Missing Link

Another old article that I did for DigitalStudio; it is one year old but it is still stand the time on what I think about AppleTV.

During the last Macworld exhibition in San Francisco all the spotlights where pointed at the long awaited iPhone, a product that Apple fans have been waiting for years. Two other announcements were made but far for being not as revolutionary as the new mobile phone device : the official launch of AppleTV and the change of the company branding from Apple Computers to Apple inc. This latest announcement might sound as a simple change of name but instead it is a true statement from the company from Cupertino.

Apple intention is from now on to enter the consumer electronics market as a key player; even though the personal computer business will remain one of their core businesses, Apple mission is to enter in everybody's home offering easy to use digital entertainment hardware and software solutions. Apple as already shaken the music industry with the introduction of its iTunes Music store and iPod music players, and now through the AppleTV device is planning to do the same with the video entertainment business.
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Let’s take a closer look at the technical specifications of this new Apple product : the body is a parallelogram 197 by 197 mm with an height of less than 3 cm. It weights around 1 Kg ( including the built in power supply unit ) making the device very easy to fit in any home theatre system rack. It is equipped with an Intel processor and a 40 gigabyte hard disk that can store up to 50 hours of TV contents, 9000 mp3 files and 25.000 pictures.

The unit comes with a remote controller similar to the one shipped with as the latest iMac computers. Other than the device and the remote control the only other item present in the packaging is the power lead cable and the instruction manual. On the front side of AppleTv there is only a led showing the status of the unit. On the back side are placed all the in and out connectors and the power plug. Component video and analog audio ports can be utilized if the TV system connected is not one of the latest models sporting an HDMI port. Also a 802.11n wireless networking, an ethernet port , optical audio and and a USB 2 complete the i/o bus of AppleTV.

In an ideal situation the connection through HDMI is preferable as it will ensure the highest quality of audio-video transfer. HDMI , or High Definition Multimedia Interface its a new standard that allows the transfer of uncompressed video streams and multichannel digital audio on a single cable. HDMI incorporates also digital right management technology control and therefore ideal to work together with the iTunes Store DRM.

On the pictures side AppleTV supports H.264, MPEG-4 video formats up to 720p definition. When connected to a Mac or PC, the AppleTV will show up in iTunes just like an iPod, allowing users to sync music. movies and television shows to its internal hard drive.

This product , apart from the wireless 802.11n protocol, is not a complete novelty in the consumer electronics market. The PC industry has been searching for a solution that connects the PC to the television for years. Early attempts based around Microsoft's Windows Media Center Extender program have received not a huge success due to how complicated it was to set up the system. A following attempt with the Xbox360 was more successful. Microsoft Xbox360 has been made capable of downloading and playback video contents from the internet and Microsoft announced at the CES Exhibition in Las Vegas that AT&T will start shipping Xbox360 instead of cable set top units for their services ; so what does differentiate AppleTV from all the other competitors? Well number one is the user interface, simple and intuitive as all Apple products, and then the high speed wireless capabilities. Quoting Creative Strategy analyst Tim Balarin “ Apple has the chance to revolutionize the PC-TV connection simply through a more friendly user interface. This is the simplest design I've seen," he said.

The Apple TV is entirely controlled by a small white remote control with few buttons” Through AppleTv the digital livingroom is now complete making digital lifestyle a tangible reality. The GUI ( graphic user interface ) is an updated version of Front Row, the media management software already present on the latest Macintosh computers. Through Front Row users can access all the media stored in the internal drive. Also there is the option of playing back contents directly from the PC without physically transfer them to the AppleTV internal drive. Everything appearing on the computer’s iTunes library can be played on the home TV system.

One of the most evident limitations of this system is that if a content is not appearing on the iTunes then it cannot be played on the home TV ; this forces users to convert their own made movies into iTunes video format .m4v. Once again this emphasizes how strongly Apple believes that iTunes is the real king of the ring and that the two billion songs purchased through the iTunes Store are proving them right. In this release of AppleTV there are some missing features that hopefully Apple will implement in future versions : a dvd player and DVR capabilities. The unit was never meant to replace completely all the components in a home TV system but the adding of a dvd player and the opportunity to record feeds from digital receivers would have increase the popularity of AppleTV among non Mac users.

AppleTV can internally store material syncing up with one single computer and can receive “live” streams from a maximum of 5 other computers. This opens the digital livingroom not only to its residents but also to occasional visitors equipped with laptops... The launch of AppleTV is opening a new highways for contents creators and TV networks. Even before the launch of AppleTV various TV shows and movies were purchasable via iTunes Store but consumers were forced to enjoy the downloads either on their video iPod or on their home PCs. Now that they can stream their content directly on their large home TV it is out of the question that downloads via iTunes Store will not increase dramatically.

One big add on that Apple should look into and implement soon is a renting content subscription system ; with the current version of iTunes Store it is only possible to purchase digital downloads and play them on authorized devices; in the future customers should be able to “rent” specific contents without owning their full rights , same as when you rent a DVD from a video renting store. Customers would pay a fee to own a number of TV shows and movies per month. When the customer is satisfied with the viewing of the movie or TV show episode they will delete the file from the AppleTV drive allowing them to download another show. Switching on AppleTV will be like having a TV channel that delivers requested contents accessible anytime during the day .

One subscriber might have their subscription tailored for specific SitComs or Tv Series and another might prefer horror movies or the Star Trek saga. Channels will be exactly as podcasts subscriptions that update automatically their contents at a given price. It is clear that these new capabilities on the iTunes Store will not be implemented in the very near future as Hollywood majors and TV networks are still negotiating with Apple the distribution of their products through iTunes; at the last Macworld it has been announced that Paramount Pictures has joined Pixar and Disney in making some of their movie catalogue available on iTunes Store.

Once Apple will gain a critical mass of products available, then all the rest of the content producers will follow on their digital distribution model. Another key issue will be the availability of iTunes Stores everywhere in the world. Now the service is available only in 22 countries , but the moment it will be made available in the Middle East it will change the way we can enjoy media in this part of the world. For the time being AppleTV , at 299 U$ retail price , is a very practical solution to enjoy PC contents on a big screen, with no wires and a simple 6 buttons remote control.