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
  

If Apple gives us this (and any other whiz-bang ideas that Apple can dream up like no other) then Apple TV will be a success. Whether we get there or not is simply a matter of whether or not the company believes in the product.

Apple TV right now is half a product. Here's one customer who hopes Steve Jobs and Co. will make it a whole.

Spaulding Law: DVD Packaging

We can put a man on the moon, mass produce automobiles, and build a global information network. Why then can the movie industry not come up with a better packaging system for DVDs?

It seems like no matter what you do, you cannot get the package opened any faster than the actual run time of the film inside. (And don't get me started on CD packaging -- of course at the Spaulding production studio we buy almost all of our music from iTunes, so mercifully packaging is not a factor).

Spaulding Law: All movie companies and their packaging/printing affiliates shall immediately discontinue use of those annoying "security" stickers that are affixed (and in all too many cases welded) to the edge of the DVD case. The stickers cannot be removed easily, and are a waste of material because no one is going to buy a DVD that isn't already sealed in an impenetrable layer shrink wrap plastic (except for those who buy bootleg DVDs, and they're already living outside the system).

Therefore, Spaulding, Get Your Foot Off the Boat! calls for the termination of the current system for packaging DVDs and looks forward to the roll out of a new, easier-to-open system (think the pull string-dealie on a pack of 25 cent gum) no later than January 1, 2008.

The Winner is Blu-ray!

Everyone is crazy about DVDs. Heck, I've got a ton of them. But since consumerism cannot get enough of a good thing, we are told that the next generation -- the thing that is better than DVDs -- is just around the corner. The problem? We've got two technologies competing for dominance (think VHS vs. Betamax). Most of us will sit back and relax until the early adopters decide what format is best, and we'll all go with it -- just as we did with VHS. But for the rich and the geeky tomorrow is today.

The battle to be what amounts to DVD 2.0 is currently being waged between Blu-ray and HD-DVD technologies. Each boast even better picture quality than traditional DVDs and a bunch of other bells and whistles that you'll probably never tap into with your remote control.

At this point it seems that it is too close to call on what format will ultimately win. At least that's what I thought until I was informed via a TV commercial about what is going to propel Blu-ray over the top and settle this format battle once and for all.

What is that catalyst? The Benchwarmers is now available on Blu-ray!

Yes, sir, you can now see Rob Schneider and that kid from Napoleon Dynamite in high def! If this isn't going to make those $1,000 players fly off the shelves, I don't know what will.

Other must-own Blu-ray discs include: Hitch, 50 First Dates, Rumor Has It and RV.

No word yet on what format will get Failure to Launch.