2007 saw the release of a very unique and interesting Apple product that has changed the face of the consumer electronics world. Obviously, that product was iPhone. But 2007 also saw the release of the Apple TV.
Overshadowed by almost every other product Apple has released, the Apple TV seems like the odd one out in Apple’s product line. Aficionados of the device have been disappointed as Stevenotes have came and gone with no significant update to the original Apple TV.
Lately, however, rumors have been swirling around a potential Apple TV price drop to $99. Apple could drop the price without losing money, it has been said, by utilizing flash-based memory instead of hard disk drives. In addition, there have been rumors indicating the Apple TV will stream content to users, instead of storing content locally. Finally, the last major rumor circulating around the Apple TV is that it will, in the future, use a variation of the iOS software found on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. And now, you can add this to that laundry list of rumors: TV show rentals for 99 cents a piece.
Things have changed considerably since Apple first began selling TV shows in the iTunes store. Namely, streaming web video took off thanks to sites like Hulu, Netflix, and so on. Those sites have even made the foray into the living room, with Netflix being offered on a variety of set-top boxes and consoles, and Hulu Plus soon to be a standard in homes, thanks to participating TV manufacturers. Apple is once again squaring off with friend-turned-rival Google, who have, relatively recently, announced Google TV, their Android-based entertainment OS for the living room. Google has taken the same approach it has with mobile phones, in that Google TV, when it launches, will be offered on many different set top boxes, and it will also be built into many TVs themselves.
Apple already offers movie rentals in its iTunes store, so one would assume the process will be similar: one will have 30 days, from time of purchase, to start watching a show, and once started, the show will expire in 24 hours. Currently, Apple sells TV shows for $1.99 (standard quality) and $2.99 (HD quality), but it remains to be seen if 99 cents will be the only price point, or if there will continue to be a price division based on quality.
If Apple rolled out an Apple TV with TV show rentals, would you sign up? Or are Hulu Plus or Netflix, or maybe even the prospect of Google TV, suitable enough for you? Let us know in the comments.
Read [NewTeeVee]
AppleTV rentals are a good option for me as the other services are US only (I am UK). Movie rentals work well, and I hope TV Show rentals will work just as well, although I would have liked an option for a monthly subscription. Looking forward to a new UI too, as it is looking a little old now.
Apple supports only 720p resolution not 1080p which actually doesn’t matter for video streaming. Coming to image quality, you surely gonna get impressed with it. Coming to network performance, you don’t face any problem while streaming content off the Internet. However the streaming speed is affected by the speed of your broadband connection.
http://www.applereviewed.net/review-of-apple-tv.html