MacBlogz - One Stop Apple News » Apple TV

Analyst Reveals More Evidence of Apple Working on Networked Televisions

Dave — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:10:56 +0000

Despite Apple’s open disregard for the television market, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has expressed his belief that the Cupertino-based company will deliver a networked television within the next couple of years and issue an Apple TV update to provide DVR functionality by the end of 2009.

AppleInsider reveals that a recent research report given by Munster, the analyst states, “We expect Apple to design a connected television over the next two years (launching in 2011) with DVR functionality built in…These recorded shows could then sync with Macs, iPhones and iPods over a wireless network.”

A product of this nature and magnitude has been discussed and debated for quite some time. While Apple has openly denied such claims, many have negated the company’s disinterest in this market. Former co-founder of Weblogs Inc, GM of Netscape and current CEO of Mahalo, Jason Calacanis had previously alluded to claims that Apple had already begun work on HDTV sets. In an October interview with Cnet UK writer, Nate Lanxon, Calcanis reported that, “These LCD HDTVs will be fully networked, with the ability to stream all your iTunes content from your Mac or PC…they’ll function like a standard TV with an Apple TV box, only without the need for the box.”

A device such as this would undoubtedly provide consumers with a complete in-home entertainment experience, providing interactive TV, movies, music, and gaming in one centralized location. Using magnitude of iTunes and the ability to streamline entertainment in one nifty little package without requiring a set-top-box or additional device attachments, Apple could create a device that would be sure to stand out from the crowd.

Munster adds, “With the use of a CableCARD for digital HD TV signal, Apple could effectively replace the home entertainment system (including a music stereo, cable box, Blu-ray/DVD player, and gaming console) with an all-in-one Apple television.” In essence, he feels that an all-in-one setup could leverage Apple to command a premium among the competition, by using their software to provide a simple and cohesive system. Munster believes that Apple will setup the groundwork for such a device by the end of the year, by releasing an updated Apple TV that will support DVR functionality through the inclusion of a coaxial line-in.

AI reveals that Munster and his team provide 5 distinct reasons of why they believe we will see an Apple device such as this including:

1. Indications From Management: The company appears to be determined to capitalize on its opportunity to bring the iTunes ecosystem to the living room. On the Q1′09 conference call, interim CEO, Tim Cook, said, “We’re going to continue to invest in [the Apple TV], because we fundamentally believe there is something there for us in the future.”

2. DVR And TV-Related Patent Filings: Patents filed in October 2006 and published in March 2008 indicate that Apple is exploring DVR functionality, which would require updated Apple TV hardware (with a TV input) and software.

3. LG Partnership For LCDs: Apple recently announced a five-year, $500 million agreement with LG Electronics for supply of LCD screens. While this agreement likely covers LCDs for Macs, displays, and portable devices, it could also include LG’s larger LCD TV displays.

4. The Addressable iTunes User Base: Apple’s addressable market for Apple TVs is strong and growing. As of September 2008 Apple has over 65 million iTunes users, and as of December 2008 Apple has sold over 32 million iPhones and iPod touches, which can already be used as remote controls for the Apple TV.

5. Apple Could Win In A New Market: Piper believes the television market is increasingly moving towards a connected TV environment where software will be the key differentiator. Despite the ~70% price declines in the overall TV market in the past three years, Apple could enter this high volume (~10m US units a year) market at a premium price point because of its ability to deliver hardware and software that work well together. Apple has indicated that it only wants to participate in categories it feels it can make a difference (and win) in, and like the smart phone market, we believe connected TVs fit the company’s criteria.

While Apple insists that the current Apple TV acts a mere hobby for the company, Munster states, “While 3x growth may seem aggressive, on the December 2008 quarter conference call Apple indicated that Apple TV sales were up ‘almost 3x’ year-over-year in the quarter,” adding, “If we apply this growth rate throughout calendar 2009, it would indicate Apple TV units of over 6 million in calendar 2009.”

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Boxee Officially Goes Public, Adds BBC iPlayer and Joost Content

Aviv — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:34:14 +0000

Boxee, a service which lets users play and view their music, videos and photos on a connected laptop, HDTV or Apple TV, has officially stepped out of private alpha and into the public eye. Users can now sign up for Boxee on the company’s website, as they claim “you are now free to be entertained.”

Boxee takes some of the major content providers around today, Hulu, Netflix, CBS, Comedy Central, Last.fm, and flickr, as well as your own digital music, photos, videos and pretty much any other file in any format and gives you the control to browse, playback and enjoy all of this on your HDTV or connected computer. Up until now the service has been in a private alpha growing to a nearly 200,000+ installed user base.

Most users have needed to request a confirmation code to join Boxee and experience the service. As of today, this has changed. Boxee has gone public and anyone can sign up now. Boxee is currently available for Mac, Ubuntu and Apple TV customers, with the Windows version moving into private alpha as the rest move away from it.

Boxee explains on their company blog: boxee’s private alpha went well beyond our expectations. over 200,000 people signed up.. today we’re opening our alpha to all Mac, Ubuntu and Apple TV users. Windows is also moving into private-alpha (which means you still need to get invited, but we’re going to release thousands of invites every week). bear with us as we scale…)

Gizmodo has a handy guide for maxing out the potential of your Apple TV with boxee.

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Apple Sued Over Alleged Apple TV Patent Infringements

Aviv — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:59:41 +0000

A lawsuit has been filed against Apple, accusing the company of infringing on certain patents pertaining to the Apple TV, Airport Express, and Macintosh personal computers.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday, by EZ4Media in Bannockburn, Illinois. The patents in question were obtained by EZ4Media (UEI) in March. They say that Apple hired three former UEI employees — “Nick Kalayjian, Bruce Edwards, and Wendy Goh” — nearly a year before unveiling the Apple TV.

“Each of these employees had access to UEI’s confidential and proprietary information and left UEI for Apple within 30 days of each other in the second quarter of 2005,” the complaint says. “Apple TV was commercially introduced in September 2006.” (via InformationWeek)

One of the former employees Nick Kalayjian, is now an engineering manager at Tesla Motors. He says when he held the position of senior hardware systems integrator at Apple, he wasn’t involved in the development of Apple TV.

As we know, the Mark Papermaster saga has gone on for a few months now, even though poaching talent from one company to another seems like fair game in the tech industry. Noncompete agreements tend to mean much less in the state of California, which also helps.

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Apple Releases Software Update 2.3 for Apple TV

Aviv — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:43:32 +0000

Apple has released an update for the Apple TV. The update is accessible through the Apple TV’s settings menu, and navigating to General then Software Update.

Apple has listed the new features and fixes found in Software Update 2.3:

AirTunes Streaming from Apple TV: Music can be streamed via AirTunes to Airport Express speakers or other Apple TVs in your house.
Third-party Remote Controls: Apple TV can now learn other remote controls and use them in addition to the Apple Remote.
Playlists: Playlists in iTunes that contain Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, and Music Videos can now be seen on Apple TV.
Music Volume Control: Support for volume control in Music.

As MacRumors explains, the last update the Apple TV saw was in early October when Genius Playlists and native HD TV show downloads were added to the device. Additionally, if you have modded or hacked your device — with the Boxee mod for example — you should hold off on upgrading.

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Video: Apple Debuts New iPhone Commercial “Game Changer”

Aviv — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:28:02 +0000

Apple has recently debuted a new ad cleverly titeld “Game Changer” showcasing the iPhone 3G’s ability to run third party applications, and stream video content while you’re on the go.

Following recent commercials released by the company, Game Changer showcases the iPhone using the MLB application, which is available from the App Store. “The ad opens with “So what do you want your iPhone to be today?” It then continues to show off how the MLB.com app turns an iPhone into a “score-checker,” “live pitch updater,” or a “video highlight player.” The ad finishes with: “But any way you cut it, it’s officially a game changer,” Ars explains.

No doubt Apple will continuously push the iPhone as a platform and not just a mobile device. Commercials like this are meant to showcase the iPhone 3G in a light to consumers that they might not have otherwise though of. Previewing applications and showing consumers that they can truly do whatever they want (or whatever they want to pick from what Apple allows), is one of the major points Apple is trying to express while trying to increase iPhone market share.

[Ars Technica]
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Apple iTube: Apple Is Working On HDTV Sets, Calacanis Claims

Aviv — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:41:49 +0000

Jason Calacanis, previously the co-founder of Weblogs Inc, GM of Netscape and current CEO of Mahalo, claims to have direct sources at Apple, who are telling him that Apple has been, and currently is working on gorgeous HDTV sets.

Nate Lanxon, who writes for Cnet.co.uk, got a chance to sit down with Calacanis for a few hours yesterday. The Mahalo CEO confirmed to Lanxon that Apple is indeed planning on entering the television market. “Love him or hate him, the bloke’s got contacts, and he confirmed to me that he knew first-hand that Apple was working on a networked television,” Lanxon explains. “These LCD HDTVs will be fully networked, with the ability to stream all your iTunes content from your Mac or PC. In fact, Calacanis told me they’ll function like a standard TV with an Apple TV box, only without the need for the box,” he continues.

The video above is simply a 3D rendering of what the Apple TV might look like.
Only this one has Firefox built in, not Safari interestingly enough.

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.

MacBlogz has previously explained that the transition to digital television is an extremely crucial opportunity for Apple to exploit and enter the television market. 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 is already due for a Cinema Display refresh, and we’ve taken the liberty of outlining what we’d like to see. Recent rumors point to a MacWorld 2009 introduction for the new Displays. So don’t be surprised if Cupertino is cooking up an HDTV set right under our noses.

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Apple Releases Apple TV Update 2.2, HD TV Shows and Genius Playlists

Aviv — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:00:16 +0000

Apple has released Apple TV update 2.2. The update is available through your Apple TV by navigating to the “Update Software” section. With the update, users can now purchase HD TV shows directly on the device, as well as create Genius and on-the-go playlists.

Back on September 16th, MacBlogz reported that this update was indeed coming and that users should expect this functionality. After nearly two weeks, Apple has delivered the update and it seems as though our sources were right.

The Apple TV 2.2 update also addresses various security issues.

Images via iLounge

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Apple Hosting “Webcast Kick Off”, New Product Launch on September 30th?

Aviv — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:18:41 +0000

New anonymous information has come in claiming that Apple is hosting a “webcast kick off” on Tuesday September 30th, which might possibly relate to the Apple TV. Rumors that the Apple TV will be discontinued or “merged” with the Mac Mini have been around for a while. Many Apple TV owners and Mac Mini users have both asked for features the other device has, leaving many wondering what Apple is waiting for.

TUAW recently received an email from an anonymous Apple reseller, explaining that he had received an email from Apple instructing him to burn all of his Apple TV literature. No, he just has to throw away the marketing material and send back the actual Apple TV’s. The email continues to say there will be a “webcast kick off” on September 30th, which coincidentally is a Tuesday, and officially the last day of the September quarter.

We just got an e-mail from an anonymous Apple reseller, stating that they received an e-mail from Apple with instructions to remove all Apple TV displays and literature and to destroy them (which I assume means throw away the literature, send back the Apple TVs) by September 30, 2008 at 5 PM.

Additionally, on September 15th MacBlogz learned that Apple was indeed working on a software upgrade that would enable direct HD TV show downloads to the device. Currently, the only way to get HD TV shows onto the device is to transfer them from your computer via iTunes.

MacBlogz has learned from the same person people that told us about the new Macbook Pro keyboard, that Apple is indeed working on an update that will deliver HD TV Show downloads, directly to the device. In other words, Apple will be releasing a juicy update that will let you download HD TV Shows straight to your Apple TV. We figure Apple has been working on this functionality specifically for the Apple TV, but it’s either late, or Apple chose to wait with its launch. Users have begun grumbling about a possible software update, and they are right. It is indeed coming. Understandably users were shocked when Apple unveiled HD TV Shows, and then left out the ability to download them straight to the Apple TV.

The idea that Apple would discontinue or replace the Apple TV is also plausible, however support would need to remain around for existing owners. We still believe that Apple is working on an update that would enable HD TV show downloads to the Apple TV, and users can expect an update bringing this functionality.

Apple’s initial email to the reseller could simply be a request to remove old “Digital Content” literature, such as various TV show marketing, which may have expired. Apple is classically known for releasing new products on Tuesdays, which September 30th is. Other rumors regarding Apple’s upcoming notebook line point to October 14th as the next Apple release date, or quite possibly an announced special event.

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NBC, Giving it away for free, And It’s Working Bigtime

Christina — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:55:40 +0000

I for one can say that Steve’s announcement last week that NBC would be showing its face once again on iTunes was a HUGE relief for me. Apparently, I am not the only one.

According to the Hollywood Reported, “Users of Apple’s popular digital storefront (iTunes) had no problem relocating NBC Uni’s TV shows now that a new deal between the companies on September 9th restored episodes. More than 1 million downloads for NBC Uni TV properties have been tallied since then, according to Apple.”

Before the surprising and bitter breakup last fall, it was reported that the network’s content was accounting for roughly 40 percent of all video downloads on iTunes, according to AppleInsider.com. And in order to show down-loader appreciation, NBC has vowed to offer one free download from each of its top series, in standard of HD, during the first two weeks. The shows include, Battlestar Galactica, The Office, Lipstick Jungle, Heroes, In Plain Sight, Monk, Psych, Life, an Eureka. Here’s a list (with links) to show free content being offered on iTunes.

Perhaps the million downloads have something to do with the fact that many are probably free. But with NBC historically responsible for 40% of iTunes video sales, we doubt there will be any lashback to NBC’s past boycott.

Additionally, MacBlogz has received word that Apple is indeed working on an update that will allow the Apple TV to download HD TV Shows straight to the device.

Bottom line: The Office is back on iTunes, and that makes us happy (NBC iTunes link)

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Apple Working on Direct HD TV Show Downloads for Apple TV

Aviv — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:57:13 +0000

On September 9th at a special media event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled iTunes 8. Alongside a slew of new features including the return of NBC, HD TV Shows were unveiled, and added to the ever-growing library of iTunes content. However, one group of users that were left out, were Apple TV users. Which have been growing frustrated with the lack of HD TV Show downloads on the device.

The Apple TV was left out of the party on September 9th. Currently, the only way to get HD TV Shows onto the device is to transfer them from your computer via iTunes. A simple search through Apple’s discussion threads shows the frustration some users are experiencing while attempting to rent and watch HD TV Shows on their Apple TV’s.

“Seriously??!!
The premiere HD device in Apple’s lineup and you can’t purchase the HD TV shows through it?
Who thought this would be a good idea?!
Fine, I can purchase the HD TV shows through iTunes 8 and watch them on my computer, but I don’t want to watch my movies and TV shows on my computer. That’s why I don’t bother with Hulu or any of the other network streaming shows that are in near HD quality already. I want to watch TV on my TV. That’s why I bought an AppleTV. Please please please, tell me that there will be an imminent update for the AppleTV that turns on the ability to download HD TV shows. What’s the point in this box otherwise. Sheesh, it should have been turned on at the same time as iTunes 8 was released,” one frustrated user explains.

MacBlogz has learned from the same ~~person~~ people that told us about the new Macbook Pro keyboard, that Apple is indeed working on an update that will deliver HD TV Show downloads, directly to the device. In other words, Apple will be releasing a juicy update that will let you download HD TV Shows straight to your Apple TV. We figure Apple has been working on this functionality specifically for the Apple TV, but it’s either late, or Apple chose to wait with its launch. Users have begun grumbling about a possible software update, and they are right. It is indeed coming. Understandably users were shocked when Apple unveiled HD TV Shows, and then left out the ability to download them straight to the Apple TV.

“I’m not sure why you can’t purchase HD TV shows directly from the ATV, but there could be a couple of reasons. One is that it may require another ATV software update before it has that capability (if that’s the case, it’s probably in the works but late, as was the 2.0 upgrade).”

“Another reason could be disk space and device issues. When you purchase an HD TV show from iTunes you get both an SD (for iPods) and an HD version (which, at least in my case, is the one that syncs to the ATV). Downloading an entire season of both SD and HD versions of the same episodes to a 40GB ATV would likely run afoul of the capacity issue rather quickly.”

Issues about formatting may have been the culprit in delaying the functionality (though doubtful because HD Movies are available for direct download). When a user downloads a TV Show, iTunes initiates two downloads. One HD version, which is what syncs with your Apple TV, and one SD version which is what you watch on your iPod. Apple may have needed to develop a bypass that would download only the HD version straight to the device (Apple TV) itself, and then automatically download that SD version in iTunes so you could download it to your iPod as well. Perhaps when you sync your Apple TV with your computer, it will detect recent purchases and then initiate the SD download? Apple would need to figure this out before releasing HD TV Shows for direct download from the Apple TV as well. Even if it is just a hobby of theirs.

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