Building on previous post ideas - Apple TV

I have made a couple of previous posts about the reasons why Apple should not make a TV, at least not a standalone one similar to 100% of the current designs. It is because Apple's macro-system architecture is based on networking (WiFi and Internet). and this must continue.

So how would you integrate a TV into the current offering? Well today we have:

1 The Time Capsule, a combination of a WiFi router and a HDD of 1-2GB. This provides the basic backbone of your home system information highway by WiFi and a generous storage area for local files such as music and movies. The Time Capsule, for some reason, does not include a broadband ADSL interface...

2 The range Macs and iPod/iPad/iPhone products, these are the current focus of user interaction, input and output.

3 A high resolution Cinema display, which is expensive and geared to semi-professional use for computer graphics. Lower cost is the integrated iMac 21 & 27" versions.

4 The small Apple TV, which interconnects either the local WiFi or the Internet to your TV by HDMI interface, allowing you to show computer/internet movies on your TV

In order to develop this architecture to come close to the needs of a home entertainment system, what has to be done?

1 Make a display of HD TV quality with a built-in Apple TV interface. That is a display which has a WiFi input.

2 Make a TV receiver box. This is the tricky bit, as TV standards vary enormously across the world, not only PAL and NTSC, but also the transmission standards for terrestrial and satellite digital TV. I can only speak for europe, but here the preferred way to receive TV is by satellite, currently using a set top box called Freeview. An Apple product could be envisaged that lives in your loft and connects to your satellite dish, and outputs MPEG4 video over WiFi. Its setup and controls would be back across the WiFi link. The company EyeTV is coming along as the company that knows about such products, and could be a interesting acquisition for Apple…

How would this system work and how would it improve and integrate a home entertainment system?

In the simplest configuration the ATV by itself, with internet access could show streaming movies and play streaming music. Add an Apple Mac or iPad and this can act as a source of local music, or music via Apple's iCloud. And it can act as a more extensive controller for the ATV. Add the new ATV receiver and you start to have a very flexible TV and internet playback system. With control by the iPad on your lap. At this point there is a huge opportunity for content creators to provide internet programming, and to synchronise this with internet web page viewing. Watch the video on your ATV and get data input or in-depth information on your iPad at the same time. A fully fledged system would include both the Time Capsule and a Mac computer giving local storage and powerful computing.

So that is it. That is the way Apple should go. The one thing to be sorted is the consolidation of the creative industry players to provide a consistent media input. This is curtail, but considering Apple's success in music and movies with iTunes, they now just have to get a braoed range of current movies and push aside cable TV delivery. They would need to find a way to integrate current suppliers like Sky and provide a consistent, better EPG… let's see if they can do it.