[DreamRaj]

My pliers doesn't make a very good hammer, so I should go complain to Craftsman?



Good one :)

[natmusak]

Personally, I don't want to see this.
Apple TV movies, tv shows, and podcasts all completely lack something I loathe: commercials!!!
That's MAJOR to me and if every network and/or cable provider announced today that their channels/TV subscriptions were dropping all ads, you better believe millions of people would rejoice. They wouldn't even know what to do with all that extra time no longer wasted by commercial breaks that are coming close to rivaling the length of the shows we're paying for (whether we watch them or not).
I'm cool with Apple allowing users to pair those new external SuperDrives (the ones being sold as an option for the MacBook Air) for DVD viewing through Apple TV's interface, I look forward to Netflix offering its digital movie rentals for a subscription fee (like what was just debuted on Microsoft's Xbox 360 today during their E3 press conference).
Keep the ads out of the media I'm paying for. Personally, I think traditional cable TV deserves some real competition, not another helping hand.

[bob_t]

TiVo's "problem" is that their CEO is an ex media exec, and prior to that was an NBC executive vice president.
What TiVo purchasers and service subscribers want will continue to matter less and less as TiVo continues to build revenue streams from media companies and advertisers. That revenue stream will eclipse subscriber revenue and the UI will continue to get more and more cluttered with ads and logos, just as subscribers are experiencing. (yes, sounds like slippery-slope FUD... but media execs cannot say 'no' to ad dollars, it's part of their primary core value system, like a bad drug habit)
TiVo sorta "got" the interface thing early on... but they'll forgo this expertise and functional UI improvements will die on the vine.
Apple really has a shot because A) they "get" user interfaces too (just a little bit), and B) they "get" media too and have some fairly major alliances with top-tier content providers.
TiVo media content choices will continue to go begging... but they'll get more UI ads.

[RoddickRemixed]

While I appreciate your candor (and respect for the industry), it is imperative to realize that advertisers need to innovate, not interrupt. If we want to skip commercials, then they need to find a new way to engage us, be it through product placement, show sponsorship, or a myriad of other options.

Holding on to an archaic system of advertising (like radio) is not wise. They can, like the RIAA, pound their fists and scream and yell (those spoiled fat cats and their German sports cars). These outburts are only likely to be met with resentment (and best) and invoke brand-muting innovation from the end users (at worst).

We did not care for the treatment of artists under the RIAA, so a need was created. Apple, Napster, Kazaa, and a host of others have filled that void (some legal, some not). What advertisers need to do is find a way to engage us; to start a conversation; to make us want to interact.

After all, as I'm fast-forwarding commercials to get back to 30 Rock, I will ALWAYS stop and watch an Apple commercial. (Hi, I'm a Mac. And I'm a PC. Brill!

The bottom line is this: advertisers have bigger fish to fry than whether or not we watch their ads. We are sending them a message, loud and ever-so-clear: we don't like your brand; we don't like your interruption. Are we justly entitled? Probably not. But perception is reality, my Macworld readers. So is it with 7th grade gossip, so is it with brands and advertising.

But then again, who am I? Oh yeah, I make my living doing this stuff.

Dear Advertisers,

Worry about relevance, not insolence.

Love,

Your Consumers

[NoteBook]

There are obviously different rules in Canada than in the US when it comes to the "fast-forward" feature. All the PVR devices (up here DVRs are Personal Video Recorders) from Bell ExpressVu and StarChoice have 30-second advance buttons right on the remote. I do not think I have watched a commercial on a recorded show in about three years. And since we typically set our PVR to automatically record the eastern broadcast (we live in the Mountain time zone) of our favourite shows, and watch them when the kids go to sleep, we rarely watch any commercials at all.

[Mac007]

Apple doesn't need to kill Tivo. They should buy Tivo and add that Apple touch then sell it and make millions.

[richcon]

The iPod never received over-the-air signals either, though many, many people insisted that it wouldn't succeed without a radio tuner. This device was really about organizing your entire music library and putting every song you own only a few button clicks away, all while fitting in your pocket.
The real missing feature of the AppleTV, which would make it the true set-top successor to the iPod is an easy way to allow people to rip their DVDs and store them on a hard drive. But there are a couple serious problems that would keep Apple from doing this:
1) The license Apple had to sign to legally play copy-protected DVDs on their computers expressly forbids this;
2) Video files, compared to audio, are HUGE. Storing an entire DVD collection on hard drives for easy access would take up an obscene amount of space;
3) Film and TV studios would be none too happy about it.

[MacNano]

The technology exists to create a box that does EVERYTHING.
* Download videos and music from the web and watch or listen to them; Do the same from iTunes.
* Watch cable, satellite, or broadcast television.
* Listen to any 5" disk containing music (CD, SACD, DVD-Audio, etc.)
* Listen to broadcast AM, FM, internet, or satellite radio.
* Watch a video from any 5" disk (DVD, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, DVD-RAM).
* Surf the web using a remote keyboard and mouse.
* Digitally record any program from satellite, cable or broadcast using an interactive program guide, or manual recording.
* Optionally transfer recordings to permanent (well, long enough) media such as CD-R, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, and Blu-Ray recordable (BD-R?).
* Digitally (with very high quality) link to any stereo or surround sound system.
* Connect to any HDTV or computer monitor with DVI or HDMI.
I wish Apple would creatively circumvent some of the restrictions that are currently preventing such a product. It should be modular so that capabilities could be added as desired, or as a budget allows. It needs to be Apple-easy, so that my parents can do any of this without having to call me every time (OK, not quite every time, but you get the idea) they want to do something different (like watch a DVD and then go back to cable television to set up a recording) and get stuck in a place that they cannot recover from. The interface for watching things on the iMac with the included remote would be good start for development.
I really don't care if the commercials on recordings can be skipped, although I do like this feature on my Panasonic DVR. I think that editing of video or audio before storing onto more permanent media should be an option (deleting commercials, etc.). The internal clock should be time synchronized so that it is always accurate.
This product would basically be a Mac with special features and expansion capabilities. One box with one monitor is all that should be needed by most people in their living room to be able to enjoy all the media that we currently enjoy.

[macwilf]

Reading this, I hear a song in my head going something like; Itʼs a big, big world out there ladi la di la dum...

What I mean is that although Apple is based in the US, the majority of mankind is living outside of it - and you know what; there is no TiVo at all out here! So, maybe Apple TV does not need to kill TiVo at all, but leave it to prosper in the US, while they make Apple TV for the rest of us, with DVR and all.

Just a tiny thought...

[Grapho]

I am already, slowly but steadily ripping my entire DVD collection to my iTunes library. It does not take obscene amounts of storage to do this. In encodes and compresses very well. Older DVD are easer then new ones. But with the cost per GB going down every day, I could have one extra TB drive that could hold hundreds of movies easily. I only rip what I own so I don't feel bad about doing this at all.

Now what would be batter if more studios would jump on board and provide an Apple TV encoded version of the movie so Ripping would not be necessary. Provide some kind unlocking mechanism so that it can only work with one iTunes account at a time.

[flowney]

Who is paying? Can't speak for anyone else but myself but I pay nearly $60 a month to get TV from a satellite.

Let's look at the whole story. When cable and then satellite TV first came along, we were promised that we would not have to put up with commercials the way those who got their programming free over the airwaves via advertiser-supported TV. Anyone remember that?

So what's it like today? We pay more than ever. We get more commercials than ever (I count 15 minutes out of the typical broadcast hour) and even that's not enough for the greedy buggers. There's hardly a minute that goes buy during the show that some animated garbage doesn't crawl around my screen advertising yet something else.

So, even if I record off-air (protected by the now famous Sony case where they tried to outlaw video taping your favorite shows for later viewing) with a DVR or a Mac equipped with an EyeTV and meticulously cut out the commercials, the remainder is still polluted with advertising junk.

Just one more thing: closed captions. I used to have an ATI graphics card in an old PowerMac running MacOS 8.6 that not only captured the video from cable but also picked up the Line 21 data that contains the text of the closed captions for the hearing impaired. That's me. I don't hear well.

You cannot buy a stand alone or computer tethered TVR that does this anymore. I've talked with the folks from Formac, Elgato and some others asking for this feature. They tell me that they are concerned about being sued over a feature that not that many people need. The economics of fairness.

I have absolutely no sympathy for these poor bizillionares that are raking in the dough via cable and satellite. The US Supreme Court has spoken to this issue once and for all a long time ago. They are trying to achieve with technological legerdemain what they were denied in court. We have the right to record these broadcasts and view them later on as we see fit. Business models do not trump the Constitution.

[orisons]

Personally I have stopped my cable, why, well I come from the uk where the TV is structured slightly differently (except satellite, unless it has changed), the channel options are
BBC which everyone pays a tv license of about $150 a year, the content is reasonably good and is commercial free, not one advertisement on the channel 24 hours a day. The BBC has about 4 tv channels (maybe more now) and 5 or radio channels (also commercial free).
ITV wich is free but does have commercials but this is limited to 10 mins per hour.
My argument is this if I have to pay for a channel, I do not want to be bombarded (and I mean bombarded with infomercials).
If I want a channel free I have to accept that I will be watching adverts. I cannot subscribe to paying for a channel and watching adverts.
I know these shows have production costs, but how much of AT&T uverse profits (just profits go to cable providers)
Right now I only have apple TV and a collection of DVD's that would choke a horse, I can spend my $100 cable fee on what I want to watch when I want to watch it and with now commercials, does this kill the industry, I am pretty sure they make a profit.

[tallscot]

An Apple TiVo would fail for the same reason TiVo is failing - most people get the DVR from their satellite/cable provider. I get mine from DirecTV and it's HD and I prefer it over TiVo Series 2 for a few reasons and it costs me $4.99 a month.
The only thing Apple TV has that interests me is the ability to "rent" an HD movie without me having to get up from my chair. Unfortunately for Apple, I have a PS3 and I prefer renting my HD movies on Blue-ray at Blockbuster.

[George76]

Grapho said:

I am already, slowly but steadily ripping my entire DVD collection to my iTunes library. It does not take obscene amounts of storage to do this. In encodes and compresses very well. Older DVD are easer then new ones. But with the cost per GB going down every day, I could have one extra TB drive that could hold hundreds of movies easily. I only rip what I own so I don't feel bad about doing this at all.

Then you're clearly not encoding them at a very high video or audio quality. I have over 40GB of music; I would hate to see how much space encoding all of my DVD's would take (not to mention that I wouldn't consider the time and effort very worthwhile). I went through the process of ripping most of season 8 of Stargate SG-1; each episode was around 800MB. Multiply that by 22 and you have a pretty good chunk of space used just for one season. Multiply that by the other 9 seasons of Stargate, 6 seasons of Smallville, probably 20-30 other full seasons of TV, several hundred movies and you have a rather massive amount of data to store.

As for other comments, including the one in the article about the plethora of ads in the TiVo interface, I am left confused. I have a Tivo Series 2 and a Tivo HD and yes there are a couple of ads, but they are pretty much invisible, usually a text link at the bottom of the current menu. Hardly intrusive, certainly a lot less than the ads some cable boxes spoon into their Guide interface. I am quite fond of both TiVo's, though I haven't got to try out sharing content between them. With the TiVo HD and my PS3 I have pretty close to the ultimate media experience that covers most of the complaints people have listed on this forum. No, neither is an Apple product but they both have quite good GUI interfaces; I'd even consider the PS3's superior to AppleTV's method of drilling down through an iPod-based menu hierarchy.