Remember the first version of apple TV, it sucked, simply a failure. Even Jobs himself admitted that Apple missed the mark big time. But that is about to change. Apple has a new strategy for the once dead device. Apple plans to unhitch it from the computer, coupled with online movie rentals that will be available in high-definition. All that Apple needs it to have all the pieces of the puzzles together, to conquer the living room, but do they?
“Digital living room” has been a tough nut to crack, admits Steve Jobs. “All of us have tried: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, TiVo, Vudu, Netflix, Blockbuster,” Jobs said “We’ve all missed. No one’s succeeded yet.”
The dilemma is in finding a way to a way to shift video from the Web and the PCs in home offices to the big-screen TVs and home entertainment centers in living rooms. This latest effort is very important to the company. The iPhone, the iPod, the Mac’s all have been a hit, with the flow being the Apple TV, and the unproven backup device.
This is apples plan:
Starting next month apple will start renting digital movies including some HD movies.
People who own the Apple TV set-top box will be able to rent movies directly from their living rooms and begin watching them within minutes.
“We think it’s a revolution,” Jobs said. “We think we’ve got it all together.”
This could be great; think of what iTunes did for CD’s (Music) this could do the same to DVD (movies)
The greatest challenge will be in having the movies priced right. But what is the right price for a movie rental online, $1.99, $3.99, 5.99 it is hard to put a price.
Roughly 10% of all movies Apple will offer will be in HD, and this number is poised to grow as the popularity for HDTV’s continue to grow.
In addition the new service will offer movies from all the major studios. That’s huge; because the current video download services little support from only a few of the major studios.
What is phenomenal about this device is that users will download movies directly to the Apple TV and start watching immediately, just like iTunes on the iPod. No computers required. It is all about making it easy for the consumer to navigate on the screen easily.
But it will not be that easy like the iTunes were, why? Well, everyone is currently on this space, from Microsoft to Vudu, all working on some version of the Digital living room. Sony for example has it Blu-Ray discs, including 6000 movie titles with half that in HD stating in 2009. Netflix has more titles than Apple, gee wee, that’s going to be tough. Netflix customers can keep their movies for as long as they want, while Apples movies will probably expire after a certain period.
The problem does not end there… Comcast, Verizon, Charter and others all have their own boxes that they rent/ give to consumers who subscribe to their services. Will these customers be willing to add an additional box to their living room?
What makes Apple think that these companies will not add similar features into these boxes if Apple is successful?
Apple has more hurdles before it can get it right. There are sharks in this ocean, but then I might be wrong, let’s wait and see whether apple will actually swim.
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AAPL: Bullish
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AMZN: Bullish
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By: Movies and Film Blog » Apple TV Will it Succeed? on February 13, 2008
at 11:11 am