Apple's TV Strategy • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple's TV Strategy

#11

Post by henryaym » Thu, Jul 14, 2011, 7:50 PM UTC

krmmalik wrote: post #4

programminggeek wrote: post #3

I think the reason the Apple TV isn't as disruptive or genius is that I don't believe that Steve Jobs watches much if any TV. He is a busy man running a Fortune 500 company. Do you think he spends a bunch of free time on his couch watching TV? Apple products are great in part because Steve Jobs and other executives use them and so they make sure they are top tier. Apple TV is a "hobby" because the people signing off…

In his 1997 WWDC Keynote, Steve said that he likes to create products that he would want to use. Even if he doesnt have time to watch TV, or isnt a couch potato, he will surely be interested in creating a TV that he would want to use. I deliberately placed the word "use" here, because Apple is intent on creating highly interactive and/or immersive devices. Apple is sure to use its learned experience from the success…

TV is also a technology that EVERYONE uses, much like a computer now. An Apple TV has the potential to get the Apple brand into MANY MANY more households. A successful Apple TV will do what the ipod did for apple, (or the iphone for that matter). If they do it right. (which is an oxymoron)

Re: Apple's TV Strategy

#12

Post by padmanabhan01 » Thu, Jul 14, 2011, 7:50 PM UTC

jonknee wrote: post #9

padmanabhan01 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that a ~350 Billion dollar company runs on the hunches of a single man might sound interesting, but it just can not be true. And again, the idea that Steve Jobs can not understand what constitutes a good TV, just because he is not a TV junkie doesn't sound convincing to me. If it is a 100 Billion dollar market and if it is something a majority use even for a few hours a day and if improving that can make the…

Steve Jobs is not the average CEO. He's famous for micromanaging and very directly being responsible for new products. It doesn't sound too far fetched to me.

Yes, but I dont think it would be too hard for him to understand what a good TV should be, even if he is not a TV junkie himself.

Re: Apple's TV Strategy

#13

Post by MatthewPhillips » Thu, Jul 14, 2011, 8:03 PM UTC

padobson wrote: post #10

The problem with the TV is not the user experience, it's the content. Right now, content creators have created an environment that is 10 times more complex and legally difficult to penetrate than anything the music industry did - and they're successfully defending this position against everyone, including Apple. Television should be an experience where I can watch exactly what I want to watch, exactly when I want to…

Commercials are an essential part of the television experience and the main reason why the transition to online is taking so long. Getting advertisers on board is difficult for a variety of reasons (namely that's it's a completely different model).

An episode of a TV show can cost several million dollars to make. Reality shows cost much less, obviously. ER, for example, cost 13 million per episode [1]. Do you think they can recoup that at $0.99 per episode? I don't. Can they recoup that at $9.99 per month for some subscription? No way. The only way they can pay for that is by drilling into your brain brand recognition.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_does_a_cable_television_s...

Re: Apple's TV Strategy

#14

Post by ctdonath » Thu, Jul 14, 2011, 8:07 PM UTC

padobson wrote: post #10

The problem with the TV is not the user experience, it's the content. Right now, content creators have created an environment that is 10 times more complex and legally difficult to penetrate than anything the music industry did - and they're successfully defending this position against everyone, including Apple. Television should be an experience where I can watch exactly what I want to watch, exactly when I want to…

FWIW, Steve Jobs owns 7.3% of Disney, which is a major content provider. While still a small fraction of all content sources, he has a lot of leverage.

Re: Apple's TV Strategy

#15

Post by qq66 » Thu, Jul 14, 2011, 8:20 PM UTC

padobson wrote: post #10

The problem with the TV is not the user experience, it's the content. Right now, content creators have created an environment that is 10 times more complex and legally difficult to penetrate than anything the music industry did - and they're successfully defending this position against everyone, including Apple. Television should be an experience where I can watch exactly what I want to watch, exactly when I want to…

You want to watch any show you choose, at any time, without commercials, for less than a cable TV subscription.

I'd also like a Boeing 747 for $5.

Re: Apple's TV Strategy

#16

Post by reecepacheco » Thu, Jul 14, 2011, 8:49 PM UTC

programminggeek wrote: post #3

I think the reason the Apple TV isn't as disruptive or genius is that I don't believe that Steve Jobs watches much if any TV. He is a busy man running a Fortune 500 company. Do you think he spends a bunch of free time on his couch watching TV? Apple products are great in part because Steve Jobs and other executives use them and so they make sure they are top tier. Apple TV is a "hobby" because the people signing off…

my issue with your point here is that i think you're stuck with the concept of what a TV is now, when Apple has the potential to completely redefine the concept of what a "TV" is or should be...

"Smart TV's" have the potential to cannibalize some of the PC market, as all of our data moves to the cloud and all we need is a good interface to compute...

Apple didn't make a tablet, they made an iPad. they won't make a TV, they'll make an iTV and differentiate themselves entirely.

Re: Apple's TV Strategy

#17

Post by forgottenpaswrd » Thu, Jul 14, 2011, 8:55 PM UTC

I believe there is a tremendous potential for disruption on TV, the same way anybody can make a living selling software using Internet, anybody should be able to sell their documentary, films, or TV episodes using it without too much middlemen.

It is already happening, but it will take some years, bandwidth has to be cheaper and the economic models have to be tested.

Remember Apple App Store learned a lot from Lindows-Linspire click and run, apt-get, yum and other experiments that tested software distribution in the millions of users way before Apple did.

Re: Apple's TV Strategy

#18

Post by reecepacheco » Thu, Jul 14, 2011, 8:55 PM UTC

protomyth wrote: post #6

If Apple TV gets its own app store, then it will be interesting to see all the channels (apps) that will result. I think that is more likely than an actual TV (unless you are willing to call a big iMac a TV). I think the biggest limit on Apple TV is the bandwidth caps.

if/when Apple makes a TV, there will definitely be an app store with it.

Re: Apple's TV Strategy

#19

Post by protomyth » Thu, Jul 14, 2011, 9:07 PM UTC

reecepacheco wrote: post #18

protomyth wrote: post #6

If Apple TV gets its own app store, then it will be interesting to see all the channels (apps) that will result. I think that is more likely than an actual TV (unless you are willing to call a big iMac a TV). I think the biggest limit on Apple TV is the bandwidth caps.

if/when Apple makes a TV, there will definitely be an app store with it.

I just don't see them having a need to make the TV part, unless we are talking a big iMac. It just seems like such a crowded field that doesn't really have an upside beyond what the Apple TV is currently able to provide.

Re: Apple's TV Strategy

#20

Post by Timothee » Thu, Jul 14, 2011, 9:23 PM UTC

programminggeek wrote: post #3

I think the reason the Apple TV isn't as disruptive or genius is that I don't believe that Steve Jobs watches much if any TV. He is a busy man running a Fortune 500 company. Do you think he spends a bunch of free time on his couch watching TV? Apple products are great in part because Steve Jobs and other executives use them and so they make sure they are top tier. Apple TV is a "hobby" because the people signing off…

A couch potato would design something like a cross between the current Apple TV and the Wii or something. Streaming content + downloadable music/movies + casual games all running iOS. Make the Apple TV interface with the iPod Touch, iPhone, or Wiimote and you're basically there.

Note that Apple is going that way with AirPlay Mirroring. As a reminder, AirPlay Mirroring allows you to wirelessly use the AppleTV as a second display for any app that supports it. (and it's very easy for a developer to support) In particular, that includes games (see Real Racing HD for example). Though it will only work with the iPad2 at first, this has a lot of potential.

I'm not sure that this would be the ideal way to get into people's living-rooms (they would still need to buy an AppleTV on top of an iPad), but it's pretty close to what you're describing.