DVR the damn Apple TV
In theory, Apple TV sounds like a good idea. Unfortunately, as a stand-alone product in my living room, it’s not going to cut it.
Apple TV’s handling of television content is abysmal
I have no problem with Apple’s model of purchasing and renting videos. In fact, I am a fan of it. Insofar as television goes, Apple needs a reality check. We currently live in a DVR world. We record what is streaming into our homes and consume it at our convenience. Once getting a hold of a DVR recording of what is coming into your home is free (assuming you have avoided having to pay a monthly access fee). Not so with Apple TV.
With Apple TV, to have access to a show which aired yesterday, or two weeks ago, you have to pay for it. Two bucks. For me, that is not a viable solution. On the TiVo in our home we have no less than seventeen season passes currently set up. We constantly delete programming we’ve watched and always have a fresh stable of scores of shows to watch. I can’t imagine what we’d have paid Apple if Apple TV was our solution for all this.
But, it seems as though Apple may wake up to the DVR revolution and their lack of living room presence.
Apple TV DVR functionality patent
A recent patent filing that Apple Insider posted about this morning calls attention to a version of Apple TV capable of browsing and recording live television programming in addition to serving iTunes content.
Personally, I couldn’t be happier to see this patent filing, and hope that Apple follows through. My gut tells me that they’ve been slow to move on it due to the complex nature of negotiating with the music, television and movie industries to-date. Hopefully there’s a plan to put the DVR in the little lackluster box and bring it to the living room in force.
TiVo is getting worse by the day. I’d love to see Apple to pick up the slack.
Perspectives from elsewhere on the web:
- A Cheap Way To Beef Up Apple TV As A DVR? (Wired)
- AppleTV Needs Recording Add-on Capabilities: Does Miglia Hold the Key? (Seeking Alpha)
- Apple TV DVR: Old News I Talked About Already (Christopher Price)
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