On February 17, 2009 analog TV will be a thing of the past as the country will make the transition to full digital broadcasts, as mandated by the United States Congress. All “over the air” broadcasting will cease to exist be converted to digital. And those of you hanging on to those old analog sets will need to be outfitted with a digital converter box.
President and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, David Rehr, has described the digital transition as “the most significant advancement of television technology since color TV was introduced.” What better an opportunity for Apple to penetrate what is already an enormous market bursting at the seams with people in need of a Digital TV upgrade.
Apple has maintained the ability to revolutionize almost every product that they touch. In January of 2007 we were privy to the announcement of a little device called the iPhone, which subsequently changed the face of the entire mobile market, an industry that was seen as nearly impenetrable, and in-a-rut at the time.
A Digital Flat Panel LED TV would be a more than plausible venture that would undoubtedly stay in line with a new mysterious “product transition,” that Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer had recently mentioned. And it would also quiet down Greenpeace. Building the Apple TV into a standalone TV set could give consumers an unparalleled device. Of course, it would need to be done right. Apple currently gets a lot of slack for the Apple TV even being a product in existence. Some would say that a Mac mini would give the user full blown OS X, as well as everything the Mac mini can do. So what good is the Apple TV at all?
Either way, combining all of the aspects of the current Apple TV (or mac mini), built into to a physical screen enclosure, could provide consumers with a “best-of-both” worlds option.
The ability to stream all iTunes related media sans the additional box would differentiate Apple from competitors such as Netflix who has recently teamed up with hardware makers to accomplish a similar goal. Features such as a built-in Blu-Ray player would only sweeten the deal.
While some could consider an endeavor such as this to be a bit irrational, we must remember that without risk there is no reward. Moreover, Apple has more than adequate resources, and a hefty pile of cash to make this happen. The digital transition will happen…that is a fact. Thus the market for digital TVs will drastically increase. This could not be a better a fit for Apple to once again reinvent not only themselves but an entire industry. I could only hope to see a product such as this loom on the horizon.
Update: Thanx to reader Tom H. for the clarification about the term “cease-to-exist.” The correction is that all analog signals will be turned into digital signals. They won’t vanish.
If you guys have any other information that you think may be helpful for the digital switch, please share it in the comments below 
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8 Comments to “[Updates] Apple iTube TV Set; Now Is As Good A Time As Any”
“All “over the air” broadcasting will cease to exist and those of you hanging on to those old analog sets will need to be outfitted with a digital converter box.”
Over the air broadcasting will not cease to exist, the signals will just now be digital.
“What better an opportunity for Apple to penetrate what is already an enormous market bursting at the seams with people in need of a Digital TV upgrade.”
This is not an enormous market. Almost all TVs (probably >99%) bought in the last 10-15 years has a digital tuner (and many older sets do as well). The number of people who will need these boxes is very small.
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Honestly man, you’re wrong.
People with analog signals will get NO TELEVISION stations on their current sets.
They will ALL need to upgrade.
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Interesting!
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Honestly, guys, you’re ALL wrong:
“Over the air broadcasting will not cease to exist, the signals will just now be digital.”
What’s happening next February 18 is that all FULL-power stations will have turned off their analog signals; low-power broadcasters and translators are exempt from the law that mandates the switch to digital TV and they will continue broadcasting in analog. There are roughly 7,000 low-power stations in the US; the vast majority of these will still be analog on Feb 18. Some unknown percentage will switch to digital on some, presently unknown, dates. Digital and analog signals will BOTH be around for AT LEAST several years.
“Almost all TVs (probably >99%) bought in the last 10-15 years has a digital tuner (and many older sets do as well). The number of people who will need these boxes is very small.”
Thoroughly and completely wrong. Digital (ATSC) tuners were only required to be included in TVs shipped after March of 2007. Most TVs bought more than several years ago DO NOT have digital tuners; they only have analog (NTSC) tuners. 22 million people have already applied for converter box coupons; more than 8 million have ALREADY bought boxes with the coupons; many more have bought them without the coupons. The number of sets that will end up connected to digital to analog converter boxes will almost certainly exceed 20 million. This is not a small number. The switch to digital is also adding roughly 5,000 potential new over-the-air TV channels in the US; this is not a small number either. The amount of content available for free via antenna is going to greatly expand.
“People with analog signals will get NO TELEVISION stations on their current sets.” Even allowing that “signals” was intended to be typed as “tuners,” this is still wrong; see above. Many people in rural areas are served entirely by translators and low-power broadcasters, and will still be entirely digital after Feb.
Since the highest quality HD signals are received over the air with antenna (satellite and cable signals are usually compressed), I’ll bet all Macs will have built-in ATSC tuners (at least) very soon.
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Correction: Second to last paragraph: “entirely digital” should read “entirely analog.” Sorry.
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Well!… Let me repeat my self. I´ve forseen this in over two years now. It´s invetable! Apple will sometime down the road make this happen. Rather sooner than later I hope. I would be sad to see Microsoft, DELL, SONY, Samsung or others alike, beating them to it. This would be a beautiful product if Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive were to slam dunk this one…
Well here goes… “Pushing the repeat button”:
(A copy/paste of an earlier post made by me on numerous Apple-rumor sites)…
Quote start >
New Cinema Displays are so over due! I think that maybe a version or two of the coming Cinema Displays will have evolved into the new “iTV” or “AppleTv-NonHoppy”. You know… into an All-In-One box with the über-remote, which is “iPhone 2″
The iTV/AppleTV would have the full blown Leopard OS in its stomach and thus include Safari, iChat (Camera on front naturally) and the regular gaming experience among other good things! The mouse of couse… would be the “iPhone 2″ (The new remote) …and as new patent´s show… The new game controller!!! Link: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/05/08/apple_developing_3d_gaming_controller_for_apple_tv.html
This would also help us get rid of the many ugly Set Top Boxes that clutters our TV environment. One box… Simple and easy with an intuative interface which is the “Mac-way” …ALL Apple!!!
Apple still have to make money. So the iPhone would not come bundled with the AppleTV as standard. You would have a simple (but improved) remote that comes with the system. Then buy an iPhone to extend and simplify your couch-surfing Nice to only have one remote on your table. So instead of the simple remote that came with the system, you now can replace it with the combatible “iPhone 2″ which would have the same functions build in.
Yep!, you would certaintly have to buy that on the side! My AAPL has to go up you know!
I would really like my TV to be Apple branded! It would be stylish! No doubt!
If this Scenario where to happen… companies like DELL and Microsoft would shit their pants!
< Quote end
PLEEEEEEEAAASE Apple!!!
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I was reading this and got goosebumps. Please sit back and ride the imaginary train for a moment.
You get home from a long day at work and as you walk into your front door your iphone turns on the tv and the computer in the other room with its wifi connection. You request from your imac to play a little tunes for you. As you listen to your tunes you read your emails and or surf the web on you wall mounted (apple) tv. All while your requested tv shows are being recorded on the built in apple recorder. It gets a little late and you are getting hungry and you request your imac to order you a pizza. As you relax and sit back the imac logs onto the website orders the pizza, pays and requests that it is delivered. Litterally the only thing that you would need to do all evening is talk and get up to answer the door for the pizza man!
Wow, now all you need is a butler to get the door.
Motivation is what you make of it!
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