Has Apple TV been a flop?

[WV Matsui]

I love mine and honestly would buy it again. To me it fits a niche and does it very well.

[keb33509]

Originally Posted by Blu-Dog

There are about 115,000,000 households with televisions in the United States.

90% of them have cable or satellite.

I don't know if it's failed - probably not - but it (and the other broadband services) have a long way to go.

I would like to know where you got your 115,000,000 million estimate from.
The site I link has a chart from Nielson TV stating 290 million own at least 1 TV.
http://1x57.com/2012/01/22/how-many-...le-dvd-player/

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by keb33509

I would like to know where you got your 115,000,000 million estimate from.
The site I link has a chart from Nielson TV stating 290 million own at least 1 TV.
http://1x57.com/2012/01/22/how-many-...le-dvd-player/

I forget where I saw the stat - it was from Nielson. It was counting households, not individuals. There are roughly 330 million people in this country, but not 290 million households.

[bhampton]

Apple TV doesn't do amazon prime instant streaming or vudu.

Out of the "big three" they got 1: Hulu.

Roku is so much better,... Appletv needs a serious update.

[slimdude]

I don't why Apple invented this technology in the first place, knowing the challenges that entails of it's competitors. It's going to be very difficult to compete, and be successful as cable and satellite TV.

[pagemaster]

Originally Posted by slimdude

How can anybody enjoy watching movies, TV shows or TV in general on a 9" screen iPad screen. If I'm traveling, I'll would rather read a book, a magazine or sight see, instead of trying to watch anything on a screen that small. That would turn me off from watching TV show, movies, and everything else on TV.

The ipad would serve as the remote.

Originally Posted by bhampton

Apple TV doesn't do amazon prime instant streaming or vudu.

Out of the "big three" they got 1: Hulu.

Roku is so much better,... Appletv needs a serious update.

Apple does have Netflix. And you can mirror you account to the tv, not sure if you can get Amazon Prime on IOS.

Originally Posted by slimdude

I don't why Apple invented this technology in the first place, knowing the challenges that entails of it's competitors. It's going to be very difficult to compete, and be successful as cable and satellite TV.

They invented it to be competitive with their ecosystem vs all the rest

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by pagemaster

The ipad would serve as the remote.



Apple does have Netflix. And you can mirror you account to the tv, not sure if you can get Amazon Prime on IOS.



They invented it to be competitive with their ecosystem vs all the rest

iOS devices do amazon prime streaming. But when you mirror to appletv all you get is audio from amazon streaming.

[ewsjr]

Originally Posted by slimdude

I don't why Apple invented this technology in the first place, knowing the challenges that entails of it's competitors. It's going to be very difficult to compete, and be successful as cable and satellite TV.

I think they are only concerned with people who are Apple device users right now. The Airplay feature is really worth it if you have other Apple devices. I have one because it lets mean see anything I have stored on my iPad and iMac on my display and if I want to mirror something on the display from Netflix, etc. I can do that also. I own 4 Roku units that I think are the best for streaming (for me anyway, since I don't do my own media etc.) but the AppleTV does allow me to do things I want to do with the photos and slideshows I do have stored.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by ewsjr;7420662[B

]I think they are only concerned with people who are Apple device users right now.[/B] The Airplay feature is really worth it if you have other Apple devices. I have one because it lets mean see anything I have stored on my iPad and iMac on my display and if I want to mirror something on the display from Netflix, etc. I can do that also. I own 4 Roku units that I think are the best for streaming (for me anyway, since I don't do my own media etc.) but the AppleTV does allow me to do things I want to do with the photos and slideshows I do have stored.

If Apple TV is catered significantly to Apple users, then the technology was doomed from the beginning because, everybody doesn't use Apple. Even if I was a Apple user, I still wouldn't invest in Apple TV, I'll still subscribe to satellite.

[kong73]

I was thinking about getting it but I already use two PS3 as my Blu ray players and have sucky time Warner cable. I use amazon and amazon prime to stream new release I haven't seen, and Netflix for hard copy DVDs and Blu rays. The more I think about it the more I feel it would be a waste even if the price is good.

[richteer]

Originally Posted by slimdude

How can anybody enjoy watching movies, TV shows or TV in general on a 9" screen iPad screen. If I'm traveling, I'll would rather read a book, a magazine or sight see, instead of trying to watch anything on a screen that small. That would turn me off from watching TV show, movies, and everything else on TV.

I think you're misunderstanding me: we use our Apple TV to display content from our iPad (using AirPlay or mirroring) on our TV, rather than on the iPad's screen.

And I love watching movies on the iPad when flying. The screen is the right size, and I get to choose the movie and not worry about it being censored or interrupted by very important messages about the inflight shop that wants me to buy a sandwich for $5. Once I'm at my destination, I agree that sightseeing is the way to go!

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by keb33509

I would like to know where you got your 115,000,000 million estimate from.
The site I link has a chart from Nielson TV stating 290 million own at least 1 TV.
http://1x57.com/2012/01/22/how-many-...le-dvd-player/

115 million is Nielson's official number of domestic TV households. That's why one rating point = 1.15 million homes.

But I think as Pads and other portable devices more and more serve TV viewing, I think they're going to have to rethink what a rating point means and how it's calculated.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by Gremal

That is not going to satisfy investors who became accustomed to Apple's double-digit growth in innovations moving a greater volume of units. Shares were up in the $700s in September and now they're in the mid-$400s. Apple badly needs a revolutionary product instead of the continued evolutionary announcements. Unfortunately the only guy at Apple who seemed to know how to define market into product is now dead.

Most companies never produce a revolutionary product line. Apple has produced at least three. AppleTV was never intended to be a revolutionary product line.

The share price does not reflect reality. Apple's last earnings report was record breaking in many respects - it just didn't meet analysts' absurd expectations. Having said that, I think the next quarter will prove to be disappointing. But having said that, I don't think it would have made much difference if Mr. Jobs were still with us because the full product development cycles are actually around three years.

Apple still considers AppleTV to be a "hobby". Remember that it was released before most TVs had web connectivity and provided access to Netflix, Pandora, etc. And it was also released before the advent of Apple's AirPlay. So it's a bit less necessary now than it once was.

[pagemaster]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

Most companies never produce a revolutionary product line. Apple has produced at least three. AppleTV was never intended to be a revolutionary product line.

The share price does not reflect reality. Apple's last earnings report was record breaking in many respects - it just didn't meet analysts' absurd expectations. Having said that, I think the next quarter will prove to be disappointing. But having said that, I don't think it would have made much difference if Mr. Jobs were still with us because the full product development cycles are actually around three years.

Apple still considers AppleTV to be a "hobby". Remember that it was released before most TVs had web connectivity and provided access to Netflix, Pandora, etc. And it was also released before the advent of Apple's AirPlay. So it's a bit less necessary now than it once was.

I wouldn't say that apple considers it a hobby. Apple TV is just the logical extension of their product line, for anyone who use an apple product, it is a must.

I have been using iTunes since 2006 and I have never looked at anything else, it serves my needs well as I like to rent the occasional new release rental here and there and it play Netflix quite well.

I would like to see a la carte channels come to apple but we will see I guess

[Spicoli]

I have had first gen apple tv since the get go. i love it.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by pagemaster

I wouldn't say that apple considers it a hobby. Apple TV is just the logical extension of their product line, for anyone who use an apple product, it is a must.

I have been using iTunes since 2006 and I have never looked at anything else, it serves my needs well as I like to rent the occasional new release rental here and there and it play Netflix quite well.

I would like to see a la carte channels come to apple but we will see I guess

"Hobby" isn't my word - it's what both Steve Jobs and Tim Cook have said on numerous occasions.

From a December, 2012 article on "The Verge" site:

Apple CEO Tim Cook has hinted that the company will be focusing more heavily on either the Apple TV or a similar living room product. In an interview with NBC's Rock Center, Cook responded to a question about what was coming up next for Apple by saying that "when I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years."

"It’s an area of intense interest," Cook told NBC, "I can’t say more than that." The statement recalls Cook's previous comments about the Apple TV, which has been called a "hobby" since its launch five years ago. Cook used the same "intense interest" language around the TV business earlier this year, but he's also expressed ambivalence about the current product.

I would love "ala carte" cable channels, but it's not going to happen because even though I think the current system is unsustainable, it's not in the interest of either the MSOs or the cable networks to give up the status quo. What you will see is the availability on iTunes and via AppleTV (and from other distributors) of individual shows or series for sale without having to subscribe to a channel. But if you pay for just one show a day (at let's say $3), that's still more than a monthly cable bill.

The bigger issue is whether you'd be able to subscribe to the equivalent of a full cable service via an Apple (or the equivalent). If the cable networks provide that, the MSOs are going to go nuts and threaten to drop their channels. And streaming services are still a tiny fraction of the revenue from cable/satellite MSOs. So while Apple has been great at finding ways to disrupt markets, this one is going to be harder to change.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

"Hobby" isn't my word - it's what both Steve Jobs and Tim Cook have said on numerous occasions.

From a December, 2012 article on "The Verge" site:


I would love "ala carte" cable channels, but it's not going to happen because even though I think the current system is unsustainable, it's not in the interest of either the MSOs or the cable networks to give up the status quo. What you will see is the availability on iTunes and via AppleTV (and from other distributors) of individual shows or series for sale without having to subscribe to a channel. But if you pay for just one show a day (at let's say $3), that's still more than a monthly cable bill.

The bigger issue is whether you'd be able to subscribe to the equivalent of a full cable service via an Apple (or the equivalent). If the cable networks provide that, the MSOs are going to go nuts and threaten to drop their channels. And streaming services are still a tiny fraction of the revenue from cable/satellite MSOs. So while Apple has been great at finding ways to disrupt markets, this one is going to be harder to change.

Agreed. All this disruption talk is pie in the sky in my opinion. For example, if I cut the cord I would have no live premier league football.