Cinemira

Signs of an Apple TV ‘Pro’?

You’ve heard rumours of the iMac redesign and now the dwindling inventories of iMacs and Mac Minis.  A refresh of the Mac Mini is imminent.

 

I’m going to go speculate that the Mac Mini refresh may be the start of a convergence with the Apple TV.  I’m not here to suggest Apple will include TV tuner or capture/record capabilities as this could distract users away from their cash cow iTunes Store for content.  However, as a media playback device, the Apple TV is missing the ability to play my existing DVD collection.  The Mac Mini could become Apple TVs big brother for Apple TV Juinkies that want to de-clutter by eliminating their tradditional DVD player.   A ‘pro’ version of the Apple TV, if you will.

 

Sound off in the comments and let us know what you think.

Written by BrianE on September 29, 2009

Filed Under: Movies

  • BillG
    I suspect (and hope) that Apple goes to a subscription model. There's lots of decent content on there but its too expensive if you want to watch a bunch of series, or pick and choose a night's worth of TV. However, an all you can eat subscription likely won't be reasonable. I also don't think Apple is going Blu Ray anytime soon - they like licensing on their terms and I don't think Sony et al. will give it to them.

    I really like Elgato's Eye TV and I use that as a PVR. Conversion is a hassle but they do have a USB dongle that accelerates it. The only thing is, you're looking at $300 on top of a Mac Mini for this luxury (EyeTV + H264 accelerator). Hmmm, would be nice if one of the Apple TV hacks was to play Eye TV files directly.....
  • Erskineville
    I was thinking the same thing when I read the news about the Mac Mini this morning. I suspect that one of the mini's could be a basic server (I hear alot of companies are using the minis as servers already). It should be easy for Apple to make this a home media server as well. I am still hoping they produce a PVR function and this was part of the patents that appeared last year. Using iTunes to pickup missed episodes. Even a AV format that means eyeTV doesn't need to convert would be great. I'd still like to use a remote to record shows off the TV and not via the TV Guide on my Mac.

    Cheers
  • BrianE
    Apple has already declared that PVR and cablebox functionality is not part of their business model. They want people to get content via iTunes.

    http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/09/08/d...
  • michaelsquared
    I hope you are rigth. That would be great.
  • Jashue
    DVD? I'm sure you meant Blueray, right?
  • BrianE
    I don't have any Bluray yet, only DVD. Apple hasn't shown support for Bluray yet either.
  • Jashue
    A lot of people DO have Blueray. I do-- although I only own one Blueray disc. And besides-- a Blueray player plays DVDs just fine.
    Why wouldn't Apple support Blueray anyway? Their lack of support is a glaring omission, in my opinion.

    I get it: Apple wants to support downloadable content. I own an Apple TV, but cant RENT half the stuff I want to rent. In the meantime, it would be awfully nice to utilize the latest and greatest in optical technology.
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