The savvy guide to the Internet-TV connection

One would think that Apple would want to pump as much video material as possible onto iTunes as they promote Apple TV and launch a new and improved video iPod, but in a surprising turn, Apple announced that it would be cutting NBC programming from their lineup.

Apple claims that NBC refused to renew its contract after Apple balked at paying fees that would more than double the retail price of episodes from $1.99 to $4.99.

Cory Shields, executive vice president of communications for NBC Universal said “It is clear that Apple’s retail pricing strategy for its iTunes service is designed to drive sales of Apple devices, at the expense of those who create the content that make these devices worth buying.”

Their contract ends in December, but Apple has announced that it will not be selling episodes from the new fall season because it did not want to have to pull programs midway through the season. Old episodes will continue to be for sale until December.

This means that popular programs including “The Office” and “Heroes,” both of which rank in the top-10 list of iTunes sales will no longer be sold. Apple says that NBC content accounts for 30 percent of its video sales.

NBC has less reason to be concerned. They have been successfully streaming many programs including “The Office” and “Heroes” from their website, and in the fall NBC is planning on launching an online video portal called Hulu, which will feature some of NBC’s shows.

This dissolution questions the future of online video content. Apple may not be able to maintain its near monopoly on legal downloads.

“Apple must face the fact that charging flat rates for television programs of varying lengths and vintage will not resonate with an industry for which advertising is its lifeblood,” Allen Weiner, an analyst with Gartner Inc., said. “This is especially true with the number of competitors who are streaming the same programs for free.”

Share This

OK, we admit it, Engadget gets some things first. So, here’s a link to an Engadget report about a mysterious product from Neuros, which released a media streamer a few years ago that hasn’t seemed to make any big waves. As described here, it looks as if Neuros is trying to add a layer of metadata over existing TV shows so you can access related shows and whatnot. The device also apparently cuts out the PC/Mac, and gets its information directly online, as with Vudu.

For more on new media extenders, here’s a review from Cnet Australia on the Beyonwiz DP-P1, whose features include the ability to play back movies, music and photos over a network, allowing you to view all the content you’ve amassed on your PC in your living room.

But the DP-P1 doesn’t support Wi-Fi, as do the Netgear EVA8000 or the Apple TV for examples of wireless streaming devices.

Share This

The Apple Remote can control all of your Apple devices. Coming from a household with three different remote controls on the coffee table, this development seems very convenient.

However, as tuaw.com points out, when you want to relax in front of your Apple TV in the evening, you may accidentally turn on your MacBook as well.

There are a couple of ways to fix this nuisance. First of all, you can turn off the infrared censor on your computer since you probably don’t need to turn on your computer with a remote anyway. This can be done at the Security Preference Pane.

The other option is to pair and unpair your remotes with your devices so that each remote only turns on one device. Here are directions on how to pair and unpair an Apple Remote with an Apple TV, and here are instructions on how to pair a remote to your Mac.

Share This

Blogger Alan Pritt tells of helping his grandparents install a new TV in their house and how complicated it is:

Right now there are gaping holes in the market for products that are simple to use. Not just for Granddad, but for everyone that would prefer not to spend their vacation time reading instruction manuals.

The only hope I can see on the horizon is, yet again, Apple. The Apple TV is not yet good enough to replace my Grandparent’s complete setup, but I believe it will be in good time. It would just be nice if someone beat them to it. They need some proper competition. Maybe Sony are working on something in secret?

What, he hasn’t read the TVMama post about Sony Bravia’s Internet hook-up?
–
Win an AppleTV at HungryFlix, a indie film and video content (pay) download site (Hint: You need a PayPal account).
–
No DVD slot? He won’t buy an Apple TV.

Share This

Here are the four most important news items showing more proof that convergence is real, that platforms are connecting and that all of this may (someday) be easy enough for most of us to use:

• Korea’s Compass produces a hi-def PC/TV combo.

• Buried in the news of a new AT&T mobile video sharing technology is this tidbit about media convergence: Video Share ultimately will be accessible over any of the three primary screens that customers use most frequently. These are “the wireless device, the PC and the television.” AT&T also says researchers at its labs are perfecting service enhancements that eventually will enable wireless video feeds now aimed at mobile user to be shared over IPTV or PC screens.

• HungryFlix.com now offers independent videos and movies that can be viewed on iPhones or Apple TV. See also: BigBanana.TV .

• Computer World reports that Apple published a patent that would allow iPhones and iPods to control Apple TV video and music files. Now the darn things may become remote controls, too.

Share This

Apple TV may be able to pull content off your computer and put it on your TV, but it can’t do something far simpler: turn off.

In browsing the Apple Support Discussion forum, it is clear that many Apple TV users don’t like the lack of an on/off switch. Some are concerned that keeping it on all the time could hurt the device; others worry about the wasted energy and the consequent damage to the environment (not to mention their electric bills).

AppleTV does have a standby mode that can be activated by holding down the play/pause button, but the amount of time the button needed to be held varied from unit to unit, causing some confusion amongst forum participants. Furthermore, even in standby mode many users were still concerned about the amount of energy the device wastes.

“Even in standby mode AppleTV remains quite warm to the touch, almost hot. It absolutely must be drawing a considerable amount of power in standby mode. I’m surprised Apple didn’t design this thing to be more green (what with Al Gore on the board), and I’m very disappointed,” said one post.

However, it appears that the heat generated by the device owes more to a lack of a cooling system than a waste of energy. One forum participant claimed the Apple TV uses a maximum of 48 watts when on based on the device’s specs, while another claimed that he measured that his unit used 17-19 watts while in use and 13.8 watts after having been in standby mode for a couple of days. Apple TV may not qualify for an Energy Star rating, but leaving it on all the time certainly consumes less energy than leaving on your computer or refrigerator.

Share This

In the past decade, Apple’s specialty has been creating user-friendly products. The iPod popularized mp3 players even though others were already on the market, and Mac users are more loyal than users of any other computer brand.

No one is surprised that Apple TV is the most user-friendly PCTV convergence product on the market. Optimists had hoped that the advent of Apple TV would usher in a new era in which even more TV options (like we don’t have enough already) would stream seamlessly from the home computer to the television by means of a device as easy to use as your television’s remote control.

Instead, Apple TV is being dubbed “the least successful Apple product this decade.” Read the rest of this entry »

Share This

CRN invited a group of channel executives to D&H Distributing’s Mid-Atlantic Show in Hershey, PA last month for a panel discussion about the future of convergence. The consensus was that the market has not been living up to expectations.

“I think the forecasts were wrong for [convergence]. The industry saw a tidal wave of expectations, but it’s really more of a rising tide,” said Ted Houser, general manager of Glick Audio and Video, Lancaster, Pa.

Convergence has not been as popular as predicted, but the executives were optimistic about its long-term prospects.

“Maybe we’re moving glacially, but we’re moving from the attachment to the TV world to the network world. I have come to the conclusion that it is an absolute, an inevitability,” commented David Kaplan, executive director of Digital Delivery Group, a Seattle-based conglomerate or regional digital distributors.

So what’s the hold up?

The main problem is the technology. No one has come up with the perfect product. Most convergence devices are difficult to set-up, not user friendly, expensive, and often have quirky performance.

One CEO thinks convergence is not going to happen, saying that convergence is against the laws of nature and that “things want to move apart.” I understand that the PC-TV convergence is not happening as quickly as people would like, but his rationale is completely off. Convergence has never been more popular. People are downloading television shows to their computers and ipods en masse and checking their email on their telephones. Either we’re defying the laws of nature, or this guy is just not familiar with them.

The problem isn’t that there’s no interest in convergence. The problem is that companies are afraid to take the plunge into a new market. The executives were optimistic about Apple TV’s ability to bring convergence mainstream, but even Steve Jobs has regarded Apple TV as a “hobby.”

The convergence industry is going to go nowhere until someone is willing to produce an affordable, quality product that will capture the market.

Share This

PC World has awarded its prestigious “Best Buy” award in the category of “Entertainment Everywhere” to Netgear’s Digital Entertainer HD (EVA8000). It was chosen as the best of six devices, with Apple TV coming in second and D-Link’s DSM-520 Wireless HD Media player in third.

Netgear, here’s someone we haven’t heard much about. In checking our TV Mama tag cloud, I noticed that Netgear hasn’t come up at all.

So let me tell you a bit more about Netgear and its excellent product. It offers several unique features, including Flickr photo streaming and Apple and Windows Media DRM support. It also plays streamed radio and receives RSS news feeds and NOAA weather and can be used to browse the internet or check your email.

The Digital Entertainer HD also finds HD files across files and computers and places them all in a library on the TV making your HD materials that much easier to find, and for an extra five dollars, the device can be used as a DVR. Most significantly, this device supports almost any type of video file, unlike Apple TV.

So is the Digital Entertainer HD going to replace Apple TV as the industry leader? Read the rest of this entry »

Share This