From LoopRumors

Apple TV update soon?
September 10th, 2007 |

Very reliable sources are informing LOOPRumors that Apple is working on a major update to Apple TV which will include an option for the iTunes Store.

In April 2006, we told you Apple was developing a mobile version of the iTMS. On September 5th, Apple introduced the mobile version of the iTunes Music Store on the iPod touch.

This technology will soon be ported over to the Apple TV, allowing users to download songs and ‘rent’ movies from their living room chair, essentially eliminating the desktop computer from the purchase.

Does anyone else think that if movie rentals are coming soon that a ‘Special Event’ would likely happen to announce this? ... maybe in conjunction with the price cut for TV shows ... early October seems possible.

I really hope this happens this fall.

[quote author=“Derrick”]Does anyone else think that if movie rentals are coming soon that a ‘Special Event’ would likely happen to announce this? ... maybe in conjunction with the price cut for TV shows ... early October seems possible.

I really hope this happens this fall.

October is Leopard, maybe November? Hopefully sooner, but we also have EU iPhone contracts to hear about as well.

HAB

I rarely use my Apple TV, unfortunately. Movie rentals (or even TV shows at US iTunes store prices) would transform this.

(edit: Rural location currently ties me to an extraordinary UK government mandated old-style monopoly in the form of Sky TV - even free-to-view channels can only be viewed with Sky equipment, so no Elgato solution.)

do not know about special event but I think before the 10th of October. The content providers are going to see millions of tiny theatres (iTouch and iPhone) going without their productions if they do not sign up for holiday season. Imminent IMO.

Meanwhile, even as Jobs reportedly tries to strong-arm the studios into allowing 99c/episode downloads, in the UK we are being ripped off to the tune of almost $4/episode.

Frankly I couldn’t care less who is to blame (and obviously its the studios) - I just want cheap, affordable downloads, right now. This absurd state of affairs where everyone outside of the US is literally fleeced and robbed blind if they want to download legally has got to stop. These greedy bastards need to be lined up against the wall and shot. There’s no hope for this business model while consumers are being so blatantly ripped off. Somehow, Jobs needs to get this sorted, and soon. Lets hope he can convince Disney to lead the way and allow 99c TV downloads - and that it translates into - at worst - 99p in the UK. That’s still almost $2, but a lot better than $4 :x

By the way, if anyone in the “rest of the world” is fed up with this bullshit, just open a US iTunes account using a US PayPal account to fund it. Its not hard to set up, and there are plenty of instructions all over the net explaining how to do it. Then you can download at US prices to your heart’s content, wherever you are.

[quote author=“sleepygeek”](edit: Rural location currently ties me to an extraordinary UK government mandated old-style monopoly in the form of Sky TV - even free-to-view channels can only be viewed with Sky equipment, so no Elgato solution.)

Tell me about it. We’ve got FreeSat, but as we only have one FreeSat decoder, if that’s being used, you can only watch terrestrial on another TV.

And to think that our part of the UK is one of the first areas to lose the analogue signal when there is not sufficient coverage by digital TV transmitters in this area, unlike places like London, which in my book should be first place where they switch off the analogue signal.

Once again, people in rural areas get shafted by the Labour government. B*****ds…

[quote author=“wheeles”]Once again, people in rural areas get shafted by the Labour government. B*****ds…

Well Murdoch’s papers have supported them in the last 2 elections, I believe, so fair enough to give him a million or two tied viewers.

(UK readers: the places to read about this stuff: digitalspy.co.uk and avforums.com
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=142 )

Holding off on apple TV until it can do DVR, gigabit Ethernet, and surf the net ‘picture-in-picture’.

Perhaps the ultimate “interactive TV” device if they build it right.

HAB

Ars Technica seems to think the iTunes Store/AppleTV pairing is a long way off. Basically they point out that the WI-FI ipods and Touch can’t download video, but need to be synced to a computer; so why expect the AppleTV to be any different.

[quote author=“willrob”]... the WI-FI ipods and Touch can’t download video, but need to be synced to a computer; so why expect the AppleTV to be any different.

The differences I see are capacity (limited on mobile vs lots on settop) and reliable bandwidth (user experience). Eventually a video download at Starbucks will tax neither device nor bandwidth. But Apple TV could bring the on-demand content now with a software update that adds iTS to the menu.

aTV has broadband speeds, the others don’t necessarily have that (sometimes with Wi-Fi). Also, aTV is the only one of the three that has a big screen attached.

HAB

[quote author=“HotAirBaffoon”][quote author=“willrob”] Ars Technica seems to think the iTunes Store/AppleTV pairing is a long way off. Basically they point out that the WI-FI ipods and Touch can’t download video, but need to be synced to a computer; so why expect the AppleTV to be any different.

aTV has broadband speeds, the others don’t necessarily have that (sometimes with Wi-Fi). Also, aTV is the only one of the three that has a big screen attached.

Bingo On this occasion I have to say that Ars is talking out of its….

I don’t see Apple moving the Apple TV to a fully independent download and playback solution…yet.

Give it a couple of years. There are too many other avenues to pursue before this kind of initiative.

I don’t see Apple moving the Apple TV to a fully independent download and playback solution…yet.
Give it a couple of years. There are too many other avenues to pursue before this kind of initiative.

I won’t be fully “independent” but it will download straight to the Apple TV and reverse-sync to your iTunes library on your Mac and PC, I think that’s a given.