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Wow, now that would be great functionality to have!

Mar 13, 08 - 11:08 am Comment from: Think

Yes. A possible replacement for my ReplayTV?
Only if I can stream to other Macs in the house.
Very interesting.

Oh joy. The opportunity to record hundreds of crappy TV shows by remote control. What a boon to humankind!

Now this would finally be something that would make the Apple TV a worthwhile purchase for me. While it has appeal for others right now, I'm content to use my PowerMac for downloading movies and don't see the value of the ATV. But if it was a true Tivo replacement...

Mar 13, 08 - 11:18 am Comment from: Jay-Z

I have been dying for Apple to create a DVR system that integrated with iTunes and my iPhone. I thought I could do it with TiVo, but the CCI copy protection issues made it impossible to do so on every channel except broadcast channels.

I questioned whether or not it made business sense for them, but I certainly hope 2nd generation Apple TV hardware includes tuners and CableCARD (or whatever the latest iteration of CableCARD is) so I can dump my Time Warner DVR.

Mar 13, 08 - 11:19 am Comment from: Jocko Flocko

Finally some evidence that this might happen... If the AppleTV had some DVR capabilities, I'd go buy one today. It would be nice to avoid the monthly fee that Comcast charges to rent their DVR box.

I wonder how Apple will deal with offering the DVR capability while trying to sell the same content through iTunes.

Well, if you believe they only have the content to drive the hardware uptake, a DVR option makes the itunes side less necessary. It would allow Apple to spin off the itunes as a separate entity at some point down the road.

Beryllium, you're an idiot. I currently use a DVR to record many documentaries from the Discovery, Science, History, and Military channels. Plus Lost, The Office, and Galactica. Nothing wrong with that.

Mar 13, 08 - 11:23 am Comment from: GizmoDan

I would SOOOOOOO buy one if they came out with this!

Mar 13, 08 - 11:25 am Comment from: Jay-Z

I have also been waiting for Apple to update the remote to something a little more substantial.

Mar 13, 08 - 11:28 am Comment from: NCIceman

Awesome, hope Dish Network uses it for future settop boxes...

Mar 13, 08 - 11:37 am Comment from: Think

So the big question:
Will it record HD and then stream it to another TV or Mac or AppleTV?

Current Cable/Satalite DVRs suck. You need a DVR for each TV you want to watch and you can't record on one box and send to the other.

Hence, record everything on one in Livingroom. Stream to kids playroom or bedroom or kitchen depending on who or what is watching.

What's LOST?

Mar 13, 08 - 11:42 am Comment from: Jay-Z

@ Think:

You might want to see if you can get FiOS in your area. My grandparents have it and they have 1 DVR and 1 standard cable box, and the DVR will stream recorded shows to the regular cable box.

finally a device that I can sell to my customers with a great user interface! Motorola and Tivo's interfaces Suck!

Perfect. Let me pay for the content I want to watch instead of forcing me to pay $55 a month for 58,000 hours of content poured into my house of which our entire family can consume only a portion of 1%.

NOW we're talking!

I'm all for Apple creating a set-top box that can do the following:

1. Receive over the air HD Digital broadcasts.
2. Receive Cable and has Cable Card abilities
3. Works like a DVR... record and pause live TV
4. Can play all media from my computer, or from the iTunes store

Sign me up

MDW Word = have. I just have to HAVE one

Will Apple TV DVR cannibalize iTunes Movie Rentals and Videos?

My guess, perhaps ! That's why I would be surprised to see this coming. At the same time, as where saying Tim Cook a few days ago about iPod Touch cannibalizing a little bit iPhone:

"we'd rather Apple cannibalize Apple than somebody else cannibalize Apple".

So after a thought, DVR could be a nice add-on to Apple TV and make it an instant international hit.

Mar 13, 08 - 11:59 am Comment from: eMax

This wont be a "tunable" DVR like everyone thinks.

This is going to be an IPTV Box. I will bet that apple has worked out some kind of deal with IPTV providers, or its going to become one.

They can't get this sucker to market fast enough.

Mar 13, 08 - 12:07 pm Comment from: Jay-Z

@ Mac+:

Doubt an Apple TV DVR would cannibalize much in terms of movie rentals. As for videos, everyone talks about how video downloads make no money, and a DVR integrated with iTunes could be interesting.

Say there are 3 shows you want to record at the same time, and the Apple TV only has 2 tuners. Integrating with the iTunes Store would allow you to say "record this and this, and download this from iTunes." Another instance where this would be useful is if your cable or power goes out. The Apple TV pops up and says it couldn't record X, Y, and Z because a signal was not available, but they are available for download from iTunes. Of course, it would be great if they made the downloads free, but unfortunately I don't see that happening.

Mar 13, 08 - 12:07 pm Comment from: Wandering joe

"They can't get this sucker to market fast enough."
Wasn't that what Hoover said??

Mar 13, 08 - 12:14 pm Comment from: Buster

I want it (the Apple DVR that is). I love/hate my current DVR (no TiVo here). I love it because recording HD programs is great. I hate it because it has software problems (pixelation, temporary HD locks) that is onl;y cured by remote booting by the cable company.

Apple makes great hardware and software...a win win situation.

The many pictures in the Appleinsider article point out just how much thought has gone into the project and how advanced the implementation must be for the GUI to be so thoroughly described. Still, I don't believe we're going to see this anytime soon. After all, it's just "a hobby."

Mar 13, 08 - 12:20 pm Comment from: Rich Apple person

Apple moving to consumer electronics company? Big mistake if they think they can compete with Sony, Samsung and others. I would rather they get OS and updates out on time rather than focusing on TV

Mar 13, 08 - 12:23 pm Comment from: flappo

a combo of remote buddy for ipod touch / iphone and eyetv does a similar thing - now

Lots of people are talking about tuner cards and the like - I don't see it - all they need to do is upgrade the software so that you can plug in an Elgato device to the USB port and write an elegant front end. BINGO,

Mar 13, 08 - 12:58 pm Comment from: Zeke

@Rob: "What's LOST?"

You must have been marooned on a South Pacific island for a few years. Did your plane crash there, maybe? Do 60's pop songs keep running in the background?

I'm still hoping for an iTurntable as we all know how much better vinyl sounds than 128Khz .mp3s. Maybe they could integrate in a VCR, too.

If the Tv networks won't sell movies or shows on iTunes then Apple might as well add DVR to the i system.
Can't buy NBC shows? Then record and load onto iPod.
Still would like to see Apple TV play streaming shows from the major networks, good bye cable.

Mar 13, 08 - 01:24 pm Comment from: rahrens

Mark, tuner cards contain the chips that will perform the conversions necessary without taxing the primary processor. Yes, it is probably quite possible to do it using software, but cards are more reliable, and leave the processor for other tasks, like recording.

WOW. Great concepts being developed. I hope it's true!

@Rich Apple person

I hope that was sarcasm, if not......two words: Walkman - iPod

I would buy one in Canada. So far there is no real incentive too given the lack of movie rentals and limited crappy tv shows.

Mar 13, 08 - 01:40 pm Comment from: Tiger Leopard

This could be HUGE!!!

I already have this product. It's called the Mac Mini with a Miglia TV Micro (you can choose from any number of other cable/HD converters too) using EyeTV. It's missing some of the nice season pass features of a TiVo but it does everything I need - including exporting shows to my iPod. If Apple TV could simplify the entire thing and give me seamless integration with FrontRow, I'd get one in a heart beat.

Wow,not news.
iPhone the ultimate remote....

I offered this suggestion last January.
http://www.powerpage.org/2007/01/iphone_the_ultimate_itv_remote.html

Mar 13, 08 - 04:34 pm Comment from: Anonymous©

Interesting. I can remotely program my HD PVR, the EyeTV500, from my laptop.

I can look at TitanTV account, online, (it's like TV Guide). If I'm away from home and realize I've forgotten to program my EyeTV to record the Champions League soccer match, then I can just hit the record button on the TitanTV website. My EyeTV at home, will call in once an hour to check for updates, and will get the new command to record the soccer game, and voila. No missed programs.

This would be a cool feature for an AppleTV version 3, if I could remotely program it from my iPhone.

If this actually comes to pass, all I can say is "Thank you for listening, Steve."


MDN magic word = progress

As in 'Now we're making some ...'

Mar 14, 08 - 08:49 am Comment from: Think

@Switcher X & @Anonymous©

Do you record any HD channels?
Most importantly, cable/satalite channels not local HD?

If so, what can you do with the recorded HD shows?

Everything I have found must be a box from the cable/satalite company and the recorded HD content stays on the box because of the encryption.
I am not talking about OTA channels, those work.

@Jocko Flocko
"I wonder how Apple will deal with offering the DVR capability while trying to sell the same content through iTunes."

I think they will deal fine with that. The important thing for them is to get Apple into the home. And think, if someone is gone for a few weeks & forgets to program their AppleTV to record their favorite show, they can easily download it from iTunes and watch it in sequence.

Could you please explain me the meaning of 'DVD'

Sorry for a dumb question, but I really can't get, what TUAW is?...