Apple TV – Not so much Apple as Lemon
So, you just bought yourself a 42” “HD Ready” (whatever that means), multi-HDMI input, 5000:1 contrast, flat-screen TV. It’s capable of displaying a High Definition signal which is almost indiscernible from reality. Combined with Blu-Ray DVDs, cinema is brought to your home in a way you never thought possible, and with services like Sky HD, your favourite TV series are brought to life like never before. So what’s the perfect companion for your new purchase? How about postage stamp resolution video of reruns of Seinfeld from 9 years ago, at ridiculous prices, streamed to your computer by an overpriced bulky SCART cable? Sound like what your looking for? Then, go buy Apple TV immediately. As for me, I’m gonna pass for now.
So what is Apple TV? It’s Apple’s attempt to answer Media Center, and they’ve got it all wrong. Buy a programme on iTunes, stream it wirelessly to a device which sits under your TV (or store it on its miniscule hard drive), and blow up a picture designed for an iPod to the size of your wall. All for $299. What a bargain.
Sure, regular TV is slowly dying, but if these are the death throes, I hope its demise takes a long time. Shows like Lost and Heroes may never find a place on the new hybrid thing that’s gonna replace TV, whatever that will be. Or else they will, but you’ll have to pay $1.99 per episode to buy something 2 years old. Wait a minute! That’s happening now! On iTunes! Coming to an Apple TV near you! Overpriced, old, and in microscopic quality!
It’s not that Apple TV’s a bad idea. It’s just that the world’s not ready for it yet. Broadband’s not broad enough yet; TV companies aren’t desperate enough yet; and the public aren’t stupid enough, yet. A few more years of regular TV might have killed enough brain cells to make punters think this is a great idea. Too early again, Apple.
References:
http://www.apple.com/appletv/
Official Apple TV blurb
http://theappleblog.com/2005/04/01/apple-to-release-home-media-center-ihome/
The iHome prank. Wishful thinking!