Apple Television Talk Turns Focus To Looming Battles

[Brad Wasson]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/in-the-battle-for-the-living-room-the-ghost-of-steve-jobs-looms-large/4163' target='_blank'>http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/in-t...ooms-large/4163</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"That war will be fought in the living room-and the den, and the dorm room, and just about any place where people watch movies and TV programs and listen to music. It's been an open secret for years that Apple will make a play for the living room eventually. Despite Steve Jobs's protestations that Apple TV was "just a hobby," a high-definition TV is the inevitable next step in the natural evolution of the Apple ecosystem."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/wpt/auto/1319482774.usr110171.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></p><p>Like others close to the industry, Ed Bott from ZDNet has been following the "battle for the living room" for some time. His editorial on the subject (hit the Read link below) is great background reading for a subject that will likely explode in focus now as it has essentially been confirmed in the Steve Jobs biography that Apple has great interest in developing a TV to add to their arsenal. This is a battle that will play out for a very long time, but it almost certainly will change the way we have traditionally viewed TV shows and other forms of entertainment. The players include representatives from a wide variety of viewpoints and ecosystems, including Microsoft, Google, Netflix, Hulu, TiVo and a slew of others, basically hardware, software, and content providers from all aspects of the entertainment, news, sports, and music industries. Bott does a nice job of introducing the battleground, including providing his perspective on which dimensions will be particularly important (user experiences, business relationships with content providers, and cable/satellite infrastructure). To get started, curl up in your easy chair, in your living room, of course, and get reading.</p>

[Jason Dunn]

With an increasing number of TVs and DVD players coming with built-in Netflix and other streaming media support, the cable companies are getting shoved out...especially when you factor in Xbox 360/Apple TV bringing newer shows into the on-demand mix. When I move into my future home in Washington state, I'm going to try being cable-free...we'll see how it goes. :D

[Sven Johannsen]

I'm going to try being cable-free...we'll see how it goes. :DGood luck with that. I know a good number of folks that manage that way, my son is one. Thing is they are very flexible in their entertaiment requirements. By that I mean, when they want to watch something, they don't have anything particular in mind. I think the key to the Apple future is going to be content. Been on Netflix streaming library lately? We were looking for something to watch last evening and found the offerings less than stellar. Actually started by wanting to see the original Footloose... nope. Could have rented it from Sony Movie, or iTunes, but the livingroom isn't setup to get those to the TV. Too much trouble. I actually find that Comcast on-demand has better selections than Netflix streaming. That's cable though, isn't it.

Until somebody cracks the code of getting all the content, I don't think folks are going to put up with having to establish a relationship with half a dozen services, to have a chance of actually seeing what they want to see. There's an app idea. Sort of like consolidating social networks, consolidate all mystreaming media sources into a homogenous search/browse experience.

Beyond that, streaming quality is still a bit spotty, even in the best of areas, IMHO. Very locale and even equipment dependent. Would like to see something like the Zune Pass DRM scheme where I can download what I want to see, to my device and then watch it as often as I like, as long as I keep paying the monthly subscription. Then the download could be spotty, but my viewing, coming of my drive, would be uninterrupted.

[Jason Dunn]

Good luck with that. I know a good number of folks that manage that way, my son is one. Thing is they are very flexible in their entertaiment requirements. By that I mean, when they want to watch something, they don't have anything particular in mind.

Yeah, I'm a bit nervous about it to be honest - because we're not the "watch anything" types. We have specific shows, so that's why it will be a combination of Netflix and Amazon Prime (for general movies and back catalog of content) and iTunes/Zune/Hulu for newer stuff. We'll see how well it works...when I'm in my new house I'll also have a UHF antenna for OTA HD capture to a Windows 7 computer.