iPad TV?
Could Apple’s (AAPL) future as a multichannel video distributor lie not with AppleTV but with the iPad? Might the “best of TV” iTunes subscription offering the company has been pitching to TV networks since last November be primarily intended for that device, which Apple is positioning as the successor to its sleeper AppleTV platform? With company executives still dismissing AppleTV as a “hobby” and TV itself becoming a more personal, intimate experience, it’s worth thinking about.
Consider this scenario from Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffett.
Imagine a portable set top box, but with its own killer screen. When in the home, it would be docked in a cradle connected to iTunes via a wired broadband pipe. Navigation of programming guides and iTunes listings would occur on the iPad, using an intuitive touch interface. Output would go directly to the wide-screen TV on the wall…until you left the house. Then, you’d simply pop the device out of its cradle and take it with you. And in the process, you’d be taking your TV with you as well. A 3G (and eventually 4G) wireless connection would allow you to keep watching live TV in the back of the car or cab. Once you got on the airplane you could choose from a library of your favorite shows saved on your DVR…which also happens to be a half-inch thick ergonomically gorgeous high definition tilt-sensitive screen that fits comfortably in your hands.
A dockable, portable set-top box with LED-backlit widescreen display? Seems a bit of a stretch at this point. And it would be enormously bandwidth-intensive. But it’s not entirely inconceivable, is it?
UPDATE: Mark Sigal recently made a similar observation over at O’Reilly Radar, using MLB’s iPad app as an example:
Similarly, MLB (Major League Baseball) showcased their MLB app, which overlays graphics, information feeds, video clips and live game programming in a way that is simultaneously immersive, interactive and highly entertaining. It is both suggestive of a media-centric killer app for the IPad and a bellwether for the future of TV Anywhere, yet another reason that I believe Apple’s ambitions with respect to Apple TV remain very much alive.
Comments
I blogged on this exact same point when the iPad was announced, noting:
“MLB (Major League Baseball) showcased their MLB app, which overlays graphics, information feeds, video clips and live game programming in a way that is simultaneously immersive, interactive and highly entertaining. It is both suggestive of a media-centric killer app for the IPad and a bellwether for the future of TV Anywhere, yet another reason that I believe Apple's ambitions with respect to Apple TV remain very much alive.”
Check out the full post, if interested:
Check Mate: Apple's iPad, and Google's Next Move
http://radar.oreilly.com/2010/01/the-chess-gran...
Mark
Posted by hypermark at February 6th, 2010 at 12:52 amWe use an old Mac Book for our set top box/dvr. The problem is, and I think the iPad would be the same, that what do you watch when someone has taken the iPad on the road?
Posted by bjndlb at February 6th, 2010 at 1:13 amIf you are going to use an iPad to drive your home entertainment system, you don't take that iPad on the road. You get another iPad for the road.
Posted by JohnDoey at February 6th, 2010 at 2:23 amWe have no clue what the iPad is going to be.
Posted by davebarnes at February 6th, 2010 at 3:44 amEvery pundit should just stop writing about it now and wait 1 year before discussing it again.
> Imagine …
This mysterious future has been here since the first iPod supported video. Only the size of the built-in screen has grown. I rent movies on my iPhone and sometimes watch them on a big screen and sometimes on the device if I am traveling. My iPhone is already my TV.
The original vision of AppleTV was that it would just receive video from iTunes on a Mac/PC. But iPod touch and iPhone only have Wi-Fi “b” which is too slow for video. The iPad has “n” like a Mac, so it should be possible to watch whatever is on your iPad on your TV wirelessly via AppleTV.
If you put the touch device in a dock next to the TV that means you lose the touch interface, and you have to get out a remote control. Not very satisfying. The TV just wants to be a Wi-Fi device that can play video off any other device on the network, but you still likely want an AppleTV-like device hooked up to the TV at all times so even if there are no devices around, the TV can do something on its own.
Posted by JohnDoey at February 6th, 2010 at 3:44 amThis Idea of Apple is very good. iPod with TV is a very great Idea.Camera Battery Charger
Posted by sujankhera at February 6th, 2010 at 11:20 amI've got a time-stamped email from last year telling essentially the same story. Current WiFi (rev N) is more than fast enough to support streaming HD content from a hard drive with WiFi (hmm, Apple TV? or perhaps a Time Capsule if you only want a mere two TB of content). With a ten hour battery, who needs a dock? A dock is potentially convenient, but also potentially not. For lack of an HDMI output, the iPad cannot meet a whole family's big screen needs today, but that could come in “iPad Pro” or iPad 2.0.
Where do I sign up to get paid to write this stuff myself?
Posted by demodave at February 6th, 2010 at 4:27 pmiPhone and iPod Touch users can already carry their TV service anywhere by using a device like Slingbox or ElGato's EyeTV system.
Posted by An_Optimist at February 6th, 2010 at 5:52 pmI'd just buy a Mac Mini to drive the TV. Why dedicate a portable device? It's about the same price, has more memory and it can play flash…
Posted by bjndlb at February 6th, 2010 at 6:14 pmThanks, Mark. Wish I'd seen your post earlier. I've added a pointer to it in the body of the post.
Posted by JohnPaczkowski at February 6th, 2010 at 7:24 pmAwesome, John. Thank you so much. Have a great day!
Mark
Posted by hypermark at February 6th, 2010 at 7:48 pmSha! And monkeys will come flyin' out of my butt! :)
Posted by demodave at February 6th, 2010 at 9:10 pmBuy another one. :o)
Posted by sean5155 at February 7th, 2010 at 12:44 amI intend to stream some content from my iPad to my HDTV via Apple TV, just as I do with my MacBook Air. But, the iPad is most important as a MOBILE device. The Apple TV, despite being maligned, serves adequately as a beside the set box.
Posted by Sophlady at February 8th, 2010 at 8:45 am