iPad (3 Viewers)

[[icon]]

I could buy a few Ipads right now but why when a much better one is about to come out.

Couldn't the same be said for all computing products? how long does the latest PC or Laptop stay current. I'd wager the product cycle is actually pretty comparable to that of apple's devices. But you're certainly entitled to take this approach with your tech spending dollars. Me, I see a device that will be current for a good while and find it a good value. To each his or her own.

I don't see how this relates to the ATV. Apple doesn't spend much in advertising compared to some of the other leading PC makers and while I don't know the exact amount on how much they spend on ATV it's logical that they don't nearly spend as much as their other products since ATV isn't successful. Jobs knows this deep down and that's why you don't see tons of TV and print ads on it. Why throw more money on a product that's just a hobby?

I think you're getting confused. We're discussing iPad in this thread. We have two distinct conversations going here.

 

[Walton Goggins]

I'd consider the Apple TV a flop and I think Apple would too. It doesn't mean they won't be able to turn it around later.

The killer for a lot of people is that all media played through the Apple TV has to be handled and piped through Itunes. No way I'm going to go through this hassle. I haven't looked at this in years so disregard this if it's changed since then.

When the day comes to have an all in one media center no way will I want Itunes / Apple to be able to control and filter what they want me to surf/see/listen to. I am sure many others won't mind but for me I want the control and not have it in someone else hands.

 

[Walton Goggins]

I could buy a few Ipads right now but why when a much better one is about to come out.

Couldn't the same be said for all computing products? how long does the latest PC or Laptop stay current. I'd wager the product cycle is actually pretty comparable to that of apple's devices. But you're certainly entitled to take this approach with your tech spending dollars. Me, I see a device that will be current for a good while and find it a good value. To each his or her own.

I don't see how this relates to the ATV. Apple doesn't spend much in advertising compared to some of the other leading PC makers and while I don't know the exact amount on how much they spend on ATV it's logical that they don't nearly spend as much as their other products since ATV isn't successful. Jobs knows this deep down and that's why you don't see tons of TV and print ads on it. Why throw more money on a product that's just a hobby?

I think you're getting confused. We're discussing iPad in this thread. We have two distinct conversations going here.

Thought you were asking me how much does Apple spend in advertising per product, including ATV. Perhaps something slipped something in my SFRB.

 

[[icon]]

I'd consider the Apple TV a flop and I think Apple would too. It doesn't mean they won't be able to turn it around later.The killer for a lot of people is that all media played through the Apple TV has to be handled and piped through Itunes. No way I'm going to go through this hassle. I haven't looked at this in years so disregard this if it's changed since then.

While I'm sure APple would have loved for it to be a runaway hit, the fact is they never expected it to be. Their lack of marketing push behind the product reflects that. This was a "hobby" or proof of concept for the company. itunes does a more than adequate job of handling my video content, however I understand why some would prefer to not be tethered to it, and I agree the AppleTV HD (I'll call it that for now) would be wise to not mandate video be handled in iTunes lest the application be opened up a bit with regards to formats and overall functionality with regards to handling video.

 

[[icon]]

I could buy a few Ipads right now but why when a much better one is about to come out.

Couldn't the same be said for all computing products? how long does the latest PC or Laptop stay current. I'd wager the product cycle is actually pretty comparable to that of apple's devices. But you're certainly entitled to take this approach with your tech spending dollars. Me, I see a device that will be current for a good while and find it a good value. To each his or her own.

I don't see how this relates to the ATV. Apple doesn't spend much in advertising compared to some of the other leading PC makers and while I don't know the exact amount on how much they spend on ATV it's logical that they don't nearly spend as much as their other products since ATV isn't successful. Jobs knows this deep down and that's why you don't see tons of TV and print ads on it. Why throw more money on a product that's just a hobby?

I think you're getting confused. We're discussing iPad in this thread. We have two distinct conversations going here.

Thought you were asking me how much does Apple spend in advertising per product, including ATV. Perhaps something slipped something in my SFRB.

Look up at the 4 nested quotes. None of them have anything to do with the AppleTV Ad spend. Different thread within this thread

 

[[icon]]

When the day comes to have an all in one media center no way will I want Itunes / Apple to be able to control and filter what they want me to surf/see/listen to. I am sure many others won't mind but for me I want the control and not have it in someone else hands.

how would they be trying to do that? They don't limit what songs you put in your iTunes (Most of my library are VRB MP3 that I've ripped or copied from other folks). They don't limit what movies you put in there (most of my movies are torrents that I've illegally downloaded). I fail to see any sort of big brother content control going on there.

 

[Jason Bourne]

Here is the thing I don't get - Icon hit on it a little - but this is not a budget buster of a product. I can look at almost any tech item on the shelf today and assume there will be a better product on the shelf next year - its the nature of the beast. So the question really is not whether you can get better value a year from now - the question is does this provide value today?

For me the answer is yes. This provides enough value and usability for me that I will keep and use this until the 3rd generation comes out. The 2nd generation will undoubtedly be better - but I enjoy this now.

Before I bought it, I was really deciding between the wifi and the 3G models - I ultimately decided that my primary use for the product would be at home, where I have a wireless network. I did not envision using this as a "mobile" device - and a week into using it, I still don't see this as a mobile device. I am sure there will be times I wished I had a 3G connection - but I have not run into those times yet, nor do I think that will be a frequent occurrence.

So, I have a product I like, use, and find enjoyable. It does not phase me that someone thinks there is a better product out there for them (or thinks there will be a better product out there in the future). The only question for me is whether this product provides value for the price I paid. I can tell you, that thus far it has. I do not have any of the wifi issues that have been mentioned. I don't have problems typing on the keyboard. I have not needed 3G access. I don't take this out in the sun to read. I have used up the battery almost every day since I bought it - I genuinely prefer this to my laptop or phone for web and e-mail - combined with a few apps/books/movies I have downloaded and this has been overused for the last week.

I have not told anyone to go out and buy this, let alone break the budget for it, but if you asked my opinion - I think it is a great tool, that has met all of my expectations, and I am glad I have one. It is not a do-everything tool - but that is not what I was expecting when I bought it. I would just suggest that you go to an apple store or a Best Buy and try it out - if it is not for you, or you don't think it is worth $500 - move on to the next thing. It won't hurt my feelings. Promise.

 

[Walton Goggins]

I'd consider the Apple TV a flop and I think Apple would too. It doesn't mean they won't be able to turn it around later.

The killer for a lot of people is that all media played through the Apple TV has to be handled and piped through Itunes. No way I'm going to go through this hassle. I haven't looked at this in years so disregard this if it's changed since then.

While I'm sure APple would have loved for it to be a runaway hit, the fact is they never expected it to be. Their lack of marketing push behind the product reflects that. This was a "hobby" or proof of concept for the company. itunes does a more than adequate job of handling my video content, however I understand why some would prefer to not be tethered to it, and I agree the AppleTV HD (I'll call it that for now) would be wise to not mandate video be handled in iTunes lest the application be opened up a bit with regards to formats and overall functionality with regards to handling video.

Right cause Jobs clearly has shown he's not in the business to produce products that aren't hits. Come on Icon you're a smart guy but this is laughable. They did push it at first, I remember the commercials and seeing print advertising on the ATV at first but when it was clear it wasn't a success they smartly went away from it.

 

[scoobygang]

I'd consider the Apple TV a flop and I think Apple would too. It doesn't mean they won't be able to turn it around later.The killer for a lot of people is that all media played through the Apple TV has to be handled and piped through Itunes. No way I'm going to go through this hassle. I haven't looked at this in years so disregard this if it's changed since then.

While I'm sure APple would have loved for it to be a runaway hit, the fact is they never expected it to be. Their lack of marketing push behind the product reflects that. This was a "hobby" or proof of concept for the company. itunes does a more than adequate job of handling my video content, however I understand why some would prefer to not be tethered to it, and I agree the AppleTV HD (I'll call it that for now) would be wise to not mandate video be handled in iTunes lest the application be opened up a bit with regards to formats and overall functionality with regards to handling video.

I think we're being kind of silly here. Major companies don't bring products to market as hobbies. AppleTV wasn't ready for prime time. Apple may have realized that fairly early, but that doesn't mean that the product didn't fail. It did. Along with every other attempt for a personal set top box (we'll see how Roku does). Apple is still in the best position to not fail at that, because they have the strongest position in mobile content delivery. They're the only ones who will have the ITunes store, but Amazon and Netflix and Hulu will still create apps for Apple. But none of that changes the fact that AppleTV was a disappointment. It was.

 

[LokiKx]

When the day comes to have an all in one media center no way will I want Itunes / Apple to be able to control and filter what they want me to surf/see/listen to. I am sure many others won't mind but for me I want the control and not have it in someone else hands.

how would they be trying to do that? They don't limit what songs you put in your iTunes (or what you buy from them). They don't limit what movies you put in there (most of my movies are torrents that I've downloaded). I fail to see any sort of big brother content control going on there.

Historically they have limited what you can do with the tracks you download from them. I think that's the big concern and how they will support big media in the future. The more of the ecosystem that they control the more locked down it can become.Big Media does not want stuff slipping out to torrents.

Out of curiosity why do you get most of your movies via Torrents?

 

[[icon]]

Right cause Jobs clearly has shown he's not in the business to produce products that aren't hits. Come on Icon you're a smart guy but this is laughable. They did push it at first, I remember the commercials and seeing print advertising on the ATV at first but when it was clear it wasn't a success they smartly went away from it.

I think we're being kind of silly here. Major companies don't bring products to market as hobbies. AppleTV wasn't ready for prime time. Apple may have realized that fairly early, but that doesn't mean that the product didn't fail. It did. Along with every other attempt for a personal set top box (we'll see how Roku does). Apple is still in the best position to not fail at that, because they have the strongest position in mobile content delivery. They're the only ones who will have the ITunes store, but Amazon and Netflix and Hulu will still create apps for Apple. But none of that changes the fact that AppleTV was a disappointment. It was.

For the record I never said they didn't spend any money or didn't try to get it out there a little. it was just a fraction of their typical push, and I think for good reason. I think they hoped it would catch but realized it wasn't ready for mass market acceptance yet. I agree with Scooby that companies like Amazon/Hulu/Pandora/Netflix/etc will all be eager to work with Apple when this comes forth.

 

[GloryDaze]

How bout ya'll start a new thread for Apple TV slapfights. I'm interested in iPad.

 

[[icon]]

Historically they have limited what you can do with the tracks you download from them. I think that's the big concern and how they will support big media in the future. The more of the ecosystem that they control the more locked down it can become.

Apple HAD to support big media to get digital music sales to go mainstream. Trust me... the DRM wasn't apples idea. The labels would never have agreed to the concept of iTunes were there not DRM attached. They still had their heads in the sand with regards to digital music distribution at that point. Once they had enough leverage they removed all rights management. I wasn't in on the meetings but that's how I see it.

Out of curiosity why do you get most of your movies via Torrents?

If I am just itching to see a movie and I can't get it at RedBox or Netflix on demand, I'll typically download it to watch it. If I enjoy it I'll purchase the DVD/BluRay. If it's a one and done flick then I'll typically delete it or archive it. Ethical. Certainly not. But it's how I do it.

 

[[icon]]

How bout ya'll start a new thread for Apple TV slapfights. I'm interested in iPad.

Sorry. I was actually intending to start a good discussion about convergence and the iPad's role in it (very relevant). I apologize for allowing myself to get sidetracked. It's dropped.

 

[ODoyleRules]

Apple's core strength seems to be in well-designed user interfaces and product design and I think they really kick butt in these areas. Unfortunately, TiVo also had this same strength and they seemed to fail at media convergence. Many would say that Windows Media Center is a very good all-in-one incorporation of video, music, etc. and it's struggling too. Not to say Apple can't do it (and it would be nice to use an Ipad or Itouch as remote device), but many have already tried in this arena and failed.

TiVO is still trying. Hence the TiVO Premiere. I think most failures have been because they have worked from the TV-Side box out. You have to work from the cloud in, with the attractive and seamless interface on the mobile device.

If I was in marketing, I would attempt to focus on the bigger installed market which is the TV side. Going from the data side, you are taking a slice of a smaller market, albeit still very big. Sonos is already there and already works with the iPhone. While Sonos' costs are high and their marketing push small, it's still an indication that this is a smaller market we're talking about. I also think we're already seeing that it takes more than product design to be successful, which again makes me believe this AppleTV market isn't going to be huge (sizeable, not huge)I give credit to Apple for choosing its markets wisely and they've focused on the big ones first. I believe the tablet market is a small subset of the laptop market which is why ipad is launched after ipod and iphone. The appleTV market is even smaller IMO, which again, I give them credit for priortizing correctly.

 

[LokiKx]

Historically they have limited what you can do with the tracks you download from them. I think that's the big concern and how they will support big media in the future. The more of the ecosystem that they control the more locked down it can become.

Apple HAD to support big media to get digital music sales to go mainstream. Trust me... the DRM wasn't apples idea. The labels would never have agreed to the concept of iTunes were there not DRM attached. They still had their heads in the sand with regards to digital music distribution at that point. Once they had enough leverage they removed all rights management. I wasn't in on the meetings but that's how I see it.

Out of curiosity why do you get most of your movies via Torrents?

If I am just itching to see a movie and I can't get it at RedBox or Netflix on demand, I'll typically download it to watch it. If I enjoy it I'll purchase the DVD/BluRay. If it's a one and done flick then I'll typically delete it or archive it. Ethical. Certainly not. But it's how I do it.

I think that's what people are worried about. That to keep the support Apple will start locking down signals and added DRM back in. I remember when the store went DRM free they thought apple was using stenography in the files to track them.Just curious about why you use torrents for some stuff I do. One more on the torrents if you don't mind. Will the waiting period for everyone but blockbuster on Warner and Fox films cause you to download more?

 

[[icon]]

I think that's what people are worried about. That to keep the support Apple will start locking down signals and added DRM back in. I remember when the store went DRM free they thought apple was using stenography in the files to track them.Just curious about why you use torrents for some stuff I do. One more on the torrents if you don't mind. Will the waiting period for everyone but blockbuster on Warner and Fox films cause you to download more?

IMHO the DRM on audio files is over with. YOu can't put that cat back in the bag. The distribution channels (Apple, amazon, etc) have too much leverage vs the music industry now. The public has spoken and they don't want DRM. I hadn't heard anything about the blockbuster wait period but I don't factor that stuff in. If I am in the mood to see a film I don't care if it's still in the theater, I'm going to download it (unless it's a film that benefits from the theater over my decent Home Theater Setup (50" Plasma, Surround, Klipsch Sub).

 

[California]

I'll see if I can talk about the AppleTV and tie it in with the ipad/ipod.

I really think the ATV and Ipod/Ipad are totally separate beasts because music and video are handled so differently.

I know a ton of people that buy music from Itunes or Amazon because it's so cheap now to buy it legit. I despise the Itunes software but it's very easy for anybody to either buy songs, or add outside songs to it and get it on your ipod/ipad. Personally, I have Itunes installed on our 6 year old laptop and only use it for updates. I copy songs to my touch directly via usb with a freeware program.

Books also to an extent. You either buy it through ibooks or convert an existing book to the ipad format.

Video is a totally different animal tho. First, I don't know anybody that buys video, whether it's tv episodes or movies from Itunes. Even with torrents, Netflix/Hulu etc make it cheap/free to watch stuff. Apple is trying really hard to get studios to sell tv episodes for $1.99 each. If this happens, I think people buying video through Itunes will explode and make the ATV more viable. So far the studios don't want to do it. Whether a TV show costs $1 million an episode to make or $10k, Apple wants to sell it for $1.99. Studios think $1.99 episodes makes us think their products are too cheap and if they ever agree to this, they can't go back.

Until the above happens, people need to add outside video to Itunes, which can be a major PITA. I have divx files, xvid files, wmv files, mov files, flv files. My dvd's are in ISO form. My 1080p files are in mkv. I'd need to convert all this #### into formats that Itunes can handle. No thanks. If Apple expanded their codec support I think the ATV would be more popular but Apple being Apple, that won't happen. Music doesn't have this problem because everything is pretty much in mp3 or flac.

So here's what I did. I have a WDTV LIVE http://www.wdtvlive.com/. It cost me $100 on sale. It plays everything I throw at it, don't need to convert a thing. It has HDMI, component, composite, TOSLINK. Ethernet and wireless N. It plays photos and mp3s also, goes to YouTube, tho I don't use it for them.

I have all my media on a 6TB Windows Home Server in my closet. All our movies, photos, music is on it. My WDTV can play anything off it. Any computer in the house can play anything off it. My ipod touch (and ipads!) can play any video on it, even from outside the house. Air Video is the best iphone app I ever bought for $3. I can be on a plane and watch 1080p movies off my home server. My 32gb ipod touch has access to 6tb's of movies.

Until the ATV can do something like the above, it will continue to be a flop (for me). They need to cut the tether to Itunes, expand their supported codecs considerably, or get all the studios to cave in to $1.99 media. I don't see any of this happening soon.

 

[scoobygang]

I buy Amazon Video on Demand over TiVO pretty regularly.

 

[[icon]]

I'll see if I can talk about the AppleTV and tie it in with the ipad/ipod....Until the ATV can do something like the above, it will continue to be a flop (for me). They need to cut the tether to Itunes, expand their supported codecs considerably, or get all the studios to cave in to $1.99 media. I don't see any of this happening soon.

I agree that TV lends itself better to streaming/broadcast than ownership because people tend to consume music on the go (jogging, driving, etc) whereas video is more of a stationary medium (TV slightly moreso than Movies). I think the video aspect of iTunes is purely to cover the folks who like to buy DVD sets of TV Show seasons. Of course, when the infrastructure is ready, there's no need to own the video because you can stream it. Your setup sounds great and you certainly don't sound like the target market for ATV HD. I also think you represent about 0.0001% of the population. Very very few people want to go through the hassle to create the system you have. I think the concern over Codecs, etc is irrelevant for most folks. Once folks realize that they actually WANT this media center (year or two off I think), then the VAST majority of the population will be looking for an affordable "system in a box" with turnkey integration with their existing media collection (most on iTunes). In steps Apple.

 

[[icon]]

I buy Amazon Video on Demand over TiVO pretty regularly.

Yep. to tie into the iPad it will be nice when on a drive to click on iTunes Movie store and rent "up" for $3.99 on the iPad 3G and toss the thing in hte back seat to keep the kiddos quiet. (hypothetically.. I don't have kids... you get the point though). Digital delivery/renting is a HUGE market IMO. Now that Blockbuster is all but dead, Netflix and Redbox are fighting over that business. The problem is, once the infrastructure is in place in most homes, people will prefer digital delivery. The only thing holding ONDemand/PPV on Cable/DirecTV is the selection. IF they had 25,000 movies for $2.99ea classics / $4.99ea new releases they would put Netflix/Redbox out of business.

 

[Walton Goggins]

Right cause Jobs clearly has shown he's not in the business to produce products that aren't hits. Come on Icon you're a smart guy but this is laughable. They did push it at first, I remember the commercials and seeing print advertising on the ATV at first but when it was clear it wasn't a success they smartly went away from it.

I think we're being kind of silly here. Major companies don't bring products to market as hobbies. AppleTV wasn't ready for prime time. Apple may have realized that fairly early, but that doesn't mean that the product didn't fail. It did. Along with every other attempt for a personal set top box (we'll see how Roku does). Apple is still in the best position to not fail at that, because they have the strongest position in mobile content delivery. They're the only ones who will have the ITunes store, but Amazon and Netflix and Hulu will still create apps for Apple. But none of that changes the fact that AppleTV was a disappointment. It was.

For the record I never said they didn't spend any money or didn't try to get it out there a little. it was just a fraction of their typical push, and I think for good reason. I think they hoped it would catch but realized it wasn't ready for mass market acceptance yet. I agree with Scooby that companies like Amazon/Hulu/Pandora/Netflix/etc will all be eager to work with Apple when this comes forth.

Hulu? There's a reason why Jobs doesn't want the likes of Hulu to be accessed to his products...he wants you to go to Itunes, not Hulu to download and pay, not get it for free on Hulu. Jobs won't change his mind / lose money on this.

 

[The Commish]

• TOSLINK/COAX DIGITAL AUDIO IN/OUT

Add an optical output to hook into home theater systems.

Missed it.

 

[Walton Goggins]

I'll see if I can talk about the AppleTV and tie it in with the ipad/ipod.

I really think the ATV and Ipod/Ipad are totally separate beasts because music and video are handled so differently.

I know a ton of people that buy music from Itunes or Amazon because it's so cheap now to buy it legit. I despise the Itunes software but it's very easy for anybody to either buy songs, or add outside songs to it and get it on your ipod/ipad. Personally, I have Itunes installed on our 6 year old laptop and only use it for updates. I copy songs to my touch directly via usb with a freeware program.

Books also to an extent. You either buy it through ibooks or convert an existing book to the ipad format.

Video is a totally different animal tho. First, I don't know anybody that buys video, whether it's tv episodes or movies from Itunes. Even with torrents, Netflix/Hulu etc make it cheap/free to watch stuff. Apple is trying really hard to get studios to sell tv episodes for $1.99 each. If this happens, I think people buying video through Itunes will explode and make the ATV more viable. So far the studios don't want to do it. Whether a TV show costs $1 million an episode to make or $10k, Apple wants to sell it for $1.99. Studios think $1.99 episodes makes us think their products are too cheap and if they ever agree to this, they can't go back.

Until the above happens, people need to add outside video to Itunes, which can be a major PITA. I have divx files, xvid files, wmv files, mov files, flv files. My dvd's are in ISO form. My 1080p files are in mkv. I'd need to convert all this #### into formats that Itunes can handle. No thanks. If Apple expanded their codec support I think the ATV would be more popular but Apple being Apple, that won't happen. Music doesn't have this problem because everything is pretty much in mp3 or flac.

So here's what I did. I have a WDTV LIVE http://www.wdtvlive.com/. It cost me $100 on sale. It plays everything I throw at it, don't need to convert a thing. It has HDMI, component, composite, TOSLINK. Ethernet and wireless N. It plays photos and mp3s also, goes to YouTube, tho I don't use it for them.

I have all my media on a 6TB Windows Home Server in my closet. All our movies, photos, music is on it. My WDTV can play anything off it. Any computer in the house can play anything off it. My ipod touch (and ipads!) can play any video on it, even from outside the house. Air Video is the best iphone app I ever bought for $3. I can be on a plane and watch 1080p movies off my home server. My 32gb ipod touch has access to 6tb's of movies.

Until the ATV can do something like the above, it will continue to be a flop (for me). They need to cut the tether to Itunes, expand their supported codecs considerably, or get all the studios to cave in to $1.99 media. I don't see any of this happening soon.

Major I am going to have to check out that WDTVLIVE box, that looks crazy.

If I buy anything like ATV or this WDTV I want to play ANYTHING on it, no converting anything like that product you talked about but Apple will never do that. They want control which means more $$$$. They don't want flash because they don't want you to watch anything HULU that's free vs. having to go to ITunes and pay for it. That's why I don't ever see the ATV making it unless Apple decides to give up control and lose $$. That's not Apple's business model.

 

[culdeus]

Historically they have limited what you can do with the tracks you download from them. I think that's the big concern and how they will support big media in the future. The more of the ecosystem that they control the more locked down it can become.

Apple HAD to support big media to get digital music sales to go mainstream. Trust me... the DRM wasn't apples idea. The labels would never have agreed to the concept of iTunes were there not DRM attached. They still had their heads in the sand with regards to digital music distribution at that point. Once they had enough leverage they removed all rights management. I wasn't in on the meetings but that's how I see it.

Out of curiosity why do you get most of your movies via Torrents?

If I am just itching to see a movie and I can't get it at RedBox or Netflix on demand, I'll typically download it to watch it. If I enjoy it I'll purchase the DVD/BluRay. If it's a one and done flick then I'll typically delete it or archive it. Ethical. Certainly not. But it's how I do it.

I think that's what people are worried about. That to keep the support Apple will start locking down signals and added DRM back in. I remember when the store went DRM free they thought apple was using stenography in the files to track them.Just curious about why you use torrents for some stuff I do. One more on the torrents if you don't mind. Will the waiting period for everyone but blockbuster on Warner and Fox films cause you to download more?

If I cant get it on my netflix account, and it's out there I download it. I fail to see the ethical dilemma here. The studios can #### themselves all they want over when they release it to certain vendors. I couldn't give a rat's ###. 95%+ of the stuff I torrent is TV shows or Cycling content anyways which I have no ethical qualms about dl-ing anyways as I already pay to get that content, or paid for at a prior time, or in the case of Cycling wasn't even available in the US. I don't have room on the DVR with all the kids programs and garbage my wife keeps on there to hold much of my stuff at all.

 

[[icon]]

Hulu? There's a reason why Jobs doesn't want the likes of Hulu to be accessed to his products...he wants you to go to Itunes, not Hulu to download and pay, not get it for free on Hulu. Jobs won't change his mind / lose money on this.

Then why are they so receptive to Netflix (movies/TVShows) / Pandora (Music)? Both of those services provide content for free that they sell in iTunes just like Hulu. Jobs, to my knowledge and I could be wrong here, has never announced an issue with Hulu, just with flash. If Hulu made an iPad app I'm pretty sure it would be accepted just fine.

 

[Walton Goggins]

I buy Amazon Video on Demand over TiVO pretty regularly.

Yep. to tie into the iPad it will be nice when on a drive to click on iTunes Movie store and rent "up" for $3.99 on the iPad 3G and toss the thing in hte back seat to keep the kiddos quiet. (hypothetically.. I don't have kids... you get the point though). Digital delivery/renting is a HUGE market IMO. Now that Blockbuster is all but dead, Netflix and Redbox are fighting over that business. The problem is, once the infrastructure is in place in most homes, people will prefer digital delivery. The only thing holding ONDemand/PPV on Cable/DirecTV is the selection. IF they had 25,000 movies for $2.99ea classics / $4.99ea new releases they would put Netflix/Redbox out of business.

Since you are tying this with kids....I have two little girls and like most kids they love movies and want to watch them a 1000 times. Portability is key and why DVD's work. Have a small stack of Disney movies for them that they can watch at my house, take them with them to their mom's house or grandparents house or watch in their mom's car, etc. Unless each kid has an Ipad too difficult to have them both watch it in the car, need one per kid. I don't like DVD players in a car but many people do and much easier to have multiple kids view a screen in a car vs. having to dock it or hold it with all kids trying to look on. Now, at some point perhaps the Ipad will be < $100 and people will use them like magazines with multiple Ipads in your house and each kid can store everything up and say go to the grandparents and be able to watch any content they put on it or you can download anything on it in a non wifi area.

 

[[icon]]

I have two little girls and like most kids they love movies and want to watch them a 1000 times. Portability is key and why DVD's work. Have a small stack of Disney movies for them that they can watch at my house, take them with them to their mom's house or grandparents house or watch in their mom's car, etc. Unless each kid has an Ipad too difficult to have them both watch it in the car, need one per kid. I don't like DVD players in a car but many people do and much easier to have multiple kids view a screen in a car vs. having to dock it or hold it with all kids trying to look on.

That's cool. Ipad probably isn't going to replace the movie theater screen either. It's not really designed for what I described. Perhaps a poor example but I was just throwing out the benefits of on demand 3G content. Use your imagination for the scenario that best suits your lifestyle.

 

[gmbacm]

I'll see if I can talk about the AppleTV and tie it in with the ipad/ipod.

I really think the ATV and Ipod/Ipad are totally separate beasts because music and video are handled so differently.

I know a ton of people that buy music from Itunes or Amazon because it's so cheap now to buy it legit. I despise the Itunes software but it's very easy for anybody to either buy songs, or add outside songs to it and get it on your ipod/ipad. Personally, I have Itunes installed on our 6 year old laptop and only use it for updates. I copy songs to my touch directly via usb with a freeware program.

Books also to an extent. You either buy it through ibooks or convert an existing book to the ipad format.

Video is a totally different animal tho. First, I don't know anybody that buys video, whether it's tv episodes or movies from Itunes. Even with torrents, Netflix/Hulu etc make it cheap/free to watch stuff. Apple is trying really hard to get studios to sell tv episodes for $1.99 each. If this happens, I think people buying video through Itunes will explode and make the ATV more viable. So far the studios don't want to do it. Whether a TV show costs $1 million an episode to make or $10k, Apple wants to sell it for $1.99. Studios think $1.99 episodes makes us think their products are too cheap and if they ever agree to this, they can't go back.

Until the above happens, people need to add outside video to Itunes, which can be a major PITA. I have divx files, xvid files, wmv files, mov files, flv files. My dvd's are in ISO form. My 1080p files are in mkv. I'd need to convert all this #### into formats that Itunes can handle. No thanks. If Apple expanded their codec support I think the ATV would be more popular but Apple being Apple, that won't happen. Music doesn't have this problem because everything is pretty much in mp3 or flac.

So here's what I did. I have a WDTV LIVE http://www.wdtvlive.com/. It cost me $100 on sale. It plays everything I throw at it, don't need to convert a thing. It has HDMI, component, composite, TOSLINK. Ethernet and wireless N. It plays photos and mp3s also, goes to YouTube, tho I don't use it for them.

I have all my media on a 6TB Windows Home Server in my closet. All our movies, photos, music is on it. My WDTV can play anything off it. Any computer in the house can play anything off it. My ipod touch (and ipads!) can play any video on it, even from outside the house. Air Video is the best iphone app I ever bought for $3. I can be on a plane and watch 1080p movies off my home server. My 32gb ipod touch has access to 6tb's of movies.

Until the ATV can do something like the above, it will continue to be a flop (for me). They need to cut the tether to Itunes, expand their supported codecs considerably, or get all the studios to cave in to $1.99 media. I don't see any of this happening soon.

I have a wdtvlive and love it. I have a touch and would love to access my network drives. All I need is this app? Need to jailbreak?

 

[scoobygang]

I have two little girls and like most kids they love movies and want to watch them a 1000 times. Portability is key and why DVD's work. Have a small stack of Disney movies for them that they can watch at my house, take them with them to their mom's house or grandparents house or watch in their mom's car, etc. Unless each kid has an Ipad too difficult to have them both watch it in the car, need one per kid. I don't like DVD players in a car but many people do and much easier to have multiple kids view a screen in a car vs. having to dock it or hold it with all kids trying to look on.

That's cool. Ipad probably isn't going to replace the movie theater screen either. It's not really designed for what I described. Perhaps a poor example but I was just throwing out the benefits of on demand 3G content. Use your imagination for the scenario that best suits your lifestyle.

I don't see why it wouldn't be. I imagine the DVD players in cars will very quickly become Bluetooth media stations.

 

[Memphis Foundry]

Let's take this as a tangent here.... back to the AppleTV/Convergence discussion.

What criteria would everyone want out of a Convergence set top box? The perfect scenario (while keeping realstic pricing for mass market in mind).

For me:

HARDWARE:

• HDMI IN / OUT

• TOSLINK/COAX DIGITAL AUDIO IN/OUT

• 1TB STORAGE or more

• CAT 5 NETWORK PORT

• LATEST WIFI (N?) Compatibilty

• REMOTE : Touchscreen Unversal remotes or iPad/iPod interface for scalable functionality

• BLURAY DRIVE (for playback or ripping movies to HD storage)

SOFTWARE:

• WEB BROWSER - Occ basic browsing from couch, tho I prefer most browsing to be 1 on 1 (Laptop/iPod/Desktop)

• STRIPPED DOWN OS (iPhone OS?) that maximizes speed (I'm not going to be doing Desktop work on my TV)

• MOVIES/MUSIC : Easy Integration with iTunes for media playback/purchase/management

• GAMING (This doesn't need to try to become a console game, but Wii showed not everyone needs high powered games)

• PHOTOS - I want it to organize and share my image library (massive) as well as my home movies

• APP SUPPORT - Love the idea of Netflx/Pandora/Weather/etc Apps - More streamlined than websites.

PRICE POINT: I'd love to see this sort of device come in at $499.

With the lack of display and storage prices plummeting, I don't think that's too unrealistic given the majority of this device would be software driven.

1TB may be overdoing it - won't most of this stuff be in the clouds in 2-3 years anyway?Love the idea of a consolidated wireless media center, but I'm apprehensive about Apple filling that role, even though I agree with you and MF that they're well positioned. I think it would be better for consumers if a company with less of a closed environment model fills the niche.

But I agree with your overall concept - can't wait until we can consolidate all this media to one central household "server" and broadcast the data to all the peripherals through the home.

I agree with your concern about the openness of the Apple platform. But for media center technology, I feel that advanced video already has so much DRM embedded in it that it's probably a lost cause to expect both "plays anywhere" openness and ease-of-use in a single home media center. As you stated, Apple's going to go with the "walled garden" approach because they're tight with the studios and networks and recording labels. That's their real unobtainium. And it will give them a big advantage over the other players like Boxee and maybe eventually Google TV. If you don't have that insider standing with the content providers, you can expect to get blocked at every turn from Hulu, which is becoming their portal of choice. They're also blocking pretty much every other device and software package apart from standard web browsers installed on recognized OSes. What Hulu is offering is the missing link for media centers, but the only way to get it reliably right now is to access it from a web browser on a computer.

I do like the list above and wouldn't object to a $499 price point for those features. I would also want Apple (because of their insider connections) to include a subscription to a metadata service for scheduling info so that this device could be used as a DVR. For stuff that's still shown on cable and broadcast networks, it would be cool to have the ability to cache new episodes of shows locally in the background when they become available so that you can watch instantly. Now that I think of it, I would also like Apple to build a Sling-like Apple TV HD app for iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch that would allow me to control and stream content from my home media center over 3G or WiFi. Maybe a lower-priced model with no local storage that acts like a Sling receiver would be a good idea, too. This would let you centralize your home media into one device but consume it anywhere on your local network.

I have to say that I don't really expect Apple to make it easy to share centralized video and audio among multiple local devices, though. Even in the relatively-mature iTunes, they do a pretty poor job of making it easy to fully share music with other devices your local network. You can get 80% of the way there but bridging the other 20% is a bigger pain to me than figuring out the whole sharing thing from scratch on Windows or Linux. I expect that the wishes of the content providers are what is holding Apple back on providing fully-featured local sharing, which is why sharing has been slowly getting better in iTunes.

Would I buy the Apple TV HD above at $499? I would definitely consider it. If they did a good job of implementing the "whole-house" sharing, I probably would. But I'd also maintain a Windows 7/Linux dual-boot media PC hooked up to another HDMI port on the same TV so I could maintain a reasonable amount of flexibility.

 

[LokiKx]

Hulu? There's a reason why Jobs doesn't want the likes of Hulu to be accessed to his products...he wants you to go to Itunes, not Hulu to download and pay, not get it for free on Hulu. Jobs won't change his mind / lose money on this.

Then why are they so receptive to Netflix (movies/TVShows) / Pandora (Music)? Both of those services provide content for free that they sell in iTunes just like Hulu. Jobs, to my knowledge and I could be wrong here, has never announced an issue with Hulu, just with flash. If Hulu made an iPad app I'm pretty sure it would be accepted just fine.

Hulu has been rumored since before the launch as a subscription model on the iPad. Jobs also has to be careful in attempting to deny access to the platform or they could see the same think MS did with IE.

 

[Walton Goggins]

Hulu? There's a reason why Jobs doesn't want the likes of Hulu to be accessed to his products...he wants you to go to Itunes, not Hulu to download and pay, not get it for free on Hulu. Jobs won't change his mind / lose money on this.

Then why are they so receptive to Netflix (movies/TVShows) / Pandora (Music)? Both of those services provide content for free that they sell in iTunes just like Hulu. Jobs, to my knowledge and I could be wrong here, has never announced an issue with Hulu, just with flash. If Hulu made an iPad app I'm pretty sure it would be accepted just fine.

Apple wants you to play Pandora...hear music you like and want to buy or download more music from said artist? Banking on you going to Itunes and shelling out the bucks.Why Apple Needs Pandora Just as Much as Pandora Needs Apple

http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2008/09/13430/

IF (huge IF) Hulu and Apple hook up, guess what, it won't be free (as it is to everyone else who is viewing Hulu from a non apple device). Again, Apple isn't in the market to give away anything for free and don't want you to be able to watch anything on HULU or then you won't go to Itunes and buy their shows.

Want Hulu on Your iPad… as a Subscription Service?

http://www.tipb.com/2010/02/19/hulu-ipad-s...iption-service/

Hulu developing subscription model app for Apple's iPad

Read more: http://www.fierceonlinevideo.com/story/hul...1#ixzz0kdjMDHjK

You can google the number of articles that talk about the real reason why Jobs doesn't want Flash. He doesn't want Flash because it will take $$$ off the table for Apple. He wants ITunes to be your one stop shop and can control all content.

This was taken from the Newsweek article someone posted I believe in this thread or the Iphone thread:

In other news: Apple still has no intention to support Adobe Flash. No explanation why. Perhaps none is needed, because think about it: when Apple blocks Flash-based sites like Hulu, users get “incentivized” (as Tony Soprano might say) to buy content instead from Apple’s iTunes store. You got a problem with that?

Another reason for Apple to hate Flash is that Flash lets developers build games and other apps that run in a browser. Therefore those developers could sidestep the App Store, which would deprive Apple of the chance to take 30 percent of the money people spend buying the app itself and then 40 percent of any advertising revenue that gets generated when people are using the app.

See, Apple is all about keeping things simple. And it is much more simple if Apple controls everything and makes all the money.

I’m a huge fan of Apple products. I have a house full of them, including a brand-new iPad. But more and more, this company scares me.

 

[Otis]

This thing was fantastic for a 14 hour flight today and for hanging out in Tokyo. Two gigantic magical thumbs up.

(Even though it's glass and the certificates have been ruining my life.)

Not speaking for JB here, but I am betting the bolded crap is what he is talking about being "childish behavior"...really no better than the bashers at this point.

This discussion devolved 15 pages ago. I've just stopped taking it seriously.

 

[LokiKx]

I have two little girls and like most kids they love movies and want to watch them a 1000 times. Portability is key and why DVD's work. Have a small stack of Disney movies for them that they can watch at my house, take them with them to their mom's house or grandparents house or watch in their mom's car, etc. Unless each kid has an Ipad too difficult to have them both watch it in the car, need one per kid. I don't like DVD players in a car but many people do and much easier to have multiple kids view a screen in a car vs. having to dock it or hold it with all kids trying to look on.

That's cool. Ipad probably isn't going to replace the movie theater screen either. It's not really designed for what I described. Perhaps a poor example but I was just throwing out the benefits of on demand 3G content. Use your imagination for the scenario that best suits your lifestyle.

I don't see why it wouldn't be. I imagine the DVD players in cars will very quickly become Bluetooth media stations.

So who holds the iPad and at what angle and for how long? The benefit of having in roof systems is a centralized screen. No way i'm buying each of my kids an iPad to watch movies. They'd be lucky if they got magnetic checkers.

 

[[icon]]

Hulu? There's a reason why Jobs doesn't want the likes of Hulu to be accessed to his products...he wants you to go to Itunes, not Hulu to download and pay, not get it for free on Hulu. Jobs won't change his mind / lose money on this.

Then why are they so receptive to Netflix (movies/TVShows) / Pandora (Music)? Both of those services provide content for free that they sell in iTunes just like Hulu. Jobs, to my knowledge and I could be wrong here, has never announced an issue with Hulu, just with flash. If Hulu made an iPad app I'm pretty sure it would be accepted just fine.

Hulu has been rumored since before the launch as a subscription model on the iPad.

Of course Hulu wants to go subscription. That's why they exist. This provides the perfect venue for them to begin making decent money. Them charging has NOTHING to do with Apple blocking them. This is getting silly. Goggins, I'm sorry man but your comments are really doing nothing but derailing a good thread. If you'd like to start another thread to go back and forth about this I'd love to continue, but for the good if this thread I'm going to stop addressing your posts.

 

[Otis]

I thought this thread could come back to life but you guys would rather take your jabs over typos and everyone acting like they're infallible. I guess that's just the FFA. Maybe it's always been that way (cue the day 1 guys) and it's just getting to me. But I'm starting to see why so many people have bailed on this.Knock yourselves out and just get this thread deleted. J

If you want to be fair about this, when the "Apple haters" spent the first 20 pages doing this, you were cool with it, and even suggested that I "picked a fight" by talking up the device and that you weren't surprised by the reaction. Now that some of us guys who own the device are poking fun back, you're flustered. Seems like a double standard to me, but it's cool. I'm already filtering out the vast majority of the "debate" in here because, frankly, it's a stupid "debate." If you want to buy one, buy one. If not, don't. I tried to post about some of the apps I downloaded and enjoy with the hopes that it might help someone else. I'll still check in here to look for the same from others.

 

[Otis]

I just know threads like this used to be helpful and have good discussion. Not this one. Just starting to feel like a lost cause.

When I made this observation a few pages in, it was met with a "well, you asked for it" attitude.

 

[California]

Hulu? There's a reason why Jobs doesn't want the likes of Hulu to be accessed to his products...he wants you to go to Itunes, not Hulu to download and pay, not get it for free on Hulu. Jobs won't change his mind / lose money on this.

Then why are they so receptive to Netflix (movies/TVShows) / Pandora (Music)? Both of those services provide content for free that they sell in iTunes just like Hulu. Jobs, to my knowledge and I could be wrong here, has never announced an issue with Hulu, just with flash. If Hulu made an iPad app I'm pretty sure it would be accepted just fine.

I'm not a big music guy and am probably one of the few people on the planet that don't use Pandora, but from what I understand it's basically a streaming radio station? If that's the case, radio doesn't really conflict with Itunes. If Pandora lets you play any specific song, at any time of your choosing, for free, I don't think you'd see it available as an app. I don't think people would need to buy songs ever then.Now Netflix, I don't know. It is in direct competition with Itunes video. I'm guessing Netflix and Apple have some kind of agreement where Apple gets a cut, but I can't find any info on this anywhere. If Apple doesn't get anything (other than good press and possibly more ipad sales from Netflix users), it will directly cannibalize video sales/rentals which would be a mindboggler.

 

[Walton Goggins]

I have two little girls and like most kids they love movies and want to watch them a 1000 times. Portability is key and why DVD's work. Have a small stack of Disney movies for them that they can watch at my house, take them with them to their mom's house or grandparents house or watch in their mom's car, etc. Unless each kid has an Ipad too difficult to have them both watch it in the car, need one per kid. I don't like DVD players in a car but many people do and much easier to have multiple kids view a screen in a car vs. having to dock it or hold it with all kids trying to look on.

That's cool. Ipad probably isn't going to replace the movie theater screen either. It's not really designed for what I described. Perhaps a poor example but I was just throwing out the benefits of on demand 3G content. Use your imagination for the scenario that best suits your lifestyle.

Can easily run in circles when talking about Apple. Iphone/Ipad/Itouch/ATV CAN be much better but as a result Apple loses control. I wonder if that is what holds Apple back sometime. I want Hulu, play games off flash in browsers on say your Ipad but if that was possible it would hurt sales off Itunes. So no flash makes sense from a $ point for Apple but not from the product's point of view in making it better.

 

[LokiKx]

Hulu? There's a reason why Jobs doesn't want the likes of Hulu to be accessed to his products...he wants you to go to Itunes, not Hulu to download and pay, not get it for free on Hulu. Jobs won't change his mind / lose money on this.

Then why are they so receptive to Netflix (movies/TVShows) / Pandora (Music)? Both of those services provide content for free that they sell in iTunes just like Hulu. Jobs, to my knowledge and I could be wrong here, has never announced an issue with Hulu, just with flash. If Hulu made an iPad app I'm pretty sure it would be accepted just fine.

Hulu has been rumored since before the launch as a subscription model on the iPad.

Of course Hulu wants to go subscription. That's why they exist. This provides the perfect venue for them to begin making decent money. Them charging has NOTHING to do with Apple blocking them. This is getting silly. Goggins, I'm sorry man but your comments are really doing nothing but derailing a good thread. If you'd like to start another thread to go back and forth about this I'd love to continue, but for the good if this thread I'm going to stop addressing your posts.

My point was, and I did not make it clear, Jobs is not blocking Hulu from coming at the moment. In fact it seems like it will be availabe as an App or HTML 5. The fact they are going to charge for content is a push from the media companies and the iPad is a great place to start.

 

[Walton Goggins]

I thought this thread could come back to life but you guys would rather take your jabs over typos and everyone acting like they're infallible. I guess that's just the FFA. Maybe it's always been that way (cue the day 1 guys) and it's just getting to me. But I'm starting to see why so many people have bailed on this.Knock yourselves out and just get this thread deleted. J

If you want to be fair about this, when the "Apple haters" spent the first 20 pages doing this, you were cool with it, and even suggested that I "picked a fight" by talking up the device and that you weren't surprised by the reaction. Now that some of us guys who own the device are poking fun back, you're flustered. Seems like a double standard to me, but it's cool. I'm already filtering out the vast majority of the "debate" in here because, frankly, it's a stupid "debate." If you want to buy one, buy one. If not, don't. I tried to post about some of the apps I downloaded and enjoy with the hopes that it might help someone else. I'll still check in here to look for the same from others.

this was already talked about and resolved, absolutely NO need to come in late now and comment on it after it's a done deal

 

[Walton Goggins]

Hulu? There's a reason why Jobs doesn't want the likes of Hulu to be accessed to his products...he wants you to go to Itunes, not Hulu to download and pay, not get it for free on Hulu. Jobs won't change his mind / lose money on this.

Then why are they so receptive to Netflix (movies/TVShows) / Pandora (Music)? Both of those services provide content for free that they sell in iTunes just like Hulu. Jobs, to my knowledge and I could be wrong here, has never announced an issue with Hulu, just with flash. If Hulu made an iPad app I'm pretty sure it would be accepted just fine.

Hulu has been rumored since before the launch as a subscription model on the iPad.

Of course Hulu wants to go subscription. That's why they exist. This provides the perfect venue for them to begin making decent money. Them charging has NOTHING to do with Apple blocking them. This is getting silly. Goggins, I'm sorry man but your comments are really doing nothing but derailing a good thread. If you'd like to start another thread to go back and forth about this I'd love to continue, but for the good if this thread I'm going to stop addressing your posts.

If you look up a few postings before this one above you will see a lot of great reasons why Apple likes Pandora, etc.

 

[LokiKx]

Hulu? There's a reason why Jobs doesn't want the likes of Hulu to be accessed to his products...he wants you to go to Itunes, not Hulu to download and pay, not get it for free on Hulu. Jobs won't change his mind / lose money on this.

Then why are they so receptive to Netflix (movies/TVShows) / Pandora (Music)? Both of those services provide content for free that they sell in iTunes just like Hulu. Jobs, to my knowledge and I could be wrong here, has never announced an issue with Hulu, just with flash. If Hulu made an iPad app I'm pretty sure it would be accepted just fine.

I'm not a big music guy and am probably one of the few people on the planet that don't use Pandora, but from what I understand it's basically a streaming radio station? If that's the case, radio doesn't really conflict with Itunes. If Pandora lets you play any specific song, at any time of your choosing, for free, I don't think you'd see it available as an app. I don't think people would need to buy songs ever then.Now Netflix, I don't know. It is in direct competition with Itunes video. I'm guessing Netflix and Apple have some kind of agreement where Apple gets a cut, but I can't find any info on this anywhere. If Apple doesn't get anything (other than good press and possibly more ipad sales from Netflix users), it will directly cannibalize video sales/rentals which would be a mindboggler.

They also have rhapsody. Which I have not used but believe it allows you to play anything you want for $10 a month. The iPhone version may be different.

 

[Otis]

I thought this thread could come back to life but you guys would rather take your jabs over typos and everyone acting like they're infallible. I guess that's just the FFA. Maybe it's always been that way (cue the day 1 guys) and it's just getting to me. But I'm starting to see why so many people have bailed on this.Knock yourselves out and just get this thread deleted. J

If you want to be fair about this, when the "Apple haters" spent the first 20 pages doing this, you were cool with it, and even suggested that I "picked a fight" by talking up the device and that you weren't surprised by the reaction. Now that some of us guys who own the device are poking fun back, you're flustered. Seems like a double standard to me, but it's cool. I'm already filtering out the vast majority of the "debate" in here because, frankly, it's a stupid "debate." If you want to buy one, buy one. If not, don't. I tried to post about some of the apps I downloaded and enjoy with the hopes that it might help someone else. I'll still check in here to look for the same from others.

this was already talked about and resolved, absolutely NO need to come in late now and comment on it after it's a done deal

Oh sorry, Walt.

 

[Walton Goggins]

Hulu? There's a reason why Jobs doesn't want the likes of Hulu to be accessed to his products...he wants you to go to Itunes, not Hulu to download and pay, not get it for free on Hulu. Jobs won't change his mind / lose money on this.

Then why are they so receptive to Netflix (movies/TVShows) / Pandora (Music)? Both of those services provide content for free that they sell in iTunes just like Hulu. Jobs, to my knowledge and I could be wrong here, has never announced an issue with Hulu, just with flash. If Hulu made an iPad app I'm pretty sure it would be accepted just fine.

Hulu has been rumored since before the launch as a subscription model on the iPad.

Of course Hulu wants to go subscription. That's why they exist. This provides the perfect venue for them to begin making decent money. Them charging has NOTHING to do with Apple blocking them. This is getting silly. Goggins, I'm sorry man but your comments are really doing nothing but derailing a good thread. If you'd like to start another thread to go back and forth about this I'd love to continue, but for the good if this thread I'm going to stop addressing your posts.

My point was, and I did not make it clear, Jobs is not blocking Hulu from coming at the moment. In fact it seems like it will be availabe as an App or HTML 5. The fact they are going to charge for content is a push from the media companies and the iPad is a great place to start.

Reason why NBC pulled its shows off Itunes

 

[Otis]

Any news on when Hulu is supposed to be out?

Also, any more info on tethering this thing to a blackberry? My wifi connection at the hotel I'm staying at is non-existent. Therein lies another problem with the device, though I don't think it's a problem with the device so much as with this hotel -- if you're at an old school place that uses a hard LAN line to connect to the internet, you're not getting your iPad on the internet.

 

[LokiKx]

I have two little girls and like most kids they love movies and want to watch them a 1000 times. Portability is key and why DVD's work. Have a small stack of Disney movies for them that they can watch at my house, take them with them to their mom's house or grandparents house or watch in their mom's car, etc. Unless each kid has an Ipad too difficult to have them both watch it in the car, need one per kid. I don't like DVD players in a car but many people do and much easier to have multiple kids view a screen in a car vs. having to dock it or hold it with all kids trying to look on.

That's cool. Ipad probably isn't going to replace the movie theater screen either. It's not really designed for what I described. Perhaps a poor example but I was just throwing out the benefits of on demand 3G content. Use your imagination for the scenario that best suits your lifestyle.

Can easily run in circles when talking about Apple. Iphone/Ipad/Itouch/ATV CAN be much better but as a result Apple loses control. I wonder if that is what holds Apple back sometime. I want Hulu, play games off flash in browsers on say your Ipad but if that was possible it would hurt sales off Itunes. So no flash makes sense from a $ point for Apple but not from the product's point of view in making it better.

One of the biggest complaints a co-worker with an iPad has here is that he can't play his tower defense games which are all flash based.I'm curious if anyone with kids have tried Toon Town, RuneScape, Club Penguin to see how they work on the iPad. Not sure which ones are Java and which ones are flash. In fact how do Java games run on the iPad?

 

[Walton Goggins]

Any news on when Hulu is supposed to be out?

Also, any more info on tethering this thing to a blackberry? My wifi connection at the hotel I'm staying at is non-existent. Therein lies another problem with the device, though I don't think it's a problem with the device so much as with this hotel -- if you're at an old school place that uses a hard LAN line to connect to the internet, you're not getting your iPad on the internet.

(assume this also includes Ipad)...

Hulu is in the process of developing an app for Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and iPod touch, we have learned from a plugged-in industry executive. The app is coming soon (within a few months) and is "badass" -- as excellent as Hulu's Web site. Video will work over both wi-fi and 3G, we're told.

http://www.businessinsider.com/hulu-iphone...n-badass-2009-4Unless you believe this...

Hulu on the iPad? Not as Easy as it Sounds

In a recent interview, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar told technology reporter Om Malik that his company was "very bullish" on mobile, even going so far as to say "we will embrace every device." That's a funny statement, considering that the company has been touting that same sentiment for years but has yet to launch anything for mobile, be it an app or simply a mobile-ready streaming site.

Now, with the launch of the iPad just around the corner, the rumors of an iPhone/iPad Hulu app are rising up again. But there's a bigger mobile web than just the one accessible via Apple products, and that may be what Hulu has its eye on now. "We don't think about one device only," Kilar said.

However, going mobile is going to be a challenge for Hulu. And it's not as simple as re-encoding a few videos, no matter what you may have heard.

Problem A: Hulu's Business Model Needs Work

The fact that Hulu exists at all is somewhat of an amazement. Through tenuous connections with major studios, the collaborative, experimental effort to bring streaming TV to web (and make it profitable) has managed to attract a number of users in the U.S. Although the audience size varies widely depending on who's counting, the company has managed to become a household name thanks to eye-catching commercials on NBC featuring actors from the network's top shows.

But there's a problem facing Hulu: in-video advertising is, apparently, not as profitable as once hoped. In fact, it's just too expensive, says Marc Ruxin, the Chief Innovation Officer for ad agency network McCann Worldgroup. Hulu has been aware of this problem, though, and has been hinting towards the launch of a subscription service, with News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch telling an investor conference last fall that the company, was looking at "adding subscription services and pay per view" options. Through the subscription model, Hulu could potentially generate enough revenue to keep the studios happy and maybe even encourage them to offer up more programming.

Unfortunately, the subscription model has yet to launch and the profits from video ads have been far too lean for some Hulu participants. Recently, for example, Viacom pulled two of the top shows - The Daily Show and the Colbert Report - from the site, claiming that they simply weren't earning enough money via the advertising model currently in place. Viacom Inc. Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman said that "on the current economic model for Hulu, there's just not much in it for us to continue at this time."

And so the situation degrades.

So what is Hulu doing now? It's trying to attract more viewers to its site with the launch of "If I Can Dream," an original series that premiered earlier this month. The fact that they're now making the foray into this sort of online programming is somewhat worrying. After all, if hit video webisodes alone made for a profitable service, then YouTube would have achieved profitability ages ago, instead of (maybe) getting there this year, five years post-launch. Let's face it, original programming is a bonus for Hulu users, but it's not going to take the place of hot shows like the now-departed Comedy Central fare.

Problem B: Will Apple Allow a Hulu App on the iPhone/iPad?

Another problem? Hulu has been planning to delay its iPhone app launch until a subscription model was in place, according to earlier reports. But with the biggest names pulling out, subscriptions could be a harder sell. Still, even if Hulu was able to make subscriptions happen, there are no guarantees that Apple would ever allow them into the iTunes store, especially considering they're offering a competing product. (See: Google Voice banishment from the iPhone, for example).

Meanwhile, Hulu's online site doesn't work in the iPhone's web browser because it was built in Flash. If Apple rejects the Hulu app from iTunes, the company's other option is encoding all their site's content in H.264 and make that available via HTML5, the new web language that offers streaming video sans plugin. Since this has already been done, a Hulu app could launch a player on the iPhone or iPad, if, of course, Apple allowed them to do so. If not, then a mobile site would have to be built in HTML5 - video controls, overall UI, advertisements and all. That's no simple process.

What's Hulu Doing Now?

So is this the plan Hulu has decided on now? It's hard to know for sure. Like Apple, the company is incredibly secretive about their plans and product roadmap, often refusing to respond to calls and emails entirely, even to say "no comment."

And yet, the Hulu iPhone app exists. We've spoken to someone who's seen it...but that was ages ago. For all we know, iPhone/iPad app plans have since been scrapped to work on a new solution that works around any potential Apple restrictions. But sources inside Hulu have clammed up lately, meaning they're either building something top, top secret...or perhaps nothing at all.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/hulu_...s_it_sounds.php

 

[California]

I have a wdtvlive and love it.

I have a touch and would love to access my network drives. All I need is this app? Need to jailbreak?

Air Video: http://www.inmethod.com/air-video/index.html$3 from the app store. No need to jailbreak.

Install the server software on the computer holding all your video. Select folders holding video. Done.

It can convert video to iphone/ipod format offline or on the fly. You'll need a decent computer to convert a 10gb 1080p file on the fly tho.

From your iphone/ipod you can now watch your video over your wifi network or if you enable remote access, anywhere in the world you have a connection.

Before I discovered this, I would convert video I wanted to watch with Handbrake, copy it to my ipod, and watch it. I'd have to juggle movies around depending how much space I had left. God I love this program and I wish someone would make it for Android.

edit: It works on ipad too. Devs are working on an ipad specific version.