6 ms·

Apple's October TV Surprise

51 points by yannickt 10y ago

klodolph 10y ago
Poor site seems to have died. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zm6AW02rK6QJ:joe-steel.com/2016-10-28-Apples-October-TV-Surprise.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zm6AW02...
- jewbacca 10y ago
  ctrl+f mirror
manacit 10y ago
There is some that I agree with in here, and some that I disagree with. Ultimately I think it's fairly well thought out, though I am personally excited about the new apps for Apple TV. The lack of 4k/UHD/HDR support in the Apple TV is, I agree, not cool. When the ATV4 came out, it was excusable - there was not a lot of 4k content, and 4k TVs were more expensive than they are now. In the interim, they have gone down in price and there is much more content available in UHD. As far as the new TV and Live TV apps, I am very excited. The ATV is my window into all of the media consumption that I do on TV - I use Plex to stream things from my NAS, Netflix to watch Netflix, ABC, CBS, ESPN, etc. apps to watch on demand TV, and I am mostly very happy with it. These new apps are going to make that a much better viewing experience - syncing up all of my logins, and providing a central point to browse and stream. I view this as a pretty big win over the experience on other devices. Even though Netflix (and I'm assuming Plex) won't be included, it's still a big step up from having to use the Fox, Fox Sports, CBS, NBC, ESPN, ABC, etc. apps to know which channel the college football game is on (usually ESPN, sometimes Pac 12 Network or CBS), or what channel airs a particular TV show. Ultimately, I have a 1080p TV, so I'm not missing the inability to stream in 4k. My next device will undoubtedly be 4k however, and I would be very bummed if Apple did not have a device that was capable of producing 4k video.
- crooked-v 10y ago
  Netflix won't be included. https://www.wired.com/2016/10/apples-new-tv-app-wont-netflix-amazon-video/ https://www.wired.com/2016/10/apples-new-tv-app-wont-netflix...
  - harryh 10y ago
    This is just me guessing, but it kinda feels like Plex won't either.
    - crooked-v 10y ago
      Unlike Netflix, Plex doesn't have any interest in directly controlling content, so I'd be really surprised if they didn't participate. tvOS/iOS TV app integration would be a great selling point for the Plex Cloud and Plex DVR premium features.
      - madeofpalk 10y ago
        Well it depends if the TV app is available through an open API, or whether you must be invited in by Apple much like their TV Siri and universal search integrations.
  - manacit 10y ago
    I should have mentioned - I don't mind Netflix (and Plex) not being included. Maybe it's a big jump in my head, but the apps that I want grouped together are the "traditional" (cable station) apps that are usually low quality and require a multi-step 'activation' process to work on every device. I can deal with a few standouts if it means I don't need to remember what TV station x or y is on.
- mabermoske 10y ago
  I'm in exactly the same boat. I also recently started using Channels to stream my local channels and I absolutely love it!
- alfalfasprout 10y ago
greedo 10y ago
I still don't understand why the ATV doesn't have gigE. The BOM differential for 100mbit vs gigE can't be more than $1...
- n0us 10y ago
  Heard they're going to remove it in the next version, as well as hdmi. A USB dongle will be required to connect to your TV and internet is wireless only /s
- jhugg 10y ago
  For now, few video streams are anywhere near 100mbit. App downloads would be faster for the tiny slice of people with > 100mbit internet who also aren’t using wireless. I guess that’s something? Probably not worth a smaller margin to Apple.
- givinguflac 10y ago
  While I always like to see the best specs on everything, there's nothing you could stream that even approaches 100mbit never mind gigabit. For something no one has anyone use for outside of a check mark on a specs sheet, saving $1 per unit is a huge profit increase when you sell 10 million of something. Crazy shit has been done by manufacturers to save pennies, never mind dollars. Not surprising.
  - klodolph 10y ago
    In theory you could get upwards of 108 Mbit/s if you were streaming a UHD Blu-Ray over the network. Sounds a bit ridiculous just saying it, though, and I would have saved the $1 if I were designing it.
- yunong 10y ago
  Planned obsolescence...
  - redler 10y ago
    Apple wants to maximize profits, sure, but they also want the stickiness and network effects of an ecosystem. Which means building a large base of perpetual users to whom they can expose app stores and sell services. So planned obsolescence is a difficult argument to make, at least in this case.
kylesethgray 10y ago
Nice
martinald 10y ago
I agree with this. I get the feeling that Tim Cook cares a lot more about shareholders than Steve Jobs ever did, and he's really trying to optimise for average selling price (and with that, gross margin) of devices. MacBooks have went up substantially in price. AppleTV (as this article shows) is really expensive vs competition. The $10k Apple Watch was a laughable misstep. The iPad Pro is very expensive for a tablet also. If I had more balls I would short AAPL stock. I have never been so confused after an Apple event than this one. They are all over the place and it suggests that they really don't know what customers want in 'mature' product categories.
- dmd 10y ago
  "Tim Cook cares a lot more about shareholders than Steve Jobs ever did" ... "If I had more balls I would short AAPL stock." Can you expand on this? Those seem at odds to me.
  - skyyler 10y ago
    Perhaps catering to shareholders isn't a good idea for Apple.
    - bennyg 10y ago
      Shareholders should come second to product for Apple. Time and time again, when they focus and nail the product it translates directly to increased shareholder value. Trying to marginally increase shareholder value the way they have lately looks great in the short-term but hurts their brand specifically in the long-term.
  - busyant 10y ago
    I think he's saying that focusing on shareholders is (counterintuitively) a bad sign for company health in the long term.
    - xenobioticants 10y ago
      Didn't work out for Kodak, Blackberry or Microsoft. It's a very bad sign for tech companies.
pfarnsworth 10y ago
I love my Apple TV but mainly because it makes using Plex and a couple of the other apps so easy. Plex with the Apple TV is simply an amazing experience. Also, because of the Apple TV, I've gone "legit" and bought a ton of stuff from iTunes because it's so convenient. But most of the apps suck. I can't use any of the TV station apps like NBC, etc, without already having a cable subscription, which basically misses the point. I can't wait for DirectTV to come out with a streaming version, it just be good enough for me to switch to that permanently.
- Klibarchu 10y ago
  Netflix + CBS All Access + Youtube + Others like twitter for NFL = 16/month for streaming. It helps that OTA HD stations are free!
  - pfarnsworth 10y ago
    I live in a valley so I can't get any signals from the OTA stations.. it sucks.
- redler 10y ago
  > I can't use any of the TV station apps like NBC, etc, without already having a cable subscription, which basically misses the point True, but you can blame the existing contractual relationships among the cable providers, networks, content owners, and content distributors, and the business model inertia holding it all in place. Apple's interests are probably aligned with yours on this.
- marrone12 10y ago
  I recommend the Reuters TV app on apple tv. pretty slick
insulinrocks 10y ago
This page causes a "Network Disconnected" error on Safari for iPad. There is no loss of connection whatsoever, and every other site/service works for me. What on earth is going on? Edit: replicable across multiple networks, too. Edit 2: fixed itself somehow. Weird.

51 points by yannickt 10y ago

Poor site seems to have died. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zm6AW02rK6QJ:joe-steel.com/2016-10-28-Apples-October-TV-Surprise.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zm6AW02...

jewbacca 10y ago
ctrl+f mirror

manacit 10y ago

There is some that I agree with in here, and some that I disagree with. Ultimately I think it's fairly well thought out, though I am personally excited about the new apps for Apple TV. The lack of 4k/UHD/HDR support in the Apple TV is, I agree, not cool. When the ATV4 came out, it was excusable - there was not a lot of 4k content, and 4k TVs were more expensive than they are now. In the interim, they have gone down in price and there is much more content available in UHD. As far as the new TV and Live TV apps, I am very excited. The ATV is my window into all of the media consumption that I do on TV - I use Plex to stream things from my NAS, Netflix to watch Netflix, ABC, CBS, ESPN, etc. apps to watch on demand TV, and I am mostly very happy with it. These new apps are going to make that a much better viewing experience - syncing up all of my logins, and providing a central point to browse and stream. I view this as a pretty big win over the experience on other devices. Even though Netflix (and I'm assuming Plex) won't be included, it's still a big step up from having to use the Fox, Fox Sports, CBS, NBC, ESPN, ABC, etc. apps to know which channel the college football game is on (usually ESPN, sometimes Pac 12 Network or CBS), or what channel airs a particular TV show. Ultimately, I have a 1080p TV, so I'm not missing the inability to stream in 4k. My next device will undoubtedly be 4k however, and I would be very bummed if Apple did not have a device that was capable of producing 4k video.

crooked-v 10y ago
Netflix won't be included. https://www.wired.com/2016/10/apples-new-tv-app-wont-netflix-amazon-video/ https://www.wired.com/2016/10/apples-new-tv-app-wont-netflix...
- harryh 10y ago
  This is just me guessing, but it kinda feels like Plex won't either.
  - crooked-v 10y ago
    Unlike Netflix, Plex doesn't have any interest in directly controlling content, so I'd be really surprised if they didn't participate. tvOS/iOS TV app integration would be a great selling point for the Plex Cloud and Plex DVR premium features.
    - madeofpalk 10y ago
      Well it depends if the TV app is available through an open API, or whether you must be invited in by Apple much like their TV Siri and universal search integrations.
- manacit 10y ago
  I should have mentioned - I don't mind Netflix (and Plex) not being included. Maybe it's a big jump in my head, but the apps that I want grouped together are the "traditional" (cable station) apps that are usually low quality and require a multi-step 'activation' process to work on every device. I can deal with a few standouts if it means I don't need to remember what TV station x or y is on.
mabermoske 10y ago
I'm in exactly the same boat. I also recently started using Channels to stream my local channels and I absolutely love it!
alfalfasprout 10y ago

greedo 10y ago

I still don't understand why the ATV doesn't have gigE. The BOM differential for 100mbit vs gigE can't be more than $1...

n0us 10y ago
Heard they're going to remove it in the next version, as well as hdmi. A USB dongle will be required to connect to your TV and internet is wireless only /s
jhugg 10y ago
For now, few video streams are anywhere near 100mbit. App downloads would be faster for the tiny slice of people with > 100mbit internet who also aren’t using wireless. I guess that’s something? Probably not worth a smaller margin to Apple.
givinguflac 10y ago
While I always like to see the best specs on everything, there's nothing you could stream that even approaches 100mbit never mind gigabit. For something no one has anyone use for outside of a check mark on a specs sheet, saving $1 per unit is a huge profit increase when you sell 10 million of something. Crazy shit has been done by manufacturers to save pennies, never mind dollars. Not surprising.
- klodolph 10y ago
  In theory you could get upwards of 108 Mbit/s if you were streaming a UHD Blu-Ray over the network. Sounds a bit ridiculous just saying it, though, and I would have saved the $1 if I were designing it.
yunong 10y ago
Planned obsolescence...
- redler 10y ago
  Apple wants to maximize profits, sure, but they also want the stickiness and network effects of an ecosystem. Which means building a large base of perpetual users to whom they can expose app stores and sell services. So planned obsolescence is a difficult argument to make, at least in this case.

kylesethgray 10y ago

Nice

martinald 10y ago

I agree with this. I get the feeling that Tim Cook cares a lot more about shareholders than Steve Jobs ever did, and he's really trying to optimise for average selling price (and with that, gross margin) of devices. MacBooks have went up substantially in price. AppleTV (as this article shows) is really expensive vs competition. The $10k Apple Watch was a laughable misstep. The iPad Pro is very expensive for a tablet also. If I had more balls I would short AAPL stock. I have never been so confused after an Apple event than this one. They are all over the place and it suggests that they really don't know what customers want in 'mature' product categories.

dmd 10y ago
"Tim Cook cares a lot more about shareholders than Steve Jobs ever did" ... "If I had more balls I would short AAPL stock." Can you expand on this? Those seem at odds to me.
- skyyler 10y ago
  Perhaps catering to shareholders isn't a good idea for Apple.
  - bennyg 10y ago
    Shareholders should come second to product for Apple. Time and time again, when they focus and nail the product it translates directly to increased shareholder value. Trying to marginally increase shareholder value the way they have lately looks great in the short-term but hurts their brand specifically in the long-term.
- busyant 10y ago
  I think he's saying that focusing on shareholders is (counterintuitively) a bad sign for company health in the long term.
  - xenobioticants 10y ago
    Didn't work out for Kodak, Blackberry or Microsoft. It's a very bad sign for tech companies.

pfarnsworth 10y ago

I love my Apple TV but mainly because it makes using Plex and a couple of the other apps so easy. Plex with the Apple TV is simply an amazing experience. Also, because of the Apple TV, I've gone "legit" and bought a ton of stuff from iTunes because it's so convenient. But most of the apps suck. I can't use any of the TV station apps like NBC, etc, without already having a cable subscription, which basically misses the point. I can't wait for DirectTV to come out with a streaming version, it just be good enough for me to switch to that permanently.

Klibarchu 10y ago
Netflix + CBS All Access + Youtube + Others like twitter for NFL = 16/month for streaming. It helps that OTA HD stations are free!
- pfarnsworth 10y ago
  I live in a valley so I can't get any signals from the OTA stations.. it sucks.
redler 10y ago
> I can't use any of the TV station apps like NBC, etc, without already having a cable subscription, which basically misses the point True, but you can blame the existing contractual relationships among the cable providers, networks, content owners, and content distributors, and the business model inertia holding it all in place. Apple's interests are probably aligned with yours on this.
marrone12 10y ago
I recommend the Reuters TV app on apple tv. pretty slick

insulinrocks 10y ago

This page causes a "Network Disconnected" error on Safari for iPad. There is no loss of connection whatsoever, and every other site/service works for me. What on earth is going on? Edit: replicable across multiple networks, too. Edit 2: fixed itself somehow. Weird.