I Don't Care What You Say - The Apple TV is Awesome!

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6467" title="appletvfl" src="http://www.mactalk.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/appletvfl.jpg" alt="" width="492" height="321" />

<strong>This is an opinion piece by MacTalk forum member &amp; <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/can-touch-this/id315472743" target="_blank">Can Touch This</a></strong><strong> podcaster, Dan Pavlides. Agree? Disagree? Want to add your 2c? Post on the forums!</strong>

I’m going to get this bias out of the way from the start: I’m a big fan of Apple TV.*The reasons why I like it, seem to be the reasons why most tech savvy pro-sumer’s don’t, I’ve found that in general most of the biggest gripes Apple TV seem to revolve around three things:
<ul>
<li>No HD TV Tuner</li>
<li>No DVD/BluRay Drive</li>
<li>Content has to be in iTunes and in the right format</li>
</ul>
The thing is, I see these as strengths. It’s certainly not unprecedented for Apple to leave ‘must have’ features off a product (iMac, iPod, iPhone, Macbook Air) and typically, that’s what defines them.

Think of any other TV set top box on the market. I bet it has every feature you can think of and can play any video format, I bet it has an enormous hard disk, twin HD TV tuners and maybe even a BluRay drive. I bet it also has a nausea inducing interface and a healthy dose of compulsory technical know-how.

If you need an FTP client, have to create file shares or do anything apart from plug in power, network and HDMI cable then punch a 5 digit code into iTunes - that’s just not going to cut it in the land of chocolate Apple.

Saying that Apple TV needs a TV tuner is like saying the iPhone needs a stylus - watching and recording broadcast is to TV what the stylus is to the smartphone. Often Apple will completely obsolete ‘non-negotiable’ things like; PS2 ports, floppy drives, the stylus and removal batteries, shocking the world into the recognition that it’s ok to move on: Apple TV is Apple’s re-imagination of on TV and movies delivered to your home. Not only to they have the means to distribute content on a large scale they have delivered (and refined) a device that can streamline delivery of that content.

The BlueRay drive argument is no different, it wasn’t that long ago that buying CD’s to get your music was the norm. Suddenly, in less than a decade, the CD is going the way of the dodo. That doesn't seem as shocking a statement now as it may have 5 years ago. I see buying TV shows and movies from iTunes the same way.

You don’t put music on your iPhone by inserting a CD into the dock connector, you put everything into your iTunes library and magic happens. Why would Apple TV be any different? The hard disk is a way to make playback of new stuff speedy and just happens to be somewhere to keep the underlying magic - it’s not a media storage server just because it has a hard disk.

Apple want you to BUY and RENT content from the iTunes store in addition to whatever you already have/get from wherever you get it. They make no effort whatsoever to help you pull a movie from a DVD and put it into iTunes - but they don’t stop you either.

Which brings me to the third ‘problem’, for some reason there is a perception that because Apple TV can’t play every video format ever conceived in the history of the Internet, that somehow, Apple are locking you out from playing the content you already have.

There is zero benefit to Apple spending time building in support for anything other than what suits them. They want us to spend money, so making it easier to bypass the iTunes store is bad for business - If you want to play in this playground, the rules are freely available under ‘Video formats supported’. Good luck, have fun, we wont stop you but you’re on your own.

It’s a safe middle ground - you can buy it from iTunes or you can put it in yourself, as long as you play by the rules. This lets them guarantee a certain experience based on the equipment and the content they sell. Apart from making money, a great and consistent experience is priority number one.

So, Apple TV has a straight forward feature-set with a fully upgradeable software platform, an easy to use and great looking interface that even my mother can use, a simple setup process, a predictable experience (when you play by the rules) AND it’s fully integrated with iTunes.

On top of that it has access to the iTunes store which lets you buy and rent movies, buy music and TV shows and watch and listen to podcasts all using a single payment method across all devices...doesn’t sound too terrible to me!

So, if it’s all of these great things and if everyone who thinks it’s unimpressive is wrong...why is it still just a hobby? Excellent question, terrible segway.

It’s simple, only one of my patented ‘three boxes for Apple TV success’ are ticked:
<ul>
<li>It has to be easy</li>
<li>It has to have lots of content</li>
<li>It has to have well priced content (and no ads)</li>
</ul>
Right now, it’s not the cheapest but it is by far the easiest - Tick!
Without enough content you won’t consider it and without a good price, even if it is there, you wont buy it anyway. Price: *no tick*
Lots of content: *no tick*

It works perfectly for people like me, I want to watch stuff on my own schedule, not a TV networks’. I’m happy to pay if it helps a show I like not get canned half way though an excellent story arc or stop the local TV network from slicing the episode into 27 parts played randomly over 3 weeks between strategically placed repeat episodes. Ugh.

I’m willing to pay extra for my entertainment to not be a pain in my rump - It’s easy and that’s enough of a driver, for me.

A simple pricing structure and a vast content library, just 3 clicks away from you trading some credit for minutes of entertainment. In my opinion, that’s exactly what Apple imagined when they conceived Apple TV. Unfortunately, of the three boxes Apple can completely control only one. The other two are mostly in the hands of naval-gazing companies that just don’t ‘get it’. If they did, I fully expect we’d be living in some sort of digital content distribution utopia!

Eventually, things will change and when they do Apple will have been in the game for many years longer than anyone else. Apple TV is not only awesome but way ahead of it’s time. Perfect? Not quite. Victim of it’s own genius? Absolutely.

<em>You can hear me pontificate weekly on <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/can-touch-this/id315472743" target="_blank">Can Touch This</a> or read more of my ramblings at <a href="http://thestormglass.com" target="_blank">thestormglass.com</a></em>