Let me follow up my previous launching about the Apple television with some thoughts about the features Apple television lack and where the product goes from here .
I was traveling ( a bit for employment , a flake for pleasure ) when the Apple TV last arrived , so I had to permit my fellow Christopher Breen pen the official Macworld review . But I agree wholeheartedly with Chris ’s take on the Apple tv set . For what it was designed to do , the Apple TV is a virtually - staring intersection . Almost all my criticisms of it involve features that I wish it had , not problems with the features that it already has .
cyberspace streaming support . Apple should figure out with major Internet streaming content providers to make their offerings available on Apple tv set . Imagine if you could use your Apple TV to melodic line in a bouncy TV flow of CNN ’s Pipeline , or Major League Baseball ’s MLB.tv , or other live sources like BBC World News .
Browsing web television libraries . In this YouTube world , should n’t we be able to browse video - portion out internet site via the Apple TV ? A link to the top YouTube video in different categories would be a undecomposed head start .
grease one’s palms and browsing via the Apple Remote . You should be able-bodied to surf the iTunes Store via the Apple TV . But even if that ’s a moment further off , how about implementing the “ impulse bargain ” from within Apple TV ’s be tilt of the best - sell movies and television set shows ? If one of the top - sell movies catches my eye , why should I have to get up and go over to iTunes for corrupt it ? Let me bribe it straight from the Apple TV .
More podcasting . There are a hatful of video podcasts out there that lookgreaton the Apple TV . But the Apple TV ’s podcast carte is pretty mere . How about a Top 10 Podcasts listing , perhaps even broken into categories . And if we find a podcast that sound interesting , we should be able to playact back a exclusive episode or even take to that podcast immediately .
exposure flexibility . Okay , this is a criticism about a feature in the existing product . Right now you ca n’t well out photos , only sync them — bummer . And you ca n’t synchronise photos from a different estimator than the one you ’re synchronise everything else from — three-fold bummer ! I keep my pic library on one computer in my house , and keep my music and TV library on a unlike system . Apple television should be capable to stream photosandshould take into account user to beak and pick out its synchronization sources for different culture medium types .
More HD video . More of an iTunes way out than an Apple TV issue , but they ’re interrelated . Apple TV can play back 1280 - by-720 video at 24 frames per second — and since most TV shows are shot on film , 24 frame per second should make out just ok . So let ’s get some HD video up on iTunes ! Even an “ HD light ” 960 - by-540 clipping looksawesomewhen played back on the Apple TV . ( And yes , future version of Apple TV need to be capable to toy 1080i , if not 1080p , HD video files . )
videodisk tone audio . It ’s a ignominy that the Apple TV has an opthalmic audio out port but does n’t have any multi - channel audio to act as back . So when that young HD content comes out on iTunes , make certain it occur with a 5.1 audio track .
TiVo keep . I actually do n’t want Apple TV to become a TiVo , for various reasons , most of which need the harebrained complexness of the cable , satellite , and over - the - line television world . ( There ’s a whole other web log entry in that one . ) However , it sure as shooting would be nice if the Apple TV recreate well with others . For example , what if the Apple TV could associate to any TiVo boxes in your star sign and play back all the programs stored on their hard drive ?
Clearly , when it fall to Apple TV , the sky ’s the limit . The unspoiled news is , the existing Cartesian product is passably darned good all by itself . I ca n’t wait to see what comes next — from Apple and from those enterprising hackers out there — but in the meantime I ’m middling impressed with what ’s been done so far .
