sbjforever

Who Will Win the Home Entertainment Battle?

Apple TV is a huge flop! Isn't it kind of chump to state that? I don't find it chump at all to spend $230 to watch $4 HD movies, YouTube clips, TV shows, IPhoto etc on the big screen - all done without the need for yet another hulking and expensive DVD-DVR box alongside the existing Sat TV DVR and audio CD player. And why do I need DVD's and CD's anyway? With Apple TV and iTunes that silly cabinet stuffed with silly discs has gone the way of the Dodo - at least in my house.

What more do you want?

Apple needs work, yes. And it will get it over time that will keep it ahead of other options.

The use of a gaming console most often found lying on the living room carpet or in the kid's bedroom next to a towering DVD/CD cabinet cabled across the floor to the TV that must have a TV-tuner equipped PC - everyone has one of those - right? - is hugely chump.

Is the End of the Cable Box Near?

One day the set-top box will go the way of the Dodo. And the sooner the better. The brain of such devices of course resides in the software. Stuff that chains the viewer to the whims of the cable company, tells the box and the subscriber what to do and what can and cannot be done.

Apple TV could be attached to the TV set today (retaining clips, power outlet, HDMI panel on the back panel) so as to appear as if part of it. A more mature version of the device could be built right in. You couldn't do that so easily with the relatively humungous set-top box. Trouble is, there is stuff in the box - remote control, satellite set-up, channel authorization, selection, billing, display etc, that is must have stuff too.

Don't look for Apple to be producing such a union themselves although such strategy must be the subject of keen debate within the company. Rather, they would strike up partnerships with set manufactures and cable-satellite companies - much as Sony is trying to do today. Compelling content will decide the winners.

One thing is certain, Apple TV must have a screen. And to content hungry viewers, increasingly, their dumb TV needs an Apple.