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Apple is preparing to launch TV displays powered by iOS, according to a former executive speaking with DailyTech.

Sales of Sony's Google-powered Internet TV, a similar project, have been mediocre. However, Apple's fans are unparalleled in their devotion, so it might be premature to count the new Apple television sets out.  (Source: Geek)
Company is reportedly teaming up with a major OEM to sell iOS-powered, Apple-branded displays

If at first you don't succeed try, try again. That seems like what Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) motto is, if a former executive is to be believed.

The former Apple executive, speaking with us on condition of anonymity, told us that that the company's biggest upcoming product launch will be one that hasn't been made official yet -- Apple has plans to enter the TV business.

According to source Apple plans to "blow Netflix and all those other guys away" by bundling Apple TV + iTunes inside physical television sets.  According to the source Apple is teaming up with a major supplier (our guess would be Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SEO:005930)), to provide the physical televisions, which will be rebranded as Apple television sets.

We expressed incredulity that an OEM would allow Apple to cut into their bottom line, but our source aptly pointed out the OEM would be winning even if Apple cuts into their branded sales.  States the source, "If you have to be competing with somebody, you want to be competing with yourself."

According to the source, "You'll go into an Apple retail store and be able to walk out with a TV.  It's perfect."

The idea of Apple entering the large television display business has been rumored on and off for a while now.  After all, Apple has sold computer displays for some time now.  But to our knowledge this is the first time such a project has been confirmed by a former or current executive.

Our source believed a fall launch was in order (potentially coinciding with the iPhone launch?), but the product could launch as late as next year, given Apple's "high standards".

The market prospects of such an Apple television lineup seems questionable, assuming our source's information is accurate.  Apple TV has struggled with chief executive Steve Jobs billing it a "hobby" and some analysts less kindly deeming it "Apple's only major market failure."  Apple does not release sales info for Apple TV, but it is believed that the recent refresh hardly sent sales soaring.

Likewise, the product is almost identical to Google Inc.'s (GOOG) "Internet TV" project with Sony Corp. (TYO:6758), which uses the company's "Google TV" version of its Android operating system.  Sales of Google TV products in general have been quite poor.

That said, it does seem like at some point people will warm to the idea of internet TV, particularly if apps are included.  It has already been confirmed that full access to third-party apps is coming to Google TV.  The new iOS-driven televisions are expected to have third-party apps as well.

To that end the new television may be partly an advance move to counter Google's television efforts.  Google just acquired Sage TV, a company well known for its media center and DVR software.  But if Apple has its way, allegedly it will top Google in internet television sales.

Price and sales are clearly two of the biggest concerns for an Apple branded TV launch.  However, Apple's brand is incredibly strong and its devoted fans have shown a tendency to pay whatever the company asks to get their hands on its slender devices.  Perhaps next year we'll be talking about iTV in the same breath as iPad and iPhone.  

Apple did not respond to requests for comment.



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Sounds Good
By Flunk on 6/21/2011 4:57:13 PM , Rating: 2
I'm no Apple fan, but this could be a really good product. If they bring together an easy to use and nicely functional package. Internet TV seems like just the thing to break the cable/satellite duopoly.




RE: Sounds Good
By cjohnson2136 on 6/21/2011 5:00:41 PM , Rating: 2
The only problem I see is it might turn out the same way the Google Tv turned out. I believe the cable companies and network stations would try and block access like they did to Google. Unless Apple can in some way sweeten the deal for them.


RE: Sounds Good
By JasonMick (blog) on 6/21/2011 5:05:21 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
The only problem I see is it might turn out the same way the Google Tv turned out. I believe the cable companies and network stations would try and block access like they did to Google. Unless Apple can in some way sweeten the deal for them.

Well the good/bad news is what you're suggesting indeed would likely be the case, but the Apple branded LCD TV would likely come with iTunes installed, so you could directly buy TV episodes...

I think my source was a little carried away, though, when suggesting it would "kill" netflix... unless Apple has some super competitive streaming video subscription plans that they failed to mentioned... Netflix is awesomeness, imho.


RE: Sounds Good
By kleinma on 6/21/2011 5:35:42 PM , Rating: 3
Do people really still buy individual TV shows these days?


RE: Sounds Good
By someguy123 on 6/21/2011 5:57:17 PM , Rating: 2
It's more of an impulse buy thing, or purchasing when the show has yet to complete its season so there are no compilations available.

Better deal than paying out the nose for these 700+ channels that are filled with commercials imo.


RE: Sounds Good
By cserwin on 6/21/2011 5:41:59 PM , Rating: 3
I agree with you, Apple needs Netflix, so does Google. Netflix FTW!

ESPN, sell a streaming app, please. Apple needs that too. (So does Google.)

The TV game seems to me to be about two things: bandwidth and content.

Bandwidth is a commodity. I buy that โ€“ as much as I can get if the price is right.

I own a lot of content, and Iโ€™m willing to buy content, subscribe to content, or endure some advertising in order to view content I donโ€™t directly pay for.

The pathetic cable and satellite providers simply bundle ad-supported content with over-priced bandwidth. Screw them. $80/month buys a hell of a lot of content, especially when bought strategically to supplement subscription services.

So Apple wants to do this? Good luck, Stevie, go make it happen. Hope Google and others come to the party and compete. Time to end OTA bandwidth dedicated to video. Get it back into the commodity market to drive down prices and improve coverage, please.

Suck it, Comcast. And Dish. And DirectTV. Screw you all.


RE: Sounds Good
By TakinYourPoints on 6/21/2011 7:17:09 PM , Rating: 2
It is down that path already, and it doesn't necessarily need an Apple branded television to do so. I cancelled DirectTV last year and now have Netflix, Hulu+, and a few shows from iTunes. Three months of that all together is cheaper than a year of DTV.

If Apple does go down the TV route, then hopefully they use plasma displays. They use Pioneer (RIP) plasmas in their own stores, and plasma HDTVs blow away LCDs for watching movies and playing games, so cross fingers that is an option.

I dunno, I have no need as I already have an XBox 360, PS3, and a modded AppleTV, all of which do great for internet TV. I suppose this TV would be targeted at people who don't have anything like that, so maybe it would work.


RE: Sounds Good
By mcnabney on 6/22/2011 12:59:49 AM , Rating: 3
Plasmas are well on their way out.

They are hot, inefficient, heavy, and still 'technically' can burn static images in. Adding more 'computer functions' to a display is obviously going to start creating static images.


RE: Sounds Good
By AdrianJudd on 6/22/11, Rating: 0
RE: Sounds Good
By Visual on 6/22/11, Rating: 0
RE: Sounds Good
By degobah77 on 6/22/2011 8:53:53 AM , Rating: 3
A Panasonic 65" VT30 at $4,299 is a "budget" option?

Plasmas are videophile TVs and they aren't going anywhere.


RE: Sounds Good
By TakinYourPoints on 6/22/2011 3:36:22 PM , Rating: 1
Nailed it. Plasmas are the top of the line in image quality right now. Visual would get laughed off of an AV forum with a post like that.


RE: Sounds Good
By robinthakur on 6/22/2011 8:14:04 AM , Rating: 3
I would disagree. Plasmas are very good for motion clarity and colour reproduction historically, but have other downsides. The latest plasmas are the thinnest ever, but are still heavy and power drain depends on the luminance and the images produced. The display technology is particularly unsuited to Active 3D display due to the coresponding light drop that occurs. The Panasonic Plasmas are generally considered the best of the current crop, but have issues with dithering motion artefacts, low level tizzing and 50Hz broadcasts. The first two are just inherent elements with the way Plasmas produce pictures and are unlikely to be sorted any time soon. As the other user above pointed out, these TV's will likely be displaying menu screens quite a bit and therefore Plasma is not really suitable, as even the most recent plasmas do still suffer from burn in.

Apple have been selling LED backlit diplays for some time, and the quality, colour accuracy and panel uniformity has been good, largely because the panels used are fairly selective with a lower tolerance for faults.

Consumers other than video enthusiasts have had it drummed into them over the past few years that they should get LCD's over plasmas and the same is now happening with LED backlit screens. The convenience of having a lightweight, thin and relatively attractive TV which is also low-cost to run and also sport decent motion resolution is very hard to argue with.

I was in the market recently and evaluated all the options regardless of cost. I personally went with an LG passive 3D display because it is "good enough" thin, light, cheap to run, pretty outstanding HD images with a THX mode, no crosstalk on 3D and cheap passive 3D glasses. That's good enough for me :) I liked the Panasonics for their image quality in 2D, but the threat of burn-in and the light drop in 2D coupled with the high cost of glasses meant that I passed.


RE: Sounds Good
By Arsynic on 6/22/2011 9:00:58 AM , Rating: 2
Once you admitted that you owned a 3D TV, I quit reading. All your credibility went out of the window. 3D is the biggest and most useless gimmick ever. Talk about diminishing returns. Anyone who falls for this scam is an idiot.


RE: Sounds Good
By Mitch101 on 6/22/2011 9:45:22 AM , Rating: 2
I see 3DTV as a $500.00 Option I can live without. (+Price on TV, +Price on BLU-RAY, +Glasses). If it were a $100.00 option and ultra cheap glasses I would have the option but not a chance in hell at its current price of admission for something that will be used maybe 3-4 times a year.

I have kids and a movie in 3D to them is a lot of fun with their friends. We do it every now and then on the projector using the older style colored lenses. About $1.79 each kid. I bought the pricey glasses from china. Support up to 8 kids. That would have cost me probably $800 to have the more refined system that I would use 3-4 times a year.

What I find hysterical is I did 3D gaming back in 1999 with the ASUS AGP-V3800 Ultra TNT2 graphics card which came with a wired set of 3D glasses for about $139.00 while today it costs 3-4 times more and the only advancement is the glasses are wireless.


RE: Sounds Good
By DanielDaly on 7/17/2011 2:38:25 PM , Rating: 2
All his credibility went out the window?
Shut up you troll.
He nailed every fact, and thoroughly explained why he chose an LG LED over Plasma or other brands LED's. Passive 3D for me is very enjoyable to watch, despite being a little lacking in resolution. Just because you don't enjoy 3D doesn't mean his post isn't credible.


RE: Sounds Good
By TakinYourPoints on 6/22/2011 3:34:20 PM , Rating: 2
I plug my laptop into my plasma and play games on it regularly. I've had my Pioneer Elite Kuro since 2008 and image retention has never been an issue.

As others here have pointed out, plasmas are not going out due to their superior image quality compared to LCDs. Anyone who cares about that sort of thing will choose a plasma over an LCD.

As far as heat, size, and energy goes, the new Panasonic plasmas that I saw at CES earlier this year takes care of all of that. They are very thin, generate no heat from the front (even I couldn't believe this), and have black levels almost as deep as the Kuros before they were discontinued. I am very tempted to pick up a 2011 65" VT30 or GT30, they are absolutely gorgeous.

Either way, plasmas still sell very well. It'll be a while before a better display technology that is as affordable hits the market.


RE: Sounds Good
By DanielDaly on 7/17/2011 3:14:23 PM , Rating: 2
No they're not.
Plasma's are getting lighter by the year.
And hey, have you noticed something? Every year Plasma gets brighter and consumes less power. Every year in order for LCD or LED to get brighter, they have to consume more energy by implementing brighter LED's/CCFL's. Panasonic predicts by 2013, Plasma will be more efficient than LCD/LED. Now-- I don't personally believe that. It'll probably be a few more years for Plasma to surpass LCD/LED. And by the time that happens, we'll all be enjoying our flexible paper thin OLED's.
Plasma's image is far superior. You think local dimming is cool? Local dimming provides about 240 zones of dimming. That means for every 8,640 pixels, one LED is providing the dimming. That sucks! With Plasma, each of the panels 2,073,600 pixels provide their own light, and can dim or turn off completely, independent from the rest of the display.
It's better.
And yeah, it'll burn if you leave your TV on with a picture of your cat up for a day or two... Who does that? Turn it off when you leave the room.


RE: Sounds Good
By theapparition on 6/21/2011 10:16:40 PM , Rating: 4
People are really stupid.

No, I mean really stupid.

Pray tell, where do you get your internet connection from? That's right, the cable companies and telcos (who are also in the cable TV business now).

What would happen if Comcast lost their cable TV revenue overnight? What do you think would happen to your internet connection bill now? Let's face it, add supported TV subsidizes the cost of broadcasting programming, and cable rates subsidize the cost of your cable bandwidth.

The same with ala carte programming. It sounds like a fantastic idea on paper, but implementation would be atrocious for consumers with higher prices and less choice.


RE: Sounds Good
By kitonne on 6/22/2011 5:58:30 PM , Rating: 3
Take a look at the cost of internet service in Europe, to see what it should cost, if not for the local US monopolies. Funny how socialist-like Europe provides better internet service at lower cost then free market US.... Comcast internet service makes money, and is likely subsidizing the "content" most people do not care about.


RE: Sounds Good
By MrBlastman on 6/22/2011 11:34:00 AM , Rating: 3
Your source forgets one thing...

In order to use Netflix, I only have to pay 8.99/month and own a computer/console/whatever that I already own that supports it.

In order to use Apple's TVs which will "kill Netflix," I will probably have to shell out an exorbitant premium sum of money to have the privilege to look smug while watching it.

No thanks. No Apple products for me. Oops, I guess they failed at "killing" Netflix from the start.


RE: Sounds Good
By Reclaimer77 on 6/22/2011 12:04:04 PM , Rating: 2
Netflix is like Google. Too entrenched, directly competing with them is a waste of resources. Better to try to go around them, maybe, but this killing Netflix? Ha!

Netflix is one of the greatest things of the century, so far. Apple? Meah, not so much.


RE: Sounds Good
By omnicronx on 6/21/2011 5:07:48 PM , Rating: 2
Seems great in theory, but how exactly can Apple let alone anyone else leverage their current mobile ecosystem on a TV in which touch based input makes absolutely no sense.

There is no true convergence between smartphone/tablet platforms and TV's because they are fundimentally different.

Whether it is Apple, Google or anyone else, you are essentially starting from step one again, aside from your brand name of course.


RE: Sounds Good
By StanO360 on 6/21/2011 5:37:13 PM , Rating: 2
Not much of an Apple fan, but certainly not Apple "TV". But, why wouldn't they do this? Costs engineering time, suckers will buy this stuff and pay through the nose for content.

Integration between mobile and tv actually is intriguing, there are android apps that us DLNA to send internet video and pics to your tv, phones as controllers maybe? Content sharing.

However, Apple is behind the curve on this, but that hasn't stopped them from making serious bucks off Apple fans.


RE: Sounds Good
By robinthakur on 6/22/2011 8:42:59 AM , Rating: 2
I can competely control my new 3D TV using my iPhone (might work with Android too), also browse all my DNLA content and with most Internet connected TV's these days this is the case. Mind you, shipping an iPod touch with every Apple TV is likely a non starter lol, so that's going to be interesting! I'm intrigued to see what they are going to look like, TV's are already quite good looking (LG Infinia range, the latest Panasonics and some Samsungs) and the built in OS's are nicer than the comparable phone OS's when Apple revolutionised that.


RE: Sounds Good
By Reclaimer77 on 6/21/2011 5:12:51 PM , Rating: 4
I like the idea, sure. I do NOT like it coming from Apple. A company with a track record of deciding for it's consumers what formats they can use and what content is "acceptable".

Basically, Jobs, if I wanna watch porn and Flash content on my TV I WILL, goddamnit.


RE: Sounds Good
By theapparition on 6/21/2011 5:23:19 PM , Rating: 5
quote:
Internet TV seems like just the thing to break the cable/satellite duopoly.

Only to be replaced by an iTunes monopoly?

No thanks.


RE: Sounds Good
By SunAngel on 6/21/2011 5:23:39 PM , Rating: 2
Someone has already been that route...albeit alittle early though. HP came out with Windows Media Center Tvs years back and the pricing was rather good. Personally, DLNA is the way to go, but for some reason just putting the name Apple on it and making it so simple, so easy to use, so much enjoyment it won't fail.


RE: Sounds Good
By h37s3m on 6/21/2011 8:40:10 PM , Rating: 2
I am not an apple fan, but I am actually excited about how this would turn out. I think it can potentially be amazing.


RE: Sounds Good
By B3an on 6/22/2011 4:38:51 AM , Rating: 2
How can it be amazing? It's nothing new. Google already do it. The last thing people need is Apple's dictatorship on TV's as well. I wouldn't be surprised if they chose what formats the TV could play, what type of content is allowed on them, and give the TV's proprietary or limited inputs.


RE: Sounds Good
By robinthakur on 6/22/2011 6:32:16 AM , Rating: 2
I agree. Having just bought a new TV with Internet connected services, I have been struck that although there are a surprising amount of Apps available, they all take ages to load and are relatively unpolished, meaning that I don't really use them. They are nowhere near the wuality of iOS ones. The interface mechanism is a bit of a problem as well, with none of the touch control you get on iOS, unless they ship it with some kind of trackpad control (or allow iPhones to control the screen like you can with most modern internet connected TV's)

Having said all that, this kind of move is fraught with potential problems for Apple, such as this being a relatively high price tag sale in a field which updates rapidly, is full of purists and also which Apple has no experience in. Apple have a relatively good reputation for its displays, and the design is sure to be beautiful, so they might be up to scratch, but it still requires a big leap of faith for customers that they won't just abandon it like the Apple Hifi...

A much better idea would be for them to try and get Apple TV integrated into as many CE brands as possible. It is a big selling point if you live in an Apple connected home with an iPad, iTouch, iPhone etc. and it would have swung my recent purchasing decisions if the HC Receiver or TV supported Apple TV integrated and wasn't crazily expensive.


$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
By spathotan on 6/21/2011 5:24:39 PM , Rating: 5
Prepare for $5500 42" TVs.




RE: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
By YashBudini on 6/21/2011 5:52:05 PM , Rating: 5
And a whole new batch of suicides.


RE: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
By B3an on 6/22/2011 4:42:37 AM , Rating: 2
And less features, possible location or viewing monitoring by Apple, proprietary formats, and being told what content you can view.


Questions
By Gigantopithecus on 6/21/2011 5:27:15 PM , Rating: 4
"According to the source, 'You'll go into an Apple retail store and be able to walk out with a TV. It's perfect.'"

And will that be the only TV you can watch movies and shows you downloaded from iTunes on? When that TV breaks, or you want to replace it, will you have to purchase another Apple TV to watch your content on? What if Apple decides in a decade to no longer support any of your Apple TVs, like it does with its OS's and older computers?

I just don't understand how so many consumers willingly yield control of their stuff to a corporation. In general, Apple's interoperability is terrible. I can almost understand how being locked into a restrictive ecosystem eases the potential pain of the wild world of Windows or the even less lawless land of Linux, but FFS, how hard is it to put a DVD or BRD into a player, or even hook up a computer to a 1080P display?




RE: Questions
By JasonMick (blog) on 6/21/2011 5:46:04 PM , Rating: 4
quote:
"According to the source, 'You'll go into an Apple retail store and be able to walk out with a TV. It's perfect.'"

And will that be the only TV you can watch movies and shows you downloaded from iTunes on? When that TV breaks, or you want to replace it, will you have to purchase another Apple TV to watch your content on? What if Apple decides in a decade to no longer support any of your Apple TVs, like it does with its OS's and older computers?

I just don't understand how so many consumers willingly yield control of their stuff to a corporation. In general, Apple's interoperability is terrible. I can almost understand how being locked into a restrictive ecosystem eases the potential pain of the wild world of Windows or the even less lawless land of Linux, but FFS, how hard is it to put a DVD or BRD into a player, or even hook up a computer to a 1080P display?

ANSWERS:
It's magical.โ„ข
It just works.โ„ข
It has an Apple logo on it.


RE: Questions
By kattanna on 6/22/2011 10:45:54 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
I just don't understand how so many consumers willingly yield control of their stuff to a corporation


i wouldn't be surprised at all if the TV came equipped with a webcam that had built in software to detect the number of people in the area, that way apple could then charge per user per show


Incredible
By serkol on 6/21/2011 10:01:26 PM , Rating: 3
> The former Apple executive, speaking with us on condition of anonymity...

Wow, "The former Apple executive" was speaking to Jason Mick!




RE: Incredible
By superstition on 6/22/2011 6:14:28 PM , Rating: 2
lol


Can of Worms
By gevorg on 6/21/2011 5:54:07 PM , Rating: 2
I wonder if it will be easy or very easy for Apple to sucker their customers to buy $100 HDMI cables for their precious Apple TVs. :)




RE: Can of Worms
By TakinYourPoints on 6/21/2011 7:10:44 PM , Rating: 2
What is ironic is that the Apple store is much more reasonably priced for HDMI cables than the $60-$700 (seriously) you'd pay at Best Buy, only about $20.

It isn't like a price you'd get at Monoprice, but compared to other major brick & mortar stores it isn't bad at all.


Nope
By chillzone on 6/21/2011 9:36:19 PM , Rating: 2
This will never happen. Apple would never allow another company's hardware to be branded as an Apple product. They are hyper-focused on attention to detail, and need full control of the hardware development process to make sure products meet their high standards. Anyone who knows apple would know this.




RE: Nope
By DanielDaly on 7/17/2011 2:34:23 PM , Rating: 2
You're referring completely to design and not manufacturing I hope--
Apple used to use Samsung displays, now using LG displays. I think they still use Samsung for their larger displays.
Apple uses Samsung chips and processors
Apple also uses Intel chips and processors
Apple also uses both NVidia and ATI graphics cards
Apple's OS is based on NetBSD
Apple's explosive acryllic is from Foxconn! Along with numerous other parts.
The list goes on and on.


This is !@**ing stupid
By kleinma on 6/21/2011 5:34:23 PM , Rating: 2
I want my TV to be a display where I can hook up what I want to it. That is all. This is just them forcing Apple TV inside the display since they can't sell a lot of them outside of it. iOS with no touch capabilities means pretty much no apps that exists will work with it, and require specific "made for TV" apps that then will not be compatible with iPhone and iPad... could get ugly.

On the other hand, I don't really case, since I have an xbox, and that does everything except live TV which I hear is changing.




"Apple's only major market failure."
By Dug on 6/21/11, Rating: 0
By Alexstarfire on 6/22/2011 1:06:05 AM , Rating: 2
Where can I see this list? I've only read about the list and am curious to see what else is on this list.


Maybe this one time
By C5Rftw on 6/21/2011 7:38:21 PM , Rating: 2
....time, consumers will continue to prefer the best value, and when "iTV" comes out (im sure they will continue the i*** marketing) there is no way it can compete in performance to the LG's, Samsung's for the same price. so maybe this one time, the White bezel and emblem wont hypnotize consumers into getting ripped off (IMO). however, if they do something innovative (which I wont lie, they are good at that) and combine AppleTV with the iTV, and a dock for the Ipad/ipod/iphone, then the iconsumer might go for it since a lot of people have those, Im sure Jason Long will get the youths into it




Huh?
By MrPickins on 6/21/2011 7:47:14 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
We expressed credulity that an OEM would allow Apple to cut into their bottom line, but our source aptly pointed out the OEM would be winning even if Apple cuts into their branded sales.


Did you mean incredulity?

As it is, that sentence is confusing.




Nobody sells TVs
By sdbryan on 6/21/2011 8:08:03 PM , Rating: 2
Everyone sells monitors which usually include an OTA receiver which is almost never used. Apple already sells monitors and it also sells a settop box. This possible development means they would have the electronics of AppleTV (their settop box) built into an OEM monitor. Apple would probably not even call it a TV since that would require that a receiver be included.

So if you want this product today buy a nice Apple monitor and AppleTV. You have one extra small box, an HDMI cable, and an extra power cable. What's not to like? Unless you have an implacable hatred for Apple. In that case please ignore all of the above.




Funny
By Raiders12 on 6/22/2011 10:21:59 AM , Rating: 2
I thought Sony had a nice price premium for their sets, imagine the mark up for a 42" LED Apple TV.

42" LED Samsung 3D about $1200-1400
42" Apple LED 3D about $2000 and sells out across the US!




By 91TTZ on 6/22/2011 1:00:07 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Apple's fans are unparalleled in their devotion, so it might be premature to count the new Apple televisions sets out.


This should read, "Apple's fans are unparalleled in their idiotic zealotry, so it might be premature to count the new Apple television sets out."




No thanks...
By M4gery on 6/22/2011 1:31:54 PM , Rating: 2
The last damned thing I want to have to deal with is having to jailbreak my goddamned TV just so I can watch some pr0n.




didn't there
By senbassador on 6/22/2011 2:11:55 PM , Rating: 2
Didn't there used to be a thing called WebTV back in the 90's, until Microsoft bought them out. I don't think that worked out too well. As much as I would like Apple to succeed on this (even though I am not an Apple fan), my skeptical side says I don't think its likely.

I just don't get it, if I want to watch the internet on a large TV, I would either a) use my XBox or b) connect my laptop with my TV with an HDMI cable. Maybe the next big thing would be "wireless HDMI", which doesn't require an XBox. I don't quite see the value in this. Am I missing something?




Home Automation for the masses
By RedemptionAD on 6/22/2011 3:04:43 PM , Rating: 2
I see this as well as google tv as a step at bringing home automation to the masses. I don't like the idea of a locked down system like Apples running the show, but with Google tv, Apple and hopefully Microsoft joining in, it can become a commodity item for alot of people. They already have ip microwaves, refridgerators, security systems and other appliances that you can buy off the shelf. I see it as a chance for homes to be almost completely automated, although I do worry about security in that case.




hmm...
By Lemonjellow on 6/22/2011 4:13:45 PM , Rating: 2
As somebody sitting here using my android tablet as a remote to control Netflix on my PC displaying on my inexpensive LCD TV and playing audio back through my Yamaha receiver I find this a bit coincidental, but ultimately ridiculous in the end.

Oh and for whomever mentioned a webcam, it is so you can communicate to the family after you install the other two TV walls allowing you to read along with your parts on the script. Only, of course, to be interrupted by helicopter news footage of the "Hound" chase, jet-bombers flying over to bomb the enemy, and the inescapable smell of the neighbors burning horde of Tolstoy, Solzhenitsyn, and Dostoevsky...




What about sports?
By ascian5 on 6/23/2011 11:49:36 AM , Rating: 2
Perhaps the inappropriate forum, oh well.

For all those advocating iTunes or Netflix, that's all well and good, but what do I use to fill my HD sports fix? Gotta have that college football fix. Espn3? Ugh. Local channels over the air just aren't enough.




Nice
By rburnham on 6/23/2011 12:22:37 PM , Rating: 2
If the quality of the TV is similar to the quality of their monitors, these will be very nice items, but a little on the pricey side. I do enjoy staring at my 27 inch iMac every day at work.




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