tablet universal remotes.
- Safari would be a nice addition to be used with the BT keyboard utilizing the dongle previously mentioned, but not necessary.
As for other items people have mentioned, there are some that I don’t think are necessary:
- TV tuner/DVR. Most cable companies do not allow you to use a 3rd party box in their systems. TWC is one of them. When we moved to our house we had cable turned over immediately, however that night we lost cable totally. When I called they said that the tech had not entered in the serial number of our DVR box for our address and the system thought that I was trying to steal cable and shut it down.
- 1080 support. Not a big deal as I have seen it. The Rentals at 720 have looked excellent on our 47” 1080 LCD.
- BluRay. Why add an optical drive to the unit. It adds cost on the front and back end of it all. Plus it goes against everything that the Apple TV is… a digital media player that can go off of the home network.
Posted on July 08, 2008
Puntiglio Says:
I really don’t get AppleTV at all - I gave mine away. Instead I put a Mac Mini on each of my tv’s, attaching it with a DVI to HDMI cable. All the movies are archived with handbrake and stored on a network drive - A 2TB LaCie drive holds about 2500 movies. They are put in order with DVDPedia - I can play any movie in the house on any tv at any time using VLC or quicktime (DVD Pedia will store the link and play it with QT) With 802.11n (I installed the upgrade chip myself), I can play a VOB file just fine. We can have each tv in the house playing a different movie and still have enough bandwidth for the kids to play WoW. I have a little hub and a couple of 2TB discs so I can do the same with battlestar galactica, alias, etc., etc.
Posted on July 09, 2008
Doug Petrosky Says:
You really don’t get it do you!
Cable and Satellite providers will always have an advantage in providing DVR services because they can store the pre-compressed encrypted stream. Systems like TiVo need to re-encode that data and will never be able to compete. So get over the idea of a DVR because Apple does not do second best.
The solution is to make Cable and Satellite obsolete. The only thing better than time shifting video is video on demand. If Apple could just expand it’s offerings so that we could disconnect our cable we would all be much better off. Prices need to fall and apple needs to beef up iTunes and the AppleTV interface to deal with very large libraries.
So my recommendation!
1) More content.
2) Better prices.
3) Access to Widgets (this should also give access to many network streaming videos)
Posted on July 09, 2008
Don Says:
I agree with stwf. The most important feature would be support for more video formats (specifically MPEG-2). Wasn’t the whole idea with the Apple TV to get your videos from your computer to your TV screen? Well, almost none of the videos I have on my computer are in h.264. I’m sure yours aren’t either. I don’t want to spend time re-encoding a video just to watch on my Apple TV, I just want to watch it period. And please add support for VIDEO_TS folders. And 1080p video. And a DVD drive. And it would be great if Apple added a HDMI port and Apple TV software to every Mac.
Posted on July 09, 2008
Chuck Says:
To make the ATV almost perfect would be the following:
- Add a slingbox plug-in so I can control my TV/PVR through apple TV via sling Box
- Blu-Ray drive
- Bluetooth to add a keyboard to (to surf the net)
- as I am writing this there is a wifi remote program for iphone and ipod touch.
- iTunes to let us make a “digital backup” of our existing DVD’s
-play movies at 1080i or 1080p
I could through out my DVD player and Bury my sat box/PVR and have just my ATY under my TV.
Posted on July 13, 2008
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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.
rootlesscosmo Says:
My 40GB Apple TV also has an odd bug--mldly irritating though not serious: once in a while a song I’ve recently synced won’t play when I select it. After a minute or so I get a display saying “Apple TV is unable to play the selected sng. Plase return to the menu.” Then I select the song again and it plays. This seems (to my non-techie judgment) like something a small patch should be able to fix.
Posted on July 08, 2008