AppleTV Needs Recording Add-on Capabilities: Does Miglia Hold the Key?

Given that Apple (AAPL) charged the credit cards for early Apple TV buyers last week, we should start seeing those Mac mini-esque set top boxes showing up in homes this week. But as customers put up their photos of their unboxing experiences, I'm sure a lot of them will be asking, "Tell me again what that USB port on the box is for?"

Well it sounds like the folks over at The Apple Blog have figured out a reason. Remember how critics of Apple TV have complained that it can't record ? Well, it turns out the makers of the Miglia mini HD have been chatting with Apple in a friendly way for a while now. Further, all Miglia products are now gone from the Apple Store. So what is up with that?

Here's our marketing-colored glasses speculation: Apple may be planning to buy Miglia to add TV recording add-on capabilities to iTunes and Apple TV.

Let me explain what I mean to the people who just went, "iTunes? I thought this was about Apple TV?"

Think about the typical application for Apple TV. It goes in the living room, and connects directly to your HDTV. What else is in there? Your TV antenna or cable connection, almost certainly. What better place to put a TV recording device?

The problem, though, is that Apple TV only has a 40 GByte hard disk. That's not going to store much HDTV content; you're going to get two or three movies at most. That doesn't make a great DVR experience. But if the a Miglia TVMini HD+ could export the HD content it is recording back to a bigger disk on an iTunes-enabled Mac using Apple TV's 802.11n Airport Extreme wireless network? Ah, now you're talking.

The fact that the Miglia TVMini HD+ is an external USB device allows Apple to integrate the function without having to send the Apple TV back to the FCC for recertification. But why buy the company though?

Well, you're going to need some serious software integration on the iTunes end to recognize the Miglia device and use it properly. That's not exactly in Apple's interest if Miglia remains completely independent. Further, if the function becomes popular, Apple might want the flexibility to build the device into future Apple TV products. It makes a whole lot more sense for them to lock up the company now and get them developing on Apple's roadmap.

Apple wants Macs to be the hub of your digital life. Steve Jobs has been building that vision piece by piece for more than five years now. Miglia would be just one more piece of the puzzle -- and a pretty clever one at that.

Comments

[pk de cville:]

Carl,

Great article. I have one observation. This isn't only about taking over the living room w/ Macs.

iTunes runs on PCs, too. This is about an installed base of 100 million iTunes Mac and PCs taking over the living room. The irony of Apple using Windows to own the living room is delicious, no?

Regards,

2007 Mar 18 08:59 AM

[Richard Alv...:]

Wow. This TV tuner thing is just like the "ipod should have an FM tuner". And just like the FM tuner, this won't happen.

2007 Mar 18 10:04 AM

[pk de cville:]

Carl,

One other thing.

Have you discovered RoughlyDrafted.com? Daniel Eran writes chapters on Apple's (and MS') history, strategic aims, and probable futures. I love your columns for their brevity and clearness; Daniel's for his encyclopedic breadth and clarity.

He's definitely an unabashed champion of Apple, but almost all he writes has the power of extraordinary insight, credibility, and knowledge. May each of you prosper! (I hold a long losition in Apple!)

Here's Daniel's latest, an essay on the approaching demise of the MS monopoly and Apple's ascendancy.

www.roughlydrafted.com...

2007 Mar 18 11:47 AM

[David Lentz:]

Why Miglia and not El Gato's EyeTV? Miglia has some problems at the moment, as they were using the eyeTV software from El Gato, and they've lost their license (reason unknown) to use that software.

El Gato has a long relationship with Apple, having (I believe) participated in video development for various Apple products in the past.

2007 Mar 18 02:30 PM

[Tom B:]

I think Apple hired away a a senior El Gato exec about a year ago.....

2007 Mar 19 09:34 AM

[stefanov_lu...:]

Rumor from friends in the industry is that Miglia has a few more problems than simply losing their license for EyeTV (personal experience is that's there's only one reason why you'd lose your license this abruptly and it's that you didn't pay your bills). David's comment above seems appropriate - Elgato's ex-CEO is now MD of Apple Germany, and the guys behind elgato have sold products in the past to Apple, and I think a few of them used to work there. Miglia has no technology of their own. If Apple wants to do TV DVR hardware, they can go get the exact same hardware from the same manufacturers. It's software that takes time and energy to create, and that's what Elgato brings to the table.

That said, I don't subscribe to the idea that Apple would want to add DVR functionality - they want us to purchase shows to support their relationships in Hollywood and their new paradigm around iTunes. Steve Jobs has a lot of incentive to make sure that we purchase shows directly from this new channel - he makes money both on our iTunes purchase and from our purchase of shows from Disney. It's a win-win for them and something defeated if you can just record your existing content.

2007 Mar 22 10:44 AM

[az.ak.az:]

hi...
can this tranfer the recorded videos to the PC, so the people who use windows operating system watch them on their own pcs?

2007 Apr 17 10:14 AM