Hi All, being as it’s Wednesday this note comes a little late, but there will be no Apple TV HD updates this week. We are taking a week off as we are cleaning up behind the scenes here. Specifically we were one of the sites hit this past weekend with the WordPress hack. Apple TV HD updates will be back starting Monday the 14th. In the mean time we’ll continue to cover other things in the world Apple TV and the iTunes Movie Store. We’re for any inconvenience.
Apple TV predictions for “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it” event
Tomorrow (September 9, 2009) is the big day… yet another Apple event.
You’ve read all the rumours, gossip and speculation:
- Oct. 2008. Apple declares the Apple TV “still a hobby in 2009″ during quarterly conference call.
- Feb. 2009. Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi sparked rumours of Apple TV becoming the digital media hub for cable TV.
- Sept. 2009. Apple CFO says cable set-top box functionality doesn’t fit with Apple’s business model
- Piper Jaffray’s senior research analyst predicts Apple TV news on September 9.
- The Loop’s Jim Dalyrymple predicts no Apple TV news on September 9.
What’s an Apple TV Junkie to expect?
Yes, I believe it will be a music-centric event. It is called ”It’s only rock and roll, but we like it”, however, the Apple TV still falls within the iPod and iTunes product lines so an update should be expected. Good or bad.
Prediction (Good): Apple TV will get a price drop and larger capacities.
Prediction (Bad): Apple TV wont receive any CPU or BluRay updgrades.
I like the idea of a TV tuner and DVR functionality for the Apple TV, however, I can’t imagine Apple distracting users away from the iTunes Store for content. The iTunes store accounts for $1 billion in revenue each quarter!
Prediction (Good): More studios and networks signing deals to release content on iTunes. Introduction of a Rhapsody-like subscription model for unlimited music.
Prediction (Good): iTunes to support the ability to re-download previously purchased movies and TV shows.
Prediction (Good): For my “one-last thing” I’ll go out on a limb and suggest announcement of an App Store for Apple TV.
Prediction (Bad): Movies and TV shows from iTunes Store will still contain digital rights management (DRM).
Prediction (Bad): Still unable to import my DVD collection so I can watch on Apple TV (maybe they’ll try to compromise with a lame DVD sharing feature from PC/Mac).
Prediction (Bad): Still unable to stream content to Apple TV from my network attached storage (NAS) devices.
Prediction (Bad): Still unable to play non H.264 content (like DivX/Xvid) on Apple TV.
As much as I love the Apple TV, the last two predictions are why I will continue to use Boxee. I fear the Apple TV is reaching the end of it’s life. Another Apple event that comes and goes without acknowledging Apple TV Junkies. Considering the crumbling of brick and mortar video rental outlets, I hope Apple can find a way to keep the Apple TV relevant and worthwhile for future Apple TV Junkies.
iTunes Movie Rentals in New Zealand – What’s the point?
On those long, cold winter nights in New Zealand, there is nothing more satisfying than being able to curl up in front of the TV and watch a rented movie…Renting, as opposed to buying, means you can secretly watch that B-grade schlock you’ve been wanting to watch for ages, without ever having your friends discover the aforementioned movie sitting on your shelf (What’s this? Kevin Costner in Waterworld? Oh the shame!)
Now online movie rentals, that’s another thing entirely. It’s one of the selling points of the Apple TV. It should be a seamless, empowering experience.. freeing you up from having to venture out into the dark, cold night; weave through the suicidal traffic and converse in grunting noises with some spotty-faced video store clerk. You can also browse the movie catalogue at your leisure, view trailers as you go and there’s always a copy to rent…Bliss.
However; renting movies from the iTunes store in New Zealand just leaves me feeling ripped off… No, it’s not Apple’s pricing. NZD$4.99 for a rental is OK (I can get a new release with a coupon for NZD$4.00 from a video store). The problem lies with the NZ ISP’s.
Take, for instance, my service provider. I get a pretty good speed (10Mb/s) from my cable connection.. and all for the princely sum of NZD$79.95. Sounds pretty reasonable… except I have a data cap of 20Gb/month.
Let’s explore this theme. If I were to rent, the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King from the iTunes store it would cost me $4.99. But LOTR is a 2.17Gb download (for the SD version!) That’s almost 11 per cent of my monthly download allowance, or $8.67. Add that to my rental cost and we have a rental that is going to cost me NZD$13.66. But, to add insult to injury, I have chewed through 3 days worth of data in a day… that is likely to leave me short at the end of the month.
My ISP charges me an additional $2.95 per Gb over my allowance… that extra 2.17Gb means my bill will increase by 3 Units or NZD$8.85..
As I said in the headline… What’s the point?
Snow Leopard and the Apple TV
One of the advantages of living in New Zealand is that we are a full day ahead of the USA. So, tomorrow for me is the day after tomorrow for the USA. That means tomorrow is the 28th and I will be taking delivery of my shiny new copy of Snow Leopard…
This version of OSX should solve one of my biggest bugbears with the Apple TV… in order to access all of my media (far greater than 160Gb) I need to leave my synchronised computer switched on. According to the Apple blurb, with Snow Leopard and a compatible AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule base station, my iMac can go to sleep yet continue to share its files with my Apple TV, waking when I need it and sleeping when I don’t.
That’s got to be a good thing.. for my iMac, my power bill and the environment. I’ll let you know how it goes…
G’Day from an Apple TV Junkie in Zealand
Ever wondered what it would be like to live outside of the Apple friendly ecosystem that is the USA? Well, living in New Zealand at the end of one very small, narrow internet pipe; I know.. My name is Darren Dumble and I live in Christchurch, New Zealand. I am a technical instructor and writer and am the newest member of the expanded ATVJ contribution team.
I love my Apple TV. I have owned one since the 160Gb model was introduced; and have rejoiced as every update made it better and better. However; as much as I love the functionality, the elegance, the simplicity; every update seemed to highlight the inadequacies with the NZ media/ISP infrastructure.
My contributions will be about living with an Apple TV in New Zealand. I will write about how we, the Apple TV Junkies of New Zealand, make the most of our lot.. I will also post about any changes to the NZ iTunes Music Store and maybe even review some NZ specific content.
So, put yourself in my shoes and imagine hideously expensive internet, data-capped downloads and next-to-no video content available for (legitimate) download… This is a world without Hulu, TV.com, SYFI or Netflix. A world where HDTV has only just begun to take off , digital radio is just a dream, TIVO has been hobbled and the majority of TV content is ruled by one satellite pay TV provider…
Enjoy; and don’t pity us too much.
New ATVJ Contributor From NYC
Hi – my name is Liam Walsh, and I’m the latest contributor to Apple TV Junkie. I’m based out of New York City where I work in finance. I’ve always been a fan of technology, and consider myself a recent convert to Apple products (4 years).
I plan on contributing pieces on the current state of the Apple TV, the modifications community, ideas on future ATV developments, and other related industry news.
I also look forward to gaining insights from you on how exactly you use your Apple TV, and possibly conduct surveys aimed at providing us with a more complete picture of our community.
Finally, let me extend my sincere gratitude to Eddie V. for allowing to contribute to this trailblazing site.
