Apple TV in the lead, sales may rise
updated 02:20 pm EST, Mon December 17, 2007
Apple TV in the lead
The new breed of retail-based internet video delivery devices which has emerged over the last few years is currently led by Apple's set top box -- Apple TV -- according to a new study by ABI Research. What's more, the firm says devices like Apple TV will see shipments of 1.2 million next year. Apple unveiled its wireless media streaming device on September 12th of 2006 during a special event in San Francisco. The device has seen limited success since it began shipping on March 21st of this year, and Apple has turned most of its attention to other areas -- primarily its iPhone cellular handset.
"Since this category first emerged in 2004-2005 with the debut of Akimbo's public Internet VOD product, vendors of these products have struggled with a number of hurdles that have so far made this market relatively unsuccessful," said ABI research director Michael Wolf. "The high cost of these devices, their reliance on the home network, the need for consumer self-installation, and the scarcity of content have all contributed to their lack of commercial success."
Two factors remain that could bring hope to the Apple TV and its competitors, according to ABI. Early examples of set top boxes lacked significant amounts of content -- Apple shipped the Apple TV with what has been called "a handful" of TV shows available to customers -- while a growing desire for user-generated and professionally produced content on the internet could spur greater demand for Apple's device.
Apple tv LOVE IT
12/17, 03:01pm reply
I love my Apple TV. I dont know what i would do without it. I hate to watch long videos on my computer. In the past i had to suffer sitting in front of my computer watching vids or waiting a long time to encode and burn the vids to dvd. Now all i have to do is put them in itunes then sit back in front of the plasma. I LOVE IT.
hassanpr
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2004
one thing holding me back
12/17, 03:09pm reply
lack of high def video on iTunes.
windsurfer_nyc
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2004
Same here...
12/17, 03:13pm reply
I stream movies and tv shows from my 24" aluminum iMac and watch it on a 50" plasma tv, believe it or not, the video quality is pretty impressive for itunes bought shows. You can also encode your own dvd collection using HandBrake it will look even better when using the best quality encoding. I think alot of people don't realize what the ATV can do. I also think that Apple need to finally get the ATV software upgraded! There are tons of hacks to the ATV but I find it too technical...
boazh
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2004
ATV...
12/17, 03:18pm reply
...is still a sleeper. but i love it. it is part of my daily life, and now i can't imagine being without it.
rtbarry
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
I
12/17, 03:36pm reply
I listen to my mp3s and podcasts on it, the wife and I watch movies on it (dvd encodes and downloads (and Doctor Who)), we all dig into YouTube with it... wife and I have found at least three new bands we like just from checking them out on YouTube by way of the AppleTV, in fact. It's nice to hear a positive story about it.
Zaren
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
x
12/17, 04:07pm reply
The ATV is an awesome device and I disagree with Michael Wolf that it is too expensive. Three things will kick this device into seriousness: 1- More content. 2- Cheaper Movies ($10 is way too much) 3- RENTALS!! C'mon already, what's taking so long!!?
BelugaShark
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2007
I love mine...
12/17, 05:26pm reply
I love my Apple TV. In fact we watch ours about 80% vs 20 cable. I do use a TV Max with it for content. $10 is to much to watch a movie. RedBox and Handbrake make a great team!
TheCrow
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Feb 2006
holding me back
12/17, 05:46pm reply
the things that hold me back from the Apple TV:
1. Resolution. the TV that I watch movies on is my HDTV and the movies currently available on the iTunes service is much too low
2. Storage. Apple doesn't allow me to either stream from their server nor store on their network indefinitely. If i'm going to be acquiring HD content, I sure don't want to have to store it all on my computer (a full-length SD movie can be between 500MB and 1GB in size. 1080i/p movies will be significantly larger). I want to download it temporarily to view it, but be able to redownload/stream it whenever I want. Apple's service doesn't allow people to download content more than once. From what I understand, Xbox Live sells HD content and allows me to redownload to the Xbox 360 as often as necessary
3. Rentals. Some movies I just don't want to view more than once. Give me a rental and then, if i like the flick, use the rental price towards the purchase price of it.
Hobeaux
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Two things here
12/17, 07:11pm reply
I don't own it, but it's on my list. I'm waiting for an iTunes movie rental service and price drop or a much larger hard drive at the $300 price point. I actually have an old QuickSilver running Frontrow, but even with it in a cabinet (with a quiet fan venting it) it's still louder than I'd like for watching a movie. When I get my ATV I'll move the QS into another room all together as a quasi media server. I really think Apple should drop the price to $199, at least, and offer the larger hard drive in it, but I'll bend. I think Apple is going to concede on the fixed pricing model in order to bring in more content for movie rentals. I don't think visual media content is the same as music; I don't want to rent my music, but I would probably do a subscription service for movies; I have that now with netflix but with the wait.
slider
Mac Elite
Joined: Oct 1999
Repurposing the Apple TV
12/18, 12:27am reply
I think Apple TV is a great device. Its failure is its dependence on iTunes's content. I have written an article "Repurposing the Apple TV" to see how else Apple TV can shine without iTunes.
http://appletvsource.com/content/view/464/
luckk
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2005