Gadzooki

Apple TV Ready To Ship?

by

appleitvf (Custom).jpgThe revolution will be televised, or so Apple says. We mentioned Apple TV a while back when Apple hit the news about no longer being a “computer” company, but instead simply “Apple, Inc.” Everyone was excited about this new offering by Apple. The Apple TV promised to change the way you watch TV. Well, it’s not really that revolutionary when it comes to technologies used, since IP-based television has been around for a while. But it’s Apple. And it’s supposed to be cool.

Apple TV basically lets you watch iTunes content on your TV. So these can be videos and full-length movies downloaded (or perhaps bought?) off the iTunes store. So it’s a bit like streaming IPTV services with video-on-demand, since you get to select which shows you want to watch, but this time you buy your videos from iTunes. And it’s like TIVO, since all your videos are saved for you to watch at your pleasure.

But then of course, this is Apple, so that makes all the difference.

Apple TV puts your iTunes library — movies, TV shows, music, and podcasts — plus movie trailers from Apple.com on your TV. And your digital photos from iPhoto on a Mac or Adobe Photoshop Elements or Adobe Album on a Windows PC appear in high definition, so you can put on a stunning big-screen slideshow.

The Apple TV does all this wirelessly, via WiFi. You can even connect up to five computers and all these can share videos, music, and photos for viewing on the TV. What’s great is that the Apple TV can also store up to 50 hours worth of videos, so it can both be used to play streamed media from your computers, or files saved locally.

Forevergeek hints that the Apple TV is ready to ship. The Apple TV is priced at $299. You can try reserving through your local Apple Store, but I hear these things might already have been sold out or all reserved through online stores by now.

IPTV Will Change Everything

by

In my view, this year’s CES is all about enabling pervasive content distribution. And the key to everyone’s strategy here, whether Microsoft (via XBox 360) or Apple (via Apple TV), is IPTV.

Let’s be clear. IPTV is disruptive technology. Seriously. There is no better example of what a disruptive technology would look like. This is VoIP multiplied by a million.

So what exactly is the big deal? Simply put: IPTV shakes video distribution to its core. It takes control away from the big cable companies. It makes entry into cable distribution much easier, increasing competition. It puts choice in the hands of consumers. It explodes constraints: limitless channels anyone?

At a basic level, IPTV is going to create a situation where consumers only pay for the channels they want to subscribe to. That means that the channels that survive will be the ones that people want.

Imagine this situation: ESPN is the dominant sports channel. Lots of guys currently pay $50 a month or more basically to get ESPN. Sure, lots of other channels come along with it, but who cares about those channels.

Ok. So with IPTV, if things go well, you’ll be able to choose ESPN and get rid of all the other channels you don’t want (Style?).

Well, let’s say that ESPN gets on its high-horses and starts pricing a monthly subscription to its channel for $35. That seems too high. IPTV makes it easy for a competitor sports channel to come along and charge $2/month or so, undercut ESPN and force ESPNs hand to lower their prices. This is quite different than the current cable situation, with limited channels, where entry into the market is EXTREMELY hard (witness the NFL Networks desperate attempts to get added this past season).

Just thinking about the possibilities makes me shiver with excitement. This is a whole new frontier and I’m glad that I’ll be able to witness it’s development.

MatrixStream HD IPTV set-top box

by

MatrixStream HD IPTV set-top boxOK, that didn’t sound like a name for the next pandemic scare, right? Of course, HD IPTV stands for High Definition Internet-Protocol Television. Check out the MatrixStream high-def IPTV set-top box:

MatrixStream Technologies, Inc., will soon be releasing the world’s first H.264 AVC (advance video codec) Video on Demand and IPTV Set Top Box (STB) and PC Player capable of the highest of high definition (HD) signal formats with 1080 vertical pixels by 1920 horizontal pixels.

The STB also allows users to view HDTV and DVD videos right from their IP network. Simply plug in the STB to the IP network and home theater system, and the full functionality of Video-On-Demand is ready to access.

MatrixStream was an exhibitor at CES 2006, where they said the set-top-boxes will be available for sale by end of first quarter 2006.

Does this spell the demise of TV and Cable as we know it? I mean it’s high-def and it’s on-demand!