The Problem with Apple TV
Forbes has a big article about Apple TV, Apple's computer-to-TV video streaming box, that the publication declares an "iFlop."
Apple TV may be an underperformer now, but it doesn't have to be.
As an avid Mac user who is ordinarily easily pulled into the Steve Jobs reality distortion field, let me tell you the problems with Apple TV:
1) Requires a flat screen TV
Most people still have standard televisions -- not the flat screen beauties. And for whatever reason, Apple TV doesn't play with regular televisions.
Flat screen TV prices may be falling, but that still doesn't mean that everyone has them. Apple seems to overlook the fact that it is the college crowd which made the iPod the most recognizable media player on the planet (after all, look around any college campus and all you'll see are white headphones). The catch is that for the early adopter, college crowd a flat screen TV of any size worth purchasing is still out of reach. $300 bucks for a top-of-the-line iPod? Sure. But $2,000 for a TV? No way.
Limited early adopter pool = no momentum.
2) Poor quality
For those that can afford a flat screen TV there's a reason that they bought one -- because the picture looks amazing. How does the Apple TV look? Well, not so good. Go into an Apple Store and even the demo doesn't look compelling (and the TVs they are using for the demos aren't even that big). That's because Apple's iTunes store doesn't sell any high definition content. The video you get on iTunes looks great on an iPod, acceptable on your laptop, and downright mediocre-to-poor when blown up on a large TV.
The content quality hasn't caught up with the technological capabilities Apple TV appears to be presenting. The result is a sub-par, very un-Apple-like experience.
3) It's not a TiVo
Apple TV has a hard drive in it. What do we want to do with a hard drive connected to our television? Use it a digital video recorder (DVR) a.k.a. TiVo, of course.
Apple TV has zero, zip, nada TiVo-like capabilities. It is a svelte box for streaming the content you have in your iTunes library (video/music) to your TV and that's about it. (True, it can access movie trailers online, and display your digital photos but these features aren't going to make you run out and buy an Apple TV).
4) It's too expensive
The problem is Apple TV does so little (stream content from your computer to your television) for such a big price. [The price is "big" because the Apple TV content doesn't look spectacular, it doesn't satisfy those other "needs" we all have -- it's not a TiVo, it is not a DVD recorder, it's not a video game player -- and it will require most people to buy a flat screen TV if they want the Apple TV experience].
The Forbes article says that the components of Apple TV cost $237. On a $300 product, that doesn't leave a lot of room for profit. So it is true that the company isn't making much off these things, but that offers minor consolation for the consumer.
Solutions
Apple TV needs to be overhauled and replaced with "Apple TV 2" (for lack of a better term). Here's what Apple TV 2 should offer:
- Works with all TVs, not just the new flat screens (make Apple TV an option for all who are interested in it)
- DVR capabilities (enabled by a bigger hard drive) -- this would truly lay the groundwork for tearing down the barriers between our TVs, DVDs and downloaded content
- Ability to stream DVR'd content back to your PC so you can "save it" by burning it to a DVD
- Ability to transfer television content saved on your Apple TV 2's DVR to your iPhone, iPod Touch or notebook computer so you can watch your shows on the go
- Same $300 price tag
Apple TV right now is half a product. Here's one customer who hopes Steve Jobs and Co. will make it a whole.
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