Apple TV Set: Any thoughts ?

Agree with all the comments regarding the quality of the display. Apple make pretty decent displays anyway, but it's going to take more than a flashy UI to make me switch to what will be an overpriced TV (don't kid yourself, they will charge a premium compared to Samsung/Sony etc.)

Regarding the UI, I think Sky TV in the UK have already nailed it. I can record several things at the same time whilst watching others, I can record the whole of a series with 2 presses. I can rewind live tv if I missed something, I can pause live TV. I can navigate between channels really quickly or navigate by group (News, Sport) etc. And the UI is very responsive. Much better than the TiVo I tried... :) Now, if only I still lived in England :(
 
I'm relatively uninterested in the quality of the picture. The old SD TV was fine.
I want cool content. A TV that is a merge between a TV and a computer is what I want.
I think of the TV as a Computer Monitor .... and want the TV to have a computer !

My TV
Sony Bravia KDL-40EX713

Save on energy bills with our Edge LED slim design TV - 84 Watts
102cm / 40" , Full HD 1080 1920 x 1080 pixel picture resolution, Wireless LAN Ready, LCD TV with Edge LED screen, Motionflow 100Hz & eco feature
Slim, Edge LED screen & smooth motion pictures
Wireless LAN Ready for access to online services
Power saving sensors & other eco features
Built-in tuner for easy access to Freeview HD
http://www.sony.co.uk/product/TV-102-40-lcd/KDL-40EX713
Click to expand...
 
I would be surprised if Apple made a TV and the only difference between the TV and a traditional TV manufacturer was the UI. If that is the case, I think the product will be a flop. But I don't think the UI will be the main innovation. I am hoping they make new content available. I want them to make video content purchasing as easy as buying something from iTunes. One of my ideas was they'll leverage iTunes to sell video. The iTunes would be in the cloud, I guess.

The idea is that I'll be buying content directly from the content makers. It won't go through major networks. As it is now, I pay for cable and cable buys their content from Major Content makers. Cable is the middleman. As reality TV has shown us - people will watch almost anything. I think people will buy video via the TV.

So will Apple create an iTunes for video ?
Will they "computerize" the TV ?
Will it come with an internal SSD ? I assume it would have to.
Will they launch a whole new OS for TV? or will the TV run an expanded version of iOS ?
Will it be called iTV ?
 
Tried it, didn't like it. All too restricted and even with the options to remove restrictions it still didn't meet my requirements. My next Mac will be a mini which will also be used as media center for TV.
 
dutchbb said:
Tried it, didn't like it. All too restricted and even with the options to remove restrictions it still didn't meet my requirements. My next Mac will be a mini which will also be used as media center for TV.
Click to expand...
Oh no you didn't !
appletv-vs-appletv-set-jpg.23103
 
Just wait for Google's version to come... There were other reasons for Motorola's purchase other than smartphones. Google can team up with Verizon, Comcast and other providers to provide the service in the setup box.

I can't see this taking over the market if you have to buy the entire TV for the service.
 
turtile said:
I can't see this taking over the market if you have to buy the entire TV for the service.
Click to expand...
Apple already has millions of devices out there that can get complete operating system upgrades over the wire and that are being used on any TV with HDMI. http://www.apple.com/appletv/

If Apple comes out with an actual TV, you most likely will still be able to use whatever special UI/service they offer through it with your own TV by getting one of those for $99.
 
One thing is pretty clear , right now there are only couple TV that matches Apple Led Cinema Display resolution and display quality. While thinking about it you should also consider this. I tested it and Led Cinema Display have way better quality compared to my Toshiba Led TV

Also just take a look at last 10 years. Apple products changed everything,. I have full faith on Apple to succeed on TV market and i will probably purchase it asap if it is not over prized.
 
Most of the worlds displays are made by Samsung. Sony just sold their share in the partnership between them and Samsung back to Samsung (iow, Samsung make all Sony LCD/LED panels and have done for years). Quality will not be an issue if Apple sign an agreement with Samsung. Am really looking forward to the Apple TV Display even though I hate the fact that is known as DRM. My Mac Mini connected to my Sammy TV is simply amazing and faultless. Roll on a SIRI enabled TV where I can walk into the room and say "TV ON, play Frozen Planet Episode 2 from my NAS".
 
I don't really see how anything 'revolutionary' can be done with the TV. It's all been done and tried. Will see though, when they're ready to go.
 
twhiting9275 said:
I don't really see how anything 'revolutionary' can be done with the TV. It's all been done and tried. Will see though, when they're ready to go.
Click to expand...
Really ? I think TVs are terribly outdated.
I can't even search for content !
If you add more content ... the limitations of the UI become apparent.
When there were 13 channels ... the numbers worked. The numbers stopped working ... certainly when the channel numbers went over 100. How is the TV going to support 1 million channels ?

TVs are dumb terminals.
I remember when there was no "good" way to search the internets.
I learned about new sites by hearing about them from friends, not that people were really talking about it.
Then came Yahoo which made lists of sites and I thought it was a super cool idea. As the internet became bigger, it was clear Yahoo's directory approach would fail.

Then came Google.

The 1 million channel universe needs someone to provide an enduser UI that can be used to navigate the million channel universe.

Anyone know if Google TV will run on XBMC ?

While thinking of this .... I think that Apple TV Set (unofficially dubbed iTV by some) will come with a remote ! I think it has to come with a remote. I wonder what it will look like ?

I think there will be more than one remote.
Maybe something like this ...
tumblr_l7qzynfyom1qzvxuio1_r2_500.jpg

but also something with on screen keyboard (Note: my mom would probably need a physical qwerty keyboard.) I wonder if you could use Swype as an onscreen keyboard for a device as pictured above.
Certainly an iphone-like device would make a cool remote control with on screen keyboard.

Wonder what Google TV 2.0 is like ?
 
Digital Doctor said:
Really ? I think TVs are terribly outdated.
I can't even search for content !
If you add more content ... the limitations of the UI become apparent.
When there were 13 channels ... the numbers worked. The numbers stopped working ... certainly when the channel numbers went over 100. How is the TV going to support 1 million channels ?

TVs are dumb terminals.
I remember when there was no "good" way to search the internets.
I learned about new sites by hearing about them from friends, not that people were really talking about it.
Then came Yahoo which made lists of sites and I thought it was a super cool idea. As the internet became bigger, it was clear Yahoo's directory approach would fail.

Then came Google.

The 1 million channel universe needs someone to provide an enduser UI that can be used to navigate the million channel universe.

Anyone know if Google TV will run on XBMC ?

While thinking of this .... I think that Apple TV Set (unofficially dubbed iTV by some) will come with a remote ! I think it has to come with a remote. I wonder what it will look like ?

I think there will be more than one remote.
Maybe something like this ...
tumblr_l7qzynfyom1qzvxuio1_r2_500.jpg

but also something with on screen keyboard (Note: my mom would probably need a physical qwerty keyboard.) I wonder if you could use Swype as an onscreen keyboard for a device as pictured above.
Certainly an iphone-like device would make a cool remote control with on screen keyboard.

Wonder what Google TV 2.0 is like ?
Click to expand...

what does appletv/google tv do that my wdtv hd hub can't do? Just curious and a legitimate question. http://wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=570
 
Digital Doctor said:
I can't even search for content !
Click to expand...
Why would you WANT to? Seriously, TV's and remotes are about the WORST for searching for content. Talk about taking forever to do so
Digital Doctor said:
How is the TV going to support 1 million channels ?
Click to expand...
You're asking the WRONG question. It isn't about how the TV is going to support 1 million channels at all. There is no NEED for a million TV channels. The question is how much CONTENT will be on those, and believe me, if we can't even manage content on the current channels for an entire 'season', then, there's just no way that anyone would stand 1 million channels.
 
Just tried Facetime for the first time. Absolutely freaked out my wife. Certainly that is one of life's pleasures.

Facetime TV integration is almost a guarantee.

THIS JUST IN:
A prototype has been released.

hamlin.jpg

Anyone remember these bad boys ?
I could go from 2 to 42 in 0.1 seconds :)
And when you went fast it was like the TV was having a seizure ! The volume didn't go down at all when you switched so it was super loud too !
 
The first model will not show TV in color (since people don't need color), nor will it come with a remote (because you have to put batteries in them and you lose them.)

A year later, the second model will add color and a remote (we've figured out how to do the TV remote right!), but it still will only display Apple-approved television channels.

How much will all this cost? At least four times as much as any comparable TV does right now.
 
The last thing I need is another TV set.
Then again, I don't suppose it is targeted at me. Apple is not stupid. They usually do their homework. They must know something we don't!
Or, it could just be another product where they don't have too much to lose - chances are they are having other makers take a lot of the risk.
I have two apple TV's (the 99 boxes)...we love 'em. But that's really just for watching netflix and some youtube - nothing more.
 

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