Apple TV Future Looks Bright
Many questions have been raised concerning the
Apple TV, a product Steve Jobs described as a "hobby" at the All Things Digital conference. Jobs continued to explain "A lot of people have tried and failed to make that a business". This was viewed by many as a hint to the likely demise of the much admired product.
Recently rumors have started to emerge that suggest a strong future for the Apple TV. At the top of the list is movie rentals. AppleInsider posted recently confirmed details about $2-6 movie rentals coming to iTunes 7.6 at Macworld. It seems logical that you would also be able to stream, sync, or purchase the same movies from your Apple TV. Rentals of inexpensive, new release, DVD quality movies would surely help sell Apple TV's.
Rumors have also circulated that suggest a new model with a built-in Blu-ray player. There does not appear to be a downside to this feature, though it seems unlikely that they would add a drive and movie rentals.
Another feature that was discussed months ago is Digital Video Recorder (DVR) functionality. This feature could be made available to first generation owners by the use of a third party USB TV tuner. The only major issue is the Apple TV's limited internal storage. One possible solution is to save to network accessible storage.
It would be nice to see other software enhancements to the Apple TV such as having the photos application read iPhoto events and being able to configure the rewind/fast-forward jump increments.
We are just a day away from the much anticipated Macworld Conference & Expo. All major Apple announcements will be presented by Steve Jobs on Tuesday at 9:00 AM during the keynote address. Keep your fingers crossed for the Apple TV!
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