Articles about Apple TV

On June 8th at the Apple World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), CEO Tim Cook will reportedly introduce a new and improved Apple TV. For those who live under rocks this doesn’t mean a television made by Apple but rather a new version of the Apple TV set top box that 25 million people have bought to download and stream video from the Internet. But this new Apple TV -- the first Apple TV hardware update in three years -- will not, we’re told, support 3840-by-2160 UHD (popularly called 4K) video and will be limited to plain old 1920-by-1080 HD. Can this be true? Well, yes and no. The new Apple TV will be 4K capable, but not 4K enabled. This distinction is critical to understanding what’s really happening with Apple and television.

First we need to understand Apple’s big number problem. This is a problem faced by many segment-leading companies as they become enormous and rich. The bigger these companies get the harder it is to find new business categories worth entering. Most companies, as they enter new market segments with new products, hope those products come to represent at least five percent of their company’s gross revenue over time. The iPhone, for example, now drives more than 60 percent of Apple’s revenue. Well the Apple TV has been around now for a decade and has yet to approach that five percent threshold, which is why they’ve referred to the Apple TV since its beginning as a hobby.

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YouTube has stopped supporting devices that make use of the second version of its Data API. In practice the move, which was announced more than a year ago, is forcing users to look into alternative ways of watching YouTube videos, and likely also taking many by surprise.

For those who are not familiar with it, YouTube's Data API allows developers to implement YouTube functionality into their apps. The second version is mostly used on older devices, with the list including TVs, smartphones, tablets, Blu-Ray disc players and more. Here's what you should do, if you're affected.

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As the dust settles from this week's big Apple reveal, one question lingers: Who gains more from exclusive distribution of new streaming service HBO NOW? I don't know what the device maker paid for the privilege, but big benefits belong to it. I wonder: What were HBO executives thinking by tying the service's early destiny to a single platform during telecast of the popular Game of Thrones series?

Particularly for cord-cutters who don't have Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, or iPod and want GoT Season 5 the choice is simple: Buy ATV for 69 bucks or spend more on another device capable of running HBO's iOS app—or steal! Three days ago my colleague Alan Buckingham, who owns no fruit-logo products and cord-cuts, wrote that he might get the streaming box. Today I asked if he really plans to buy Aople TV. "I haven't yet, but I likely will", he says.

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As a cord-cutter for almost a year now I've learned to live with certain limitations. My TV viewing is sparse, so this wasn't difficult and Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime have done an admirable job of filling the void. Both work great on my Roku 3 and Amazon Fire TV. There's a Google TV here as well, though it's long been disconnected and I haven't got around to purchasing an Android TV, much as the Nexus Player intrigues me.

One set-top box that has failed to get my attention is Apple TV. That's largely because I don't live in the Apple ecosystem. I'm not an iTunes customer and it seems fairly limited compared to what I have. That may soon change.

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Three weeks ago I asked "What tech changed your life in 2014?" You answered here and on Google+. As the new year starts, I wonder what will make all our lives better. Apple Watch? I doubt it. Shake me awake from the nightmare if the wearable isn't the most successful flop of 2015. Windows 10? Skipping nine is a good sign, but is giving users more of what they don't want to let go life changing? Eh, no.

At the precipice of looking ahead, this is a last look behind. Once Consumer Electronics Show leaks and early announcements rush the InterWebs, all eyes will turn forward -- blind to what many people have, focusing on what they want instead. That's because "aspiration" is the defining word of the technology era, and the promise if you buy newfangled This or That your life will be better for it. Sometimes the promise is true, but too often not, which is why I asked the important question three weeks ago.

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The football (US version -- apologies to those in the rest of the word) season is getting under way, as the NFL kicked off the pre-season two weeks ago with the traditional Hall of Fame game. At the same time, the league has been pushing out its new Now app to various platforms like Xbox One, Fire TV and Roku.

The latest to get the new service is Apple's living room solution, the Apple TV. Like its rivals, the tiny box is getting the app, which brings the NFL alive in video format. This adds the massive library of NFL Films, along with original content, made specifically for the app, as well as a bit of live stuff, such as press conferences.

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Many of us grew up with PBS programming, such as Sesame Street. While that show is still around -- it seems it will last forever -- others are now popular with today's youth. But while we may remember a console TV and antenna, today kids expect things like cable and set-top boxes, even smartphones and tablets. Public television is moving on to meet these new needs.

Today PBS Kids announces an expansion of its reach, coming to Apple TV, Android and even Chromecast. Along for the ride, are many of kids' favorite shows, including that old standby, Sesame Street. Big Bird will be joined by others, though, like Daniel Tiger.

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Once dismissed as little more than a hobby for Apple, Apple TV seems to have quietly gathered momentum. Talking at a shareholder meeting in Cupertino, CEO Tim Cook revealed that the company has managed to net over $1 billion through the devices, leading him to quip "it's a little more difficult to call it a hobby these days." It's difficult to tell just how many sales this translates into as the figure includes content sales as well as device sales.

But while $1 billion may sound impressive, it is a drop in the ocean compared to the billions that Apple rakes in from its other product lines. The last figure released suggested that over 13 million apple TV boxes had been sold by May last year, but the sales figures released today relate to the fiscal year that ended in September. For anyone thinking about jumping on the bandwagon, Apple has a new incentive -- a $25 iTunes gift card for anyone who buys a set-top box by 5 March.

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In the technology community, we have quite a few nerds and geeks (myself included). These types of people often like the same things -- video games, Mountain Dew and Star Wars to name a few. The problem is, media on discs, like DVD or Blu-Ray, are old hat; streaming media is where it's at.

And so, when it came to the Star Wars franchise, it was very disappointing that it was not available on Netflix streaming. Today however, this changes as Star Wars comes to the streaming service. Before you start rejoicing, please know, these are not the films you are looking for.

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Have media files and looking for a better way to stream them? Good news then. Plex, the amazing little server/client that helps users send media to all sorts of devices (and which originally forked from XBMC) just got better for Apple TV customers.

Plex's developer announces a new PlexConnect app built on its API. The same API which is used to port the service to the web, Roku, Samsung TV, Google TV and more.

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You can be forgiven if you recently purchased a television and came home with what is now called a "smart TV." After all, that's the market trend, and you will be hard pressed to find a boob tube without Internet capability. Honestly, I, for one, am just happy that the industry seems to have stopped trying to force 3D on what looks to me like a most unwilling audience.

Now comes this report -- NPD claims "that nearly six out of ten consumers who own a connected HDTV are accessing Over-the-Top (OTT) video services through the device". OTT means an external device -- any external device, such as a Blu-ray player, DVR, game console or other device. Even those like Roku, Google TV and Boxee.

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The Apple TV hobby just got one more service to add to its collection. Starting today Hulu, the ad-supported on-demand streaming video service, announced that its for-fee subscription offering is now available via a quick software update on the Apple TV.  Hulu Plus joins Netflix as strictly streaming service available on the set-top box.

Hulu and its owners, Disney, Comcast and News Corp., had little choice but to get Hulu Plus onto Apple TV as soon as possible. With Apple’s new Mountain Lion update, anyone with an Apple TV could already  use the the new Airplay feature to “mirror” the free version of Hulu's website video onto their TVs. The basic website version of Hulu though does not offer features like a deeper content library and HD streaming.

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It took just about six months for the first generation of Google TV to be declared a failure. Logitech launched its Revue set top box in October 2010, and by July 2011, they couldn't even give them away. The company subsequently took a $30 million writedown on the venture, and Intel, who provided chips for Google TV, quietly divorced itself from the product.

Google aligned with Marvell, switching the platform over to the ARM instruction set, which fundamentally shifted the architecture and splintered development.

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At its iPad-centric event on Wednesday, Apple announced an update to its sleeper 'post-PC' set-top box product, the Apple TV.

The device, which Apple said last January has sold in excess of 4.2 million units, has been upgraded to 1080p resolution with a new user interface to take advantage of the higher definition output. It also includes iTunes Match support and iCloud integration, Photo Stream support (most recent 1000 photos automatically appear on all iOS devices — now including Apple TV,) Genius movie recommendation, and "TV Shows the day after they air."

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Classic comedy "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" opens with a body collector calling: "bring out your dead!" "Here's one", replies a man carrying a geezer, who pipes in: "I'm not dead". Major Microsoft competitors -- Apple, Google and their supporters, for example -- have repeatedly tried to give up Microsoft for dead. But today's major Xbox updates clearly proclaim Microsoft isn't dead, or even dying. The Redmond, Wash.-based giant has repositioned the console and supporting cloud services as a whole entertainment package -- more than just about gaming.

If any dead deserve to be brought out, they are Apple and Google. Xbox 360 and Live trailblaze where rumor whores claim Apple TV and Google TV will go. It's pathetic that bloggers and journalists spread rumors about Apple's future TV plans -- the newest about a television coming in three sizes -- a year from now! How the frak could anyone possibly know? Instead of what might be, how about writers focus on what is? Some commenters accuse me of linkbaiting. Apple future product rumors are real prime examples. You won't read them from me.

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