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AirPlay, Apple TV & iCloud: Apple’s Stealth Attack on the LIving Room
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Apple?s share of the online video sales market is on the rise again after a falling considerably due to new competition, an IHS iSuppli study revealed on Monday. Apple?s market share rose slightly from 65.9 to 65.8 percent during the first half of 2011, when compared to the same period in 2010. It?s a small increase, but it reverses a negative trend and also brings the largest increase in revenue for any online video retailer.
IHS cited the ?rising usage of Apple?s AirPlay system,? which allows streaming of video from Apple?s mobile devices or computers to the Apple TV, as one of the primary sources for the increased popularity of Apple?s iTunes service, and also pointed to the ?growing installed base of the iPad and price promotions? as causal factors.
...there?s a fairly clear avenue for Apple to take for continued growth: Make sure video purchased through the iTunes Store is available to any and all of the company?s devices, and make it easy to share content from one device to another. If it can manage to secure a deal with content providers like the one that allowed iTunes in the cloud to backup and share music across devices, that would be a good next step.
iCloud distributes the content. Apple TV turns your TV into an iOS device. AirPlay displays your content on any iOS device you own. The attack is subtle and slow, but it is also quietly succeeding. Apple needs to give this trend a push by:
1) Licensing AirPlay to every audio and video device possible.
2) Push, push, push the sale of Apple TVs, possibly by lowering the price, if practical. Apple TV is not a money-making proposition. It is a peripheral used to extend the iOS paradigm to one’s TV. Think of Apple TV as the equivalent of iTunes and the App Store. iTunes sold hardware by putting music on our devices. The App store sold hardware by putting software on our devices. Apple TV will sell hardware by putting the content of our iOS devices on our TVs.
3) Acquire exclusive content. ESPN finally made it when it acquired exclusive sports content for their network. Recently Netflix acquired exclusive rights to distribute the much anticipated mini-series “House of Cards”. When Apple acquires exclusive content, they will draw a new audience and once consumers are introduced to AirPlay, Apple TV and iCloud, they’re never going back.
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We need and Apple TV 3. As much as I love the ATV functionality, it’s a pain to have to switch video feeds on my TV from my cable box to the ATV to view content. ATV3 need to be *the* central hub and integrate this function where switching between feeds to the TV is handled seamlessly. This would allow easier, instant streaming via AirPlay w/o the hassle of feed switching.
Hoping for something like this in the next iteration.
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“Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.”
- Jimi Hendrix -
As much as I love the ATV functionality, it’s a pain to have to switch video feeds on my TV from my cable box to the ATV to view content.
Get an AV receiver that will switch your video feeds for you. This also keeps most cables plugged into one unit, and sound output synchronized and passed to the best speakers.
I have half a dozen video units plugged into my Denon receiver, and it’s a one click operation to switch between them.
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1) Licensing AirPlay to every audio and video device possible.
2) Push, push, push the sale of Apple TVs, possibly by lowering the price, if practical. Apple TV is not a money-making proposition. It is a peripheral used to extend the iOS paradigm to one’s TV. Think of Apple TV as the equivalent of iTunes and the App Store. iTunes sold hardware by putting music on our devices. The App store sold hardware by putting software on our devices. Apple TV will sell hardware by putting the content of our iOS devices on our TVs.
3) Acquire exclusive content. ESPN finally made it when it acquired exclusive sports content for their network. Recently Netflix acquired exclusive rights to distribute the much anticipated mini-series “House of Cards”. When Apple acquires exclusive content, they will draw a new audience and once consumers are introduced to AirPlay, Apple TV and iCloud, they’re never going back.
I think Apple is already licensing AirPlay, but I agree they need to push it. I think $99 is low enough. The next version with an A5 will be a fantastic deal at that price.
I’m not so sure about the exclusive content. I think it’s more important that all the content deliverers work great on iOS. Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, Amazon streaming, etc.
I’m not sure how technically this will be done, but it seems to me that there should be some way of taking advantage of the fact that Apple TV + iPad/iPhone/iPod touch = two A5 processors (soon). The console vid game market is about to be bushwacked.
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As much as I love the ATV functionality, it’s a pain to have to switch video feeds on my TV from my cable box to the ATV to view content.
Get an AV receiver that will switch your video feeds for you. This also keeps most cables plugged into one unit, and sound output synchronized and passed to the best speakers.
I have half a dozen video units plugged into my Denon receiver, and it’s a one click operation to switch between them.
I see your point but I’m thinking Apple want to be the “hub” in the living room. Make the switch automatic to the AirPlay feed if it is called and other content is currently being displayed.
Plus I don’t want to spend $400-500 on a new receiver.Signature
“Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.”
- Jimi Hendrix -
I see your point but I’m thinking Apple want to be the “hub” in the living room. Make the switch automatic to the AirPlay feed if it is called and other content is currently being displayed.
Plus I don’t want to spend $400-500 on a new receiver.Yes, but look at the back of this mid-range receiver:
OK, so only about 1/2 of these plugs are A/V inputs, but even those wouldn’t fit on the ATV V1, much less the tiny ATV V2. And still no room for speaker posts…
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I agree with dduck. That is how I have my system configured. I still have a DVD player plus Comcast coming in so I need the ability to easily switch to those inputs. My receiver also handles my sound system (Bose 501s and an AC-10 center speaker). This isn’t something I would want Apple to have to worry about. Sound systems are a commodity market item that Apple shouldn’t get into. This is the peripheral market Apple got out of (for the most part).
The only way to get rid of Comcast would be for an AppleTV to serve as the source for realtime TV as well as having a monthly service charge for movies and TV shows. I’m not sure Apple wants to get involved that deep, at least not right now.
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lizardliquer
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The stealth that I want to see is a voice controller for the search function. That remote is a pain in the kester. My iPhone and iPad do better but voice control would be much better IMHO. Maybe ios5???? hope, hope, hope.
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To be clear:
I agree with incorrigible.
I do wish that the A/V world would standardize on a nice, small connector and a wireless protocol, and soon. But until that day when this has come and long gone, and the last legacy unit has given up its spirit, all those old connectors will still be with us :(
We are not even on a pure HDMI setup yet, and probably won’t be until such time as the Wii and PS2 are dead and gone.
[ Edited: 25 August 2011 12:43 PM by dduck ] -
To be clear:
I agree with incorrigible.
I do wish that the A/V world would standardize on a nice, small connector and a wireless protocol, and soon. But until that day when this has come and long gone, and the last legacy unit has given up its spirit, all those old connectors will still be with us :(
We are not even on a pure HDMI setup yet, and probably won’t be until such time as the Wii and PS2 are dead and gone.
+1
Thunderbolt?
Signature
“Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.”
- Jimi Hendrix -
... look at the back of this mid-range receiver…
OK, so only about 1/2 of these plugs are A/V inputs, but even those wouldn’t fit on the ATV V1, much less the tiny ATV V2. And still no room for speaker posts...
Wireless and digital is the future.
Speakers around the room with wire pairs running to a central ‘receiver’ is an old school approach.
Think about powered speakers (integral amplifier in each speaker) with each plugged into a nearby AC wall outlet. Wireless for everything else. Each speaker has its own wireless receiver, coordinated, controlled and streamed from whatever AirPlay audio source may be involved (iPad, Apple TV, Mac, etc). Think about Airplay capability in _every_ speaker.
If the speakers are smart, controlled/streamed via wireless protocol, what important job does the A/V receiver still have?
Video routing? Again, with Airplay in all devices, video routing no longer needs a massive central hardware device. Legacy video source devices will need something, but Apple doesn’t care much about them.
I look forward to retiring my A/V receiver, and replacing it with NO central device, other than some form of iTV/Airplay, new Airplay speakers and a nice big Airplay screen.
