Gene Munster von Piper Jaffray hält daran fest: Apple könne 2011 mit einem eigenen Fernsehgerät den Markt aufmischen. Neben der Mattscheibe soll das Premium-Gerät als digitaler Videorekorder und Spielekonsole fungieren und sich mit Mac, iPhone und iPod über WLAN verbinden können – letztere könnten auch als Fernbedienung und Spielekontroller herhalten.

Der Analyst Gene Munster bemüht auch das Schlagwort vom interaktiven Fernsehen, Neulinge auf dem umkämpften TV-Markt müssten aber auch die Regeln des Spieles ändern. Apple habe dieses Potential. Zuvor soll innerhalb der nächsten Monate allerdings ein neues Apple TV mit Digitalrekorder und TV-Eingang kommen.

Aufgrund der starken Konkurrenz im Internet wie Hulu.com erwartet der Analyst von Apple ein Abo-Modell für Fernsehsendungen: Zum Beispiel könne der Hersteller einen iTunes TV Pass anbieten, der mit einer monatlichen Gebühr von 30 bis 40 US-Dollar gegen den Kabelanschluss antrete und diesen für viele Anwender ersetzen könne – dieser koste rund 85 Dollar im Monat.

Drei gute Gründe, warum Apple ein TV-Gerät im Hochpreissegment veröffentlichen könnte, führt Munster an: Apple COO Tim Cooks Bekenntnis zum Apple-TV und der Aussage, “dass man da etwas in der Zukunft habe”, diverse Patente (siehe Teaser-Bild) im Bereich digitaler Videoaufnahmen und zuletzt eine 500 Millionen US-Dollar schwere Vereinbarung zwischen Apple und LG über die Produktion von LCD-Monitoren.

Zum Schluss wagt der Analyst noch eine Prognose: Apple könne im Jahr 2009 insgesamt 6,6 Millionen Apple TVs absetzen und damit dreimal mehr als im Vorjahr: 2008 hat Apples “Hobby” 2,1 Millionen Kunden finden können.

Quelle: macnews.de

After many months of waiting, the studios have finally allowed Apple to offer much more HD movies to consumers to purchase. Combined with iTunes Extras, I believe the format is a viable alternative to DVDs and Blu-Rays for those that have limited space to host cases of discs. There’s no need for Apple to offer Macs with Blu-Ray drives now, Mr. Sellers.

Apple ha fatto oggi sapere ai propri clienti che è presente un bug nell’ultimo aggiornamento 3.0 per AppleTV che potrebbe causare la perdita di dati. E’ caldamente consigliato l’aggiornamento, già disponibile, al software 3.0.1.

Siamo a vostra disposizione per maggiori informazioni.

AI

Chissà mai cosa sarà questa cosa… noi poveri mangia spaghetti litighiamo con il digitale terreste, adsl varie, una parvenza di satellitare e ne siamo contenti, ci gonfiamo il petto e ci gasiamo. Peccato che siamo da terzo mondo, le adsl italiche servono, come per’altro i nostri cellulari, a pagare le signore totti, i de sica, bottanazze di turno, un trio di comici che ho imparato ad odiare dopo averli visti far spot… Servizi? ma che termine barbaro e senza significato: forse vuol dire prima ti spolpo per bene e poi di convinco che se paghi e stai con me almeno 24 mesi (e non 2 anni…) te li regalo questi servizi, ti faccio entrare nella tribù ecc.

Digitale terreste la nuova era… HD? diamine ma che era se dall’altra parte del mondo ed anche da questa parte usano la TV via cavo… attenzione non l’antenna… quel cavo non è l’antenna che scende dal tetto… Perchè dico ciò? perchè sarebbe bello vedere qualcosa di bello e di interessante.

Ma l’Italia è un paesi di mode: le ultime due tecnologiche netbook e chiavette per i collegamenti, beh ma li avete mai usati? lasciamo perdere va, e ve lo dice uno che ha un operatore telefonico che quando passa dalla rete 3G alla 2G perde la comunicazione, si scollega per poi ricevere enne messaggi di persone che l’hanno cercato… ahahahah

When I returned from walking the dog last night, something was wrong. “The TV isn’t working,” my wife said. “The TV, or the cable?,” I asked, hoping that the plasma set hadn’t melted down.

CSI: Grygla

As it turned out, the TV was fine, but the digital cable/DVR was displaying nothing but a pea soup green screen. This is disconcerting, but it’s not a major issue with me. I could probably do without TV. I can live without dancing psuedo-celebrities and I don’t want anything to do with Octomom or Jon +/- Kate. 

My wife, on the other hand, has seen nearly episode of the “letter” shows: NCIS, CSI, CSI NY, CSI Las Vegas, CSI Miami, CSI Grygla, etc. 

For me, TV has become something just to have on in the background.

So this morning, with the pea green screen preempting The Today Show, I switched over to a device that could represent the future of television. Its unique delivery method makes the cost of distributing video programming to living room TV sets almost nothing. And that’s a very good thing for those interested in new media careers.

The Future of TV

I’m talking about Apple TV, one of a number of set-top boxes that grab audio and video from your wireless router and pass it into your HDTV. So this morning, instead of bearing with the artificial screams of the crowd gathering to hear Al’s weather forecast outside at Rockefeller Center, I was able to watch a podcast of my choice on my Apple TV.

I scrolled through the most popular video podcasts and randomly chose DiggNation, a show hosted by two guys sitting on a couch in their living room talking tech. While their show didn’t have the visual effects of a CSI or the sheer star power of a ballroom dancing Tom DeLay (network TV is so awesome!), it did have something going for it: I was actually interested in what these guys had to say (OK, most of it). It was in HD, too.

I can find a podcast on almost any topic I’m interested in. I can stream them directly, or I can subscribe to shows I like and iTunes grabs them automatically every time a new episode is available.

From the Web to your HDTV

At one time, cable access channels were the only way for an average Joe to make TV programming. Today, it’s much easier to reach an audience in their living room, or on their iPods, or on a mobile device.

All you need is a topic, a cheap camera, a computer and an internet connection.  This is going to have major implications on traditional media and advertising.

Yesterday I said that people don’t like to be sold — they want information to help them solve problems. You can’t just make a podcast that’s an ad and expect people to watch. But what you can do is give them a steady stream of useful (or funny, or both) information, and when it comes time for them to get more specialized advice on your topic; you have become a trusted, knowledgable source.

If you’re selling a service, all those free podcasts you created may translate into a sale.

We’ll cover these topics in-depth this fall in the New Media Podcasting and Video Distribution classes. (Not trying to sell you, or anything).

Apple soll auf Basis der iTunes-Store-Plattform einen Abo-Dienst für Fernsehsendungen in den USA planen. Die Autoren von All Things Digital wollen aus mehreren Quellen erfahren haben, dass der Mac- und iPhone-Hersteller ein entsprechendes Angebot schon für Anfang 2010 plane. Der Preis soll bei monatlich 30 US-Dollar (rund 20 Euro) liegen. Im Moment hänge aber alles noch davon ab, ob Apple die Fernsehsender von der Idee überzeugen kann. Diese machten sich noch Sorgen über mögliche negative Reaktionen von Kabelfernseh-Anbietern und ihren Umsatz durch Fernsehwerbung. Am ehesten sei wahrscheinlich Disney zu überzeugen: Der Apple-CEO Steve Jobs ist größter Einzelaktionär des Unternehmens, auch die ersten Filme im iTunes Store stammten von Disney.

Quelle: macnews.de

I have an AppleTV hooked up to the mighty HDTV in the living room. And I will eventually have kids. Which means I will eventually want to limit the movies they have access to on the AppleTV. Thinking about this, you’re going to need a layered approach as they get older and more resourceful.

The first thing to do is create a new user account on the computer with your iTunes library. So in addition to the regular iTunes library with all of your kid-friendly music and movies, you will have a second user account and iTunes library with all of the content you want to restrict.

While in that second iTunes library, go into Preferences and require a password on the Sharing tab.

The next time you want to watch Die Hard on your Apple TV, you’ll have to navigate to Shared Movies instead of My Movies, where you’ll be prompted to enter your password.

Zugegeben, ich habe kein AppleTv. Würde das gerät auch endlich in Deutschland unter die 250€ Grenze fallen, wäre darüber nach zu denken.
Erschwerend kam die alte Menüform hinzu, die mir nicht 100% zusagte.

Ähnlich wie beim Mac OSX gefiel mir die alte graue Frontrow Einstellung deutlich besser.

Soviel dazu. Nun gibt es eine neue verbesserte AppleTV Software, die es hoffentlich auch ins Frontraw schafft.

Horizontal angeordnet sind die Menüpunkte und gehen dann nach unten weg. Auch auf iTunes LP wurde geachtet, so dass nun auch diese Inhalte betrachtet werden können.

Besser, schicker, schneller….wir wollen es auch in Snow Leopard

Yesterday Apple released an update for Apple TV. It really wasn’t anything spectacular. A new menu navigation, Genius Mixes, iTunes LP and streaming radio. It seems that it is a small step, not what you expect from a version 2 to version 3 update.

Most of us, using Apple TV realize the potential of the concept. And I am sure Apple does too. And we ask ourselfes, over and over again, when it is going to happen?

On the wishlist is

• Movie and TV-shows rentals for the rest of the world
• Streaming TV (third party add ons)
• Apple TV App store with games, entertainment, social apps and more… (I am convinced that the iPhone App store concept could be adapted and very successful on Apple TV too)
• Web browsing, iChat, RSS-News
• Opening up for all common video formats and local playback from external USB or network harddrives, including DVD and Blu-ray players

That would be a real Take 3. Or is it Take 4. Is it ever coming?

Oh yes, one more thing.

• I want the great Vizualiser in iTunes showing when playing music on my Apple TV, that would be neat.

- -

Well, Apple finally released an update to the Apple TV OS, supporting iTunes LP for music and iTunes Extras for movies. Apparently, not all iTunes Extra media works with the system. Out of all my movies, only Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs worked. However, it still is buggy.

In the above image, this is the iTunes Extra chapter selection screen for Ice Age. Notice the Home image circled. It is entirely missing when seen in Apple TV. Thus, there is no way to navigate back to the main menu. The only way to escape the screen is to hold the Menu button on the remote, but it will take you out to the Movies main screen of Apple TV.

I hope it will be fixed soon.

Apple hat seine Set-Top-Box Apple TV mit einer neuen Software ausgestattet. Version 3.0 bringt unter anderem Funktionen aus iTunes 9 auf den Fernseher, wie die Sonderinhalte, die im Rahmen von iTunes LP verkauft werden. Die Benutzeroberfläche bekam ebenfalls einen neuen Anstrich und auch iTunes wurde erneuert.

Das neu gestaltete Hauptmenü soll ein schnelleres und einfacheres Navigieren ermöglichen und auch den Verkauf von Bezahlinhalten ankurbeln. Apple TV spielt iTunes Extras und iTunes LP im Vollbildmodus ab.
Außerdem integriert Apple in Apple TV jetzt auch die Vorschlagsfunktion Genius Mixes. Damit werden automatisch maximal zwölf zueinander passende Musikmischungen aus dem Repertoire der eigenen iTunes Mediathek erzeugt.
Zudem können Apple-TV-Besitzer Musik von Internetradiosendern anhören. Auch die Verbindung zwischen Apples Fotoverwaltung iPhoto und Apple TV wurde erweitert: Mit iPhoto Events werden die Fotos nach Aufnahmedatum gruppiert. iPhoto Faces ist ein Filter, der auf Personen abzielt, die vom Nutzer in iPhoto identifiziert wurden.

Mit Apple TV ist der direkte Zugriff auf das Film-, Serien- und Musikangebot von iTunes möglich. Das Videoportal Youtube und der Fotodienst Flickr stehen ebenfalls zur Verfügung. Zudem können Videos, Musik und Fotos wiedergegeben werden, die im Heimnetzwerk auf einem Mac, PC oder NAS liegen – sofern sie in einem der wenigen unterstützten Formate vorliegen.

Die neue Apple TV-Software wird kostenlos zum Download angeboten. Die Set-Top-Box mit 160 GByte Speicherkapazität kostet 269 Euro.

Passend zum neuen Apple TV 3.0 wurde auch eine neue iTunes-Version vorgestellt, die mit der neuen Set-Top-Box-Software zusammen arbeitet. Mit iTunes 9.0.2 wurde wieder einmal die Synchronisationsfunktion des Palm Pre abgestellt.

Quelle: Golem.de

Apple ha lanzado hoy una actualización para el Apple TV, la versión 3.0 de su software que ofrece un menú principal rediseñado que hace que navegar por su contenido sea más sencillo y rápido, y te hace poder disfrutar de todo el contenido. Además, el Apple TV 3.0 permite a los usuarios ver los iTunes LP, así como escuchar las Mezclas Genius y la radio por Internet.

“El nuevo software para el Apple TV cuenta con un interfaz más sencilla y rápida que le da acceso instantáneo a tu contenido favorito”, dijo Eddy Cue, vicepresidente de Apple de Servicios de Internet. “Películas HD y programas de televisión en HD de iTunes han sido un gran éxito, y con el Apple TV 3.0 que obtienen nuevas características incluyendo iTunes Extras, Mezclas Genius y radio por Internet”.

Este nuevo software promete mucho, pero a mi me hace pensar si hay una actualización de FrontRow lista para Mac OS X Snow Leopard en el cajón de novedades pre-navidadeñas.

Enlace | Apple Releases Apple TV 3.0 Software Update

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Die Allgemeinen Geschäftsbedingungen des iTunes Store kündigen ein größeres Apple-TV-Firmware-Update auf die Version 3.0 an. Wer in diesen Tagen im iTunes Store einkauft, erhält eine Aufforderung, den neuen Bedingungen zuzustimmen – laut Apple ist die erneute Zustimmung nötig, um die Benutzung von iTunes LPs und iTunes Extras auf einem Apple TV mit der Softwareversion 3.0 sicherzustellen. Bisher kann das Apple TV die zusätzlichen Inhalte von iTunes LP und iTunes Extra noch nicht abspielen.

Quelle: macnews.de

¡Actualización del Apple TV versión 3.0 disponible!

Las nuevas condiciones de la iTunes Store, en su parte de Apple TV, dice: “iTunes Extras e iTunes LP sólo se pueden usar en equipos con iTunes 9 o superior  y un Apple TV con la versión de software 3.0 o superior “.

De repente han sonado todas las alarmas ¿la actualización 3.0 para el Apple TV traerá iTunes LP? Pues según pone ahí si, pero hay un pequeño problema, la versión actual en la 2.4 ¿una actualización del Apple TV pronto? Estaremos atentos.

Enlace | iTunes Store Terms Suggests Apple TV 3.0 Software

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When a major Hollywood studio approached us about writing a sequel to «European Vacation» here in our beloved Bern, we were seized with skepticism. Switzerland, after all, is a traveler’s paradise: a six-star oasis in a mind-blowing Patagonian setting. What sort of craziness could possibly happen here? The reality of our situation eventually settled upon us. With the sudden hit to the exchange rate, we needed the extra francs. Thus, we agreed to the task, but only if we could select our own cast (and be part of it ourselves), eat the finest Thai glass noodles out of slightly warmed clay pots every day, and produce a series of still photographs with witty commentary instead of a ready-for-AppleTV film. And so the B. parents came waltzing into town one fine October morning, not knowing what we had planned for them…

▲ Because L. was unable to escape the clutches of her employer, S. donned his Swiss tour guide hat and introduced Bo B. and I. to the highlights of our fair city. It seemed altogether appropriate that we should first pay our respects to the “Burgher King,” a 17th-century usurper to the mighty Bernese throne who was renowned for his steel-trap jaws and obsession with porcelain babies. Nothing says “Welcome to Bern!” quite like an encounter with homegrown cannibalism.

▲ Though it was still early in the day, gawking at the charming rendition of the Burgher King set our intestines alight. A big lunch was in order.

▲ Lunch, the main meal of the day, is never a simple affair in Central Europe. Our favorite Italian restaurant in Bern requires lunch patrons to solve a mind-numbing puzzle before digging into their pizzas. Here, I. has just found the solution to the “Count the Olives” game.

▲ With the three-hour lunch behind us, we explored Bern’s old town and had our first near-encounter with the city’s fabled mechanical clock on the Zytglogge, a tower originally built in the 13th century.

▲ Bo B. insisted on seeing an old church, and we managed to find a side of the Münster, Bern’s main cathedral, which was not obscured by scaffolding.

▲ We were particularly drawn to the apocalyptic scenes of the chefs of medieval Bern grilling burgers over raging bonfires.

▲ The sculpture doubles a warning to those who might attempt to devour an entire personal pizza or porcelain baby in one sitting. There is no shame in leftovers.

▲ Bern’s 15th-century Rathaus, or City Hall. There’s nothing funny about this place, so we moved on.

▲ Flowers and incomprehensible tongues adorn the main drag of Bern’s medieval quarter.

▲ We made our way to the eastern end of town and stopped for this lovely picture of our stars on the Nydeggbrücke. Minutes later we stopped for second lunch at the tourist-trap known as the Tram Depot. The homemade beer was delicious, but some concerns were voiced about the rösti, a massively overpriced Swiss version of hash browns. The experience was so bad that all of us agreed not to eat anything else for the next two weeks, including butter bread, caramel ice cream, napoleons, pasta, döners, Emmental cheese… only instant coffee with artificial sweetener.

▲ Our stop at the Tram Depot was not altogether unpleasant. Once we’d finished our beers, we said grüezi to the bears. Two black bear cubs had been gifted to the people of Bern by Russian President Medvedev during his visit several weeks earlier. The city’s cramped, late medieval bearpits have likely been home to hundreds of bears.

▲ Gorby’s day job.

▲ A Russian visitor scribbled “Hello Misha and Masha” on this sign.

▲ The next morning, we settled on a change of perspective. So we headed to the suburb of Wabern and headed up the side of the Gurten, the tallest point overlooking the capital, on this funicular.

▲ The best views were from the top of a tower rising just above the tree line.

▲ The SwissPass did not include a ride to the top.

▲ There are several lookouts from the Gurten, although the haze on this day completely obscured the view of the Alps to the south and east…

▲ … so we looked for other ways to occupy our time…

Fortunately, we have disabled the “scratch-’n-sniff” option for this posting.

Ian Bell writes on Apple’s design decision to leave the Apple TV constantly on and how stupid it is for it to constantly wait to sync with a server. I totally agree.

What’s worse is if a sync is ever interrupted, either by unplugging the device or some other phenomena, all your files on Apple TV are wiped and will need to be synced once more. The only way to avoid that is to set iTunes to never automatically sync with the Apple TV and to do it manually every time.

The syncing is important even for media files that are streamed from your Mac or PC because that’s the only way the Apple TV is aware of new files downloaded from iTunes. However, there must be a way for Apple to design a device to power off and to sync only when needed. If you opt to shutdown the device while it is syncing, have it finish up before doing so. Maybe in the next (way overdue) revision…

…Because he’s super critical of it when it comes to sales. He even re-stated what he thinks would better it’s chances:

• Opening Apple TV up to all Web video content, whether Apple controls it or not. (Rival Roku is heading in this direction with its $99 box.)
• Making iTunes a better video service; perhaps offering more subscription options than simply whole seasons of individual shows.
• Adding a Blu-ray player to Apple TV so it could replace an existing port on peoples’ TVs, not take up a new one.
• Establishing an App Store for Apple TV, so that companies could offer video services, games, other apps, hardware accessories, etc., the way they do on the iPhone.

I strongly agree with the first two points. Adding a Blu-ray drive to the device would only increase the price even more and be detrimental to the iTunes ecosystem. The final suggestion on adding an app store would be okay.